Family Portrait.

Hi Guys, sorry about the wait for this chapter- I'm back at University and this time my marks count towards my degree so I have to knuckle down a bit more. I've almost finished the final two chapters, so hopefully it won't be too long before they appear.

Chapter 10: Hormones and Homemaking

(The two months)

The two months following the visit to Luc's family passed in a virtual blur of hormones and homemaking. Most weekends when neither was working were spent buying and assembling various bits of baby paraphernalia. Eddi's tiny flat was now littered with not only Luc's beloved possessions but gifts of baby grows and toys, all given by various kindly friends and colleagues, including a gigantic teddy bear, donated by the king of bear hugs himself.

"God, we're going to need a new place sooner than we thought." Eddi muttered aloud to herself as she stumbled on a pile of Luc's books that had yet to find themselves space on the newly built and already sagging bookshelves. At eight months gone, Eddi was looking forward to commencing her final week of work before her maternity leave started. She had wanted to work till the very last possible moment but now simply being on her feet was exhausting and she needed a break. Frankly at this point, the sooner the baby could make its appearance the better as far as Eddi was concerned.

She and Luc parted ways with a kiss at the hospital entrance as she made her way to AAU and he up to the land of the gods for a "trauma fellow" meeting with Mr Hanssen. Chrissie and Sacha greeted Eddi at the nurse's station with a coffee and a ginger biscuit which she accepted and nibbled on gratefully.

"So what have we got today then?" Eddi quizzed brightly as Chrissie handed her, her share of patient notes and tasks. Over recent months the two nurses had found themselves becoming allies and were in fact almost glad of the friendship. Whilst Sacha, Michael and Luc ran around shouting orders in a haphazard and chaotic manner Eddi and Chrissie now kept the ward running as smoothly as possible with few cross words. Eddi ran a cursory glance over the ward to check everything was in order and settled herself in front of the computer and began assigning jobs and rotas to her junior nurses. She was about to start prepping Mr Spence's next theatre patient when she heard a desperate cry for help echoing from the side bay. Moving at speed was now quite a challenge for Eddi but nevertheless she made her way across the ward as fast as she could.

She opened the door of the side bay and froze at the sight, a tall, scraggy looking; wild-eyed man was bent double over the bed with his hands wrapped tightly around a young female patient's neck.

"Where is my money you stupid slut?!" He growled, his voice was barely a whisper, as the young woman shook her head frantically.

"Don't lie to me you thieving cow!" he snarled.

"Oi!" Eddi roared before she could stop herself, "Get your hands off my patient!"

Noticing her, the attacker loosened his grip. "Or what? This bitch owes me money and I'll have it off her. The stupid woman thought she could escape me."

Eddi said nothing and began to back out of the room to get some help but as she turned the wild-eyed man leapt across the room.

"Where do you think you're going?" He snarled grabbing her by the throat and shoving her backwards so that her head cracked hard against the wall, causing her to cry out in pain and fear.

"HELP!" Luc, Sacha and Michael all heard Eddi's call and sprinted towards the side bay. When he saw the attacker with his hands curled around Eddi's tiny neck, Luc went into overdrive. Without a second thought, his fist connected with the scrawny man's face, knocking him to the floor where Michael quickly restrained him. "Call security" he ordered Sacha. Meanwhile Eddi's legs gave way beneath her as she gasped for breath. Luc dived forwards and caught her as she fell.

"Eddi! Eddi! Stay with me Eds, come on!" he coaxed frantically, noticing the rapid swelling on the back of her head. "Michael, her airway's been compromised and what if she's concussed!" He cried urgently, "Oh Christ, what about the baby? What do I do?"

At that same moment Chrissie appeared carrying an oxygen mask and accompanied by a team of security guards, quickly she was by Eddi's side and fitting the mask over her face.

"Stay with us McKee." Michael urged, as Eddi's eyes rolled as she fought to stay conscious, her head was killing her.

"I'm ok," She insisted, "Check the baby Michael- I'll be ok."

"I will Eddi." Michael promised, "But first let's get you on a bed."

"I'll get an ultrasound," Chrissie volunteered, disappearing from the room. Luc however was unable to do much more than hold Eddi's hand as Michael and the rest of the team shifted her on to a trolley and wheeled her into another side bay. All he could think about was what could have happened had he not been so fast on his feet and more so with his fists. What if something happened to the baby? He didn't know if he could handle it.

Suddenly the air in the room became thick and heavy, Luc fiddled anxiously with his collar, he couldn't breathe, he needed more air. Noticing his anxiety, Eddi swatted away the torch Michael was trying to shine in her eyes, "Can someone open the door and the window please?" She requested simply, catching Luc's eye as she motioned for him to go and stand by the door.

Michael said nothing but raised an eyebrow at how well the couple at how well the couple read each other after such a relatively short period of time.

"Ok McKee, you've got mild concussion, but you're gonna be ok. I'm a little concerned about your blood pressure though, given your condition." Michael explained honestly. "I'm gonna run that ultra-sound for you right now." He reassured the couple as he wheeled in the machine Chrissie had left outside for him. Obediently Eddi hitched up her top and tried not to squirm as Michael squirted the gel over her stomach. "Right," he explained, "The baby's heart rate is a little higher than I'd like but it's not in any danger right now, but we'll keep an eye on you both and keep you in overnight, but there's no need to worry just yet."

Eddi rolled her eyes and winced, regretting it instantly, "That's bloody fantastic," She grumbled, "Michael can you get me something for my head please? It's killing me!"

"Sure." Michael smiled, smoothly exiting the bay.

Almost instantaneously Luc was back at Eddi's side, kissing her passionately. "I thought I was going to lose you both." He cried frantically

"Yeah, well you saved me." Eddi said frankly, "Thank you, I don't know how much longer I would have lasted if you hadn't of hit him. We're not quite out of the woods yet though." She choked, "I mean I'm ok but what about the baby? My airway was compromised, what if the baby's been starved of oxygen? Oh God." She began to panic.

"Ssshh Eddi," Luc soothed, taking her hand and squeezing tightly, "You're in safe hands, try to keep calm- it will help the baby." Realistically he knew there was no cause for him to worry just yet, there was no point but he couldn't help himself. What if something did go wrong? What would happen? He loved her too much to lose her now.

"Did security catch him?" Eddi asked referring to her attacker, trying to distract herself.

"Yeah," Luc nodded clenching his fists. "Shame the came when they did, I would have liked to get a few more punches on him- the bastard." He growled uncharacteristically.

Eddi giggled inappropriately, "Ooh Mr Hemmingway, you are rather attractive when you get all angry and broody. If I- ARGH!" Her attempt at flirting was cut short as she doubled over and hissed with pain.

"Christ! Eddi what's wrong?" Luc yelped, diving for Eddi's discarded oxygen mask and trying to fasten it for her, only for it to be swatted away.

"S'not going to help me now," She croaked when the pain subsided a little. "Oh please God let that be a Braxton Hicks and not an actual contraction."

Hope this was worth the wait! Please R+R xx