Holy hell! HELLO EVERYONE! I am SO sorry that I have been away for so long. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I published my latest full-length story! So many of you have been so kind and reached out via PM. I am so sorry that this took so long but a new degree brought a new job and a new job took away a lot of my free time. I FINALLY managed to get this story finished though after pretty much a year in the making. I am so happy and so incredibly nervous to finally be able to share it with you. Thank you for clicking! I hope you enjoy!
"No!" Beck smirks, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist and pulling her back towards the bed "Stay with me tonight!"
It's Sunday night, his least favorite night of the week. It signifies the end of the weekend, when their schedules go back to being hectic and the two of them get to spend a lot less time with each other than they would like. After getting to spend most of the day and the one before with her, he'll admit he's sad to see her go.
"Oh my god, you're ridiculous." His girlfriend, Jade, chuckles "I'll see you tomorrow after you get off of work!"
She's still in school, about to finish her junior year at NYU majoring in Dramatic Writing. More than anything, she wants to be a writer. Not a novelist, at least not at this point, but a screenwriter. She wants to write movies and TV shows that make her audience feel an entire range of emotions; that make them laugh until they cry, that make them weep, that make them angry, that fill their hearts with joy. Jade is so close she can taste it. After this upcoming week of finals she just has one more semester of classes and another semester of an internship after that, then she can graduate and start her career. Her future is just out of reach, and she's getting closer and closer each day.
Beck, on the other hand...hadn't been as motivated by school as his girlfriend. He started at NYU too, studying drama with the desire to become an actor, but decided after one year that college wasn't for him. He wanted to be out in the real world already, auditioning and booking parts and gaining real experience that he just didn't feel he could get in the classroom. Jade had supported his choice, and while they hand't been overly thrilled about it...his parents had too. Now he works at a shipping warehouse in the city, processing stock and packing orders, while he auditions for different roles that come his way. He's had a few minor roles, mostly as a background actor in the soaps that film in New York and one regional commercial, but he's still waiting for his big break. It's close, he can feel it. His big break has to be just around the corner.
"That's so long from now!" He groans, nuzzling his face into Jade's neck as he squeezes her tighter "I don't know if I can-"
"Ouch, Beck!" Jade gasps "Let me go, please."
"I'm sorry!" He releases her from his grip immediately "I didn't mean to-"
"I know, I know." She assures him "I don't even think it was anything you did, my cramps have just been awful today."
"It's getting to be that time, huh?" He sighs "Dammit."
"Oh relax." Jade can't help but laugh "You can live without sex for a week."
"I know, I'm only teasing." He assures her as he stands up from the bed "C'mon, I'll walk you out."
They're not living together yet, despite being together for close to seven years at this point. Jade had been accepted to NYU on a full-ride scholarship, a huge win for her parents, mostly her mom, who were paying her tuition. One of the conditions of said scholarship, however, was that she live on campus for at least three years while completing her undergraduate degree. Co-ed housing isn't an option, so she lives in an upperclassmen dorm with a roommate. Beck, no longer a student of the university, lives in an apartment nearby with two roommates. One of them, Ashton, is a student at NYU like Jade. The other, Ian, works full-time like Beck does. The couple frequents each other's spaces, but will often spend weeknights apart, like tonight.
"Soon we won't have to say goodnight and go our separate ways." Beck reminds his girlfriend
They plan to move in together in a few weeks, once Jade has fulfilled her scholarship obligations and Beck's lease is up. It will be a big step, perhaps the biggest they've ever taken as a couple, and they're excited.
"I know." Jade smiles up at him "I can't wait."
"I love you." Beck leans down to kiss her "Goodnight."
"I love you too." She tells him "Good-"
She stops, wincing in pain as she leans against the doorframe for support.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." She nods as the pain subsides "Yeah, I'm good. It's just the cramps again."
"Do you want me to call you an Uber?"
"No. I'll be okay." She assures him
"Do you want me to walk back with you?"
"I'll be fine." She assures him again "I'll text you when I get back."
"Alright." He presses another gentle kiss to the top of her head "Take some ibuprofen before you go to bed, okay?"
"I will."
"And good luck on your final tomorrow."
"Thanks." She smiles as she turns to leave "I love you."
"I love you too."
Jade has trouble sleeping that night. Just when she's finally able to get comfortable and starts to drift off, her cramps become intense again and wake her up. Despite the ibuprofen that she's taken, she does't feel any relief. Her roommate, Melissa, concerned by Jade's tossing and turning and pacing around the room trying to find relief, offers her a muscle relaxer, but Jade doesn't want to deal with the side effects. She has a final at eight in the morning that is worth twenty percent of her final grade, and she doesn't want to risk her judgement being off or clouded...so she declines.
