CH 23- High Risks
Theresa sat in the hospital bed and playfully wrote down baby names on a sheet of paper.
"Girls: Maria, Elizabeth, Hallie, Maggie, Lindsay...Boys: Mark, David, Alexander, Justin, Joshua..." She giggled to herself.
She gently rubbed her tummy and smiled.
"So what do you think? Do we have a winner?"
Suddenly she heard a knock on the door and Pilar poked her head in.
"Hello?" She smiled, stepping into the room. "How's my beautiful daughter?"
"Hi mama," Theresa grinned. "I'm tired, but I'm doing good."
Pilar gently kissed her on her forehead and pulled a chair over to the bed.
"Well, being tired is understandable. You're carrying double the fun now!" She laughed, placing a hand on Theresa's tummy. "How are my future grandchildren?"
"Dr. Russell says that they are doing really good."
"Fox must be really happy that he's going to be a father soon." Pilar winked at her.
Theresa looked up at her mother in shock.
"Mama, I never told you about me and Fox. How did you know?"
"Therasita, there are some things that a mother doesn't need to be told." She smiled. "I could see from the look in your eyes that your relationship with Fox was developing, and I was right! Besides, I don't see how you could have kept it a secret for very long."
Pilar looked down at her daughter's tummy and gave her a motherly grin.
"Yeah, that's true." Theresa awkwardly smiled. "But there's actually something that you need to know."
"What is it?" Pilar gave her a concerned look.
"The babies that I'm carrying aren't by Fox." She paused to take a breath. "They're by Ethan."
"Ethan?" Pilar looked at her confused. "I don't understand. I thought you were in a relationship with Fox."
"We were, but—Ethan and I accidentally slept together."
"Accidentally?" Pilar looked at her daughter in disbelief. "I'm sorry Therasita, but I find that very hard to believe."
"I swear mama, it's true!" Theresa assured her.
She continued to tell her mother the horrible details of the night when she and Ethan mistakenly made love.
"Oh Mija, you didn't!" Pilar looked at her daughter.
"Unfortunately I did." Theresa frowned. "And then to make matter's worst, I had to tell Fox."
"Well, I'm glad that you did because you know first hand what lies and deceit can do to a relationship. But I can't imagine how hurt Fox was, when you told him."
"Yeah, he was pretty upset." She sadly recalled. "I'm even surprised that he's as supportive as he is. I never would have imagined that he would be helping me, after what happened."
"Well, Fox is definitely a very caring individual." Pilar smiled. "In fact, I'm sure that as much as you hurt him, he still very much loves you."
"Yeah, I guess." She frowned, looking off into the distance.
"Mija?" Pilar looked at her concerned. "Why do you sound so skeptical?"
Theresa took a while before she turned to her mother.
"It's because of something that I saw yesterday." She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Yesterday, I saw Fox and Paloma kissing in the kitchen."
"What? Paloma? Fox? Are you sure?" Pilar shockingly asked.
"Yes. In fact, that's the whole reason why I'm here right now." Theresa sighed. "When I saw them kissing, I instantly became upset. Only instead of yelling at them, I just began to get these extremely painful sharp pains in my stomach. Then when we came to the hospital, Dr. Russell told me that I had been cramping. She still doesn't know why the cramps started in the first place, but she told me that I should try to avoid any type of stress."
"Well then you should do as Eve says." Pilar placed a hand on her daughter's arm. "You not only have your own health to worry about Theresa. Now you are responsible for two more innocent lives."
"I realize that mama, and I would never intentionally put my children's lives in danger." She assured her. "But it just bothers be so much to think that something could be going on between Fox and my little sister."
"Mija, I want you to stop worrying about this right now!" Pilar sternly looked at her. "The only thing that this can do is bring you more stress and you don't need that right now."
She rose from the chair and pulled out Theresa's clothes from a bag.
"Eve said that it was alright for you to go home, so let's get you dressed ok?" Pilar noticed that Theresa still wore a worried expression on her face. "Therasita, I know that your concerns about your sister and Fox have really got you upset. But please think about the little ones inside of you. Their lives could be jeopardized if you continue with this worry."
Theresa finally looked up at her mother and smiled.
"I understand what you're saying mama. The moment that I found out I was having twins was probably the happiest moment of my life. I still have to get used to the idea that there are little people growing inside of me." She paused to wipe a happy tear away from her eyes. "I can't wait for when they are born and I can hold them in my arms. To know that I am going to be a mother in less than six months is amazing, and I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything. So that's why I'm really going to take care of myself and try not to worry too much about Fox and Paloma. The future of my children's lives depends on it and I'm not going to selfishly jeopardize that."
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Fox parked his car in the hospital driveway and made his way into the hospital. When he got inside he saw Dr. Russell talking to a nurse at the front desk.
