CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CALM BEFORE THE STORM
( episode five: midsummers )

✲*'。

As Arden blearily began to make out the sound of her friend's voices, Sarah's hand tightened in her right one. The grip was painful, but it help to ground her. She was alive, she was in a lot of fucking pain but she was alive.

"Sarah, what happened?" Pope cried as he made direct eye contact with her.

"I don't know what to do," Sarah stammered, her words barely legible through her sobs. "They need help. Topper shoved them."

"Where the hell is he?" JJ growled, staring through the darkness ready to swing at the first moving body he found.

"Does that matter right now?" Haven snapped as she  dropped down on her knees next to Sarah, hushing the girl as she took her unbroken hand from the wailing Sarah. "Hey, Ard, you with me?"

"It hurts," Arden sniffled as Haven pulled her close. "Have, it hurts." She whined, burying her head into Haven's chest.

"I know," Haven sighed. "But we're going to get you help, okay? Just, you and jellybean hold on for us."

Jellybean. Oh god, had her reckless actions cost Arden the life of her daughter? Arden could only focus on trying to manoeuvre her broken hand onto her bump, to feel something, to feel anything. Her baby girl had to be alive.

"I'm on it," Pope declared, forcing Arden's mind back to the present. Pope was going to find help. Arden needed to hang in there.

For her daughter and for JJ.

As she felt her body being moved gently, Arden whimpered in pain, every bone in her body aching from the movement. 

She blearily forced her eyes as a familiar set of arms protectively wrapped themselves around her waist. Arden knew these arms. These arms had always felt like home.

"JJ," she whimpered into his neck. "I'm—"

"Hey, that doesn't matter right now," he murmured, his hand replacing hers on her stomach as she clutched hers to her chest instead. Blue eyes focusing in on hers. Arden could blearily make out the barely hidden panic as he tried to keep her attention on him.

"Just stay with me, yeah?"

Oh god she really fucking wanted to. But Arden knew she was already beginning to lose consciousness, the pain too much to bear. Her eyes felt heavy.

It wouldn't hurt to sleep for a little while would it? "Arden, come on, baby." 

But it wasn't enough. A few moments later Arden willingly let the darkness greet her.

God she was fucking tired.

✲*'。

The moment Arden attempted to open her eyes, all she felt was an overwhelming blindness as she tried to adjust to the white fluorescent lights above her.

Arden could hear the surprised gasp of someone she couldn't quiet identity. As she tried to focus on her surroundings, Arden could lightly feel a hand lying possessively on her stomach, another tightly holding the hand she could feel.

She blearily opened her eyes to see Kiara standing above her, offering Arden a glass of water, one she gratefully sipped at. Once she had quenched her throat, Arden cocked her head to the side, watching as Haven tightened her grip in her hand.

"J—jelly bean?" Arden asked, moving her casted hand to her stomach.

"She is perfectly fine," Kie began, a reassuring smile on her face.

"Didn't stop kicking for a long time." Haven continued while Arden allowed her primary concern to melt away for the moment.

"What ...?"

"You fell from the Hawks Nest, fracturing your left wrist. It was a clean one no d—" Arden attempted to shot up, barely registering the fact that JJ was indeed in the room with her, his eyes determinedly focusing on the bump.

"I fell from where?" She questioned pleadingly, her mind racing dangerously.

"It was fine!" Kiara cried, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You just fractured your left wrist Ard. You and jelly bean are fine."

Arden warily glanced at Kiara who shot her friend an unconvincing smile. She glanced at Haven who smiled calmly.

"No more big bursts of information you want to share?" Arden huffed, settling against the pillows again. Arden missed the mischievous grin playing on Kiara's lips as she straightened her face out into a worried look.

"Well...."

"What?" Arden hissed, soil brown eyes watching Kiara warily.

"The OBYGN did mention something about twins?"

Arden shot up again, crying out a startled what, even JJ reacting to the news, horror being the primary emotion on his face. Arden's shock dissolved into anger as Kiara broke down into body shaking laughter, hitting her friends shoulder playfully.

"That wasn't funny," Arden hissed, something JJ mutually agreed on, his eyes firmly on the little sonogram photo he cradled close to his hands.

"The OBGYN did another sonogram as a precaution and little jellybean did perfectly. Look, she even waved to her daddy and aunties while you fast asleep!" Haven crooned, showing the little photo to Arden.

Arden stared at it entranced, a warm smile overtaking her features as she took the photo of her unborn daughter.

"Look at you huh," Arden cooed settling into the bed again, leaning her head against Kiara's hip. "All big and grown, and even starting to hear everything around us!"

Haven and Kiara shared a look as JJ finally glanced up to look at Arden since she woke up. Instead of looking at him, Arden's focus was solely on her baby, as she affectionately listed all the develops for the seventeenth week of gestation, JJ focusing on her words, committing every word to memory. He had missed enough of his daughters development and didn't intend on missing another second, despite the current tensions with the mother of his child.

