Through the Open Door || Change My Mind Sequel || SP

122 over 87

(Sam is 17 Weeks and 1 Day)

Saturday June 7th 2025

8:15 AM

Sam woke up bright an early to her quiet home. No Gene, making meals at ungodly hours. No Avie, walking around with her IPad on full volume first thing in the morning. It was nice. With Gene and Nick officially in the new house with no ties left to the apartment, Sam felt like she was finally able to breathe.

Sam rolled over in her bed, coming face to face with her man. Sam gave a quick peck to his nose and sat up. She pulled her hair up into a bun and took a deep breath. Her stomach was no longer flat in the mornings, but her full bump didn't emerge until noon. "Good morning," Sam whispered, poking at her stomach. "Matt," Sam said. The tired father slowly woke up as she dropped hands to her lap.

"You nauseous?" Matt asked, rubbing his eyes and grabbing his glasses. Sam shook her, eventually moving from the warmth of her covers. "You want to take them to the aquarium today? Zeek has been begging since they learned about sea life last week," Matt asked. Sam grabbed some clothes with a shrug.

"I don't know. I have a headache," she slightly chuckled. "We probably should, though," Sam said. Matt agreed, getting out of bed and following his wife to the bathroom with a deep smirk.

-

Zeek got out of his bed, and grabbed his plush whale. He walked out of his room and into his sister's room to see them in there beds fast asleep. Saddened, he walked out of the bedroom and towards his parents room.

Upon entry he couldn't see them, so he figured they were getting dressed. Zeek entered his parents bathroom to see quite a sight. A gasp came from Sam, seeing the colorful silhouette of her child through the fogged up glass I her shower. "Matt, stop," Sam said, pushing her husband backwards. "Zeekie, go watch tv!" Sam said, praying he couldn't see any distinguishing body parts.

"Why are you hugging Daddy? Was he sad?" Zeek asked. Sam swapped places with her husband and waved her son out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, baby. Now, go watch TV so he doesn't get sad again," Sam said. Zeek nodded, running out and shutting the door behind himself. Matt pulled Sam back under the water with a smirk.

"I think I'm getting sad again," Matt mumbled, pecking his wife's lips.

9:34 AM

Sam and Matt came out of their bedroom to see Zeek lying on the couch fast asleep holding his whale. The sky was dark and it was definitely raining, dampening Sam's mood. "Maybe that another day. Let's do a chill day," Sam offered. Matt shrugged. He didn't care. He would do whatever Sam wanted.

"Breakfast? Do you want to cook or do you want to order?" Matt asked. A crash came from the girls room, forcing Sam to slowly make her way towards investigation. She opened the door to see one of her daughter's on the floor lying on her stomach.

"Ellanie, what happened?" Sam asked, rushing to her daughter's side. Ellanie looked over the side of her bunk.

"W-we were about to watch a movie, and and she was going to get the tablet off of the charger, and she falled," Ellanie explained. Sam rolled her child over to see her arm was bruised, but that's not what got her.

"Elora!" Sam called, tapping he baby's face. "Elora, wake up, babe," she whispered. "Ella, go get daddy," she requested. Ellanie did as she was told and came back on Matt's hip.

"What happened?" Matt worried, setting his daughter on the floor, and picking up his middle child.

"Ella said she fell off the bunk, but she's done that before. They all have. Zeek landed on his head last time. None of them have been knocked out. Take her to the E.R., I'll come later with them," Sam said. She could feel her pressure building up and that was not good for Fetus. Matt agreed and rushed out of the house so fast he almost forgot his shoes.

"Mommy, is Ellie gonna be okay?" Ella asked. Sam pulled her daughter in for a hug stroking her hair.

"Yeah, baby she's going to be fine. The doctor's are going to wake her up," Sam shakily assured, pecking her child's head. "Go get dressed, so we can go see her," she said, shoving her tears down to deal with her son.

11:14 AM

Gene, Nick, and the kids sat in the waiting room while Sam and Matt stood next to Elora's bed. The child was wide awake, but hooked up to a bunch of machines. One was connected to her heart. One was monitoring her brainwaves. And a cast coated her left arm. "We can't figure out if the disconnect and what caused her to faint. So we need to monitor her head and her heart. She has a slight arrhythmia, but nothing I have ever seen cause anyone to pass out. But, we also know that any hiccup in her pattern, even this young, is unpredictable,"

"Did the fall do anything to her head? A concussion? A contusion?" Matt asked, wrapping his arm around Sam's waist, pulling her close. The doctor shrugged, shaking his head.

"So far, her brain is just fine. She will have a headache, but there was no bruising or bleeds. Her skull is intact, everything concussion wise is just perfect. I want to keep her for 24 hours and then afterwards, if and only if her arrhythmia is still an issue, I will send her home with a heart monitor. It will shock her heart back into normal standard every time it senses the pattern is off," he informed. Sam and Matt nodded as he walked out and their family walked in.

"Ellie! You're awake!" Ellanie cheered, she, Avie, and Zeek climbing into their sister and cousin's bed.

"How is she?" Gene asked, sitting on the couch with Nick. Sam sat on the end of her child's bed, while Matt took a seat in the freestanding chair.

"She has an arrhythmia, but they don't know why she passed out. It may be her heart. It may be her head. We don't know," Sam answered, glancing at Elora. Her daughter looked fine. She was laughing and talking and acting as if nothing had happened.

3:22 PM

A knock on the door pulled Sam and Gene out of their phones. Matt and Nick went to get food and took the kids with them to give Sam and Gene a break. "Come in," Sam called, dropping her phone in her lap. It was the doctor with a huge manila folder.

"Hey, how long has she been asleep?" he kindly asked, pulling some files out of the folder.

"Maybe, twenty minutes," Sam answered.

"Oh, okay. Great. Well, I have some updates," he started. "Elora had an arrhythmia attack. She probably got dizzy and fell off the bunk," he said. "I have been watching her monitors and her brain waves are normal, but her heart has been skipping. I'm going to go ahead an order the monitor. I want it on her as soon as possible." The doctor typed something into the tablet and put his folders away. "I am going to give you this, it's a copy of what we found. And I will be referring her to a child cardiologist for future appointments,"

"Future?" Sam asked, taking the paper and dropping it into her lap.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, but Elora's condition isn't like the usual normal arrhythmia's we see in kids. She's going to need a permanent pacemaker, but I want to get the cardiologist down here before we schedule anything," The doctor informed, before leaving out. Sam looked at her sweet, helpless little girl, tears choking her up.

"Sam, you've gotta breathe. That's good news, she has a chance," Gene tried. Sam jumped up from her seat and sprinted into the bathroom vomiting what was left of her dinner.

122 over 87.