CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
"Carson, I tell you this is ridiculous. I am perfectly fine. Elizabeth dragged me here for absolutely no reason at all. Low on iron!"
Elizabeth was shaking her head no. She had gotten Mrs. Weise to sit with Little Jack, so Laura could spend the morning with the children at school. She would return to school after Lunch, and Laura would go get Little Jack and take him back home.
"Rosemary, you're going to have to be still and let me do my job. First, your temperature. Be still now."
Carson had long known dealing with Rosemary as a patient was worse than dealing with six children at the same time. In fact, you might say that Rosemary LaVeaux Coulter was the most difficult patient Carson had ever encountered in Hope Valley, or anywhere else for that matter! But he loved her in spite of it. She sure had spunk, and secretly, he admired that very much.
"Okay," he said, removing the thermometer from Rosemary's mouth and steeling himself for a long exam.
"Now, let's get your blood pressure. Be perfectly still. Uncross your legs, please and try not to move. Don't talk!" Carson inflated the cuff and listened quietly.
"It's a little higher than usual for you, Rosemary. How are you sleeping?"
"I guess alright, but I'm tired all the time, so it's pretty easy to sleep."
"What about your eating?"
"Nothing really tastes good," she answered shortly.
"I can tell you, she's not eating much at all. We had the best meal at the Cafe last night, and Rosemary barely touched hers!"
"It's the smell of everything, it just makes me want to throw up!"
"Rosemary, have you thrown up?"
"Maybe once or twice. Or three or four times. Or…I don't know. It's not a lot!"
Carson rolled his eyes.
"When did the vomiting start, Rosemary?"
"Some time ago."
"Does it occur at certain times of the day?" he asked patiently, knowing he wasn't going to get a direct answer for his previous question.
"Mostly in the morning. I'm pretty good by Lunchtime."
"But have you been eating Lunch?"
"No, I told you, the smells make me sick! Are you not listening to me, Carson?"
"Yes, Rosemary, I'm listening very closely to you. Do some foods make you sicker than others?"
"No, it's pretty much everything!"
"Are you drinking plenty of liquids?"
"Well, I don't know what YOU call plenty! Let's see, no to Water, no to Milk, no to Juice, no to Coffee, and no to Soda," as she counted all the liquids she couldn't drink off on one hand.
"That doesn't leave much. What exactly are you drinking Rosemary?"
"I guess a lot of Tea, Ginger Tea's my new favorite. It seems to help. At least I can keep that down!"
"Well you do know, that's the perfect setup for dehydration!" said Carson in an ominous tone, looking down his nose, and if he'd had glasses on, he most surely would have taken them off at that point for emphasis. "How much Tea are you drinking? Tell me exactly how much Tea, Rosemary."
"Carson, that is the craziest question I've ever heard! How am I supposed to know how much tea I drink? It's not like I keep a Tea Diary!"
"Rosemary, focus. Do you find yourself urinating a lot more than usual?" Carson continued, totally giving up on the amount of Tea his patient was drinking.
"Well, I never! What do you call a lot, and what in the world does THAT have to do with anything?"
"I want to know about anything that's different. Do you urinate more frequently than you did, say around last Christmas?"
"Well, that's hard to remember. Carson, no one even thinks about how much they urinate," she whispered with disdain, "much less how much from last Christmas. Come on, Elizabeth, let's go!"
"On, no you don't. You sit right back down there!" and Carson rose to his full height, directly in front of and just inches away from his patient.
They stared at each other for a couple of minutes, and Elizabeth wasn't sure who was going to actually win this standoff, but her money was on Carson.
Rosemary finally sunk back down on the exam table with her arms crossed, being none too happy about this situation at all. She shot Elizabeth a glaring look.
"Once again, Rosemary, how much are you urinating, a little, middle of the road, or a lot?"
I guess I would have to say… probably..." and she narrowed her eyes. "Probably a lot."
"Thank you! Was that so difficult? Now, tell me how much is a lot? How many times a day? Rosemary…"
"Okay, probably...maybe...a dozen or so times a day. I don't know! I don't count! But I do get up through the night if that's something you want to know!"
