Stephanie's ability to sleep soundly through the night in a place unfamiliar to home was impressive. She was momentarily stunned by her alien surroundings upon waking, but only until her eyes washed over each of her casts and brought the memory of her accident flooding back to memory. Her muscles ached to be extended from their cramped positions, and she did the best she could, but movement wasn't exactly easy when confined to a narrow bed. The clock announced morning's arrival, and she licked her parched lips and reached her uninjured arm towards the ceiling to give it a good stretch.
Only once in the night had she awoken, and it was in a cold sweat, her heart thumping erratically in her chest. She recalled having a nightmare about the accident, and her heart monitor must have showed signs of her distress, because a nurse had briefly walked in to check on her before allowing her to return to sleep. Stephanie ran her hand over her thin bedsheets until her fingers bumped into a mass of blond hair, inching forward until her fingertips were on Chris's scalp. As promised, he hadn't left her bedside the entire night and had fallen asleep in a chair, his head nodded off on the side of her bed.
Seeing him lying in what must have qualified as the most uncomfortable of sleeping positions in history, Stephanie felt the scope of his love, and it brought an instant smile to her face. Through the test of time, he was still the same man who had fallen in love with her so many years before and strived every day of his life to protect her from harm. She began scratching his scalp lightly, and it wasn't until a couple of minutes into the action that he began to stir. He sighed sleepily and let out a deep breath before picking his head up and finding himself staring directly into her alluring eyes.
"You stayed with me," she noted.
He only nodded at first, swiping the corner of his mouth as he glanced around and reacquainted himself with her hospital room. After checking the clock, he turned back to her, a little more alert. "I told you I was staying, hardhead."
"I know," she laughed. "I just feel bad that you were sleeping in a chair. You could have squeezed into bed with me."
"No, I move too much during the night. I wouldn't have wanted to bump your leg or arm accidentally, and the chair wasn't even all that bad, to be honest. I got enough sleep," he assured. Chris rose from his chair and yawned while simultaneously stretching his arms. He craned his neck, first on the left side, then to the right. "Your parents and Shane will be back soon. They're also bringing Paul and Trish back with them."
"Paul and Trish were here?"
"For a little while, earlier this morning," Chris said. "They came in quietly with your family and shook me awake to ask about you. You were still asleep and I didn't want them to wake you up, so I told them to go out to breakfast and come back after."
"Why didn't you go to breakfast with them?"
Chris scrunched his nose and waved her question off as he took a seat on the edge of her bed. "I'm fine."
Worry lines creased her forehead. "What did you eat yesterday?"
"I don't remember."
"What did you drink?"
"Uh...I don't really remember that, either."
"Christopher Irvine!" she exclaimed, in a scolding tone that let him know he was in trouble. "You can't sit here with me nonstop and not eat or drink anything. I mean, don't get me wrong, because I love that you're here so often, but you've got to take care of yourself first. Just wait until my parents get back so I can give them a piece of my mind. I can't believe they would go to breakfast and leave you behind."
"They tried to convince me to go, but I told them no. We even had a mini argument about it in the hallway," he pointed to the spot just outside her door. "They told me I needed to go with them, but I was afraid you would wake up and nobody would be here, and I was right. You would have woken up all alone just now, thinking no one cared, and I'm closer to you than anyone, so I had to be here. I needed you to know I care."
Stephanie extended her good hand and Chris placed his inside, where she tucked it snugly in her grasp. "I know you care about me, honey. It's not like I would have thought everyone abandoned me if I had woken up and none of you were here. I would have been aware enough to know you had to go eat, shower, use the bathroom, or do whatever. I'm not completely clueless."
"I know, but the thought of you opening your eyes to an empty room was too much. My heart just couldn't take it, okay?" he replied, casting his eyes downward as his cheeks flushed.
"You're really sweet, but you're still not off the hook. You need to get something to eat, Chris," she ordered. "I love that you want to stay by my side through all of this, but you need to take a break for yourself. If you even think about sitting here all day, I'll hop right out of this bed and beat you up, broken leg and all."
"Okay, fine," he held his hands up in surrender. "I'll go eat, but I'll wait until everyone gets back so you'll have company while I'm gone. Everyone's probably sick of me hogging you all to myself, anyway."
"I don't mind it at all," she winked flirtatiously and squeezed his hand. "Love you."
"Love you more."
Stephanie leaned in, lowering her voice. "Will you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Can you find one of the nurses and ask them about the baby?" she asked. "I know they can't tell us as much as Dr. Womack would be able to, since it's not their area of expertise, but I haven't been feeling him kick the way he used to."
