Her Secret

Ivy

A light knock on the door made me glance to see Dr. Fields returning with Jade as she gave me a seemingly nervous smile as she slowly approached. "Could I talk with Ivy alone for a minute please?" Jade asked mom and Grandma and they looked a bit surprised but nodded and quickly left after kissing my hair.

"What's wrong?" I immediately asked, hearing my heart rate spike on the monitors next to the bed. "Oh no Ivy nothing is wrong! Please relax, don't get worked up!" Jade exclaimed as she hurriedly took my hand and I took deep breaths to calm myself and get through another contraction.

"What do you want to talk about then?" I finally asked and she chewed on her lip nervously for a moment and glanced at Dr. Fields before holding up her phone. "I was just thinking that it would be a good idea for you to talk to Nate and Dr. Fields agrees." she said softly and I bit the inside of my cheek as I tried to remain calm.

"Why today of all days?" I finally asked with a hint of irritation and Dr. Fields stepped forwards. "I believe that it might give you a bit of necessary strength and morale for the long day ahead of you. I don't mean that you should tell him anything that you aren't ready to, only that you should speak with him for a bit to ease that place of turmoil in your mind for at least a day." he carefully explained and I considered his words for a few moments.

"I really think it would do both of you some good." Jade murmured as she laid a light hand on my stomach and after a moment I sighed and held out my hand. Jade immediately squealed slightly as she gave me her phone and bounced up and down in excitement. "Would you like us to step out?" Dr. Fields asked as I stared at the name and number and I shook my head.

"Won't he hear the machines though?" Jade suddenly asked Dr. Fields who quickly moved over to them. With a few touches on the screen the beeping was dramatically lowered so even sitting next to it I could barely hear them and I thanked Jade for her quick thinking before staring down at the phone in my hands again.

They both stood quietly and with a deep breath I pressed the green call button and placed it up to my ear. After only a few rings the other end picked up and I felt my heart rate speed up again, this time with nerves as his husky voice came through the speaker. "Jade? Did you call the wrong number?" Nathaniel asked in a sleepy tone and I felt a bit guilty.

"Th-This is... It's Ivy." I stuttered slightly before nearly whispering my name. I heard a flurry of movement on the other side and could practically picture Nathaniel bolting out of his large bed in shock. "Ivy?" he whispered in awe and I nearly smiled but then winced through a contraction.

"Uh yea. I'm really sorry I woke you up." I murmured and he immediately protested. "No no it's fine I promise! Don't worry about it at all, I needed to be up anyways." he reassured me and I half smiled. "Oh okay. So, um, how are you?"

"A lot better now." he murmured and I couldn't help but smile again. "That's good. I - oh wow, that really hurts." I gasped as a really intense contraction hit and heard Nathaniel's worried tone. "Ivy? Are you okay? What's going on?"

"I just, uh, stubbed my toe is all! Nothing to worry about." I quickly lied and heard his sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"I will be." I said and there was a few moments of silence. "Well I am definitely not trying to complain or anything, but why did you decide to call me today?" he asked curiously and my heart felt like it skipped a beat. "Umm... no specific reason really," I laughed nervously, looking at Jade for help and she pointed at herself. "I just decided to finally take Jade's advice I guess."

"Well I'm really glad you did. I know this might sound weird, but I have been worrying about you since last night. I'm really glad to hear your voice and know that you're okay." he said in a soft tone and I felt warmth rush through me at his concern and kind words and smiled slightly.