Chương 6
A gas station.
A dental office.
A school-zone sign.
Ordinary places moving past while her life narrowed to a stretcher and a set of numbers.
“Do people do this?” she asked.
Lena looked up from the monitor.
“Do what?”
“Leave someone in labor to go shopping.”
Lena’s mouth tightened.
“I’ve seen families do things that make less sense than that.”
“That’s not really comforting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
Claire almost smiled again.
The ambulance turned sharply.
She gripped the rail.
“Sorry,” Lena said.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine, but it was the turn.”
Claire let out a shaky breath.
“Was I being dramatic?”
Lena’s eyes settled on her.
“Do you want the medical answer or the personal one?”
“Medical.”
“You called for emergency help with symptoms that warranted emergency evaluation.”
Claire waited.
“And the personal one?”
Lena adjusted the blanket over Claire’s knees.
“You were on the floor asking for help.”
Claire looked toward the front window again.
Ethan’s head had lowered.
She wondered whether he could hear.
She hoped he could.
Then she hated herself for hoping it.
The ambulance braked.
Lena reached for the radio.
“We’re here.”
The rear doors opened seconds later to a loading bay washed in fluorescent light.
A hospital team waited with another stretcher and equipment.
Everything accelerated at once.
Names were called.
Questions overlapped.
Claire was transferred through double doors into labor and delivery triage.
Ethan appeared beside the moving stretcher after security let him through.
He reached toward her hand.
Claire moved hers beneath the blanket.
His arm fell back to his side.
A nurse in purple scrubs walked quickly beside them.
“I’m Dana.”
She glanced at Claire’s chart.
“We’ve got your obstetric team on the way.”
“Dr. Patel?”
“She’s in the building.”
Claire exhaled.
Dana looked toward Ethan.
“And you are?”
“Ethan.”
“Husband?”
“Yes.”
Dana looked at Claire.
“Is he allowed to receive medical information?”
Claire hesitated.
The hallway seemed suddenly very long.
Ethan looked at her.
He did not speak.
“Yes,” she said finally.
His shoulders dropped a fraction.
“But nobody else.”
Dana nodded.
“No other visitors without your permission.”
“Yes.”
“Got it.”
They entered a triage room.
Two nurses helped Claire onto a bed while another wrapped monitors around her abdomen.
Finding two separate fetal heart rates took longer than Claire expected.
The nurse moved one sensor, frowned, moved it again, and pressed gently at the left side of Claire’s belly.
Claire watched her face.
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m finding Baby A.”
“You had one a second ago.”
“I had one.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means twins make monitoring annoying.”
The nurse moved the sensor again.
A rapid heartbeat filled the room.
“There.”
Claire breathed out.
The second monitor produced another heartbeat moments later.
Different rhythm.
Different child.
Claire closed her eyes.
For the first time since she fell, relief entered her body.
It lasted perhaps ten seconds.
Then Dana looked at the blood-pressure reading.
“One-sixty-four over one-oh-two.”
The room changed.
Nobody panicked.
That frightened Claire more than panic would have.
Dana pressed a button on the wall.
Another nurse entered.
Then another.
Ethan stepped backward until his shoulders touched the wall.
“What does that number mean?” he asked.
Dana did not answer him immediately.
She was checking Claire’s reflexes.
“Claire, any shortness of breath?”
“No.”
“Chest pain?”
“No.”
“Headache still there?”
“Yes.”
“Vision?”
“Some spots.”
Dana looked toward the other nurse.
“Let’s get IV access and repeat labs.”
Ethan pushed off the wall.
“Can someone tell me what’s happening?”
Dana looked at Claire first.
Claire nodded.
“Her blood pressure is in a severe range.”
Ethan went still.
“What does that mean?”
“It means we treat it seriously.”
The door opened.
Dr. Patel walked in wearing dark blue scrubs and a surgical cap hanging loose around her neck.
She crossed directly to Claire.
“Hi.”
Claire had never been so relieved to hear one ordinary syllable.
“Hi.”
Dr. Patel took her hand.
“I got the message that you were coming by ambulance.”
Claire looked at Ethan.
“So did I.”
Dr. Patel followed her gaze but did not ask.
She pulled a stool close.
“Your labs this morning are concerning.”
Claire’s throat tightened.
“How concerning?”
“Concerning enough that, combined with your blood pressure and symptoms, I do not want you going home.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Was that ever an option?”
“No.”
Dr. Patel’s answer was immediate.
“We are delivering these babies.”
Claire felt every muscle in her body tense at once.
“Today?”
Dr. Patel looked at her carefully.
“Yes.”
Another contraction tightened across Claire’s abdomen.
She gripped the blanket.
Ethan stepped toward the bed.
This time he stopped before touching her.
Dr. Patel waited until the contraction passed.
“Because you’re carrying twins, because of the blood-pressure issue, and because of Baby B’s position at your last scan, I need to examine you and repeat an ultrasound before we decide the safest route.”
Claire nodded.
“C-section?”
“Possibly.”
Ethan rubbed his jaw.
“Is Claire in danger?”
Dr. Patel looked at him.
“Yes.”
The word was quiet.
Claire heard Ethan inhale.
Dr. Patel turned back to her.
“That does not mean something terrible is happening right this second.”
Claire watched her face.
“It means we act before it does.”
“Yes.”
The room was silent except for the two fetal heartbeats.
Ethan sat down in the chair near the wall.
He bent forward and put his face in his hands.
Claire looked at him for a long moment.
Then she turned toward Dr. Patel.
“I need you to put something in my chart.”
Dr. Patel waited.
“If I become unable to speak for myself, I don’t want his mother making any decisions.”
Ethan lowered his hands.
“Claire.”
She did not look at him.
Dr. Patel’s expression remained professional.
“Your husband is currently your designated emergency contact, but we can document who you do and do not authorize for communication.”
“I want that documented.”
“It will be.”
Ethan stood.
May you like
“You think I’d let my mother make medical decisions for you?”
Claire turned to him then.
