Olivia hissed as the nurse inspected the line. She looked away at the brightly-colored nursery. It still smelled of fresh paint, no matter how many candles she lit. She gazed up at the cloud-filled ceiling and smiled. She hoped the baby would be equally happy when it looked up. A sharp pain brought her to the present.
"Well, it's definitely infected. I thought we caught it last time this happened. Is it hurting you?" The nurse put away her supplies and zipped up her bag.
"What? Oh, my stomach has been acting funny all day. I'm sure it's something I ate last night." She rubbed her stomach and the pain subsided.
"Funny how? Is it a sharp pain or is it a dull ache?" She perked up upon the mention of anything being wrong with her patient.
"Sharp. Why? Is something the matter?" She looked the nurse in the eye, trying to detect what might be going on.
"Are you due for an appointment soon, Olivia?" The nurse studied Olivia's posture. The younger woman was tense and on edge.
"Not for another two weeks. Why? Please, just tell me. I know you think something is up." She grew concerned with the nurse's question.
"Well, I think you should see if you can get it sooner, just to be safe. You shouldn't be cramping this early." She studied Olivia's growing belly. The baby hadn't dropped.
"Wh…why? I just had an appointment last month. They said everything was fine. I mean, I've been doing everything they told me to do." Suddenly, she doubled over with pain. She bit her lower lip. Throughout the day, the cramping had gotten worse and if the nurse hadn't shown up, she would have called for advice.
"You shouldn't be experiencing any cramping, Olivia. That's the bottom line. Why don't you get your things ready? I'm going to take you to the hospital." She saw Olivia's eyes grow wide and patted her hand, reassuringly.
"The ho…I thought you meant my primary physician. Okay. Uh…okay. Let me get my shoes." She raced around the living room and found her tennis shoes tucked under the couch where she'd kicked them the previous night.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm sure everything is fine. Just relax." The nurse smiled, hoping to calm the younger woman.
"Yeah, relax. Okay, I can relax. I'm relaxed. Uh…I think I'm ready." She let the nurse lead the way. It was clear she wasn't going to be allowed to drive. She pulled out her cell phone and called Elliot's desk phone. After letting it ring several times, she hung up, deciding to call Elliot's cell phone instead. It went straight to voicemail.
The drive to the hospital was quiet, save for a quick call to the hospital. Olivia was preoccupied with wondering what was going on with the baby and wishing Elliot was there to help her through it. Whatever it was. She tried his cell phone one more time before hanging up. She slowly got out of the car when they pulled up to the entrance of the Emergency Room.
"Why don't you go inside while I park the car? I told them you were coming. Go up to the window and tell them you're here for a non-stress test. They'll ask you to fill out some information. I'll be right in, Olivia." She gave Olivia's arm a brief squeeze before shutting the door.
A half hour later, Olivia was hooked up to a monitor and was resting on her side on the hospital bed. Her mind raced. She looked over at the monitor, wondering what she was seeing.
"Ms. Benson. I apologize for keeping you waiting. I see they've got you all hooked up. Let's take a look." The doctor glanced from the printout to the monitor and nodded.
"What? What does it mean?" She sat up on the bed and craned her neck to see what the doctor was looking at.
"I'm not sure how much you were told, so I'll start from the beginning. I see that you are a new mother. I know you're overwhelmed right now, so I'll try to be as clear as possible. First off, is there anyone you want me to call for you?" He pulled up a stool by the monitor and faced Olivia.
"I tried calling my husband but I wasn't able to get a hold of him. We work at the same place. I thought he would notice I wasn't in yet." She hated the fact that he wasn't there.
"Once we're done here, I'll give his number to the nurse's station and we'll give him a call for you." He ripped off the printout and laid it flat on the bed.
"Okay. Thank you. Please tell me what's going on." She struggled to comprehend what the information meant on the little piece of paper.
"The nurse filled me in while you were changing. I understand you have a stressful job but even when you aren't actively working cases, you are still prone to stress. I'm going to give you some instructions to give to your commanding officer. I think, at this point, it would be best for you to stay home. Take time out for yourself. Read a book, listen to some music, prop your feet up and take a nap. Anything but work. I'm sure you're wondering why you're hooked up to this machine." He took a breath, allowing the information to register.
