Elisa had nodded off again just after the IV fluids had begun, so it was with a bit of a jolt that when she woke a few hours later to find a very subdued Margaret by her bed.
Margaret was the epitome of every Irish stereotype that Elisa could think of. She had a mane of wild red hair, freckles and had a fiery personality that gave her the ability to both work and play hard. She was almost always smiling, even when facing down the most irritating patients and had a wicked sense of humor.
She wasn't smiling now, though, and that woke Elisa more completely and faster than any alarm could have done.
"Hey," Elisa said. "You should be in bed, not babysitting me."
Margaret raised worried eyes at Elisa.
"What?" Elisa asked, pushing herself up in the bed. "What's wrong?"
"I wanted to be here when you woke up," Margaret said.
"Trust me," Elisa said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, "The look on your face has me wide awake. What happened?"
Margaret sighed and rubbed a hand over her forehead. "We ran a panel of tests, Elisa. They're all pretty routine and most of it came back as we expected. Doctor James' original diagnosis still stands. You're exhausted. You've been pushing yourself too hard on too little rest."
"Okay," Elisa said slowly. "But I have a feeling that's not all, or you wouldn't look so worried."
"No, it's not all," Margaret said. She took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "Elisa, I asked to be the one in here, because I thought you'd be more comfortable with me than with the others."
Elisa remained silent, thoughts of every deadly illness and disease going through her mind. They ran tests, but what did they find? Was she sick because she had some kind of terminal illness?
Margaret got up from the chair she'd been sitting in and perched beside Elisa on the bed. She took Elisa's hand and seemed to struggle on how to begin.
"Margaret," Elisa insisted. "You're scaring me. What's going on?"
"Okay," Margaret took a deep breath. "Sorry. It's just… I have to ask. Have you been with anyone else recently?"
Elisa frowned. "You'd better define 'been with', because I'm sincerely hoping that doesn't mean what I think it means," She drew out slowly. Carefully.
"Elisa," Margaret bit out, "It's a serious question."
"No," Elisa burst out, and got to her feet. She stared at her friend in shock, "No. I haven't been with anyone except Goliath practically since we met. My God, Margaret," Elisa said harshly, "I think you'd better just tell me what's going on."
"You're pregnant," Margaret answered bluntly.