At St.Angelo hospital...
Cherry was immediately rushed to the ER for an urgent operation to stop the afterbirth bleeding which suddenly happened in the ambulance without any warning. Rex wasn't allowed into the ER and didn't fight his way inside. He let them take care of her knowing she in safe hands, and waited tensely in the hallway.
Soon after he got a tip that Maria and the babies were in the hospital and being attended to. Rex waited hours for any news, even when the doctors passed in front of him, he tried asking what was happening behind the doors bu they only gave him more unanswered questions and worries.
When it looks like his patience was running out and he threatens to force his way inside, Jerry comes out finally to deliver the news without a but or suspense in his words.
"SO?..." Rex asked desperately.
"The surgery was successful and she is stable." Jerry announced to him and Rex instantly let out a relieved breath and sang praises under his breath. "But..." Jerry continued and got a terrifying glare from Rex.
"Don't even think about ruining the moment, you said the surgery was successful." Rex points out.
"Yes, I did. I didn't say all was normal. Cherry is in a coma." Jerry quickly add.
"What! How?"
"It's hard to explain sir, when you are always-" Jerry got caught off guard when Rex grabs him by the collar and shoves hin to the wall beside them. "Tense... easily?" He spoke sounding uncomfortable with Rex's hold on him.
"Dare my patience once more and I will kill you." Rex promised him.
"I'm not trying to rile you up sir-"
"Rex!" Maria scolds her friend. "Put Jerry down... now!"
Rex didn't let his eyes away from Jerry but puts him back on the floor and shoves him back before stepping away.
"Damn..." Jerry mutters and adjusts his lab coat.
"Are you alright?" Maria asks Jerry.
"Yeah, thanks for showing up." Jerry tells her.
"It's no problem. How is she?"
"She is stable but she is in a coma."
"For how long?"
"We don't know exactly, you know her body and mind has been through a lot of trauma, maybe that's what's keeping her from waking." Jerry adds.
"Her body might be trying to defend itself from more harm?" She concludes.
"We thought that..."
"Thanks a lot Jerry and I apologize... for his action."
"It's alright." He smiles.
"We'll talk later then."
"Yeah, take care." Jerry leaves the two to talk and Maria comes in front of her friend and hugs him. Surprisingly, he returns the hug desperately needing some comfort.
"It's okay Rex, Cherry will be fine, we all have to keep praying for her to recover." Maria consoles him.
"I really hope so Mia. I can't do this alone." He mutters unevenly on her shoulder. Maria can feel the trembling of his fingers and his heaving breathing indicating he was near to tears.
"You won't, just know I am always here for you as your baby sister... Cherry will be fine, just know it." She assures him.
"Thank you, thank you so much Mia..."
"Anytime brother, and your girls are fine. I think you need to pay them a visit."
"Yeah, I'm sure they need their father now." He says and leaves Mia's comforting hug.
They both walked to the private nursery where the babies were being watched after.
"Thank you nurse Rosa and nurse Yale, Rex and I will take it from here."Maria politely inform the nurses and they leave.
"Wow... they are so... tiny." Rex compliments as he neared the cribs.
"That's how babies are born weirdo, but soon, with time and years to come, they will become grown women." Maria spoke proudly.
"This feels too real. I didn't ever imagine I would become a father one day, it's happening too fast." Rex spoke anxiously.
"Do you regret their existence?" Maria asked feeling upset.
"NO! They are my flesh and blood, I loved them even before they came into this world and I will forever love them. They are my children!. It's just-" His voice lowered and he goes to sit on a chair by the door. "It's just that I didn't want to be a parent because I thought I would be cruel and and bad father to them."
Maria shakes her head slowly and joins him on another chair.
"You are a changed man remember that, you proved it when Cherry was with you and even after. You are going to be a great dad and your girls will love you, always." Maria assures him and he looks at her eyes.
"The truth is that... I'm scared..."
"New parents are often scared raising a child but they get a hang of it. There is no course on parenting, you learn on the job. So, man up and do what you can to learn about it." She tap him on the shoulder and stood up.
"Maybe..." He mutters and then the babes call for their attention with their cries.
"I guess lesson one has just began. Go on... go see what she wants." Maria jerks her head to the crib and Rex took a nervous sigh before getting up.
~~~
The chase...
Susanna was not expecting an after party during the epic rescue of Rex and Cherry. While she waited and watched for Rex to surface from the whole disaster her hiding spot was discovered and compromised. Well, it wasn't really a hiding spot after managing to sneak out of the property unseen but Susanna forgot to hide well behind the trees outside the mansion, and she was some feet from everyone. Her deep concern for the billionaire allowed her guards down and now she is on the run when they started tailing her.
"Calling all unit! I repeat calling all units! We have a prime suspect on the run. I need all exits in and out of the state blocked and take note... the ID of the suspect is currently unknown and could be armed!." A deputy alerts his men and nearby police departments through a radio. Immediately they acted on he order and closed major roads, blocking any chance for Susanna escaping.
