Yes, I am a piece of shit for not giving you guys anything to read for the past couple of months. I've been in college! I'm in a program right now for incoming freshman and I've been working my ass off to come into college with a good GPA. Hope you are all proud and not upset I haven't been active lately, I apologize. But please stay with me and enjoy this chapter. I'll be back with something more soon. Please leave me feedback and let me know how you all feel about this current chapter. Love you all to the moon and back XOXO - MJ123

2 Months Along

That night, Norma awoke to a small puddle of blood. She was wearing a white nightgown and needed to pee desperately in the middle of the night, as pregnant women typically did. And she felt liquid between her legs. Blood. Once her thin pale fingers reached down, there was a small stain on them. It was a rosey red, something that didn't look good. Immediately, she lost it. Her eyes stung with tears as she began crying softly, her hand clasped over her mouth. She couldn't let Alex see or know. Without a second thought, she stood from the bed, placing a pillow over the small pool and paced to the bathroom, cell phone tight in hand.

Once arrived, she put the phone on the sink, sat on the toilet seat and waited. She wasn't sure if it would all just fall out gradually or if she had to go to a hospital, either way Alex wasn't going to hear about it until she knew what was going on. A miscarriage. Another one, at that. She wasn't ready to lose this baby, she couldn't let another one go. It was around 2:17 am when Norma broke down to call Dr. Rosewood's cell phone. Being so close with Alex, she was sure to give her every piece of contact information possible, like a form of special treatment. Her personal number being on Norma's phone, in a time like this was a blessing in a time of terror.

The first time Norma called, there was no pickup. That didn't surprise her, the woman was old and it was 2 am and most normal people would be sleeping. This was an emergency though, she could feel it, so she grew more persistent and finally on the 6th call, she answered. And Norma stayed seated on the toilet, in case the hemorrhaging continued.

"Norma," her voice was incredibly groggy, "Is everything alright?"

She couldn't help but shake with tears, her sobs audible and light, she was trying to hitch them back so Alex didn't hear from the other room. Her forehead rested in her hand as the phone perched to her ear, she took a deep breath and finally answered, "I'm having a miscarriage," she sobbed, not looking down into the bowl, it was a fear as to what was in there.

She could hear the springs in Doctor Rosewoods mattress squeak loudly as she must have popped up in the bed with shock. "Oh no, oh...Norma, honey. Are you 100% sure? Hold on…" she could hear faint rumbling in the background and what sounded like frantic searching through papers, "I'm gonna go through a checklist, alright sweetheart?"

"Mhm," she cried, her breathing still out of control and her body still freezing cold with anxiety, she was shaking and goosebumps coated every part of her body as she held herself and listened to the doctor all at once, it was too much. All she could think about was Alex and how devastated he would be. He certainly couldn't lose another one. She had a miscarriage before, yet she was very young and she blocked all of that out.

"Okay honey, here we go. I need you to breath, alright?" she began, "Any pain in the abdomen, lower back, or pelvis?"

"No," she answered, shaking on the seat as she grew more and more afraid of looking down.

"Do you have any thyroid or diabetic disease to date?"

"No...Dr. Rosewood, I'm scared. I'm so scared right now," she cried, her forehead pressing into her hand.

"Norma, does Alex know what's going on right now?" she asked, almost frightened to know the answer.

"I can't tell him, I can't," she sniffled heavily as she realized how badly her body was shaking, "No."

"Well then, what do you propose to day, honey?" she asked, half sympathetic, half rational, "I'm gonna have to get you checked out as soon as possible. You need to go to the hospital and someone has to drive you to look after you. So, as much as you don't want to right now, you're going to have to tell your husband."

She slammed the phone down on the bathroom tile, knowing that the doctor was likely frightened. She scratched her nails into the hair on her head and called out, "Alex!"

For a beat there was nothing, she let out a silent scream under her breath as she gain enough gusto to call him with more force, "ALEX!" there it was, at the top of her lungs. And pretty soon, there he was. He barged into the bathroom half awake and somehow fully alert to her.

He looked at her, wondering what was going on, "What's going on, Norma?" he asked, his voice as groggy as ever. Immediately, she regretted all of this. She hated that she called Dr. Rosewood and told her about what was going on and she wished that her baby would want to stay inside.

X

They were sitting in the emergency room. Norma cradled up uncomfortably in the couch, wrapped in Alex's gray hoodie and a bundle of pads coating the lining of her underwear. Her fingers were in her mouth, teeth chipping away at her thumb nail. He sat with his head in his hands, sighing about the situation. It was the shittest place he'd been in a long time.

"Why didn't you tell me when you woke up bleeding?" he asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye. He had been dismayed when she told him in the bathroom. He practically carried her everywhere once she rose from the toilet seat.

"I was scared. I didn't want you to be mad at me…" she trailed off, her face blank as her pupils stuck like glue to the green linoleum hospital floors.

He scoffed, "As if any of this is your fault," he lightly reached across to hold her hand as they waited. He trailed the tips of his fingers down her pale, cold skin.

"I'm still scared," she whispered, looking at him with a pair of watery eyes.

Alex leaned over to gather her up as best he could by kissing her head and swaying her gently, "I know baby. I am too. I'm sorry we have to go through this right now."

She let herself cry into his arms for a little while. The doctor came soon after, stepping out in his pristine lab coat and sturdy clipboard.

"Mrs. Romero, we'll see you now."

X

Norma laid in the bed, her legs spread apart by the stirrups. Alex stared at everything, she wasn't surprised, he was a guy who'd never seen a pelvic exam before. He clung to her hand still, regardless and prayed silently that his wife would be okay.

For what seemed like an eternity, the doctor poked and prodded at her with speculum, he was seeing if anything was abnormal. He removed the metal device, causing her to tense down a bit as she waited for him to speak.

Alex was eager, "What's the story?" he asked sadly, gripping Norma's hand.

She slowly scooted up to pay attention, "Did the fetus leave my body already or will you have to do some kind of dilation and curettage?"

"Actually," he began, flipping the paper from his clipboard down after making a few marks, "This will come as good news for the both of you. Mrs. Romero, your cervix isn't opening at all. Matter of fact, there was no tissue or blood in the opening."

"Does that mean I'm still pregnant?" she asked, eyes wide with hope and disbelief.

"From what I can see now, yes. I believe that you just had some first trimester implantation bleeding. This happens a lot. I can't tell you how many mothers come in with these types of scares," he said, locking eyes with both of them.

Alex smiled a bit as he moved to the side of the bed again to give his wife a hug. "I'm so happy you two are okay," he whispered against her hair.

"Me too," she said, kissing the side of his head, "I was so scared when I woke up to that."

"Our family is okay?" Alex asked, only slightly pulling away from Norma's grasp. He was looking at the doctor with hopeful eyes and a hint of a smile.

"Your family will be okay."

Good to update. I hope you all get to read this and enjoy it (: