Feedback: PLEASE! I love it…

I'm not a med student nor do I really know anything about medicine. I did a little research, but things might not be entirely accurate in the next few chapters. I'm taking some liberties with this.

Chapter 4

People did, in fact, notice Josh rushing Donna out of the offices but Josh could care less. He failed to notice CJ and Sam watching them with a mixture of concern and apprehension. Sam was unsure about what was going on, but for CJ the pieces were falling into place.

She had noticed the small changes in Donna the last couple of months, the fatigue, the baggy clothes, the change in her diet. She also noticed Josh's attentiveness and protectiveness towards her. Silently she began fuming. How could they do this to her? They were in the middle of a presidential election and Josh had been stupid enough to get his new assistant pregnant. Her anger was quickly overshadowed, however, when CJ realized that something was wrong with Donna. Anger was replaced with concern and guilt. She would worry about Donna now and deal with the situation later.

She needed to call Josh to find out where they were going and follow, so that she could offer support to her friends. She turned to grab her phone and noticed Sam was already ahead of her, talking to Josh on his cell.

"So, you're on your way to GW?" He asked with a slight hint of panic.

"No, Josh, you have to stop for red lights! Nothing good will happen if you are both dead. You need--"

Sam was cut off however by Josh, who was so worried he wasn't listening to reason.

"Sam, I need to go. I'll call you when I know something." He hung up the phone, looking over at Donna, who was curled up on the seat, tears streaming down her face.

He reached over with one hand and smoothed back her hair and wiped the tears from her eyes. He then grabbed one of the hands clutching her abdomen and held onto her tightly.

"It'll be okay Donna. We're going to get you help."

When she spoke he could barely hear her. She spoke so softly, through her sobs, reminding him of a small child. "What if I'm not okay?"

He was struck by how at that instant he wanted nothing more than for everything to be okay, so that in six months he could hold Donna's child, this little person that would be just like her.

"Stop! Don't think like that. There is no reason to; everything is going to be fine." It had to be, he added silently. He didn't know what would happen if she wasn't okay. He didn't want to lose her and he knew that if something happened to the baby he would lose a part of her.

He concentrated on the road, speeding, running red lights, and basically breaking every traffic law known to man. The ride was taking so long, but eventually they arrived at GW. He didn't bother finding an actual space to park; he just picked the first open area he could find and jumped out of the car. He ran around to the passenger's side, lifting Donna out, and carrying her into the emergency room.

As soon as they entered the emergency room, a nurse came rushing to them with a wheelchair.

"What happened?" She asked as they settled Donna down on to the chair.

"She's in a lot of pain. Her stomach, something's wrong. She's pregnant." He said, almost incoherently.

The nurse grabbed a clipboard and handed it to Josh. "I need you to fill out as much of this information as you can, we'll get the rest later. I'm going to take her on back so we can take care of her."

She started to wheel Donna back, when Josh stopped her. "I want to go with her."

"I'm sorry, sir, but we need you to remain out here. I'll take you to the other waiting room after you fill out the forms."

When Donna heard that Josh couldn't come with her, she started crying harder. She was already scared; she wasn't sure she could get through this without him. "No please. Let him come with me. Please!"

When Josh heard the terror in her voice he knew he had to try again, so he said the first thing that came to his mind. "Please, let me go with her. It's my baby; she's my fiancée. Please just let me go with her."

The nurse looked at him sympathetically, but shook her head in the negative. "I'm sorry, sir, but the doctor is going to need all the space available to him. You will only be in the way."

Josh closed his eyes and nodded, knowing it was no use. He grabbed Donna's hand as the nurse pushed her away. "I'll be right here, Donnatella. You'll be okay." He watched as she was quickly moved down the hall and then sat down, trying to remember anything to help him fill out the forms.

Thirty minutes later, CJ and Sam arrived. When they asked about Donna they were told she was being treated and that her fiancée was in the private waiting room.

"Fiancée?" CJ and Sam practically screamed.

"There must be some mistake," Sam continued.

"No, I don't think so. He said that it was his baby and that she was his fiancée, but because of the severity of the situation we couldn't let him go with Ms. Moss."

CJ and Sam just stood there dazed, trying to process what they had just been told, when the nurse led them down the hall.

Josh was pacing, going crazy not knowing what was happening to Donna, when CJ and Sam entered the room. "You are stupider than I ever could have imagined, Josh!"

Josh, not surprisingly startled, turned around to see his friends glaring at him. "No, CJ, you have it wrong. Let me explain."

CJ said nothing, letting him continue. He figured Donna's secret was shot to hell anyways. He told CJ and Sam the truth, that the baby was Dr. Freeride's and how Donna wasn't ready to tell people. He also told then that he said what he said to the nurse in hopes that they would let him be with her. Just as Josh was finishing the story, the doctor entered the room.

"Mr. Lyman?" He asked.

"Yes? That's me. Is Donna okay? What's going on?"

The doctor regarded the two other people with Josh before hesitantly continuing. "It seems, Mr. Lyman that Donna was suffering from what we call a threatened miscarriage. What that means is that the body was literally threatening to miscarry the baby. However, the cervix had not yet opened so we were able to give her some drugs to try and stop the miscarriage. It seems to have worked, but we are going to keep her overnight for observation. She's been asking for you."

Josh let out a breath. "So, she's okay? The baby is fine?"

"For now, Mr. Lyman. Though we have stopped the miscarriage for now, it doesn't mean she is completely in the clear. This could cause complications later in her pregnancy. I suggested that she see her doctor as soon as possible and as frequently as possible, to keep an eye on everything."

Josh nodded as Sam patted his back and CJ spoke. "Why don't you go see her, Josh? I'm sure she's still scared."

Josh nodded again and followed the doctor down the hall to her room. He had to keep reminding himself that she was okay, the baby was okay, and he would personally see to it that it stayed that way. Just before entering the room, the doctor stopped and addressed Josh again.

"Mr. Lyman, she has expressed some concern over not being able to go back to work. I informed her that it would be fine. She doesn't need to stay in bed all day, but she can't afford to work the 20 hours she told me she currently does. I know what you are doing is important work, but she needs to keep working to a maximum of 10 hours, unless her regular doctor suggests otherwise."

"That won't be a problem." Josh responded promising himself to make sure she took proper care of herself. He nodded at the doctor, before disappearing into Donna's room.

TBC…