Chapter 50
Max watched the tear run down Liz's cheek, her voice echoing in his head.
I'm bleeding
"You
what?" Max's voice barely rasped out, his throat tightening.
"Oh
my God," Isabel whispered behind him.
Liz broke down in front
of him, her sobs violently shaking her small frame. Without being
completely aware of the physical reality, Max took a hold of Liz and
pulled her close, grabbing onto her as if he could redo whatever was
happening by holding her tighter.
"You have to get her to the
hospital, Max," Isabel voiced and then she put sound to his
frightening thoughts. "She might be losing the baby."
Without
a word, Max loosened his grip on Liz, only to bend down, hook an arm
at the back of her knees and lift her off the ground. She wrapped her
arms tightly around his neck, her tears quickly wetting the collar of
his shirt.
"Should I call an ambulance?" Isabel asked.
Max
shook his head. The hospital was close and by the time the ambulance
had made its way here, he could have gotten her to the hospital on
his own.
"I'll take her."
"What's wrong?"
Max
hardly noticed Maria's presence as he walked briskly through the
living room, with Liz cradled in his arms. The sound of rushing of
blood in his ears drowned out the explanation Isabel gave to Maria
and the tears forming in his eyes made him miss the fear on Maria's
face as she caught up with them at the front door.
"I'm
coming with you," Maria said and suspecting that Max hadn't heard
her, she put more force and determination in her voice and repeated,
"I'm coming with you."
"Okay," Max said quietly,
feeling like the past was catching up with him. Quickly.
--------------------------------------
The
physician removed the speculum she had used to examine Liz and
straightened up. She looked at the young couple; the worry on the
man's face and the woman's red fearful eyes. For their sake, she
was relieved that she had some kind of positive news.
"Well,
Miss Parker, your cervix is not open, which is a really good sign."
The couple was still looking at her with big eyes, so she added, "If
the cervix would have been open, you would have lost the baby."
"So what about the bleeding?" Max asked, confused. He had
been certain that Liz had suffered a miscarriage, something that had,
to his surprise, scared him. He thought that he had been sure that it
would've been for the better if Liz lost the baby, but being faced
with the actual situation had scared him to death. In the last hour
he had realized that it was not only Liz that wanted this baby. He
wanted it too.
"Well, this is what we would call a threatened
miscarriage," the physician explained. "The body is threatening
to remove the baby."
"There's something wrong with the
baby?" Liz asked, squeezing Max's hand harder. If the body wanted
to get rid of the baby, something must be wrong with the baby.
"We
are going to let you have an ultrasound to see if there's anything
wrong with your baby," the physician answered.
"Okay," Liz
nodded, still shocked.
"Have you had intercourse recently?"
the physician asked, flipping through Liz's medical journal.
Liz
looked up, worried, at Max. Had they done this? "Uhm…yes, well.
Yesterday."
"I thought it was okay to have… uhm…intercourse
when you were pregnant," Max stumbled over the words, trying to
remember what the doctors had been telling him when Tess had been
pregnant. There had never been any problems with Tess' pregnancy
and they hadn't really exercised celibacy.
The physician looked
up from Liz's very extensive medical history. "Sex is only one of
the reasons to vaginal bleeding during pregnancy. It happens in
around 30 of pregnancies and can be caused by hormones, an
infection, but in your case, Miss Parker, it can be related to the
immunosuppressive drugs you are taking for your heart."
Liz's
eyes closed, shutting the new tears in. She had known this could
happen. To be honest, everyone had more or less been screaming the
risks in her face, but she had always been hopeful that maybe it
would be okay. She felt Max's warm lips against her forehead and
the tears overflowed and ran down her cheeks.
"It can still be
alright, Miss Parker," the physician said, her voice warm and
consoling. "Let us take a look at the ultrasound first before we
jump to any conclusions."
Liz opened her eyes and nodded,
wiping the tears away with the back of her hand.
"Here you go,"
the physician said, handing her some tissues.
The ultrasound
was rolled into the examination room and the procedure which had
filled Liz with anticipation and hope just a couple of weeks earlier
was now connected to dread and hopelessness in her mind. The cold gel
was applied to her stomach and almost immediately the room filled
with the rapid lub-dub sounds of the baby's beating heart. Max felt
his knees go weak and he sank down on the chair positioned next to
him. The baby was alive.
The physician smiled, confirming what
Max already knew, "The baby seem to be doing okay. Its heart sounds
okay."
Liz nodded, knowing that she should be relieved, but she
knew that she was still bleeding and that was preventing her from
being able to fully relax.
"What happens now?" she heard Max
ask.
"Since Liz's bleeding is still heavy, we are going to
keep her here overnight, just as a precaution."
