Disclaimer: Universal Pictures owns all rights of Pitch Perfect.
Title: The BU TreBellas
Chapter 9
Plot: What happens when two rival a cappella groups from the same university join forces to compete on America's favorite televised singing competition? You get uber talent and unexpected surprises from this insane group of people. This is a semi AU story that could have taken place between the two movies. T rated for language and good loving.
Cedars Sinai Medical Center - Los Angeles, CA
"Doctor...she's coming to." a female reported.
"You gave us quite the scare young lady, but you're going to be alright." Dr. Brooks was trying his best to comfort Beca who was slowly coming out of anesthesia. For a surgeon his bedside manner was pleasant as she pried open her eyes and was relieved to still be among the living. Feeling an ache in her abdomen she winced with discomfort and let out a soft moan. "The pain you're experiencing should subside in a day or two, but for the next twenty-four hours you'll have access to a pain pump." he explained. "Within the hour you're going to be moved upstairs so we can continue to monitor your progress."
"Baby?" she whispered, lifting her oxygen mask only to be met with a solemn expression as he slowly rotated his head from side to side. The doctor's nonverbal communication spoke volumes; the news wasn't good. "What happ-?" she started to ask only to be cut off when a nurse repositioned the mask over her nose and mouth then instructed her to take deep breaths.
"You're very lucky to be alive." the well respected OB/GYN admitted quietly. "We'll have more answers when we have the report from Pathology."
"Your boyfriend is waiting outside, should we send him in?" a female nurse asked.
Shaking her head Beca didn't want to be bothered. Instead, she wanted to be alone and cry but her tears were running dry. She was filled with so many unanswered questions but didn't have the energy to ask. Shutting her eyes, the sounds of various beeps lulled her back to sleep.
A few hours earlier...
Racing through the dark and deserted streets of L.A. Jesse pulled into the ambulance entrance and carried Beca bridal style into the ER. Calling out for help an orderly rolled over a gurney so he could lower her onto the portable bed. It was at that moment they noticed the severity of the emergency; they were both soiled in her blood and it wasn't stopping anytime soon. Jesse yelled out in a panic and got the attention of a triage doctor who came right over.
"I'm Dr. Mamoud, what seems to be the...?" he started to ask then saw the bleeding and where it was coming from. "Are you pregnant?" Beca nodded. "Okay...we're going to take care of you."
"Dr. Brooks is her OB/GYN." Jesse added. "We've been here before, several times actually." the triage doctor acknowledged him with a nod then turned to his administrator.
"Pull up her records, she's in the system." he ordered. "And let Radiology know we've got an emergency."
Within minutes Beca was whisked away while Jesse was escorted to the waiting room.
..ooOoo..
The internal ultrasound was brief and gave them exactly what they needed. After an IV line was established they began prepping her for surgery. There was no time to tell Jesse what was happening as she was rushed to the surgical wing and given consent forms to sign along the way, including one for a transfusion.
"Beca...the ultrasound shows a seperation between the placenta and uterus which, is causing the hemorrhage." when she heard the "H" word she realized things had quickly progressed from bad to worse. "Dr. Brooks is on his way and will perform the surgery. He should be here in a few minutes."
"What about the baby?" she asked listlessly, her energy level was dropping at a world record pace.
"We're going to do everything we can but if we don't get your bleeding under control there won't be a baby, or you for that matter." the triage doctor with a heavy Middle Eastern accent warned. "We need your signed consent to proceed."
Reading over the paperwork Beca nearly lost it. "It says potential hysterectomy."
"We have to disclose all possibilities." the physician admitted. "If the bleeding can't be stopped, we may have no other choice."
"Where's Jesse?" she was on the verge of tears. "I need him!"
"He's in the waiting room and will be briefed on your situation." the physician answered. "Ms. Mitchell, there's no time...we need to act NOW."
The urgency in his tone was unnerving. Beca knew this was beyond her control and had no other choice. The unplanned pregnancy was trouble from the beginning and now it had come to this, with her life being in jeopardy. With reluctance, she took the pen from a nurse, scribbled her name on the forms then felt herself become more disoriented.
"Doctor...her pulse rate is climbing and pressure is dropping." a nurse pointed out.
"I see it." he acknowledged the seriousness of the situation with a sigh, then took charge. "Start a second line and prepare her for transfusion, three pints of Type O negative should do it. Call the OR and tell them we're bringing her in." the on call physician calmly ordered his team. "Beca...I know you're upset but I need you to remain calm and concentrate on staying awake."
