Saturday, 8 December, 12:15, PDT, present day
Marco held the door for Drew as they exited the café. She smiled at him as they walked to his car.
"Are you sure about tonight?" Marco asked.
"Yeah," she nodded as Marco put the car into drive. "I don't really feel up to going to the game. It will be crowded."
He nodded as he looked at her midsection. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well," he shrugged, "You are fixing to pop in another three weeks."
"Ha ha," she said laughing. "I'll see you back in the ER on Monday."
He nodded as he drove her back to the hospital to finish his shift for the evening. She had gifted him the NBA ticket for that night. He was always a Lakers fan. The Celtics were coming in for the Saturday matchup. He also knew that she might not have been ready to see her former schoolmate.
o-o-o
There were some whispers among the hospital staff as signs of Drew's pregnancy began to show. Marco had put a stop to them quickly. Her coworkers were politely curious, congratulating her on the new edition. She was able to deal with this in stride.
What caused some slight anxiety were the biweekly family dinners at Malfoy Manor. Strange to think that that would cause trepidation but Drew always held her family close to her heart. She never wanted to disappoint them.
There was an underlying understanding among her brothers and their families. The nieces and nephews were quite happy with the idea of having another set of cousins arriving that year. Junior and Payton were expecting a son in September. Hans and Catherine were expecting a son in October and Heath and Caroline were expecting twins, a boy and a girl, in November. The children were actually excited for Drew, not even questioning who her special someone was.
o-o-o
Saturday, 8 December, 19:45, PDT, present day
Drew had already successfully treated three car accident victims, two gunshot wound victims, and one stabbing victim in the seven hours since returning from lunch. Drew looked at the digital watch above the ER reception desk. It had been a quiet forty-five minutes as she went on her Rounds within the past hour.
She walked by the waiting room as the visitors watched the ESPN coverage of the NBA basketball game. She took in a breath as she watched. The home team was behind by ten with two minutes left in the second period.
"The Lakers have cut the Celtics' lead in half," the commentator began.
"You have to chalk this up to the injury that happened midway through the period," the other commentator chimed in as the replay of the 6'8" power forward falling onto his left side after a collision with his own teammate played on the television screen.
Drew's breath hitched in her chest. The telecast showed him being assisted off the court. He couldn't put any pressure on his left side and his shoulder appeared as if it was dislocated. Drew blew out a breath as she walked away to continue her rounds. She wavered for a moment, holding her side.
She chalked it up to it being a long day already. She felt for her carotid artery in her neck; her pulse was racing. Her vision started to cloud as well. She couldn't keep her balance and the hallway started to spin. She felt her back hit the floor and then everything went black.
o-o-o
Saturday, 8 December, 20:15 PDT, present day
Marco walked from the Wizarding sports bar a block from the hospital after Flooing from the Wizarding restaurant across of the Staples Center. He had stayed to watch the game until halfway through the third period. The Celtics had gotten their second wind and were now leading by eighteen even without their star forward. He would have wanted to be a fly on the wall in the locker room as they assessed the player's injury.
He walked into the ER expecting to catch the pregnant doctor at the front desk. He looked around and saw the same Celtic player being wheeled out of the elevator and into one of the consulting rooms in the the ER. 'What a coincidence?' he thought to himself.
"Hey, where's Drew?" he asked the nurse at the nursing station.
"They wheeled her into one of the O.R.s a half an hour ago," Nurse Tania Chan said.
"Wait, what?" Marco asked.
"She was hemorrhaging," the nurse began. "I think they're delivering now."
"Is she okay?" the doctor asked as he pulled his cellular phone out.
She shrugged her shoulders. Marco nodded as he walked towards the office of the Head of the ER. He closed the door behind him and headed for the desk. He searched the phone's directory and found the London number and dialed.
"This better be good, Drew," the doctor heard the man's voice on the other line. "It's like four in the morning."
"Mr. Malfoy, Sir," Marco began.
Draco shot up to a seated position, startling his wife. Hermione nodded at him, yawning.
"Who is this?" Draco asked as he looked at the caller i.d. on his mobile screen.
"It's Marco Esteban, one of Drew's coworkers here at San Agustin's," the doctor began. "I'm sorry to bother you, Sir, at such an early hour on a Sunday morning."
"Did something happen to Drew?" Mr. Malfoy said as he put the call on speaker and placed the phone in between him and his wife. He saw the concern on Hermione's face.
"Um, she collapsed during her rounds," Marco said as Hermione stood up quickly to go to the bathroom to get ready for travel.
"Collapsed? Is she alright?" Draco said as he, too, jumped out of bed. He pulled on a t-shirt and pulled a pair of khakis from their closet.
