A Mess of her Own Making

Chapter 3

Mick entered the house to find Nina asleep on the lounge having cried herself to sleep. He watched her sleep for a few minutes his eyes straying to her stomach quite often still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that a baby resided inside her.

His thoughts strayed to Billie and he wondered where she would go, who she would turn to. He felt helpless to be able to help either Billie or Nina. He loved Billie, of that he was certain and he would do all he could to make this up to her and keep their relationship solid, but he now felt a stronger pull towards Nina, whether it was because she was carrying his child, or the responsibility he felt for her well being. It was as he was thinking this that he realised he hadn't even asked Nina how far along she was, or whether she'd been able to get a picture of the baby from the ultrasound she'd mentioned.

He found that whilst he knew this baby could potentially destroy his relationship with the woman he loved, he could not wish for the baby to not exist, he realised that he was already committed to the baby, and to Nina in affect, and if the baby did in fact destroy his relationship with Billie, he'd be devastated but he would not ever turn back the clock.

His musing was interrupted by Nina beginning to stir on the couch, a slight groan coming from her and then he watch as she suddenly bolted into consciousness and rushed to the bathroom. He cringed as he heard her throwing up and wished there was something he could do for her. Maybe he could drive her to a doctor so she could get the pills she mentioned which would help her with the nausea.

He stood there with his arms crossed, not knowing what to do as Nina slowly walked back into the room and took her place back on the couch.

"I'm sorry Mick, you don't have to be here for this, you should go to Billie, don't worry about me I'll be fine" Nina said as she laid down again, the nausea was gone for the moment, but it was persisting and she knew she was going to need to do something about it soon.

"I'm where I should be Nina, Billie you know what she's like she needs some time, right now I'm concerned about you" Mick said, wanting to sit next to her on the couch and comfort her. He could see she was struggling not to fall apart, and that was what made him move. He gently walked up to her and sat down next to her.

"I know this is not ideal Neens, but I'm here, no matter what happens between Billie and I, I'm here so rest your head, sleep, the baby needs it" Mick said as he encouraged her to lay her head in his lap and gently stroked her head. Right now the lines between friends and anything else were blurred, and all he really wanted to do was provide her comfort.

"Thank you Mick, I -" Nina said and trailed off as her exhaustion caught up with her. The rhythmic stroking of her head lulled her to sleep quickly and Mick smiled as her face relaxed with sleep.

They continued the day like that, Mick encouraging Nina to sleep when she needed to and to eat when she felt like it. He wanted to take her a doctor to get the medication she needed, but wanted her to feel a bit more human first. Once she'd managed to eat a couple of pieces of plain toast and they didn't seem to be coming back he broached the subject with her.

"Neens, I was thinking now that you are feeling a bit better it might be a good idea to see a doctor, get some of the medication for the nausea you were talking about?" Mick asked Nina, not wanting to take over in this pregnancy but wanting to offer his help when he could.

"You're right Mick, I don't think I can go to the hospital just yet, I don't want people to know, can you look up a doctor whilst I go have a shower and freshen up a bit?" Nina asked, touched by how gentle and concerned Mick was being. It took all she had not to break down and cry again, thinking of how great a father he was going to be, and how she wished that it were Billie that was pregnant and not her, that this was happening in the right way. The only thing that felt right about this situation was the baby, she could not wish to turn back the clock, despite the fact that she'd only known of her pregnancy for a short time, she already loved the baby fiercely and would do all she could to protect it.

"No problems take all the time you need" Mick said as he got out his phone to look up a doctor they could see. He had no idea of the kind of doctor she'd want to see, whether she'd want to see a male or a female. He looked through and found one who had a kind smile and felt like he'd be the right guy for the job. He made a call and found he had an opening in an hour and made an appointment for Nina on her behalf.

