What We Once Were

Chapter 40

Archie's POV

I run into the hospital, frantically looking for the emergency room. "Sir, can I help you?" A nurse asks me when I quickly pass her. I turn around, "yes. My uh, friend, Ashley Cameron got into a car accident. She's pregnant. Where would she be?" I ask, completely out of breath. "She's in surgery right now. Are you the father?" She asks me, referring to the baby. "Yeah that's me. Is the baby..." I fade out, not positive that I want to say the words. "It's in the air right now. We'll let you know more when we know. You can go sit in the waiting area and I'll tell the doctors you're here" she says, before she walks away through the 'authorized personnel only' door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

4:38

I've been waiting for information on Ashley for 2 hours now, and no one has told me anything. I decide to shoot Ronnie a text, even though I'm almost positive I'm the last person she wants to hear from right now.

A: Hey. I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but Ashley was in an accident. She's in surgery now but I don't know anything else

I don't know how to end the message, so I just hit send. I groan and put my head in my hands. "Ashley Cameron?" I hear a woman's voice ask. I stand up and walk over to her, "hi I'm Archie Andrews. I'm here for Ashley" I say. She sticks her hand out for me to shake and I take it, "hello Archie, I'm Dr. O'Neill. Will you follow me?" She asks. I nod my head, "Yeah. Sure" I say, and she leads me to an empty conference room. "So Ashley was in a car accident. We have her in the ICU, she is currently stable. But we'll need to go back in surgery at some point in the next 24 hours. If worst comes to worst, we may have to terminate the pregnancy to be able to save her. Do we have your consent?" She asks. I take a deep breath, "yes. Whatever it takes to save Ashely" I say without a second thought. Her pager buzzes and she looks back up at me, "we're taking her back in now. Feel free to stay here if you need time alone" she says before she quickly runs off. I stand up and head back to the waiting area, where I'll probably spend the next 3 hours.

Veronica's POV

My alarm blares in my ears, letting me know it's 6:30. I sit up out of bed and grab my phone, checking if I have any messages. A text from Archie grabs my attention, so I unlock my phone to get a better look at it.

A: Hey. I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but Ashley was in an accident. She's in surgery now but I don't know anything else

I sigh and lean my head back. He's probably a mess right now. He may not love Ashley, and he may not want a child right now, but he doesn't want anything to happen to them. I text my mom to come over and get Reign up for school so I can go to the hospital for Archie, and then I go to get a shower.

As I'm driving along the highway I can see a giant dent in the metal rail along the road, which wasn't there before, giving me the impression that it was Ashley. I shake my head and focus back on the road.

Should I have told Archie that I'm coming to the hospital? Will he even want me there? It's too late because just as that thought comes to mind, I'm pulling into the parking lot of the hospital.

I walk in the emergency room entrance and I see Archie sleeping in a waiting room chair. I take a deep breath and walk over to him, and sit down in the chair next to his. I put my hand on his shoulder and lightly shake him awake. He opens his eyes quickly and looks at me in confusion. "Ronnie, what are you doing here?" He asks. I give him a small smile, "well I figured you could use a friend right now" I say. The word friend feels weird, I've always considered him more than that. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for-" he starts. "Don't worry about it" I interject, "do you want me to get you some coffee? Maybe some breakfast?" I ask. He rubs his eyes and sits up, "Yeah that'd be great, are you sure?" He asks. I nod my head, "Yeah. Just stay here in case they come with any information" I say, and then I get up and walk to find the cafeteria.

When I get back to Archie the doctor still isn't with him so I walk over to him and hand him a coffee and a bag with a breakfast sandwich inside it. He takes the stuff and gives me a small smile, "thank you" he says. I smile back, "you're welcome" I say softly.

After another 30 minutes, a doctor walks out of the authorized personnel doors and looks over at Archie and I. "Mr. Andrews" she says as she approaches us. Archie stands up and takes my hand, telling me he wants me to go with him. I stand up with him and he releases my hand, but I push the thought from my mind. "She's in the ICU. We were able to save her life, but we did have to terminate the pregnancy. I'm sorry for your loss. You can go see her if you like" she says, and then she walks away, like she didn't just tell Archie that his baby died. "Archie" I say, putting my hand on his arm, "I'm so sorry" I say. He nods his head, fighting back tears, "Yeah... uh thanks. I'm gonna go see her. I should probably be the one to tell her. You can go, I'll probably be a while" he says as he grabs his jacket. "Are you sure?" I ask him, not wanting to leave him alone. "Yeah. Thank you for coming" he says, then he walks away towards the ICU, leaving me alone in the waiting room.

Archie's POV

I walk into Ashley's room, nervous to tell her about the baby. When I see her, she's already awake, with tear stained cheeks. "You know?" I ask her quietly. She nods her head, but stays quiet. "I'm sorry" I say, hoping she'll say something. "Don't be. This is how it's supposed to happen" she says. I sit down in the chair next to her bed. "What do you mean?" I ask her. She sits up carefully and takes a deep breath. "You're in love with Veronica. And you'd do anything to get her back, clearly. And a baby would really complicate things. So you just owe our baby 1 thing, that you have to do" she says. I nod my head and smirk, "what is that?" I ask. "Tell her you love her. Even if you think it'll ruin everything, tell her. You have this second chance, use it. Don't get drunk and get someone pregnant, or accidentally cheat on her with some girl named Midge-" she says, but I cut her off, "I shouldn't have ever told you about that" I say, making her laugh. "Im serious though. Tell her" she says. I nod my head, "you're right. I'm done wasting my time" I say, standing up out of the chair, "I'm going to tell her."

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