"She's still in the O.R., Sir," Marco began.
"How is the baby?" Hermione asked as she exited the bathroom all set to go.
"We don't know the specifics just yet. She's still in labor," Marco said, guessing.
"We'll be there in ten minutes, Marco," Draco Malfoy said as he put on his Nike trainers.
"Yes, Sir," Marco said as he heard a click.
o-o-o
Saturday, 8 December, 20:30, PDT, present day
The Wizarding pair walked out of the same sports bar from which the young doctor had exited almost fifteen minutes ago. Draco Malfoy squeezed his wife's hand as they made a beeline to the Los Angeles hospital.
Marco looked up from the Nurses Station as the older couple entered the E.R. He nodded at them as they walked toward him. He took a breath as something else caught his eye. He quickly shook both of their hands.
"Let's head to Drew's office," Marco said as he led them towards their daughter's office. "The wait will be more comfortable in there."
o-o-o
The Wizarding pair made their way to the couch in their daughter's office. Marco closed the door behind him hoping the Malfoys hadn't noticed the professional athlete that was exiting the ER as they entered.
"May I offer you some coffee or tea?" the doctor asked.
The pair opted for some tea. Marco grabbed two Earl Gray tea bags and placed them into two coffee mugs. He poured hot water from the hot water pot that Drew always kept for afternoon tea time. He also pulled a K-cup of Kona coffee and placed it into the Keurig while placing another mug under the filter.
He carried the two cups of tea over to the couple. Both Malfoys nodded at the young man as they accepted the cups.
"What happened, Marco?" the Muggle-born witch asked.
"Drew mentioned she had the afternoon off," the platinum blonde wizard said as the young doctor took a seat on the opposite couch.
"She was supposed to go to tonight's Laker game," Esteban said. "It was against the Celtics. She gave me her ticket and offered to take my shift."
Dr. Granger-Malfoy blew out a breath. She looked at the young man. "At least she was here when the emergency happened."
"Instead of at the arena," Mr. Malfoy finished. He, too, blew out a breath.
"Her good friend plays for Boston," Drew's mother said.
"Yeah, Phillip Martinez, right?" Marco said as he stood up to grab his coffee. "He got injured in the second period. The game was pretty good but I left at the half.
"When I arrived back here the nurses on duty said Drew collapsed in the hallway close to the elevators. She was hemorrhaging."
The Muggle-born mother gasped. She looked at her husband. Mr. Malfoy squeezed her hand as the young man took a sip of coffee. He walked back to his seat.
"That was around 19:45," he said as both parents looked at their respective wristwatches.
"That was an hour ago," Draco said as he looked at his wife.
"I'm sure she's fine, Draco," Hermione squeezed his hand reassuringly. She looked back at the younger doctor.
"She's in good hands," Marco said. All three nodded, took a sip from their respective drinks and waited.
o-o-o
Saturday, 8 December, 21:00, PDT, present day
There was a knock on the door of the Office of the Head of the Emergency Room. Draco, Hermione and Marco stood up as Dr. Madeline Manayan, Drew's OB/GYN and Dr. James Hernandez, an E.R. doctor entered the room.
Dr. Manayan smiled at the older couple. The doctors shook hands with Drew's parents. They all took seats around the coffee table.
"It's been an eventful night," Dr. Hernandez said. "The E.R. has been pretty busy.
"Drew collapsed in the E.R. hallway around 7:45 tonight. She was about to head to the second floor to continue her rounds," the E.R. doctor said.
"I was called to the E.R." Dr. Manayan said and then smiled. "It's a good thing I was in the neighborhood."
"Drew was hemorrhaging," Dr. Hernandez said.
"We had to deliver by Caesarian," Dr. Manayan said. "That was at 8:15 p.m. Dr. Hernandez and his crew closed all of her bleeders.
"Baby Granger came three weeks earlier than expected," the OB/GYN said. "Twenty-three inches, eight pounds twelve ounces. Might be the biggest three-week preemie we've had."
The older couple laughed. Hermione smiled, "Is he in the preemie ward?"
"Yes," Dr. Manayan nodded. "He'll be there for at least a week to make sure everything's okay with him."
"Drew will be in recovery for the next half hour," Dr. Hernandez began. "She'll be transferred up to the third-floor maternity wing."
"Marco, here, can bring you upstairs to see the baby," Dr. Manayan said as she nodded at the off-duty E.R. doctor.
"We'll need a replacement for Drew, though," Dr. Hernandez nodded at Marco.
"Can do," Marco nodded as he stood up. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy stood up and shook hands with the two doctors. Marco led the Malfoys out of their daughter's office and towards the same elevators Drew was supposed to take almost an hour ago.