Moondust- A The Walking Dead Based Story

Chapter Eight: Losses

The family had returned to the Swan Manor after their visit from the park. Maggie had begun to feel a bit sick. She held a hand over her abdomen and leaned against William's shoulder, "I don't feel good. Could I go lay in your bed, is that alright?" She asked, looking up at the older boy.

William smiled down at her and pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead, "Of course. Do you want me to come lay with you?"
Maggie shook her head, "No, no. Spend some time with your sisters. I'll come back down when dinner is ready."

The woman leaned up and pecked a kiss against Willam's lips before walking away and heading up the stairs.

William turned to his little sisters, "Shall we cook?" He called out, picking up a frying pan from the counter. He spun it around his palm only for it to fall and hit the floor with a loud clash.

This brought on laughter from the younger girls.

"How about we don't try that again?" Alison said, picking up the pan from the floor to wash it up.

Lucy made her way over. "Are you sure you even know how to cook? I remember when you cooked breakfast and burnt my toast."

William gasped and held his hand over his chest in an exaggerated offence, "That is because the toaster was broken. It had nothing to do with my culinary skills."

As Alison returned with the pan, a loud blood curdling scream could be heard echoing from upstairs. William dropped what he was doing and quickly ran towards his bedroom. He ran to Maggie who was seemingly in even more pain. He carefully took a seat next to her on his bed and rested a palm on the soft mattress beneath him. His free hand was brought to Maggie's forehead.

"Hey, hey.. It's okay. Just breathe." He tried comforting her but this only led to more groans and cries. It was too early for the baby to be born. These couldn't be contractions, not yet. Maybe Braxton Hicks, if possible.

His hopes for a false labour were soon shattered. The hand that rested against the mattress lifted into his sight and the dark red substance staining his palm shocked him into complete silence. His hand trembled at the sight.

Allison and Lucy stood at the doorway behind him. Lucy took a step forward, "What's going on? Is she okay?" Lucy asked curiously.

William finally spoke up, "Call 911!" he shouted, "Call 911 right now!"

Maggie was writhing in pain, her stomach felt as if it were on fire as the blood poured from between her legs. William did as best he could to console her until the paramedics arrived. With such high status, response time to the residence was fairly quick. After only ten minutes, the sirens could be heard along with the sound of Maggies cries.

Alison met the paramedics at the door and guided them to William's room.

"We need you to move, sir." The older man spoke calmly.

William remained frozen in his place, his hand wrapped tightly in Maggie's.

The paramedic spoke up again, resting a gentle and comforting hand on William's shoulder, "Sir, I understand that you don't want to leave her but if you want us to help, you need to move aside."

William sniffled and nodded, "Okay.. Okay.." he muttered, standing up from the bed. He turned to his sisters who already began to wrap their arms around him in a tight embrace.

The female paramedic made her way over, "We just have a few questions. Are you able to answer them?"

William broke away from his sister's hugs and nodded, "Yeah."

"Okay." The paramedic said, pulling out her small electronic device. "How old is the patient?"

"She is 20." William answered, wiping his face of any tears.

"And is there any chance that she is pregnant?" She asked, typing on the device.

"She is. Six months along." He responded, his voice cracking at the thought that something was terribly wrong.

-

Once at the hospital, Maggie was wheeled back so the doctors could run exams and figure out what exactly was going on with her. William, Lucy, Ali, and Maggie's family all piled into the waiting room. William paced back and forth despite his sisters trying to keep him calm. His fear of losing his fiancée and child was almost too much to bare.

The doctors came out of the double doors and over to the family. William couldn't read their faces, unaware of what the news could possibly be although all he could think was the worst.

"She is okay. She lost a lot of blood but, sir, the baby didn't make it. I'm sorry for your loss."

William turned around to his sisters, who both looked at him as if he were broken. But he wasn't allowed to be. He had to be strong for Maggie because this loss would devastate her.

The future they had planned out together was over, ruined, taken from them. There was nothing that William could do to protect Maggie from this pain or mental torment that she would succumb to at the news.

"Can I see her?" William asked the doctor, his hands shaking at his sides as he fought back the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.

"Of course, I'll take you to her." The doctor replied, guiding William down the long vast halls of the hospital towards Maggie's room.

-

William made his way slowly into Maggie's room. She was sleeping from the pain medication the doctors had administered. She looked peaceful, as if her body hadn't just betrayed her and taken away the child that she had wanted from the start. William sat at her side and rested his hand on top of hers. He felt a light squeeze against his knuckles as Maggie began to slowly stir awake.

He stood to his feet and grabbed the water canister from the rolling table in the room and poured a small glass of water, "Hey beautiful." He spoke quietly, moving back to the side of the bed, holding out the water for her to sip on.

Maggie looked up at him confused, a saddened expression crossing her face, "Hey you.." she replied softly, taking the glass into her hands. "What- what happened?" she muttered, looking up at him.

"We should wait for the doctor.. Let me, let me call him in here." William said, lifting up to press the call button on the wall.

Maggie lifted her hand, "No, no.. Just tell me, Will."

William slowly sat back down and looked at her, taking her hand into both of his own, "Maggie.. you had a miscarriage.."

The look on Maggie's face was exactly as William pictured it would be at the news. Tears immediately broke from her eyes and poured down her cheeks, her instant shame swallowing her completely. She closed her eyes trying to fight away the tears that had already taken claim to her pale face. "We lost the baby?" Her voice cracked as she reopened her eyes to look at him.

"Yes.." William replied, climbing into the hospital bed to hold her tightly. He ran his fingers through her brunette hair trying his best to comfort her, "But hey, I'm right here, okay? I'm right here."

The rest of the night was spent sobbing, holding each other, wishing that something would turn back time and give them another chance to catch whatever problem led to this moment. But there was nothing they could do. They couldn't change the outcome and the downfall that would soon follow.