Here's the updated Chapter 13. It's finally finished. I apologize, I have been dealing with recovering from surgery and being sick with Influenza B for the past month.
Chapter 13:
Memorial Hospital. Margo's room, 12:45 pm
Tom walks into Margo's room at Memorial, carrying a bag containing a change of clothes for her and a bag carrying the two gifts he bought for Margo. He looks over at the bed and sees that Margo's sleeping fitfully as he sets the bags down in the chair next to the bed. He watches her toss and turn as he walks over to the bed.
"Hey," Tom says as he walks over to the bed and takes her hand in his. "Wake up. It's okay."
Margo slowly opens her eyes when she hears Tom's voice.
"Hey. What happened?" Tom asks.
"Ahh…how long have you been here?" Margo asks, groggily.
"I just got here to your room a couple of minutes ago. Dr. Martinez should be here in about half an hour or so. Do you want to tell me what had you tossing and turning when I walked in?" Tom replies.
"I haven't been sleeping much at all for the last several months." Margo quietly tells Tom as she looks away from him, still feeling uneasy.
"I know there's been a lot of stuff that has been drudged up that has been bothering you. Do you want to talk about it? Anything about why you haven't been sleeping?" Tom asks as he sits on the bed facing Margo.
"No. It's not going to make any difference." Margo replies quietly.
"Make a difference about what? You can't just keep this bottled in. It's not good for you and it's definitely not good for the baby. Hal's afraid you're going to have another PTSD episode, and I'm afraid of that, too." Tom replies as he gently rubs Margo's arm.
"I just don't want to talk about it right now, okay." Margo says as she covers her eyes with her arm to avoid Tom seeing the tears welling up.
"I don't want to upset you, but there is something that is clearly bothering you. I know it's hard and I can tell how you are trying to avoid looking at me. If you don't want to talk about it now, promise me you will talk about it at some time." Tom implies as he continues to gently rub Margo's arm.
"What's in the big white bag over in the chair?" Margo asks, trying to change the subject, as she wipes away tears that spilled out.
"Umm…something for you and our little girl." Tom says as he gets up to grab the white gift bag from the chair. "You haven't said anything about talking about what has been bothering you at some point."
"I just don't want to get all worked up before Dr. Martinez comes in." Margo states as she looks at Tom.
"Well, that's understandable. But, please promise me at some point you'll talk about this—if not with me, maybe a therapist." Tom begs as he walks back over to the bed and hands Margo the white gift bag.
"I'll think about it." Margo quietly states as she takes the bag from Tom
"Well, at least these should try to put a smile on your face." Tom says as he sits back down on the bed next to her.
Margo pulls out the first box out of the bag and takes the cover off. As she moves the white tissue paper out of the way, she sees something green and starts to take the pajama top out of the box and notices the matching pajama pants.
"New pajamas?" Margo asks.
"Yeah, I thought you could use a new pair—considering the pregnancy. Besides, they're silk. The gal at the store where I bought them from told me the silk maybe more comfortable with the itchy skin you've been dealing with lately. They're maternity pajamas, so they may be more comfortable and less tight than the pajamas that you have on now." Tom states as he moves the gift box out of the way.
"Yeah, the pajama pants I've got on are getting somewhat tight. I kind of forgot how quickly my stomach gets big when I'm pregnant. I kind of hate how nothing fits right now and how fat I'm getting." Margo quietly says as she looks down at her growing stomach.
"Hey, first of all, you're not fat." Tom says as he sits down on the bed and places his hand on Margo's stomach "Our baby girl is in there, growing like she should be. Besides, when you were pregnant with Casey, one of my favorite things to do at night when we went to bed was cuddle up next to you with my head on your chest and rubbing your stomach-feeling Casey as he moved and kicked as we watched a movie before falling asleep."
"Yeah, that was one of my favorite things, too." Margo says quietly as she moves the box that the pajamas were in out of the way.
"We've got a few minutes before Dr. Martinez comes in. Why don't you change into your new pajamas? They may be more comfortable for you." Tom states as he looks at his watch, then hands the pajama top to Margo and gets up from sitting on the bed.
"That sounds like a good idea." Margo says as she moves the blankets to get up.
While Margo heads to the bathroom to change, Dr. Martinez knocks on the door and enters the room.
"Hi, you must be Dr. Martinez? Margo just went to go change into some different pajamas I brought her." Tom says as he sees the doctor walk toward the bed.
