After All

Chapter 36: Dark to Light

I feel a little woozy as I feel the plane touching down. Mary is in total control. "Della, get the girls and keep them in the back for a few minutes." She looks to Ted, "You need to carry her off this plane as soon as possible. The ambulance is ready." Then she looks to me and smiles, "You're going to be fine, Honey. Keep that ice pack on. We're going to get you serious help very soon."

I grip her hand, "Don't leave me." She grips me back and kisses my forehead. "Not a chance." The minute I feel wheels on the ground, Della is hustling the girls to the bedroom while Ted and Mary are unbuckling me. He coos to me, "Wrap you hands around my neck, love. That's it." He lifts me gently and hustles to the door where the flight is struggling with the door. Mary pushes her aside, "Oh for fuck's sake, woman. Get the damn door open." She punches something, and all I know is the door is miraculously open and Ted waits a split second for the ground crew to roll the stairs to us. He hustles me down and to the gurney waiting outside an ambulance and lays me down. Right about then, a car speeds in and skids to a stop. Jamie and Chad hop out and run to me. Jamie grips my hands, "I'm here love. We're going to get you all taken care of. I promise."

Chad runs to Mary and kisses her head, "What do you need?"

She starts snapping orders. "You stay with Della and help with the kittens. They're scared. I'll take care of Jamie and Dakota."

He shakes his head, "No. You take Della. I'll take Ted. We can handle the girls and Della can take care of communications. There will be hell to pay if we don't notify her mom."

She takes his face in both hands. "Perfect. Milkshakes. They want milkshakes."

He grins and hugs her, "Then milkshakes they will have. Welcome home. Missed you. Keep us posted."

She smacks his face, "Of course you missed me," and hops in the ambulance with a hyperventilating Jamie and a placid Dakota. She scowls at the EMT, "Give the man a paper bag or a breathing bubble before he freaks her out." I feel my eyes rolling back in my head as she starts spouting temp and blood pressure stats at the EMT. I just want this to be over. I feel a pain sharp enough to cause me to scream and jackknife off the gurney. Jamie and the EMT work to hold me down while Mary gets right in my face, "Honey, listen to me. You need to breathe. Long breaths. You need to try to relax your muscles. You don't want this thing to erupt inside you." The EMT concurs, "She's right, miss. Hold that ice pack firm and try to breathe steadily. We'll be there in five minutes. I'm going to give you a mild sedative to keep you calm. That should help as well."

Then I feel a light form of bliss. Nothing hurts and everything is a little fuzzy. Jamie has his head against mine and I feel his tears. "Breathe love. Just breathe. We'll get through this. Don't leave me. Please don't leave me."

All I can think to say is, "We promised the girls milkshakes."

Mary kisses my cheek. "Uncle Chad and Ted are taking them for milkshakes as we speak."

I sigh and relax, "Okay, that's good. You can't break promises."

***

Once we get to the hospital, all hell breaks loose. There is a team ready to receive her, including her OB/GYN, who starts talking to her and listening to her heart and pushing on her tummy as we're rolling her inside. She spits at someone nearby, "I need an OR stat and I need a crash cart pronto. Her vitals are weak." I hear those words and I panic, but Mary just grips my hand. "Keep your shit together." Della shows up on my other side and grips my other hand. I have never felt more helpless in my life. I watch them whisk her away and it's all I can do to stand on my feet as the tears roll.

Della pushes us to the private waiting area and says, "I'll take care of checking her in. Her Mom's on the way."

As we move to the waiting area I can't help but stop and hug Mary tightly. "Thank you. How did you know? How did you know how serious this was? We thought it was constipation."