Thank you as ever to Hollie, enjoy…or not haha!
Callum hadn't moved from his position on the floor by Jess. He had hold of one of her cold hands, while the other hand stroked her hair back. Whispering their story in her ear, only for her to hear, of how much they'd overcome already in their relationship and that she could overcome this too. That he was there for her, forever and always, but he couldn't help her with this, she had to fight through it herself and come back to him. For him, and for their baby.
The paramedics came and moved him out the way while they worked on Jess; she was still unresponsive. Callum didn't know what to do, he couldn't take his eyes off of Jess' pale face, so unlike what he normally saw with her normally pink cheeks, smiling mouth and sparkling green eyes, the hint of a laugh normally lingering.
"Callum? Callum!" Smithy said, shaking Callum's shoulder to get his attention. Callum slowly turned to look at Smithy, Smithy indicating Gina stood just outside the office. He cast one last look at Jess, the paramedics placing cannulas in her hand, and walked out to meet Gina.
"She's going to be ok." Gina said softly, concerned at the look on Callum's face. She had never seen him like this, never seen him cry.
"How do you know." he asked quietly, sounding so unsure of himself, so unlike the normal gruff Sergeant.
"Because it's Jess, she's made of strong stuff. She will be ok Callum, she'd never leave you, or your baby." Gina said reassuringly, placing a hand on Callum's arm.
"Can you let Sally know, please." he said, moving away back to Jess' side.
Gina nodded, taking out her mobile and just holding it tight in her fist. She exchanged a look with Smithy, conveying to him silently to look after Callum. He nodded, and she turned and walked away, taking a deep breath before dialling Sally's number.
He held her hand the whole time: during the ambulance journey to hospital; when she was wheeled quickly through to resus; as the doctors assessed her and tried to stabilise her and figure out what was wrong; as she came to, not knowing what was happening or where she was; when he had to explain to her once again about her father. He was there the whole time.
He was sat in silence in her currently empty room while she was having more tests. He felt like lashing out at someone, at someone who actually deserved all this shit that was happening to his family. It was always them. He started to think about when Jess used to say that she was cursed, because bad things always happened to her. He had laughed her off at the time, telling her that it wasn't true, but now he couldn't help but wonder. Robert was seriously ill a few floors above them, and his wife and baby were in unknown danger.
He felt his head droop to the side and his eyes slowly shut when the door opened and Jess was wheeled in, looking so very tired.
"Callum, we've just been explaining to Jess that we're going to transfer her over to maternity now that she's stable. A midwife is coming to monitor the baby, and then the doctor will be in shortly to explain everything. The porter will then take her across to maternity. If you need anything just press the call bell." the nurse explained, handing Jess a button and restarting a drip in her arm.
A midwife walked into the room, introducing herself as Imogen. She felt Jess' tummy before commencing a monitor that tracked the baby's heart rate and any contractions.
"I'm going to do a set of observations on you then I'll just be filling out your paperwork. We'll monitor the baby until we're ready to get you over to the delivery suite, ok my lovely?" Imogen said kindly.
Jess nodded, a grateful smile on her face as the quiet thumping of her baby's heartbeat started. The midwife smiled at Callum and gently squeezed Jess' hand in reassurance before leaving the room. Callum rose from the chair, moving it over to the bed. He dropped the rail on the side of where he was sat, allowing him to take Jess' hand in his, and rest the other on her bump.
"How are you holding up?" he asked quietly, hating how pale and drawn she looked.
"Never better." she laughed quietly, before she started crying. Callum immediately got to his feet, getting onto the bed with Jess and pulling her close to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her, minding all the wires. He whispered comforting words to her, rubbing her back as she cried, stroking her hair until she fell into a restless sleep. He caressed her bump, reassured by their baby kicking him every so often, and by the steady sound of the heartbeat.
An hour later, the doctor who had assessed Jess as soon as she had been brought to the hospital came into their room.