Acknowledging his instruction with a nod she tried her best not to panic and focused on the doctor. This was as real as it got as she began to wonder if this was the end for Beca "effin" Mitchell and how her family and friends would cope without her.
She was brought out of her reverie as she was transported to steril room with bright lights and lifted onto another bed. With an oxygen mask placed over her face, an anesthesiologist quickly went over her medical history. It was all becoming a blur as she began to sweat perfusely resulting from a sky rocketing pulse rate. With her last bit of energy she fought to stay conscious then saw Dr. Brooks rushing in wearing full surgical attire. When an alarm sounded off she internally said a prayer as her world faded to black. She was in God's hands now...
..ooOoo..
Meanwhile, a nurse retrieved Jesse from the general waiting area and instructed him to wait in a smaller room just outside the surgical center. After being briefed about her deteriorating condition, the compassionate woman took notice of his bloodied clothing and brought him a set of blue scrubs to change into.
Wearing the scrubs he was given, Jesse gave his soiled clothes to the nurse for disposal then took a seat in the smaller waiting area. He was alone and beyond worried as the love of his life was taken into emergency surgery. He wasn't sure if he should call their parents or just sit tight until he knew more. Deciding to call Chloe for advice, she and Benji immediately took a taxi from the hotel and joined him to lend their support.
A couple of hours later a nurse came out to inform them that Beca was in recovery and that Dr. Brooks would be coming out to talk to them soon. About thirty minutes after that, the good doctor paid them a visit.
"Mitchell!" a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair called out. "Who's here for Rebeca Mitchell?" At almost four in the morning the surgical wing was bustling with activity. As soon as they heard Beca's name being called, they stood up.
"We are." the Treble leader acknowledged their presence. "I'm Jesse...how is she?"
"She's in recovery. We were able to stop the bleeding and will be moving her upstairs within the hour."
"She's being admitted?" Benji asked.
"Yes." Dr. Brooks answered. "She's had major surgery and had to be transfused due to her blood loss." he sighed for the next part. "There was a complication that we need to discuss."
"What happened?" the three asked in unison.
"She went into to hypovolemic shock and will need to be closely observed for the next twenty-four hours."
"What is that?" Chloe inquired.
"It means there wasn't enough blood to keep her heart pumping. It happens when the body experiences a twenty percent or more deficiency in a short amount of time." he paused. "She coded but we were able to bring her back fairly quickly."
"Oh my God." Jesse muttered to himself as he became emotionally compromised. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Yes...she's stabilized."
"And the baby?" Jesse asked under his breath but loud enough to be heard. "Is it…?"
"I'm sorry, but there was nothing we could do." The surgeon was sympathetic as he helped the distraught young man to a seat. "The pathology report should provide us with more information."
"I can't believe this." he croaked, holding his head between his hands. In a matter of hours Jesse and his friends were on top of the world for making it into the quarter finals to finding out that the woman he loved not only miscarried, but nearly lost her life in the process. "What caused this?"
"She had a placental abruption."
"She had a what?" Benji asked.
"It means the placenta separated from the uterus." Dr. Brooks explained. "The phenomenon is more common in advanced pregnancies, so we may have misjudged how far along she was."
"But she was barely showing." Chloe added, wiping her eyes as Benji put an arm around her. "Could this have contributed to the...?" she was so upset for her friends, she couldn't finish her sentence.
"Yes...given the size of the fetus, we suspect this may have been going on for some time. We'll know more when the results are in."
"Can I see her?" Jesse asked, rubbing his blood shot eyes. "I need to be with her."
"Ms. Mitchell is refusing visitors while in recovery." Dr. Brooks added. "However, when she's transferred, one of the nurses will bring you up." the three acknowledged the physician with nods.
"Doctor...how is she?" Jesse asked with trepidation. "I mean...emotionally?"
"Miscarriages can be very traumatic, especially when they occur passed the first trimester. She's been through a lot and will need time to heal, inside and out." he explained, looking over her chart. "It says she's Catholic. The hospital has a priest on staff that can visit her tomorrow. It usually helps with the grieving process. Shall we set it up?"
"Please." he nodded.
Sometime later a nurse brought them to the fourth floor. As they stood by the nurse's station, a gurney rolled passed them. To their surprise Beca was unconscious and breathing with the assistance of an oxygen line. She had two IV lines, one of which was being used for the blood transference.
"We'll need a few minutes to get her set up." the attending nurse spoke, taking possession of the portable bed from the intern. "Please wait here." After about ten minutes the privacy curtain was retracted by the smiling nurse as she exited the room. "She's all yours."