"Thank you for that, Rosemary. I do want to know. Now, have you had any odd mood swings?"
Elizabeth had to bite her lip till it hurt.
"Absolutely not! Carson, just who do you think I am?" she said a little too vehemently. "I would never do that, not in a million years, and how dare you accuse me of such a thing? Mood swings, I never!"
With that, Elizabeth had to turn and face the wall, with her hand to her face.
Carson made no comment as he calmly marked down 'Significant Mood Swings' on her chart.
"Rosemary, have you missed any of your periods?"
"Well, first, urination and now periods, can't a woman have any privacy at all?"
"Not with me, you can't. I'm your Doctor, and there is no privacy in this relationship, you got that?"
"Well, I never!"
"Yes, I know. You've said that. Your periods, Rosemary. Have you missed any?"
"Maybe one or two, or three. I don't know, Carson!"
Elizabeth just rolled her eyes.
Carson picked up a gown and handed it to his feisty patient.
"And whatever is this for?"
When she finally understood what Carson meant, she shrieked with absolute obstinance, "Well, I never. I absolutely will not! And you can't make me!"
Rosemary stared at Carson, daring him to try.
"Yes, you've already said that. Rosemary, you're having a complete physical, right now. I'll step out while you change," by this time poor Carson had to resort to pointing his finger so his patient knew he meant business.
"Look at what you've done, Elizabeth! This is all your fault! What a waste of time! Mine and yours!"
Carson wanted so badly from the next room to add "And mine!" but didn't dare.
After much more fussing, Elizabeth finally got Rosemary out of her clothes and into her gown.
Carson returned back to the exam room with full resolve.
Carson started checking her breasts, "Does this hurt?"
"OUCH, of course, it hurts. Carson, you have lost every bedside manner you ever had. And I've got a good mind…"
"Duly noted, Rosemary. What about this?"
She let out a combined groan and moan in agony, writhing, giving him the response he expected.
Elizabeth couldn't help but think, 'Good grief, if Rosemary actually is pregnant, her face looks like she's in the middle of delivering the Baby right now!'
"Okay, drape this over your legs."
"You most certainly are not!"
"Oh, yes, I most certainly am."
"I have never seen anything like this. This is utterly ludicrous! You just wait till I tell Lee about this! Carson, I have a good mind to report you!"
"Rosemary, you have to be still, or this is going to hurt a lot more than either of us wants it to. Do you understand that? Are you ready? Okay, that's more like it. Stay really still, and this will be over before you know it."
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Hmmph!" she snorted.
"I'll step outside. You get dressed, and we'll have a little talk."
"Oh, no, is it serious? Am I dying? Carson..." she pleaded.
But the Doctor with hands to his face, desperately needed a breath of fresh air, and perhaps a moment of peace, along with a moment to regroup. For some strange reason, he suddenly felt exhausted. So he quickly stepped out on the Boardwalk to catch a deep breath and left Elizabeth to console his patient.
Carson was sure of two things. He was confident of his diagnosis, and he was sure he was not going to see a more difficult patient for some time to come.
But he wasn't at all sure he was going to survive nine months of this, well more like 6-7 months if his prediction proved correct.
He was also thankful that he was alone in the office on this particular morning, that Elizabeth had dragged Rosemary to him.
Without Faith here, and with his substitute helpers, he knew this news would be too good for them not to slip out.
Carson took a deep breath and turned to return to his feistiest of patients.
But not before a quick prayer.
"Oh, Dear Lord, give me patience." he pled softly. "Now and for the coming months! We're going to need your help to get through this one!"
With that, he walked back into his outer Office.
"Ready?" he called into the Exam Room, trying to sound as upbeat and professional as he could muster.
"I guess as much as I'll ever be!" retorted Rosemary.
He entered the Exam Room not at all sure what to expect next...
"How bad is it? How much time do I have?"
"Rosemary, are you okay with me talking about all this with Elizabeth here?"
"And why wouldn't I be. Elizabeth's my dearest friend in the whole world. Although I am absolutely livid at her for dragging me here!"
He pulled up an extra chair for Elizabeth to sit in, and knowing Rosemary, he decided he best stand close to her.
