Take A Walk (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 5 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Fifty-Three

❝relapse (pronounced rɪˈlaps or ree-laps), verb
(of a sick or injured person) deteriorate after a period of improvement.❞

Four months in, Elle was feeling sick.

They'd long since named their little Winter, but now Elle was vomiting, somehow more than usual. Drew couldn't help but notice that the colour of it was a little off, too.

As Elle threw up for the umpteenth time, Drew murmured, "It'll be over soon."

"Ugh," she mumbled, standing up. "F*ck, on my shirt, too."

"Here," said Drew, helping her to pull off her shirt and quickly putting it in the wash basket. "Do you need help to take a shower?"

"I'm pregnant, not dead," she said gently. "Don't worry about me."

He sighed, putting his hand on the tiny bump that had appeared on her navel. "I just..."

"I'm not angry that you want to help, I just-" She suddenly noticed the ashen look on his face. "Drew?" she asked. "Drew, what's wrong?"

"Your back," he whispered.

"My back?" she asked, turning around to see her back in the mirror.

And her eyes followed down the line of bruises down her spine.

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Drew couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe.

Elle had been silent since they'd booked the emergency doctor's appointment, staring at her shaking hands. It had been too long. She had gone into remission nine years ago. She thought it would be gone for good.

She glanced over at her husband, who looked tense and broken. After all they'd gone through to get Winter, there was every chance they'd lose her. Drew was trembling, and she grabbed his hand, rubbing some warmth back into it. "Ellie, if... if this ends up being dangerous, we need to get an abortion," he whispered.

But before Elle said a word, the receptionist called, "Elle Greene?"

"That's us, babe," she said softly. They stood together, and walked into the doctor's office.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Dr Chambers.

"I'm pregnant-"

"But we think she's relapsing," said Drew, and Elle looked over at him. She had no words for him, no way to comfort him, or herself for that matter. She was cold. Freezing. She needed Drew to hug her, but he didn't think he could stand it.

"Right, okay," said Dr Chambers. "I'm going to run a few tests, and if it's the case... how far along are you?"

"Two and a half months," said Elle, and Drew nodded.

"There's a chance you'll need to terminate the pregnancy-"

"That's not happening."

"Elle!"

"No, Drew. I'm not having an abortion. I'd rather die."

"Let's just run some tests first," suggested Dr Chambers gently. "We can decide what to do after that."

Elle nodded slightly, and Drew held back his tears.

Several tests and scans later, Dr Chambers sighed. "Ellie, you've relapsed."

She just closed her eyes, and Drew said, "When can we terminate the pregnancy?"

"We're not doing that, Drew," said Elle softly.