"Go on." Chloe encouraged Jesse, getting a warm smile from her boyfriend. "We'll wait here."
Entering the room Jesse kept his distance as he noticed Beca was no longer on oxygen. She was awake and staring straight ahead with a blank expression.
"Hey..." he spoke softly while she fixated on the dry erase board across the room. The names of the hospital staff and primary care physician assigned to her were posted there. "How're you feeling?"
She didn't respond.
"Do you wanna watch some TV?" he asked, flipping channels on the attached remote. "I might be able to get Game of Thrones on here."
Still no reaction from her.
Pulling a seat closer he sat down and held the hand closest to him but she refused to acknowledge his existence.
"I see they're giving you the good stuff." he attempted to lighten the mood as he followed the hanging morphine bag connected to her main IV line. "Are you in a lot of pain?" he dared to ask.
With no reaction at all from Beca, she just laid there emotionless.
"Um...Dr. Brooks told us what happened."
"I'm going home." she finally spoke in a hoarse voice. Her throat was scratchy from being intubated.
"That's a great idea." Jesse agreed. "You need to recover and I'm sure the hotel's concierge can make some accommoda-."
"-That's not what I meant." she interrupted. After a beat, she continued. "And I'm breaking up with you." she said matter-of-factly, still refusing to face him.
"What?" his question came out as a whisper as his jaw dropped with shock. "What do you mean?"
"You heard me." her feelings were detached with words sounding as cold as an arctic blast. "It's over."
"Beca, please don't do this." he pleaded. "I know you're hurting but please don't let this setback divide us."
"Setback?" she repeated and sighed. "My heart stopped, I have foreign blood in my veins and they took my baby from me." her words were painful to hear as Jesse closed his eyes and took a therapeutic breath to remain calm.
"Yes, but you're alive." was all he could come back with.
"It's not enough." she admitted. "I'm done with a cappella and I'm done with this relationship. I trusted and let people in, and look where it got me." she finally met his gaze and winced in pain. "I'm leaving Barden and going home after this." she clarified, pressing the button on the pain pump and listened for the medication to dispense into her IV. "Don't try to stop me. I'm done with..."
In mid sentence she closed her eyes and faded off to sleep while he froze in place and stared at her in disbelief. He expected her to be upset but not to the point of ending their relationship and leaving everything behind. Stepping outside the room he looked as though he'd seen a ghost and was received by Chloe and Benji.
"Are you okay?" the redhead was first to notice that something was terribly wrong. "What happened in there?"
"I don't know." he was numb. "She just broke up with me."
"WHAT?" the young couple asked at the same time, not quite believing it.
"I've never seen her so cold." he admitted. "She said she's done with all of us and is dropping out of college."
"Jesse, you heard what Dr. Brooks said. She's been through a lot...she's in shock." Chloe continued, pulling him into a hug. "Give her some time."
"Yeah man, she'll come around." Benji agreed and joined the group hug. "Don't give up on her."
"Excuse me." Jesse pulled away from the couple. "Please tell our friends what's happened." The couple acknowledged his request. "I need to make some calls." and walked away.
As he rounded a corner and was out of sight, Chloe became more emotional. Seeing her friends in so much pain was overwhelming for the ginger who wept in her boyfriend's arms. After awhile Chloe composed herself enough to make a call.
"Bree...I'm sorry it's so early, but something's happened." she waited for the blonde to reply. "We're at the hospital with Jesse." after a beat a mournful Chloe told her the sad news. "Okay, we'll see you soon."
A short time later when the sun was coming up, a young nurse entered to remove Beca's catheter and leg compressors; it was time to get her out of bed and on her feet. The transfusion was also discontinued so she only had one IV to contend with. After a painful trip to the facilities and several laps around the nurse's station, Beca was ready to take a semi automatic rifle to the candy striper then lose herself in a narcotic induced nap.
..ooOoo..
The next time she woke up she was no longer alone. Even though Beca had specifically instructed the hospital that she didn't want any company, a certain female had snuck in while she was asleep.
"What are you doing here?" she groggily asked. "I told those assholes, no visitors."
"I know but, I had to see you."
"What do you want, Aubrey?"
"I heard what happened...I'm so sorry."
"Yeah...well, it wasn't meant to be, I guess."
"What went wrong?"
"I hemorrhaged."
"Are you going to be alright?"
"That's what they tell me."
"Well...don't worry about performing this Friday, we'll manage withou-."
