The Boot (Book 1)

Chapter Nineteen

TIM

The moment she collapsed, it felt as though the entire world just... stopped. I immediately went into overdrive. I knew I couldn't rely on anyone else here to be helpful, so I just decided to do it myself. I lower us down to the ground, keeping her head propped up against me as I reach into my pocket and dial 911.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"My name is Tim Bradford, I am at [redacted] mall, my fiance Lucy Chen is pregnant and she collapsed suddenly."

"Okay, I'm going to send some units your way, can you stay on the line with me until they get there?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Five minutes later, I can hear the sirens approaching. In the distance, I see the ambulance get closer and closer. Because this is a partly outdoor mall, the ambulance can drive right through it.

They park right outside the store and the EMTs get out of the ambulance, wheeling a gurney inside.

"Are you the patient's fiance?" one of the paramedics asks me and I nod. The others work on lifting Lucy onto the gurney. "You can ride with us to the hospital if you'd like."

I'm still in shock, so I only manage to nod, once again, in response. They load her into the ambulance and we are on our way to the hospital.

The next few hours pass by in a blur. It isn't until I am finally in the room, alone, with an unconscious Lucy that I truly process what had happened.

"You're going to be okay, baby. I promise," I whisper.

LUCY

"You're going to be okay, baby. I promise," I hear Tim's voice say softly. My eyelids are heavy, but I want nothing more than to show him that I am, in fact, okay. He's gone through so much during this pregnancy and has seen me in a hospital bed far more often than he should have to.

I blink my eyes open slowly, allowing myself to adjust to the bright fluorescent lighting.

"Oh, finally, you're awake," Tim says.

"What happened?" I ask groggily. Right now, it just sort of feels like I've woken up from a nice, long nap. Except of course everything hurts and I feel very... pregnant, I guess.

"We were at the store and you collapsed. I called 911 and the ambulance brought you to the hospital."

"Please tell me that I wasn't out for several days this time."

Tim chuckles. "No, only about two hours."

There is a knock at the door and a doctor enters. Her lab coat is embroidered with the name Hannah O'Connor. "Oh, good, I see that you're awake. How are you feeling, Miss Chen?"

"I'm okay, a little sore and tired, but pretty decent, all things considered."

The freckled woman smiles, her green eyes glimmering as if she is genuinely happy that I am okay. "That's wonderful to hear. I bet that you are a bit confused about what happened, aren't you?"

"You could say that," I try to sit up, but my body feels heavy, and I give up.

"Because of your condition and the more frequent vomiting, your body loses a lot of its liquids much faster than it can replenish them. As a result, it can become far too easy for you to get dehydrated, even if you are keeping up with the normal intake of water."

"So what does that mean?"

"Essentially, your body went into shock due to a severe case of dehydration. Your IV is pumping fluids in you to help replenish what you've lost as we speak."