“Of course she did.” I shook my head.
Jenna
I laid in the hospital bed and watched my baby’s heart rate on the fetal monitor while Matt, the nice man who called 9-1-1 held my hand, and the doctor began to stitch my head.
“You are such a nice person. Thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled.
Suddenly, standing in the doorway was Lucas. Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Oh my God. Are you okay?” he asked. “Excuse me? Who are you, and why are you holding her hand?” he asked Matt in an authoritative tone.
Matt let go and stepped away.
“Apologize to him now!” I demanded. “He was the one who found me and called 9-1-1. He hasn’t left my side.”
“Jenna, you need to stay still,” the doctor said.
“I’m sorry, man.” Lucas extended his hand to him. “I didn’t know. Thank you for being there for her. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. And you are who?”
“He’s the baby daddy and nothing more.”
“Jenna, unless you want a funky looking scar on your head, you have to keep your head still.”
“Sorry, doctor.”
Matt said his goodbyes and Lucas took hold of my hand. As much as I wanted to jerk it away, I couldn’t or else the doctor would have yelled at me.
“What happened?” Lucas asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Okay. All set,” the doctor spoke. “I’ll let Dr. Glacier know I’m finished, and he’ll be in soon. No stress!” He pointed at me as he looked at both of us.
“I’m going to kill Lindsey,” I said.
“She didn’t tell me. She kept her promise to you.”
“Then how did you find out?”
“She told Laurel, and Laurel told me. And you can’t be mad at Lindsey because you told her not to tell me. Which I can’t even believe.”
“Oh, hello,” Dr. Glacier said as he walked in and extended his hand to Lucas. “You are?”
“The baby’s father.”
“Ah. Okay. Jenna, your blood pressure was dangerously low when the paramedics got to you. All of your other tests came back normal so I don’t think there’s an underlying condition that would have caused it to drop. Now, being pregnant, and in the trimester you’re in right now, it is common for a person’s blood pressure to take a dip. But yours took a dive. Have you been under a great deal of stress lately?”
I looked at Lucas and narrowed my eye at him.
“Maybe.”
“Alright. Well, stress isn’t good for you or the baby. And neither is low blood pressure. The baby’s heart rate is good, but you did take a nasty fall and you cut your head open. So, I’m admitting you for the rest of today and overnight just to monitor you and the baby. We want to make sure that your blood pressure stays up, the baby continues to do well, and there’s no concussion.”
“Okay, Dr. Glacier.”
“Once we get you upstairs, we’ll do another ultrasound just to be safe. They’ll be in to take you up in a few minutes.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Lucas said.
“You’re welcome. By the way, no more stress. Got it?” He pointed at us before walking out of the room.
“Is that the baby’s heartbeat I hear?” He smiled as he softly stroked my head.
“Yes.” I turned away from him.
“I’m sorry, Jenna. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t, Lucas. You can see I’m fine, so go back to the office.”
“Nah. You’re not getting rid of me that easy. I’m staying here whether you like it or not.”
“No. I don’t want you to stay out of obligation.”
“It’s not. I’m staying because I want to be here with you, and I’m not leaving you or our baby’s side.”
“Your father is flying in tomorrow.”
“Actually, he’s flying in tonight and he’ll be in the office tomorrow. It’s probably best I’m not there anyway.”
Chapter 28
Lucas
The feeling I felt when I walked in and saw that man holding Jenna’s hand was something I’d never felt before. It was a type of rage that was different than what I usually experienced. My first instinct was to rip him away from her and knock him to the ground. Good thing I didn’t. I was grateful to him for helping Jenna and staying with her so she wasn’t alone. He was more of a man than I had been.
Seeing Jenna lying in that bed with the cut on her head and hooked up to machines frightened me. The fear of losing her had finally hit me and it rattled me to my core. They took her up to the OB unit so they could monitor her and the baby. The hospital called her OB/GYN doctor, and she was going to come check on Jenna later in the evening.
“Hi, Jenna.” A middle-aged woman with long brown hair walked into the room. “I’m Melissa, and I’ll be taking care of you for the rest of the afternoon and evening,” she spoke as she wrote her name on the whiteboard that hung on the wall. “And you are?” She glanced at me.
“Lucas. I’m the baby’s father.”
“Nice to meet you, Lucas. I’m going to take your vitals, Jenna. When was the last time you ate?”
“I had breakfast this morning.”
“Well, that’s not gonna do. We need to get some food in your belly for you and the baby. There’s a menu right over there. Find something that sounds good, pick up the phone and place your order. If you want my honest opinion, I’d have this handsome man here go get you something. The food here sucks.”
“I can do that,” I said.
“Vitals look good, and your blood pressure is almost normal.” Melissa smiled. “If you need anything, just push this button right here.”
As soon as Melissa walked out, I pulled my phone from my pocket.
“What do you feel like? I can have it here in a flash.”
“Thai sounds good.”
“Thai it is. There’s a Thai place right down the street. What do you want so I can call it in?”
“Pad Thai with chicken. Make sure it’s mild. Order a couple spring rolls too.”
After I placed the order, I set my phone down and placed my hand on hers.
“They said about fifteen minutes.”
“Okay. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to close my eyes until the food gets here.”
“Not at all.” I kissed her forehead.
I sat in the chair and watched her as she closed her eyes, while the steady sounds of our baby’s heartbeat galloped in the background. She was almost seven months pregnant and today was the first time I’d heard it. The fact that this was the first time hit me like a ton of bricks. What kind of father was I?
My phone started to buzz and when I picked it up, I saw it was my father calling. Stepping out into the hallway, I answered it.
“Hello, Dad.”
“Son. I just landed, and I made reservations for us at Daniel for seven o’clock.”
“I’m sorry but I can’t tonight. Jenna is in the hospital, and I need to stay with her.”