Susanna saw a road block leading to her hideout and took a different route hoping to find an exit but she noticed something in the air and checked to see a chopper tailing her every move. Susanna refused to give up and kept driving around until she could not handle the chase, she then dashed into glass shops and market to make a short cut, making every person dive away to safety and screaming for their lives.
The chaos and destruction she caused were a bonus to her crimes but she care nothing about it until she is able to evade the cops in the end.
Susanna made it to an off road blocked by some signs and cones but as she drove into the abandoned path carelessly unknown to her that there were many police cars and special forces waiting patiently for her arrival, cornering her.
"Shit face!" She swore and swerves her car around calculating how to drive through the block around her.
"You have been completely surrounded! Give up now and surrender!" A cop tells Susie using a radio.
"Surrender? Not in my grave." Susanna tells herself and steps on the pedal to rampage through the cop cars. Everyone at that position quickly dodge the hit but the others nearby shot rapidly at the car to disable it which didn't stop Susanna until someone from the special force took a clean shot at the car, the bullet hitting Susanna on the left arm.
"Damn it!"
Without her other hand to control the vehicle Susanna's car crash on a nearby tree, and she quickly comes out to make an escape. Holding her injured arm, she tries to run to a nearby plank house beside a pond but she got cornered easily.
"Give up! You are outnumbered." One of the police tells her.
"You pigs will have to take me down because I am not surrendering so easily." Susanna snarls at them
"This is your last chance Susanna, don't let this end badly for you."
"Then-"
She was knocked out quickly by someone who had snuck up behind her when she was distracted.
"Nice job Jobs."
"Anytime, and likewise she was talking too much." Jobs replies with a shrug.
"Alright! Everybody, let's get this scene cleaned up!"
Everyone got into work and two men cuff Susanna's hands and lift her body into a van heading to the police station.
~~~~~.
A few hours after...
Rex was in the nursery when he received a call from a nurse informing him about some guest wanting to meet him.
"Who did they say they are?" Rex asked.
"Your parents sir." Nurse Rosa replies.
Rex had a deep frown on his face, he was more than furious they will show their faces after all that have happened. Since when did they become family? When he almost everything?.
"Tell them to leave." He tells Nurse Rosa.
"But sir- they are your-"
"I said get them out of here or I will get you all out!" He snaps loudly scaring the babies a little.
"Rex- careful, you are scaring the babies." Maria warns him and tries comforting the girls back to sleep.
"I'm sorry girls..." He goes to meet his daughters in their temporary cribs, caressing their hair and face gently. He then sighs and tells Nurse Rosa with a controlled tone. "Tell them I am not available."
Nurse Rosa waits by the entrance unsure whether to leave or not but Maria concludes the conversation to ease the tension.
"Tell them Rex will be there in a minute." Maria tells the nurse.
"What?! no- tell them I'm not seeing anyone!." Rex lifts himself away from the crib and disagreed with Maria's decision.
"Nurse Rosa. Tell them to wait, go now." She tells the nurse before Rex scares the remaining life out of her.
Rex was stunned and very annoyed with his friend for what she has done, after nurse Rosa left the nursery he confronts Maria.
"Why did you tell them to wait?"
"I know you don't fancy their presence but it is not enough to treat them like strangers, they are still family you know..." Maria tries to make him understand.
"I don't think blood is needed to be called family. You are my family." He insists.
"Rex, let go of your anger and hate towards them and reconcile with them."
"I don't need to reconcile with them so they can finish what was already started."
"Rex, you should not come to conclusion, don't let yourself make a terrible mistake-"
"This is my decision Mia, and I want you to respect that."
"Alright, if that's what you want, but imagine what your daughters will think when they realize their father didn't want their grandparents around them." She shrugs.
"With time they will learn to live with it." He says stubbornly.
"And if they don't? if they grow to dislike your character and do the same you are doing to them, to you? They prevent you from seeing their kids, and calling you all sort of names?" She asked.
Rex was quiet and looks away from her. He stares at his beautiful daughters while thinking through what Maria told him.
"Just this once, and if they screw it, I'm never going to accept them in my life." He answers Maria.
"Honestly, I don't know what to say but I am glad you are giving them another chance." Maria comes to comfort him with a friendly patting.
"They better not make me regret it." He mumbles and adjusts the shawl on baby one body.
Maria called the nurses back so they can look after the children while they went to see Marcelo, Kayla and Hannah in Jerry's office.
Rex was reluctant to open the door when they got there but Maria beat him to it and shoves him lightly inside before he changes his mind and leave.
"Rex!" Marcelo exclaims with a genuine smile.
"Urm- hi?" Kayla say but she could not raise her head to look him in the eyes.
"I hope this visit better be good news." Rex tells them and sits on a chair reserved for him.