Chapter 27: Loss

Just a week before Luna and Joey's anniversary, Hali was folding laundry in the basement. As she headed upstairs with a full basket of clothes, she slipped on a toy truck on the top step and tumbled down the stairs, knocking her out.

An hour later, Luna came over, knocking on the door. "Hali?" She asked, opening the door. Ryan, Kyle, and Taylor were in the living room.

"Luna!" Ryan squealed, running over. Luna picked him up. "Where Mommy?"

"You haven't seen her?" Luna asked.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "She went there." He pointed to the kitchen.

"Stay here with your brother and sister." Luna said, setting Ryan down. She headed into the kitchen. "Hali? Where are you?"

"Luna...? Help me..." Hali's voice was faint.

"Where are you?" Luna asked, trying to find where the voice was coming from.

"Basement..." Hali answered. Her voice sounded pained.

Luna flipped the light and gasped as she saw Hali crumpled at the foot of the stairs clothes scattered around her. "Oh my God, what happened?" she asked, hurrying down the stairs.

"I tripped." Hali said, trying to sit up.

"Just lay down. I'll call 911 and Atem." Luna said. She picked up her cell phone and dialed 911 and then Atem's cell phone.

Atem hurried into the Emergency room. "Where's Hali Mutou?" he asked the receptionist.

"Exam 1. The OB doctor is with her now." the receptionist said.

"Is there something wrong with the baby?" Atem asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know. You'll have to ask the doctor." the receptionist apologized.

Atem went to Exam 1 as Luna left it. "Oh thank God you're here. Hali's in there." she said.

"How bad is it?" Atem asked.

"Not life-threatening, but they're worried about the baby. It's looking like a miscarriage." Luna explained, giving him an apologetic look.

"I better go in there." Atem said, and went in. One doctor was setting Hali's leg while another was doing an ultrasound. "Hali, are you okay?"

"Head hurts, leg broken, back hurts, but I'm okay." Hali said.

"How's the baby?" Atem asked the doctor.

"Looks like a miscarriage. I can't find a heartbeat." the doctor said, turning off the monitor. "You need to take it easy for the next few weeks. Your back is going to hurt and you should keep the cast dry. I'll gather the discharge papers and you can get dressed. You'll bleed for a few days. If it doesn't stop or it gets so bad you get dizzy, come back."

Hali nodded and the doctor left. She swung her legs over the bed. Atem went over and helped her get dressed. "You all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Hali said, indifferently. As Atem pulled the gown over her head, he heard a sob. He pulled the gown off and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay, just let it out." he murmured.

Hali sobbed until tears no longer flowed down her cheeks. "Let's go home. I want to see our kids." she sniffled.

Atem helped her into the wheelchair and wheeled her out. Joey and Luna were waiting for them. "Meet us back at our house." Atem said, leading the way to the reception desk. He signed the release papers and led the way out to car with Hali. He picked her up and set her in the passenger's seat. Joey put the wheelchair up as Atem got in and drove off.

By the time Joey and Luna got to Atem and Hali's house, Atem was standing in the kitchen with his back to them. Luna headed upstairs to tend to Hali and the kids. "You all right?" he asked.

"I guess." Atem shrugged. "I need a beer."

Joey went to the fridge and took out a beer, handing it to him. "Wanna talk?" Joey asked.

There was several minutes of silence as Atem drank his beer. Finally, he said,"Even though it was the size of a peanut, I had already thought of it as my child. I was imagining it growing up, getting married, going to college."

"There will be other kids. You can try again." Joey encouraged going over. He gave him a brief, one-armed hug.

"I know. I just wish I knew how to comfort her. I can't be having nearly as rough a time as she is."

"Just give her time. She probably feels it's her fault because she wasn't able to protect it. If she wants to be comforted, comfort her. Otherwise, avoid upsetting her." Joey said. Atem nodded. "Luna and I were talking and I think we'll make a small thing of our anniversary. Just a dinner at home and exchange gifts. It just doesn't seem appropriate after this."

"You guys should go on ahead and celebrate how you want. It's your anniversary." Atem protested.

"No, Luna agreed. We want to in honor of the baby. Besides, there will be other anniversaries." Joey said.