"-I'm out." she interrupted, silencing her former captain. "After I get discharged and cleared to travel, I'm going home."
"You're going back to Atlanta?"
"No."
"You're leaving Barden?" she was floored to hear about Beca's intention to leave school. "You can't be serious."
"I don't expect you or anyone to understand what I'm going through." she reasoned. "Like I told Jesse, I'm done with all of this shit."
"You've been traumatized, Beca." she used the same condescending tone that Beca detested. "Now is not the time for making decisions. Trust me, I would know. Give yourself a chance to heal."
"How the hell would you know?" Beca's voice was raised making her wince; the magical pain meds were wearing off. "You don't know what it's like to lose…" she closed hers eyes and couldn't bring herself to say it. "Why the fuck are you even here?"
"To talk some sense into you before you ruin your life."
"I'm not in the mood for your crap, plus it's my life to ruin. So, do me a favor, and get the hell out!"
"No." she replied calmly. "I'm not going until to hear me out."
"Fine!" she huffed. "Then will you leave?"
The blonde nodded and brought a chair closer. "I know what it's like to lose something so precious." she opened, taking a deep breath. "Only Chloe knows about this, but it happened to me."
She deflated her lungs. "What did?"
"I wasn't always like this, Beca. In high school I was carefree and captain of the cheerleading squad, but I also partied a lot because that's what military brats do." taking a deep breath, she continued. "By the time I turned sixteen, I was pregnant and dumped by my boyfriend as soon as he found out." she sighed thinking about the past. "My parents couldn't deal with having a knocked up teenager and fought like crazy. The military was especially hard on my dad and made us relocate. My parents deny it today but I know they divorced because of me."
"That really sucks." she tried to sympathize. "What happened to the baby?"
"Since I wasn't of legal age my father made the decision, and had me get rid of it. My mother left him shortly after that." she admitted, wiping a stray tear with the pads of her fingers. "There's not a day that passes that I wonder what could have been. I would've had a seven year old, can you imagine that?" she chuckled softly. "The ordeal turned me into the warm and affectionate person I am today."
Aubrey's horrendous story was almost too much for Beca to bear as she gave her a look of sympathy. She'd known the blonde since Freshman year but never considered that something so tragic in her past had shaped her into the frigid control freak they all came to know.
"Why are you telling me this?" Beca asked with compassion. "I mean, you don't even like me."
"On the contrary, Beca. I consider you a friend and wanted you to know...you're not alone. Our circumstances may have been different but the loss is the same." Aubrey's candor and sincerity took her by surprise as she placed her hand over hers. "I also wanted to apologize for what I put you and Jesse through. I should have never exploited your relationship, and hope you'll forgive me someday."
"You did what you had to do."
"I know, but it was still wrong. I should've asked you first." the blonde admitted truthfully. "Well, the TreBellas need you but will have to understand that you need time to recover. Just don't break it off with Jesse."
"Says the woman who wanted to enforce the oath."
"Oh, fuck the oath!" Aubrey cursed, surprising the petite girl. "That's a goddamn crutch to keep from getting close to anyone." she finally confessed. "What you have with Jesse is the real thing. So...don't throw it away."
After a beat Beca asked the million dollar question. "How is he?"
"Devastated." she merely answered. "I never thought I'd find myself feeling sorry for a Treble, but I do. He really loves you, Beca. The guy is literally heart broken."
Just as Beca was about to say something there was a knock at the door. A man of the cloth carrying a bible entered.
"I'll go now and give you some privacy." Aubrey stood up and acknowledged the holy man with a nod. "Feel better and call me if you want to talk." she concluded as she headed for the exit.
"Bree!" the petite girl called out making her former adversary turn around. "Thank you."
Aubrey gave an orbit worthy smile then left the room.
Beca was alone with the priest who took a seat and began to ask her questions about the ordeal. The holy man went on about the possibility of something being wrong with the baby and God having to make difficult decisions to protect everyone involved. To her surprise she found herself listening intently while he recited verses from his book. When he blessed her and Jesse, he spoke about how they will never forget the innocent soul that will always be in their hearts and watching over them from heaven. When the priest was done, she was alone with her thoughts and broke down. Letting herself feel, the grieving process had officially begun as she sobbed quietly. After a while the pain had become so unbearable, she initiated the pain pump and was pulled into a welcoming sleep.
A/N: The miscarriage was based on actual events to someone very close to me. I'm probably going to get hate mail for going in this direction but please don't give up on this story. Please review and share your thoughts.
