The doctor answered the phone here? Well, that helped me not waste time.
“Uh, hi. I’m sure you’ve heard the news, so I’ll get right to it. Grace is throwing up. A lot.”
“How far along is she?”
“She’s almost eighteen weeks.”
“And how long has she been sick?”
“She’s been feeling off all day, and she’s been clutching her stomach. I don’t think she’s even had water. She never had morning sickness either, so this isn’t normal.”
“Bring her in,” he said. “Are you in town, Mister ...”
“I’m at her house.”
There was silence on the line, and I wondered if one moresecret was about to come out. How good was this doctor at keeping quiet?
“I’ll have an IV ready,” he said in lieu of anything else. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
I took a shaky breath and went back to the bathroom.
“Grace,” I said gently. “We need to go.”
“I don’t knowwhatis happening right now, I’m not leaving this toilet. This is my emotional support toilet.”
I would have laughed if she had been able to lift her head and look at me.
“I’m taking you to the clinic.”
She finally met my gaze. “What? You’re taking me to Henry?”
“He’s the closest doctor.”
“But I’m?—”
“If you say fine, I’m carrying you to the doctor and letting him tell you you’re not.” I didn’t let myself get this firm with her, but I was worried. More worried than I’d ever been.
And I needed her to let go and let mein.
“I’ll drive.”
“Grace.” This woman. She would be the death of me.
“You don’t need to deal with this. You had a long day at work and you had stuff you were in the middle of. I’ll handle this on my own.”
Oh, fuck everything. There was no way I was letting this happen. “Let’s get one thing straight. You’re not handling anything on your own, not as long as I’m here. This isn’t a situation where you’re left to fend for yourself when you need someone. When you need me, I am here. And when you think you don’t need me, I’ll be here anyway. You and me, we’re a team. And you don’t carry stuff on your own anymore.”
In the back of my mind, I wondered if I would regret those words. This was getting very close to something I thought Iwould never say. But the words were true, and I needed her to understand that she was not going to handle this on her own.
Thankfully, it seemed to work. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at me and she finally nodded. “O-okay. Message received.”
Dr. Henry Connor, in only one word, was professional.
Whatever questions he had for me, he kept to himself. He hooked Grace up to an IV and asked about what she ate. He also had an ancient fetal heartbeat monitor, and was able to pick up the baby’s heartbeat.
I almost passed out when I heard it.
He also added pregnancy-safe anti-nausea medicine to Grace’s IV, and her throwing up finally seemed to calm down. He was possibly the one person cooler than Wren was in an emergency, and I was sure both of us needed it.