"Hey Dr. Russell," he called approaching her. "Is Theresa alright to go home today?"
"Oh hello Fox," she smiled. "Yes it's fine for you to take her home.
She walked away from the nurse and pulled him aside.
"Actually Fox, there's something that I wanted to talk to you about."
"This sounds serious," he concernedly looked at her. "Does this have anything to do with Theresa?"
"Yes it does." She acknowledged, sitting down on a nearby couch. "It's actually very serious."
Fox slowly sat down next to her and worriedly looked into her eyes.
"But Dr Russell didn't you say that the babies were fine? What could you possibly want to talk to me about?"
"Although I told you that the babies were fine, I also said that I needed to check into what made Theresa have those sudden cramps." She reminded him.
Fox immediately felt his heart skip a beat.
"Well did you find out what it was?" He nervously asked.
"Yes I did." She seriously looked at him. "Fox, Theresa is undergoing a very high risk pregnancy. The cramps that she had been having were indications that her body is extremely weak, which is not a good thing considering that she is now having twins. That's why I cannot stress enough how important it is for her to stay clear from any tensions in her life. Any type of stress can be extremely fatal for not only the babies but also for herself."
Fox placed a hand to his head and let out a deep sigh.
"Does Theresa know about this?" He finally looked up.
"I'm sure that she knows the stress can be harmful, but not to this extent. That's why you need to make sure that she stays calm." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled. "You are actually doing a great job with her right now. Supporting her through her pregnancy is probably what is keeping her mind off of Ethan's condition. Stresses like that is enough to put her and the babies' lives in grave danger."
"I don't want anything to happen to her or the babies." Fox sadly looked at her.
"As long as you keep being there for her, you won't have to worry about that." She smiled rising from the couch. "I have to go attend to a patient right now, but Theresa's in her room getting ready with Pilar. You can take her home as soon as you like. Just make sure to sign her out."
"I will Dr Russell, thank you." He weakly grinned.
As soon as she left, he put his head in his hands.
"What am I going to do?" He whispered to himself. "There's no doubt in my mind that Theresa saw Paloma and I kissing yesterday. The stress from that is probably what caused all of this to happen to her in the first place. Now if she doesn't stay calm, it can put her and the babies' lives in danger. I have to make it my duty to not let her get too worked up. If not, I'll definitely lose her and it won't be to Ethan. It'll be to death."
Theresa sat in the hospital bed and playfully wrote down baby names on a sheet of paper.
"Girls: Maria, Elizabeth, Hallie, Maggie, Lindsay...Boys: Mark, David, Alexander, Justin, Joshua..." She giggled to herself.
She gently rubbed her tummy and smiled.
"So what do you think? Do we have a winner?"
Suddenly she heard a knock on the door and Pilar poked her head in.
"Hello?" She smiled, stepping into the room. "How's my beautiful daughter?"
"Hi mama," Theresa grinned. "I'm tired, but I'm doing good."
Pilar gently kissed her on her forehead and pulled a chair over to the bed.
"Well, being tired is understandable. You're carrying double the fun now!" She laughed, placing a hand on Theresa's tummy. "How are my future grandchildren?"
"Dr. Russell says that they are doing really good."
"Fox must be really happy that he's going to be a father soon." Pilar winked at her.
Theresa looked up at her mother in shock.
"Mama, I never told you about me and Fox. How did you know?"
"Therasita, there are some things that a mother doesn't need to be told." She smiled. "I could see from the look in your eyes that your relationship with Fox was developing, and I was right! Besides, I don't see how you could have kept it a secret for very long."
Pilar looked down at her daughter's tummy and gave her a motherly grin.
"Yeah, that's true." Theresa awkwardly smiled. "But there's actually something that you need to know."
"What is it?" Pilar gave her a concerned look.
"The babies that I'm carrying aren't by Fox." She paused to take a breath. "They're by Ethan."
"Ethan?" Pilar looked at her confused. "I don't understand. I thought you were in a relationship with Fox."
"We were, but—Ethan and I accidentally slept together."
"Accidentally?" Pilar looked at her daughter in disbelief. "I'm sorry Therasita, but I find that very hard to believe."
"I swear mama, it's true!" Theresa assured her.
She continued to tell her mother the horrible details of the night when she and Ethan mistakenly made love.
"Oh Mija, you didn't!" Pilar looked at her daughter.
"Unfortunately I did." Theresa frowned. "And then to make matter's worst, I had to tell Fox."
"Well, I'm glad that you did because you know first hand what lies and deceit can do to a relationship. But I can't imagine how hurt Fox was, when you told him."
"Yeah, he was pretty upset." She sadly recalled. "I'm even surprised that he's as supportive as he is. I never would have imagined that he would be helping me, after what happened."
