Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 102

Lucy's Point of View.

As the paramedic crew carried me out of the house on a gurney, I wish the blanket covering me could be brought over my head. Call me paranoid, but I feel like every house curtain is twitching right now. My stomach lunges as they carry me over the porch step, and

I am reminded that I am pregnant, and now I am being rushed to hospital.

I would cry, if I could, but I feel like my body is unable to produce the tears I want to flow, as fear for our little one consumes me. All I can do is hope and pray we are both okay.

The paramedic turns to Ben.

"Are you coming in with us or meeting us there?" he asks.

"I don't want to leave her; we can get a taxi back," Ben decides out loud.

I breath a sigh of relief, I really don't want to be separated from Ben at the moment. I glance up at him as he runs his hand through his hair, he looks desperate, as he takes a seat opposite in the ambulance.

"I am so sorry Lucy, this is my fault," Ben suddenly whispers.

"How is it your fault? We didn't know," I try to reassure him, but secretly I am blaming myself, I should have known something was wrong when I didn't get my period, but to be honest, I just thought it was my body adjusting to the pill.

"I knew you were really ill. I should have called yesterday when you were still being violently sick before I went to work," Ben argues, his voice sounding defeated.

"Okay, so nothing but the best for you two, we are going to turn the sirens on, you'll be at the hospital in no time." The paramedic smiled.

Ben let out a sigh, as the sirens blared out and we headed off up the road, to make the 20-minute journey to the hospital.

"s**t, I didn't lock up. I don't even know if I have picked up my keys," Ben suddenly says.

I attempt to look up at him, but the movement of the ambulance and turning my head works against me as I begin to retch again, the paramedic placing a cardboard bowl under my chin. "Lucy, can I call my mam?" he suddenly asks.

I am unable to reply but manage to nod my head. To be honest, I really want Joanne as well, she is the closest thing I have to a mam now. She will never be actual mam, but she is the best second-best anyone could wish to have.

Ben pulls out his phone from his pocket, as he does the keys he was looking for fall out. He is in such a panic, that he must have missed them the multiple times he patted himself down.

After filling up the bowl, not sure where it is all coming from, given I have eaten nothing for days. The Paramedic offers me another one, but I finally feel my stomach settle ever-so-slightly, and lean back onto the pillow they have behind my head. "Mam?" Ben's harrowed voice calls out, he never calls Joanne mam, it is always the mother, or just mother, it is clear he is hanging by the same thread I am right now.

"I am with Lucy, in an ambulance going to the hospital. I forgot to lock my door, is Kelvin still awake?" Ben asks.

I can hear the million and one questions Joanne is asking, but cannot make out what she is saying, through the phone line. Ben glances over to me, as if to ask permission to tell her and I nod.

"She is pregnant, we just found out. But has something called hyperemesis gravidarum, which is server morning sickness. She has become severely dehydrated; they are rushing us in now." The crack in his voice shows his commitment to not losing control of his fraught emotions, and once more I wish I could cry, but everything feels a mixture of shit-scared, and numb right now.

"We'll be at Accident and Emergency, if you can lock up my house, then you can pop over," Ben tells Joanne.

"Mam, please hurry," he says at the end, a single tear running down his face.

I try to reach out to take his hand, but the paramedic moves beside me.

"I'm just going to get a canula into your arm ready for the doctors," he tells me.

I nod my understanding, and close my eyes, willing my stomach to just rest for a moment, as exhaustion begins to take over, and I find myself once again unable to keep my eyes open and drop off to sleep.

I wake up as the gurney I'm on is moved out of the ambulance, my stomach instantly lunging, as Ben quickly places one of the compressed cardboard bowls under my chin, stroking my hair, as once again I'm sick. I'm wheeled through the smell of disinfectant making me feel even worse than before. As they push me into a small bay, closing the curtains around me, a doctor arrives quite quickly, which I'm both grateful for, and concerned about, in equal measure, after all this is the NHS and you normally wait hours to be

seen.

"Okay, Lucy, isn't it?" The tall man with sandy blonde hair and a twinkle in his eye that tells anyone he has a good bedside manor and probably has his fair share of nurses chasing his a*s.

"Yes." I try to smile, but I'm concerned for my baby, and quiet honestly myself right now.

"Right, well you're dehydrated. I'm going to get the nurse to put you on a drip for fluids. Once we've done that, we'll re-evaluate you, but I'd be prepared to stay with us for a few days, if you continue to be sick like you have been." He smiles at me. "What about my baby?" I ask him, desperate to know if my little one is okay.

"I think we got to you in time, babies are more resilient than you might think. Do you know how far along you are?" he asks me.

"No, just found out I'm pregnant," I tell him.

Ben sits beside me, still pushing his hand through his hair and looking up at the doctor as if he can solve the worlds problems with one single word.

"Okay, when was your last period?" he asks.

"I'm not too sure, about four or five weeks ago, it's on my calendar, in my phone." I sigh.

Ben looks at me, then smiles, pulling out his own phone.

"Don't hit me baby, but I marked it down as a reference of when to buy you chocolates and flowers." He gives me a sheepish grin.