"But the
bleeding will stop, right?" Liz whispered.
"Hopefully, it
will stop. It might come back. Some women experience recurrent
bleedings over a couple of weeks."
"Oh no," Liz whispered,
the prospect of continuing going through this anxiety making her
nauseous.
"But she won't miscarry?" Max asked.
"It's
not for certain," the physician said grimly. "Around half of
pregnancies with threatened miscarriage go through the pregnancy
without any further problems while the other half will lose the
baby."
Liz shook her head in a sign of hopelessness and
devastation at this and turned her head away from Max and the
physician.
"A nurse will come in shortly and help you get
installed in a room," the physician said. "Do you want me to tell
your friend to come in?"
She was referring to Maria, who was
waiting outside. Max glanced at Liz and shook his head. It was
probably for the best right now to handle things without Maria's
involvement. This was between Liz and him. "I think we need some
time alone first," Max said.
"That's fine," the physician
said, giving him an understanding half-smile.
"Thank you,
doctor," Max said, releasing Liz's hand to shake the doctor's
hand.
The physician gave a short nod and left Max and Liz alone.
Max sat down on the edge of the examination table, stroking Liz's
hair. His hand froze when she spoke, "This is what you wanted,
isn't it?"
For a second he was at lost of words, because he
really hadn't expected her to say anything like that at this
moment.
"No, of course I didn't," he said forcefully.
"If
the child would die, at least you wouldn't lose me," Liz
continued.
Max swallowed when she touched on the truth with such
rawness. "Yes, that's true."
Liz made herself smaller, very
subtly inching away from him.
"I couldn't bear losing you,
Liz. And this whole thing… I was not sure if the baby was worth it.
I'm still not sure."
"The baby is part of us, Max," Liz
sobbed, her voice small and lonely.
"What if I lose both of
you? The stakes are too high."
"So you want me to terminate
the pregnancy?" Liz whispered fearfully.
There was a long
pause before he answered. "No. I thought I did, but after what just
happened… I want this child just as much as you do, Liz."
He
looked up at the ceiling, feeling the weight of the reality pushing
down on his shoulders. He was being honest, but his recent feelings
of love towards their unborn child had grown into guilt for being
willing to risk her life. Even if Liz was more than willing to do
that herself, Max had felt like he should be the one responsible and
see the catastrophe before it arrived and stop it.
"What are we
going to do?" Liz said quietly.
"We have to take every day as
it comes I guess," Max said weakly. What was he supposed to say? He
knew as little as she did. In this situation that had become their
current life, they were lost.
------------------------------------
Maria
rushed up to Liz when she walked through the examination doors and
enveloped her in a tight hug.
"Babe, how are you feeling? Is
everything okay? How is the baby? What are you going to do now?"
"Uhm…" Liz said, not really sure what question to answer
first.
"She has to stay in the hospital overnight," Max
replied, wrapping a protective arm around Liz's waist.
Maria's
eyes grew bigger, a combination of fear and sorrow lacing her
features. "Did you lose the baby?"
Liz glanced at Max before
answering. "The baby is fine."
Maria frowned, relieved at
Liz's statement but still puzzled. "So why were you bleeding?"
Unconsciously leaning into Max, Liz decided to fill Maria in on
what the doctor had told them.
"Oh my God," Maria whispered
when Liz finished and pulled Liz into another hug. "Are you okay?"
Liz gave her a weak smile, trying not only to comfort Maria but
also herself. "I'm… I'm scared."
Her voice trembled
at the last word and she felt Max arm around her waist tighten in its
hold. She blinked to prevent the hot tears from rolling down her
cheeks. She watched Maria's eyes tear up and tried to swallow the
fear to protect her best friend.
"Oh, sweetie," Maria
murmured, protectively brushing a strand of Liz's hair behind her
ear. "You are going to get through this, okay? Your baby is going
to make this. I know the baby is a fighter, just look at her mommy."
A teary laugh tumbled over Liz's lips, wanting to believe
Maria's every word so badly.
Maria caringly stroke Liz's
cheek, removing the silent tears that were wetting the skin. "This
is just a minor setback. You will get through this; I have no doubt
in my mind."
"Okay," Liz whispered, somewhat broken. She
longed for the confidence she could see in Maria's eyes, but her
fears were still too strong, too dominate.
"Okay?"
Liz
nodded, brushing the tears away with the back of her hand. "Okay."
---------------------------------------------
One day later
"What do
you think you're doing?"
Liz bit her lower lip, knowing that
she had been caught, and slowly lowered the cup she had been washing
to the bottom of the sink. "I'm just washing my cup."
His
hand pressed against the small of her back as he stepped closer to
her, "I'll do that, Liz. You should be in bed."
