A/N: On the day of the deadline, I'm proud :D First of all I want to apologize to everyone who's writing stories I'm reading. I know I suck with reviewing lately, but I have only 10 more days left in Norway, and everything will be better after that. I promise! Especially the last few days have been crazy. My teacher from the Netherlands came for the end evaluation, which went very well by the way, and yesterday we had dinner with our Dutch friend who already went home today. That made me realize how close all of this is coming to an end, and that's really weird. I'm sure most of you understand what I'm talking about in some sort of way.
Anyway, I could go on about this all day, but then you don't have the time anymore to read my chapter, so that wouldn't be a good thing. Of course thanks to all of you who read and reviewed my last chapter! And thanks to my wonderful beta LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict!
Chapter 10 The symptoms of pregnancy
Even before Luke opened his eyes, he turned around, extending his arms towards Lorelai, but all he found were sheets. He opened his eyes to make sure she really wasn't there, which she wasn't. He got out of bed, knowing he would most likely find her in the bathroom. It took a long time before the morning sickness started, but when it came, it came hard. He put on a t-shirt and walked into the bathroom. She was sitting on the floor, looking miserable. She looked up when he came in, but hardly had the energy to talk so she just gave him a slight smile.
He sat down next to her. "Hey. How long have you been here?"
She leaned into his shoulder, not wanting to talk. All she wanted was to feel safe in his arms for a while. He realized this and put his arm around her, holding her tight. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until she finally found the energy to talk. "If there was any doubt if we would ever have another kid after this one, that is now gone."
He smiled slightly and squeezed her hand. "I don't think we had any doubts about that."
"I know, I know." She sighed. "For some stupid reason I thought I was lucky, not having any morning sickness at all, but of course it had to come anyway." She had been sick for over a week now, and the nausea stayed all day long. No matter what she tried, she spent most of her days on the bathroom floor. She hadn't been at the inn in a week, and she hadn't even got a chance to tell Sookie about the pregnancy. She felt like the worst best friend ever. "I think I'm going to work today."
"I don't think that is a good idea."
"I have to tell Sookie Luke. She's going to be angry if she's going to find out in a few weeks, when the nausea finally stops. She's been worried about me. You said it yourself."
"I told her it was nothing serious. I couldn't tell her the truth because you want to tell her yourself, but she knew I was lying."
"See, that's why I have to go tell her."
"Why don't you ask her to come by here? I really don't want you to go out there. Even if it's just to tell Sookie. I know that when you get there and see the work that needs to be done, you'll stay there the rest of the day. You're exhausted enough as it is."
"How much work is there to do? I have to go there Luke. I have to."
"You don't have to go there at all. You have to stay here. I'll take Lucan to the diner so you can take care of yourself. Then after breakfast rush I'll be here to keep you company and only go back for lunch rush and diner rush. You can watch a movie or do some reading in between. Okay?"
She looked up. "Do I have a choice?"
"Not really." He smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Besides, you said it yourself. You want to enjoy every moment of this pregnancy. Think about how much you're going to miss when you're working."
"You're mean. How can you throw that at me?"
"Sorry."
She hit him in the chest anyway. "I know I said I want to enjoy this, even with the morning sickness, but this has been crazy. I seriously don't know how much more of this I can take."
"Maybe it will be better today." He gave her a sympathetic smile.
"I hope so."
"You think you're okay to get up?"
"I can try."
He nodded and stood up so he could help her up. He took her hands in his and pulled her up, keeping her safely in his arms for a few more minutes before they walked out of the bathroom. "I'll go see if Lucan is awake. You go downstairs, okay?"
"Okay."
Luke walked into his son's room. The little boy was sitting up in his crib, playing with a stuffed animal. He looked up when he heard the door open and smiled when he saw his father. "Dada."
"Hey there buddy." Luke walked to the crib and picked up his son. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Dada." They tried hard to teach him some other words, mama in particular, but he refused to say anything but dada.
Luke smiled. "Yeah, yeah I know." He walked to the changing table and changed Lucan's diaper before taking him downstairs. When he walked into the living room, he saw Lorelai sitting on the couch. He handed her Lucan. "Do you want breakfast?"
"Not yet. I want my stomach to ease down a little first, and then I'll try some tea and bread."
"Okay. I'll go make something for him and for me then, okay?"
She nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem."
Lorelai watched how Luke walked away, and then she turned Lucan around in her lap, smiling at the boy. "Hey baby. How did you sleep?"
