A blonde nurse appeared, talking at her like she was a schoolgirl, before murmuring something to Dan who nodded, glancing at her as he rubbed his hand over his face then through his hair. Didn’t they know she knew all about hospitals? That they were places where dreams died? She had to get out of here. Agitation rose.
She shuffled on the bed. “What…?” Her voice was raspy. She could barely talk. Someone get her a drink.
“Shh, Princess, it’s all okay.”
Nope. Nothing was okay if she was lying strapped down in a hospital bed.
“Sarah.” The nurse spoke firmly to her. “You’re in the hospital. There was a car accident yesterday. You’re okay, and so is your baby.”
Baby?
Oh! She shifted, desperate to reposition the strap so she could feel her stomach. But when she felt her stomach there was no reassuring kick.Oh, Lord!
The nurse patted her hand away, rearranging the equipment once more to her satisfaction. “Sarah, the monitor tells us your baby’s heartbeat is fine. Hear the sound like a galloping horse?”
Under the steadying beep of her own heart beat Sarah could hear a faster sound.
“That tells us that the baby’s heart valves are opening and closing as they should.”
Thank You, Lord.
Dan’s face loomed over her. “Here you go, Princess.” He gave her a bottle of water with a straw.
“Thanks,” she managed to croak out, before blessed coolness slipped down her throat.
Dan’s face relaxed in relief. “Oh Sar, you had us so worried.” He pressed a kiss to her hand. “I love you so much. I can’t lose you.”
The emotion in his voice and on his face stirred deep inside her heart, welling moisture in her eyes.
“Hey, Princess, don’t cry. You’re okay, the baby’s okay.”
She placed a hand on her stomach, and he gently laid his over the top. She threaded her fingers through his.
“We’re not okay.”
His brow creased, and she had to make him understand.
“You and me. I’ve been so frustrated about things and taken it out on you. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it’s alright,” he soothed. “Everything will be alright. We’ll be okay. I know things have been disappointing for you. I understand that.”
Tears trickled onto her pillow. She sniffed them back. “I hate that I’ve been crying so much.”
He thumbed away her tears. “I don’t mind your tears.”
“You’ll be a good dad,” she murmured.
“And you’ll be a good mum.”
She smiled at how he said it, like she did. Then her emotions wobbled. “If we get that far.”
“However far we get, I’m glad I’m doing it with you.”
Oh, why did the man have to be so nice to her? Her tears swelled into sobs, and the monitor started to beep at a higher pitch, which brought the nurse rushing in.
“Mr. Walton? Sarah? Is everything okay in here?”
“It is now.” Sarah sniffled, nodding. “He’s so good to me,” she wailed.