The Problem with Dreams

Chapter 75 - Plans of Doctors and Babies

Morning found Greg sleeping in the chair beside Susan's bed instead of in the bed that had been provided for him, leaning up against Susan's side, holding her hand. She was considerably calmer when six o'clock came, but she was exhausted. The lab came to draw her blood, the nurses came for their change-of-shift briefing. They woke Susan to bathe and help her change into a fresh gown, and even brought her breakfast before they let her sleep again.

Greg stretched out on the extra bed hoping for a nap, but no such luck. At the very same moment, Dr. Daniels walked in.

"Good morning?" he said tentatively to Greg when he raised his head from his pillow.

"Oh, good morning doctor. We had a bit of a rough night last night," Greg shared.

"So I heard. Is Susan calmer this morning?" Dr. Daniels asked.

"Compared to last night, most definitely. She's still showing signs of confusion, but she says her head ache is better and she's able to rest now," Greg said.

Dr. Daniels nodded. "That is good as far as it goes. Unfortunately, her blood pressure still hasn't come back down to where I'd like it to be after it spiked last evening. I'm cutting the medication in half for the rest of the morning. I wanted you to be aware."

"Won't her contractions come back if you do that?" Greg asked.

"They already have, Greg. She's had one every two hours since two am. I expect that rate to increase in the next few hours. I don't want to disturb her now since she's finally been able to sleep, however I will be back at noon to examine her. I'll also alert Dr. Bowers and Dr. Lin. We may be looking at a delivery somewhat earlier than we intended to," Dr. Daniels said.

"How soon?" Greg asked.

"Tomorrow or Saturday would be my guess, but we'll have a better idea of that at the noon hour today," Dr. Daniels said.

Greg nodded, as he sat on the edge of his bed, running his hand roughly through his hair.

"I'm sorry to have awakened you," Dr. Daniels said. "You look like you could use the sleep too."

"No doubt. I was awake with her most of the night," Greg said. "However, I do need to call the studio, let them know I'll be unavailable until next Tuesday at the earliest."

Dr. Daniels looked at Greg thoughtfully. "Do you need anything? To help you sleep perhaps?"

"No thank you. I'm sure a measure of peace and quiet will do admirably," Greg said.

"Good luck with that," Dr. Daniels said sympathetically. "I'll see you and Susan at noon."

Greg watched the doctor go, considering whether he should try to sleep or actually get up and make phone calls as he said he would. His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him he hadn't eaten either, and eventually his stomach won out.

Pulling himself to an upright position, Greg spent a futile moment in front of the mirror, trying to make himself presentable. His five o'clock shadow was overly long, and his hair looked rough, but it was the best he could do. So he grabbed his cell phone and headed towards the door.

c

Mrs. Abernathy was just taking a load of laundry out of the washer when she received Greg's call.

"Oh hello Greg," she said brightly. "How is everyone this morning?"

"Not good. Susan had a very rough night. The increased dose of the medication they've given her to stop the contractions didn't agree with her head. They're backing her off of it, slowly it seems, but the contractions are back," Greg explained.