Penny shoots up next to me as my chest constricts, trying to read the nurse’s face before she speaks.
“Is she awake?” I ask.
“Yes, she is awake.” She offers a tired smile, and Penny sighs deeply. “But right now, only family can come back.”
“We’re both family,” Penny replies hastily, already three steps ahead. She's ready to run down the hall, so I reach for her hand as the nurse motions us back through the door.
“Is she okay? What’s happening?” Penny starts talking a hundred miles a minute.
The nurse pauses outside the room, glancing down at her clipboard momentarily.
“Your sister’s blood sugar dropped dangerously low. It appears she passed out from a hypoglycemic episode, which can be very serious yet not uncommon in the second trimester. We administered a glucose shot, she is on an IV drip for hydration, and she needed a few stitches in her head.”
Penny nods, tears rolling down her face. She wipes them quickly. It takes everything in me not to wrap my arms around her.
The nurse looks at me. “They said you found her within minutes. She’s very lucky for that.”
Penny gazes up at me, eyes welling, and the nurse slides the clipboard into the pocket outside the door and pauses.
“She’ll need to monitor her sugar levels for the remainder of her pregnancy. And we’d like to keep her overnight for observation, to ensure the baby is okay before discharge.”
We both nod, Penny still speechless.
“Thank you. May we?” I ask, and the nurse leads us into the room.
“Your family is here,” she says more brightly to Fia as Penny rushes to her side.
“Oh my god, Fia, you scared the living hell out of me!” She throws her arms around her little sister, and Fia cracks a tired smile.
She’s leaning back in the bed in a blue gown, with a beeping monitor and an IV drip next to her. Her hair is messy, from the stitches, I’m guessing, but her eyes shine when she sees us.
“Hey, kid. Glad you’re okay.” I walk to her other side.
Penny’s hands are cradling her sister’s face. “You need to eat. I’m not leaving your side; you’re going to eat every ten minutes. You cannot scare me like this.” She kisses her head.
“I promise you, I will. I’m sorry for freaking everyone out,” Fia apologizes, and I shake my head, nudging her arm.
“Don’t apologize. We’re just glad you’re okay, Fi. I think you scared Tank more than anything.” I rest my hands in my pockets, shrugging.
Her head whips my way. “Oh my gosh, the poor baby, is he okay?”
“He will be once you’re home.” I smile at her, my chest tight.
Fia yawns, reaching for the water cup on her side table.
Penny won’t take her eyes off her sister, and I can’t take my eyes off Penny.
As I watch her stand here, selflessly giving everything she has to her sister, all I see is the Penny I fell in love with, the Penny she still is. The one who’s generous and kind, the one who holds everyone else up. The one who forces you to be the best version of yourself.
She doesn’t see it; how lucky we all are just to have her in our lives.
After ten minutes of fluffing Fia’s pillows and triple-checking all the papers the doctor left, Penny glances at me, then back at her sister, whose eyes are barely staying open.
“We should probably let you rest, huh?” Penny asks.
“Yeah, I’m exhausted.” Fia rouses, flashing a tiny smirk. “Just don’t forget to pick me up tomorrow.”
“I’ll be back first thing. You sure you don’t want me to sleep here? I can drop Jesse off and be back in thirty minutes. I just—”
