Thanks to the timeline and how they planned things, the dreaded morning sickness didn't hit Richie with full force until January of 2008. Richie was sick for weeks. It felt absolutely awful. Worse than the bad seafood he shouldn't have eaten on tour way back when. He was so sick, he lost five pounds within a month. All from throwing up nearly nonstop. Even smells effected him. It was Hell.
Eddie was beyond worried. He used almost every ounce of knowledge he earned from school to try and help. But nothing seemed to work on him. By now he was a nurse practitioner;an advanced practice registered nurse, trained to assess patients, order tests, make a diagnosis, and prescribe medicine or establish a treatment plan. Or in Richie's words, the level just below Doctor.
The night was rather uneventful in terms of recent events. Richie calmed down enough to doze off in bed, Eddie was able to finish the every day chores, and they two snuggled in bed as they fell asleep and relaxed.
And now, in the pitch back room, Eddie woke to a small list of things; A sliver of light landing across his eyes, and a weak voice in the short distance calling his name. It was enough to actually bring him to reality.
"Eds..." Eddie woke up fully to Richie whining in the distance. More than likely from the master bathroom. The male lazily reaches over to his husband's side of the bed, only to feel cold and empty sheets. He sits up in bed, rubbing his face. That's when he heard it. The broken sobs coming from said bathroom. Alarm bells went off immediately. Oh no.
"Richie?" Eddie calls lazily. Something didn't feel right... . Not at all. The male slid out of bed, stumbling to their bathroom in the dark. He blindly felt the wall for the light switch, squinting before his eyes could adjust once it flipped in. And when they did, he finally saw it. His eyes widened before he sprang into action. "Oh my god!" Eddie ran to Richie, frowning as his eyes watered. His heart broke in a thousand pieces.
His gut told him he knew what this was. Heartbreaking.
Richie kneeled in front of the toilet, dazed due to the fact he had just gotten sick. It was violent and unrelenting. Nothing seemed to help. He hunched forward, coughing up anything he had left in his stomach. As he did, Richie revealed what Eddie had feared the most since day one. The back of his pajama pants were soaked with blood. The male's eyes watered as he heard Richie cry.
"M-M so sorry..." Richie hiccups, the heartbreak absolutely crippling. Their baby... . No one had to tell him what he already knew. And that thought made him sob.
"No! No, Rich... this isn't your fault. I promise," Eddie's eyes watered. Richie had been so excited... .
"I'm very sorry for your loss.." His doctor spoke, frowning as he stood before the two. This was one aspect of being a doctor no one signed up for. Notifying family, bearing the news no one wants to hear. "I'll leave you two to yourselves," He adds. The heartbreak and pain in the room was palpable.
Richie hiccups, curled up on the hospital bed as he sobbed into his arms. He lost the baby... . It's something a parent never, ever wants to hear. Between the hormones, the physical and emotional pain, and the heartbreak, he was hysterical. Eddie sat next to him, rubbing his back as he held his husband close. He could feel his heart breaking with every sob his husband let out. It was absolute agony. But he stayed quiet. Richie was his priority.
After doctors checked up on everything, and determined he did actually loose the baby, they left the couple to grieve and recover enough to go home. And when Richie was soon discharged, he didn't move. He couldn't. The stunned silence was deafening. Eddie was the one to finally make a move, after what felt like hours. "Rich, honey... c'mon," He went to pull Richie up to his feet.
It took some coaxing, but he was able to do it. Eddie frowned as he watched his husband hunch over, a hand pressing into his stomach. The doctor said he'd be really uncomfortable, between the cramping and the amount of bleeding he'd experience. It was painful, according to what he learned. His eyes watered again. Seeing his husband like this made him want to cry.
"I know, sweetheart, I know... ." He murmurs. "Let's go home, and we won't go anywhere else.." It broke Eddie's heart and soul. But he'd be Richie's rock. In sickness and in health, in loss and gain, til death do they part. He wouldn't just back down from those words now because 'he didn't sign up for this'. No one does.
When they got home, Eddie had led Richie to go rinse off in the shower. He ended up getting in with him, gently massaging shampoo into his hair. The sight of the blood running down to the drain was sickening. His poor baby... . Eddie carefully helped Richie into bed, rubbing his stomach as his husband sobbed. Eddie hated this... . They didn't deserve this. And it made him feel a cocktail of emotions.
No one ever talked about this possibility, the absolute heartbreak that came with this. They had been so excited, yet they were so devastated just by a few words.
By the next sunrise, Eddie wasn't surprised when Richie didn't leave their bed the majority of the day. He couldn't bring himself to. But Eddie didn't leave him. Not once. He had even texted Bev, and had her bring food so they could grieve and relay in one another. Richie wouldn't let him go. And Eddie didn't blame him.
"It'll be okay..." Eddie murmurs, his lips pressed against Richie's temple as they cried together. "I promise.."