"Yes, I am. And you are?" Dr. Martinez asks as she sees Tom for the first time.
"I'm Tom Hughes, Margo's husband and the father of the baby." Tom says as Margo comes out of the bathroom.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hughes." Dr. Martinez says as she shakes Tom's hand. "Hi Margo, how are you feeling today?"
"Tired and pretty achy." Margo replies as she crawls back into the bed as she notices the fetal heart monitor going off. "It looks like that I need to be hooked back up to that."
"Maybe not. The baby's heart rate has been pretty steady since you've been admitted. Now, you mentioned that you feel pretty achy. When did that start?"
"Since I found out I was pregnant, so about 3 months ago or so. But then, I also haven't slept in my own bed for about the past three weeks or so." Margo replies.
"Is the achiness in one particular area or is it all over? Dr. Martinez asks as she makes a note in Margo's chart.
"It's been all over." Margo replies.
"That could be from a number of things. It could be hormonal due to the pregnancy, it could also be from the buildup of bile acid in the blood, which is why I am starting you on Actigall right away this afternoon. I'm also going to prescribe an oral vitamin K because vitamin K deficiency is quite common in women who have ICP and that can pose a serious problem for the baby. Now, Dr. Samuels noted in her report to me that you're about 22 weeks pregnant as of yesterday. As far as your pregnancy goes and your medications, your anti-rejection medication is going to be reduced to the lowest dosage possible. Your viral levels have been consistently low, which is a good thing. The baby itself will need to be tested around 6 weeks after birth to ensure that the HCV has not been transmitted to the baby." Dr. Martinez explains to Tom and Margo.
"What about an erratic heartbeat? Dr. Samuels mentioned something to me about that the night Margo was brought in." Tom asks.
"One of the complications is that the baby's heartbeat can become erratic. It could mean a sign of distress due to the ICP. That is why Margo's been hooked up to the fetal heart monitor since she's been admitted. The good news is that the baby's heart rate has been steady, but it will still need to be monitored. The goal here now is to ensure that Margo takes it easy for the next 15 weeks or so and avoids as much stress as possible. I understand that Dr. Samuels has basically ordered Margo to go on maternity leave, correct?" Dr. Martinez asks.
"Yes, even though I haven't talked with Hal yet about that." Margo replies. "Am I going to be on bed rest and what is this about the next 15 weeks?"
"I'm going to speak with Dr. Samuels, but the recommendation is that you be on partial bed rest. You'll be able to get up to shower, make yourself something to eat, go from your bedroom to the living room or family room. You aren't going to be able to work at all and you will need to avoid heavy lifting—including doing laundry. My understanding is that you have a pretty stressful job as a police detective, is that correct?" Dr. Martinez asks.
"Yes, I'm a detective on the Oakdale Police Department." Margo states.
"Well, between Dr. Samuels and I, we'll get the paperwork filled out for you for any short or long term disability protocols with the police department. It is important that you take it very easy for the rest of your pregnancy—especially with this being a high-risk pregnancy." Dr. Martinez states.
"What is this about the next 15 weeks or so?" Tom asks.
"The goal right now is to get Margo to carry to 37 weeks. As you've both been informed, one of the complications of ICP is the baby's heartbeat can become erratic and in that case, the baby would need to be delivered prematurely. There are other complications that could arise from ICP that can affect both mother and baby-such as preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, which is common in the third trimester. Margo's liver function is going to have to be closely monitored, along with the baby's heartrate for the rest of the pregnancy." Dr. Martinez explains.
"Is there any idea on when I may be able to go home Our son is scheduled to have surgery on his left hand tomorrow." Margo asks.
"I'm going to speak with Dr. Samuels, but probably within the next couple of days. I want to do another liver function test after you've been on the Actigall for at least 24 hours. It's important that the Actigall is taken basically around the same time every day while you are on it. Dr. Samuels will make that determination based of what I inform her." Dr. Martinez states as Margo looks down, feeling kind of defeated.
"Is this ICP going to have any long term affects on Margo's health after she has the baby?" Tom asks.
"No, the ICP typically goes away shortly before going labor—that's if Margo carries to 37 weeks or makes it to full term. There really shouldn't be afterwards, but Margo will get a full exam—including liver function tests—after she delivers." Dr. Martinez states. "I'm going to go meet with Dr. Samuels and we'll make the determination on when Margo is going to be discharged."
