Tony ran up to the reception desk, frightening the nurse behind the counter in the process.
'Wife. Jeannie. Hurt. Where is she?' Tony asked, out of breath and on the verge of a breakdown.
'Your wife is here Sir? Can you give me her full name please?' The nurse asked calmly.
'Jeannie Nelson is her name, Ma'am.' Roger stepped in, as it looked as if Tony was unable to put a sentence longer than three words together.
'Just one minute please.' The nurse said as she looked down at the patient chart in front of her.
'Yes, Jeannie Nelson was admitted half an hour ago. The doctor will be right out to talk to you if you'll just take a seat. He won't be long.' The nurse promised.
'Please, I have to see her now!' Tony begged.
'Sir, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait for the doctor.' She said, though looking rather sympathetic.
At that, Roger led Tony to the seats in the waiting room.
As the nurse promised, the doctor treating Jeannie came out not ten minutes later, though to Tony it felt like hours.
'Family of Mrs Jeannie Nelson?' The doctor called out.
Tony quickly jumped up from his seat in the waiting room. 'Yes? I'm her husband Major Anthony Nelson. Is Jeannie ok?' Tony asked, having calmed down since arriving at the hospital, though still very anxious.
'I'm Doctor Johnson. If you'll follow me, I'll explain everything.'
Tony left Roger in the waiting room (who promised to still be there when Tony returned and also offering to call the Bellows while he waited) and followed the doctor down the hall and into a room at the end of the corridor. There was Jeannie, right there in the hospital bed, sleeping. Tony always knew Jeannie was small in size, but here she simply looked tiny in the big hospital bed. Tony could also see she was pretty banged up from the accident. It made him want to cry.
'What happened, Doctor? All I was told was she was involved in a car accident. What are her injuries? Will she be ok?'
'Mrs Nelson was hit by a drunk driver who ran a red light. When passers-by went to her aid, she was unconscious, and was bleeding from a head injury. She was trapped in the car until rescue services arrived on the scene as the drivers side door was smashed in due to the force of which the cars collided. She has a mild concussion, a few cracked ribs, a broken arm, and minor cuts and bruises. We had to sedate her just as she was brought in though, as she was getting quite hysterical and her body was going into shock. We did not want her to cause any further injuries to herself. She will be out for most of the night.'
Tony tried to digest the information he was given, but he sensed some hesitance in the Doctor, something he was holding back.
'There's something else, isn't there?'
'Yes, I'm afraid there is. You may want to sit down for this, Major.' The doctor advised.
Tony did as he requested and pulled up a chair right up near Jeannie's head. He looked at the doctor with fear; not knowing what he was about to say would shatter both their lives.
'When Mrs Nelson was brought in, we did a full examination, as per protocol. We discovered Jeannie was pregnant at the time of the accident.'
'Pregnant? Wow! That's – wait, did you say "was pregnant"?'
'I'm afraid so, Major Nelson. I'm sorry to say Mrs Nelson suffered a miscarriage.'
Tony was not able to utter a single word, even if he wanted too.
"Mrs Nelson suffered a miscarriage" just kept ringing through his ears. He couldn't believe it. Not his Jeannie. They were about to become a family, and didn't even know it. The excitement of learning Jeannie was pregnant was quickly dashed.
'I'll leave you to your thoughts, Major. Please accept our deepest sympathies, and if there is anything you need, just call for one of the nurses.' The doctor explained as he gave one last look of sadness and sympathy to the couple, and then left the room.
Tony numbly sat in the chair, his eyes glued to Jeannie. He wonders if Jeannie knows what happened. Probably not, he suspects. He knows she will be devastated with the news, she had always wanted to be a mother, of that he was sure, but how she would deal with it was another question. Another question was how was he going to break the news to her. If the way he was feeling was any indication, Jeannie would feel ten times worse. After all, is it not the mother who has that connection and that bond with the baby before it's even born, that not even a father could understand?
He takes her hand, and assesses her injuries, putting the terrible news out of his mind for now and focusing on his beloved wife.
She looked terrible. Her left arm was in a fresh cast that finished just below the elbow, she had a large, red gash on the side of her head, which had been cleaned up, and she was paler than usual, almost blending into the white hospital sheets. If he couldn't see her injuries, Tony would think she was just sleeping. Though he wouldn't say she looked all that peaceful. He was sure they gave her something for the pain, but he knows, even in sleep, she was still able to feel her injuries, to some extent at least. She was after all a genie, he was sure she had never had anything like this happen to her before, after all, she usually had her powers.
It was his fault she was even in this mess. Of that he was sure. Was it not he that had ordered Jeannie to give up her powers whenever she was feeling unwell (and now they know why she was unwell and throwing up all the time)? Was it not he that had made Jeannie drive home by herself? He should been a better husband. He knew she was feeling sick, and that she was tired, so why had he let her drive home alone?
He wonders when she will wake up, he hopes it's soon. He needs to hear her voice so he can be reassured that, although she is injured, she is alive. Well, whenever that time was, he was going to stay awake, by her bedside, until she opened those beautiful eyes of hers.