Chapter Nineteen

A/N: Some of the medical scenes in this chapter (and possibly future ones) do NOT make sense medically. I ask that you just appreciate the story for what it is, medical inaccuracies and all, and please remember, I'm not a medical professional. Thanks!

~ JACK ~

I caught Rose in my arms. "Help! Help!"

My parents came running towards us. "Jack, what happened?"

"She just collapsed. I don't know," I said, my voice cracking.

"Set her down gently," my mother instructed. She shook Rose gently. "Rose, can you hear me?"

Nothing happened. Rose was still unconscious. She put two fingers against Rose's neck. "Her pulse is weak. Jack, call 911." I put my hand against my mouth as I dialed 911. My mother took the phone. "This is Dr. Nina Dawson. I need an ambulance."

The ambulance came, and the paramedics packed Rose up and put her in the ambulance. She looked so sick yet so beautiful. "Ride with her," I told my mother. "You're a doctor. I'm not. I'll ride with Dad."

"Okay," she said as she ran over and climbed into the ambulance.

I squeezed his eyes shut, trying to decide what to do. "Mom." She turned back to me. "She's pregnant. Eleven weeks. She's pregnant, Mom."

My mother sighed and nodded. "I'll take care of them both. I promise."

The paramedic came back to us. "We can fit you both in the ambulance with us."

I nodded as I jumped into the ambulance next to my mom.

Rose slowly opened her eyes. They looked so glassy and strange, almost like the woman I knew wasn't in there. "Rose, it's Nina. You're going to be okay. We're going to take care of you and the baby." Rose closed her eyes again, and my mom felt for a pulse. "Her pulse is thready. Do you have an ultrasound machine?"

"Sure." The paramedic handed her the ultrasound machine. My mother and I quickly got Rose's wedding dress off and a hospital gown on.

My mother slowly moved the ultrasound machine around. "Please have a heartbeat, please have a heartbeat," she said under her breath. Finally, she found a heartbeat. "Oh no. This is bad. This is really, really bad."

"What is?" I asked nervously. "Mom, what happened?"

"We're here," the second paramedic called. They jumped out of the ambulance and pulled the stretcher out of the ambulance, rolling it inside.

The pulled up a minute later. "What happened?" I asked again as I jumped out of the ambulance and followed them inside. "How is she?"

My mother was doing a second ultrasound as the nurses got Rose ready for surgery. "She has what's known as an ectopic pregnancy. It's incredibly dangerous for both her and the baby."

"Is there a way to save them both?" I asked.

"There is a way to save both of them, but it's dangerous both during and after the procedure," Nina explained. "How attached were you both to the pregnancy?"

"Very," I crossed my arms. We were both so excited about it. "Just save her. Please. We can make another baby, but we can't make another her."

Rose's head slowly tossed on the pillow. "She's waking up." Both my mother and I ran over to her. "You have to ask her what she wants to do. Be quick; she can lose consciousness again any minute."

I nodded and stood next to her. "J-Jack," Rose whispered.

"Rose, they can't save the baby without putting your life in danger," I stroked Rose's beautiful curls. "I'm so sorry."

"No," she said quietly. "Save the baby. Save the baby." After that, she lost consciousness.

"I'll tell the surgeons to try to save the baby," my mom said.

"No, just save her," I shook my head.

"It's her decision," she replied. "She wants the doctors to try to save them both."

"You can't be serious!" I yelled. "She's not in her right state of mind. I'm her husband."

My mother shrugged. "I'm sorry. It's not up to you, Jack."

I ran my fingers through my hair nervously as Rose was wheeled away. "She'll be okay," my mom said. "You have to believe that."

•••

I sat in the waiting room with my parents and Gabby. I was staring straight ahead, turning my wedding band in circles. The doctor came to find me. "Mr. Dawson." I stood up to talk to him. "Everything's fine. Your wife is out of surgery and in a room. You can see her if you'd like."

"Yes please," I said. I followed the doctor into the room. Rose was laying there, unconscious. Her hair was sprawled all over the pillow, her face had lost a lot of it's color, and her hand had a needle in it. I paced around the room for a minute before sitting in the chair next to Rose's bed and taking her hand.

