Fear
On the way, you told Chris about how the baby hadn't moved much that day and that you hadn't felt him moving for the past couple hours.
Chris carried you into the ER as Nat rushed ahead to the counter, "My friend is pregnant and she's bleeding."
"Okay.", the nurse turned and told an orderly, "Get her a wheelchair and into a room." She turned back to Nat, "We'll get her the proper forms."
"Thank you.", Nat returned.
The orderly came around the counter with the wheelchair and addressed Chris, "Sir..."
Chris's face hardened. "No, I'm gonna carry her.", he said sternly.
You had your inside hand over your belly, the other gripping Chris's vest desperately, your head against the crook of his neck. Your breath was catching with silent sobs every few moments, your face wet with tears. You were terrified. Your small sounds tore at his heart and he really didn't want to let go of you.
The orderly led Chris to a room, Nat following. Chris reluctantly set you on the bed as the orderly spoke, "Someone will be in a moment." He then left.
Nat sat in a chair against the wall as Chris sat on the bed facing you, putting his hand on your thigh. His expression barely concealed his own distress as he put his other hand to the side of you head, stroking your cheek with his thumb while he looked in your eyes and you blinked through tears at him as he spoke, "Don't worry, little love, we're gonna get this taken care of, okay?" He had already told you it was going to be okay... even though he honestly didn't know it would. He didn't want to lie to you again. So, he just tried to say what he could to comfort you. "Let's not worry too much until we know what's going on, okay? Could be nothing." He attempted a reassuring smile, which almost didn't show on his face.
Your breath hitched twice as you went to speak, your voice becoming instantly strained and tears started pouring. "I can't go through it again, Chris. I can't-", your statement was cut short by a myriad of loud sobs as you squeezed your eyes shut and hunched forward, your body jerking with each sound, your face in your hands. So fucking scared.
Nat's face twisted and tears started falling from her own eyes.
Chris scooted closer quickly, and took you securely in his arms, his own voice becoming laced with emotion and tears welling in his eyes, "Shh, no, no, no. Baby, don't think like that. Okay?" He stroked your hair.
You continued to sob into his shoulder as he held you tight. His mind was racing. What could he do? Say? He wanted to be sure things were okay so he could tell you they would be, but there was no way to know. He felt so helpless; inadequate. He was supposed to be your strength, your steadiness... your hero. 'You're supposed to be her safe place. Fucking say something, Chris. Do something!', his mind shouted. He was so scared himself. 'Say something! Anything! Don't let her be alone in her fear... Don't leave her alone in this...' "I'm scared too, baby girl. But, we need to stay positive. No more negative talk."
You pulled back and took a deep jagged breath, "Okay, I'll try." You sniffed and wiped at your eyes.
One corner of his mouth pulled up slightly. He put a curled finger under your chin and kissed your lips gingerly.
"Oh.", you looked down, your hands went to your stomach.
He put his hands over yours, his face worried, his words rushed, "Whatsa matter?"
You smiled a little, your eyebrows pulling up in the center, "He's moving." You let out a heavy breath and Nat smiled softly.
Chris's face relaxed slightly, "See? He's moving; he's still with us, okay?" He leaned over to talk against your belly, "You're not going anywhere are ya, little man?" His question was answered with another movement that you both felt. Chris sighed, then spoke softly, "That's my boy."
You both felt relieved; at least you knew your son was alive. You got the paperwork filled out, a nurse took your vitals, then a doctor and technician with an ultrasound machine came in. You reclined a bit and the techinician waited. The doctor asked you questions while giving you a vaginal exam.
"How far are you, (Y/N)?", she asked, smiling warmly at you.
"31 weeks.", you swallowed thickly as she put on a glove and squirted some lube on it.
"What are your having?", she poked around inside you with a couple gloved fingers, gently pushing around on the outside your stomach with the other hand.
"A boy." The baby protested by moving around profusely. You smiled a little at that.
"Ooh, he doesn't like that.", she chuckled. "Alright, little sir, I'm done." She pulled back and you could see the blood on her glove as she took it off and tossed it in the trash, then covering your lower half again. "Everything feels fine and there's not really enough blood to be concerned. The baby's movements are more than enough. Have you had any cramping?"