"Sorry to disturb you, but we have all your test results now." the doctor said quietly. She walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"And? What's the verdict? Are they going to be ok?" Callum asked quickly, gently shaking Jess awake.
The doctor looked through Jess' notes and chart again, comparing them to the test results, "Before we get to that, I just want to ask something. It has here that you visited your GP around fifteen weeks pregnant. Could you expand on that for me?"
"Yeah sure. I'd been pretty stressed at work, I'm a police officer, and I started to feel ill. I felt dizzy, nauseous, I had blurred vision. I threw up, and I felt like I was going to faint. My GP said I had high blood pressure and just said to try and decrease the amount of stress, drink more and watch my salt intake." Jess explained. The doctor scribbled something down, "Is it high blood pressure again?"
"No it's not, it's something a lot more serious." the doctor said.
"What do you mean by that?" Callum asked, confused.
"What I mean is, judging by your symptoms, your collapse, and the previous visit to the GP, you're suffering from pre-eclampsia." the doctor said gently, "I noticed that you have some swelling around your hands and feet. Now, in pregnancy, swelling is common, but it's mainly in the lower body, around the ankles and feet. The headaches and the nausea and vomiting are all key symptoms, and the urine we sent off when you got here is positive for protein. Then when the paramedics got to you, your blood pressure was very high, and is still higher than we'd like."
"But every midwife appointment I've had, my blood pressure has been perfect, and the GP said my blood pressure was high for me but still within normal range? How can it be pre-eclampsia?" Jess asked, confused about how she could have pre eclampsia when she'd been fine.
"Is it serious? How is it treated?" Callum asked quickly.
"It can be serious, yes, but I'm hopeful that because you got to us in good time, we've got a good chance of helping you and your baby. Now we did scans and checked the baby's heartbeat and you'll be pleased to know it's nice and strong. You've got a resilient baby in there." the doctor said with a smile. The couple looked at each other, trading tentative smiles.
"What treatment is there?" Jess asked.
"We're going to transfer you over to the delivery suite where my colleagues will start you on some blood pressure medication to bring your blood pressure down, and give you a course of magnesium sulphate which will halve the risk of this happening again. It should also prevent any more collapses and it'll also help prevent a fatality." the doctor answered.
"Hang on, you didn't say anything about Jess potentially dying from this." Callum butted in, his arms involuntarily tightening around his wife.
"As I said Mr Stone, I'm confident that your wife got to us in good time, and we'll be starting the magnesium sulphate straight away. As well as that, you're also going to be on bed rest until the birth of the baby. You'll be staying in with us until your blood pressure is stable enough and you're feeling better. But if there are any concerns at all, we will keep you in until the baby is born so that we can monitor you closely. If anything changes it means you're here ready for us to stabilise you and deliver you." the doctor said.
"But I've still got seven weeks to go yet." Jess protested.
"I know, but in cases of pre-eclampsia we want to get the baby out before your due date. It's likely that labour will be induced at around thirty seven weeks, maybe earlier if there's any concerns with you or baby." the doctor explained.
"I want to be at home. Mum and dad are going to need me, so will Andy." Jess said quietly.
"Jess, it's best for you and the baby to stay in, you can see that can't you? You heard what the doctor just said, the risks?" Callum said gently.
"I know it's best, but please, I don't want to stay here for another month, waiting for something to go wrong. Let me go home, maybe just for three weeks, please. Then I'll come back in at thirty six weeks. Please." Jess pleaded.
"I do not think that's a good idea Mrs Stone, not with how you've presented to us." the doctor replied.
"Is there no way she could stay at home for even two weeks? Once you've done this drip and everything first. I can take leave and look after her, and give her the medication and do everything for her. At the first sign of complications, she'll come straight back in." Callum said, knowing how much this would mean to Jess, although he would prefer she stayed where she could be monitored. The doctor looked at the couple, before sighing.