He sat on Nina's couch watching TV quietly while he waited for her to come out of the bathroom. He wasn't really watching the TV, just thinking, of Billie, of Nina, of whether Geraldine or Darcy would kill him when they found out. He knew how disapproving Geraldine had been of Nina's one night stand with him, and that it had hurt Nina deeply, because Nina was just not the type of person to make these kinds of mistakes. God knows it was a mistake most people would expect out of Billie, and now her life was being thrown into more chaos, as that one night had changed her life and his forever.

Nina walked out of the bathroom and watched Mick for a moment, she could see how deep in thought he was and wondered what he was thinking, wondered if he was thinking of Billie, or the baby, of her. She shook her head knowing she had no right to be on the list of people he was thinking of. Despite it all she was looking forward to getting to know Mick a little better, he was going to a part of her life for the rest of her life now that there was a baby on the way, their lives would be intertwined forever, not just because he was the man her sister loved, but because he was this baby's father.

"Nina, you are looking a lot better" Mick commented as he quietly took her in, she looked more rested and calm, as though she had made peace with what had happened today and knew she needed to just get on with it. It was one of the things he admired most about her, she had that ability to do what needed to be done no matter if her world was shattering around her.

"I feel better, did you find a doctor?" Nina asked, realising it had been a long time since she'd needed to visit a GP. She didn't even have a regular GP she visited, normally opting for seeing someone affiliated with the hospital.

"Yes, he's got a kind face, I wasn't sure if you wanted to see a man or woman, his name is Dr Noonan, I hope that's okay?" Mick asked unsure of himself, she'd left the finding of the doctor to him, obviously trusting him to find one she'd like. He was gratified that she trusted him so much and he smiled at her as she tied up her hair.

"So long as he can give me the drugs that will help with this nausea, I don't care who he is, I'd prescribe them myself if it was allowed" Nina said as she grabbed her bag and waited for him to gather his thing so they could get on their way. The trip to the doctor was fairly short and they spent it in silence, both still too lost in their own heads to talk.

The wait for the doctor wasn't very long and as he walked out to greet them, Nina ushering them both into the doctor's waiting rooms.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask you wouldn't be related to Geraldine Proudman would you?" Dr Noonan asked, giving in to the urge to ask, so he could get down to business and not be consumed by wondering if this was Geraldine's daughter or not.

"Er yes she's my mother" Nina answered, not sure where the doctor was going with this.

"I was your mother's GP for a while, I was trying to figure out why you looked so familiar and then I saw your name, forgive me for being rude, my curiousity got the better of me" Dr Noonan said as he took them both in wondering what they were here for. Both of them had looked very nervous when he'd called her name in the waiting room.

"That's okay, I tend to do that too" Nina said laughing a little as she tried to put the doctor at ease, and some of the tension that she'd been feeling ebbed away. She liked him already and was considering making him her permanent GP.

"So, now that we have that out of the way, how can I help you today?" Dr Noonan asked, still curious about the two of them as that nervousness he'd spotted earlier returned.

"I just found out I'm pregnant and I've been experiencing extreme hyperemesis, and I wanted to see if I could get some maxalon to counteract the nausea" Nina explained as she placed her hands nervously in her lap trying not to play with the necklace around her neck like she normally would when she was nervous.

"I see, and how far along are you?" Dr Noonan asked looking over at her companion and wondering if he was the father. He looked at them both and how far apart they were sitting and was pretty sure they weren't together in a romantic sense, and wondered what their story was.

"I had an ultrasound done when I was in America a couple of days ago and it showed I was six weeks pregnant" Nina answered, wondering if she should have introduced Mick to Dr Noonan, and then was thankful she hadn't needed to yet as it was easier not to have to explain the situation.

"I see, well Hyperemesis is very common between the fourth and twelfth weeks of pregnancy and can vary in it's severity, I don't normally have patients actually diagnose their conditions for me though" Dr Noonan said wondering if Nina was a doctor or a nurse.