"Yes. I had some earlier this evening before I noticed the blood."
"Anything else you noticed?"
"Yeah, the baby wasn't moving a lot today and I didn't feel anything for about 2 hours."
She nodded, "Later in pregnancy, the baby sometimes goes longer periods without moving because there isn't as much room to move around anymore. Sometimes it can be easy not to notice or remember movements if you're really busy. Ideally, you want to feel at least 10 movements within 2 hours. If you think he's being inactive, sit still and time his movements. You'll likely feel 10 movements in less time than that. How about sex?"
You were started to feel better about the situation already and hitched up one side of your mouth, smirking, "No, thank you. I'm married."
Everyone laughed, yourself included. Chris grinned lovingly at you, blinking.
She rephrased her question, "Have you had sex recently?"
"Yes," you grinned again. You were having fun with this. "I also had some of that earlier this evening."
She chortled, "Okay. So, it sounds like you're having a bit of pre-term labor, but it appears mild. So, no strenuous activity the rest of the pregnancy."
You hitched your mouth to one side and looked at Chris.
He nodded, eyebrows raised, "That means no more running, mama."
The doctor agreed, "Right. Also, this late in pregnancy, sex can irritate the cervix, causing some bleeding. Your bleeding should stop by tomorrow. If it doesn't, or it happens again, come in or see your OB. We're still gonna do an ultrasound just to make sure that everything looks good with your little boy. But, I'm sure he's fine, okay?"
"Can we still have sex?", you blurted out, pointing between you and Chris.
Everyone chuckled a bit and Chris looked surprised as he huffed out a tiny laugh, "Jesus, honey." He shook his head.
"Well...", you trailed off, shrugging. You couldn't go just over two months without Chris inside you. You'd shrivel up with want and blow away.
The doctor nodded, smiling, "Yes, just be gentle, not vigorous, and make sure penetration isn't deep enough to touch the cervix."
She glanced at Chris expectantly and he crossed his heart with a finger and held up his hand, "I swear."
She said goodbye and left the technician to do the scan; your son was perfectly fine.
You were given a menstrual pad and a couple extras along with disposable pair of underwear to wear home. Luckily, there hadn't been a terrible amount of blood and you had put that towel Chris grabbed between your legs before you sat in the car. Everyone was in the waiting room when you came out. Nat had been texting Bruce while you were being checked out, giving him simple updates. They were so relieved that everything was okay, all of them hugging both you and Chris.
Everyone retired to their homes for the evening and once you and Chris got home, he started you a warm shower and joined you after you asked to be able to clean yourself up first. He took advantage of the time and got the rest of that damn adhesive out of his hair with olive oil without any problem.
He stepped in the shower and took you in his arms from behind, kissing your head and stroking your belly as he turned his back to the water stepping into it to let it run over both of you, "You know, I wanna hold you in that pool while you have our son. You don't have to feel ashamed or uncomfortable about anything that's coming out of your body, sweetheart. I'm not."
You titled your head, touching his lightly, your hands on his forearms, "Okay, hero. Just promise that if you do get uncomfortable, don't feel like you have to deal with it anyway.", you chuckled.
"Alright, little mama. Promise." He moved your hair and kissed your neck. "I'm so grateful everything turned out for the better tonight. I don't know what I wouldn've done if...", he trailed off, not able to even speak the thought.
You sighed, "Me too, babe... me too."
He just held you under the soothing water for a long while, letting the warmth melt into you both, relaxing you.
He whispered in your ear, "I love you, (Y/N)." He then gave your ear a light kiss.
You closed your eyes in contentment, feeling yourself getting sleepy, "I love you, Chris. So much."
You both got ready for and in bed. Chris read to the baby and then you fell asleep in his arms as he tickled your shoulder, side, back and belly with light fingertips, lulling you into a deep sleep quickly.
Once you were out, he kissed your head and closed his own eyes. He felt like the luckiest man on earth... especially considering how things could have gone that night. There wasn't enough gratitude in the world to convey how he felt.
His consciousness slipped away as he started to think about names for the baby...