Ch. 9

**Authors Note** I know it's been a while since I updated. I am back on the wagon.

As soon as Elizabeth was out of the exam room, she realized she did not want to leave Stevie alone. How could she! This was her little girl and she was scared and in pain. Elizabeth stopped walking and turned to Suzie and told her in no uncertain terms, "No, I'm staying with my daughter. You can go tell Henry what is happening and let him know where I am. I can't leave her alone." Elizabeth started her statement direct but by the end she was just hoping Suzie did not refuse her.

Suzie was studying Elizabeth and knew no matter what point she made that Stevie was being taken care of, that she would not believe her without seeing it for herself. She herself knew what it was like to lose a baby. And when looking into Elizabeth's bright blue eyes, she almost knew that Elizabeth too had felt the loss of an unborn child. "Ok, but I'm serious, you have to not get in the other doctors' way and if for whatever reason Stevie doesn't want you in the room, you are to respect her wishes even if you don't agree with them. That goes for if one of the other Doctors or nurses ask you to leave." Elizabeth listened knowing Suzie meant business.

"You have my word." Said Elizabeth as she turned on her heel and made fast work of the few steps between herself and her baby girl and future grandchild. Wow…a grandchild. Surely, I'm not old enough for a grandchild! Thought Elizabeth. She was pulled from her thoughts as she stepped back in the room and made a b-line for Stevie.

Stevie was barely holding herself together. When she looked up and saw her mom coming back into the room, she lost what small grip she had on her emotions. She began to sob "Mom…Mom I can't lose them both. I know I should have told you and Dad and God I definitely should have told Blake. What if I don't get to tell him or what if he wakes up and I have to tell him not only did I not tell him I was pregnant, but that I lost it too." She was talking so fast, Elizabeth had to work hard to understand everything she was saying and the monitors were flashing angry red as Stevie's blood oxygen levels were dropping because she was not breathing properly due to the crying and the talking. She also knew that if the drugs they were giving her to stop the pre-term labor were to work, she needed to calm down and quick.

"Hey…Hey…shshh…Honey, you need to take a breath and calm down. Ok? Can you hear me baby girl?" soothed Elizabeth. It had been years since she called Stevie baby girl. She hadn't called her that since Stevie said petulantly at the age of 11 that she was too old to be called a baby. So, sadly Elizbeth had stopped, at least out loud in her presence. But she knew now, that Stevie needed to be calmed and the fastest way to do that was to remind her of simpler times. It took a few tense seconds but worked in the end. Stevie took a deep breath and looked sadly at her mom.

"you haven't called me that in a long time. I don't remember why you stopped. But Mom, I am so scared right now. Will you stay with me? I know you are worried about Blake and I am too, but I am terrified. I didn't know I could love something as much as I do this baby."

Elizabeth just slid on the bed and pulled Stevie to her and began to card her hand through her hair. Just like she used to when Stevie was little and the biggest problem in her little life was her little sister stealing her barbies. They both just sat there together as the nurses kept track of hers and the baby's vitals. After an unknown amount of time, a young man walked in dressed in light purple scrubs.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Preston Smith. I am the on-call OB." He smiled and made direct eye contact with Stevie. His cool and calm demeanor worked wonders at calming both Stevie and Elizabeth. He walked further into the room and pulled up a stool next to Stevie's bed and brought the ultrasound machine closer. Once he had everything prepped, he turned and addressed both women. "Ok, so, Stevie, have the contractions stopped?"

Stevie looked toward the Doctor and said "Yes, I think so, I don't feel the deep cramps anymore. I still feel kinda sore, but not like before."

"Good, that's very good" said Dr. Smith. "Now, what I want to do is an ultrasound to check on baby and make sure that you haven't got anything else going on. Sound ok?" Doctor Smith wanted to give Stevie a rundown of everything he was doing so as not to cause undo stress or panic.

