Chapter 7

I hadn't arrived there that I saw the medics rush my way.

-"Trauma 2 is waiting for her."

-"Patient is Melissa Harper. She fell at home after a dizzy spell. She is 31 weeks pregnant, so far her pregnancy has been normal. We checked her sugar values, they are little low." I looked at the preliminary results and could only nod. "Blood pressure is normal at 120/80. She doesn't complain about any pain. We checked the baby's heartbeats and everything seems good. She is all yours." During the whole exchange, I had felt Melissa cowering. She looked awfully young, maybe 20, definitely not more than 23. I smiled, willing her to relax.

-"So Melissa, you have decided to give yourself quite a fright today. Have you had time to call your husband or family?" I asked soothingly. "If not, we can do it for you. Is this your first pregnancy?" I saw tears gathering in her eyes as she nodded at both questions. The fetal monitor was rapidly placed to check the baby was still doing okay.

-"Haleh, call OB about an ultrasound. I'd rather have one of them doing it." As she went, I turned looked at Melissa. "Everything so far is fine. Don't worry, we're just being overcautious with you. In no time, you'll be able to go home. Just relax." I smiled. She looked at my belly and I saw the question in her eyes.

-"33 weeks, I'm two ahead of you." I hoped to get a smile out of her and it was only a half-success. Suddenly I saw as she was about to cry harder.

-"And your husband allows to go on working?" She finally asked.

-"Well, sure. But then my boyfriend is also a doctor, so having me here allows him to check my every steps and moves." Haleh laughed at my last sally. "Not that I'm allowed to do anything exhausting or dangerous." As Haleh went to call OB, I came closer to Melissa and whispered what I hoped would calm her down. "And all these nice people you see here are in fact spying on me. You're my first real patient in weeks. Can you imagine they stole my coffee this morning?" Finally she smiled through her tears.

-"Well you shouldn't be drinking coffee, it's not good for the baby."

-"Hey! I thought you would be on my side." I joked. "And one cup regular coffee is not forbidden. I keep telling it Luka, but he just doesn't listen." She looked back a little puzzled. "Luka is my boyfriend..."

-"Oh and so he is a colleague of yours." Haleh walked back in and raised her brows at our conversation.

-"Hmm actually he is my boss." Melissa frowned and Haleh chuckled. "No, it didn't happen like that. He wasn't my boss at that time."

-"Too bad he isn't around today, he's sure a sight for sore eyes." Haleh added. And again the conversation was getting out of control. Time to go back to neutral territories.

-"Is your husband on his way here?"

-"Yes, he will totally freak out when he'll learn about my stupid fall. He is a complete worrier." Ohoh. That could be fun. "The baby came a little quicker as expected. It's a honeymoon baby. We wanted to wait a few more years, but well you can't control everything. It just happened, you know, not that we are not thrilled by it."

-"I'm sure Dr Lockhart understands that very well, don't you?" Very funny, Haleh, very funny. Could I get a chance to actually ask the questions I wanted?

-"How did it happen?" Melissa looked back surprised, not really sure what to make of my question. "The fall, I mean. How did you fall?" Of course the fall! Could I get even less precise? If I had been alone, I would have bumped my head against the closest wall. Yeah I know been there, done that. But it really clears your mind. Instead I simply smiled and waited for her answer.

-"I overdid it today. I only had a slight meal. My stomach is still pretty upset, even at seven months. I ran the stairs up to answer the phone and suddenly I had a dizzy spell and fell."

-"Did you trip or fall heavily?"

-"I tripped, I tried to break the shock with my hands. I didn't quite succeed. I think I hurt the baby." Again she was ready to cry.

-"Don't worry! Babies are well insulated at this stage of the pregnancy. I will check that the membrane has not been ruptured during the fall, but I honestly doubt it. Haleh, can you tell Frank that we're expecting Mr. Harper shortly, thanks." She looked quieter and I could only hope she would stay that way.

-"I still need the name of your OB. It would be better if we could tell him what happened. So he can double-check that you're both doing great." I removed the monitoring as Dr Coburn entered the room.

-"Abby? Still around? Didn't Luka say that he wanted you home by last week?"

-"Well you know him. He says a lot of things." Janet disbelievingly shook her head. "So he changed his mind. I'm allowed to work some more."

-"Really? What changed his mind?"

-"Seeing me on a ladder, I guess. The nursery isn't finished yet. Now he is even more worried about the things I could do home, than about the dangers in ER." At that we all laughed.