Lucan laughed at his mother, who smiled back.
"So, what do you want to do while daddy makes you breakfast huh? Do you want to play a game, or do you want me to read you a story, or do you want to sing a song?"
"Dada." Lucan smiled.
"No, mama." Lorelai knew that she could just as well stop trying, because he didn't want to say it anyway. "Let's sing a song then, alright?" She started singing. "Twinkle, twinkle little star…."
Luke smiled in the kitchen as he heard Lorelai sing. The milk was boiling so he put the oatmeal powder in. When it was thick enough he turned of the stove and put it in two plates. He took two spoons out of the drawer and walked into the living room. "He likes it when you sing for him."
The smell of the oatmeal entered Lorelai's nostrils. She felt her stomach turn and had to hurry to put Lucan on the floor and ran towards the downstairs bathroom. She kneeled next to the toilet just in time to empty her stomach once again, although she felt like there was nothing in there in the first place. "Damn Luke." She murmured once she was finished. She flushed the toilet and rinsed her mouth with some water. Then she walked back in the living room, but immediately towards the stairs. "I'm going to take a shower. I hope you finished eating by the time I come downstairs, because my stomach does not like the smell of that."
Luke looked at his wife. "Sorry."
"Yeah, that's what you've been saying every morning for the past week." She yelled downstairs.
When she walked into her bedroom to get some clothes she saw her bed, and suddenly felt exhausted once again. She wanted to lie down just for a few minutes in the hope that she would feel better, but it didn't take long before she fell asleep. When Luke walked upstairs 20 minutes later to check up on her, he found her deep asleep. He smiled, quietly took some clothes out of the closet and walked into the bathroom to dress himself. After that he gave Lucan a bath, left a note for Lorelai and went towards the diner.
-xxxxxx-
When Lorelai woke up a few hours later she felt a lot better. She called Luke's name, but when she got no reply she figured he was still at the diner. After a nice warm shower she made herself some light food and tried to watch some TV. There were only stupid morning shows however, and she didn't feel like listening to other people's problems and mocking them this morning. When she was sure she was able to keep her breakfast in, she decided to go to the Inn to tell Sookie. She turned around the note Luke wrote her, and wrote one for him in case he came home before she did. Then she put on her coat, looked for her car keys and stepped outside. She took in a deep breath of fresh air and wondered how long it had been since she was outside. It seemed much longer than it really was.
She took the long road towards the Inn, avoiding driving past the diner, knowing that if Luke saw her, he would come and get her straight away. He didn't understand that she had to get out of the house, even if it was just for a few minutes. She was driving herself crazy at home, and he meant well by taking Lucan with him, but that meant she was totally alone, and completely bored most of the time. He came by as often as possible of course, but he had something better to do than keeping his sick wife company. Plus, she wasn't even really sick. Just pregnancy symptoms. "Only a few more weeks." She said out loud, hoping it were rather less than more.
Michel looked up when Lorelai walked into the lobby. "Look who's still alive."
"Morning Michel."
"Good afternoon Lorelai. Are you feeling better?" His tone very sarcastic.
"I did until I saw you Michel. Sookie in the kitchen?"
"What? You left your brain at home today? You certainly didn't get any smarter by being sick. I feel so sorry for you."
"Whatever Michel." She sighed, knowing that Michel would never change. Normally she would laugh hard about his stupid comments, but they were a little too much for her today. She decided to ignore him and to find her best friend instead. Of course Sookie was in the kitchen, busy preparing breakfast.
Sookie looked up when she heard the kitchen door opening and smiled when she saw her friend. "Lorelai, how are you doing? Luke said you were sick?"
"Yeah, but nothing serious, really."
"That's what he said, but he sounds like a fat liar to me. What was wrong with you?"
Lorelai looked around the kitchen and noticed the staff was caught up in their work; they were not paying attention to Sookie and her. She stepped a little closer to her friend. "Just morning sickness."
Sookie let the three words register in her mind. "Oh……. Ooooohhhh." She started screaming and jumping up and down, pulling Lorelai with her. "You're pregnant."
A big smile appeared on Lorelai's face, but the sudden movements made her dizzy. Soon she heard a high tone in her ears, and Sookie's screaming sounded far away. Then there was nothing…
-xxxxxx-
Sookie stopped screaming and jumping the second her best friend fell backwards on the floor. She let herself fall down next to her. Looking up she screamed. "Someone call an ambulance." She took Lorelai's hand in hers. "Lorelai, wake up. Please wake up. Open your eyes for me honey." Lorelai's face was completely white, there was absolutely no color.