"Oh I'm an obstetrician, I work at St Francis hospital in the maternity wing" Nina explained hoping he wouldn't want to do a full examination in order to prescribe her the medication.

"Well, you would definitely know what you are talking about then, I'm going to prescribe you the medicine you requested and suggest you begin taking prenatal vitamins, I'm also going to order a blood test in order to ensure that your hormone levels are rising sufficiently and to make sure all of your blood levels are okay, I'll take your blood pressure too, just to be thorough" Dr Noonan explained as he picked up the phone to call the nurse to bring in the equipment so he could perform the blood test.

About ten minutes later everything was completed and Nina had remembered to introduce Mick and explain his presence, it hadn't been as awkward as she feared but was still difficult.

"Okay, well I should have your blood test results back tomorrow, and the medication should take affect pretty quickly, hopefully you will be feeling a lot better soon, but I'd be taking it easy for the next few days while your system recovers, your blood pressure was a little on the low side, so it's best if you try and rest when you can, will you be returning back to work?" Dr Noonan asked as he packed up the vial with her blood in it and typed up some notes in her records.

"I plan to, I just have to let everyone know that I'm home, I came back from Baltimore fairly suddenly, I was supposed to be there for six months" Nina explained, as she thought again of what she was going to say to all of these people in her life about the baby, and how the baby came to be.

"Well I am sure I don't need to tell you that you need to take care of yourself during pregnancy, I'd definitely inform them of your pregnancy, and advise them that in the later stages you may need reduced hours, now would you like a referral for an obstetrician or do you have one in mind?" Dr Noonan asked, wishing he was qualified to be able to be her doctor throughout this pregnancy, something told him she was going to need a lot of support.

"I haven't really thought about that, do you know any good ones?" Nina asked, already knowing that she didn't really want to see any of the obstetricians at St Francis about this pregnancy, especially Dr Martin Clegg. As she thought of him a vision of him holding a model of a uterus flashed before her eyes and she had to press her lips together tightly to prevent herself from feeling sick again.

"Nina are you okay?" Dr Noonan asked worriedly, he could see she'd gone very pale quickly and was concerned she was going to be sick. She nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak just yet.

"I do know some good obstetricians, I'll just print you off a list, they normally will start seeing you at around eight weeks, now is there anything else I can help you with?" Dr Noonan asked smiling at her, she really was a lovely girl and although he could see that the baby was not planned, he was sure she was going to be a great mum.

"No that's everything, thank you" Nina said as she moved to get up, again taking care not to get up too fast.

"If you need anything at all, my door is always open Nina, I know we've only met today, but if you have any questions about the pregnancy, about how you are feeling or anything at all, you can call me at any time, support is very important in situations like this" Dr Noonan said taking her hand and shaking it gently.

"Thank you Dr Noonan, for everything" Nina said as she ushered Mick out of the room who shook the doctors hand also and thanked him.

"I'll call you tomorrow and get you in to go over your blood tests" Dr Noonan said as he watched them walk out of the door, smiling as Mick's hand went behind Nina's back guiding her out of the door. He wasn't sure exactly what their situation was, but he was pretty sure that Mick was going to be a good support for Nina.

"How soon can you take one of the pills he prescribed you?" Mick asked worriedly as her pallor continued from before when the doctor became concerned.

"I can have one every 8 hours, but I need to eat something half an hour later so I'm going to take it when I get home" Nina asked as she began breathing through her nose and out her mouth slowly trying to counteract the nausea she was feeling. At the moment pregnancy was not as much fun as she had thought it would be. If she could just lessen the severity of the nausea a little it would be easier to bear.

They drove to the chemist to fill her prescription and then to her apartment in silence, Mick not knowing what to say, and Nina doing everything she could to not be sick again. Once she was home she darted to the kitchen immediately and grabbed a glass of water so she could take the pill immediately, hoping it would take affect pretty quickly. She just needed to ensure it stayed down. Once she successfully swallowed the pill she walked over to her couch and laid down, still bone tired from all that had happened that day.