I want to roll my eyes, and tell him that was inappropriate, but right now, I'm just thankful he did that.

"Okay it's 6-and-a-half weeks ago," Ben tells the doctor, and I blink in some shock.

The doctor nods, then smiles at me.

"That is good, so when you miss your first period, you are classed as four-weeks pregnant, even though technically you are only around two-weeks, that means you are technically nearly at the 8-weeks mark. How long have you been having this violent sickness?" he asks.

"Just since Saturday I was tired at work last week, and have felt off since the week before that, but nothing worth concerning myself over, it's been a busy time," I begin to explain. "Then on Saturday, I was literally exhausted, then started to be sick at night. I haven't kept any fluids down since Sunday night," I tell him on a sigh.

I have to admit, I feel like an i***t, not recognising the symptoms, when I think about it, they are obvious.

"So can I ask why you didn't check when you missed your period?" the doctor asked, and I feel a little under scrutiny now, but I take a breath, getting a large nose full of the disinfectant smell and my stomach lunges again. Instantly Ben is beside me with another bowl under my chin.

"She thought it was the pill messing with her system as she had just begun taking it." Ben tells him.

The doctor asked a few more questions which Ben answered regarding when I began to take the oral contraceptive and nods.

"I think you were pregnant just as you began to take it, but when they scan you in a month, they'll be able to give you better information." The doctor smiled at me.

"Is the baby okay though?" I ask, desperate for more information on my little one, I don't really care about me right now, as long as our child is safe inside my tummy.

"We'll know more when you get scanned, but what I'll say is, the fact that you are being sick is a good sign, means your hormones are high. Now, the most important thing for you and the foetus is that we get you hydrated, maybe some medication so you can keep food down, and plenty of rest. I am going to give my colleagues in Maternity a call, see if they suggest you stay there, or here with us in the main hospital." He smiles again.

"So... she is staying in then?" Ben asks.

“I would think so, but I need to speak with my colleagues first. Given how much she has been sick just on the way to hospital, and whilst in here, I think she should stay for a day or two to give us a chance to try and find something to help with that. Try not to worry though, I'll be back shortly." He smiles again and pulls the curtain back walking out of the makeshift room before pulling it back, giving Ben and I some privacy, as I still keep my head in the bowl.

Finally, my stomach eases up again and Ben removes it from me, sitting down in the seat by my bed, reaching out and holding my hand. Once more my eyes feel heavy, but I want to talk to Ben about all of this, so I try to keep them open. "How are you?" I ask him softly.

Ben looks at me with shock in his eyes.

"Lucy, babe, don't worry your head about me, I'm fine. Just worried sick about you and our little one," he tells me.

The look of pure concern swirling in his eyes tells me he is being truthful.

"This feels a little surreal, I want to be excited, but right now, I'm just worried. What about my job?" I suddenly ask, after all I've not been at the company that long, and for all Anders is a friend now, he still has a business to run and cannot afford to pay me to not be there, then there'll be all the maternity leave. He may decide to let me go.

"I'll call Anders. Should I tell him everything, or just that they are keeping you in hospital?" Ben asks.

"Probably best to be honest, and ask him to keep it confidential, although he can tell Josie. If I'm going to be off a lot, he may need to replace me, it is a new venture after all." I sigh. Ben nods his head.

"I'm not worried about that, I have more than enough to look after all three of us." He smiles.

"But I love my job." I sigh, I'd always thought that I'd work, then take the year off I'm entitled to, but would return to work after that.

"I know babe but let's not worry about that for now. I'll contact Anders later today when we know more to let him know you won't be in for the rest of the week at least," Ben tells me.

I nod, he's correct, we have enough to concern ourselves with right now.

I hear the familiar voice of Joanne and Whip-Me in the corridor, as a Nurse shows them where I am, but asks them to wait outside. She comes into the cubical, a bag full of clear fluids in her arms, then with a smile, attaches the line to the canula before placing it on the drip stand, and playing with the little valve on the line. When she is happy, she then takes my temperature, smiling and nodding, before placing the cuff on my arm for my blood pressure check.

She looks at the numbers which mean nothing to me, then turns and frowns slightly.

"Have you been feeling lightheaded and dizzy?" she asks.

"Yes, a little," I tell her.

"Yeah, your BP is a bit on the low side, but hopefully this bag of fluid will get that back to normal." She smiles, then leaves, telling Joanne she can come in.

Joanne walks into the room, her eyes red where she obviously has been crying, she leans over the bed and kisses me on the cheek, stroking my hair, before turning to Ben and grabbing him into a big hug. Ben breaks, big sobs coming from him, as Whip-Me stands watching us all, making sure the curtain is closed to keep us from prying eyes.

Joanne is still holding him, telling him it will all be okay, when the doctor walks back in.

"Okay Lucy, I've spoken with my colleague, you're staying with us for a few days at least. We're going to move you over to the dedicated early-maternity ward." He smiles, then nods to Whip-Me before leaving us in the room, as I let out a small sob, and instantly Ben is beside me, gathering me in his big strong arms as we silently cry together.