Ophelia

"I can't believe I am doing this." Ophelia said to Orlando as she looked out the window at the palm trees lining the streets. Orlando picked up her hand and squeezed it, trying to reassure her. He had asked her to come with him, back to L.A. and she had agreed. He was expecting a fight from her but she had agreed immediately. He offered to help her get a job at one of the studios but she told him she wanted to try on her own first. So she called her boss and told him she wouldn't be coming back. Called her parents, who freaked out and advised her to wait a while before jumping into anything serious. But they knew once Ophelia had made her mind up, that was it. Telling Jan was the hardest. They had been best friends for years and now they would be thousands of miles apart. Orlando had promised that he would fly her family and Jan down for visits and that made Ophelia feel better. She packed up the stuff she needed and arranged to have Jan ship the rest to her in L.A. And there she was, starting a new life with Lando in a new country.

"It will be great trust me." Orlando said taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.

And things did go well. She got a job at a salon in Beverly Hills and settled into a routine with Orlando. He usually woke up earlier than her to go to the set and she usually got home before he did, so she would make sure she cooked a nice meal for him. She learned all his favorites and enjoyed pampering him. And he in turn pampered her back. He was always massaging her back or her feet, which hurt from standing all day. They didn't go out and do the Hollywood thing very often. Only when he had to go to premieres for his friends or awards shows. Ophelia always felt uncomfortable when reporters asked her questions or took her picture, so when they went to those things, she let them take a picture of them both and then she went inside while he talked with the reporters. They spent most of their free time hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking and he taught her how to surf, she was a quick learner.


They were really happy, although they had their fights, as any couple would. Afterall she was a head strong, stubborn, know-it-all and she was able to wind him up as no other had ever been able to. He never put the cap on the toothpaste and he left wet towels on the floor. She turned the airconditioning up too high at night, he thought he would get frost bite. She still insisted on eating meat and even though she made vegetarian meals for him, it secretly pissed him off that she would be eating a steak or a hamburger in front of him. Their spats were over pretty quickly and the make up sex would be mind blowing.

"Who would have though Elijah would get married? I really thought he would cancel it." Ophelia said as the got out of the car and began walking towards the church. Orlando laughed,

"He's still got time, but I think he is going through with it."

"She'e really great." Ophelia said holding his hand.

"She is. I never would have thought that he would end up with a kindergarten teacher." He said, pulling her close and putting his arm around her shoulder. The wedding was very intimate and traditional, Ophelia cried and Orlando had a tear in his eye too. After the minister pronounced them man and wife, Ophelia leaned into Orlando and said,

"I really need to tell you something."

"What is it?" He asked.

"Not here. Later after the reception. So don't drink too much." She told him placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Ok. Are we alright?" He asked worried.

"We're great. Don't worry it's not bad." She said rubbing his thigh.


At the reception they sat at a huge table with several guys from the Lord of the Rings, it was like a family reunion they guys retelling stories, joking and laughing.

Near the end of the night they were dancing close. Her head was on his shoulder and he held her tightly.

"What did you want to tell me?" He asked.

"Well, its good news. At least I think it is." She began to tell him when someone bumped into them distracting them. Orlando was apologizing to the other couple when he noticed Ophelia holding her head.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, taking her shoulders into his hands.

"Yeah its just a headache." She said. She looked up at him and smiled he smiled back and then she collapsed. He tried to catch her but he was too slow, she fell on the ground. The crowd gasped and began to ask if she was okay.

"Ophelia?" He cried, he gave her a light shake but she wouldn't talk to him, she wouldn't wake up. "Ophelia!" He shouted it this time. Elijah and a man tried to take her from him to help her but Orlando was frantic.

"Don't touch her." He said.

"Orli, we have to see if she's okay. We may need to do CPR." Elijah told him, trying to check her pulse. Orlando nodded and moved to the side, still holding her hand.

