Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
“Uh, no,” she said in a shaky voice. “None.”
“OK.” He fiddled with something on the machine and squirted gel on her belly. Then he put the probe on her and moved it around until he found the angle he wanted. He frowned, snapping buttons and switching angles. His frown didn’t go away. Doc took out his phone, snapping a few pictures from the ultrasound screen, then made a call.
“Yeah. Did you get them?” Pause. “Heavily. Some of it is external, but I’m seeing internal bleeding behind the placenta. I’m calling it a grade three abruption. Blood pressure is ninety over fifty, and her heart rate is elevated, but she’s also been asleep.” Another pause, this one longer. Then Doc nodded crisply once. “Agreed. We’ll meet you there in twenty.”
“What’s happening?” Emmanuell was pale, her eyes wide. She winced and clutched her belly but didn’t cry out.
“You’re getting ready to have these babies,” Doc said. He didn’t smile or look at Emmanuell other than to pull the sheet back over her and pull up the side rails on the stretcher. He kicked the brake loose and started rolling her out of the clinic.
“Where’re we going?” She looked back at me, frantically reaching for my hand. I took it and squeezed briefly before helping Doc guide the stretcher out of the building and to Doc’s big Excursion.
“We’re getting you to the hospital,” Doc said. “It’s not the best option to deliver them here as they’re not full-term. Besides, three babies are more than I can safely manage, especially in an emergency.”
The second we rolled up beside the vehicle, Doc dropped the side rail and motioned for me to take it from there. He ran around to the driver’s side and started it up while I got into the back seat with Emmanuell in my lap. He’d used the stretcher to get her to the truck as quickly as possible, so we didn’t waste even a second instead of me trying to carry her at a run.
It took us seventeen minutes exactly to reach the JFK North in West Palm Beach. During that time, Doc said nothing, and I didn’t ask. Emmanuell sat quietly in my lap, clinging to me until just before we reached the hospital.
“Are the babies going to be OK?” Her voice was tremulous and so soft I almost didn’t hear it. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“The placenta has detached from the uterine wall. With as much as you’re bleeding, we have to get these babies born.”
“But will they be OK?” Her voice broke, and I held her tightly, trying my best to comfort her while also doing my best not to fucking fall apart.
“I won’t lie to you, honey. This is a dangerous situation. But I truly believe everything’s going to be fine. Just hang in there with us.” Doc sounded confident, but I could hear the stress in his voice.
Dr. Redding approached us even before Doc stopped the truck. I shoved the door open and stepped out with a whimpering Emmanuell in my arms.
The next thing I knew, Doc yanked Emmanuell from me and put her on a stretcher, and everyone hurried inside. I tried to follow, but I hadn’t gotten far when Doc grabbed my arm and took me deeper into the hospital to what looked like a break room inside the surgical area.
“We can wait here until Jeremiah comes for us,” he said, referring to Dr. Redding. “He’ll get things under control and take care of your girls, Ripper.”
“What’s happening?”
“She has a placental abruption. It happens with multiple births sometimes.”
“We nearly had sex yesterday,” I muttered, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Did I cause this?”
“Don’t know. Did you put stress on her abdomen? Did she orgasm?”
“No. I stopped because I hadn’t thought to ask the doc if it was OK. We haven’t had sex since she first got here.”
“Did she orgasm?”
“No. I wanted to make her come, but thought better of it.”
“Then I doubt anything you guys did last night caused this. Orgasms in women are muscle contractions. Sometimes, those contractions in the uterus can be enough to cause an abruption, but it rarely happens. In her case, with three babies, she was at high risk anyway. It was probably going to happen no matter what.”
“Fuck,” I swore as I sat down abruptly in a nearby chair. “If something happens to those girls, I’ll never forgive myself. Will Emmanuell be OK?”
“I think so. We got her here fast, and Jeremiah was ready just as quickly as we were. She should be fine. Unless there’s something I couldn’t see on the ultrasound, the babies should be fine, too.” He tried to smile reassuringly. “It’ll be a while. Close to an hour.”
“How the fuck am I supposed to make it for a fuckin’ hour? And why the fuck can’t I be in there with her?” My temper was spiking. This was in no way Doc’s fault, but he was going to catch the brunt of it.