Arden never noticed when everyone began to clear out when the doctors appeared, barely paying any attention to them.

Her and jelly bean would be fine, that's all that mattered.....

✲*'。

Arden tiredly blinked her eyes open, the pain killers thankfully numbing the burning she had felt into her hand earlier that night. She felt groggy and just wanted to sleep a little more. She was due to leave early in the morning after the doctors completed one more quick assessment and then she'd be finally fucking out of here. Arden hated hospitals with a burning memory. The fluorescent lights reminded her of the nights where she would refuse to leave her fathers side after a particularly bad bout of chemotherapy.

The sooner she got out of here the better.

Arden sighed, attempting to roll over onto her side. However when she tried to move her body over, she felt her lower body pinned down by a heavy weight. As she tried to wriggle around, Arden used her good arm to puff the pillows up so she get a clearer view.

Beside her, Arden caught sight of Kiara fast asleep, her head leaning against the armrest of the chair in an awkward position. She cast her eyes down to her lower body and felt her eyes widening in surprise as JJ's head rested in her lap. One hand was tightly gripping her knee and the other resting on her belly. She smiled softly at the boy, gently leaning forward to lightly card her fingers through his blonde hair.

The boy only stirred before burying his head closer into her thighs, exhaling softly. Arden breathed out a little sigh of relief when he didn't wake up. She was too drained to even try and make up with him right now. Arden knew that she and JJ needed to talk about what happened sooner than later; She just wanted it to be later. Could you blame her?

Arden had just laid back onto the pillows and was about to fall back asleep when she heard a rather loud knock on the door, startling both JJ and Kie awake. Sarah popped her head in awkwardly, holding up a small bag of Arden's clothing that she had dropped off the other day at Tannyhill.

Kiara immediately jumped up, prompting Arden to deftly reach over to stop her friend from ripping a new one into Sarah. Now was definitely not the time. Arden winced as she saw JJ moving away to lean against the wall, watching the approaching Sarah with a dark glare as she easily placed her hand onto Arden's bump.

"Little bean okay?" She asked, brown hues meeting Arden panicked.

Arden sat up, a beaming smile on her face. She used her good hand to guide Sarah over to where jellybean had been kicking only a few moments ago. "She is perfectly fine."

At her select choice of words, Sarah's face lit up in a delighted smile. She moved to sit beside Arden on the bed, gently placing her hand on the swollen bump, smirking at Arden in delight. "I was so right!"

"You kept changing your mind from those god damn old midwifes tales," Arden pointed out, leaning her head against Sarah's chest in response.

"My initial guess was a girl though! All I need now is her name so I can you that necklace we talked about."

"You're not getting me a necklace with her initials to match yours."

Sarah huffed, looking down at Arden with a pout. "But Ardie, you won't let me get anything else for my niece!"

At Sarah's select choice of words, JJ abruptly walked out, startling the girls. Arden glanced up at Kie in worry, knowing if she went anywhere near JJ right now another repeat of their argument would occur.

"We'll check on John B. I'll see you later okay?" Kiara spoke in a gentle voice before she took off after him.

"Let me guess, they all found out?"

Arden sighed, only nodding as Sarah tightened her grip around on her. "At least it's all out in the open now right?"

All she could do was slowly nod in response. Sarah did make a good point—— it was all out in the open now; well the majority of the truth.

"It is all out in the open now," Arden stated, focusing a blank stare onto the wall. All of it was out in the open. JJ believed Arden had kept their daughter from him because of his upbringing. He thought that Arden didn't believe he could be a good parent. To be honest, Arden didn't even know what sort of parent JJ could be. She didn't even know what sort of parent she would be to her daughter. Before now Arden didn't even attempt to imagine what sort of father JJ could be. The thought had made her feel sick before.

Now Arden felt hopeful. She felt hopeful that her daughter would get her real father. Growing up, Arden had no shame in admitting her father was her favourite parent. Seojun Kim had done his best to be the best possible parent he could. He was flawed that was true, but compared to her own mother, her father had been the perfect parent.

"Remember," Sarah suddenly piped up, a serious glean in her eyes as Arden glanced up at her. "Say the word and we can both be on the first flight to Europe."

In response, Arden shot Sarah a weak but small smile. The offer was beginning to sound very temping if she was honest. However she couldn't just up and leave now. Not when the gold was so close.

Not when Arden finally had a chance to get JJ back for their daughter.

"Right now I'm going to have that offer on hold," Arden declared as she stared at Sarah with narrowed eyes. "You want to tell me how you ended up with John B as a boyfriend?" She asked, earning Arden a beaming smile in response.

"Well it's actually a long story so..."

"We've got all the time in the world bubs."

✲*'。