The Master Bedroom, The Rawsone Residence, Denver, Colorado...
Dr. Hadrian S. Rawsone had been half asleep when his wife Julia had kissed him on the lips and informed him that the girls had been long gone back to college and that she was to make a few errands and had an appointment for the baby at the hospital. He had attempted to climb out of bed and join her but she noted how exhausted he looked and opted for him to stay home, she promised to return as soon as she was updated about the baby and share the news with him then. Hadrian had again been reluctant but once more at Julia's insistence, he gave in as he always did whenever she decreed something. She kissed him on the lips once more with the promise of an encore performance from earlier that morning once everything had been taken care of now that their home was empty aside from the two of them.
"I love you." she had said.
"I love you too," he replied still groggy from sleep before the final kiss and she headed out the door.
Hadrian had not known how long he'd been asleep before the ringing of the phone had jolted him awake and he scrambled out of bed fighting through confusion and drowsiness to put an end to the ringing. Hadrian finally caught it on the umpteenth ring and nearly fell over when he did.
"Hello?" he asked wondering what had been so urgent.
{"Hadrian...you need to get down to the hospital as soon as possible."} said the voice of Gary Sanders on the other end of the line.
"Gary?" asked Hadrian confused. "What's going on why are you at the hospital?"
{"There's no time to explain over the phone but...Julia's been in an accident and it's not looking good."} said Gary in a rather gruff and emotional tone. {"Just get your ass down here now!"}
He hung up the phone and Hadrian had done the same. He scrambled about the house attempting to get dressed. He managed to lock up and grab his car keys before he hopped into the car and took off down the road. While he had a difficult time expressing his emotions, he knew by the tone of Gary's voice that this was as bad as it gets.
He had not known if it was Julia or the baby or both of them who had been in dire need but he knew he had to be there. And attempted to make his way as quickly and safely as possible.
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Room 201, Memorial Hospital, Denver, Colorado...
By the time Dr. Hadrian Rawsone got to the hospital, his in-laws had been gathered in the lobby. The girls had been none the wiser about their mother's accident after having gotten on the plane to go back to school. Ann and Jasper had been accompanied by Collin Winters who had appeared to have been as devastated by the news of what happened to Julia as anyone else despite not knowing his daughter-in-law for very long. He found it difficult to look at Hadrian who moved passed him toward Julia's room. Gary had elected not to stick around once the family began to show up after calling them. The awkwardness of the affair had already been enough beforehand and now it was unsettling to be near Hadrian and have him think so highly of him when he'd been sleeping with his wife behind his back.
Ann approached Hadrian first wrapping her arms around him as she apologized for the fact that Julia had lost yet another baby.
"What?" asked Hadrian feeling a bit of coldness seep into him. "Shit....she's..."
Jasper placed a hand on his shoulder.
"The baby was born stillborn due to the accident, some bastard driver had run her off the road, it was a boy." said the older man with a sorrowful tone. "I'm sorry Hadrian I know how much you wanted a son."
Those words would have been like a knife in his heart had he been able to react to them due to his scrambled emotions and the shock of the accident hitting all at once.
Hadrian sighed as he composed himself for the sake of his family and headed toward the door of his wife's room. She'd been lying in the hospital bed hooked up to machines and the constant beeping and clicking had been nearly maddening given how quiet the room had been on its own. As he walked inside he took note of the cuts and bruises that lined her formerly lovely face.
The good doctor closed the door behind him as he moved toward his wife who had not seemed to be responsive to anyone after the news of her child had been born stillborn swept the hospital. Julia had not looked like herself in the least with all the blood and cuts still present. Her eyes were a blank slate as she stared at Hadrian with hot tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry." she said "Dren, I lost our baby again."
Hadrian grabbed a roller chair and sat beside her holding her hand as the machines continued to do their work.
The good doctor had not been privy to the conversation Jasper, Ann, and Collin had before his arrival and the departure of Gary Sanders when the doctor who delivered the baby informed them that Julia had only a small amount of time left before she succumbed to the internal injuries from the accident that they couldn't do anything to fix for her. They had not wished to spoil the last few moments Hadrian had with his wife as they had the outcome of what happened to their son.
"No," said Hadrian composing himself as the image of his lost son passed through his mind. "This was the fault of the son of a bitch that ran you off the road."
Julia sighed as more tears streamed down her cheeks. While she had not been in practice for quite some time, she had known all too well what her condition had been from the conversations and serious faces that surrounded her since the baby's birth.
"Dren...I'm so sorry," she said unsure where to begin. "I wasn't the best wife to you..."
Hadrian put a finger to her lips and took her hand in his kissing it as he held it close.
"We'll talk about it later," he said. "Whatever it is, it can wait right now you...you need to rest and I need to find out when I can take you home."
Hadrian attempted to get to his feet but Julia knowing full well what her prognosis had been held his hand and urged him to sit back down.
"There's nothing they can do," she said as the tears kept coming. "The injuries from the accident and then having the baby, the machines are the only thing keeping me alive Dren."
"D-Don't say that," said Hadrian trying his best to deny what was inevitable.
He realized how selfish it was to do so and turned his efforts to comforting his dying wife. While he had difficulty expressing himself due to the elector shock therapy, he had known one way she'd know exactly what he felt even if he couldn't express it indefinitely. It was the least he could do given the circumstances and it was the most difficult thing he'd ever done.
He climbed onto the bed beside her and held her in his arms. The tears kept coming as she came to the further realization that her life had truly been over, as she leaned back against Hadrian's chest listening to his heartbeat over the beeping of the machines keeping her alive for the time being.
"You know that I need your love, you've got that hold over me long as I got your love you know that I'll never leave, When I wanted you to share my life...I had no doubt in my mind...And it's been you, woman...Right down the line." sang Hadrian as he held his dying wife in his arms for the last time. "Yeah, this is my way of tellin' you....That every day I'm lovin' you so much more...If I should doubt myself...If I'm losing ground....I won't turn to someone else...They'd only let me down...When I wanted you to share my life I had no doubt in my mind, it's been you woman...right down the line..."
Julia listened to the words of the song her husband had been singing to her ever since he became fascinated by it and played it for her. She saw how foolish she'd been with her affair and now didn't even have the heart to hurt him so badly by confessing to it on her deathbed. The doctors came and turned off the machines as Hadrian held her his words had still been ringing in her ears as her body began to shut down.
"I love you Hadrian Rawsone," she said amid tears.
"I love you too Jules," he replied.
"Take care of our girls," she said knowing how much she'd already missed them.
Hadrian nodded.
They shared one last kiss before she settled back against his chest as he held her.
"It's been you babe right down the line," had been the last thing her husband said to her before she no longer drew breath.
Jasper, Ann, and Collin had been devastated as they watched Hadrian emerge from the room, his face blank and his eyes filled with confusion. He had nothing to say aside from the fact that Julia had been gone right along with their baby boy and he'd been so numb due to her making him take electroshock therapy that he couldn't even feel it. He supposed he should have thanked her as the double hit would have destroyed him if he'd been the man he was before it.