"Thank you." Margo states quietly as Dr. Martinez walks towards the door.
"You're welcome. I'll get the paperwork started for Margo's disability and I'll have one of the nurses bring it in when it's completed for you." Dr. Martinez states just as she's about to leave the room.
"Well, Hal's not going to like that piece of news when I talk with him." Margo states as she runs her fingers through her hair after Dr. Martinez leaves.
"We both knew it was a strong possibility that you were going to be put on bed rest. If it helps, I'll deal with Hal. Besides, the department still owes you some significant time off after both Hal and the commissioner begged you to come back part time not quite two months after your liver transplant two years ago and you lost both sick and vacation time when both Hal and Jack were off who knows where when Carly and Emily went missing, leaving you basically to be the only detective for quite a while. This time, I'm going to make sure you get ALL of your time off and they are not going to rush you into coming back to work after having this baby." Tom says as he hands her the other gift box. "You still have half of the present I brought to open."
"I totally forgot about the lost sick and vacation time." Margo says as she opens the second box from Tom.
After she puts the top of the box aside and moves the tissue paper, she notices the white polar fleece blanket with pink teddy bears.
"Wow" Margo says as she holds up the first blanket and sees the pink blanket underneath with a pink and white teddy bear and the picture frame. "It's going to take some getting used to have pink stuff around the house. I got so used to boy stuff after having both Adam and Casey, then having stuff for Daniel around the house."
"Yeah, it's going to take some getting used to—especially after having three boys in the house. I stood there for almost a solid hour at the store looking at all of the pink blankets and other baby girl things. I actually had to have someone from the store help me pick this stuff out."
After Margo puts the blankets and the bear aside, she picks up the pink and white Cubs outfit.
"Her first outfit is a Cubs outfit?" Margo asks as she looks over the tiny outfit.
"Yeah, I couldn't help myself with that one." Tom says with a smile on his face. "When Casey was a baby, one of my favorite things to do was sit on the couch with him napping on me watching the Cubs play. This time around, I'm looking forward to doing that with our little girl this coming baseball season."
"There were times I would come down from upstairs and you'd be napping with him while the Cubs were on" Margo replies. "Especially if he was up several times the night before."
"Yeah, he was a little stinker when it came to sleeping through the night when he was a baby." Tom states. "Hey. There is a card somewhere around here that goes along with this."
"Thank you, especially for the pajamas. I really like these. Now, I'm going to have to figure out getting stuff for this baby—especially girl stuff." Margo says as she moves the box and the tissue paper looking for the card.
"Well, hopefully mom and Kim can help you with that." Tom replies.
"I don't know. Do you think either one of them want to see me after everything that's happened?" Margo asks as she finds the card.
"You'll be surprised. Even Gram has asked about you quite a few times. She was actually a little disappointed when you weren't at Chris and Alison's wedding. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind helping you out. Kim even came by the house with groceries this morning after Case and I noticed there wasn't much for food in the fridge." Tom states as Margo opens the envelope, takes the card out and opens it.
As Margo reads "Although I don't always tell you, I love you in so many ways." That's printed inside of the card and what Tom wrote, "We are not perfect, but we are perfect for each other. I love you. You may not believe it, but I do love you. Love, Tom," tears begin to form.
Tom notices her reaction as she wipes the first of the tears that start to fall out of her eyes and puts the card down.
"I see that you read what the card said and what I wrote?" Tom asks as he takes Margo's hand in his.
"Yeah." Margo quietly replies as she wipes away more tears and looks down at the card that she had just put down. "You wrote what you said to me the night we renewed our vows."
"Hey, I meant it then and I still mean it now." Tom says as he brings his other hand up to Margo's face to get her to look at him and wipes away the tears from her cheek with his thumb. "I know you told Casey that our marriage is over. Our marriage is far from over. We both made mistakes and I made an even bigger one by walking out on you. I feel even worse knowing now I walked out on you when you had just found out you were pregnant and hadn't had the chance to tell me yet. I still feel terrible knowing that you spent basically the first half of this pregnancy alone and yes, that is my fault."
"I wanted to tell you. I wanted you to hear it from me, but then I heard you tell Jessica what you said and I couldn't bring myself to tell you. Even if I told you then, I don't think it would have made any difference about our marriage. You still had me served with separation papers. I tried to hold off on signing them, but there was no point in holding off any longer. When I was heading to the airport, I was finally beginning to accept the fact that you weren't coming back and our marriage was over. That's why I signed them when I was out of town and sent them back to you with my wedding ring, along with that note I wrote. I don't want this baby being the sole reason we get back together—if we do."