By now, Rosemary was extremely worried, and her beautiful eyes widened with fear.
"Is something terribly wrong with me? Whatever it is, I don't want Lee to know. He'll be so upset!"
"Rosemary, I think you're going to be fine and I don't think Lee is going to be upset. The mood swings, the food aversion especially smells, the vomiting, the fatigue, the missed periods, the frequent urination, and the breast tenderness all point to one thing. And that pelvic you hated me for, confirms it. Rosemary, it's not terrible at all. In fact, it's wonderful news. Although the time you have may be taken up with other matters from here on out. Rosemary, you're pregnant."
And thank goodness, Carson was there to put his arms around her and keep her from falling off the exam table, because she fainted dead away in his arms.
Carson carried Rosemary to one of the beds and asked Elizabeth to go get Lee.
The Doctor didn't want to use anything with Rosemary, hoping she would quickly come to on her own. But this was going to take smelling salts. So out they came. She was back quickly with that, but Carson couldn't believe his eyes or his ears.
She didn't say a single word.
Not a single word.
She just stared straight ahead.
Carson held her hand and talked to her gently.
"Rosemary, you're going to make the best Mother, you do know that, don't you?" and he was thankful to see her nod her head.
"Rosemary, you're not scared, are you?" but she nodded yes again, which was not the desired response.
"Rosemary, I'll be here to help you every step of the way. I've delivered lots of Babies, and they've all been fine. The Mothers have all made it through very nicely, too." he said calmly, reassuring his patient.
Then suddenly he understood what the problem was.
"Rosemary, look at me. This Baby is real, and I think we're way past the time for anything bad to happen. You're safe, your Baby is safe. I just need you to concentrate on staying healthy for you and your Baby. I know this is a shock. But I also know you and Lee have wanted this for so long. And I give you my promise. I will do everything in my power to make sure both you and the Baby stay safe. We can do this together, Rosemary. Do we have a deal?"
This time she sat up and hugged him. Then she started sobbing, and he just held her, speaking to her with his soothing, in control, Doctor's voice.
"Let it out, Rosemary, because you and I have a lot of work to do to make sure we keep you and your Baby healthy. I need you to do every single thing I say, you promise?"
"I do. I do promise. With all my heart, I promise!"
"No more of this forgetting stuff. You write every little thing down you need to tell me and you make sure you tell me everything. You promise?"
"I promise!"
"Now, that's the spirited Rosemary, we all know and love. This Baby is going to have the most wonderful Mother!"
And that brought the most radiant smile to her face. She really was glowing, now that it had sunk in.
Lee ran into the office, as though he were flying, leaving the door open behind him, like he couldn't get there quickly enough, with Elizabeth trailing behind.
Carson watched in amazement as Lee melted into a puddle of emotions, and Rosemary quickly became Lee's strength, telling him about their Baby and that he was going to be a Father. "The very best Father in the World," she told him.
Carson took Elizabeth's arm and led her into the outer office, giving Lee and Rosemary the privacy and intimacy this moment demanded.
The two friends quickly hugged each other, overjoyed for this couple they both loved, who had been through so much to start a family.
"Carson, I've got to go get Nathan! Last night, when I was with Rosemary, and Nathan was with Lee, even though we were upstairs and they were downstairs, we both knew what it was at the very same time!"
"I'm sure there's time. Lee and Rosemary are going to be in there for a while. You hurry!"
Elizabeth started out the door of the Infirmary and looked down the street to see Nathan talking with Aaron. But as soon as he saw her, he excused himself, slapped Aaron on the back, and headed directly toward her.
"Any news?"
She nodded. And he could see the joy on her face!
He ran to her and picked her up, and twirled her around and around while he kissed her.
"We were right!"
He finally let her down, and took her face in his hands, bending to tenderly kiss her again.
From the Oil Office, Lucas was standing in the shadows of the doorway, quietly watching them, with furrowed brows. When the couple finally entered the Infirmary, he turned back into his office, sauntered to his desk, and opened the top drawer.
He then pulled out a blue velvet box with a golden latch and a huge marquis diamond ring in the center.
"Marchioness Madame de Pompadour, you have nothing on my beautiful Elizabeth."