Sam and Martin always felt like they should be with eachother since when they first laid eyes on eachother and when they finally got together, the last thing they wanted to do was make a shambles of their relationship. They had a long discussion about everything and how they would take everything one step at a time, after a few months Sam moved in to Martin's apartment. Everything was going well, they had the occasional disagreement but nothing to cause concern. When they hit their 6 month anniversary, Sam had some news for Martin. She was pregnant, it wasn't planned infact she thought she would have driven Martin away by the time they were ready for anything like this. It was far too soon and although Sam knew she couldn't hold it from Martin she was reluctant to tell him, she thought she knew him pretty well but she couldn't imagine what his reaction would be to this. Of course, Martin being Martin (the perfect male) he was thrilled yet keen to hear Sam's thoughts and know her feelings. She was so glad she was still with him or she wouldnt have made it through this pregnancy. She felt uncomfortable having all the attention on her and being seen as more vulnerable. She didn't feel like the maternal type until she saw her baby on the ultrasound screen, since then she has been amazed that her body was growing a real person with thoughts and feelings, but that also scared her. That person had needs and opinions and she just wanted to know exactly how to do everything perfectly and most importantly she wanted to love this baby more than anything.
Now she was approaching her final fortnight of pregnancy and everything was fine. Apart from the odd dizzy spell Sam had had no more problems. Her and Martin had completed the baby's room and with help of friends had managed to get everything they would need. Sam started scrubbing another plate and was staring out of the window in front of her as she did the dishes, Martin got up from watching tv noting she had been gone a while. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist making her jump and drop the plate in the sink.
"Martin!" She exclaimed putting her hand over her heart.
"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." He apologised kissing her neck.
"I'll let you off this time." She smiled, turning around in his embrace and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Not long now, huh?" Sam nodded against him, she knew he was excited about being a Dad, she was too but the thought of labour and its complications scared the hell out of her. "Hey, at least we don't have to worry about our baby being ugly, huh?" She laughed.
"With a Daddy as handsome as you, I guess we don't." She said putting her hands on his chest and looking up at his face.
"Yea just a shame about his Mommy!" Martin joked and proceeded to run away before Sam registered his comment. She went to go after him when a blinding pain in her head stopped her in her tracks, and her vision went blurry. She put her head in one hand and used the other to prop herself up against the kitchen counter.
Martin poked his head back into the kitchen, expecting Sam to come launching at him. The smile fell off his face when he saw her.
"Sam? Whats wrong?" He asked running over to her, taking her arms as she slumped to the floor.
"Just..need to stay here…for a second." She replied slowly with her eyes shoot, trying to squeeze the pain out of her head. She had been feeling a little sick all day but she assumed it would pass. When her headache faded slightly, she opened her eyes and looked at Martin, who was sat in front of her. The terrified look on his face just made her want to cry.
"I think I should go to the hospital." She whispered putting her hands in his so he could help her up.
"Why whats wrong?" He asked, his eyes wide.
"I just think we should get checked out." She swallowed, "I've been feeling nauseous all day." She forced a smile trying to reasure him.
--
Martin and Sam made their way up to OB, where they had been directed by a receptionist. By now Sam was looking pale and walking very slowly.
"Are you ok, want me to get a wheelchair or something?" He asked for the hundreth time. She ignored him, if she spoke she would snap at him and it wasn't his fault, he was worried about her. They approached some double doors and after sitting Sam down Martin made his way to a receptionist there. Sam didn't hear what Martin said but she looked worried and paged a doctor promptly. Martin made his way back to her side.
"You want some water or anything?" He asked, she shook her head but took his hand squeezing it and leaning against him. The headache was still there, just not as painful as before but to Sam it didn't feel like a normal headache.
"Miss Spade?" A doctor called from the front of the reception area, Martin stood up and helped Sam before making their way to the exam room.
After explaining her symptoms the doctor nodded, Sam looked up at Martin from the bed she was lay on, he saw the worry in her eyes and put his hand on her head, stroking her hair.
"Im just going to check your B.P." The doctor put the cuff around Sam's arm, as he released the air he raised his eye brows. Sam looked at Martin then back at the doctor, waiting for him to say something.
"Yes your blood pressure is higher than acceptable. Im going to need a urine sample, there is a bathroom at the back of the room," He said handing her a plastic container, "I will be back in a moment." He said leaving the room, Sam stepped off the bed.
"I knew this would happen Martin, I knew something bad would happen." Sam cried, she made her way towards the bathroom.
"Everything will be fine." Martin said the words he knew he wanted to hear, but the truth was he didn't know what was going to happen.
After 5 minutes Sam came back, with the sample in her hand and placed on the table by the side of the bed, a nurse came to collect it leaving Sam and Martin alone again.
He climbed next to her on the bed putting his arm around her, kissing her temple. She turned to him and kissed him on the lips for comfort.
After a further 15 minutes, the doctor returned with a handfull of forms and charts. "Ok Samantha, it appears you have developed preeclampsia," She raised her hand to her head in worry. "But I assure you, we have the best Obstetrics doctors and nurses here and you will receive the best care to limit the affect this will have on you and your baby. From your notes I can see you had a scare earlier in the pregnancy?" They both nodded. "Im going to need you to sign this, its an admittance form, Im afraid you will be staying until the end of your pregnancy so we can monitor you and the baby." He handed her the form and as she reached for the pen Martin noticed her hand was shaking.
"Its gonna be ok." He whispered in her ear.
"Basically by signing those forms you are agreeing that if we see fit to induce labour for the sake of you or your child's health we can go ahead and do it. In some cases, if mother or baby are seen as unable to go through labour you may be given a c-section, but if it comes to that we will need consent there and then."
Sam spoke for the first time since she heard the dreaded news. "Whats the chances of that happening? Me needing a c-section."
"At this stage, its impossible to say. With close monitoring of both you and the baby, we should know by.." He paused to look at his watch, "Roughly 5pm, that gives us a few hours to monitor everything." The doctor gave a reasuring smile. "Look at it this way, you could have your baby by tonight." He smiled before excusing himself from the room.