"We have things to work out. I made it very clear to you that I'm not going any where now. I'm not leaving you to deal with this pregnancy by yourself—not with this being a high-risk pregnancy, knowing that you have ICP, and you being on partial bed rest for the rest of this pregnancy. You've been through a pregnancy alone before, you're not doing it again. Had it not been for Casey's hand injury and the wedding, I would have taken off and started looking for you. I actually had already started looking for you when you came home the other night. After I found out about the pregnancy, it was eating at me not knowing where you were, how you and the baby were, and if you were going to come home or wait until after had the baby to come back." Tom states. "We will work things out, even if it takes until after the baby is born, we will. I'm not turning my back on you now. I would never be able to live with myself if I did."
Margo moves her hand away from Tom's and rolls over on to her side so that she's not looking at him, feeling like emotionally she's been hit with a ton of bricks—first hearing that she's going to be on partial bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy, then reading what Tom wrote in the card and what they both had just said.
"Hey. I know it's a lot right now, and I know that you're not happy about being told you have to be on partial bed rest for the rest of this pregnancy. I forgot to get something to eat for lunch, so, I'll give you some time alone and head down to the cafeteria. Do you want anything?" Tom asks as he stands up from sitting on the bed.
"Maybe a chicken sandwich." Margo quietly replies as Tom brushes the hair away from her face and tucks those strands behind her ear.
"Okay. I'm going to call Casey and give him the news. I'll be back in a little while. It's going to be okay. We'll work it out. I love you…and I mean it." Tom states as he gently rubs her arm before he leaves Margo's room.
Just as Tom closes the door behind him after leaving Margo's room, Bob sees his son and walks up to him.
"How's Margo doing?" Bob asks.
"She's going to be here for another couple of days. Dr. Samuels wants to see if her blood pressure comes down any lower. Dr. Martinez wants to do another round of liver function tests tomorrow after she's been on the Actigall for at least 24 hours and Margo's not real happy at the fact that Dr. Martinez is recommending partial bed rest for the next 15 weeks or so." Tom states as he runs his fingers through his hair. "And Casey's having surgery tomorrow, so I'm trying to figure out what to do about tomorrow. Casey needs one of his parents and I really don't want to leave Margo alone here in the hospital"
"Casey's procedure is a minor one, right?" Bob asks.
"Yeah, my understanding is that they have to reset the bone in his hand and put a pin in his finger to keep that bone in place while it heals. The hand surgeon said maybe four weeks. He said the surgery's only going to take about two hours and it's out-patient." Tom replies.
"Why don't you stay here with Margo? I have tomorrow off and I can take Casey tomorrow and stay with him after his surgery at your house." Bob states. "Kim told me how he hates the bed at the Lakeview and he wants to sleep in his own bed at home after surgery."
"I can't ask you and Kim to do that. You and Kim have already done a lot with my being here at the hospital with Margo. It's not fair to dump Casey on you like that." Tom states.
"You're not dumping Casey on us. We told you we would stay with Casey as long as Margo's in the hospital. You need to be here with her right now. Even though Margo may not want to admit it, she really does need you here." Bob says.
"I know. I feel bad about not being there for Casey's surgery, though." Tom replies.
"Hey, you know he'll be in good hands. Kim and I will stay with him tomorrow at your house so he can sleep in his own bed after his surgery and I'll come by with another change of clothes for you afterwards so you can stay here." Bob replies. "Have you and Margo talked at all?"
"Yeah, Dad, we've talked some. I don't want her getting too worked up or stressed out right now because this ICP apparently can cause the baby's heart rate to become erratic, among other possible problems. Margo can't shake the feeling that something may be wrong, but the ultrasound yesterday showed so far the baby's doing fine. Dr. Samuels scheduled the amnio draw for tomorrow, but so far, she's fairly certain you're going to have a granddaughter sometime in February." Tom states.
"A granddaughter? Wow. That's going to take some getting used to. Margo has to be beside herself knowing she's going to have a little girl after having three boys around the house." Bob says, with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, Dad, a having a little girl is going to be different after having three boys running around the house. I was thinking about how the house is going to be somewhat quiet after Casey graduates from high school three years from now and only having Daniel half the time. Now, that's not happening and I'm perfectly fine with that." Tom says.
