Chapter 2
We'd barely gotten onto the highway when we hit a traffic jam.
Red taillights stretched as far as the eye could see.
I slumped against the passenger seat, so out of it I couldn't even tell when the contractions started or ended.
My belly stayed tight, like something was squeezing it from the inside.
It felt like something was locked inside me, refusing to let go, suffocating me with every second.
Charles kept checking the traffic ahead.
"It'll start moving soon," he said.
I didn't say anything.
He turned to look at me again.
"Emily?" he called.
I kept my eyes closed, too exhausted to open them.
He pulled over to the side of the road, his hand trembling as he reached out to touch my face.
"Look at me," he said.
He called the on-duty obstetrician at Harmony Medical Center.
When the nurse heard about the persistent pain, the increased bleeding, and the baby's lack of movement, her voice turned serious.
"Don't come here. Go to the nearest ER, now," she said.
After hanging up, Charles's face went pale. "The nurse said we shouldn't go to Harmony Medical Center. We need to go to the nearest maternity ER."
I sat up a little, bracing myself against the seat. "I told you before, we should go to Eliza Health Hospital."
He didn't turn around right away. Instead, he grabbed his phone and quickly typed out a few lines.
Charles: [The nurse at Harmony Medical Center told me to find the nearest hospital.
[The nurse said Emily is still bleeding, and the baby's not moving. We can't wait any longer.]
I stared at those two lines, my heart sinking little by little.
Nadine replied right away. [Of course the hospital will tell you to go to the nearest one. That's the safest thing to say.
[But all her checkups have been at Harmony Medical Center. If you switch last minute, the doctors will have to start from scratch.
[Charles, don't lose your head because things get dangerous.]
Charles stared at the screen, his Adam's apple bobbing.
I looked at him. "The nurse told you to go to the nearest hospital.
"Are you still going to listen to Nadine?"
He didn't answer.
The traffic ahead finally started to move.
He pressed the gas again, and the car kept heading toward Harmony Medical Center.
I reached into my coat pocket and found my phone.
I fumbled with the password three times before finally dialing 911.
I said, "I'm at the east entrance to the South Loop Overpass.
"I'm nine months pregnant, bleeding heavily, and the baby's not moving."
The operator urgently asked for more details. "How much are you bleeding right now? Are you conscious?"
"A lot. I'm dizzy, and my belly won't stop hurting," I replied.
The operator's tone changed instantly. "We're sending an ambulance right now. Pull over to a safe spot.
"Try to lie flat and don't move around."
The color drained from Charles's face.
The traffic ahead finally started to move a little.
He immediately turned on the hazard lights and pulled over to the shoulder by the overpass entrance.
I looked at him. "Why do you only trust me when I couldn't take it anymore?"
Finally, the sound of an ambulance echoed in the distance.
The paramedic asked, "Where are your prenatal records and ID?"
Charles's expression shifted. The hospital bag was still back at the front door.
He'd been so focused on getting me downstairs that he completely forgot to grab it.
"I'll go back and get it," he said.
I grabbed his sleeve, desperate. "Don't go."
He looked down at my hand, gripping his sleeve. "We don't have your ID or prenatal records. We'll need them at the hospital."
"The nurses are already here. They'll take care of it."
Charles hesitated, then his phone buzzed.
He'd just texted the group, [Forgot the hospital bag at home. I'll go back and get it.]
Nadine replied, [Yeah, make sure you bring all the ID and prenatal records.
[Emily is already in the ambulance. You won't be able to help by following the ambulance.
[Don't show up at the hospital with nothing and end up scrambling.]
After reading that, Charles finally made up his mind.
He bent down and kissed my fingers.
"Ten minutes," he said. "I'll grab the stuff and be right back."
The car door closed. I watched him walk away, my hand dropping limply to my side.
*****
Less than two minutes after the ambulance pulled out, I started to feel cold.
The nurse covered me with a blanket, her voice kept ringing in my ears. "Emily, don't fall asleep."
The nurse leaned in, asking me the same question over and over. "When was the last time you felt the baby move?"
I tried to remember. "Around one in the morning, I think I felt a little movement. I'm not sure."
