Wildest Deams

Chapter Twenty-Three

Things throughout the night were tense between Nick and Olivia. The room felt thick and dense, and any doctor or nurse who came in through the night to check on Olivia and the boys could've cut the tension with a knife. By morning Dr. Lee was sure her patient's labor had stopped indefinitely, so she felt safe enough sending Olivia home on strict bed rest.

"Alright, Olivia, " Dr. Lee sighed, moving from between Olivia's legs, "your cervix has recoiled in terms of dilation, which is good. That means the drugs we started last night to stop contractions worked -"

"Can I go home now?" Olivia questioned quickly, cutting off her doctor.

Dr. Lee laughed, "yes Olivia, you can go home, but here's what I need you to understand, no work. Limited walking, movement, and lots of rest, okay? We need to get these little boys to at least thirty-five to thirty-six weeks to ensure their lungs can properly develop and to lower labor and delivery risks."

Olivia nodded, "okay."

"Okay?" Dr. Lee questioned, looking at her patient with a knowing look.

"Okay, " Olivia sighed, "I know the alternative is to be stuck here for the next four or five weeks and I don't want that."

"Good, " Dr. Lee smiled, "do you want me to have Nick come back in? I think he left briefly to get you some clean clothes to go home in."

"Yeah, send him in."

"Alright, oh and Olivia we want to start seeing you here once a week for prenatal appointments, okay?"

Olivia nodded as Dr. Lee slipped out the door and Nick came in. As he entered the room, so did all of the tension from their fights over the past few days.

"I got you a few things, " Nick sighed, rubbing his neck and avoiding eye contact with her, "not sure what you'd want. It's warm out so I brought some of those biker shorts you've been loving lately and some maternity leggings in case you aren't feeling shorts. I brought one of my tee shirts and a light hoodie too, " Nick sighed, setting the bag at the foot of the bed. 

"Nicholas, " Olivia sighed, "look me in the eyes, baby."

"I don't want to fight, Olivia."

"I don't want to fight, Nicholas, " Olivia whimpered, "I want to apologize. I wish I could blame it on my hormones, but I can't. I'm sorry. I love you and I'm still trying to figure this all out. I'm trying to balance our relationship and all the changes with my body, Nicholas. You have to understand the longest relationship I ever had with a man was with Elliot, he kept me grounded and protected. Kept the bad men away from me, let me figure out a few for myself, but he protected me. Then he let me down, walked out of my life. Besides him, I've always been alone, riding solo, my walls are high, and my guards are always up. I wish I could just break them down, but it doesn't work that way."

Olivia's lip quivered by the end of her vent session. Nick could see the hurt, the pain, the worry etched in her features as he took her into his arms as the tears started down her cheeks.

"Sh, Livvie, " Nick consoled, holding her close, "I've got you, baby."

"N-nick, " Olivia whimpered, standing up from the bed, holding him tightly.

"Sh, I've got you, honey."

"I want to go home, " Olivia sniffled.

"Let's get you and these boys home, " Nick coaxed, reaching for the bag, "do you need help? Do you want me to step out?"

"Stay, " Olivia sighed, "I'm gonna need help."

///

Once Olivia was changed into Nick's tee shirt and a pair of biker shorts, she signed discharge papers and the pair were on their way home. The drive was quiet, but the silence was comfortable allowing the tension to dissolve. Their relationship wasn't perfect, neither of them is perfect, they understood everything wouldn't just be okay, but they knew they might be able to make it past this if they just communicated.