AN: The title to this chapter may be a Lana Del Rey song but I pretty much wrote this whole chapter while listening to The Great Escape by Patrick Watson and You Are In Love by Taylor Swift.
This chapter was written in a matter of 24 hrs. (or less) with zero proofreading. It's also much shorter than the others so...please be gentle. I'm sensitive. lol
Chapter 8
Eddie's POV
With a swoosh, the doors to the hospital swing open, rattling the glass from the force. Eddie rushes over to the check-in desk, his arm wrapped securely around Chrissy, who is bent slightly at the waist with her arms curled around herself.
He rings the bell on the countertop frantically.
A few seconds later, the receptionist comes around the corner, looking rather annoyed at the demanding sound of the bell.
"We need to see a doctor right now! My girlfriend thinks she's having a miscarriage and she's bleeding and–"
"Okay, sir. Take a deep breath, it's going to be alright. We just need to have you fill out some forms first." He faintly hears the triage nurse instruct over the ringing in his ears.
Nodding, he turns to Chrissy and sees she is shaking, tears rolling down her cheeks. Looking over her head, he glances around the waiting room for a seat. Turning back towards the woman, he thanks her before walking Chrissy over to the open seats.
"Let's sit down baby." He drops a kiss to the top of her head, ignoring the stares from the few people waiting.
His hand shakes as he signs the check-in forms, filling out what information he knows off the top of his head. He checks the time on his watch and sees that it's almost four in the morning.
Jesus.
Next to him, Chrissy sniffles quietly and buries her face into his side, her tears dampening his shirt. Eddie presses another kiss against her head before he stands up and returns the clipboard to the front desk.
Finally, after what feels like hours, but only really less than twenty minutes later, they are escorted by a nurse to a small examination room. The air feels stuffy and too warm for Eddie's liking, but Chrissy is shivering, still holding herself. He shrugs off his jacket, vest and all, and drapes it over her trembling shoulders.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Her voice is so soft he almost misses it.
He pulls her close, his hand coming up to cup the side of her head, his lips close to her forehead. "Oh, baby. This isn't your fault. You can't think—"
"But it is! It's all my fault Eddie! We're going to lose her because of me." She cries, shaking her head against his chest, her hands clutching his shirt.
"Her?" He asks softly, pulling back to look at her damp face.
She gives a small shrug, bringing a hand up to wipe her eyes. "It's…it's just a feeling. I can't really explain it—"
Just then, a nurse walks in with some weird looking equipment in her arms. "Chrissy Cunningham? Hi, I'm Beth, 's RN. You believe you're showing signs of a miscarriage?"
Chrissy nods, humming her conformation.
"Okay, I'm going to ask you a few questions first and then we'll run some tests and see what's going on. I see you mentioned in your notes lots of bleeding? Can you describe that for me as well as the shade of it? Was it a dark red or light pink?"
Chrissy clears her throat before answering, her hand finding his and holds it tightly.
"Yes. I woke up to some cramping and then when I went to the bathroom, I saw there was lots of blood on…on my underwear. It looked like normal period blood. I cleaned it up and put a pad on before we ran out of the house, just in case."
The nurse makes her notes on a clipboard while nodding. "Okay, so there was some cramping too. Do you know how far along you are?"
"Um… I think seven or eight weeks?"
"Alright. I'm just going to check your blood pressure and then I'm going to need to take some blood to check your levels."
A few moments later the nurse comes back with the results, an older man with a white coat follows in after her. "Good morning, I'm Dr. Young. Beth and I have looked over your test results and the notes from the triage nurse, I just wanted to check on a few more things, if that's okay with you, Chrissy?"
She nods at the man, her hand still gripping Eddie's in a fierce hold.
"Great. You're showing signs of dehydration and your weight is a bit below average for your age and for the stage of your pregnancy. There were also low levels of nutrition…Do you have a history of disordered eating?"
Eddie feels Chrissy stiffen next to him and she gasps before looking down at her lap.