I sat with her for a few minutes before my mom walked in. "She's still unconscious?" She asked.

"Yeah." I sat back in the chair, wishing Rose was awake. "What exactly happened? And what does it mean for the rest of her pregnancy?"

My mom sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the room and sighed. "An ectopic pregnancy is when the fetus isn't in the uterus. It's somewhere else in the abdomen. In Rose's case, it's in her Fallopian tube." She checked on Rose's vitals and then continued. "The most common treatment is to remove the fetus entirely. But they've recently found a way to move the fetus from the Fallopian tube to the uterus. It's risky, but it can work."

"But she's still in danger?" I asked. She didn't answer right away. "Tell me the truth, I can take it."

"The surgery was a success," she explained. "They were able to move the fetus into her uterus, but it's still touch and go. There's still a high risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, or birth defects. And for Rose, she's at risk for post-op complications, and the risk of common complications of pregnancy are doubled. And if she continues to bleed or we find that the tube ruptured, we need to take her back into surgery."

I put my head in my hands. "If this was Gabby, what would you want her to do?"

She sighed. "I would want her to take the safer option and have an abortion," she said quietly. "How long have you known about the pregnancy?"

"Since the car accident," I took Rose's hand and held it. "I can't lose her, Mom. We're both young. We can have another baby. Is it terrible that I want her to have the abortion?"

"No, it's not terrible," she smiled sadly. "It's up to her, though. And it seems like she wants to try to save the baby."

"She does."

"You need to prepare yourself," she continued. "She might be in a lot of pain, she might be really sick. There's no way to really know. But it's going to be hard on both of you."

"I know," I rubbed my eyes.

My mom walked over to me and kissed my cheek. "I'll give you a minute alone."

"Thanks." I took Rose's soft hand and held it. I started to cry against her hand.

Rose slowly started to open her eyes. "Jack?"

I looked up at her. Her eyes looked so… weak, like all of her power and energy had been sucked from her. "Hey, you're awake." I kissed her hand as a few more tears ran down my cheeks.

Rose leaned over and wiped my tears. "Don't cry," she smiled weakly. "I'm okay."

"Rose, we have to talk about this," I began. I held her hand in mine. "You had an ectopic pregnancy, which means the baby was outside the uterus. They fixed it in surgery, but it's still incredibly dangerous for both of you."

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"When we got here, you told me you wanted to try to save the baby," I looked into her eyes. "But Rose, I was talking to my mother, and this is really risky."

"What do you suggest we do?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Abort the baby," I said nervously. I knew how much this pregnancy meant to her, and it broke my heart that it had come to this. But I needed to be rational.

Rose was speechless. "Are you insane?" She asked. "Absolutely not."

"I don't like the idea either, but it's the safest option."

She paused for a minute. "Is this about the paternity?"

"What?" I asked. I was hurt; how could she think that I would do something like that? "Rose, you know that's not it."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes, I promise," I stroked her soft cheek. "My mother was telling me the possible complications and risks, and it's really dangerous, Rose."

She shook her head. "I'm not doing it, Jack. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," I smiled, though I was really worried. "I just want what's best for you."

"I know," she smiled back. "Can you lay with me?"

"I don't want to hurt you," I said as I slowly sat on the bed and wrapped my arms around her.

Rose leaned her head against my chest. "This is not how I pictured our wedding night."

"Really?" I asked. "You mean you didn't imagine that you would pass out after the ceremony and be rushed into emergency surgery?"

She laughed, then coughed. "Ow, it hurts to laugh."

"Sorry," I kissed the top of her head.

"So does everyone know now?" Rose asked.

"Sort of," I said. "Just my parents and Gabby. I obviously had to tell my mom."

"I know." She looked up at me sadly. "You must have been so scared."

"I was worried about you," I said. "I still am."

"I'm okay, I promise." She leaned against me again. Our bodies always fit perfectly with each other. "How long am I here for?"

"I'm not sure." I stroked her arm. "You're really going to have to take it easy, though. Probably have to be on bedrest for a while."

"It'll be worth it when we have a little baby," Rose smiled. "It'll be the three of us."

I smiled back and placed my hand on her belly. "Just the three of us."