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Post by Lubyfanatic316 on May 19, 2006 3:59:57 GMT 10
I can't wait to see what happens next!
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Post by larue on May 22, 2006 5:50:59 GMT 10
The afternoon sun was hot as Susan sat on the front steps of the house and watched Cosmo. He was squatting on the cement driveway pulverizing small pebbles with his new hammer. His hair was standing up on all ends as it stuck out from the wrap around strap of the huge safety goggles he wore. He had on his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine tee shirt and jean shorts. There were five band aids on his tanned legs...three of which didn’t cover anything at all. He just liked them. He was so intent on what he was doing. She smiled and thought about going inside for her camera.
“Hey Cos,” she called. “Mom is going in to get some ice water. Would you like a juice or a popsicle?” He looked up and then shook his head before going back to ‘work’. Susan chuckled and pulled herself up from the steps. She shifted her left shoulder and cringed a bit. That was a strange feeling. She must have twisted it somehow. Sheesh...Chuck and his ‘interesting positions’. She opened the front door and stepped inside. They’d opened windows rather than turned the air conditioning on. She glanced around the pretty livingroom and smiled. She loved having a house. She looked at the clock and headed for the kitchen. She filled a glass with ice water from the refrigerator and shook her head. She was working the night shift in another 4 hours when Chuck came home. She hoped this nagging head ache would go away. Susan picked up the camera from the kitchen counter and carried her water back through the livingroom to the front door. She shook her head again and then...
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Post by larue on May 22, 2006 5:53:56 GMT 10
Susan stirred in the hospital bed and Chuck stood up. He leaned over the safety rail and smiled grimly as he smoothed her hair from her forehead. Susan’s eyes fluttered open and she tried to focus on his face.
“Hey there,” Chuck said softly and leaned down to kiss her cheek gently. “You gave us quite a scare.” Susan looked up at the IV pole and then lifted her hand to see where the tube ended.
“What happened?” she croaked and grimaced at her dry throat. Chuck reached for the cup of ice water and held it to her lips so she could take a sip with the straw. He put the cup back and then took her hand in his.
“It was an ectopic, Sus,” he said. “...and it ruptured.”
“I lost the baby?” she whispered.
“Yeah...we did,” Chuck nodded. He kissed her hand and sighed.
“There’s more,” he said softly. “You lost a lot of blood, babe, and they couldn’t stop the bleeding so...”
“A hysterectomy...” she sighed sadly. She squeezed her eyes shut and a tear rolled down the side of her face. She held tightly to Chuck’s hand and he swallowed as he studied her face.
“It’s okay, hon,” he said softly. “It’s okay.” Still holding her hand, Chuck reached behind him and dragged his chair closer to the bed. He sat down and laced the fingers of both of his hands around her’s. Susan opened her eyes and took a deep breath as her eyes met his. Chuck smiled wanly and then tears welled up in his own eyes.
“I almost lost you, Susan,” he said softly and kissed her fingers. “I almost lost you.” He pressed her fingers to his forehead and closed his eyes. Susan closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
She came awake with a start and her eyes opened wide as she suddenly remembered more.
“Where’s Cosmo?” she asked. Chuck came to her side and squeezed her hand.
“Beth has him, honey,” he said. “He’s fine. In fact, he is more than fine.” Chuck grinned as he rubbed his finger against her cheek.
“When he came inside and saw that you had fainted, he covered you up with the blanket from the couch and called 911. Can you believe that?” Susan closed her eyes and managed a smile.
“Pretty cool kid,” Chuck nodded proudly. “And the other cool kid is on her way home from camp with Abby.” Susan grimaced.
“Aw, she’s coming home early?”
“I told her to stay but she wants to come home. Personally, I’ll be glad to see her. I’ve missed her.” Susan grimaced and stretched her neck uncomfortably against the bedding.
“Are you okay?” Chuck asked. “I’m supposed to let someone know if you need some more pain meds.” Susan nodded and squeezed her eyes shut. Chuck reached over and pressed the nurse call button. Almost immediately the door opened and a nurse appeared with a syringe.
“It’s about that time,” she said calmly and inserted the needle into Susan’s IV line.
“Thanks, Janie,” Chuck said as Susan began to relax again. He sat back in the chair next to the bed and held onto Susan’s hand.
“Remind me to thank people for the wonderful drugs,” Susan murmured. Chuck grinned and relaxed himself. She was going to be fine.
Abby glanced into the rearview mirror of the car and smiled slightly at Heather’s sleeping face in the back seat. She was leaning to the side as if she’d been watching Lauren asleep in her car seat. She looked over at Susie in the passenger side of the front seat. Her eyes were wide and she sat rigidly straight as she stared straight ahead.
