“Do you feel any other pain? Did you hit your head?” Jake asked.
The bathroom door opened. “Will she be okay?” It was a voice that belonged to one of the girls who she’d heard a couple of minutes ago, the one with her list of things to do with Jake.
“I think so, but I’ll take her to the hospital just in case.”
“You don’t have to, we’ve called for an ambulance and it should be here shortly.”
“Thank you, but I do have to. She’s with me and I have to make sure she is okay,” Jake replied, in a not so impressed tone.
If Holly could’ve, she would have loved to see the look on the woman’s face that accompanied the “Oh, I see” following Jake’s comment.
Holly finally managed to open her eyes, which soon brought on a nauseated feeling she’d never felt before, one that rose up her throat. She winced.
Clearly, Jake noticed it, because he immediately asked, “What is it? Just tell me where it hurts.”
“I’m feeling sick, like I’m going to barf my lungs out,” she mumbled, barely able to get those words out.
“I’ve never seen you faint like this before. Damn it! We really need to get you to the hospital.”
“No, I’ll be fine. I hate hospitals, Jake. Just help me get up, please,” she begged.
Jake complied and lifted her up onto her feet.
She took another deep breath and opened her eyes again. The bile felt as if it was retreating back down her throat and it became slightly more bearable. She gave Jake a look and hoped that he was able to read how sorry she was for feeling so crappy on their date.
Jake, however, had made up his mind. “Hospital, now. I will never be able to sleep tonight if I don’t know you are all right.”
“Fine, a checkup only. But no needles, promise?”
Jake’s eyebrows furrowed sympathetically. “All I can promise is that I’ll hold your hand if there are.”
Although it was sweet, it wasn’t quite the answer Holly wanted. Nonetheless, Holly could see that Jake was really worried. The crappy way she felt and his sense of concern were enough to overrule her fear of needles this time.
“Deal.”
He smiled, making sure he had a firm grip around her waist. He then turned to Maro and apologized before making their way out.
The drive to the hospital felt like it had taken forever. Holly laid down on the backseat, which didn’t make her feel any better in the confined space, and the slight rocking motion of the car was playing havoc with her dizziness again.
Eventually, she felt the car stop, heard Jake get out, and then felt the cold air when he opened her door. He helped her out, and once she was stable on her feet, placed his hand on her forehead. His hand felt like ice against her skin.
“You’re warm,” he said, concern evident in his voice.
Holly felt too weak to do anything but grunt, resting her head on his chest.
They made their way inside the hospital and the first thing she heard was one of the staff members sounding really pleased to see Jake.
“Oh, my! Let’s get your friend to a bed,” the woman exclaimed on having noticed Holly.
“I just need a checkup here. I’m taking her to bed 6,” Jake replied quickly.
“We’ll call for a doctor, Jake,” an older woman’s voice stated.
“Thanks, Aggie.”
The next thing Holly felt was Jake placing her down gently onto a bed. Her body began to shake with cold.
“Is there anything I can help with?” The eager woman from before offered her assistance.
“Yes,” Jake answered. “Can you get me a monitor? I’d like to get a blood pressure reading. I’ll need an IV kit and a glucose stick as well.” The nurse nodded and disappeared.
“What have we here?” a male voice asked. “Jake?”
“My girlfriend, Holly. She’s 24. She passed out at the restaurant. She feels nauseous, but no vomiting. I think she might have a low grade fever. She’s never had anything like this before.” Jake shot out her symptoms to the man in quick succession like he was presenting a case.
“How much did you have to drink at dinner, Holly? Do you think that might be why you feel sick?” asked the doctor.
Holly shook her head definitively and then stopped because it made her dizzy. “No, I’ve been feeling bad for a couple of days. I only managed to keep a couple sips of wine down at dinner.”
“Are you taking any medication?” The doctor continued with his checklist.
“Nothing. Well…” she paused and then whispered, “…does birth control count?”