"Do Adam, Lien, and Daniel know about the baby?" Bob asks as he grabs the chart he was looking for.
"No. Adam, Lien, and Daniel don't know that Margo's pregnant. I haven't told them yet. I didn't say anything to Lien and Adam when I called them to see if they had heard from Margo at all. I figured Margo and I could tell Daniel together, once I get Margo home from here." Tom replies. "I haven't had anything to eat basically all day, so I'm going to go down to the cafeteria to get some lunch for both Margo and myself. I also need to give Casey a call to let him know about Margo being in the hospital for a couple of more days."
"I'll talk with you later about tomorrow. I'm going to stop in and see Margo for a few minutes." Bob states.
"Thanks again, Dad, for helping out with Casey." Tom states.
"No worries, son. Go and get some thing to eat." Bob replies as he heads towards Margo's room.
After Bob knocks on the door to Margo's room, he opens it and walks in.
"Hey there, kiddo. How are you holding up? Bob asks.
"Hi Bob. I wasn't expecting to see you at all." Margo replies as she shifts in the bed to sit up.
"I thought I would stop in and see you before I finish up for the day. I'm taking tomorrow off to take Casey to his hand surgery tomorrow for you and Tom. I know it's important for Tom to be here." Bob says as he pulls a chair up to Margo's bedside.
"You don't have to do that. I was going to tell Tom to be with Casey tomorrow. Casey could use having one of his parents around." Margo tells Bob.
"Don't worry about it. I said the same thing to Tom before he went down to the cafeteria. Kim and I will stay with him and I can keep an eye on him to be on the safe side. Besides, Casey has made it very clear to Kim, Tom, and I that he wants to sleep in his own bed after surgery tomorrow. Tom needs to be here with you. It's that important to him." Bob says. "So, rumor has it that I'm going to have a granddaughter?"
"Yes, you are.I still can't believe it myself at times, since we found out." Margo replies as she hands Bob the ultrasound printout. "Casey's not the only one who's looking forward to sleeping in their own bed."
"Well, I can tell Tom's working on being wrapped around that little girl's finger already. How long has it been since you've slept in your own bed?" Bob asks as he notices the blankets, the bear, and the Cubs outfit that Tom bought.
"Yeah, he is. He even bought her a Cubs outfit as her first outfit already. Tom's working on making sure she's going to be a daddy's girl." Margo replies. "About three to four weeks now."
"Have you told Tom where you were?" Bob asks.
"No. I haven't. Tom hasn't asked and I haven't said anything about it." Margo replies. "Can you get me a fresh glass of water?"
"Sure." Bob states as he grabs Margo's water glass to go fill it up. "So, how are you doing? I know about the ICP."
"I've been pretty achy through out this pregnancy so far, but I don't know if that's because I haven't been sleeping much, the ICP, or stress. I'm not looking forward to being on partial bed rest for the next 15 weeks or so. I'm pretty much on maternity leave starting immediately, even though I've been away from the station for the past three weeks or so." Margo replies as she lets out a sigh.
"Stress isn't good for you or the baby right now, so without knowing everything, being put on partial bedrest is probably a good thing. Tom told me that a lot of bad memories and things have been drudged up for you because of this whole situation. Have you thought about talking with Dr. Michaels or another therapist at all?"
"I've been thinking about it. There are things that have been drudged up because of this whole Doc thing and it's been so hard to deal with. It's probably part of the reason why I haven't been sleeping much either." Margo replies.
"It sounds like you've been dealing with a lot of emotional trauma that has resurfaced. I'll see if I can have Dr. Michaels come by if I see her before I leave. If I don't I'll leave a message for her secretary to have her see you. Why don't you try to get some rest and take it easy. I'll give you a call after Kim and I get Casey home from his surgery tomorrow." Bob states as he gives her arm a gentle rub before he leaves the room.
"Thank you, Bob." Margo replies. "Thank you for everything."
"No problem, kiddo" Bob replies as he opens the door to leave.
After she sees Bob leave the room, Margo picks up the phone to call Hal.
"Hi Hal, it's me Margo. I'm calling to let you know that I'm back in town. I've been admitted to Memorial for observation. You can call me here. I need to speak with you. Thanks. Bye." Margo says, leaving a voice mail message for her boss and friend.