"Ye—yes." She whispers.
"Okay and are you still exercising these habits?"
Eddie looks towards her, watching silently. He's not really sure what all the doctor means but clearly, it's serious and upsetting her. His stomach is in knots.
"Not really. I haven't done—done that in a while now. I've been trying, trying to eat better and — and keep it down but then I started having morning sickness. I'm taking all my vitamins every day, I swear!" She's in tears again and Eddie pulls her close to him, his hand running up and down on her side.
"She is. I make sure she takes them too." He adds, feeling left out of the conversation. He's not a fan of the way the doctor is hounding her. Clearly this is a tough subject for her, and he just wants answers, not more questions.
"Good. That's excellent. Thank you for being honest with me. I know this may be uncomfortable to discuss but it is very important that you are taking extra care of yourself right now. With disordered eating, your body could be struggling to adjust to the new development of the fetus. The fetus is absorbing as much nutrition as possible, so you need to stay on top of maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet. Staying hydrated is also key when you're experiencing morning sickness. Let's discuss more of this after we check on your baby." Dr. Young concludes, as Beth passes a device into his hands.
"Can you lift your shirt up please? I'm going to check and see if we can detect the heartbeat with the Doppler machine."
Chrissy lifts her shirt, and Dr. Young swiftly applies the ultrasound gel to her abdomen and moves the wand across it. The room was silent as the doctor moved the wand around Chrissy's stomach. Eddie can't hear hear its heartbeat like they had at their first appointment. His stomach is turning with dread. He silently prays to whatever god there is, the universe, anything, that their little poppyseed is okay.
Eddie watches as the doctor moves the wand around her belly, the older man's aging face pinched into a look of concentration. They wait in agonizing silence for Dr. Young to tell them anything. His heart is beating rapidly in his chest and he's holding his breath.
A whooshing sound fills the room. Chrissy and Eddie both let out a collective sigh of relief and Chrissy turns to him, crying again, this time from the solace she felt that her baby was alright.
"Oh, thank God!" She breaths.
Eddie leans down to press a kiss to her forehead, one of his hands still clutching hers. When he pulls away from her, his eyes fill with tears, a few of them tracking down his cheeks. Chrissy reaches up to wipe his face with her fingers as he lets out a shuddering breath. Eddie mirrors her actions, moving to gently wipe the tears from her face with the pad of his thumb.
"See, I told you it was going to be okay." He tells her softly.
"Baby seems to be alright. The heartbeat is a little soft. A little bleeding, or spotting, is very common during your first trimester but I would recommend calling your obstetrician and making an appointment as soon as possible, just to get a more in-depth examination on the development and that heartbeat." Dr. Young informs them while handing his clipboard filled with notes back to his RN.
"Got it. Yeah, we'll give her a call." Eddie says, nodding, his messy hair swinging in his face.
"Now, regarding your diet, Chrissy, I'm going to provide you with a number to a Nutritionist. It is crucial that you really focus on keeping up with your improvements." The older man's eyes focus on Chrissy's, holding her attention.
She nods but squirms under his intense eyes. "Of course. I—I actually see a counselor, at our school, three times a week. I've been seeing her more with everything… changing."
"That's good to hear. I'm sure she can help you tremendously through this pregnancy. Remember, and I cannot stress this enough, continuing any sort of disordered habits can cause many issues, issues like a low birth weight, premature birth, or even a miscarriage. This is the most crucial time for your baby's organs to develop."
Well shit. We get it dude. Eddie thinks.
"Yes sir, I understand." Chrissy says, tightening her hold on Eddie's hand. He rubs his thumb over her knuckles before nodding to the doctor.
"Okay then. Well, I hope I won't have to see you two in here again. Please take care and good luck to you both." He offers a polite smile, which the two teens return nervously, before leaving the room.
Beth escorts them out after handing Eddie the Nutritionist's information.
