I looked at Rose in the bassinet thing and then I looked at the guys. I knew we should have followed Jane the moment she left, but it just didn’t feel right to leave my sister right after she gave birth to my niece.

“Kelsey,” I said again.

“Nope, go.  Jane needs you. She didn’t look as sad, but I know this is killing her. Go give her some love, tell her she’s a badass woman and give her hope for a better future.”

We all looked at each other, each of us indecisive. We all knew how much this must be killing her, and we didn’t know if this might trigger her into another episode. If it did, maybe we could stop it and help her before it got too bad.

“Go! Don’t wait too long. She might have already left,” Kelsey continued to dig into her food.

We didn’t waste any more time, leaving the room in a hurry, trying to make it out to the employee parking before she left. Aiden opened the door to exit the hospital, and I spotted Jane sitting on a bench with her head in her hands. We walked up slowly, hoping we wouldn’t spook her.

“Jane,” I whispered.

Her head snapped up, looking at us with enormous eyes. “What are you guys doing here?” her voice cracked, and a dejected expression took over her face.

“We knew these past few hours were hard for you, so we wanted to make sure you were ok.” Aiden kneeled in front of her.

“I think so,” she murmured, looking around. “It’s just….”

“Let’s take you home,” I said, taking her bags and giving them to Aiden and Nate.

I picked her up bridal-style. She didn’t protest and leaned into me as we walked to her car. I saw keys jiggle next to me and Jane grabbed them from Nathan. I put her in the passenger seat and I got into the driver's seat, starting the car and getting ready to take her home.

“I don’t want to go home,” Jane said, looking out the window.

“How about our place?” I asked.

“Please,” she whispered.

“Ok, we’ve got you.” I put a hand on her thigh and she leaned into my arm holding on to it. She sniffed a few times, and I realized she was crying. I clenched my jaw in anger, wishing she didn’t have to go through this. I wondered why some people experience tragedy like this and some people just skirt by life with no problems?

7. Jane

SEVEN

Jane