"What happened?" The kitchen staff gathered around her, and Michel ran into the kitchen, hearing Sookie yell for an ambulance.
"What's wrong in here? Are you okay Sookie?"
"I'm fine, it's Lorelai. Please call an ambulance, and please call Luke."
Michel nodded, turning around and walked towards the front desk for a phone.
One of the guests, who heard the screaming as well walked into the kitchen. He observed the scene, and tried to push himself through the group. "What happened here?"
"She just fell down."
"After what?"
"She told me she is pregnant and we started jumping up and down, and she just fell."
"She probably fainted. Everybody step away, give her some fresh air." They looked at the man in silence, not moving. "Now." He said a little louder, and suddenly everybody stepped away, besides from Sookie.
"Lorelai, please open your eyes."
"Ma'am, give your friend some space." He kneeled down at Lorelai's feet and lifted them up. "Do you have a chair or something?"
"What, you want to sit?" But someone else handed him a chair, which he put down underneath Lorelai's feet.
Lorelai slowly started to open her eyes, not knowing what happened or where she was. Her head was pounding, and her vision was blurring. "Luke?"
"He's coming sweetie. Everything is going to be alright."
"Sookie? Where am I? What happened?"
"You're at the Inn."
"Oh." Lorelai put a hand on her forehead, blinking a few times in the hope her vision would come back. "What happened?"
"You fainted."
Lorelai tried to push herself up, but a hand pushed her back down. Her vision returned, but she still didn't recognize his face. "Who are you?"
"My name is Steve Matthews. I'm a guest at the Inn. I'm a doctor. Just calm down, give yourself some time, alright."
Lorelai nodded. "Please don't tell Luke."
"Michel has probably called him already." Sookie took her friend's hand in hers.
"No, he's going to kill me. He told me to stay home. I have to go home." She pulled her hand out of Sookie's tried to get up again.
"Just lay still Lorelai. You're body needs some time to regain strength. If you get up now, there's a big chance you'll faint again, alright? I'm sure your husband will be worried, not angry." Steve took in Lorelai's appearance. Her face regained some color, although she still seemed a little white. He put two fingers in front of her eyes. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
Lorelai looked at him as if he were stupid. "Two."
"That's good. Everything is going to be okay. It's not uncommon to feel dizzy or to faint when you're pregnant okay?"
"I've been feeling dizzy lately."
"The manager called an ambulance, so they are going to take you to the hospital soon ok?."
"I don't want to go to the hospital. I just want to go home."
"I understand. And you are allowed to go home, after they made sure you are fine. It seems like you fell pretty hard."
"My head hurts a little."
"Can you follow my finger with your eyes? Don't move your head, just your eyes."
"What are you doing?" Sookie asked.
"Just a few tests." He moved his finger and looked into Lorelai's eyes while she looked at his moving finger. "Very good Lorelai. You're doing amazing."
Just when Steve finished his test Luke walked in, carrying Lucan with him. He handed Lucan to Sookie, while he kneeled down next to Lorelai. "What happened? Is she alright?" He looked around, hoping to get some answers. When he heard Lorelai's voice, he looked at her.
"I don't know what happened." Lorelai looked at him, her eyes questioning.
Sookie looked at Luke. "She fainted."
"She what?" His head shot up.
"I'm fine Luke. I'm fine." She tried to look him in the eyes and gave him a slight smile. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I should have stayed home. I'm so sorry."
He wiped some hair out of her face, resting his hand on her cheek. "Don't be, okay?. I'm just a little worried about you right now." He smiled slightly and then looked back at Sookie. "Did someone call an ambulance?"
"Michel did."
Luke looked up and noticed Michel standing at the side. "They should be here soon. I called you right after I called them."
"Thank you."
"I don't need to go to the hospital Luke. This man here is a doctor. He can help me."
"I'm Steve Matthews. Primary care physician."
"Luke Danes. Is my wife alright?"
Steve motioned for Luke to stand up so he did. They walked away from Lorelai, while Sookie kneeled down next to her friend again and Lorelai smiled at her son. The little boy didn't understand why his mother was laying on the floor, but he found it interesting.
"What's wrong with her?" Luke and Steve walked away far enough to still keep an eye on Lorelai, but so she couldn't hear what was being said between the two of them.
"She fainted. Probably after some sudden movements. From what I can tell, it took a while before she came back, and she did not know where she was at first nor did she know what happened. She seems clear now."
