All she can do is pace in front of these damn plastic uncomfortable chairs. She tried to sit in one and regretted it five minutes later when her back started to protest. She called her dad, but he told her that it would take time for him to get to her and her mom. She is so scared, no matter what training she has been through, it is so different when you have no clue about how someone you love is doing. Someone you know and love unconditionally.
"Miss Rodgers?" A young tall dark haired doctor asks.
She looks up startled to see him looking a bit uncomfortable for the situation she's in, knowing that what he needs to tell her can't be good.
"Yes, I am her."
"We have run some initial tests on your stepmother…"
"She is my MOTHER! Not my stepmother." She said angrily.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me." He said as he flinched back a step at her shouting.
"What did you find out?" Alexis really wanted to know that her mom was okay.
"Right now, she is doing fine. We have already ruled out any stress-related complications concerning her own health."
"What about my brother? She told me that she couldn't feel him moving on the way here."
"Miss Rodgers, this is a normal occurrence with a woman who is this far along in her pregnancy. There is not much room for your brother to move around in the ninth month."
"Doctor, my mother is in her 29th week. She is nowhere near her ninth month yet."
"Oh. Please excuse me." Then the doctor took off running towards the swinging doors leaving her full of questions and all alone once again.
Xx
The second Alexis called he was sprinting to his truck but Smitty's car was blocking him in. With the phone still attached to his ear even though she ended the call minutes ago, he looks in the ignition to see if the keys are in it. They are. He hops in and takes off for the hospital tossing his phone on the front passenger seat. He needed to get to them. It turns out that rush hour traffic became his enemy. He was sitting at a red light at 36th and Park Ave. He should just throw the strobe light up on the dash and blow through the traffic light but decided against it when he noticed a 17th precinct patrol car opposite him waiting for the light to change to green. he did NOT need to be stopped for breaking the law now. Why now of all times did they decide to follow red light regulations? The light changed and he was rolling again. New York Presbyterian Hospital was where they were. If he had the luck of the traffic light gods he could be there in less than seven minutes.
Xx
Kang and Smitty are left standing in the conference room by Rick's hasty departure and they continue going over the recent attacks in the Midwest.
"Why did they hit these specific targets Loto? What makes these locations special?" Smitty questioned.
"I'm not that sure, but this tells us something. It tells us that they are stepping up their targets. On the West coast, they only hit three locations. Here in the Midwest, they added a fourth. Can we expect more on the East coast?" Kang asked.
"What I think is that they are going to show us that they mean business. Whatever it is they have planned it's going to be much bigger than we can handle with the manpower we have now."
"We really need Rick here with us so we can go over what we think will happen. I personally think that they're going to strike numerous targets in and around the city. We can only speculate that they will hit Grand Central, the airports, the passenger ship terminals, and anything else that moves people around the city. Then there are all the theaters on Broadway. That's not to mention all the historical locations that we can't cover. We're spread too thin as it is and Manhattan is a more target-rich environment."
"You're right! We really do need Rick here."
Xx
Rick was finally able to get through the multitude of traffic and make it to the hospital. He parked Smitty's unit and ran into the ER entrance hoping he could find out what was going on with his wife.
Xx
She had been asked so many questions in such a short amount of time, she's not sure she answered them with the right response. She still didn't know what it was that was causing the pain in her abdomen. It became sharper the closer they got to the hospital. When Alexis was helping her get her out of the car she could see the pain in her movements. And she didn't want to worry her daughter, so she told her everything would be fine even when she knew something was very wrong.
"Mrs. Rodgers, I'm going to give you a…."
The doctor was cut off half way through his sentence.
"You'll do nothing of the sort. This is my patient and I'll see to her health and wellbeing" A very familiar voice said.
She'd know that voice anywhere. And when she heard it she immediately calmed down.
"And just who do you think your doctor?" The doctor working on Kate asked.
"As I told you that woman is my patient. My name is Dr. Suzanne Mitchell. I have privileges here so please put down that syringe."
The other doctor relented, but not happily. Suzanne walked up to Kate's bedside.
"Kate? What happened?" Suzanne asked.
"Suzanne, I'm not too sure. Alexis and I were sitting in the living room and I had the urge to pee. She helped me up I felt something twist in my abdomen and the pain got worse. It was sharp and deep whatever it was. My water broke and here I am."