“She’s fine, Susie,” Abby said softly. “Chuck told you that on the phone. He didn’t even think you needed to come home from camp.” Susie looked at her and nodded. She turned her head back to the road ahead.
“Why didn’t they tell me?” she asked softly.
“About the baby?” Susie nodded.
“Well, she didn’t tell me either,” Abby said. “I don’t think it was something that they even knew about for very long. I can’t imagine Susan keeping it a secret. Not from us.” Susie glanced over and smiled slightly.
“Yeah...” she sighed. She sighed and folded her arms tightly across her chest as a tear slipped down her cheek. She hiccuped and then cringed as more tears fell. Abby reached down and pulled a tissue from the small box they kept in the pocket of the driver’s side door. She handed it to Susie. Abby drove in silence, her heart breaking for the young girl beside her, as Susie quietly sobbed.
“I was scared,” Susie finally managed to say.
“I know,” Abby replied softly.
“I can’t lose Aunt Susan.”
“You’re not going to lose her, Susie. Not now. Not ever.” Abby kept one hand on the wheel and reached over to squeeze Susie’s hand with the other.
“She is always going to be a part of who you are. You know that.” Susie nodded slowly and tightened her grip on Abby’s hand. Abby smiled softly.
“Okay,” she said brightly. “If I am going to be spending a couple of days with you, we need to get something straight.” Susie looked at her with a worried frown on her face.
“Who is going to do the cooking? Because I don’t cook.” Susie giggled and shrugged and Abby smiled.
Susie opened the door to the hospital room and peeked inside. Chuck was asleep in the chair next to Susan’s bed. She slipped in and shut the door carefully. She sidled up to Chuck’s chair and rested her eyes on Susan, who was asleep in the bed. Susie nudged Chuck and he opened his eyes with a start. He blinked and looked up at her and smiled.
“Hey, kiddo...” he said softly. Chuck stood up and wrapped his arms around her in a close hug. “I’m glad you’re home.” He walked her to the side of the hospital bed and leaned down.
“Susan,” he said softly. “Susie’s here.” Susan’s eyes opened and she turned her head toward them.
“Hi,” she said quietly and held up her arms. Susie’s lips quivered and she pressed herself carefully into Susan’s embrace.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you.” Susan asked. “I’m sorry that you came home from camp early.”
“Heather was homesick anyway,” Susie said quietly. She straightened and held Susan’s hand.
“Where’s Abby?” Chuck asked.
“She’s feeding Lauren in the family room.” Susan squeezed Susie’s hand. “Heather’s there too. We came right here.”
“I need to have you go home and be with Cosmo,” she said. “Can you do that for me?” Susie nodded.
“I’m fine, sweetie, really,” Susan said. Susie nodded again without smiling. Susan held up her arms and hugged her carefully again. She kissed her cheek and blinked back tears. “Thank you for coming home.” Susie nodded and straightened. She turned to hug Chuck again and then smiled at them as she left the room.
“Cool kid,” Chuck nodded as he sat down in the chair and reached for Susan’s hand.
The front door of Heather’s house flew open when Abby pulled the car into the driveway. She popped the back end and got out to help Heather with her camp luggage. Susie headed up the front walk and grinned as Cosmo came flying off the front porch. He was wearing just his Superman underwear and no shoes.
“Susie!” he hollered and jumped into her arms. Susie laughed and hugged him tight.
“You’re a real super hero, Cos!” she said. ‘You called the paramedics all by yourself?” Cosmo’s grip on her neck tightened and he wrapped his legs around her waist.
“Mommy wouldn’t waked up,” he said. “And you weren’t there.”
“I know,” she said. “But I’m home now and Mommy is okay. I just saw her at the hospital.” Susie sat down on the porch and held him in her lap. Heather’s mother came out the door and patted the top of Susie’s head. She headed down the walk with a smile and hugged Heather.
“Come on in. Dinner is on the table,” she said to Abby. Abby and Susie exchanged glances and grinned.
“Thanks, Beth,” Abby laughed. “This could definitely work out.”
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Post by sammiejm on May 22, 2006 6:20:47 GMT 10
Brilliant update Larue.
So sad, but beautifully written. You really make the characters come alive with your writing.
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Post by Lubyfanatic316 on May 22, 2006 9:28:42 GMT 10
I love the update!
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Post by jaana on May 22, 2006 15:55:24 GMT 10
Great update!
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Post by larue on May 24, 2006 20:06:10 GMT 10
Sorry......I'd forgotten to add the last chapter. I really, really miss writing for this crew!
Abby hugged Susan tight as they stood on the front porch of the house. She stepped back and smiled.
