Two of a Kind

Push

Joyce was wheeled back into an emergency room, still in immense pain.

The nurse sat down in front of her and frowned. "You can tell me what really happened," she said softly.

"What do you mean?" asked Joyce. "I really did fall." She looked up to the young nurse and could tell she didn't believe that. Joyce sighed. "Okay... fine. It was an accident, I swear. My fiancé had just gotten off the phone with his ex. They had a heated argument and he didn't hear me come up behind him and he got startled when I tried to comfort him so he pushed me off reflexively and I lost my balance."

"He still talks to his ex?" the nurse asked, concerned.

"No. But she had come over last night and started an argument with me so he called her to yell at her for it," Joyce explained.

"Is he usually a violent person?" she questioned.

"What? No!" Joyce answered. "He isn't violent. I told you, it was an accident."

"You don't have to be afraid, Miss Byers. We will protect you and get you the help that you need. You just have to be honest with us."

Joyce was starting to get annoyed now. She put the bloodied towel on her lap and gasped. She didn't expect to see that much blood. "Listen. I know how it looks, okay? But I've been actually abused by my kids' father before, and I would never tolerate that again. He is a good man and we love each other. Did you see his face? He couldn't stop apologizing and crying. He didn't mean to do this. It's not his fault."

"I understand, ma'am. But even if we suspect abuse, we have to report him to the police. This is very serious," the nurse explained.

Joyce chuckled. The nurse looked at her, confused. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just— he is the police. The chief, actually."

"Oh. Really?" the nurse asked.

"Yes. And if you don't believe me I'll just check myself out and into a different hospital—" Joyce announced, irritated.

The nurse interrupted her. "No, it's okay. I believe you. I just have to make sure. It's my job. Now let's get your head cleaned up and stitched. That much blood loss isn't good for you or the baby."

"Yes, thank you," Joyce sighed in relief.

"So how far along are you?"

"A little over eight months."

"Oh, okay. Getting pretty close. Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know. We want to wait until he or she is born to find out."

"Awesome," the nurse said. "Right after the doctor comes in and stitches you up I'll be doing an ultrasound to check on the baby. When you fell, how did you land?"

"On my back. That's what hurts the most right now. I'm really worried about the baby."

"Don't worry, we will take good care of you both."

With that, the nurse got up and left the room. A minute later a doctor came in and introduced himself.

"Hello, Miss Byers, I'm Dr. Brenner," he said.

"Please, call me Joyce."

"Okay Joyce, we are gonna numb up your scalp with a shot, okay? This might pinch a little." He took a needle and injected her with a numbing serum and then started to stitch Joyce's head up. She needed sixteen stitches. He then bandaged her up and left the room to get the nurse for her ultrasound. She came in almost immediately afterwards, rolling in the ultrasound cart.