"It feels like it's getting worse." Jade mumbles into her pillow
"I think you should call your doctor..." Melissa tells her "Or any doctor really. Period cramps wouldn't be lasting this long...or getting worse..."
"I don't need to go to the doctor." Jade insists "I've dealt with cramps for my entire adult li-"
She winces, gritting her teeth as she grabs her blanket and pulls her legs into a fetal position. For the first time in her life, her cramps are too painful for her to speak through them.
"Jade, this isn't normal." Melissa tells her "You need to-"
"I...I..." Jade stammers "I h-have a final."
"Can you even walk right now?"
"Sure I can." Jade nods, sitting up as the pain subsides a bit
She throws the blanket off of her body and swings her legs over the side of the bed before she stands up, making eye contact with her roommate as she crosses their small dorm room. When she reaches Melissa's closet on the opposite side of the room and turns to move back to her bed, another wave of cramps hits. Jade's knees buckle and she cries out in pain as she falls to the floor, Melissa rushing to her aid.
"I'm taking you to the ER." Melissa says, pulling Jade up by her elbow "C'mon, let's get dressed."
"I have a final." Jade reiterates "I don't have time to-OW!"
"I think an ER visit is enough to get you an accommodation to take it later in the week." Melissa sighs as tears fill Jade's eyes "You can't even stand, Jade."
"Alright, alright..." Jade finally gives in "I need socks and shoes."
Melissa helps Jade over to the bed so she can sit, then grabs a pair of socks and slippers from her closet. The two girls are making their way downstairs within five minutes. It's just before six in the morning, and some of their neighbors have started to stir. Most people they pass on their way to the elevator just offer them strange glances as Jade hobbles along, leaning on Melissa for support. When another wave of cramps hits and she shrieks, doubling over, another girl offers to call an ambulance. Both Jade and Melissa decline, insisting that Jade is fine to make it to the emergency room. Regardless, the girl's boyfriend offers to carry Jade downstairs so she doesn't have to walk. Despite being frustrated and embarrassed, Jade agrees.
"She okay?" Their Uber driver asks as Melissa helps Jade crawl into the backseat
"She will be." Melissa nods, climbing in after Jade "Can you make this a quick commute though?"
"I'll do my best."
"They're going to tell me it's nothing." Jade insists, leaning her head against the window "They're going to laugh at us and send me home."
"Or they'll thank us for coming in and get you something to help with the pain."
"We'll see."
Jade's phone starts buzzing in her lap, and she's honestly surprised that she even remembered to grab it before they left the room. Beck's face is lighting up the screen, and she quickly presses the button to answer his call.
"Hey." She greets him, wincing a bit "Morning."
"Good morning, beautiful." She can practically hear him smiling through the phone "I just wanted to wish you good luck on your final today."
"M'not taking it, I don't think." Jade sighs "I-"
The pain in her abdomen intensifies once more, causing her to double over. She drops her phone in the process, and Melissa quickly scoops it up.
"Beck? It's Mel." Melissa tells him "I'm taking Jade to the ER. Her cramps have gotten...well, I'm not exactly sure they're period cramps at this point. When they're at their worst she can't walk, and she can barely speak."
"Which hospital are you going to?" Beck is suddenly on high-alert "I'll meet you there."
"Moringside." Melissa tells him "If you're on your way to work, you don't have to-"
"I'm already on my way." He insists "Tell Jade I love her and I'll see her soon."
"Okay. Bye, Beck."
"Bye."
"He's going to meet us at the ER." Melissa tells Jade, rubbing her arm reassuringly "He said he loves you and he'll see you soon."
Jade is only capable of nodding, letting her roommate know that she had heard what she said.
The drive to the hospital is short, thankfully the morning rush hour hasn't occurred yet. Melissa helps Jade into a chair in the waiting room, then goes to the desk to get her the proper paperwork to fill out. Beck arrives roughly six minutes after the pair of roommates.
"Hey..." He kneels down in front of his girlfriend, placing his hands on her knees "What's going on, babe?"
"I-I..." Jade stammers, grabbing his hands and squeezing them tightly "We don't think they're cramps. S-s-something is r-rr-really wrong."
"Okay..." Beck nods, rubbing the backs of her hands gently with his thumbs "We'll get you checked in and see what the doctors say. It's okay, I'm here."
"You're missing work..." She manages to choke out
He had clearly been getting ready to leave, he's wearing his usual uniform of sneakers, khaki shorts, and polo with the company's logo on it. Jade feels guilty that she had to pull him away.
"I have plenty of sick days, s'no big deal." He assures her "You're more important to me anyway."