"He's not kicking at all?" Chris wondered, growing alarmed.
"He is, but not as often as before."
Swiping a hand over her stomach, he gave a curt nod. "I'll be right back."
Chris returned minutes later with a fresh-faced nurse, the same one who had been treating Stephanie during daytime hours since she arrived at the facility. The first effort she made was to assist Stephanie in rising to a sitting position, sneaking the pillow out from behind her and fluffing the material before replacing it. Stephanie thanked her and extended her hand for Chris to hold onto while the nurse reached for her fetal monitor and turned the volume up. The beating of the baby's heart had thumped lowly through the night, but hearing it loud and clear brought a smile to Stephanie's face right away.
The beating of his heart was strong, solid, and steady, all of which one could assume were positive signs. Through the trauma, their son was still with them, and that in itself was a blessing they couldn't give enough thanks for. The nurse kept her hand pressed against the monitor attached to Stephanie's stomach and studied the face of it as she calculated the heart rate. Though she trusted the doctors, Stephanie felt as if she wouldn't be able to completely relax until she could see Dr. Womack and rest assured there was going to be no long-term damage to her child's health.
"Is he okay?" Stephanie asked.
The nurse, a kind young woman with soft features, apple cheekbones, and a long, blond ponytail down her back, smiled and nodded. She was known professionally as Nurse Wilson, but had built enough rapport with Chris and Stephanie in the 24 hours she had known them to exempt them from such addressing. Instead, she directed them to call her by her first name, Emma. "He's got a strong heartbeat."
Stephanie let out a sweeping sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," she said, squeezing Chris's hand even tighter. He gave her a squeeze back for support.
"His baseline heart rate is at 135 beats per minute, and that's definitely within our normal range. Usually, we like the heart rate to fall between 110 and 160 beats per minute, and he's well within that," Nurse Wilson supplied. She turned the monitor down, dulling the baby's heartbeat to the muffled thud it had been before, and removed her hand from Stephanie's stomach. "I wouldn't worry too much if you don't feel the same movement as before. You'll want to see your obstetrician soon and discuss those concerns with her if this continues, but, for now, I don't see any real danger signs or red flags."
"Is there any specific reason he might not be moving so much?" Stephanie wondered. "Is it the medicine I was given when I was taken into surgery yesterday?"
"That could very well be a possibility," Nurse Wilson supplied. She opened her mouth to speak again but paused, eyes shifting hastily between Chris and Stephanie as she swallowed thickly. She cleared her throat, preparing for her next words. "Now, I want to be absolutely honest with you both and let you know that a decrease in fetal movement can be a symptom of placental abruption, but that isn't the only cause of that particular symptom."
"Shouldn't the doctors come check then?" Chris cut in. "If they know it's a possibility, why wouldn't they try to prevent it before it's too late?"
"There's no guarantee she will actually suffer from such a condition," the nurse replied. "In the event that she does, we'll be able to detect it on the fetal monitor, because the baby's heart rate will be abnormal, but, as of right now, he's doing well and is right where we would expect him to be."
Chris added, "So, say she does have the, uh..."
"Placental abruption," Nurse Wilson filled in.
"Yeah, say that happens, and the baby's heart rate starts dropping or something," he began. "Is there going to be some way they can save him, or, I mean, what's going to happen?"
"I want you to know I don't see any sings of distress as of right now, and I don't foresee that the baby will be in any danger, but if an abruption were to occur, there are methods we can try to heal the separation. On occasion, we perform an emergency cesarean section, but that wouldn't likely apply to this case, because it's still fairly early in the pregnancy," she explained. "That would be something I could discuss with you in more detail if anything were to occur, but please rest assured I don't see any signs that should worry you. Your baby's heartbeat is going strong."
"Could I ask you for one more thing?" Chris said.
"Sure, that's what I'm here for."
"Can I get an ice pack for her eye and cheek?" he asked, pointing to the distended and contused portion of Stephanie's face.
"Of course," Nurse Wilson answered brightly. "I'll be wheeling her breakfast in first, and then I'll bring the ice pack in. The doctor will be with you in about another hour to check on your progress," she said, shifting her focus to Stephanie, "and the physical therapist will be in later as well to help you with transferring from your bed to a wheelchair."
"So, that's it?" Stephanie asked, flabbergasted. She glanced from Chris to her nurse and back again. "There's nothing else I can find out about my baby?"
