Page 77 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
Ryan
When I gotto the hospital, they ran some tests and decided to keep me there for the night--which, honestly, I was glad for. I wasn't sure that I could have made the journey back. It had been difficult enough staying awake on the waythere.It was as Zed said; I wasexhausted.But that was all. Not a big deal, right?
Or so I'd thought.
Dr. Ignis, our OB/GYN came into my room the next morning with the kind of grim expression I'd never seen on his friendly face before. Immediately, I tensed. And immediately, Finn grabbed my hand. He'd spent the night too, of course. I hadn't even tried arguing with him over that. I knew a lost cause when I saw one, and I knew Finn. I interlaced our fingers, knowing that I was lucky to have him by my side.
“What's up, doc?” Finn asked, injecting false cheer into his voice the way he did when he felt he had to lift the mood.
“I'm afraid I have some news you might not like.”
“What news?” I asked, licking my lips. “Is there something wrong with the baby?”
Please God, no.
“No, nothing's wrong with the baby. Not exactly. The little one seems to be unconcerned by last night's events.”
I exhaled. As long as the baby was fine, I was sure I could handle anything.
“What is the problem then?” Finn asked, still on edge.
“The problem is quite simply that this pregnancy is getting to a point where it's putting more strain on Ryan's body than he can handle.” The doctor looked at me. “The way you fainted was only one indication of that.”
“I'm a little tired,” I admitted. “But I can handle it.” What other choice did I have, really? “It's only three more weeks.”
The doctor shook his head. “With all due respect, this goes beyond being a little tired. As your doctor, I have to tell you that you're putting your life at risk by continuing the way you are.”
I scoffed. “My life's been at risk for years, that doesn't scare me.”
“Ryan!” Finn shot me a disapproving glance.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “It's true, though. And the baby comes first.”
The doctor spoke up again. “I understand your desire to protect your baby, but it has a good chance of survival even if delivered now.”
“A good chance of survival?” I quoted him, disbelieving. “That's not good enough for me.”
“We have an excellent neonatal care unit,” he tried to assure me.
I shook my head, feeling hot and cold at the same time. I couldn't imagine giving birth to my baby only to have it be whisked away to some neonatal care unit all because I was too weak to carry it any longer.
No.
Just no.
“You think the baby would be fine if he came early?” Finn asked. I whirled around to him. He wasn't seriously considering this, was he?
“Historically we've had good experiences with babies born around your baby's current gestational age. Ideally we'd wait another week to make sure the lungs are fully developed and functional upon birth, but we have a lot of babies who need a little help in the beginning and end up just fine.” He paused. “You know I wouldn't suggest this to you if matters weren't grave. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if your body forced you into labor as soon as tomorrow.”
I folded my arms in front of my chest. “Then I'll wait for that to happen.”
The doctor sighed. “Your baby's growth has slowed these past two weeks. Your body's at its limit and it's not providing your hungry little dragon baby with as many nutrients as it needs. You're not helping your baby by prolonging your suffering. You’ve done all you could and you’ve done really well, but I strongly advise that you consider letting us take it from here.”
The thought that I could be starving my baby made me feel nauseated—and I’d thrown up so much these past few months that I instinctively put a hand over my mouth. How could any of this be happening? Finn had won his fight, weren't we supposed to get our happy ending now? This wasn'tfair.
“Could we have some time to think?” Finn spoke up, interrupting my childish line of thought. Once more I realized how lucky I was to have him with me, because I couldn't articulate myself anymore.
“Of course,” the doctor said, retreating. “I don't expect you to make this decision lightly.”
