Pain...searing pain. That's all Anima had been feeling all night. She tried to hide it from Tom with little success, but they both figured it was stress. Sitting up in bed with her hand on her abdomen, Anima struggled hard to not gasp from the new burst of pain. She didn't want to alarm Tom, who was fast asleep beside her after promoting his Pirate Fairy movie with interviews. The alarm clock hadn't even gone off yet and she had been sitting up for an hour now, wondering where this pain was coming from and why. Slowly moving to hang her legs over the side of the bed, she closed her eyes and swallowed heavily. "Oh, boy," she whispered and gripped the edge of the bed.
Moose, their five month old English Bulldog puppy, grunted from Anima's jostling and moved over to Tom's end of the bed. They had been letting the puppy sleep in their room since they adopted him four months and two weeks prior. Moose was actually a fairly well behaved dog. Anima chalked that up to his daily runs with Tom.
Sensing something was wrong, Tom snorted awake. "Annie? What's the matter?" he asked as he sat up and moved next to her, placing his hand over hers. "What's wrong with your stomach?"
"I-I don't know."
"Are you going to vomit?" he placed his other hand on her forehead and frowned. "You're not going to work today. You're warm."
She shook her head sharply and ground her teeth. "I'm don't think I'm going to vomit and I have to go to work," she gripped her stomach when pain rolled through her body and she gasped.
Tom shook his head.
"I have to make it to work today. If the pain gets worse, I'll call you. How about that?"
"Not good enough," he firmly stated, moving to kneel in front of her. "There's something wrong with you and I really want you to stay home today."
She shook her head. "No, I need to go to work and just work through the pain." She slowly stood up and exhaled a slow breath. "I'm going to take my shower and we'll get this show on the road."
Watching her head to the bathroom, Tom shook his head and sighed. Sometimes, he hated how stubborn she was, and since her health seemed to be suffering, he didn't like it one bit. Standing up and opening her dresser drawers to get some clothes out, he placed them on the bed and headed to the kitchen for a moment. He poured a cup of orange juice for her and headed back to the bedroom to see her slowly pulling on clothes. Handing her the glass, he watched her as she took her meds and frowned for a moment when she flinched and closed her eyes for a moment. "Are you really sure about this?" he asked softly, his hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, I'm sure. Like I said, if it gets to the point I can't stand up, I'll call you." She could clearly see he still wasn't pleased.
"Tom, I have to do this. Two workers have taken vacation this week. We're already short staffed."
Tom sighed and nodded before grabbing for his keys to take her to work. They rode to the department in silence. Tom seemed nervous as he pulled towards the sidewalk. He leaned over and kissed her. "Promise to call me even if the pain stops?"
"I will. Good luck on the Jaguar commercial," she said as she smiled and exited the car, taking the steps as slow as possible while pain roiled through her body.
It took Anima nearly thirty minutes to reach her floor and desk. She sat carefully and opened the file, looking at the photo of a group of hammerheads off the coast. Carefully sitting down in her chair and thinking, Anima placed her hand on her abdomen and heavily sighed as a wave of pain rolled over her. It was distracting.
Laurey stopped when she noticed Anima didn't look good. "Ye okeh?"
Inhaling a sharp breath, Anima placed her hand on her stomach and closed her eyes. The pain was getting worse. "I honestly don't know anymore. Will you come with me to the facilities? Maybe hanging out in there for a bit and see what happens might help a little."
Laurey followed Anima and waited outside the handicapped stall patiently. "'Ow long 'ave ye been like this?"
"Since last night. Tom didn't want me to come to work, but if I can just hang on until lunch...I'll call him and go home," Anima groaned from the floor next to the toilet. Then she felt something liquid coming from between her legs. "Holy fuck..."
"Whas the matter?" Laurey, knowing Anima never cursed, realized something serious happened. Kneeling down beside her, Laurey noticed a clear-ish puddle under her legs. "Oh, my God. Are you pregnant?"
"What? No! I can't be! No!" Anima answered and shook her head. "That's physically impossible!"
Quickly noticing it was her water breaking and not something medically wrong, Laurey rushed out the door. "Call an ambulance!" she demanded. "We 'ave a lady in labor," she yelled before walking back in to wet a paper towel and place it on Anima's forehead.
"What's happening?"
"The ambulance is on its way. Someone's goin' to have to tell yer hubby and take 'im to the hospital to be with ye."
"No...he's working. I'll only distract him."
Tom was looking at takes from over the director's shoulder in the parking garage. He still had on the Armani suit they dressed him in as crew members filtered by. He was pulled away by an assistant who stood at about four feet tall. They had spoken before, and Tom found her to be very unique within the industry. "Sir, you have a visitor. She says it's urgent."
Seeing Laurey after being led to her made his stomach drop. "Laurey? What are you doing here?"
"Tom, yer wife's been taken t'the hospital."
Tom paled as he sat down heavily on a block of cement. Damn the suit and it's pristine stitching. "She's been bitten, hasn't she? Lost an arm? Leg?" he asked shakily. They always knew it was a big risk.
"No, no. The pains she 'ad been feelin'? Well-"
"It's cancer," he mumbled softly, his fear taking over his mind. "Oh, fuck."
"Will ye shut up, Tom?! Yer wife is pregnant."
Confusion took over his features and Tom's face paled even more. "What? What are you talking about? She can't be. Even i-i-if it were possible, she doesn't look pregnant."
"No' all pregnancies ah the same, Tom, and doctors make mistakes," she explained, watching him stand up shakily.
Tom huffed; this pregnancy news wasn't going to be easy for Anima. "In her condition, there is a high possibility something can and...and will go wrong and either she or the baby could die. If I lose them both at the same time...there is no possible way I can continue my life without her."
"Don' think like that. Jus' because there's a possibility something ken go wrong, doesn't mean it will. 'ow about we head to the hospital and ye ken see 'er. They should 'ave her there by now and in a room."
Closing his eyes for a moment, Tom inhaled a deep breath. He needed to be strong. "Okay, let's go."
