Chapter 36

"Eddie, honey, please talk to me," Jamie pleaded as he knelt next to her chair in the bedroom. It was past eleven that night, and she had settled down in it immediately after coming upstairs to sleep and was staring out the window. Kaylin was in bed and Eva had retired to the guest room an hour or so previously. Eddie seemed relaxed but had been very quiet all evening after coming back from the baby shower, and he was concerned about her.

"I'm okay, Reagan," she smiled as she took his hand. "I'm just really tired for some reason. It's just been a long day and I've had a lot of those Braxton Hicks contractions. The shower was very nice, and I had a lot of fun. Mom actually seemed to enjoy herself and Linda, Erin and Nicki really pulled out all the stops. They did a great job. My favorite present was the onesie the Hailey gave me that says 'Best Oops Ever,' isn't that great? I can't wait to use it."

"They did it because they all love you," he murmured as he stroked her cheek. She felt warm and that drawn look was still bothering him. "You sure you're feeling okay? I think you might have a fever."

"Hot flashes," she smirked. "On and off all day too. You worry too much," she added as she turned back to the window. "Oh Jamie! Did you see that? It was such a bright shooting star! Do you think that was a sign?"

"Make a wish," he smiled.

"All mine have already come true," she admitted softly. "Well, all but one, but we still have a little while to go before that happens."

###

Jamie was restless again in the bed that night after the couple had fallen asleep apart. His dreams since the car accident had been largely benign and peaceful, but tonight proved to be an exception. He rolled around as a choking fear came over him but he could not seem to fight it off or wake himself up. He swore he felt familiar hands touching him and soft voices trying to soothe.

"Jamie, please wake up and don't be scared anymore!" Joe was pleading. "Why Mom? Why won't he wake up? I'm his big brother. I don't want him to be scared anymore!"

"It's just one of his night terrors, Joe," his mother was trying to assure. "Like he had when he was a baby. You know that Jamie gets these every once in awhile and we can't wake him up out of it. He'll settle soon and he won't remember a thing by tomorrow."

"Sometimes he likes it if I talk to him, though," Joe replied. "When he's afraid of stuff."

Mary smiled as she thought back to all the nightly conversations she'd heard between the two in the last few months. They were mostly one-way of course, as Jamie was lost in the dreams and Joe was doing his best to break through and protect him.

"What's wrong this time?" Joe asked quietly with frightened, guilt-ridden eyes. He knew he should have been there to keep the scary stuff away from his little brother. "I promised him I would keep him safe."

"I don't know, Joe," Mary answered as she cuddled Jamie close, relieved to find him tranquil once more and praying fervently that nothing bad was about to happen to her youngest son. "These particular days have always been hard for him since we left, but I have a feeling he's going to need some of our help again." It was hard to console him from where they were now, and he had already been through so much.

"Can we stay with him, Mom?" Joe's voice whispered. "I don't want him to be alone."

"Yes baby, we can," Mary affirmed. "You and I will stay here and watch over him. We'll always make sure he stays safe together. I promise."

"Jamie, please wake up!" the hands were firmer now, and the shaking was more urgent. He was able pry his eyes open this time as the soft, welcome feeling of his mother's embrace fell away while the subdued morning light from the window showed Eddie standing above him with a panicked look on her face. "Something's wrong!" she cried.

"What?! What is it, Ed?" he demanded as his senses roared back. He reached over and turned the lamp on. Eddie was flushed and sweating and his touch revealed her skin to be very warm. She most definitely had a high fever now.

"I don't know; I just don't feel right," she said as she collapsed to sit on the bed while her side and back tightened up. "And I think that… well I think I might be having real contractions now," she said as she put a hand on her belly. "It's too early though! Dr. Geisner said we had at least a couple of more weeks!"

"Oh! Okay! Okay! Don't panic!" Jamie exclaimed as he jumped up and failed to take his own advice. He was soon hopping around on one foot as he struggled to pull a pair of jeans on. "What should we do? Do you need a bus?" He cursed Danny again as he tried to get a sock over his sore, swollen right ankle and had to sit down and undo all the laces of his shoe before he could slip it in.

"No, just drive me," Eddie said as she fought to hold back the tears. "It's faster. We need to go now. I'm getting scared, Jamie! I'm not ready for this yet!"

"Oh, honey, don't be scared," he halted his frantic movements and grabbed her by the shoulders to look in her eyes. Deep breath now, Reagan, he reminded himself. Time to be strong, can't be a complete wreck in front of her. "Whatever it is, the doctors will fix it right up, and if the baby comes early, it will be okay. Look at me… I turned out alright, and it was around this time when I was born. I'll just go wake your mom and tell her so she can keep Kaylin."

