BabyNapper

Chapter 7: Standard Health

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, it's Rockstar Skittles. I just wanted to tell you that chapter 8 will include a bit of point of view from the first nurse, Sebrina. Don't worry, it's not gonna belong. After her, it'll switch back to Madeline's POV. I just wanted to let you know.

My mind was dizzy, spinning my brain around. I tried to open my eyes but all I could see was the blurry vision of nurses and doctors running beside me. There were bars on each side of me. I was on a stretcher.

"Get her to the emergency room!" I heard Dr. Fletcher's voice shout.

"It- is my baby gonna be okay?" I could hear myself saying indistinctly.

Tilting my head up slightly, I could see the indistinguishable figure of Emily away from me, telling me that it's gonna be okay. But everything got quieter and the sound of everyone got lower.  I passed out again, the only thing I saw was the light of the ceiling. There was just subtle darkness.

"Madeline?... Madeline..."

Someone was calling my name. Was it Andrew? Was it Deborah?

Or was it... Caroline?

I came upon my wake to see that it wasn't any of them. Only Dr. Fletcher looking down at me in the hospital bed, anxiously waiting for me to be alright.

"Uh... Dr... Dr. Fletcher?" I said in a weak voice. I still felt relentlessly limp from the pain.

"Yes, it's me, Madeline." He said gently. "How are you feeling?"

I groaned. "Oh, god. The baby... is the baby—"

"The baby is gonna be okay, Madeline. And so are you."

I pressed my head against the soft pillows and let out a sigh.

"What happened? The last thing I remember was that I was bleeding."

"Yes, that happened because you have placenta previa."

"What?"

He pushed his round glasses onto his face and came over closer to me. His soft hazelnut eyes glaring at me.

"Placenta previa. When your placenta separated from the uterine walls, it blocked the opened of the uterus and would've interfered with the delivery of the baby." He said. "But don't worry. We managed to stop the bleeding and monitor the safety of the baby."

I could feel a distraught expression on my face. I almost lost my baby.

"Wait- I have to tell Andrew. I need him here."

"It's okay. I contacted him the second you were brought into the emergency room." He put my mind at ease. "But there is one thing."

"What is it?"

"Because of your injuries, we'll have to recommend a home care nurse for you."

"But- but I can take care of myself. Dr. Fletcher, I can't —"

"Madeline, listen. You lost a lot of blood and we can't risk any strenuous activity putting a dangerous impact on your baby."

I sighed and looked at him.

"Okay... I understand."

He set his hand on top of my shoulder.

"Don't worry. You'll be in good hands."

I nodded and smiled as he began to walk away, but stopped and turned back around.

"I meant to give you this." He handed me my cellphone. I took it gently out of his hands and started looking at my missed calls after he left.

I saw over sixteen missed calls from Deborah and called her back. She must have been so worried about me.

"Hey, sis," I said to her.

"Madeline, oh my god! Are you all alright? When I came back to your place, I saw an ambulance pass by me and-"

"Deborah, I'm okay. And the baby's alright too." I reassured her.

She gave a sigh of relief.

I've realized that when I was growing up with Debo as a child, she was always that one person who worried about me a lot. Whenever she got anxious, I'd have to be the one to tell her to relax.

"Are you sure you're okay? You don't sound good." She said.

"Sis, I'm gonna be fine. I'm just tired, that's all." I told her.

There was a second of silence before I heard her voice again.

"Well... I'm coming to your house when you get back from the hospital. Okay?"

I chuckled lightly at her.

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

After talking to her, I closed my eyes and laid my head back onto the soft pillows. I felt pretty relaxed after a few minutes.

Geez, who would've thought that being pregnant for the second time could've ended up incredibly stressful? Especially when you're close to losing your baby?

I could say that Deborah knew a lot about that. She had a miscarriage long before I was pregnant with Caroline. I was there to comfort her though. Isaiah on the other hand... was not.

But I can't worry about this now. I have to start worrying about this second miracle in my stomach. I had to start worrying about myself.