"She's not breathing." The man said and then he tilted her head back and blew air into her lungs, Elijah began to preform chest compressions between the breaths. An ambulance arrived and they took over, while loading her up onto the gurney. The paramedics were asking Orlando medical questions. All he could answer was

"I don't know."


They let him ride in the ambulance and he sat and held her hand while they put an intabation tube down her throat and tried to keep her alive.

"Please Ophelia, don't leave me." He whispered against her forehead, tears running down his cheeks. When they got to the hospital, they made him talk to the admissions nurse, while they took Ophelia into the emergency room. He gave them her parents phone number, telling them that they would know all the answers. And he waited on a chair by himself for the doctors to come and tell him Ophelia would be alright. Around midnight, Elijah and his new wife, Jenna showed up. They hugged him and sat with him to wait.

"You shouldn't be here. You should be going on your Honeymoon." Orlando told them.

"We're here for you Orli, we aren't going anywhere." Elijah answered.

"She's going to be alright. Isn't she?" He asked them breaking down into fresh tears. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Jenna looked at it and began to cry, knowing what it was.

"I was going to ask her tonight, when we got home. I wanted her to be mine forever." Orlando said holding the box tightly in his fist. Elijah didn't know what to say, so he put his arm around Orlando and held him while he cried.

"Mr. Bloom?" The doctor said approaching them.

"Yes. How is she?" Orlando said standing up.

"She had an aneurysm in her right frontal lobe. I'm sorry, she's brain dead." Orlando shook his head in disbelief.

"No." He said.

"I'm sorry, but there is something..."

"NO! She is not dead. She'll wake up. It happens sometimes doesn't it?" He asked desperately.

"She's not in a coma. She has no brain activity, if we were to take her off life support she would die. She is brain dead." The doctor told him.

"So what now? You think you are going to pull the plug? I don't fucking think so." Orlando said.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bloom, its not actually up to you. Her father is listed as her next of kin. He will make all medical decisions. He has decided to keep her alive using a respirator and feeding tube for now."

"For now?? What the hell does that mean?" Orlando shouted.

"Mr. Bloom, please. I know this is difficult but we do have other patients, please lower your voice. Her father has decided to keep her alive as long as it is neccessary for the baby to develop." Orlando felt his legs give out and Elijah catch him.

"Baby?" Orlando whispered.

"Yes. We ran standard tests and we discovered Ms. Brooks is about 18 weeks pregnant. We did an ultrasound. The baby appears to be healthy and developing normally. I assume you are the father."

Orlando nodded. "She was going to tell me something tonight, she said it was good news. We made a baby." He began to cry again. Ophelia was gone but she left him a gift. A peice of her. "Can I see her?" The doctor nodded and led him to her room.

"We'll keep her her for the duration, when the pediatricain thinks its safe we will preform a ceasarian section on Ophelia and then we will take any viable organs. She is a registered organ donor." He opened the door and let Orlando in. Ophelia lay in a white hospital gown, her long brown hair was still shiney and he could see traces of her makeup from the wedding. He walked over and took her hand. Her eyes were closed, the breathing tube blocked most of her face. He would never see her blue eyes or hear her sweet voice again. He sat on the edge of the bed.

"Ophelia. I love you. I wanted to marry you. Why did this have to happen? And the baby. We are going to have a baby. That is great news Ophelia, please come back. I can't do it alone. I need you." He laid his head on her shoulder and cried, huge gut racking sobs. When he couldn't cry anymore he stood up.

"Ophelia, I won't leave you. I will be here until the end. Don't be afraid." He leaned over and kissed her and then for the first time he looked at her stomach. It wasn't as flat as it had been, there was a little bump. That bump was his child. He put his hand on her stomach and rubbed the bump.

"Hey there. I'm your Dad." He left then with a fresh set of tears flowing down his cheeks.