"What happened…?"
"I didn't see what happened, but I think she fell backwards and hit her head on the floor. I think she might have a mild concussion. That is nothing serious, but I want her checked out in the hospital to be sure it's nothing more serious."
"Is she going to be alright?"
"As far as I can see, there's no reason why she wouldn't." Steve wanted to explain more when the paramedics arrived and Luke focused his attention on them.
Sookie stepped aside to let the paramedics do their job. Luke stood next to her, feeling more helpless than he ever felt before. He looked at his son who was smiling at him. "Dada." Only this time, Luke didn't smile back. The little boy looked confused as his father turned his face away from him. He didn't understand why he didn't get the attention he normally got when he said the word.
Sookie noticed the confused expression on Lucan's face, and lifted him a little higher. "Don't worry honey. You're mommy is going to be okay. You're daddy is just a little worried." She walked away a little further, deciding that the small boy did not have to be there for this.
Luke looked at Sookie, gratefully she understood. She nodded, and walked away towards the lobby where a lot of people were waiting to hear what happened. "Go back to whatever you were doing. There's nothing to see here."
Steve explained to the paramedics what happened and they decided to take Lorelai to the hospital.
"We're taking her to the hospital."
"Can I come with you?" Luke asked.
"Who are you?"
"Her husband."
"Of course." They lifted Lorelai on a stretcher.
While they were on the way out, Luke noticed Sookie with Lucan still in her arms. "Sookie can you look after Lucan for me? There's formula in the fridge in our house, and there's some in the diner as well. Here's the key to the house. You can take him to your house, or stay at our house. I don't care. He doesn't really drink formula anymore. Only before he goes to bed. He eats 1 slice of bread in the afternoon. He likes jelly or peanut butter or cheese. And in the evening he eats warm. Just make it really small like in the blender or something. But I'm sure we'll be back by then. I better go before they leave without me. I'll call you when I know something okay?"
"Okay."
"Thanks." He had to run after the paramedics who had already taken Lorelai outside.
-xxxxxx-
When they arrived at the hospital, they told Luke to wait outside. He was sitting in front of the room she disappeared in, more afraid than he had ever been before. Everybody told him she was going to be alright, but he refused to believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. He knew he had to call Rory, and Emily, but he didn't want to worry them more than necessary, so he decided to wait for more information.
The time went by slowly, seconds seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like hours and then finally the doctor stepped outside. "Mr. Danes?"
"Yes." Luke stood up. "How is she?"
"She's okay. As you know she fainted and fell straight backwards. While she fell she hit her head hard on the floor. She has a mild concussion from the impact. She feels a little tired, and she doesn't remember what happened. It's possible her short term memory will be bad for a few days. She will have a headache and it's possible that she is nauseas and throws up. But since she's in a period of morning sickness we won't know which of the two will be causing those symptoms. It's important that when you take her home, you wake her up every four hours. If there are any changes in her appearance, when she's not responding clear, I want you to take her back here."
"Is it not better to keep her here?"
"That's not necessary. There's nothing we can do for her that you can't. Plus, she will feel safer at home."
"And the baby?"
"We paged Dr. Elder who should be here in a few minutes. There's no reason to assume anything is wrong with your baby, but it doesn't hurt to check."
Luke took in the information and nodded. "Can I see her now?"
"Of course."
"Thank you doctor."
The doctor nodded and walked away.
Luke opened the door to Lorelai's room. She was laying on her side in the bed. He felt his stomach turn at the sight of his pale looking wife in the big white hospital bed. While she normally looks so strong, she seemed so fragile now. He had to swallow before he walked closer to her. He pulled a chair next to her bed and sat down. Taking her hand in his he asked "how are you doing?"
"What happened Luke?"
"You fainted."
"Oh."
"I was just suddenly lying on the floor. All these people standing around me." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have gone to the Inn. I'm so, so sorry. Don't be mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you." He kissed her hand. "Doctor Elder will be here soon to see if everything is alright with the baby. After that we can go home."
"What if something is wrong with the baby?" She panicked, not realizing that something could be wrong.
"The baby is fine. Don't worry."
She put a hand to her head. "Ugh... my head is pounding."
"I can imagine. The doctor says that can stay for a while. He wants me to wake you up every four hours. I'm sure he doesn't realize how much work that will be." Luke gave her a slight smile.
She tried to smile back but didn't find the situation funny. She appreciated his effort to make the situation lighter though.