Stevie took a deep breath, and looked toward her mom, then back to Dr. Smith and just nodded her head. Elizabeth kissed her temple and told her it was going to be ok. As Elizabeth moved to get off the bed, Dr. Smith waved her off saying "No need to move Madam Secretary, I encourage all of my patients to do what they need to provide comfort, if your presence is providing comfort to Stevie, then by all means, I will work around you."

Elizabeth was glad and also surprised. She had been to many hospitals in her lifetime, and never had she or Henry for that matter been given the option of continuing to comfort during an exam. But Elizabeth was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so…she looked to Stevie to make sure she was ok, and just waited for the familiar grainy image of her daughter's child.

Dr. Smith gently pulled up the gown that Stevie had been put in after Elizabeth and Suzie had left the first time, and making sure to pull the blanket up to preserve as much of her modesty as possible, then gave Stevie the normal warning about cold gel, and then placed the wand low on her pelvis to get a view of her cervix and uterus before searching for that familiar little rhythmic pulsing. Once he found it, he turned the screen toward Stevie and Elizabeth with a smile on his face. "Stevie, you see that little fluttering?" as he pointed to the screen. Stevie having never seen an ultrasound before nodded her head as Elizabeth gave her a little squeeze. She knew what was being seen. Dr. Smith then proceeded to tell Stevie that that was her babies heart beating. He then turned on the sound. As the fast bump bump filled the room, Stevie let her tears fall. She was mesmerized by the sight and sound of her baby. Dr. Smith was cognizant of this so he kept the ultrasound wand on the spot and just silently gave her a few moments. Elizabeth was just a teary as Stevie. She was so happy and also know exactly how her daughter felt. She had thought she had lost her own baby. She knew the bone crushing terror and then the soul lifting relief of hearing the heartbeat of your child.

**Flashback**

Once Lydia had come back down the stairs after having gotten Bess settled upstairs, she found Conrad in the kitchen staring out the window. She walked up behind him and drew her arms around his waist and held him. After a few minutes he turned in her arms and wrapped his own arms around her. He took a deep breath and pulled back looking Lydia in the eye. "Is Bess ok?"

Lydia knows what he was trying to say. He wanted to know if Bess was ok and if the baby was as well. "I don't know for sure Connie. I'm going to call Gail. See if she will see us both tomorrow even though its Saturday. I hope that they are both ok. But we need to see for sure. Have you heard anything about Henry?"

Conrad had indeed just gotten off the phone with his contact in Henrys Marine detachment. The news was not great, but not devastating either. Henry was still listed and missing. As much as he hatted it, no news was still good news. As long as Henry was listed as MIA and not KIA, there was still hope. "I just got off the phone with Henrys Detachment Commander. Still no news. They think he may have bailed out over a particular mountain range that has been known to mess with the signals from his rescue beacon. They are going to send a team of seals to see if they have any luck finding anything. I hope Gail can see her tomorrow. I don't think I could wait until Monday to find out if she is really ok" said Conrad. He wanted to be excited for his daughter. But he also wanted to be there if the worst happened.

Lydia went into her and Conrad's office to call Gail. Gail had been Lydia's OB since she was in college. She had helped her through three miscarriages, and was with her the whole way with Harrison. Harrison had been a bit of a miracle baby. Both Lydia and Conrad were sure they would never have any kids of their own. They had begun to discuss adoption, when one day at work, Lydia had stood up from her desk and then her world went black. She had fainted and was rushed to the ER. Once Conrad had gotten there, she had regained consciousness and was answered a million questions as to how she had been feeling. Four hours later, and a smiling Conrad and Lydia were leaving the Emergency Room to go home and celebrate. Without even knowing it, Lydia was in her second trimester and the baby was out of the danger zone.

Lydia called the number and waited. Gail picked up the phone "Hello Lydia, how are you doing? Is Harrison doing ok?" Gail knew it was not time for Lydia's annual visit, so she was slightly concerned for why her friend was calling this late on a Friday night.

