Ryan Family Snapshots
Snapshot 1: Oh, Baby…
Consciousness returned; her eyes, slightly hazy as she opened them; a single blade of the morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, bouncing across the comforter that lay crumpled around her.
A clock ticked in the background, a tap dripped in the far off distance, birds sang by her window and the coffee machine clicked itself on, the soft gurgle of water being heated and filtered into the pot woke Jennifer more, the small filtering through her senses, causing her stomach to lurch violently as she quickly rolled over as far as her protruding stomach would allow, planting her feet firmly on the floor, the blankets tangling around her in her haste as she quickly made her way to the bathroom, barely flinging the door open before falling to her knees in front of the toilet before her stomach revolted, emptying its contents into the bowl. Tears pricked at her eyes and sweat beaded on her forehead as she hung her head weakly, gasping and trembling. With a groan, she slumped backward against the bath tub, flattening her palms against the cool tile floor, claming her racing pulse. How long she sat there, she didn't know. She only knew that at some point, she dragged herself to her feet and staggered to the sink.
She splashed water over her face, the tiny droplets falling down her cheeks to her chin where they dripped into the sink and down the drain. She looked in the mirror at her reflection. Her skin was bright and radiant, her eyes were bright and they twinkled. She smiled, staggering back into the bedroom, picking up the blankets as she went before curling back up under them.
On the bed side table, her phone began buzzing. Picking it up, she held it to her ear.
"Hey," she yawned as she answered.
"Morning beautiful, how are my two girls?" He chuckled.
Jennifer grinned, knowing that Matt was teasing her. "Might not be a girl, hon."
"But I can dream can't I?"
"Mmmmm… you can," Jennifer replied quietly, still feeling a bit nauseous.
"Morning sickness?" Matt asked tenderly.
"Mmmm…" Jennifer moaned.
"I'll see if Wolfie will let me leave for lunch a little earlier and I'll drop by the chemist." Matt said, feeling bad that his wife was cooped up in bed at home.
"Thanks hon, I don't know what I'd do without you." Jennifer replied, feeling a little bit better.
Matt chuckled, a sound that warmed Jennifer's heart. "You'd go stir crazy." He joked, grinning.
"Yeah, your right, I probably would." Jennifer laughed.
"I'll see you soon, alright?" She heard Matt say, she could hear the sounds of the office in the background as well as Duncan and Simon fighting over something.
"Mmmm kay and tell Duncan and Simon they're acting like kids." She laughed again as she heard Matt relay her message to them, followed by a shouted hello from the both of them before the chorus of bickering started again.
"Did you hear that?" Matt chuckled.
"Mmmmmhhmmmm…" she yawned.
"Go to sleep, I'll be home shortly." Matt cooed, sensing Jennifer was exhausted.
"Mmmmmm… see you soon, love you." She mumbled, on the verge of oblivion once again.
"Love you too." That was the last thing she heard before curling up into a little ball under the covers, falling back into blissful nothingness.
- MJ - MJ - MJ - MJ - MJ - MJ - MJ - MJ - MJ - MJ - MJ -
Matt quietly unlocked the front door to their home a few hours later, trying not to disturb Jennifer. The doctor had ordered bed rest for her, after all she'd only been released from hospital a few days ago and she'd been taking it easy.
He never thought he'd been so scared in his whole entire life as he had been when he'd seen what had happened in the interview room.
He remembered watching as the suspect lunged at Jennifer, pushing her against the wall with a loud thud, the breath being knocked from her lungs as a startled, pained cry fell from her lips.
The uniforms were in there as soon as it had happened, dragging the suspect off her.
*Flashback*
He ran into the room just as she sank to the cold tile floor, clutching her stomach, crying.
"Jen," he said, his face an unreadable expression of emotion. He couldn't bring himself to look at the dark pool of blood upon the cold, hard tiles under her in fear of what it meant.
"Oh god, Jen," he whispered, looking into the pained, tear stained face of his wife, a lone tear falling down his own cheek as he heard someone in the background yelling for someone to get the first aid kit and some blankets, while someone else was on the phone, for an ambulance no doubt.
"What's going on in here!" Came the gruff yell from Bernice Waverly. As soon as she walked into the interview room, Matt could see from the look on her face that Jennifer was no doubt in a bad way.
"Stanley, clear everyone out of here, now!" She forcefully said to Stanley.
As he started to usher everyone away, Bernice got down on her knees beside Matt.
"Matt, has anyone called for an ambulance yet?" Bernice asked before grabbing one of the towels that had just been brought in by a young female uniform.
"I… I… I think so." He answered vaguely.
"Good, now I know that is going to be a little awkward for all involved," she began gently,. "But I'm going to have to get you to remove Jennifer's slacks and underwear so we can stem the flow of blood." She said as gently and as quietly as possible to avoid prying ears.
He did as he was instructed and soon there after, a towel was draped across her lap, keeping her dignity intact while another was bunched up and used to stem the flow of dark crimson liquid that was coming from between her legs. He sat beside her, her head resting in the crook of his neck as she cried, he'd never seen her this panic-stricken before.
"Shhhh, ambulance is on it's way, sshhh… it's going to be ok," he soothed, holding her close as possible as she continued to cry.
*End Flashback*
Matt walked into their bedroom and spied the top of a golden halo sticking out from under the covers.
"Hey beautiful," he whispered, grinning as Jennifer stuck her head out from under the covers.
"Mmmmmm hey," she shuffled up the bed a little as she untangled herself from the covers, her golden tresses falling down past her shoulders.
Matt leant over, placing a tender kiss to her lips before sitting down beside her on the bed, his arm extended out behind him, effectively trapping her legs between his arm and body.
"Here, the pharmacist said that these are good for morning sickness." Matt said, pulling a bottle of ginger tablets out. "And there's a bottle of ginger beer in the fridge when you want it."
"Thank you," Jennifer replied, taking the ginger tablets from Matt before opening the lid and popping two in her hand, accepting the glass of water he handed over to her. She downed the two with a mouthful of water before handing the glass back to Matt.
"Thanks," Jennifer said, snuggling back under the blankets.
Matt smiled lovingly at her.
"Would you like something to eat? A sandwich maybe?" he asked as he got up.
"Mmmmmmm a sandwich would be good," She replied as she started getting up.
"Where are you going?" Matt asked as he watched Jennifer gently shimmy herself to the edge of the bed, her hand gently cradling the protruding bump before standing up on precarious legs, Matt quickly standing at her side to steady her.
"I'm going out to watch TV, I'm getting a bit bored." She laughed as she walked out the door, Matt following closely behind her.
Matt chuckled at his wife's antics. He knew that after having a partial placenta abruption that she was going to need plenty of rest for it to mend. He'd 'Googled' it and found out all he would need to know about the subject.