Some might say that I’m crazy for wanting to propose so soon, but sometimes you just know when it’s right, and me, I knew the second she came into my life. Because of that, this ring has been patiently waiting for the past two months.
I can’t wait to see her walking down the aisle, coming right for me. She’ll have that dopey little grin on her face, and she’ll roll her eyes, wondering why she’s getting so emotional. But when she reaches the end of the aisle and takes my hands, she’s going to forget all the people standing around her, and it’s just going to be us, just the way it was always supposed to be. But it’s what comes next that’s the real prize. Building a life with her, buying a home together, and starting a family. Now, that’s the ultimate goal.
Fuck me, to see her walking around our family kitchen with our children running around her feet and her belly swollen with my child. That’s an image I will never be able to get past.
Not wanting to distract her as she talks with Dr. Terrace, I turn on my heel and go to start making my way back up to the maternity ward when the familiar sound of the opening Emergency Room doors has me turning back.
My gaze snaps straight to the door to find a woman barely able to keep herself on her feet.
My eyes widen in horror and I sprint across the ER, desperate to get to the woman who is quickly becoming my most important patient.
Ashleigh sinks to her knees, cradling her swollen stomach and I catch her just before she collapses to the ground. The nosey people in the waiting room watch on in horror as they take in the blood matted in her hair, the torn clothes, and the deep bruising covering her skin.
“You have to help me,” she cries, the tears streaking down her face and mixing with the dirt that’s pressed into her skin. “My baby … he … he … My husband found me.” Not a second after she gets the words out, she passes out into a heap on the floor, my arms just barely around her.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I adjust my hold around her waist and carefully pull her into my chest to keep her protected while checking over her, making sure that the bleeding is only artificial and nothing life-threatening. “NURSE,” I call out. “I need a bed. NOW.”
Hearing the noise, Dr. Terrace comes rushing out of the meeting room with Autumn right behind him. They both rush toward us. Dr. Terrace slips into Ashleigh’s other side while addressing me. “What’s going on?” he questions as Autumn hovers, waiting and ready to do whatever I might need of her.
“Ashleigh Langbrock,” I start. “She’s my domestic violence patient. Eight months pregnant, severely underweight with far too many complications. She’s on the run from her husband and staying in a local women’s shelter. The husband just found her.”
Autumn sucks in a gasp as she grabs Ashleigh’s bag off the floor while Dr. Terrace curses and calls for the nurse to hurry the fuck up. “What do we do?” Autumn questions. “What do you need?”
“Clear the elevator. I need to get her straight up to my examination room. Who knows what state this baby is in.”
Autumn instantly runs ahead, clearing people away from the elevator just as the nurse rushes in with a bed. Dr. Terrace and I get Ashleigh comfortable and within seconds, we’re in the elevator with Autumn’s hand slamming down over the button for level four.
There’s nothing but silence in the elevator as it soars through the levels until it finally reaches level four with a familiar ‘ding.’ We pour out of it and Autumn stays right on my heels as Dr. Terrace stops by the nurses’ station to put an operating room on standby, just in case things aren’t looking good.
Autumn follows me through to my examination room and fights the tears in her eyes as she pulls up Ashleigh’s shirt to find her stomach a mess of blue and purple bruising. I start feeling around as Autumn prepares everything for an ultrasound to check the baby’s heart rate.
“Shit,” I sigh, not liking what I’m seeing.
I grab the gel and as I squeeze the cool lubricant onto Ashleigh’s stomach, she comes to with a broken gasp. “What … what …”
“You’re safe, Ashleigh,” I tell her as Autumn moves into her side. “You’re in my examination room and I’m just about to check on the well-being of your baby. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve just been run over by a truck,” she murmurs, refusing to meet my eyes as her head sinks back to the examination table. “Is my baby alright?”
“Still trying to figure that one out,” I say. “Can you tell me what happened?”
I press the ultrasound wand onto Ashleigh’s bruised stomach and push it around, trying to get a good read on the baby. She stares at the screen, and as the baby moves around within her, she seems to relax. “I was making my way back to the shelter with a few groceries when his truck pulled up beside me and he jumped out. I tried to run, but compared to him … there was no use. He had me by my hair in seconds and dragged me back to his truck. There was no one around to help, and when I screamed, he just hit me harder saying it was punishment for running in the first place and that I deserved to die for leaving him.” Tears stain her cheek as she meets my eyes with desperation. “You have to help me. He’s going to kill me. He’s going to take my baby away from me and then kill me. I just … I don’t know what to do. It’s never going to stop. He’s never going to leave me alone.”
Autumn leans into her, running her hand over Ashleigh’s hair and desperately trying to soothe her. “It’s okay,” she whispers. “You’re safe here. We’ll get you the help you need.”
She shakes her head. “No,” she cries. “You don’t understand. He’s coming for me. He stopped at the gas station, and when he went in to pay, I ran. He knew I would have come to the closest hospital. He’s going to find me.”
Autumn glances up and catches my eye and the helplessness swirling within her gaze nearly tears me apart. I look back down at Ashleigh and gently squeeze her hand. “I swear,” I tell her, making sure that she truly hears me. “No matter what, I will not let any harm come to you, especially not while you’re here in my care. Do you hear me? You’re going to be alright.”
The tears continue to streak down her face as she watches me, trying to figure out if she should put her faith in me or risk running again. “Okay,” she finally says. “Please, just tell me that my baby is alright. She’s all I have left.”
I drop my gaze back down to the monitor and start tracking the baby’s heart rate. My lips pull into a tight line, and I glance at Autumn, knowing that she can see exactly what I’m seeing. “What is it?” Ashleigh asks, looking between us both.
My hand comes down on Ashleigh’s shin and I give her the most encouraging smile I can come up with. “I’m sorry, Ashleigh. I know you’re having a really hard day, but it’s not over yet. Your baby is going into distress. Her heart rate is far too high and we need to get her out as soon as we possibly can.”
“What? No,” she panics. “It’s too soon. I’m only eight months.”