Open Case File [COMPLETED]

Hard Truth

Cause someone asked for it and clearly you enjoy pain. 🙄

Know that my knowledge of anything medical is pretty much zero so judge accordingly.

Yes, I know the birth chapter is before this, just hang in there it will make sense in the end.

***********************************

Carter ran her thumb over the soft felted elephant on the mobile. Donovan had wanted superheroes hanging over the crib but Carter had shot down the suggestion, not wanting to have her daughter growing up with unrealistic expectations about what it meant to be strong.

Letting go of the elephant, Carter stood back, gazing around the nursery. It felt peaceful. She placed her hands on her stomach and bent her head.

"It's all ready for you," she said. She straightened. "Then after you, it will be ready for a baby brother or a baby sister. You'll be that strong older sibling that helps them fight their battles." She cradled her stomach, wishing her baby girl already slept in her arms. "You won't be alone like I was. You'll grow up in a loud and wild house like your father."

Standing in the center of the room, Carter could picture the future, hearing the laughter of children and the arguments of grown teenagers. Their lives would bounce off each other and challenge each other. Friendship wouldn't be an issue, they would have a bond like the Keller brothers. She could see it all and she smiled.

"Come on, let's see if your father is still sleeping. He takes more naps than me, you have to wonder which one of us is eight months pregnant."

As Carter turned away from the nursery a flash of pain sparked in her side. Wincing, she stopped, pressing her hand to her side but the spark had already faded.

"Are you getting excited, baby girl?" she asked, shaking off the weird sensation.

Dropping her hand, she headed towards the main bedroom. When she reached for the door, searing pain sliced up her side. Crying out, she fell to her knees. A tremor ran through her and she clawed the thick carpet, trying to breathe but finding her lungs weren't working.

Another wave of pain crashed into her and she screamed, memories exploding in her mind. A cold concrete room. A metal rod. Hands tied painfully above her head. Blackness.

The bedroom door slammed open as Donovan raced out, hair disheveled, anxiety written over his face. He dropped down beside Carter, gripping her shoulder.

"Carter, talk to me, what's going on?"

Wracked with pain, Carter crumpled to the floor, tears streaming down her face. She held her stomach, praying for the life inside, hit with pain but scared only for her baby.

Donovan scooped Carter into his arms and raced for the door, barefoot and terrified.

"Stay with me, okay?" he said fear weighing his voice. "Carter, just stay with me."

Grabbing keys, Donovan burst out of their apartment leaving the door swinging in his wake. He punched the elevator button and stared at the lit number urging it to move faster.

Another twist of pain coiled around Carter and she gripped Donovan's shirt, face pressed against his chest, gritting her teeth. Through her haze of agony, she heard Donovan mumbling words over and over again.

"God, please, please, please. Don't take them from me. Please, God. Please."

Carter could barely think, words disjointed letters in her mind, but her heart echoed his prayer, pulsing a need, beating out a cry to the One who had gotten her through so many dangerous situations that he would do the same for her daughter now. Her daughter needed to live, that's all Carter wanted.