Luke tried to think of something else to say, but couldn't come up with anything. He was happy the silence was interrupted when Dr. Elder walked in.
"Lorelai, I didn't expected to see you so soon."
"Not really what I expected either. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Not really. I was sick all week. I've been throwing up all day long, spent more time on the bathroom floor than somewhere else. This morning it felt a little better so I didn't listen to Luke's advice to stay home and went to the Inn to tell my friend Sookie about the baby. One moment I was telling her me being sick was just morning sickness and the next thing I know I was lying on the floor. I don't know what happened in between."
"You fainted. It's not uncommon when you're pregnant. It's possible that your blood pressure gets a little low, that can make you feel a little weak and dizzy, and you can faint when you stand up all the sudden, or from sudden movements. We've been monitoring your blood pressure and it is indeed a little low, so I think that's what happened."
"I guess Sookie got a little too enthusiastic." Lorelai shrugged; annoyed that she couldn't remember exactly what happened.
"Sure sounds like Sookie." Luke squeezed her hand.
"What about the baby? Can the fainting hurt the baby?"
"No, absolutely not. But I was in the hospital and since fainting is a symptom of pregnancy I decided to come see you. There's no reason to believe that something is wrong with the baby."
"Good." It was the first time Lorelai managed to smile since she arrived in the hospital.
"Now you mentioned severe morning sickness?"
"I don't remember it being this bad with Lucan or with Rory." She looked at Luke, suddenly a look of panic on her face again. "Where's Lucan?"
"He's with Sookie."
"Oh…. I don't remember."
"That's normal. Don't worry about it. Now, you think the morning sickness is worse this time?"
"Yeah, I do. It took a long time before it begun actually. I thought I was lucky this time, but stupid me for thinking that. It started last week. The first day was okay, but Saturday was horrible. Even when I didn't throw up, I was nauseas. I can't keep anything in."
"Every pregnancy is different, so it's possible the morning sickness is worse this time than it was the other times. Did you notice anything else?"
"Just the dizziness. I have to take it slowly all the time. I guess that went wrong today."
"No need to worry about that anymore, okay. You just have to take it easy the next few weeks. The first week in particular because of the concussion."
Lorelai nodded. "Are you sure the baby is okay?"
"Let's do an ultrasound so we know for sure."
"I'd like that." She squeezed Luke's hand now, even a little excited to see her baby for the first time.
"Let me get the machine." Doctor Elder walked out the door to find an ultrasound machine. They were still in the ER, so it didn't take long before she found one. She drove it into Lorelai's room and smiled as she saw Lorelai slowly getting back to her normal self, making a few jokes towards Luke. "There we are." She plugged the machine in, and waited until it started up. Then she entered Lorelai's name and personal records and selected the right protocol. "Okay Lorelai, can you lift up your shirt for me?"
"I think I can manage." Lorelai lifted her shirt up and shifted so she could look at the monitor. Her hand found Luke's again right after she let her shirt go.
Dr. Elder picked up the bottle with gel. "This can feel a little bit cold." She squeezed some gel onto Lorelai's lower abdomen.
"A little she says." Lorelai shivered as the cold gel came in contact with her skin.
"I hope your bladder is full enough, otherwise you have to drink some water and we can try again in about 15 minutes."
"I really have to go, so I think we're good."
"Let's see if that's true." Dr. Elder put the probe on Lorelai's stomach and looked at the screen. They could see a big black ball. "You're right. You're bladder is pretty full." Doctor Elder pointed at the black ball. "This is your bladder."
"And the baby?"
"A little patience here." She smiled and moved the probe, searching for the baby. "Ah, there it is." She pointed at the screen.
Lorelai looked at the screen in amazement. "That's our baby?"
"That's your baby." She did some measuring and moved the probe a little in the process.
Lorelai kept looking at the screen, not completely understanding what her doctor was doing. "What are you doing now?"
"I'm measuring the baby to see how far along you are." She stared at the screen again as she moved the probe a little further. A smile appeared on her face.
"What?"
"Do you see that?" She pointed at the screen.
"Yeah. That's the baby, right?"
"Yes and no."
Lorelai looked confused, her head was hurting to much to understand a word game. She looked at Luke in the hope that he understood what the doctor was saying.
"Yes and no? Is it the baby or not?"
"It is a baby, yes, but not the one you saw before." She looked at the screen and scanned the uterus to make sure there were only two babies.
"You mean we're getting twins?"
T.B.C.