"As I said, it's against my better judgement, but I'll make you a deal. If you're discharged from here, with a stable blood pressure and better blood results, you can have ten days at home. After those ten days are up, you come straight back in and stay in until the birth of the baby so that we can monitor you closely. If anything changes at all while you're at home, you will need to call an ambulance to bring you straight back in. I'll give you my work number for any questions or concerns you have. Is that a deal?" she asked kindly.
Jess nodded, "Deal."
Come to me now
And lay your hands over me
Even if it's a lie
Say it will be alright
And I shall believe
I'm broken in two
And I know you're on to me
That I only come home
When I'm so all alone
But I do believe
A few days had passed, and Jess was finally being discharged from the ward. She'd not needed the magnesium drip as her blood pressure came down well with medication, and her symptoms had improved slightly. They had given her steroids to help mature the baby's lungs, as delivery was expected to be earlier than initially thought. Her blood pressure had spiked a few times, but with adjustments to her medication it had got under control. The headaches had nearly gone, and the nausea was much more manageable, with no further vomiting.
Jess was discharged from the maternity ward in the afternoon with strict instructions from Dr Mathieson. However, before they left the hospital, there was someone she had to see. She hadn't been able to see him until now and it had been awful knowing how poorly he was and she couldn't get to him, or her mum or brother.
"Daddy?" she whispered in the room. The sound echoed off the walls. Michelle turned towards her daughter's voice, immediately getting to her feet and pulling her daughter into a tight embrace, tears streaming down her face. She led Jess to the chair at the side of the bed, crouching down at her side.
"Oh my baby, how are you? Is the baby ok?" Michelle asked, fussing.
"Yeah, we're ok. I'm on strict bed rest, I've got some blood pressure meds, and I have to come back in ten days to stay in until the baby is born." Jess said quietly.
"Pre-eclampsia?" Michelle questioned.
"Yeah, but the doctor was confident that they've caught it in time." she said, not looking at her mum for fear that she'd start crying and not be able to stop. "Enough about me. How is he?"
"He's...not good." Michelle said softly, not wanting to lie to her child, but also wanting to soften the blow, "The doctors aren't hopeful of a recovery."
"What happened to him?" Jess asked quietly, taking her dad's limp hand in hers, rubbing it slowly.
"Heart attack they're saying. Maybe the stress of the move triggered it, I don't know, but the doctors said it was bad. They told us that it's hard to recover from one as severe as the one your dad suffered. They said that his heart is so weak and tired that it could stop at any time." Michelle said, her voice cracking. Jess reached out her other hand, holding her mum's tightly, forming a bond between the three of them.
"I don't want him to die. I'm not ready for him to go." Jess cried as a tear dripped down her face.
"Neither am I darling, neither am I." Michelle sobbed.
That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly you won't give up on me
And I shall believe
And I shall believe
Callum finally managed to drag Jess away from Robert's bedside to get her home to rest. She was silent the whole way home, looking out the window. She was silent when he led her into the house. She was silent when he helped her undress and get into bed. She was just silent. It was like his Jess had left, replaced by a new Jess who didn't want to talk about her feelings and her fears. He understood why she would be like this, but it was scaring him. He just wanted her to talk to him, to cry, to scream in anger and rage and pain, anything but this silence. He sat on the edge of the bed for a little while until he was satisfied that she was asleep. Then he crept from the room and back down the stairs. He picked up the phone, now dialling the familiar number of his sister.
"Hello?" she said cheerily into the phone. It seemed odd to Callum that there was still happiness in the world at the minute.
"Claire? It's Callum." he said quietly.
"What's happened?" she asked immediately.
"So much. Jess was admitted to hospital a few days ago; she collapsed at work. The doc says she's got pre-eclampsia, and it could be fatal. She was gonna make Jess stay until the baby was born, but Jess was having none of it. So we bargained with the doctor, and Jess can stay home for ten days, but then she has to stay in the hospital until the baby is born." Callum said monotonously.
"Jeez, are you ok? Stupid question, of course you're not, but are you coping? Is Jess ok? What can I do?" Claire asked in a rush.