"Quite frankly, it's scaring the hell out of me. No one has told me anything. I had no idea it was this bad. Is it bad?" She was reeling from the news of having to stay home. She felt like a failure as a mother. She couldn't live with herself if she'd caused any harm to her baby. Their baby. She missed Elliot.
"I understand your fear. Let me walk you through what we're doing. What we are performing is a non-stress test to see how your baby is handling the contractions you're having. The information that was faxed over by your physician indicated that you've had problems with high blood pressure. Because of this, we're going to keep an eye on you and your baby. Essentially, we monitor the baby's heartbeat as well as your contractions. That's what this paper is for. The information we're receiving from the monitor tells us the baby's heartbeat while it's active and at rest, as well as how it is responding to your contractions. I'm detecting a few strong ones. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you've been having them. Am I right?" He smiled warmly at her when she nodded. He'd seen so many scared, first-time mothers in that bed. He wanted to do as much as he could to help her through it.
"Does that mean I'm going into labor? I can't have my baby this early. My husband isn't even here." She started to ramble before shutting up when she saw the doctor raise his hand for her to stop.
"One thing at a time. While it is still a couple months away, technology has advanced in leaps and bounds. You're not going to have your baby today, if I can help it. I'm going to give you a steroid injection to be on the safe side. This will help develop the baby's lungs. If you're baby comes early, this will reduce the potential for breathing problems. I'm also going to give you an injection to stop your contractions. You're in capable hands, ma'am. I assure you, we do this kind of thing all the time." He placed the paper in the drawer on the cart.
"Is it breathing okay? I mean, is he okay?" She was on sensory overload, not knowing if her baby was in danger.
"Everything is fine. The baby's heart rate is a little high, but considering the circumstances, it's acceptable. I would be more concerned if it wasn't getting enough oxygen or if it wasn't moving around. Your little one is restless." He chuckled, lightening the mood.
"Tell me about it. It's been bouncing in my bladder for the past week. So, the baby is okay? You can stop the contractions and everything?" She still wasn't sure of the specifics. She was having a hard time processing everything.
"We're going to give you the injections shortly. One will be the steroid I discussed and the other will be a dose of magnesium sulfate in your IV. Speaking of, I'm going to have your picc line removed. We'll see how you do without it. If you need it, we'll put another one back in. For now, sit tight. Why don't you give me your husband's number and I'll have the nurses try to reach him." He handed her a notepad and watched her jot down a number.
"Could you just call this number and leave a message for my husband to call here to the room? His name is Elliot Stabler." She wrote his name on the paper as well before handing it over.
"Of course. I'll just go drop this off. The nurse will be in here in a few to get you medicated. I failed to mention this, but the drugs to help develop the baby's lungs will need to be given over the next 24 hours. I'm afraid we'll have to keep you overnight, at least. We'll also monitor the baby for signs of stress." He folded the slip of paper and stuck it in his pocket.
"Okay. Anything to make sure everything is okay. Thank you for your patience. I'm feeling a little lost here. My husband has four children from a previous marriage. I'm kind of going into this blindly." She let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I don't know exactly what line of law enforcement you're in, but it takes a strong person to go into that kind of work. You're doing fine, Ms. Benson." With that, he left the room, leaving Olivia to take in the last five minutes. She glanced at the bedside clock. She was due at work after the nurse left. Two hours had passed and she wondered why Elliot hadn't been around when she'd called.
Xxx
"Hey, you're a popular guy today." John pointed to Elliot's phone as he walked past the younger detective.
"Really? Where's Liv?" He saw her desk had been untouched. He had a sinking feeling the calls had to do with her being absent from work.
"Elliot, I have a message for you. You have the rest of the day off. Keep us informed." Cragen handed Elliot the phone message and watched his detective's eyes grow wide before rushing from the room.
"What's wrong? Is Olivia okay?" John frowned, knowing the reason his friend had left was most likely because of his wife.
"Olivia was admitted this morning. I don't have a lot of information since I'm not family. All they could tell me was that she was doing fine and the baby was fine. They said to have Elliot come over. Olivia won't be released until sometime tomorrow. Where's Elliot's phone at?" He walked over to the desk and spotted the phone next to the desk phone. A lot of good it was doing there.
"He said something this morning about it needing to be charged. Damn. I wonder how long Olivia tried to call him while we were gone." He immediately felt guilty. He knew it was beyond his control, but he couldn't help feeling as if he could have helped somehow.