Chapter Forty-Four

Chloe kept her eyes shut tightly as the pain came in heavy waves shooting from her abdomen throughout her body. She rested her face in the curve of Brady's shoulder, her tears flowing endlessly, soaking his shirt underneath her. Brady held on to her tightly, trying his best to ease her fears.

She heard voices speaking lowly and the people around her moving, but she was still too dizzy to lift her head to look at them. The warm trickle of the blood between her legs continued, and she barely croaked out her words to Brady.

"Brady... It hurts so bad."

"I know, baby, I know. If I could take it away, I would. But, you are going to be okay."

She heard Craig's calm and collected voice beside her. "Chloe, honey... where does it hurt?"

She used the hand that wasn't holding on to Brady to lay it on her belly. "Here mostly... but it just... it hurts all over."

Brady spoke over her head and towards Craig. "She's been having back pains for about the past thirty or forty-five minutes."

"And what else? What other symptoms?"

Brady paused to think, not realizing that the things they thought were normal earlier could have been symptoms of a bigger problem. "She got tired all of a sudden, and really thirsty... and..."

Chloe moaned in anguish as another jolt of pain hit her stomach. Through her sobs, she told Craig the rest of her symptoms. "I... was dizzy... right before... light-headed."

She heard her mother's voice, muffled somewhat, but still full of worry. "Craig, are you sure we have time to wait for the ambulance? Shouldn't we just drive her to the hospital ourselves?"

"Nancy... There may not be time for that, not in Saturday night traffic. The paramedics can get her there faster than we can, even if we left five minutes ago."

Chloe heard the other voices around her, but tried to shut them out, focusing only on the words of encouragement that Brady was whispering into her ear. "Hold on, Diva. Everything is going to be just fine. Just be strong. I love you so much, and everything is going to be okay."

Brady's words helped, but not enough to make her forget the pain that was coursing through her. She knew the people at the party were watching her with fear and concern, but Chloe was losing energy quickly. She didn't have enough strength to open her eyes and look at them. All she could do was hold on tightly to her husband.

It could have been minutes, or hours, for all she knew, when the paramedics showed up. She opened her eyes slowly when Brady lifted her up in his arms and gently laid her on the gurney. Her vision was blurry but she focused on his face above hers, his blue eyes as calming and as beautiful as she remembered the ocean to be.

The gurney began moving and she could hear Craig rattling off her symptoms and history to the paramedics. Chloe spoke softly, asking for her mother as they carried the gurney outside. Nancy flew to her side and kissed her forehead, her own eyes filled with tears.

"Chloe, baby... Brady and Craig are going to ride in the ambulance with you. I'll meet you at the hospital, okay?"

"I love you, mom."

Nancy stood and watched her daughter pulled into the ambulance, and called after her. "I love you too, Chloe!"

The female paramedic closed the doors, and she went to work, trying to ease some of Chloe's symptoms. Brady sat on one side of her and never let go of her hand, as Craig and the paramedic bustled around her. Chloe could feel the ambulance begin to move, and vaguely heard the sounds of the siren above her. And, that's when she really started to worry. IF the ambulance had to hurry, then her condition must be pretty serious.

She heard the paramedic mutter something to Craig, and Chloe was fairly sure she heard the word 'transfusion'. Chloe waved her hand trying to find Craig in all the confusion.

"Dad... Dad... How bad is it? I'm still bleeding, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are. But, you're okay. We're going to take good care of you."

Chloe looked up into his eyes, and for just a moment Craig's usual calm and collected manner was broken. She saw fear flash across his face, and her thoughts became clear to her all of a sudden. Craig was a great doctor, perhaps the best in Salem, and if she read the storm in his eyes correctly, something was very seriously wrong.

She knew he wouldn't tell her what was wrong; it was his duty as her father not to scare her. Chloe kept her eyes on him, making sure she spoke as clearly as she could through the tears that were still flowing freely.

"I... I love you, Dad. You have been the best father I could have ever asked for. Thank you."

Craig smiled sadly at her and kissed her forehead. "I love you too, Chloe. Don't worry about anything. You're in good hands."

Chloe nodded slightly and turned to look back at Brady. "Brady... No matter what happens, you have to take care of the baby. Make sure that they save the baby."

Brady looked at her in confusion and shook his head. "What? What are you talking about?"

Chloe gathered all the strength she had to explain herself to him. "I've read the books, I know about the complications. If there's a choice, if I don't make it... don't let anything happen to our baby."

"Chloe, stop. There is no choice. You are BOTH going to make it. Don't you dare give up on me, Diva. Not after everything we've been through"

"I'm... I'm not giving up. I told you I'd never walk away from you, and I won't. But... if it's not up to me... please take care of our baby. Promise me that the baby will be okay."

