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THE HOSPITAL
Maria and Carmen sat on each side of Antonio holding his hand in theirs. Antonio smiled at his mother and sister as they chatted away to him. They had filled him on how Ricardo found him in the Mission and brought him to the hospital. He even knew what had happened the day his heart stopped. He didn’t want to hear about that day, he remembered it well enough on his own. Gabi watched quietly from the opposite side of the room as Antonio visited with his mother and sister. They had arrived shortly after he awoke the night before. Gabi never had gotten a hold of Ricardo. She assumed he was working on a case all night. The sun was coming up as Maria and Carmen stood to leave. Antonio was tired and he fought to keep his eyes open. "Now, mi hijo. You get some rest." Carmen bent to kiss Antonio on the cheek. "You rest up, baby brother. I want you to come home soon," Maria smiled as she hugged Antonio. They both stopped near the door to speak with Gabi. "Thank you, Gabi. Thank you for taking such good care of him," Maria touched Gabi’s hand as she spoke. "You helped him through, you know." Carmen smiled at Gabi, but she could see in Gabi’s eyes that she was hiding something. She would consult her cards the minute she returned home to find out exactly what it was. She had begun doubting her again after she left Ricardo at the altar. Gabi turned to Antonio after Maria and Carmen left to find him lying quietly with his eyes closed. She hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk with him since he had awakened. There had been countless doctors and nurses in and out of his room and Maria and Carmen came within an hour of his waking. Gabi was tired - she hadn’t slept a wink that night. She put her hands on the back of her neck and rubbed furiously. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, rolling it from side to side trying to stretch out the kinks. She looked up to see Antonio watching her from the bed. She smiled bashfully and walked over to the chair. "You look...tired...sit down and...rest." Antonio was still a little weak and his voice was just beginning to come back. "I’m fine, Antonio. How are you feeling?" Antonio winked at Gabi and she let out a small laugh. She couldn’t imagine loving anyone more than this man who lay before her now. She wanted to tell him about their baby...she longed to tell him more each minute. But she knew they both needed to rest and she just didn’t have the energy right now. She went to Antonio, leaned over him and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and closed his eyes. "I’ll be right over there, if you need me." Antonio shook his head slowly and drifted off to sleep. Gabi lay down on the cot and closed her eyes. She fell asleep within minutes. Ricardo searched for the elevator button from behind his sunglasses. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot from his drinking binge the night before. The movement of the elevator made him feel queasy, but he held on to the wall and swallowed hard. The doors opened and he started down the corridor to Antonio’s room. Ricardo stopped outside Antonio’s door. His eyes fell directly on Gabi sleeping peacefully on the cot. He looked at her longingly for a few minutes before walking inside. He felt his heart grab as he watched her sleep. She was so beautiful curled up with the blanket pulled up under her chin. Ricardo knelt beside the cot and pushed her hair off her face. She smiled a small smile and readjusted her blanket. Ricardo turned to look at Antonio sleeping in the bed. He remembered how Antonio had always been so jealous of him when they were kids. If Ricardo got new shoes, Antonio had to have new shoes. Ricardo got a red bicycle for his tenth birthday, Antonio wanted a red bicycle for his birthday that year, too. In high school, Antonio always flirted with the girls Ricardo brought home. Antonio would flash his smile at them and make them laugh with his jokes. A smile crossed Ricardo’s lips. "God, I hope he wakes up soon." Ricardo thought out loud. "I really miss him." Ricardo contemplated waking Gabi, but he knew she was exhausted from spending the entire week here with Antonio. He would have her back in his arms soon enough…he reminded himself as he turned and left. He never saw Antonio open his eyes and watch him leave. THE HOSPITAL ... THE NEXT DAY Gabi awoke with a start. She sat up quickly on the cot just as her head began to spin. She grabbed the sides of the rickety bed to keep herself from falling over. "Are you okay, Gabi?" the deep voice called out to her. Gabi raised her head to see Antonio propped up in bed munching heartily on the breakfast tray in front of