“Thank you, so much for coming, Abby,” Susan said as she eased carefully into the rocker.
“You’d do the same for me,” she said. “And I’d stay longer but I know that I am leaving you in good hands.” She glanced at the front lawn where Susie and Heather were playing in the grass with Lauren. Cosmo was riding his tricycle up and down the driveway where Chuck and Luka stood next to the car talking. Abby nodded slowly.
“Nice life you have here, Dr. Lewis,” Abby said with satisfaction. “A very nice life.” Susan smiled as Abby went down the steps and onto the grassy lawn. Susie stood up and hugged Abby. She picked Lauren up as Abby hugged Heather and talked to them both for a moment. Susie laughed at something Abby said and handed the baby to her. Abby carried her to the car and Luka opened the back door so she could settle Lauren in her car seat. He shook hands with Chuck and then glanced toward the porch. Luka grinned and bounded up the walk to plant a kiss on Susan’s cheek.
“Follow your doctor’s orders,” he said firmly as he shook a finger playfully at her. Susan laughed and winced as she shifted in the rocking chair.
“Oh, I intend to!” she smiled. Luka waved and headed back to the car. Abby was chasing Cosmo and finally nabbed him for a kiss. She hugged Chuck and then waved at Susan once again before sliding into the front seat and buckling her seat belt. Susie, Heather and Cosmo ran down to the road and waved as the car headed toward the main road from the subdivision. When it was gone, they hurried back to the lawn and Heather did a flip in the grass. Susan grimaced as Susie tried and landed on her behind. They laughed and just sat in the grass with Cosmo. Chuck carried the tricycle back up to the sidewalk and set it near the porch.
"You okay?” he asked as he climbed the steps toward her. Susan nodded and sighed as he sat in the chair next to her. Susan reached for his hand and kissed it before she laced her fingers through his. They sat quietly for a long moment.
“You know...this thing is going to work out for us,” he finally said. Susan frowned and looked at him.
“Well...” he shrugged. “No more birth control worries. I mean, we can do it any time and anywhere without even thinking about it.”
“You are pathetic,” she groaned. “My incision isn’t even healed yet and all you can think about is...” He grinned and leaned over to kiss her. Susan chuckled.
“No regrets about not having a baby girl?” he asked. Susan’s eyes traveled to the front lawn and she slowly shook her head.
“I might have had some if I weren’t so incredibly happy with the one we already have.” Chuck nodded and sat back in his chair. A car pulled into their driveway and Susie and Cosmo ran to the porch.
“Heather’s dad is here to take us to rehearsal,” Susie said as she took Cosmo’s hand and started back down the sidewalk with him. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Susie, Chuck is here to watch Cosmo,” Susan called. “You don’t have to take him with you.”
“What do you mean?” Susie cried in surprise. “He’s in the play. He even has a line to say.” She brought him back to the porch and stood him on the top step.
“Go on, Cos,” Susie said. “Tell Mom what you have to say when the story teller walks off stage.” Cosmo turned to Susan and took a deep breath.
“Hey! Wait for me!” he bellowed. Susan laughed and held out her arms for a hug. He smiled proudly and ran into her arms.
“That was great!” Susie said as Cosmo high fived her on his way back down the steps. Susan wiped tears of laughter from her eyes and waved as the car pulled out of the driveway.
“Abby was right,” she sighed. ‘We do have a very nice life.” Chuck grinned and laced his fingers through her hand again.
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Post by Lubyfanatic316 on May 24, 2006 21:58:55 GMT 10
I love the update!
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Post by sammiejm on May 26, 2006 3:56:40 GMT 10
I love it! As usual you've managed to incorporate humour and emotion and combine them so well.
Is this the end or will we be paying another visit to Susan and Chuck?
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Post by larue on May 26, 2006 11:25:37 GMT 10
Well....I LOVE writing for them. I did have Abby and Luka stop by for a visitin 'Rules of the Road' and I am contemplating having them meet up some how in this summer's "Camper's Guide for Family Fun".....just haven't figured out how yet. : ) I really miss the Abby/Susan friendship on the show.
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Post by sammiejm on May 26, 2006 17:29:50 GMT 10
Oh, please see if you can arrange for Luka and Abby to meet up with Susan and Chuck.
I also miss the relationship between Susan and Abby on the show.
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Post by jaana on May 26, 2006 22:32:50 GMT 10
Love it.
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Post by zelda on May 27, 2006 6:29:18 GMT 10
Hi, Larue, I've just posted on "Camp's guide for family fun." Yes, please,bring back Chuck, Susan( and her hair), Cosmo and Susie, to spend some time with the Kovac family. We need Susan here, she is the symbol of friendship, fun and happiness! Great idea!
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