“It does. I’ll make a note of it. I’ll get a nurse to insert that IV, and then I’ll request blood work to be done.”
The nursing aide returned, wheeling a monitor to the side of the bed.
“Great, thanks,” said Jake as he began untangling the cords. He freed the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around Holly’s upper arm. While the cuff inflated, he untangled four more cords for an EKG, and another that he clipped to her fingertip.
Jake and the doctor both watched the blinking monitor in suspense. The display beeped cheerily when it arrived at its answer: 165/100.
Jake shook his head. “That can’t be right. That’s absurd!”
“Take it again.” The doctor seemed to agree.
Jake pressed the read button and the cuff inflated, but its answer was the same.
“Where’s the pharmacist? She needs a beta blocker before she has a stroke or something.”
“Jake, wait. You have to do the lab work first. You know that.” The doctor carefully reeled Jake back into reality.
A nurse tied a rubber strip tightly around Holly’s arm.
Jake looked at Holly sympathetically, “Sorry, Bee Puke. We’ve got to get blood before we treat you, okay?”
Holly’s heart beat fast in her chest; she felt trapped. She looked back at Jake with panic in her eyes.
He took hold of her hand.
Holly felt a prick on the inside of her arm, and then a nurse untied the rubber strip. She didn’t want to open her eyes, because she knew that all she’d see was a needle poking out of her arm, filling a syringe with her blood.
“All done,” said the nurse.
Holly made the mistake of turning her head in time to see the nurse putting labels on the tubes. Nausea rose in her stomach as she registered the size of the tubes.
All of that is my blood? Did they leave me any? She knew the thought was irrational, but she couldn’t help it.
The nurse handed Holly a gown and a plastic cup with a sticker that said ‘sterile’ covering the seal of the orange lid.
“Here’s a gown for you to wear, and I need you to go to the bathroom and pee in this cup.”
Awkward but dutiful, Holly took the cup to the bathroom. She poked her head out of the bathroom a minute later and saw to her dismay that the ER was teaming with people.
She tugged at her gown, which was too short and didn’t seem to be properly closed. She didn’t think she was wearing it right. Feeling a moment of triumph, she realized the gown had a pocket. She slipped the warm cup of liquid into it before emerging.
Casually, she walked up to the nurses’ station, but her cover was blown by the nurse who asked loudly, “Holly, where’s your urine?” Holly blushed.
“It’s in my pocket,” she replied.
The nurse looked alarmed and confused until Holly produced the orange, capped cylinder and set it on the counter.
“Oh,” said the nurse. “Thanks. I’ll send it to the lab. You can go lie down.”
Holly returned in time to overhear the doctor talking to Jake.
“It’s good you brought her in immediately and didn’t try to sort it out yourself. You did the right thing.”
“I hope so,” Jake mumbled.
The doctor disappeared into another room.
“What’s wrong with me?”
“We’ll find out soon, okay? Just stay tuned,” Jake said with a fake-looking
smile.
Even though she felt awful, his tough guy act made her giggle, or at least it was something that resembled a giggle.
“Try to rest, it is sometimes the best.”
Holly tried to do what he’d asked as she listened to people rushing in and out around her. Eventually, she dozed off for a while. Slowly coming to, the first voice she heard was Bernie’s. Her friend was freaking out, and true to Jake’s character, she heard he was trying to calm her down.
“Jake! What is wrong with her?”
“I don’t know, Bern.”
“Jake.” Holly heard another familiar voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing, Dad.”
“I got a call out from Dr. Augustus.”
“Dr. Augustus?”
Just then, the doctor who’d seen to Holly earlier cut in. “A minute, Jake.”
“Why did you call my father?”
Holly froze.
“You called me for Holly?”
“Jake, you know your father is a specialist on this condition. It’s his area of research. Give us a minute, Jake. Gus, please.”
Holly opened her eyes.