Lydia heard the concern in her friend's voice. "Harry is doing just fine Gail; I am calling about Bess. Connie had to break some hard news to her today and she fainted from stress. They sedated her at the infirmary at work and Connie brought her home with him for the weekend. She is extremely stressed and she told us both that she was pregnant, but had not seen a doctor yet and I was wondering if you could by any chance see her tomorrow? I know it's a Saturday, but she is extremely worried that the sedative could have harmed the baby and to be honest with you, both Connie and I would feel better if we heard that she was OK by someone we know and trust."

Gail had meet Bess many times and knew she was as much their daughter and Harrison was their son. "Of course. Bring her in around 10am. I will do a full exam and an ultrasound. She may not be far along enough really see anything with the ultrasound, but we can certainly confirm the pregnancy and make sure everything is going as smoothly as possible. I will see you both in the morning." With that Gail and Lydia ended their call. With a game plan in the works, Lydia left the office and joined Conrad in their room to get ready for bed.

"Did Harry go down ok?" she asked Conrad as she walked into their room.

Conrad looked up from his book he was reading in bed and smiled. "He did, only three stories tonight." Lydia laughed "Only three? Man, he must have been tired. I usually have to threated him with an earlier bedtime to get him down." She finished getting ready for bed and settled in next to Conrad. "Gail is going to see us in the morning around 10am. Can you keep Harry company?" Conrad agreed to do so saying they would probably go to the park. As they both drifted off to sleep sending up prayers for Bess, Henry, and their soon to be grandchild.

The next morning, Bess woke up to a squealing Harrison. She rolled over onto her back and smiled. She was amazed that a little human could wake up with such energy. Harrison Dalton was like a little pint size energizer bunny. He played hard and slept hard. It took a moment for her to remember the events of the day before. She was awash with embarrassment and then the extreme urge to vomit. She got up and ran from her room and to the bathroom just in time to lose what was left in her stomach. She was so engrossed in the act of being sick, that she missed Lydia coming into the bathroom, having been alerted by Harrison that Aunty Bess was sick, and gently pulled Elizabeth's hair out from around her face and putting it in a quick pony tail and rubbing her back. Once Lydia was sure she was finished for the time being, she wet a washcloth and placed it on Bess's forehead and helped her lean back and sit against the bath tub. Taking deep breaths to hopefully stem off the nausea, Elizabeth did not make eye contact with Lydia, just kept her eyes shut. After close to ten minutes, Lydia broke the silence. "Bess, honey, are you feeling any better?"

Elizabeth opened her eyes and went to say yes, but decided she wanted to throw up more, and leaned back to the toilet. After she was sure she had thrown up everything she had eaten in her 26 years of existence, she leaned back again and meet Lydia's eyes. "Yeah, I think I'm ok…ish…" she smiled as Lydia giggled.

"I am well aware of how you feel sweetheart. I thought I was going to throw up my toenails after I found out about Harrison. It was almost like the nausea got worse once I found out I was pregnant" she smiled. "Speaking of that, I got you an appointment with my OB, Gail, you remember her? She is going to see us at 10 this morning. I was actually going to wake you up about now so you could eat some breakfast and then us leave."

Elizabeth was stunned. And touched. She gave Lydia a watery smile and said "Thank you Liddie, I don't know what I would have done without you and Conrad." She took a deep breath and got to her feet with Lydia's help and they both walked to the kitchen. Once there Lydia passed Elizabeth a plate with scrambled eggs and toast. Lydia gave her a stern look once she saw Elizabeth go to push the plate away. Elizabeth gave Lydia a pouty face, but pulled the plate back towards her and picked up the dry toast. Lydia knew from experience that food would help with the nausea. After Bess had eaten almost all of her breakfast, Lydia gave a deep sigh, but released her from the table with a shake of her head. "Your worse that Harrison! Go and get ready. We will leave in about twenty minutes." Elizabeth just smiled and got up and rushed from the kitchen incase Lydia changed her mind.