So Ophelia was kept alive by feeding tubes and respirators. The doctors made sure the food she received would be benificial to the baby. Her parents came to L.A. to sign some papers and make arrangements for her organs to be donated when it was time and to have her body returned to Toronto to the family plot. They would come to L.A. on the day of the baby's birth and spend some time with Orlando and the baby, before they all went back to Toronto for the funeral. Then Orlando would spend time there with them. His own mum and sister had flown out to L.A. to be with him. To take care of him.


The press had heard the story and he couldn't leave his house or the hospital with out them harrassing him. The only bright spot for him was The Bump as he had begun to call it. They let him listen to the heartbeat and he even saw it on the ultrasound machine. He smiled widely, The Bump had fingers and toes that he could see clearly. At first he had felt awkward visiting with Ophelia and The Bump, when he finally accepted she was gone, it hurt him more to go to the hospital and see her. Her empty shell that would never spark with life again. He took CDs for The Bump to listen to and he read books to The Bump as well. He wanted his child to know him the minute it was born. It would be motherless but Orlando was determined the child would bond with him. All his films were delayed or he dropped out of them. He cancelled all promotions for the films he had coming out. People whispered that he was killing his career but he didn't give a shit. He had read that the baby could hear its mother's voice and the sounds outside the womb. He refused to let his baby only know the sound of the respirator.


It was decided that the baby would be healthy enough to be delivered at 39 weeks, 3 weeks premature. On that day, Orlando, Ophelia's parents and his mum and sister went to the hospital. They gave Orlando a few last moments with Ophelia before the began to prepare her for surgery.

"Well, its time. Soon The Bump will be here and you won't be. I still love you. And I will never stop loving you. And I get great comfort knowing that you will live on. Through our child and through the people you are giving a second chance to. I'm surprised your heart is any good at all with all that red meat you ate. I'll try to do good by you and by the Bump. Good bye Ophelia. I love you." He leaned over and kissed her face for the last time. Knowing the next time he saw her she would be cold and dead.

He wasn't allowed in the room for the birth, but they let him stand right outside the door so he heard the first cry of his child and he heard the docotrs and nurses talking

"Its a girl." He turned to him Mum and hugged her.

"Its a girl." He hoped she had Ophelia's blue eyes and brown hair. A few moments later a nurse brought the baby out and handed her to Orlando. He looked down at his daughter. She was awake and quite attentive.

"The first hour or two they are very alert, this is a good time for you to spend with her, letting her get to know your voice and smell." the nurse said to him. She led them to a small room with a plastic bassinette for the baby.

"What about Ophelia?" He asked.

"The specialists are taking the organs now. Once they are done, she will be gone. She can't live without a heart or lungs." Ophelia's parents began to cry and hugged each other. Orlando handed the baby to them.

"She's still alive. She will always be here we just have to look at her daughter." Orlando said as they held the baby close. Ophelia's mother cried softly.

"I remember the day she was born so clearly, she came out screaming bloody murder. She cried for an hour straight until her daddy picked her up. She stopped crying right away and just looked up at him with adoration in her eyes." Ophelia's dad wept openly and kissed his wife's cheek.

"She was a wild one, headstrong and stubborn but she had a good heart." Her dad said.

"She was the most amazing woman I have ever met." Orlando said taking his daughter back and kissing her soft cheek. "I guess I can't call her The Bump anymore."


The funeral was almost too painful for Orlando to bear. He tried to stay strong, but he broke down and cried during his eulogy to Ophelia.

"What can I say about a woman who was never afraid to take on an adventure? She was smart, witty, wild and crazy. With the sweetest smile I have ever seen. I would do anything to see that smile one last time. And it tells you something about her nature, the last thing she ever did with me was smile. And now she is gone. But not before she gave eight people a new chance at life, with her generous gift of organ donation. And not before she gave me the only ray of light I have right now. My daughter. I will never hear Ophelia talk in her sleep again, or hear her tell me to piss off. But I will see her smile again, on the face of my child and I will hold her again when we meet up again. She has started a new adventure and I know that she is not afraid."