Unforgiven

Chapter 10: Bad News

Natalie was sitting in the waiting room, flipping through an old issue of Parents magazine as she waited for Amber's examination to be finished. They'd arrived half an hour earlier and the doctor had told Natalie she had to wait outside while he examined her. She frowned again as she thought about Dr. Brown. He seemed almost familiar, and not in a good way. She could almost swear she had met him somewhere before…

Dr. Brown entering the waiting room interrupted her thoughts. She stood to her feet as quickly as she was able and asked, "How is she?" His face was carefully blank as he replied, "Well, all the signs point to placental abruption—" Natalie cut him off. "Can you just tell me in plain English?" "Basically, the placenta has come away from the uterine wall and is causing bleeding, which puts the baby in jeopardy. We've discussed the possible options with Amber, and she's agreed to induce her labor. She also had to sign a form so we can use the new drug, Cytotec. Is there any family you should contact?"

Natalie's face had gone pale when she heard the word "induce" and she had to pull herself together to answer his question. "I--I need to let John know. He's the father." Dr. Brown nodded. "I have to prepare everything, so it should be at least another hour or so. She's asked that you be in the room with her—as long as you're willing of course." Natalie nodded. "Of course I will. Just—can you excuse me so I can call my fiancée?" He nodded. "Of course. I'll go on and have Amber prepped for surgery while I get everything ready."

Natalie walked out of the office, wondering how in the hell she was supposed to tell John his child was going to be born a month early—and that there was no way he would be able to get there before everything started. She dialed the phone and after a few rings he answered. "McBain." Despite the circumstances, she couldn't help smiling at the sound of his voice. "Vega," she said jokingly, drinking in the sound of his laugh. "Natalie, this is a nice surprise. I wasn't expecting to hear from you for another five or six hours." "Well, something's happened."

John heard the fear in her voice and lost no time in asking, "What's wrong?" Natalie bit her lip. "Amber was having some pain in the hot tub, so we came to see Dr. Brown. He's been examining her and just informed me that she has a condition called placental abruption. He has to induce her labor in about an hour, and she wants me in there with her." She paused, hearing nothing but breathing. "John?" "I'm here—isn't it too early for her to have the baby?" he asked, fighting to remain calm. "I don't know, he didn't say much and I was too freaked to question anything. But this has to be the best thing for the baby or he wouldn't do it."

Natalie heard the sound of things slamming around and frowned. "What are you doing?" "I'm packing. I'm coming down there." "John, you'll never make it in time—" "Well, I'm going to be there as soon as possible." Natalie smiled softly, touching her stomach. "Well, hurry your ass up then. I love you." His voice was soft as he replied, "I love you too, and I'll see you as soon as I can." "Okay, don't go getting yourself in an accident or getting a ticket—we need every penny for our wedding!" He chuckled lowly. "I really do love you, Natalie McBain, much more than you'll ever know." She smiled as he hung up.

Amber looked nervous when Natalie entered the room. "Hey." The older woman smiled. "Hey yourself. So you weren't joking when you said you couldn't wait for this baby to be born were you?" She lowered herself onto the bed beside Amber, neither laughing at the failed joke. "How are you dealing with this?" Amber took a deep shuddering breath. "I don't think it's really sunk in yet."

She looked at Natalie as she slowly moved to place both hands on her stomach. "She's kicking. Oh my god, in less than thirty minutes she's going to be on her way out here." Her panicked eyes met Natalie's. "Dr. Brown said that he's seen babies born earlier than this that survived—but what if she's not one of them?" Natalie placed her hand on Amber's stomach, feeling the strong kicks. "Sweetie, if she has half of either of her parent's determination and strength, then she's not just gonna 'make it.' She's going to come through healthier than anyone could think possible."

Amber wiped the tears from her eyes as she embraced Natalie. "Thank you so much. I know that I don't deserve your friendship or even to have you be able to speak to me after what I did. You're an amazing woman, Natalie, and I'm truly honored to call you my friend." Natalie hugged her back tightly. "I'll be completely honest. It took a lot of effort on my part to forgive you for what you did. I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to completely forgive you for it, but I've forgiven you enough to be able to be your friend and a step-mom to your baby."

It was to the scene of two pregnant women embracing and crying that the nurse walked in. She held a small syringe and smiled warmly. "I'm here to give you the epidural and get you started on the Cytotec. I'm going to need you to go outside of the room, Mrs.—" She paused. "Buchanan," a smiling Natalie filled in as she released Amber and pushed herself off the bed. "You can come back in once the epidural takes effect." Natalie nodded and smiled at Amber as she walked out of the room.

She pulled the door shut behind her, leaning against it and closing her eyes as she rubbed her stomach protectively. "Thank god we're not in her situation," she murmured. "I don't know that I could handle that." She slowly pushed off the door and began to walk down the hallway, never seeing the syringe as it plunged into her neck…

TO BE CONTINUED