"Oh no, my mom's here!" Eddie sighed and closed her eyes. In her bit of hysteria she had forgotten all about that. It sounded horrible, but she was sure there was no way she was going to be able to deal with her mother during this.

"Breathe, Janko," Jamie reminded as he pulled on a shirt and hobbled to the hallway after grabbing his phone. "I'll be right back to help get you downstairs. Just sit tight. I'll call Dr. Geisner's office and let them know we're on the way."

###

Monday, May 14, 9:30 a.m.

Jamie sat nervously in the chair by Eddie's bedside with one knee frantically bouncing. He fought the urge to stand up and pace, mostly because his sore ankle made that impossible. Eddie had been admitted upon her arrival and the doctors had been attending to her for several hours already. She was on an IV to combat dehydration with medication to try to stop her contractions and a high white blood cell count had indicated an acute infection, most likely in one of her kidneys. There was of course great concern for the baby, but so far all the tests and monitors had indicated that it was fine. Her fever was still quite high, but she had fallen asleep a few minutes ago much to Jamie's relief. He hated seeing his wife in such distress. He brought his hands up to rub his stubbly face when soft knock brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see his father standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Dad," he whispered as he shuffled out into the hallway, mindful not to disturb Eddie's tenuous rest.

"I came as soon as I could," Frank said worriedly. "How is she?"

"Okay for now," Jamie reported. "They're trying to figure out what's causing the infection so they know how to treat it. They're afraid she could go septic, Dad," he said as he blinked back the tears. "Linda is trying to get the lab to rush the tests through," he paused, shaking his head. "I knew… I knew something was off the last week or so. I thought she was just depressed and thinking about her mom's visit, but she was getting sick. How could I not see that?"

"Jamie, she was just at her doctor for an appointment Friday and we all saw her yesterday. You can't go blaming yourself son, that serves no purpose. She looked a little tired, but fine. What woman wouldn't be at this stage?"

"Her mother, according to Eddie," Jamie sniped a little. He'd already had his fill of his mother-in-law for the morning. She had sent him several text messages insisting that he find someone else to babysit Kaylin so she could come down to the hospital. He had chosen to ignore her for now, hoping that would hold her at bay at least for the time being. His wife was in no shape to deal with that at this point.

"What about the baby?" Frank redirected out of concern for his unborn grandchild.

"Looks okay so far," Jamie told him. "They've got the contractions slowed down to almost nothing now. She's not really in any shape to deliver and they want to avoid a C-section if she's already got an infection." He looked up to see Dr. Geisner hurrying down the hall towards them. "Here comes her doctor now," he said, suddenly fearful at the woman's pace.

"Mr. Reagan," she addressed him urgently. "Can I have a word alone with you?"

"This is my father," Jamie swallowed hard as he felt Frank's comforting hand come down quickly on his shoulder. "You can say anything you need to in front of him."

"We have your wife's labs back," she explained with no further hesitation. "The infection she has can become serious if not treated, and the antibiotics required are too strong for the baby to handle. I know we just spent several hours stopping her labor, but the best course of action now is to have her deliver naturally today so that Eddie can be properly cared for. All the tests show that the baby is in good shape and will only be considered slightly preterm at this point. With your permission, we'll be giving your wife medication throughout the day to restart her contractions and dilate her cervix. If all goes well you should be a father by this evening," she added.

"Of course," Jamie replied with a dry mouth as his dad steadied him and gave a little shake of encouragement. This was all happening so fast. "I guess if that's what you think is best. Won't it be hard for her to do that though if she's already not feeling well?" He didn't know exactly how difficult it was to push a baby out, but judging from what he had seen on the job and in that damn video they were forced to watch; it certainly didn't look like a walk in the park.

"It's not ideal," Dr. Geisner agreed, "and it does raise the risk of complications for both your wife and the newborn but we'll give her as much support as we can. Hopefully by when the time comes for the hard work we'll have her fever down a bit. It's probably not going to be easy on her but it is the best option at this point. We need to avoid an operation if at all possible."

"Okay, then," Jamie nodded as he looked between the two concerned faces. He was having a hard time with this medical decision thing and thought back to the recent times when Eddie had been the strong one in charge and the roles were reversed. She had always done her best for him and wasn't afraid to stand up and fight if needed. "I guess that's what we need to do. We'd better get started."

The dream sequence with Mary and Joe was a flashback Jamie was having to an experience he had when he was a baby himself. See chapter 5 of "Snapshots" for the Prequel - Night Terrors for the whole story. And beyond that, here we go! Little no-name Reagan makes a much anticipated arrival next!