What condition? He’s an obstetrician. Please, God. No. Not that. I can’t be….
She couldn’t think about or even say the word, but she knew that God would know what she meant.
I can’t be. I’m on the damn pill, which is supposed to be 99 percent foolproof. I will sue the company… I... Stop it, Holly! You are not, you are not.
“Holly?” Gus’ voice was close to her ear. “Can you sit up for me, please?”
She did as he asked, but tears threatened. When he examined her glands, she looked up into his eyes. “Please, tell me it’s not what I think it is,” she begged.
Gus looked surprised. “And what do you think it is?”
It was Holly’s turn to look surprised. Why’s he asking me? He’s the doctor, and that’s supposed to be my question. In response, she merely shrugged feebly.
“We are still waiting for the blood work results,” he said softly. “When was your last cycle?”
Great, now I have to share with my boyfriend’s father when my last cycle was.
She tried to think, but really couldn’t remember. Why can’t I remember?
“I was taking the pill and then I kind of stopped getting it. I thought it was just a side effect.”
“You don’t remember your last period? Even just a spot?”
Holly shook her head, while a tear ran down her cheek.
“It’s not necessarily the end of the world, you know.”
“Excuse me, doctor. The blood work results are back,” said an eager girl’s voice that Holly didn’t even want to look at. She handed Gus a piece of paper and left.
Where the hell is Jake?
Gus scanned the results. Something caught his eye and the lines on his face relaxed. He had found the diagnosis in the blood work. His expression told Holly right away what the cause of her sickness was.
No two ways about it; she was pregnant.
GUS GAVE HER THE NEWS SHE HAD already seen on his face. She was going to be a mother. And then, much to her shock, he asked her what she wanted to do.
“What do you mean?”
“Holly, Jake doesn’t—”
“I know!” she ground out, cutting him off. “He doesn’t need this right now.”
Gus frowned. “That isn’t quite what I was going to say. I meant, he doesn’t need to know.”
She looked at Gus like he’d grown another head. How could he even suggest what he was suggesting? Holly could never do that, not in a million years. His own daughter wasn’t able to have a child, and now he was proposing that she abort his first grandchild.
“I’m sorry, I truly am, but I can’t do that. Correction, I won’t do that.”
“Holly, you may not realize the risks of trying to carry this pregnancy. Your blood pressure is much too high. I’m going to get right to the point. You are sitting on a rare case of gestational hypertension, which may be a precursor to an early preeclampsia onset. The earlier this happens, the higher the risk to you and the baby. You could have permanent organ damage from the pressure, and some mothers die.
Holly’s heart dipped into her stomach.
“The only solution is to deliver the baby and,” he took a deep breath, “maybe you’ll be luckier on the next try.”
“That’s it? Try again, like it’s a game? How is there no treatment?”
“Well, I promise I’m working on it, but I haven’t proven anything, yet.”
Holly was in no mood for some speculative research.
“Why can’t you give me blood pressure medication like old people take?” Holly asked.
Gus nodded like he’d contemplated that course of action before. “The fear is that if we reduce your blood pressure, the fetus won’t get enough blood from the placenta. It’s you or the baby, basically.”
“So, on the whole, you’re telling me that I can die from carrying this baby?”
“You could. But lucky for you, I’m one of the best in the world, and I might just have something that could work.” Gus tried his best to help Holly relax, if not smile with his words.
However, she was too caught up in the news and simply nodded while trying to suck up her tears.
“I need to speak to Jake, too. I’ll ask Bernie to come and sit with you, all right?”
She nodded and tried to return Gus’ smile, but for some reason she had nothing to be happy about. She wiped at a stray tear as he exited.
How can this be happening? She was on the pill, and one he’d recommended in the first place. He’d said it was safe, and now there she sat with a bun in the oven. It was something both her grandmother and mother used to say. It was a cute saying, except this particular bun was already making an effort to kill her. Mara is going to be pissed!
