I'm In Trouble Deep

Releif

"That sounds bad..."

"It is. But it's rare and uncommon, and I'm not over thirty five."

"But you still need to go to the doctor?"

"The ER," Linda whispered, starting to cry again.

"Then let's go!" Danny helped her get up and lead her down the stairs. "We gotta go, Joe!"

Joe came running out to the yard after them. "What? Why?"

"Something's happened." Danny helped Linda into the car. "We'll be back."

"But what's wrong?" Joe grumbled when the car sped down the road. "What happened?"

***********

"Where should we go? Maternity or emergency?" Danny wondered, looking over to his wife.

"ER first. If they won't do anything, then maternity."

"You're gonna be okay, Linda," he parked the car. "You and the baby."

As quickly as possible, they walked into the busy ER. Danny had been hoping it'd be a calm day. "My wife is six months pregnant and bleeding," he told the nurse at the desk in the ER.

"Fill out this form," she handed him two sheets of paper.

"Didn't you hear? She's bleeding!"

"Fill out this form, and we'll be with you shortly."

"We don't have time for this," he shook his head and lead Linda to the elevators.

She squeezed his hand, her other hand on her stomach. "Danny, I'm scared."

He was too; he was freaking out, but he remained calm for her and the baby. "It's going to be okay." He cupped her face in his hands, kissing her forehead. He kissed her lips twice before the elevator dinged their arrival.

Danny repeated what he had said earlier, "it'll be okay." They walked to the desk where the nurse looked a lot more ready to help. "My wife is six months pregnant and bleeding."

"What are the other symptoms?" She asked while the other nurse walked away.

"Dizziness, nausea, and pain in the lower abdomen and back." Linda relayed, gripping the counter.

"We're getting a room ready for you right now. If you want to have a seat, Sarah will come and get you very shortly."

"How long will the wait be?" Danny squeezed Linda's hand three times, reassuring her it was going to be okay.

"Only three minutes. A nurse can perform the tests you'll need."

"Thank you," Linda smiled despite the fear. She blew out a breath as she sat in the plastic chair, realizing she was probably blowing things out of proportion.

Soon Sarah came out to take them to the room, and instructed Linda to get into the hospital gown. Danny helped and they waited about another minute for Sarah to come back.

"We're going to do an ultrasound first, to make sure the baby is okay."

Linda closed her eyes as the cold gel spread over her warm skin. She relaxed slightly when she felt Danny hold her hand. "Is it- is the baby okay? Is he alright?"

Sarah moved the wand, looking at the ultrasound screen. "I can see it..."

Danny looked to the screen and smiled; he was amazed and relieved. "So she's okay? The baby and Linda?"

"It's not okay," Linda started crying, her eyes still closed. "It's not okay. There's no heart beat."

"Yes, honey, there is. Listen," he bent over to be face level with her, and pointed to the monitor. "Just listen."

She stopped crying for a little bit, listening for a heartbeat. When she heard one, she cried again, out of relief. "It's okay. The baby's okay."

"The baby looks as healthy as a horse." Sarah smiled, moving the wand slightly so Linda could see. "Would you like to know the gender?"

As much as Linda would have loved to be surprised, she knew they'd save a lot of money knowing the gender. She had heard of couples buying baby girl things, then ending up having a boy. "What do you think?" She looked to Danny.

"I think yes."

"Me too." They had initially wanted to be surprised, but she saw more logic to knowing. "What's the gender?"

"He's a little boy." Sarah told them.

"A boy," Linda smiled, feeling a sense of relief wags over her.

"Wait a minute. What about the bleeding and the dizziness and all that?" Danny wondered. He was happy the baby was okay, but he needed to know if his wife was okay.

"Since the baby is alive and healthy, I'd say the bleeding is because of an inflamed cervix. I'll need to check."

"Okay," Linda nodded, a little worried about the test. She watched Sarah turn the monitor off and wipe the gel away.

"Do you want your husband with you?"

"Yes." She reached for Danny's hand again, and he immediately grabbed hers.

Sarah set up the bed, helping Linda to put her feet in the stirrups. She quickly performed the test in silence, making Linda's heart rate go up. "Your cervix is a little inflamed. When was the last time you had intercourse?"

"Uh..."

"Four and a half months ago," Danny supplied. When Linda looked at him, he shrugged and said, "what?"

"Why?"

"Sometimes sex can cause inflammation. Do either of you have an STD?"

"No, we're both clean." (It was a mystery to Linda how Danny managed to avoid the STDs considering the type of girls he used to date).

"I'll prescribe an antibiotic and you'll be good to go." Sarah stood up.

"Really?" The Mom to be readjusted herself on the bed.

"Yup. It's no big thing. Just take the antibiotic for a week or two, then go to your regular doctor."

"Thank you," Linda felt like she could breathe again.

Danny shook Sarah's hand, "we appreciate it a lot."

"Don't mention it." She wrote somethings on the sheet of paper and handed it to Linda. "Give this to the front desk, and the pharmacy should have the prescription by tomorrow or the next day."

"Thank you so much." Once Sarah left, Linda let out a big breath. "Oh, now I can breathe again."

"What caused the inflammation?"

"The same thing that might cause your gums to swell for a day or two. Just a little infection that goes away by itself."

"Oh." That didn't really make sense to him, but he accepted it and helped Linda back into her clothes. "So we can rest easy. Ride out the last three months."

"Danny," Linda turned to him, putting her hand on his chest. "You know my history with menstruation, and you know that this is a risky pregnancy."

"Because of the endometriosis?"

She nodded, "the fact of the matter is, this baby is a miracle. The fact that I've been pregnant twice is a miracle. And after he is born, and a little older, they'll probably want to go in and remove the endo."

"What does that entail?"

"Basically it's like have oral surgery. You go under, they cut you open, remove the bad tooth, and voila! Mac n cheese is your diet for the next two days."

"But we don't have to worry about that, not yet."

"No. Not yet. Let's focus on this baby, and getting food into my stomach."

Danny laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders, walking to the front desk.