I took a shaky breath, tears streaming down my cheeks. "After my water broke at three, there was no movement at all."
The nurse's face changed instantly. She turned and called out to the front.
She said, "The baby hasn't moved for at least two hours, and the bleeding's getting worse. Get the maternity ER ready."
My heart sank.
"Is something wrong with the baby?" I asked.
No one answered me.
My belly was so quiet it scared me.
For nine months, the baby had never been this still.
Every night, I'd talk to him, and he'd always kick back.
Last night, before bed, I was still feeling his little foot poking out.
"Wait a little longer," I had whispered. "In a few days, you'll get to meet your mom and dad."
I grabbed the nurse's sleeve. "Please, save my baby first."
The nurse leaned down and took my hand. "We're going to save both of you.
"But you need to cooperate with us right now.
"Where's your family?"
My lips trembled. "He went back home to grab our stuff."
She paused for a moment. "He went home to get things at a time like this?"
I was too weak to explain.
The ambulance rocked, and the overhead lights were so bright I couldn't keep my eyes open.
The ambulance pulled up to the hospital's ER entrance.
As soon as the doors opened, a team rushed in and pushed me out on the stretcher.
The ceiling lights whizzed by, one after another.
Someone shouted for OB, someone else called out my blood pressure.
"Bleeding's getting worse."
"Prep the OR!"
Not long after they wheeled me into the ER, the doctor came over holding a consent form.
"This is critical. We can't wait for your family," the doctor said.
My hand was shaking so badly I couldn't even grip the pen.
The nurse steadied my hand, guiding me as I scribbled my name on the last page.
As they were about to push me into the OR, I tried calling Charles.
The first call, no answer.
The second call, still nothing.
I stared at his name on the screen, my hand trembling so much I could barely hold on.
The nurse leaned in and whispered, "Do you want to try again?"
I nodded. "One more time."
The third call rang a few times, then got hung up on.
I watched the screen go dark, and suddenly, I didn't have the strength to talk anything anymore.
The nurse gently took my phone and slipped it into my bag.
"Let's get you into surgery," she said.
We'd barely entered the OR when the monitor next to me started blaring with a piercing alarm.
The nurse glanced down, and her face instantly drained of color. "The baby's heart rate is dropping again."
Another doctor hurried over. "Alert the team inside. Get ready, now."
I opened my eyes at once. "What's happening to the baby?"
No one answered.
Panic shot through me. I grabbed the bedrail, trying to sit up. "Tell me, what's wrong with my baby?"
The nurse pressed down on my shoulders, holding me back. "Don't move, you're in danger too."
But her words couldn't reach me.
"Save him first!" I screamed. "Please, save my baby first."
The nurse pinned me down. "Emily, don't move."
In the OR, the doctors were already cutting open my clothes.
"The baby's heart rate is still dropping."
"Prep for an emergency C-section."
"Save the mother first."
The anesthesia mask came down over my face.
The last thing I saw was the doctor's face, tense and grim.
At the same time, Charles had just pushed open the front door.
The hospital bag was still sitting in the entryway, untouched.
He bent down to grab it, and a sticky note slipped off the bag.
It read: [Babe, after the baby's born, you can eat whatever you want.]
Charles froze for a second.
Last night, when he wrote that, he was leaning over the bed, asking me, "Even barbecue?"
I laughed and kicked him. "We'll see after I'm done with post-birth recovery."
His phone suddenly buzzed. Someone in the group chat asked: [Did Emily make it to the hospital yet?
[Wasn't she bleeding just now?]
Nadine replied right away, [She's already at the hospital.
[Don't stress yourselves out. Labor always comes with unexpected twists.]
For the first time, Charles didn't reply to her.
He grabbed the hospital bag and ran. When he got to Eliza Health Hospital, he burst into the maternity ER.
"I'm looking for Emily Winters," he said.
The nurse looked up. "Who are you to her?"
"I'm her husband."
When he finished speaking, the doors to the surgery room swung open.
A doctor stepped out, holding a clipboard, and called down the hallway, "Is Emily Winters' family here?"
Charles spun around. "That's me."
The doctor glanced down to confirm the name on the clipboard. "The baby couldn't be saved. We need you to confirm the identity and sign for the temporary holding."