him. Gabi smiled at his ravenous appetite. "Hey, how are you this morning?" "I am starving. I feel like I haven’t eaten in...oh, yeah. I haven’t!" His voice was strong and clear. Gabi got up from the cot and walked over to Antonio’s bed. She placed her hand lightly on his arm. Antonio’s skin tingled from Gabi’s touch. He hadn’t known all the time she had spent touching him over the last week. "What time is it?" Gabi asked sleepily. "It’s almost 10:00," Antonio replied with a smirk. "10:00 ... a.m.?" "Yes, 10:00 a.m. Monday!" Antonio said playfully. Gabi realized that she had slept completely through the day after Antonio woke up and the entire following night. "How long have you been awake, Antonio?" "I woke up last night about 8:30. The nurses kept coming in and checking my vitals. I guess I was awake for a couple of hours and then I fell asleep again around midnight. I woke up this morning around 7:00." "Why didn’t you wake me..." Gabi was upset that she had slept when Antonio was awake. "Gabi, you were so exhausted. Vicki told me how much time you have been spending with me this week. I wanted to let you rest. You needed it," Antonio said sincerely. Gabi felt the warmth of his love wrap around her heart. Antonio cared so much about her well-being it overwhelmed her. She was ready to tell him about the baby. She couldn’t keep it from him a minute longer. "Mi hijo...mi hijo. You look so well this morning!" Carmen called out rushing through the door. She ran to Antonio’s side and clutched his hand in hers. Carmen glanced over her should to Gabi sitting on the chair. "Good morning, Gabi," she said cautiously. "Good morning, Senora Torres." Gabi rose from the chair. "I was just going to get some fresh air." She looked to Antonio. "I’ll be back soon." Antonio smiled at Gabi and she turned and left the room. Carmen watched her leave with a questioned glance. "Antonio, that girl is no good. You shouldn’t spend so much time with her, mi hijo. She hurt your brother and now she hides something from us all." Carmen said vengefully. "Oh, mama. Enough." Antonio didn’t like hearing his mother speak about Gabi this way. "Ricardo loves Gabi…they will work things out and eventually, she WILL be a part of this family." "No, mi hijo. Never!" Carmen said with disgust. She could see Antonio’s growing impatience with the direction of the conversation, so she avoided taking it any further. SURF CENTRAL Gabi headed back to Surf Central to give Carmen and Antonio some privacy. She didn’t like to be near Carmen – she couldn’t handle the glaring looks from her. "She can’t know, can she," Gabi asked herself. "No, those cards of hers are a joke!" Gabi headed inside, relieved to find no one was home. She headed upstairs for a quick shower and to change clothes. She was on her way back down the stairs when she heard a knock on the door. Rushing to open it, she found Ricardo leaning with one hand up against the wall. "Ricardo...what are you doing here?" Gabi said with surprise. "I was looking for Casey...what’s going on?" Ricardo’s eyes were moving up and down Gabi, taking in all of her. "I just came home for a quick shower." Ricardo winced hearing Gabi refer to Surf Central as home. "Where have you been, Ricardo? I tried to call you two days ago." "I was...uh, I was working on a case." He didn’t want Gabi to know he had been drinking because of her. "You called me," Ricardo said hopefully. "Yes, Antonio finally regained consciousness the night before last. Haven’t you been to the hospital to see him recently?" "Yeah, I came by that night, but you were sleeping on the cot and Antonio still wasn’t awake." "Hmmm, you must have gotten there when he was still sleeping. Didn’t your mother or Maria call you?" Gabi was rushing to finish pulling her things together. "I’ve been busy, Gabi," Ricardo avoided any further detail. Secretly, he was relieved Antonio was awake for more than Antonio’s sake. He hoped that now he and Gabi would be able to start working through the problems and get back to life as usual. "I was just heading back to the hospital. Your mother was there when I left." Gabi said trying to hide the contempt in her voice. "I’ll drive you back," Ricardo offered quickly. Gabi felt it would be wrong to turn down his offer since it might appear she was keeping him from seeing Antonio. "Sure, Ricardo. Let’s go." Gabi was disappointed she wouldn’t be alone with Antonio when she returned. Keeping her secret was beginning to get harder and harder. Ricardo drove slowly back to the hospital trying to strike up a safe conversation with Gabi. She stared out the window, but Ricardo couldn’t help notice the small smile she held on her lips
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