Chapter Eleven
“How are you feeling?”
She felt his arms snake around her from behind, though his hands didn’t touch in the front. She leaned back against his chest, taking some of the weight off her aching feet. She looked up and gave him a weak smile.
“I’m doing okay,” she told him, letting out a small breath. Truthfully? She was NOT doing okay. Her entire body ached, she was cramping up and she felt nauseous practically twenty four hours a day. That did NOT equal okay in her book.
“Are you sure?” He asked, ducking his head to press a soft kiss to her shoulder. He knew his wife was having a hard time with the pregnancy. She was nearing her eighth month and she was huge. She never looked comfortable and truthfully, it looked like her belly was going to burst open at any moment. But she was so darn cute!
“Well… I feel better than I did yesterday,” she told him, giving him a weak little smile. “But do you… would you care if we went out to eat? I’m really not in the mood to cook. My feet kill.”
“Absolutely not, sweetie. I’ve not a got a problem with that at all. In fact, when we get back and get Jules to sleep, I’ll rub your pretty little feet.”
“Oooh. I knew I married you for a reason!”
~*~
Dinner had not gone well. Julie had been absolutely unbearable. JC knew that she was feeling left out with all the changes going on in their lives, but the way she’d been acting lately was completely unacceptable. He’d been at his wit’s end by the time they arrived home.
“You march your little self upstairs and get in that bed right now, missy. No dessert for you.”
“Fine!” She challenged, glaring up at her father as she stomped her way over to the steps.
“Julie!” JC barked. “You keep it up and I swear to God I’m gonna spank you!”
“Hate you, daddy!” She screamed, turning around and stomping up the steps. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, JC lunged forward, his blood boiling.
“If you EVER”“
“Jace?”
“Don’t try and stop me!” He snarled, turning back to look at his wife, who he was sure was about to chastise him for the way he was ranting. His face softened immediately when he saw the pained look on her face.
Julie’s eyes widened when she saw her step mother. She had no idea what was wrong, but she was worried.
“Jenny?”
In an instant, JC had descended the stairs and was at her side. He noticed the tears shimmering in Jen’s eyes and his heart was racing.
“It’s happening again!” She cried, her voice hysterical.
“Honey… you need to calm down.”
“No, it’s happening again!” She panicked, her heart thumping in her chest. JC turned to his daughter, who looked horrified.
“Julie? I need you to go grab the phone out of the living room and bring it to daddy. Hurry!” He instructed, trying to keep his voice light. She nodded and ran down the stairs and into the living room. She returned seconds later with the cordless phone. “Jen, honey. I’m gonna call the hospital. I need you to calm down though,” he told his wife, trying to comfort her while he was being torn up inside. Was this it? Was it all over before it began?
~*~
“Mr. Chasez?”
Looking up from his place in the waiting room, he glanced over at Dr. Monroe who gave him a small smile.
“Jen’s doing okay. The baby is fine. A little stressed, but fine. Come on back.”
JC let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He’d been in the emergency room for over two hours now. Once his daughter had conked out, he’d sent her home with Joey while Chris had stayed by his side. Both Lance and Justin had left earlier in the evening after checking up on JC.
“Chris…? Are you gonna come back?”
“No man. I’m gonna head on home. Give Jen my love and tell her to stop doing this shit! She scared me!” He said, grinning when he elicited a small smile from his frazzled friend.
“I will. Thanks for coming, man.”
~*~
When he saw his wife in such a delicate condition, he wanted to cry. She’d been hooked up to 8 million different machines, it seemed. He winced when he noticed the IV in her hand.
“Hey,” she said, giving him a weak smile.
“You scared me,” he cooed softly, walking over to the edge of the bed.
“I scared myself.”
“Chris said you better stop doing this shit,” he told her with a small smile.
“I plan on it,” she said, smiling weakly.
JC reached for her hand gently, squeezing her fingers.
“How are you feeling?”
“A little… woozy, but I’m okay. How’s Julie? Where is she? You didn’t leave her in the waiting room, did you?!”
He couldn’t help but laugh at her frantic questioning. He leaned over to kiss her forehead gently.
“No ma’am. She fell asleep ad I sent her home with Joey. She’s doing fine. She was worried about her Jenny, but she’s okay.”
“Do we know when I’m getting out of here?”
“Nope, but I do!” A voice interrupted. Looking up, the couple noticed Dr. Monroe standing in the doorway. “You’re going to be released in the morning, but there are some things I need to talk to you about. From the very beginning of this pregnancy, I’ve warned you about the risks of becoming pregnant and attempting to carry a child to term. Your body is under a lot of stress right now and I’m worried, Jen.”
JC bit his lip at the words that the doctor said. Was there something wrong with Jen? Was she going to be okay?
“However… there are some things we can do to alleviate that stress. For starters, I’m putting you on limited bed rest for the rest of your pregnancy. That doesn’t mean you have to STAY in your bed. You can move to a couch, chair, whatever, but I want you off your feet unless it’s to use the rest room or walk to the kitchen for meals. Other than that, you stay off your feet!”
With a nod, JC looked to Jen. He knew how hard that would be because of how active she was, but he was definitely going to do his best to make sure she followed the doctor’s orders.
“Also, I understand that you have a small child at your home, and I understand that at times, you’re responsible for her, but I don’t want you to lift her. No lifting, period. If you follow these instructions, you can make it through the rest of the pregnancy without incident, I’m sure. I also want to up your appointments to one every two weeks instead of one every four. Got it?”
With another nod, JC felt his wife squeeze his fingers. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer to God to help him get through these next few months!
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