A/N: I have zero medical training, so any medical diagnoses or treatments written about in this chapter could be utter BS, but it worked for my story!
With lightning-fast reactions, Liv managed to catch her friend before she hit the floor. "Amanda!" Struggling to hold them both up with Amanda's dead weight, she called out desperately, "CAN I GET SOME HELP HERE?!"
Having heard the commotion, a nurse poked her head around the corner. Seeing the situation, she called over her shoulder to an unseen teammate to bring a gurney over, then rushed to Amanda's other side to help Liv to support the unconscious blonde.
"My name is Linda, can you tell me what happened here, ma'am?" The nurse asked a panicked Olivia.
"I-I'm not sure." Liv stuttered, "She said she was feeling lightheaded, then she just passed out."
"Rosie is on her way with a gurney, honey, we'll get her back up and about in no time. What's her name?" Linda smiled reassuringly.
"Amanda. Amanda Rollins. Help her please, I'm pretty sure she's pregnant. I don't think she has eaten much today and she was sick this morning." Rosie arrived then, and between the three of them they laid Amanda gently on the gurney.
Olivia kept hold of Amanda's hand as they wheeled the gurney through to an unoccupied cubicle, where they were joined by a tall dark-haired woman, who introduced herself as Dr Mills.
"Ma'am you can't be in here. Only family are allowed in." The second nurse, Rosie, said to the lieutenant.
"She's my partner," Liv blurted quickly, never taking her eyes from the blonde's pale face, "I'm not leaving her."
Rosie had seen the badges on both women's hips, and assumed Olivia meant work partners. She was about to protest and ask the lieutenant to step outside while they treated their patient, when she caught sight of the expression on Olivia's face. The love in the brunette's eyes was so obvious, the nurse re-evaluated her assumption. She had heard of the thin blue line and knew how loyal cops were to their partners, but the relationship between these two women seemed to go beyond even that. She decided it was best not to argue.
The two nurses worked quickly and diligently under instruction from Dr Mills, they hooked Amanda up to a heart monitor and a pulse oximeter. Rosie put a pillow under Amanda's legs to raise them while Linda inserted an IV line into the crook of the blonde's left elbow.
"What's that?" Liv asked, eying the drip Linda had set up.
"It's just a saline solution," Linda explained, "her blood pressure is a little low and she is a bit dehydrated. These fluids should help with both of those things, she'll wake up soon." Linda gave Olivia's arm a reassuring squeeze, seeing the worry in the brunette's face, before leaving the room to collect supplies.
"Pupils are reactive, but oxygen sats are low," Dr Mills spoke as she shone a light into Amanda's eyes. She asked Rosie to set up a nasal cannula for oxygen, then turned to look at Liv. "You said she threw up this morning, and you think she might be pregnant? Has she been throwing up a lot?"
"I'm not sure how often she has been throwing up," Liv replied. "I've caught her maybe a half dozen times over the last couple of weeks, and I found the positive test by accident. She hasn't actually told me she's pregnant, I just sort of put two and two together."
"We'll draw some blood to run some tests, just in case, including a pregnancy test." Dr Mills explained. "In any case I want to keep her in for a while, just for observation but I wouldn't say she is in any danger." She smiled reassuringly at Liv, who was watching as Linda returned and drew the blood samples. "If she has any questions when she wakes up, call for a nurse, they should be able to answer, but if not, they will page me. I'll be back later with the blood test results.
With that, she and the two nurses left the cubicle. Still holding Amanda's right hand with her own, Liv sat on the hard plastic chair at the side of the bed. She pulled out her phone to text Fin, telling him they had been delayed at the hospital, trying to be as vague as possible about the reason. After a few minutes she felt the pale hand stir in her own tanned one, and looked up from her phone to find sapphire blue eyes blinking at her beneath puzzled blonde eyebrows.
"Liv?" Amanda croaked groggily, trying to sit up, but Olivia put a gentle hand on her shoulder to keep her in place.
"Woah there, sweetie, stay where you are for a minute." The older woman said softly.
"What happened?" The blonde asked, looking around and spotting the IV cannula in her arm. "Why am I here?"
Liv smiled and squeezed her hand lightly, "You fainted, honey, just as you were telling me how fine you felt." She allowed herself a small chuckle. "But you're okay, they are just running a couple of tests to make sure."
"Do they know what caused me to faint?" Amanda asked, going pale again. What if they told Liv that I'm pregnant? She thought, worriedly.
"Well I told them about you throwing up this morning. And that you haven't eaten much today." Liv said hesitantly, putting off the moment she would have to mention the baby.
Amanda's head whipped around quickly, "How'd y'know I threw up?" She asked sharply.
Liv looked apologetic, "I, um, passed by the guest bathroom this morning when I went to collect the paper at the front door. The door isn't soundproof, sweetie."
Amanda slumped, looking defeated, she thought she had been doing a fairly reasonable job of hiding her morning sickness from her boss.
Olivia knew it was time to confess. "Amanda," she took the detective's right hand in both of her own. "I also had to tell them…" she paused, swallowing nervously, "I told them that I thought you might be… pregnant." She watched the younger woman's face closely for her reaction.