"Well, Fox is definitely a very caring individual." Pilar smiled. "In fact, I'm sure that as much as you hurt him, he still very much loves you."
"Yeah, I guess." She frowned, looking off into the distance.
"Mija?" Pilar looked at her concerned. "Why do you sound so skeptical?"
Theresa took a while before she turned to her mother.
"It's because of something that I saw yesterday." She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Yesterday, I saw Fox and Paloma kissing in the kitchen."
"What? Paloma? Fox? Are you sure?" Pilar shockingly asked.
"Yes. In fact, that's the whole reason why I'm here right now." Theresa sighed. "When I saw them kissing, I instantly became upset. Only instead of yelling at them, I just began to get these extremely painful sharp pains in my stomach. Then when we came to the hospital, Dr. Russell told me that I had been cramping. She still doesn't know why the cramps started in the first place, but she told me that I should try to avoid any type of stress."
"Well then you should do as Eve says." Pilar placed a hand on her daughter's arm. "You not only have your own health to worry about Theresa. Now you are responsible for two more innocent lives."
"I realize that mama, and I would never intentionally put my children's lives in danger." She assured her. "But it just bothers be so much to think that something could be going on between Fox and my little sister."
"Mija, I want you to stop worrying about this right now!" Pilar sternly looked at her. "The only thing that this can do is bring you more stress and you don't need that right now."
She rose from the chair and pulled out Theresa's clothes from a bag.
"Eve said that it was alright for you to go home, so let's get you dressed ok?" Pilar noticed that Theresa still wore a worried expression on her face. "Therasita, I know that your concerns about your sister and Fox have really got you upset. But please think about the little ones inside of you. Their lives could be jeopardized if you continue with this worry."
Theresa finally looked up at her mother and smiled.
"I understand what you're saying mama. The moment that I found out I was having twins was probably the happiest moment of my life. I still have to get used to the idea that there are little people growing inside of me." She paused to wipe a happy tear away from her eyes. "I can't wait for when they are born and I can hold them in my arms. To know that I am going to be a mother in less than six months is amazing, and I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything. So that's why I'm really going to take care of myself and try not to worry too much about Fox and Paloma. The future of my children's lives depends on it and I'm not going to selfishly jeopardize that."
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Fox parked his car in the hospital driveway and made his way into the hospital. When he got inside he saw Dr. Russell talking to a nurse at the front desk.
"Hey Dr. Russell," he called approaching her. "Is Theresa alright to go home today?"
"Oh hello Fox," she smiled. "Yes it's fine for you to take her home.
She walked away from the nurse and pulled him aside.
"Actually Fox, there's something that I wanted to talk to you about."
"This sounds serious," he concernedly looked at her. "Does this have anything to do with Theresa?"
"Yes it does." She acknowledged, sitting down on a nearby couch. "It's actually very serious."
Fox slowly sat down next to her and worriedly looked into her eyes.
"But Dr Russell didn't you say that the babies were fine? What could you possibly want to talk to me about?"
"Although I told you that the babies were fine, I also said that I needed to check into what made Theresa have those sudden cramps." She reminded him.
Fox immediately felt his heart skip a beat.
"Well did you find out what it was?" He nervously asked.
"Yes I did." She seriously looked at him. "Fox, Theresa is undergoing a very high risk pregnancy. The cramps that she had been having were indications that her body is extremely weak, which is not a good thing considering that she is now having twins. That's why I cannot stress enough how important it is for her to stay clear from any tensions in her life. Any type of stress can be extremely fatal for not only the babies but also for herself."
Fox placed a hand to his head and let out a deep sigh.
"Does Theresa know about this?" He finally looked up.
"I'm sure that she knows the stress can be harmful, but not to this extent. That's why you need to make sure that she stays calm." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled. "You are actually doing a great job with her right now. Supporting her through her pregnancy is probably what is keeping her mind off of Ethan's condition. Stresses like that is enough to put her and the babies' lives in grave danger."
"I don't want anything to happen to her or the babies." Fox sadly looked at her.
"As long as you keep being there for her, you won't have to worry about that." She smiled rising from the couch. "I have to go attend to a patient right now, but Theresa's in her room getting ready with Pilar. You can take her home as soon as you like. Just make sure to sign her out."
"I will Dr Russell, thank you." He weakly grinned.
As soon as she left, he put his head in his hands.
"What am I going to do?" He whispered to himself. "There's no doubt in my mind that Theresa saw Paloma and I kissing yesterday. The stress from that is probably what caused all of this to happen to her in the first place. Now if she doesn't stay calm, it can put her and the babies' lives in danger. I have to make it my duty to not let her get too worked up. If not, I'll definitely lose her and it won't be to Ethan. It'll be to death."