Don't Rock the Boat
Chapter 7
Here's chapter seven! I didn't want to keep you all in suspense. I know a hospital trip is pretty cliché, and the whole story is rather cliché but I'm working on changing that. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Finally the trio gets to the hospital. Brooke is conscious but in a lot of pain. Karen and Lucas hold up Brooke on either side of her as they walk into the Emergency Room.
Lucas rushes to the check-in desk and grabs the attention of a nurse, while Karen and Brooke sit. Brooke rests her head on Karen's shoulder.
"Hi! My girlfriend is eight months pregnant. She fainted before. She's awake now but she's in a lot of pain."
"I'll call for a wheelchair and we'll get her in right away", the nurse explains.
Lucas heads back to Karen and Brooke. Brooke picks her head up after Lucas strokes her cheek.
"Cheery, are you okay?"
"Uh, no. It hurts. What if something happened to the baby? Shit, Lucas. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to her…"
"Broke, shhh…everything will be okay, I promise."
"But…"
Lucas interrupts, "No buts."
Two orderlies approach Brooke with a wheelchair. She gets in and Lucas goes with her. Karen waits outside.
A half hour later, Lucas is sitting outside Brooke's room with his head in his hands. Suddenly, a doctor emerges from Brooke's room and Lucas jumps up.
"Is she okay?" Lucas asks, "And the baby?"
"Brooke has gone into pre-term labor. We've given her some medication that helps stop the labor," the doctor explains.
"Can I see her?"
"Go ahead. She needs to go to sleep soon, though, so try not to keep her up too much longer."
Lucas nods and walks into Brooke's room.
She's staring straight in front of her with little expression on her face.
"Brooke", Lucas walks towards Brooke's bed.
She keeps staring in front of her, "She's not even born yet and I'm already a horrible mother."
"No, you're not. This could happen to anyone."
"It's too early. I can't have her now."
"And you won't. The doctors will make sure that she's in there long enough," Lucas sits down next to the bed.
"I guess," Brooke turns to face Lucas.
"But I know."
Lucas notices that Brooke is beginning to doze off, "You need to get some sleep. My mom and I will be back first thing in the morning."
"Don't you go anywhere, Lucas Eugene Scott. You need to stay here. With us", Brooke grabs his hand.
"Just let me talk to my mom. I'll be back before you know it," Lucas stands up.
"Fine," Brooke grunts.
"I'm supposed to be the broody one", Brooke smiles and Lucas leans in to give her a quick kiss on the mouth.
In the middle of the night, Brooke begins panting and crying in her sleep. Lucas wakes up and goes to wake Brooke up.
"Brooke…"
"Lucas!" Brooke jolts awake.
"Brooke, are you okay? You were crying in your sleep."
"I had," Brooke gulps, "a nightmare. It was horrible."
"What happened?"
"I went into labor and it was so painful. I couldn't breathe and then the baby was born and she was so small. She was already dead when she came out", Brooke begins to bawl.
"It wasn't real. The baby is fine. She's going to stay in there for a few more weeks and she'll be perfectly healthy."
"It felt so real", Brooke deadpans.
"I know, but it was just a dream. The doctor did an ultrasound yesterday and our baby is alive and kicking."
"Literally. This little one is going to be a soccer player."
Lucas clears his throat, "You mean, a basketball player?"
Brooke laughs, "You wish."
"Fine. Go back to sleep. I'm right here if you need me."
Brooke nods and falls back to sleep. However, Lucas is still awake so he cautiously walks out of the room and quickly finds the nursery.
Once he's there, he sees a young woman staring at one of the tiny babies. The girl is softly crying.
Lucas approaches her, "I'm assuming that one is yours?"
The young woman turns to face him, "Biologically, yes."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm putting her up for adoption. She leaves tomorrow afternoon."
"I'm sorry."
"Nah, don't. This was for the best, anyway", she pauses, "I'm Daphne."
"Lucas."
"So, Lucas- what are you doing wandering around at 4 in the morning?"
"Um, my girlfriend was admitted a few hours ago. She went into labor."
"So, is one of these babies yours?" Daphne asks.
"No. She's only 32 weeks along. They gave her some stuff to stop the contractions."
"Good, good. How old are you two if you don't mind me asking?"
"Brooke is seventeen. I just turned eighteen. What about you?"
"Today is my sixteenth birthday. See why I have to give her up?"
"I guess. But you said yourself that it's for the best."
"It is. Definitely. But that doesn't change the fact that I'll miss her for the rest of my life."
Lucas nods.
"Um, I should get back to bed now. It's been a long night. Good luck to you, Lucas."
"Thanks. You too."
Daphne smiles and turns to walk back to her room.
Once she's gone, Lucas stares through the glass at all of the infants for a little while.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! I'm going to upload a new story soon. It's a one-shot, but I may or may not make it into a full story. I'll have to see what the readers think. It'll be titled "Your Grand-Daughter", so be on the look-out for it!