"I know that you're highly concerned, and I would be as well, but I can only tell you what the baby's current condition is. Doctor Meyer will be able to shed some more light on the situation when he comes in, and he's got you scheduled for an ultrasound today, so you'll get greater insight from that as well," she said. "If you feel like you need Doctor Meyer right now, I can try my hardest to go grab him."
Stephanie squinted into the distance and bit her bottom lip in thought, following that with a shake of her head. She mumbled a response under her breath. "No, it's okay."
"Are you sure?" Nurse Wilson asked, her brow furrowing as she regarded Stephanie with sympathy. As a mother to her own child, she couldn't imagine going through the uncertainty Stephanie was dealing with as her pregnancy unfolded. It was one of the greatest heartaches imaginable. "I would be more than happy to grab him for you."
Stephanie managed only another shake of the head as she bit her thumbnail and turned away. Chris ran his thumb over her knuckles and answered for her. "We'll go ahead and wait until Doctor Meyer is ready to see us."
Nurse Wilson left with a slightly deflated composure, but her smile never faded. "All right then."
Stephanie's hand was still tucked inside Chris minutes later as she stared down her breakfast, with her lips pursed together. A hard-boiled egg, a bowl of mushy oatmeal, a piece of buttered toast, and a glass of orange juice awaited her. A second cup filled with ice water sat near the back of her tray, but she couldn't bring herself to lift a hand and eat or drink anything spread out before her. Food was already unappealing, but the state of the food in front of her wasn't any help. It wasn't the least bit enticing.
Chris, always the strong one, sensed her lack of enthusiasm for her first hospital meal and tried his darnedest to help. He relinquished her hand to free it up and pointed at her food. "Do you want me to peel your egg?" he offered. No answer. "You can't shut me out, babe. If you're upset, you should talk to me about it. I know this is hard on you, but I need you to let me help."
"I wish I could have a re-do of yesterday," she said, frowning at her hands as she twiddled her fingers in her lap. "I put myself and our baby in danger, and all I want is to go back and at least try to fix it. This never should have happened."
After giving her a few brief seconds of silence, Chris slid onto the bed beside her and circled her back with his arm. He kissed her temple, eyes softening when her pupils met his. "This might not be what you want to hear, but we're blessed, even with the car accident happening. You're still here, our son is still here, and you're about to be released from this place so I can bring you home. There's a lot to be thankful for."
"I know."
"Then what's wrong?"
"I just want to be home, you know?" she raised her gaze to meet his, and Chris nodded his understanding. "I want to be in my own bedroom, in my own bed, eating our own home-cooked food and not this disgusting hospital food."
"It actually doesn't look that bad," Chris spied her plate. She picked up the handle of the plastic spoon that had sunk into her oatmeal and scooped the hot cereal out, holding the utensil up and tipping it to the side so the gooey mixture splattered back into the bowl, revealing its slimy consistency. Chris found humor in that, laughing as he picked her boiled egg up and began ridding it of its hard outer shell. "Okay, maybe the oatmeal isn't great, but you can eat this egg with your toast."
He finished up with the egg and handed it off to Stephanie. She must have had a change of heart with her appetite in the time it took him to complete the task, because she accepted it eagerly and took a large bite. Chris picked up her salt and pepper packets and opened them, both of which he handed off to Stephanie to sprinkle on her egg. She started in on her toast, and a ghost of a smile played on his lips as he watched her, thankful she had come so far from the unconscious woman lying stiffly in her bed not more than 24 hours earlier.
When she was closing in on the completion of breakfast, several minutes later, a herd of footsteps could be heard and, sure enough, Chris checked the doorway and found family and friends entering. Stephanie's eyes widened, caught off-guard, and she picked her napkin up and blotted her face near her mouth to be sure she looked as presentable as possible. The shortest person in the pack broke away and barreled through the bodies, zipping up to the side of Stephanie's bed at once. Her eyes held the fears she must have experienced after receiving Chris's initial phone call, and without a single word spoken between them, Trish pulled Stephanie into a bear hug.
The nurse had raised the bed at the start of her breakfast, so Stephanie was easier to hold onto since she was already in a sitting position. She wrapped her good arm around Trish and hugged her back just as the remainder of the group gathered around, but not without a few tearful gazes and sniffles in the mix. Paul hunched over to kiss the top of Stephanie's head, and she smiled warmly. "You guys didn't have to come. I'm really thankful you did, but I would have understood if you couldn't make it."
