15

He drove out of the hospital parking lot with the ambulance right behind him. He can't forget the terrified sound of Jane screaming into the phone. He swore to himself that if Jane or the baby were hurt, that bitch would pay with her last breath.

He pressed the gas harder, reaching her house in under two minutes, the ambulance right behind him. He was sweating and was anxious as ever because he had a really terrible feeling that just wouldn't go away.

He juggled the handle and after it wouldn't open he knocked her door open with his shoulder and it hit against the wall. He frantically called out for her as he walked in and when he spotted her laying on the kitchen floor, he took two steps before his body involuntarily froze when he spotted the pool of blood all over the kitchen and no sign of Nadia.

***

It was eerily quiet in the hospital room, the only source of sound being the beeping of the heart monitor. Jane was thankfully still not awake from when she was given anaesthesia.

Nate stood by her side through it all. He was surprised no body came to tell him to calm his heart beat because he was sure they could hear it from miles away.

He couldn't begin to imagine the verdict they'd have to face. Dr Lee said she needed to do a few more tests and that she'd get back to him when she was done. What if she lost the baby? There was way too much blood for everything to still be okay after that. What if the baby is born with deformities? What if anything and everything?

He was pacing back and forth in front of her hospital bed, waiting for the time she opens her eyes. He couldn't sleep because every time he did, that bloody image would pop up in his mind, chasing away any ounce of sleep that crept up on him.

Was he prepared to stand by her side through thick and thin? Through loses and gains? Through life and death? Was he-

"Geez, my head," he heard her groan softly, her eyes opening and her hand going to her head. She winced when her hand tugged on the tubes and she pulled it back to see the needles in her hand. Everything quickly came back to her.

"Nate? Where am I?" She frantically asked as she looked around.

He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. "Sweetheart, listen-"

"Why am I here, Nate?! Nadia, oh my god. Is my baby okay?" She yelled, fresh tears running down her face. She laid a hand on her stomach and couldn't shrug off the feeling that she felt empty inside.

"I'm sorry," he said, a tear slipping.

"I can't feel it!" She yelled when she kept a hand on her belly. Usually she'd feel something, Anything. "Tell me he's still in here, please, for the love of God! Tell me I didn't lose him," she begged, reaching her hand out for Nate to take. He did so.

"I'm so sorry," he said, holding her in a tight grip against his chest. He clenched his eyes tightly shut when he felt her body shake with tears against him. "The doctor said it didn't look too good. You lost a lot of blood-"

"I can't lose our baby. That's the only piece of you I had to myself," she sobbed. "I want him back," she whispered, her heart broken and so was his.

Her doctor walked in after a while with a clip board her test results in hand. "Hello," she said lowly, shutting the door behind her.

"Hi, Sandra," Nate replied as he stood up from Jane's side and went to stand on the other side, taking her hand in his. Jane felt too weak so she back down.

"Nate, I hope this too will come to pass," she said earnestly, moving to her side. "How are you feeling, Jane?"

"Empty."

"Any pain anywhere?"

"Everywhere."

"Uh-uh, I see. Well, it's never easy to say this, but I got your test results back and it looks like-"

She painfully bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood and uttered the words no mother ever wanted to say. "Is he dead?"

"No," Sandra said, shaking her head. She heard them both sigh in shared relief. "Miraculously not. He's alive but not well as of yet."

After hearing that, Jane let out a shaky breath followed by tears of hope while Nate swallowed the fear that resided in him. He said a short thankful prayer and then engulfed Jane in a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm glad," Sandra said with a small smile, glancing at her notes and getting back to informing them what she came to. "Not so soon though because as for the baby part," she said and there was suddenly a cold gist of air. "I'm afraid the incident did affect the baby negatively. To such an extend that we have to ask you if you want to continue with the pregnancy or not," she said and saw the look of horror on their faces.

"We noticed a lot of complications that will arise if you continue with the pregnancy. I don't want to get into too much detail at this stage but you should know that if stress continues to be applied to the fetus and you eventually do give birth, chances are that the baby is going to either be mentally disabled or not have a normal growth spurt. Ultimately, everything will lead to a challenging life.

Plus, you could be putting your health at risk carrying him to full-term since during the last 15 weeks, you have had worrisome complications. Usually mothers abort when they are faced with the possibility that their child-"

"No," she said softly but it was loud enough for them to hear her loud and clear. Nate sat down next to her and raised her face with his index finger to look at her in the eyes. "I'm keeping him," she said, her stare daring him to say otherwise.

"Okay, but allow me to finish and then I'll give you two some privacy to decide," she said politely before continuing. "According to the scan results, you suffered severe muscle strain, shock to the placenta, and heavy blood loss. We were lucky enough to recover the blood lose and ensure the placenta is in tack until further studies.

I'm going to have to ask you to take it as easy as you can. Don't be on your feet for more than an hour without rest. Get as much sleep as you can and I'm also going to prescribe some medication for 7 days. Your head took a few hits and I'll need an MRI after a week.

I'll also put you off work indefinitely. I'll give you a letter which you forward to your employer that says you're only allowed to work for four hours per week. We certainly cannot take any risk, Jane," she said, looking at her to make sure Jane got the hint. "That's all there is. You will be discharged first thing tomorrow morning. Excuse me," she said, softly closing the door behind her.

Nate stood up and went to the other side of the room, leaving a teary eyed Jane alone on the bed. As painful as it already was to lose someone he just got to know existed was, he couldn't put her life at risk. He'd never forgive himself if this pregnancy caused her her precious life.

"You're not doing this to us," he said, feeling helpless. It's never easy choosing between the kid and the mother because you aren't guaranteed both their survival either way.

"My mind is made up," she said, putting her hand on her belly and trying to feel for any movement. Nate watched her for a while before getting up and storming towards her.

"How can you be so selfish? Do you understand how serious this is?"

"I know what I'm doing."

"You cannot want to keep this pregnancy even after all you heard. It might be a vegetable for all we know!" He yelled. If he had to choose between the baby who's survival isn't guaranteed and her, he'd choose her a thousand times over.

He didn't see the hand that flew out and slapped his cheek. It stung after a couple of seconds and he glared at her, furious. But his anger was no match to hers. "It's my baby and for as long as it's in my stomach, I decide what I do with it, you got that? How sure are you that he's even yours?"