The walk back to the van is quiet, even peaceful, after the traumatic night—morning? He glances down at his watch again and sees it's now nearing a quarter to six. They both still have school later but fuck school. All he wants to do is curl up in the comfort of his own bed and hold Chrissy close, hold her as close as possible.
Fuck, that was a lot. Need a smoke or two.
He's pulled from his thoughts when Chrissy tugs on his hand. He turns his head to glance at her through the darkness. She looks exhausted and worn thin.
"Can we go back to your place?"
Yes. He wants nothing more than that.
"Of course, princess, but we still have school later. Do you want me to drive us to your house so you can grab some clothes to change into?"
As much as he would love to see her wearing his band T-shirts to school, he knows that would just stir up some unwanted attention, unnecessary gossip– Then again, it's not like the whole school isn't already talking about them…
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
Dang. Maybe another day.
He helps her into the passenger seat, buckling her up and giving her a soft kiss.
She has a light blue bag packed with various toiletries and clothes, her cheer bag and her pastel pink backpack loaded into the back of his van. They're heading to Forest Hills Park when he gets an idea.
"I know we're both dead tired after all that, but do you care if we take a little detour?"
Slumped against the passenger seat, head leaning onto the glass, Chrissy already looks half-asleep. She hums her response with a little nod.
Reaching his hand across the middle, he grabs her left hand, leans a bit towards her and brings it up to his lips, placing a soft kiss over her ring finger.
Rick's house comes into view as he pulls the van off from the road and onto the driveway. He doesn't know what possessed him to bring her here, of all places, but call it a gut feeling. Chrissy sits up in her seat and looks around curiously. "Where are we?"
Grimacing a bit, he sighs before responding. "Princess, welcome to Reefer Rick's casa. Don't worry, he's not here. He actually won't be home for um– quite a while…" He chuckles at the statement.
"Why are we at someone's home if they aren't here?" She wonders as she opens the passenger door and climbs out.
"Honestly? I'm not entirely sure anymore but this is where I come when I just want to get away, ya know? I figured after the shitty morning we've had we could use a bit of…escaping– for the very short amount of time we have, that is."
Hand in hand, they walk around to the back side of the house, and he sees the boat shed as they round the corner. A chill runs through him, remembering his time spent playing hide and go seek with the angry mob of jocks. He watches silently as she takes in their surroundings for the first time. There's a look similar to recognition and shock on her pretty face.
She spins around to face him so quickly that he almost stumbles backwards. "Oh my God, Eddie! How-How did you know? I've seen this place before! I know I've never been here, but I swear I've seen this exact spot!"
"Really? Um…I'm not really following, baby."
She runs towards the lake and stops, looking out into the water. He hurries to catch up and stand next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulder.
"I–I had a dream before…before I woke you up earlier. Eddie, I don't know how or why but I'm telling you, we were here, in my dream. It was so beautiful. It felt like home." She whispers, as if to not disturb the peace and stillness of the sunrise coming up over the lake.
The sky changes slowly, turning from darkness into shades of gold, light pink and lilac; shades that cover the calm waters like a blanket.
"I was there? You dreamin' of me, sunshine?" He smiles down at her. It's too good to be true. He's dreamt of her many times but never imagined he would make an appearance in hers.
"It wasn't just you…I saw–I saw our baby. It was a beautiful little girl, and you were holding her in your arms right out here, right where we're standing now. There were rose bushes and lilies planted all around this side of the house and the water looked like diamonds, sparkling under the sunlight." Her voice takes a dreamy tone as she leans her head against his side, her arms come around to hold him.
He looks down at her and sees the hues of the sunrise shine on her face, her eyes have a twinkle in them as she recalls her dream and he's in complete awe of her. "That does sound beautiful."
Then she closes her eyes, and a sour look crosses her features. "I was so sure we were going to lose her. I was so scared–so scared of losing her and you."
"Me? Baby, I'm not going anywhere." He cups the side of her face and waits for her to meet his eyes.