"Alright..." Melissa sighs as she approaches them "They said there's a bit of a wait, hopefully only twenty minutes or so. There's paperwork that she needs to fill out in the meantime though."
"I can do it." Beck offers, taking the pen and clipboard from her "Do you have any finals today?"
"One, but-"
"I can stay with her." Beck tells her "I took the whole day off. If you want to go, you can."
"I don't want to leave her here..."
"Go, Mel." Jade insists "I won't let you fail a final because of me."
"You're sure?"
"Yes." Beck and Jade both respond in unison
"Okay..." Melissa nods "Okay, thank you. Text me and keep me updated, please?"
"Of course." Beck says
"Hang in there, okay?" Melissa reaches down and squeezes Jade's hand before she turns to leave "It'll be fine."
"Thanks, Mel."
"Yes, thank you." Beck adds "Alright, let's take a look at this paperwork, shall we?"
Jade doesn't have the capacity to fill it out herself at the moment, but thankfully Beck knows most of the information by heart already. He easily fills out her full name, birthday, and address. When the form asks for an emergency contact, he writes down his own information. He'll need her insurance card to fill out that information, but he knows exactly where she keeps it in her wallet. The whole time that he's writing with his right hand, his left is gently rubbing her back as he tries to offer her some kind of reassurance. He has no idea what could possibly be wrong, and he's worried about his girlfriend, but he knows he needs to stay strong for her sake.
After about fifteen minutes, a nurse calls Jade's name. Beck helps her to her feet and lets her lean against him as they make their way back to one of the patient intake rooms. She explains the situation the best that she can, Beck fills in all of the gaps that he is able to, and then the nurse takes her vitals. Her heart rate and blood pressure are a bit elevated, but otherwise everything appears to be normal. They're assured that a doctor will be with them shortly.
"You're okay..." Beck says calmly as he pushes some of Jade's hair out of her face "I'm sure whatever it is will be any easy fix and you'll be on your way out of here in no time."
"I...I don't know..." Jade shakes her head "The more this goes on, the more I'm starting to think that it might be something seri-"
She can't finish her thought, because the pain intensifies again. Jade takes a sharp breath and throws her head back, gritting her teeth in agony as she waits for whatever is plaguing her to subside.
"Someone in here having some abdominal pain?" A man in a white coat asks as he enters the room, the same nurse from before following behind him "I'm Doctor Keller. I'm assuming you're Jade?"
"That's me."
"When did the pain start?"
"Last n-night." Jade manages to choke out "It's been getting gradually worse and worse since then."
"Is it a constant pain?"
"It comes and goes."
"Is there any chance that you could be pregnant?"
"Absolutely none." Jade shakes her head "I'm on the pill."
The couple is a bit lax when it comes to using condoms, but Jade is religious about taking her birth control. She hasn't missed a pill in months, and she's gotten her period plenty of times since then.
"When was your last menstrual cycle?"
"About two and a half weeks ago." Jade informs him "I thought these were cramps at first, but now I'm not so s-"
The pain intensifies once more, leaving Jade speechless and writhing with pain.
"Okay, we're going to do an ultrasound, just to rule a few things out." Dr. Keller informs her, reaching for a machine on the wall "Is that alright?"
"Fine." Jade manages to nod, grasping for Beck's hand
"Ultrasound?" Beck is confused "She's not pregnant."
"We can use ultrasounds to detect more than just pregnancy." Dr. Keller explains "Right now, I'd like to check for any presence of hernias, ovarian cysts, or an appendicitis. I'm not entirely unconvinced that it's not one of those causing this problem."
Fuck.
All of those things sound bad.
Like...surgery bad.
Jade doesn't have time to have surgery right now, she's in the middle of finals week.
"Gel is going to feel a little cold..." The doctor warns Jade before he starts moving the wand around her stomach "Alright, let's see what we're working with here..."
"Is that..." The nurse behind him says as she looks at the screen "Are you seeing the same thing that I am?"
"What?" Beck cranes his neck to try and get a look at the screen "What is it?"
"It's...a baby." Dr. Keller tells them "Jade, it appears you're in active labor."
"But I'm not pregnant!"
There's no way she can be pregnant. She uses birth control, and she's gotten regular periods for the last nine months. She never had any morning sickness, she never had any cravings, and she definitely never felt anything moving inside of her.
"Jade..." The nurse says calmly "I need to check for dilation. Is it alright if I remove your sweatpants?"
"Remove whatever you want, there will be nothing to check!" Jade insists "I'm not pregnant!"
"We need to get her upstairs immediately." The nurse says to Dr. Keller "The head is crowing."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that ready or not...you're about to have a baby."