Luna came into the kitchen. "She's laying down right now."

"Since I work from home, I'll help you out until Hali can." Joey said. "Don't worry, I can bring Luke and Jo over."

"Thank you so much. I have to work late on your anniversary, do you mind having dinner here? I can eat out."

"Sounds like a plan." Joey said, and he and Luna left.

Atem finished his beer and headed upstairs. Hali was laying on her side with a pillow behind her. "Honey, do you want to talk?" he asked, laying down beside her.

"Not really." Hali said.

"I have an idea. How about if we find out the gender of the baby and give it a name. That way we can immortalize it." Atem said, reaching for her hand. There was a few minutes of silence and then he felt Hali's hand touch his.

"I love that idea." Hali murmured.

"I love you." Atem murmured.

"I love you, too." Hali said back. They were soon asleep.

The day of Luna and Joey's anniversary arrived. By the time Luna arrived at Atem and Hali's house, Joey was tending to the kids. "Hey, babe. I made dinner for us and the kids." Joey said.

"Sounds great." Luna said, picking up her twins. "How was your day?"

"Busy. Those two are handful by themselves." Joey said, nodding to the twins in her arms. "But with these two together, they're just you know what on earth. It's not fun."

"So what's for dinner?" Luna asked, ignoring his last comment. She followed him into the dining room. Joey put the food on the table and brought the kids in.

"Italian, of course." Joey grinned.

"When are we going to pass out gifts?" Luna asked.

"After dinner." Joey said. "I'll be back. Gotta serve Hali so we can eat without disruptions."

Luna waited patiently as he took a tray upstairs. When he returned, he looked tired. "Okay. Dinner's served."

"Has she had you running up and down the stairs?" Luna asked, taking a bite of food.

"Oh yeah. I don't know who's the bigger baby, her or Taylor." Joey said, sighing.

"Just enjoy your dinner." Luna laughed. "Then I'll drive you home."

Atem came home as Joey washed the dishes. "Hey, I'm home." he called as he headed into the kitchen.

"Luna's upstairs. What did you eat?" Joey asked.

"Mexican. Did you pass out gifts?" Atem asked.

"Not yet. The baby bellowed." Joey answered. When Atem looked confused, he clarified, "Your wife."

"Ah. She's that way when she's sick or injured. I got a call from the doctor today. She found fetal tissue that confirmed the gender." Atem swallowed back the overwhelming emotions. "It was a girl."

"Oh man. What are you going to do?" Joey asked, sympathetically.

"We're going to give her a name and memorialize her. I have to have the tough talk about names." Atem said.

"Go on up, I'll finish the dishes. Tell Luna I'm ready." Joey said.

Atem headed upstairs. Luna was adjusting the pillows around Hlai. "Luna, Joey's ready for you."

"Are you getting rid of me?" Luna asked, standing up and put her hands on her hips.

"Yes and no. I want to talk to her alone, and Joey really does want you." Atem said.

"I'll be back, Hali." Luna said, and left the room.

"What's up?" Hali asked.

Atem sat beside her. "The doctor called and said the baby was a girl."

Hali was silent for a moment. "Would you like to name her?" she asked softly.

"I named the last one, you do it." Atem protested.

There was another pause. "Megan Paige." she murmured.

"Perfect." Atem said, smiling sadly. "I'll get a plaque."

Downstairs, Luna was sitting in the living room, waiting for Joey to get done. Joey came out, drying his hands on a towel. "Ready?" he asked.

"I'll go first." Luna said. She took out a black box. "Here."

"Wow, charcoal pencils? These are expensive." Joey grinned. He got up and went to a spare room. He brought back a messenger bag. "This should help your business." he said.

Luna opened it. "You bought me a laptop?"

"There are programs to keep track of your clients, what orders need to be filled, and the progress on them. THis should make it a lot easier." Joey said, grinning more widely.

"Oh my God, thank you!" Luna said, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks for helping us." Atem said, heading downstairs. "You can go home now. I can handle the kids."

"The kids are bathed and dressed, they're just waiting for their daddy to tuck them in." Joey said, and led Luna out of the house.

Atem went upstairs and tucked the kids in, kissing them on the forehead. "I love you guys." he murmured, before heading back to his room.