"Oh I'm not finished yet." Callum said angrily, not at his sister, but at the world in general. "When Jess was found, she'd been on the phone to her brother, who had rung to tell her that Robert, her dad, was in hospital after having a heart attack. They don't know if he's going to survive. I spoke to his doctor before we left, and he said the chances of recovery were slim to none." There was silence on the end of the phone while Claire tried to wrap her head around all the information.
"Jesus Callum, I am so sorry. I don't know what else to say." Claire said sadly, in shock at what her brother had just told her.
"You don't need to say anything, I just needed to vent. I've been so focused on trying to make sure Jess is ok that I haven't really stopped to breathe. If Robert dies, Jess will be distraught. I'm worried that she won't get over it. After Luke died, her world had all but ended, but she had her parents to support her through. And then Dan died, and Jess was still gutted, I mean he had been her husband and partner, and the father of her child, but she had me and her parents to support her. But if Robert dies, I know that I won't be enough." Callum said, not being able to stop his heart felt outpour.
"You will be enough. That woman loves you, and she will never stop loving you, it's clear for everyone to see. If Robert dies, she will be devastated, no doubt about it, but she's a strong woman Callum, and you are her rock. You will help her through whatever comes next. She's got to think about your baby as well; that might be just the thing to keep her going." Claire said reassuringly.
Callum mulled over his sister's words, realising that she was right, of course she was. Jess was the strongest woman he had ever met, besides Claire, and she would get through whatever was thrown at her. It would take a while, but she would, he was confident of that now.
"Thanks Claire, this is exactly what I needed." Callum said gratefully.
"You don't need to thank me, this is part of my job description as big sister. Listen, I'll be over tomorrow to see how you're both doing. Stay strong little brother. I love you." Claire said firmly.
"Ok, see you then. Bye." Callum said as he hung up, feeling a bit happier than he had done when he had first dialled her number. Now that that call was over, it was time to call the station and update them with Jess' condition, and to also sort out his leave. He took a deep breath and picked the phone up.
Open the door
And show me your face tonight
I know it's true
No one heals me like you
And you hold the key
Callum woke early the next morning, so early it was still dark outside. He stretched out, sitting up, moving carefully so as not to disturb Jess. When he got out of bed though, he noticed that she wasn't in bed. His heart started to race, scenarios of what danger Jess could be in flashing through his head. He chucked a t-shirt over his head and pulled on his jeans, running through the house calling her name. She wasn't in the nursery, or the bathroom; she wasn't in the study, the living room, the dining room or the kitchen. As he was about to leave the kitchen, he felt a chill on his skin. He turned to see the French patio doors leading to the garden were slightly open. He ran across the room, looking into the garden. There, on one of the wrought iron patio chairs, was Jess.
He breathed a sigh of temporary relief, grabbed his coat from the stand and walked outside to the garden. The sun was just starting to rise, casting the garden in deep purples and blues. Jess sat with her eyes shut, a cup of herbal tea grasped in her hands. He was relieved to see that she was dressed warmly in jeans, Ugg boots, an oversized knitted jumper, her coat, plus her hat, scarf and gloves. She also had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
"Jess?" Callum said softly, not wanting to make her jump. She opened her eyes slowly, turning her head to face him before looking back out over the garden. "How long have you been out here? You're supposed to be in bed."
"I know but please, just stop worrying. I needed fresh air. I'm fine, baby's fine." she said tiredly, sipping her tea. Callum was about to answer back but held his tongue.
Instead he took the cup of tea out of her hands and placed it on the patio next to his chair. He held his arms out, and she slowly got out of her chair, coming to sit on his lap. She wrapped the blanket round both of them, resting her cheek on the top of his head. They stayed like that for a while, watching the sun rise dreamily through the clouds and casting pinks and oranges across the garden, until Callum felt Jess shiver.
"Come on darlin', let's go inside, I'll make you breakfast. I don't want you getting cold." he said, kissing her neck. She got up stiffly, bending to pick the cup off of the patio before walking into the house. Callum picked the blanket up, folded it neatly, and followed his wife.