Brady frowned and gently stroked the hair that was matting her forehead. "You don't even need to ask. I will always take care of our baby, and I will always take care of you. I'm going to pull you through this, the same way that you brought me back from my coma."

Chloe nodded slightly, barely managing a smile as she looked at him. "With faith..."

Brady smiled back at her and squeezed her hand gently. "And hope..."

"And love."

"I love you, Chloe."

"I love you too. Forever."

Brady nodded and leaned forward to gently kiss her on the lips. "Forever."

Chloe sighed softly, hearing the words that she needed to hear. All she wanted was for the pain to stop, and for the noise in her head to disappear. She let her eyes drop shut and breathed out, letting the world around her go quiet as she drifted away.

***

Brady stared into her wide blue eyes, filled with love, as she sighed. Her eyelids fluttered before closing, and she breathed out again. Brady looked towards Craig, his words frantic as he tried to get Craig's attention.

"She... She's unconscious. She's asleep."

Craig gently lifted her eyelids to check her pupils and nodded. The ambulance came to a halt, and the doors were opened so they could quickly carry her out. Dr. McCormack, her obstetrician met them in the ambulance bay and got the immediate details from Craig as they wheeled her through the hospital doors.

Dr. McCormack smiled reassuringly at Brady and briefly laid her hand on his arm. "I'm going to take good care of her, Brady. I promise."

"I... I know you will."

The doctor and two paramedics quickly wheeled his wife into the emergency room. Brady tried to follow them through the doors, but Craig stopped him with a firm hand on his chest.

"Craig. Let me in there. You have to let me in."

Craig shook his head and frowned at him. "I can't. You know I can't."

Brady took two steps back and pointed towards the doors they had just taken her through. "My whole world just went through those doors. I can't just stand here and do nothing."

"There's nothing you can do if you go in there. You have to trust me, Brady. Trust me and my staff, please. I will not let you or my daughter down."

"I know... I know you won't. I trust you, Craig."

Craig nodded and patted Brady on the arm. "Good. I will be back out here as soon as I can to let you know what is going on. Just try to keep calm."

Brady shrugged, not sure how he could be calm at a time like this. He didn't reply, he didn't need to; Craig knew exactly what he was feeling. Craig gave him a weak smile and went through the doors leaving Brady alone in the waiting room.

Chloe's face flashed through his mind; the fear, the pain, and then the sudden understanding of what was happening to her. He wanted to hit something, pound his fists into the wall, tear something apart in anger. But, he held back. He clenched his fists at his side, and paced in a line angrily.

His heart swirled with many different emotions all at once. Brady didn't know whether to be angry, afraid or to be strong. Strong like Chloe had been for him. Full of faith and hope that they could get through anything, like they had done in the past.

Minutes later, the doors from outside slid open and Nancy came rushing in, followed quickly by Belle, Marlena and John. Brady hugged his mother in law, and they walked over to sit down together. Nancy on one side of him, and his little sister on the other side.

Nancy was sobbing, and she clutched Brady's arm with her hand. "What's happening? Is she okay?"

"I don't know, Nancy. Craig and Dr. McCormack rushed her into the E.R. She was unconscious by the time we got here. Craig said he'd come out as soon as he knows something. She was still losing a lot of blood on the way over."

Nancy clasped her hand over her mouth and looked away from him. Belle reached her arms around her brother and hugged him tightly. She had tears falling as well, out of worry for her best friend and her niece or nephew.

"Oh my God... Brady... Are you okay?"

"What does it matter if I'm okay or not?"

Belle pulled away from him and grabbed his hand with both of hers. "It matters a lot. To everyone here and to Chloe."

Brady shook his head, his heart filling with anger, and his eyes clouded with confusion. "It doesn't matter when the woman I love and my child are in there fighting for their lives. The two greatest things I have ever achieved are behind those doors, and I might lose them both tonight. And there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop it. I can't fix it, I can't heal them... I can't do a damn thing."

Brady felt four sets of eyes on him, all of them sad and worried. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, and instead of the anger building, he felt something else. A lump formed in his throat, and tears started to well up in his eyes.

He bowed his head, doing his best to avoid looking any of the family surrounding him in the eyes. He watched one thick tear fall slowly from his cheek and land on the dark blue of his shirt, mingling with Chloe's tears that had been spilled all over him earlier.

Before he could stop it, his tears began falling quicker and harder, until his entire body became wracked with sobs. And, for the first time in a very long time, he cried. Right there, in front of his family, he cried a river of tears. They didn't come just from his heart, but straight from his soul. His insides shook with fear and anguish as he thought of exactly what he might be losing. He left his macho pride aside, and cried until the tears stopped coming.

***