“Hey,” Bernie’s voice filled the room. “Are you okay?”
Holly shook her head, then promptly began to cry.
Bernie rushed over, folding her arms around Holly. “Shhh, whatever it is, it’s going to be fine, Holls. I promise.”
Holly shook her head again.
“Holly, speak to me. I think I know because Jake’s dad’s here, but I have to hear it from you. Are you…”
Holly nodded.
Bernie gasped. “You’re pregnant?” she asked softly, grinning.
“It’s not like that. I could die, Berns. What happened tonight is just the beginning. I have some sort of the beginning stages of pree-something.”
“Preeclampsia?” Bernie queried.
“Yes, that. He said that at this early stage, it’s called gestational hypertension. Dangerously high blood pressure caused by the pregnancy.”
“Holly, most women only contract it from about around 32 weeks into their pregnancy, they don’t get it this early.”
“He said that too, but that it’s more dangerous since it’s this early. At least it explains why I feel so shitty.
Bernie rested her hand on the bed while staring at Holly with a concerned look.
“Does he have a plan?”
“I don’t know.”
Silence filled the room for a few seconds. “Well, he is known to be one of the best gynecologists in the world. I’m sure he’ll figure it out,” Bernie stated confidently.
“So, you’re saying that my boyfriend’s father is going to be my vagina’s doctor?”
Bernie laughed, and shaking her head said, “No. He can’t. Because the baby’s daddy is his son, which makes him the grandpa and pappies are too close. He’ll assign you another doctor.”
“I just don’t want to feel this horrible.”
Bernie stroked Holly’s cheek softly. The last time she’d done that was when she was saying goodbye to Holly’s twin, Jamie.
“It’s going to be okay, Holls. You’ll see. The Peters’ are a bunch of kick-ass doctors. They’ve won awards; that kind of crap. Gus won’t let anything
happen to you.” She gave Holly a sweet smile, but tears glistened in Bernie’s eyes all the same.
Her friend was worried to death, that much Holly could tell.
Just then, Jake appeared from behind the curtain. He looked worried, too, when he sat next to her on the bed. He gently placed a hand on Holly’s stomach and bent forward from the waist down to give her an awkward hug. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll be fine, you hear me?” He looked at her.
“I take it your father told you?”
“He did.”
“How is this even remotely possible, Jake? They said 99 percent effective.”
“I guess you are that special one percent,” he joked.
“This is not funny.” She sighed and covered her eyes with the back of one hand. “We can’t be parents now, Jake. You have your internship and I—”
“Stop that. You think I’ll leave you? Believe me, I won’t. Not with Amelia as my sister. But I wouldn’t do that to you, in any case. If you ask me, Amelia would practically take over and raise the child herself if she could. She will help out, Holls, it’s going to be fine. I don’t want you to stress about anything, okay.”
Holly finally laughed.
“I’m here too, Holly. And you know I will never leave you. You’re stuck with me forever,” Bernie said softly.
Holly grabbed Bernie’s hand, squeezed it gently, smiled and finally sighed. She looked at Jake again. “Your mom is not going to like this.”
“Was it my mom who told you to go on the pill?”
Fuck! Lie.
“No, Jake, but I’m positive that she isn’t going to be as accepting as your father.”
He smiled. “I don’t care if my mother is going to like or not. I’m so ready for this. I want this child, as much as I want its mother. So don’t worry about mine. I’ll take care of her. Your job is to stop stressing, relax and enjoy your pregnancy. That is an order.” Jake gave her a lopsided smile.
“How on earth am I going to enjoy it, if I continue to feel like this?”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “Really, you stubborn woman. You don’t think we have a plan to make you feel better?”
“I didn’t say that,” she huffed, and then as if his words had just sunk in, she asked, “You do?”
Jake smiled. “We are the fucking Peters’, so of course we do.”
Imperfect Love Page 24