"I don't know why but I just felt like…I felt like if we lost the baby because of me and my–this stupid disorder–you'd leave me. There wouldn't be any reason for us to stay together and–"
"Whoa whoa, hold on now! If that were to happen, and I hope to God–Yes, God, himself–that that never happens but nothing would make me leave you. I'd be right here. You'd have to be the one to end this if…I mean, if that's what you wanted–otherwise…you're stuck with me, sunshine." His thumb traces her soft cheek gently and he sees tears well up in her eyes.
With a wet laugh he continues, "I was scared too. If something like that were to happen, well, there wouldn't be anything tying us together anymore and you could go back to your old life. No reason to stay with the freak." He says in a self-deprecating way.
She mirrors his actions, like in the emergency room, her hand reaching up to wipe the stray tear that threatens to fall from his eye. He blinks at the sweet gesture and takes in a shaky breath.
"I'm not going anywhere either Eddie. You're stuck with me…with us." She whispers and looks down at her stomach.
The sun peeks out over the trees off in the distance, spreading its light across them both. The air is still and birds chirp all around them.
"I thought coming back here would be hard. When I ran here before… it was like I was stuck in this nightmare but with you, it's nice, really nice–it's like…it's like a dream and I don't ever wanna wake up." He whispers before pulling her into his arms. Her hands grip the backside of his jacket, holding him close. "Seriously, I don't know what I did to deserve this. It's unreal." His chin rests on top of her head and he looks out at the golden lake.
"I love you. I love you so damn much and it terrifies me, Chrissy. I've never–never said that to anyone before and I'm just waiting for something awful to happen, to snatch it away." He breathes, his voice cracks slightly.
He hears her sniffle. "Me too. Oh god–I love you too, Eddie." She says, tearfully.
Pulling away slightly, he reaches behind his neck and unclasps the necklace around his neck. He holds up the silver chain with his lucky pick in between their bodies.
Chrissy, this is for you.
"So um–this is the pick I used at our middle school talent show and it's the very same that I used when I played for you in the other...time." He's beyond nervous, his hand is shaking and he hopes she can't tell from the slight movement of the chain. Clearing his throat, he continues, "It's not a ring or anything but…I want to give you this–if you'll have me?" Dark amber eyes meet shiny light blue.
"Of course! Always." She beams with a wet laugh.
Returning her smile, he lifts her hair and moves the chain around her neck. She turns her back to him so he can fasten it easier. She spins back around and touches the dark red guitar pick that now rests besides her '86' charm, admiring the two necklaces before she raises up onto her tiptoes.
He catches her around the waist as she crashes their lips together. Her hand moves to his neck to pull him closer and to deepen the kiss. He moans against her mouth, savoring the sweetness that is her kisses.
Breaking away for air, she glances back towards the lake house. "So…do you think your friend would let us use his house if he isn't living here? Do you think he would mind? Actually–where is he?"
A loud, joyous laugh escapes him. His eyes crinkle at the corners as he tugs on her hand to walk her back to the van.
"He's uh–kind of in prison…I bet you could butter him up with a nice letter and ask him yourself."
She scoffs at that, lightly hitting his arm but smiling merrily up at him.
"Thank you."
"I mean, you're welcome but for what, sunshine?"
"For bringing me here. For being there for me. For being you." The honey-sweet words fall so easily from her mouth and he has to fight the urge to scoop her up and take her inside Reefer Rick's place. God damn, he could pledge his life to her, marry her at any given second.
Afraid his words will crumble and turn into more tears, he brings her hand up his mouth, again, and kisses the back of her hand.
End Notes: Some fluff is good for the soul, Eddie told me himself. Also, sorry for another chapter with zero smut. These two have taken control of the plot now. I don't make the rules here.
Official Spotify playlist for fic:
playlist/6KipuynmFKQ5BDdReH1wEU?si=QaUt9ssLRUu6Cm-D3L5G3A
