Trigger warning: anyone who has had pregnancy complication or scares may find this chapter too sensitive or close to home.
I'm not posting this on Wega Wednesday because I like posting happy things on Wednesdays, and this chapter was hard for me to write and almost harder to edit.
"Are you out in the field today?" Vega asked Lisbon as the three of them stepped off the elevator.
"Cho wants me and Jane to go talk to the family of Derrick Lannister," Lisbon said.
"Is that the guy who stabbed Theo?" Wylie asked.
"No," Vega said. "That was some guy named Ventimiglia. Lannister was the one that Lisbon took out."
"No," Lisbon said. "You killed Lannister, I shot Ventimiglia."
"Pregnancy brain," Wylie whispered after Lisbon had walked away.
Vega elbowed him. "Shhh!"
"No one heard me!"
"I heard you."
"You already know!"
"Know what?"
They jumped at the appearance of Cho. "Nothing, boss," Wylie said. "We were just teasing each other."
"Okay. Wylie, I'd like you to go with Jane and Lisbon. I think this would be a good case to ease you back into the field after the Brown case."
Wylie nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Look at you," Vega said, "out in the field while I'm going to those 'you shot somebody' counselling sessions."
"I can't say I'm jealous," he said. "You feeling okay? You look a little pale."
"Yeah," she said, "a little dizzy maybe. I'm fine." She rose on her tiptoes and pushed her nose against his. "See you later?"
Vega had an hour to wait before her counselling session. She hated them; she refused to see the FWTC therapist after only one session, so the time between Wylie leaving and her appointment seemed to fly. When it was finally time, she rose, feeling a sense of dread.
Walking toward the elevator, Vega suddenly felt faint. She stopped, putting a hand on the wall to steady herself. A wave of nausea came over her, and she darted for the bathroom, determined not to vomit out in the open.
By the time she reached the bathroom, she no longer felt like she had to throw up, but the dizziness was still there, and she just felt strange. Her stomach was beginning to hurt, and she couldn't tell if she was just worried about the counseling appointment or if something was wrong.
It didn't take her long to get an answer. The unpleasant feeling suddenly got worse, shifting into full blown cramping like she had never experienced before, even when she hadn't been on the pill. Vega lurched forward, her hand pressing against her stomach. She felt a warm sensation between her legs, and peering down, she suddenly felt dizzy with fear, her knees buckling. She pulled her jacket off, wrapping it around her waist as she left the bathroom in search of help, fighting the dizziness.
She tried to stay on her feet, to get to her desk where her cell phone sat on top of the Lannister file, but then she was on the ground, curling up. She felt the panic setting in. Once again she was on the ground, bleeding, without her phone, and she was all alone. She could hear herself breathing, she could feel her heart pounding in at least four different places, and then she heart something else.
"Vega!"
Her head lolled in the direction of the voice. "Cho," she said, her voice not sounding familiar to her.
"Hey, hey," Cho said, dropping down next to her. "What's happening? Vega, talk to me."
"Cho."
"Vega, what's wrong? Vega!"
"I need to go to the hospital," she mumbled. "I'm going to lose the baby, Cho."
"Baby?" Cho said. "Vega, are you pregnant?"
"Seven weeks," she said, her hand pressed against the soft skin on her abdomen between her hip bones. "Cho, I need to go to..."
"We're going," Cho said. "We're going right now. Can you stand?"
Vega nodded. "I...I think so."
"I got you," he said, getting to his feet and pulling her with him. He put her arm around his shoulders and slid his free arm under hers to support her. "Are you lightheaded?"
"A little," she said. "Cho, what if it's too late?
"Just try to stay calm," he said. "We'll get there. It'll be okay."
"When will Jason be back?" She mumbled. "He's been gone for hours already!"
"He's been gone forty five minutes," Cho said. "You can call him from the car, okay?"
They entered the elevator, and Vega staggered, gripping Cho's shirt. "You're okay," Cho said. He could feel her heart pounding. It took a lot to make Michelle Vega afraid and that was one of her strengths – but possibly her one weakness was her tendency to panic when something did rattle her. He'd seen this before. "It's okay, breathe in...good. And out. In, one, two, three, out, four five six." She nodded, trying to obey. Cho hugged her close and rubbed her arm comfortingly. "Just breathe."
When they got to the car, Vega hesitated. "Hey," Cho said. "Messing up the car is the least of my concerns. Get in, soldier. That's an order." Vega nodded, letting Cho assist her in easing inside.
"Here we go," Cho said, putting the vehicle in drive and quickly accelerating. "It's going to be okay. Keep breathing."
Her hands pressed against her stomach, Vega tipped her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, trying not to hyperventilate. Cho watched her out of the corner of his eye, internally reeling at the knowledge that she was pregnant and at the same time trying to keep himself from becoming anxious. This woman gave him too many close calls.
By the time they reached the hospital, Vega had calmed down some, though she was still in obvious discomfort. "I'm going to go call Wylie for you," Cho said as they loaded her onto a bed to roll to an examination room. He'd been too afraid to suggest it when they were in the car; Vega had been close to tears the entire drive.
"Please don't leave," she said.
"Hey," Cho said, reaching for her hand and squeezing it. "You're in good hands. I'm going to get your husband here for you. You just keep breathing and listen to what they say, okay?" She nodded. "Good," Cho said, smiling and releasing her hand as the nurses began to move her away. He spun on his heel and ran outside to call Wylie.