"Don't be silly. Of course we were coming to see you," Trish pulled away, assessing the damage and squinting as she went down a mental list. Stephanie saw Trish's pain as her eyes trailed over the first cast wound around her arm and the final cast, stretching the length of her lower leg. "What exactly happened? Did somebody run a red light and hit you?"
"No, it was my fault," Stephanie said. "I probably wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been, and when I went to turn left, I accidentally turned in front of another car. By the time I saw them, it was too late to get out of the way. I just remember tensing and grabbing my stomach, because I knew I was going to get hit, so the only thing to do was try to brace myself for it."
"That's terrible," Trish cringed, running her hand over Stephanie's hair companionably. When her finger got snagged in a tangle of Stephanie's unkempt locks, she frowned, unzipping her purse and searching around until she found a mini-brush. Stephanie's eyes lit up, and she leaned forward right away, thankful someone was willing to brush the knots out of her hair out. It wasn't until Trish got started on her tangled tresses and Stephanie caught sight of her leftover oatmeal that she remembered she still had orders to dole out to a certain someone.
She found Chris staring down at his phone, scrolling through what she imagined were his unanswered mound of text messages or missed calls, so she cleared her throat extra loudly. He glanced up guiltily, and she sent him a pointed look. "Everyone's back now. It's time for you to go take your break."
"I don't really need one," he objected, but when Stephanie's face took on a fierce edge, he found himself wondering why he bothered going up against her. No matter what, she was always going to talk him into doing what she wanted. Her unwavering persistence was simply another one of the many qualities that had brought him to love her.
"You need to eat, so go," she repeated, everyone looking on in silence. Chris caught the slightest glimpse of a smirk forming on Linda's face, as if even she was impressed with her own daughter's attentive prowess.
"The nurse left your ice pack on the table," he reminded. Stephanie reached out for it, but Trish beat her to the punch and plucked it from the table, handing it off to her. She brought it up to her left eye and cheek area and rested it there to appease Chris.
"There, I'm taken care of, now go eat something before I ruin you," she threatened emptily, following her statement with a coy batting of her eyelashes. Hushed laughter rippled through the room as she and Chris battled in a playful stare down until he looked away. Stephanie's eyes lit up at her small victory. "See? I won. Go take care of yourself and eat, sleep, shower, or whatever you need to do, and then come back."
"You'll really be okay?" Chris asked, an intense unease washing over his features.
"I'll be fine, honey."
"Okay, well, I just got a text from Rich, and he says he's on his way to come see you, so he'll be here later today."
"Tell him I look forward to seeing him," she said, angling her head so Trish could get at the untouched hair on the opposite side. Chris remained rooted to his spot, so she tried again to get him moving. "Bye. I'll see you really soon."
"Yeah, soon," Chris rubbed the back of his neck hesitantly and focused in on Linda. "I know you'll take good care of her, so I don't know why I'm having such a hard time leaving right now. I've been here since yesterday, and it's like I can't walk away, no matter how hard I try."
"I understand why you feel that way, but look at all of us," Linda outstretched her arms and gestured to everyone. "We're all here to make sure she's okay. Take care of yourself, Chris. She'll still be here when you get back, so no worries."
"Go get a bite to eat, dude," Shane clapped him on the back.
"Yeah, seriously," Paul nodded towards the door, "go do what you've gotta do, and we'll hold down the fort here. If you've been here since yesterday morning, then you need a break."
"You do," Trish echoed. Ted reached into his pocket and produced his car keys.
"Here," he told Chris, "take the car and go home. You don't have to sleep there if you don't want to, but you should at least shower and have a good meal before you come back here."
Chris accepted the keys and sidled back up to the side of Stephanie's bed, where he swooped in and kissed her forehead, following that by pressing his lips to hers. "I'll be back for you in just a little bit, okay? If the doctor comes in before I get back, make sure to ask him all the questions you had about the baby."
"I will," she replied.
"Okay," Chris said, running his hand over her stomach. He felt multiple sets of eyes on him, and it got under his skin more than usual. He wanted a private moment with Stephanie, without everyone hearing him say his goodbyes, but he had already had her to himself for far too long as it was. The gravity of the situation was making him more sensitive than he normally would have been, but, nonetheless, he sent Stephanie a wink and exchanged polite parting words with everyone else in the room before taking cautious steps towards the door, stopping in the door frame. When he turned back, every person in the room had whirled around to watch his grand exit, and he shrugged guiltily. "All right, all right, I'm going, people."
Easy laughter was the final sound Chris made out before he stepped into the hallway and headed towards the hospital's exit.