Amanda's stomach dropped. "Why would you tell them that?" Her lips hardly moved as she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, but her face and her tone were unreadable.
"Amanda…" Liv began, worried she had upset her friend, "I'm sorry, I thought it was important they know…"
"And how do you know?" Amanda cut in, ripping her hand from the brunette's grasp and sitting up slowly. She was starting to sound angry. "What, are you stalking me now? Watching me, just waiting for me to fuck up again?" She was shouting now, hurling accusations at her boss. She knew she was being irrational, but she didn't care. "Is that why you made me come live with you? So you could keep an eye on me? Making sure I don't screw up?" She glared at Olivia, breathing hard through her nose as her jaw clenched, her hands twisting together in her lap. She was trying desperately not to cry.
"Manda, no!" Liv cried, shocked at the sudden outburst, and a little hurt by the charges Amanda was levelling at her. She reached out to grasp the younger woman's hands, but Amanda snatched them away, Liv made do with resting her hand on the blonde's knee. "Sweetie, you took the test at my apartment, I found it. I thought it was Lucy's at first, but then you were throwing up at work. I guessed." She squeezed the knee beneath her hand reassuringly.
Despite her best efforts, tears were now falling thick and fast down Amanda's face, she was already feeling ashamed of the way she had yelled at Olivia. After all, the older woman had been nothing but kind to her. Liv brushed the tears away with the pad of her thumb, glad when the blonde didn't pull away. "Manda, I invited you to come stay with me because I care about you, and the precinct is not a long-term solution, honey."
Amanda hunched forward, burying her head in her hands. Liv's heart ached for the blonde and she moved to sit on the edge of the bed, wrapping the smaller woman in a hug. She stiffened at first, but then leaned into the brunette's chest.
"I fucked up, Liv," Amanda whimpered, clutching fistfuls of Olivia's shirt, her voice muffled against the older woman's shoulder, "how could I be so stupid?"
Stroking the silky blonde tresses under her hand, Olivia shushed the younger woman soothingly, "You're not stupid Manda, getting pregnant doesn't mean you fucked up."
Amanda scoffed, "Liv I can barely look after myself, how am I supposed to afford a baby? I don't even have a permanent place to live. I can't—"
"Stop." Olivia cut her off. She took the younger woman's face between her hands, forcing blue eyes to meet brown. "Amanda Rollins, you listen to me. Are you listening to me?" Amanda nodded, sniffling quietly, her eyes shining with tears.
"You can do anything you set your mind to," Liv said fiercely. "If you want this baby, then have this baby. You are welcome to stay with me for as long as you need to. Just know that I will support you, no matter what you decide to do, okay?"
They stared intensely at one another for a few seconds before Olivia pulled Amanda back into the hug. "You don't have to decide anything right now, take some time—"
Just then, there was a knock at the door and Linda came in, wheeling a machine in front of her. She was followed into the room by Dr Mills. The two cops broke apart, Liv stood and shifted out of the way for the doctor.
"Ah good, you're awake," the doctor smiled at the blonde and held out her hand to shake Amanda's. "I'm Dr Mills, I've been assigned to your case. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Amanda mumbled. When she caught Liv raising an eyebrow at her she sighed, rolling her eyes, "alright, I feel a little tired and a little nauseous."
"Well Miss Rollins—" Dr Mills began.
"Detective," Amanda corrected automatically.
"Sorry, Detective Rollins." Dr Mills nodded, "we ran a few tests and I can confirm you are pregnant." The blonde nodded but didn't say anything. Olivia squeezed her hand comfortingly as the doctor continued to speak. "Your blood test also showed that you are slightly anaemic. Not dangerously so, but it's something we should keep an eye on. It's likely the combination of that and your low blood pressure that caused you to faint just now."
"What would cause her blood pressure to be low?" The lieutenant asked.
"Well the pregnancy itself is a causal factor in lowering the blood pressure," The doctor explained, answering Liv's question, but speaking directly to Amanda. "Yours seems to have been exacerbated by dehydration, likely caused by excessive vomiting. Your partner says you threw up this morning, is it happening a lot?"
Mildly surprised, although secretly pleased, by the referral to Liv as her partner, Amanda considered her answer. "Um, every day for the last couple of weeks or so." She admitted, not meeting Liv's eye for fear of reprimand. "Sometimes four or five times a day. I struggle to keep anything that I eat before lunchtime down."
Liv stroked her back sympathetically, as the doctor nodded, having had her theory confirmed. "I'm going to prescribe you something to help with the sickness, as well as some iron tablets to help with the anaemia. I'd also like to do a quick ultrasound," she gestured to the machine Linda had brought in earlier. "I just want to check everything is normal. Is that okay?"
Amanda, feeling a little stunned, merely nodded.
"Manda?" The blonde looked towards Liv but didn't seem to really see her, "would you like me to stay or leave?"
When Amanda didn't respond, Liv stood and made to leave, wanting to give the younger woman some privacy. As she moved towards the door, she suddenly felt a vice-like grip on her hand. When she turned, she found wide blue eyes, staring pleadingly at her. "Stay." Amanda whispered. "Please?"