John Carter sighed contentedly and pulled Abby closer to him under the covers. Only… This wasn't right. He opened his eyes groggily and searched her side of the bed. Where was Abby? The faint sound of gagging came from the bathroom and John realized what was happening. Abby had been having bad bouts of morning sickness for about a week now, and he still couldn't get used to waking up without her in his arms. When she finally opened the bathroom door and crawled back into bed, she looked so pale that John's heart sank. He hated seeing her like this, even if he knew the cause of it.
"Are you ok?" He asked, even though he could see she wasn't. He felt so guilty. Abby just nodded weakly as she snuggled back up to him. "You should stay home from work today." John continued. He looked down at her to see her reaction, but she hadn't moved and he realized she had fallen asleep. John smiled. He would call in for her later, but for now he was content to fall asleep again stroking her hair gently.
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Abby was still sleeping when Carter finally left for work. After scribbling a note to her in the kitchen, he hurried out, hoping that it would be slow and he could get off work early.
A couple of hours later, Abby awoke and made her way groggily into the kitchen. She saw a piece of paper on the counter and when she glanced at it again she noticed what it said:
Dear Abby,
Gone to work, but I'll try to be home by 6 so we can spend the evening together. Have a restful day and take care of our baby. I love you.
Love, John
Abby smiled at the letter when suddenly her stomach began to cramp. Thinking she was going to be sick again, she attempted to stumble to the bathroom. All at once, however, a wave of dizziness washed over her and her vision became spotted. She was no longer aware of anything around her when she collapsed to the floor, hitting her head on the side of the table as she fell sprawled on the wooden floor.
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Carter slammed the Admin desk phone down for the third time. He was sure Abby wasn't feeling up to going out today, and yet she wasn't answering the phone. "She's probably just in the shower," he thought. But nagging voice in the back of his head kept asking, "but why won't she return all my messages?" He made up his mind. "I'm going on my break," he called to anyone who was listening as he threw down his stethoscope. He had to make sure Abby was alright.
He was back at the house in a flash and headed straight for the bedroom. "Abby?" He called, but no one answered. No sign of her in the bedroom, the bathroom or the living room. He headed to the kitchen. "Abby?!!" He ran over to where she was lying unconscious on the floor and kneeled down beside her. There was blood trickling down the side of her head. What could have happened? Had someone attacked her? John feared the worst. "Abby? Abby, wake up! It's John can you hear me?" Abby stirred slightly. A couple seconds later, her eyes cracked open and she squinted in the light. Confused, she tried to sit up, but her head pounded, and John held her down gently. He was scrutinizing her concernedly.
"Abby? Sweetie, what happened?" Abby didn't answer at first. She looked around, confusion in her eyes.
"I—I just got light-headed. Um, I'm fine, just a bit of a headache." He slowly helped her up into a sitting position and got an ice pack for her head.
"How long were you out?" He asked.
"I'm not sure. Not long."
"Ok, I'm bringing you to the hospital. Um, any cramping?"
Abby was silent for a long while. Finally, she lifted her eyes up to him and stared at him, half sadly, half accusingly. "You don't think I can do this," she said shakily.
"Abby, what do you mean?"
"This. This… you don't think I can do it. Not right. You don't even think I can carry a baby for nine months, do you?" Abby's voice was continually rising, and there were tears in her eyes.
"Abby, I didn't mean--"
"Yes you did! Just say it, John. Tell me you don't think I can do it. That you don't think I'm good enough."
Carter knew that it was mostly her hormones speaking, but it hurt him to know that she felt that way. He spoke as gently and convincingly as he could.
"Baby, listen to me. I know you can do it. I still want to take you to the hospital, if for nothing else than just to get your head checked out, ok? It's probably nothing serious. I know that, and I didn't mean to sound stern. Abby, look at me. Everything's going to be fine. You are going to have this baby, and you're going to be a wonderful mother."
Abby managed a nod through her tears. She wasn't used to being this emotional, and she didn't want John to take it personally. But the idea of being a mother was overwhelming. It scared her to think that she wouldn't be able to take on the responsibility, or worse, that she would never get the chance to prove herself wrong. She had never wanted anything so badly in her life, and she couldn't help but remember all the times that life had taken away those things that were most important to her. She knew John was right; even though it was probably nothing serious, she probably had a concussion, and she had to make sure that the baby was alright. Gratefully, she let Carter help her up and lead her out to the car.
When they got to the hospital, Abby was glad that no one seemed to pay any attention to her. She didn't know why she had expected people to stare at her and whisper behind her back; she worked here after all, and her showing up to work with Carter was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Hey Carter took you long enough. Must've been some break!" Chuny teased, eyeing the couple mischievously.
Carter smiled back at her and finally spotted Susan. He led Abby over, who stared at the floor intently while Carter explained the situation in a hushed voice to Susan. A couple minutes later, Susan had found them an empty room and ordered a head ct and a CBC. When the labs came back, Susan looked over and smiled at her friend. "Ok," she said. "Well, it looks like just a minor concussion. Just keep an eye on her, Carter. You can take some ibuprofen for any swelling or pain. As for what made you pass out, your blood work shows a really low red blood cell count. Keep taking your prenatal vitamins and add extra iron supplements. Other than that, you're just fine!"
"Thanks, Susan." Abby said softly.
"Hey, anytime. Enjoy your day off, ok?"
Abby nodded as Carter helped her off the bed and he, too,
thanked Susan. As they were about to leave the hospital, Gallant called after
them. "Leaving so soon Abby? Didn't you just get here?"
"Yeah, um, I'm just not feeling too
well."
"Oh, well I hope you feel better
soon. Goodnight! Goodnight Dr. Carter." Gallant nodded and smiled at them both.
Abby then looked at Carter, who met her eyes and nodded encouragingly. They both stepped back toward the admin desk. "Actually, uhh" she started. Everyone looked up and gave her their attention. "I'm, um, pregnant." She said, a smile working its way into her expression. Everyone looked from her to Carter, who was already beaming proudly, and then broke into grins and chatter. They both received hugs and congratulations from Chuny, Haleh, Gallant, Neela, and even Jerry. Even Susan, who had known about the pregnancy for a couple weeks already (and had suspected much before that, even before Abby had taken her test,) came over to give them each another hug.
As Abby left the hospital, John's arm wrapped protectively around her, she smiled to herself. She had received nothing but support from her friends, and best of all, she had her husband, whom she knew would be by her side through thick and thin. She rested her head on his shoulder, still smiling. She could do this after all!