She rolled
her eyes. "The doctor said that it wouldn't really make a
difference if I was resting or not, as long as I'm not like
exercising or something."
She could feel the heat of his strong
body as he stepped closer, his arm snaking around her waist to
protectively rest against the slight swell of her stomach. "I still
think you should rest."
She turned the tap back on and rinsed
the cup. "Max, my hands are itching. I needed to do something."
"Yes, Max. She's not handicapped."
Max and Liz jumped
at the presence of another voice, turning around in the direction of
the sound. Isabel smiled when she saw the perplexity on their faces.
"The front door was open."
"What are you doing here,
Isabel?" Max asked, stepping up to his sister.
"Gee, you can
really make a girl feel special," Isabel said sarcastically and
pulled Max into a hug. "How are you holding up, little brother?"
"Uhm," was Max reply as he was released from his sister's
overprotective embrace.
Isabel offered him a hint of a smile,
before turning her attention to Liz, while her voice answered his
initial question. "I came to visit Liz."
Liz frowned. "Me?"
Granted, Liz and Isabel had had some discussion about getting
along, but things had continued to be strained between the two and
Liz had thought that this would only fuel Isabel's argument about
Liz being bad for Max further.
"Yes, you," Isabel emphasized;
her facial features letting everyone know how ridiculous Liz was
being. "How are you feeling?"
"Uhm…"
"You
certainly are a match made in heaven… Do you have any other
information to give me but 'uhm'? I heard from Maria that you
didn't lose the baby."
Liz nodded, quickly catching up with
the present. "The baby is fine. I had something called threatened
miscarriage."
Isabel shot a worried glance in Max's
direction, before granting Liz's face a closer look in an attempt
to read if this was good or bad. "That doesn't sound good."
Liz shook her head. "I could be fine… but," Liz swallowed,
meeting Max's eyes, "I could also lose the baby."
"Oh
Liz," Isabel said sympathetically and surprised Liz by pulling her
into a hug.
Max watched the scene with confusion and decided to
be painfully blunt. "I thought you didn't like Liz being pregnant
to start with."
"Max," Liz warned as Isabel pulled away.
Isabel turned to her brother, hurt shining in her eyes. Max was
right, she had felt that way, but it was painful to hear him more or
less accuse her of wanting their child dead.
"How can you say
that?"
Max took a mental step back, realizing that he might've
been too harsh. "All I'm saying is that Liz would be better off
not being pregnant, right?"
Liz looked at him, wondering if he
was only saying the words he thought Isabel was thinking or if it was
also the words in his mind.
Isabel opened her mouth to defend
herself with some defensive words, but at the last second decided
against it. Instead she turned towards Liz. "I… I'm sorry for
the way I treated you and for how I talked to you before." Liz's
eyes widened in surprise and Isabel hurried to continue. "I mean,
if I were pregnant and someone disrespected me and my baby like that,
I would... I would be really hurt. I'm sorry, Liz."
The hint
of an insecure smile fluttered across Liz's lips. "That's okay,
Isabel. I completely understand your reaction."
"But that
doesn't make my reaction right," Isabel said, shame over how she
had treated Liz trembling over her beautiful facial features.
"Thank
you, Isabel. Let's just put this behind us, okay?"
Isabel
visibly relaxed and her face brightened with a warm smile. "Yes,
okay." Her smile grew when her brother's arms encircled her waist
from the back. Giving her cheek a peck, he whispered. "Thanks,
sis."
Isabel blushed, getting uncomfortable with the sudden
overwhelming gratitude and with a smooth step out of Max's arms;
she brushed the strong feelings off and redirected her attention to
Liz. "Now, how about you and I go for a little trip?"
"Isabel-"
Isabel silenced Max's protest with a warning glare and with a
determined tone she said, "Max, Liz obviously needs to get out of
the house. Don't worry. I won't let her do anything. She is going
to be so pampered."
Max looked at Liz desperately. If he
couldn't work with Isabel, maybe he could convince Liz not to go.
Liz saw the honest worry in his eyes and stepped up to him,
unconsciously taking a hold of his hand. "Isabel, where are we
going?"
"Manicure, pedicure, facials, you name it," Isabel
said with a proud smile, confident that no woman would reject an
offer like that, Elizabeth Parker included.
Liz smiled warmly.
Where had this Isabel come from? She looked up at Max, squeezing his
hand in a comforting gesture.
"I'll be fine, Max."
Max
met her eyes, and she could see how he was struggling to push the
worry out of the way and his attempt to put on a smile was pathetic
if not completely catastrophic. "Okay." His eyes still on Liz's
face, his voice rose slightly in volume as he directed it in Isabel's
direction. "Look after her, Isabel."
"Don't worry,
brother, I will take care of her."
TBC...