It seemed like no time at all before Elizabeth found herself nervously sitting in an exam room. Lydia was sitting in a chair next to the exam table wearing a smirk as she watched Elizabeth struggle in vain to keep the paper gown closed. She finally giggled and said, "Elizabeth, sweetheart, just leave it. You have nothing I have not seen before and definitely nothing that Gail has not seen a million times before. That gown is not designed to be closed."

Elizabeth gave a huff and a shake of her head, "It makes no sense to be subjected to the embarrassment of not only having to have a stranger inches from my hooha –she motions to her bottom half jerkily—but they also have to have the girls just hanging out too!"

As she was finishing her little rant, Gail walked in and said with a giggle, "Ya know, I kind of agree with her Lydia and its refreshing to see a young person who still uses the word 'hooha'."

Elizabeth just turned a slight shade of pink and began to apologize but Gail stopped her.

"It's perfectly fine. I know the frustration is more a buildup of stress and worry and not an actual critic on my gowns. You are not the first nor will you be the last." Gail then pulled up a stool and began the exam. "Ok, Elizabeth, is it ok that Lydia stays in the room?"

Elizabeth instinctively reached out for Lydia's hand and quickly said "Yes!"

Gail seeing the worried look on Lydia's face decided to not make comment on the action. "Ok then, we are going to start with some questions. Now I apologize for the intimate nature of the questions, but they are necessary. Ok?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath and said "ok. Whatever you need."

Gail then took up her clip board and began her workup. "Ok…when was the last time you had sexual intercourse and when was your last menstrual cycle?"

Elizabeth turned beet red. Lydia just laughed and said, "Lizzy, I am well aware of how a marriage works and you should not be embarrassed about having sex with your husband."

Still slightly red, Elizabeth looked up at Gail and said, "Um…the morning my husband left for his tour. Um…2 months and a few days ago. And I am about 7 weeks late."

Gail wrote that down, then asked if she had ever been pregnant before, if she had had a mischarge in the past, and if she had felt any pain or experienced any spotting or bleeding. Getting a negative to all of those questions began to settle Gail. She knew from experience that losing a baby was hard no matter the situation.

After finishing the history section, Gail asked Elizabeth when her last annual exam was done. When Elizabeth looked at her funny, she got her answer. Elizabeth told her she only saw her Gynecologist when she was having a specific problem. Gail asked if she was wanted for her to manage her care or if she wanted to go to her own doctor. Elizabeth looked over at Lydia and told Gail she would see her if that was ok.

"That perfectly ok. We will do a pap smear today as well as am ultrasound to check on everything. Ok?"

Elizabeth just nodded.

Gail then got everything she would need and asked Elizabeth to scoot down and put her legs up. she put a warm blanket over Elizabeth's knees and helped guide her feet to the stirrups. Once settled, she reached for Lydia's hand again. Lydia just gave her a smile. As the exam progressed, Elizabeth was tense. Noticing this, Gail stopped and put her gloved hands-on Elizabeth's knees and said "Honey, you are going to need to relax or this next part is going to be more uncomfortable than normal." Lydia seeing that Elizabeth was taking deep breaths trying to relax, started talking about ideas for Harrys birthday in three months. Gail seeing her relax, was quick to take advantage of it and got the most invasive part done. Once finished, she helped Elizabeth put her legs down and sit back up then rolled up the ultrasound machine.

She wasted no time squirting gel on Elizabeth's abdomen and started moving the wand around until she found the little bean what was her baby. Gail smiled and looked over to Elizabeth and pointed out the little lima bean on the screen and said "You see that honey, that is your baby. And listen to this…" as she said that, a quick whooshing thump filled the room. "You hear that? That is your babies heart beat."

Lydia smiled with tears in her eyes and Elizabeth was not much better.

**End flashback**