"How was your little one acting? Was he active or was he calm?"
"Right up until my water broke and felt like he was having a playdate in my stomach. He was active but now he's not moving at all and I'm really worried. Suzanne something bad has happened to him."
"Kate, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves okay. Let me run some basic tests and we'll see what's going on with you and him."
Kate watched as Suzanne rolled over the ultrasound machine to the side of the bed. Suzanne pulls her blanket down to expose her stomach. She removes the transducer, the gel and turns the machine on. Then she places a ribbon of gel on her stomach and starts to press the transducer against her skin. Kate watches the screen and can see her baby. She watches as Suzanne glide's the transducer over her stomach but the one most important thing is missing. His heartbeat. Kate looks up to Suzanne with tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Seeing the look on her face she is quick to comment on the situation.
"Kate, relax. There are times when the baby's heartbeat cannot be heard even this far along in the pregnancy. But I can see his heart beating so everything is fine. Since you are a bit upset what I'm going to do is place an external fetal heart monitor on your stomach. You'll be able to hear your son's heartbeat for the time you're here. Suzanne straps the monitor on hears the heartbeat and tells Kate that she will be right back.
Xx
Suzanne heads out to the waiting area to find the one person who might be able to give some more information. She sees who she wants to talk to quickly.
"Alexis?" Suzanne called out to Kate's daughter.
What happened next, she totally expected. Alexis had thrown herself at her and hugged her as if her life depended on it.
"Is mom alright?" She mumbled into the collar of her lab coat.
"Alexis, you did a good job and you got her here that's what counts the most. Right now, she and the baby are doing fine. But, your brother might be here sooner than you think. Where's your dad?"
A sweaty and out of breath Rick Rogers opens the door from the stairway to the labor and delivery area. He sees Suzanne and Alexis hugging and runs over to them.
"Suzanne, where is Kate? What's going on with her? Alexis, what happened?" Rick didn't know who to get information from first.
"Rick, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told your wife less than two minutes ago. Calm down!"
"Dad, Suzanne just came out from seeing mom so whatever it is it can't be that bad. Let's just hear what she has to say first."
"Your daughter is right Rick. There is nothing wrong with Kate or the baby. I ran some preliminary tests on her and other than her blood pressure being elevated a little, everything is fine with her. The ultrasound shows that the baby's heart is also beating strong, it was the one thing that Kate was most concerned about so I showed her. Right now, I have an external fetal heartbeat monitor on her so she can hear his heartbeat while she lays there going through her labor." Suzanne smiled brightly as she looked at Alexis and Rick.
"Wait, she's in labor? Rick asked.
"Yes, Rick she is. This happens sometimes when people like your wife who are very slim and active in their everyday life. It's nothing to worry about she's only five weeks premature but this should not be a problem because your son is so far developed in the pregnancy that he will be fine. He might need to spend some time in NICU to finish developing his lungs but I've dealt with births like this and everything turns out to be okay.
When can we see her Suzanne? Rick asked with Alexis nodding her head like it was going to fall off her shoulders.
How about if I take you back now. Then you can see that she's fine.
Xx
The NYPD has many specialized units to use for gathering information. Aviation, ESU, Harbor Patrol, K-9, units organized crime, narcotics, anti-gang, criminal intelligence, and counterterrorism. The counter-terrorism unit keeps eyes on people who are possible threats within the city. They operate a lot like homicide department. They gather clues and information and make informed decisions on who to watch and who not to watch. Not that everyone they suspect will be watched. But Aashif Kazim has been someone that they have been keeping a hard eye on. He fits the parameters of a terrorist but, after an extensive background search, he was clean. He had no ties to anyone, so they just let him do what he did. He was like anybody else in the city he went to work made a living and tried to better himself in the process. Right now, he was attending a night course in accounting. But all the same, they would keep someone on him just to be sure he did not have a misstep.
A/N: To all who celebrate it I wish you a very Merry Christmas! I would also like to wish those who follow their respective faiths a happy holiday season. A/N 2: When I posted this story 80% of it was already written. There are not many chapters left but they need to be written. I will try to keep the posting schedule as promised but with life happening and the holidays it may be reduced to every Sunday at 7:00 am EST. Sorry for the inconvenience.
P2P