Never again
would I turn away from you
I'm so heavy tonight
But your love is alright
And I do believe
Since she'd been confined to bed rest, Jess had only seen her father once. She had stayed with him for the whole day, reading the newspaper to him, playing his favourite songs, reliving old memories of when she was a child. She loved him so much it hurt. She was, and always had been, a typical daddy's girl, and Robert had known it.
He loved it when Jess, as a child, had followed him around the house, or sat with him for hours on a stool in his workshop while he worked on his latest project, or helped him plant vegetables and flowers. He had been there for her when she had been in trouble or needed money. He had watched with pride as his baby girl blossomed into a beautiful but shy young teenager, and then into a confident young lady, and then into a wife and a mother.
He had watched as her world was destroyed with the death of her son. He had held her hand as Luke was placed into the ground, wishing with every fibre of his being that he could take away his little girl's pain so she wouldn't have to suffer. He would have done anything for his daughter; he would have given her the world if she asked. And now, here he was, lying in a hospital bed, unconscious, oblivious to the whole world, oblivious to his daughter who desperately needed her dad.
That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly
You won't give up on me
And I shall believe
I shall believe
And I shall believe
The call came a week after Jess had been released temporarily from hospital.
"Ello?" Callum said groggily, rubbing his eyes and reading that the clock said three in the morning.
"Mr Stone?" a male voice asked.
"Speaking." he replied bluntly, quickly waking up.
"Mr Stone, this is Mr Cross, I'm your father-in-law's doctor." Mr Cross said. Callum pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, dreading the next words that were about to come from the doctor's mouth.
"Please don't say it, please. My wife...well, just...it's good news, isn't it?" Callum begged with false hope, knowing exactly why the doctor was ringing so early.
"I'm afraid not. Your father-in-law, Mr Hunter, passed away an hour ago. He suffered another heart attack. We did everything we could, but his heart was simply too tired. I'm so sorry." the doctor said sadly.
"Are Michelle and Andy there?" Callum asked. He felt Jess stir next to him, watched as she opened her eyes slowly and saw him on the phone. She frowned in confusion.
"Yes they are. They're with Mr Hunter now. Will you inform your wife?" the doctor asked.
"Yes of course I will. Could you please tell Michelle that we'll be there soon. Thank you doctor." Callum said, listening as the doctor said a few more things to do with Robert's possessions. By this point, Jess had realised that her father had died. She sat frozen in bed for a minute, staring at Callum, and then seemed to snap.
She shoved the covers off of her and hurried out of the room, down the stairs, out of the front door into the cold and pouring rain, ignoring Callum's yells. Her pyjamas were soaked through in seconds, her blonde hair plastered to her head. Her bare feet slapped against the wet pavement as she ran god knows where, eventually ending up in the play park where she used to take Luke as a baby.
She sank to her knees onto the soaked grass, screaming until her lungs felt like they would explode. She screamed until her heart felt like it was going to stop. She screamed until warm arms wrapped around her shivering form, and then she cried and couldn't stop.
Callum wrapped himself around her, trying to shield her from getting any wetter or colder than she already was, trying to get her coat onto her. He held her tight as she began to lash out at him, pummelling his chest with her fists, eventually stopping and just collapsing heavily against him. Her body was wracked with sobs, it felt like it would never end.
Callum helped her to her feet before scooping her up into his arms. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest, feeling slightly comforted through her heartbreak by the steady thumping of his heart. He carried her all the way back to their house, never once hesitating or halting. He carried her up the stairs into the bathroom, placing her so gently into the shower cubicle, where she sat shivering in the corner, the tears streaming down her face.
He stripped her wet, cold pyjamas off, then removed his own clothes. He got into the shower cubicle with her, sitting behind her and putting the water on hot. The hot water cascaded over them as they both cried for a man they had dearly loved. Although Robert James Hunter had passed from the land of the living, he would never be forgotten.
Song: Sheryl Crow- I Shall Believe