"Did you want me to stay?" Mick asked, not sure if he should stay or go, a big part of him wanted to go and find Billie and talk to her, reason with her and get her back here so she could look after her sister.

"If you want to Mick, I know you probably want to try and find Billie, but she's really hard to find in situations like this, believe me I've tried" Nina smiled ruefully, her sister was definitely strong willed and if she didn't want to be found she wouldn't be.

"Okay then, well I will stay until she gets back, I can at least make you some toast in half an hour so the medicine will definitely work" Mick suggested, torn between not wanting to leave Nina while she was ill, and wanting to go and do his best to find Billie. In the end he decided Nina needed him more right now, so he made himself a cup of tea and watched as Nina finally succumbed to her exhaustion.

Half an hour later and he was gently waking her with a couple of pieces of plain toast, which she ate slowly to ensure that they stayed down. Happy when the pervasive nausea she'd been experiencing didn't rear it's ugly head, she laid back down again, still feeling exhausted.

Mick was just putting her dishes into the dishwasher when the door opened to Nina's apartment and then shut. He felt his heart speed up knowing it was most likely Billie and instinctively walked towards Nina feeling he should protect her if Billie was still angry.

Billie walked into the apartment to see Nina lying on the couch and could see the apprehension in her eyes as she watched her walk in. She was still upset, and it was going to take a while for them all to get through this, but she needed to come here and let Nina know that she was going to be here for her.

"It's okay Neens, I'm not going to rant or rave or throw anything, I just wanted to come back and let you know I'm going to stay at Mum's for a while, I haven't told her why but I do you want you to know I'm not going to hide from you Neens, and I am going to be here for you, I don't hate you" Billie said as tears formed in her eyes and she could see tears in Nina's eyes too.

"Oh Billie, I'm so sorry" Nina said stopping herself before she could say if she could turn back time she would, because part of her wanted the baby, the strongest part of her did.

"I can't say I'm okay with this yet, but you're my sister Neens and I'm not going to let you go through this alone" Billie said as she approached her sister and then took her in her arms, knowing that her sister must be beside herself with worry over their relationship.

"It's going to be okay Neens" Billie whispered as she rocked a distraught Nina in her arms, whispering the words over and over again.

When Nina finally calmed down, Billie could see she was exhausted both physically and emotionally. She pulled the blanket over Nina and silently encouraged her to sleep, smiling as sleep took hold of Nina swiftly. She watched her sleep for a few minutes and then turned to look at Mick, knowing they needed to talk too. She needed to know how involved he was going to be and whether there were any feelings involved here. This situation was a mess, but she had a feeling they'd all come out of this stronger than before.

She silent motioned for Mick to head upstairs so they could talk a little about the situation and clear the air a little. Despite all that had happened she loved Mick and she wasn't going to let this situation ruin their relationship, she remembered how badly she'd treated both Mick and Nina after she'd found out they'd slept together, and how it had almost destroyed their relationship, despite it occurring after she and Mick had broken up.

She quietly followed Mick upstairs, squaring her shoulders, ready for the conversation that was about to ensue, knowing that it wouldn't resolve everything, but that it would be a start in trying to make some sense of this mess.

She couldn't help but look back and ensure Nina was okay, and smiled at her sister sleeping peacefully on the couch. It was going to be hard, but they would get through it, she knew that Nina had never meant for anything like this to happen, and she knew she had no right to be angry with her, even if she was hurt. She was going to do whatever she could to make her peace with this, so that she could enjoy being an aunty and help Nina through the pregnancy.

Okay, leaving it there. So Billie is still upset, but going to support her sister. Next up the Proudman clan learn of Nina's pregnancy and Geraldine gets a surprise visitor. Also, yes I have introduced Dr Noonan into the series earlier than in the series, but I love his character and thought it might lend some complexity to the story later on. Thanks again for reading. Mel