The Day Before You Came

Chapter Thirty-Five

Frida and Benny arrived at the hospital in record time, Benny could not remember when was the last time he had traveled at such high speed and under such pressure. Frida kept having strong contractions, one after another, she had heard that the first labor used to be very long, but she had contractions every five minutes, so she expected everything to pass that quickly.

Benny called on the way to Danderyd hospital, so when they arrived they were already waiting for them, a young nurse helped Frida to sit in a wheelchair and she was quickly taken to the maternity area where they also already had a room ready exclusively for her, there she got dressed in a blue surgical gown. The gynecologist checked her as soon as she arrived, she was four centimeters dilated, she was less than halfway there.

It had been two hours since the couple arrived at the hospital, you couldn't tell who was more anxious, if Benny or Frida. He was sitting on the side of the stretcher holding the hand of his fiancée who was lying on her side with eyes closed and a slight frown.

Benny kissed her hand and spoke softly, "How are you feeling now, my darling?"

"I feel like I'm breaking into a thousand pieces, how does that sound like?" She replied still with her eyes closed. Benny sighed, wishing all the pain she was going through was felt by him and not by her. "Here it comes again," Frida pursed her lips tightly and held onto Benny's hand tightly as she let out a groan of pain, a few tears escaping her rosy cheeks.

Benny ran a hand up and down her arm, letting her know that he was there with her at all times. "Easy love, take a deep breath, don't forget about that... that's sweetie, it's almost gone," he said, checking the monitor that recorded the contractions. "That's right, you did very well," he kissed her forehead.

"This is wearing out my strength," Frida said breathlessly as she turned to lie on her back, she also had a monitor on her belly that monitored the baby's heartbeat.

"Soon this will be over and we will have our little boy in our arms," Benny said trying to cheer her up as he brushed a streak of red from her forehead.

Frida tried to smile, "By the way, where is your mother?"

"I called her when we got here, and said she would come as soon as she could, she was in an executive meeting, I suppose she's still busy," he said while unconsciously stroking her hand.

Frida nodded slowly. Right in those moments was when she most needed a mother figure by her side, and Laura was the closest thing to that she had, she would have liked Mormor to be there. "And Eva-Lis?"

"She's with my mother," Benny replied. "You need something?"

"No, I was just asking," she said with a face, "how long has it been?"

Benny checked his wristwatch, "Almost three hours, easy going love, this will pass quickly,"

Just then Dr. Karev entered the room, followed by a nurse, and with a nod, he greeted Benny. "How are you feeling Anni-Frid?" He asked standing at the foot of the bed.

"From bad to worse," she answered honestly as she followed the nurse who checked the monitors.

"How is her pressure?" The doctor asked the nurse.

"150/95 mm Hg," the efficient nurse answered quickly.

The doctor shook his head and assumed a more serious composure. "Your blood pressure is high Anni-Frid, you are presenting a level one hypertension picture, which I feared so much, you should consider a cesarean section," he said, looking directly into her eyes, "it's the best option for you and your baby."

Frida snorted and dropped her head onto the bed. "How serious can it be if I decide to have a normal delivery?"

"Serious. You could have a large hemorrhage, or even before that form clots which could cause a stroke, since you arrived your pressure has not stopped increasing. A caesarean would be the best option."