Chapter 219
1204 Words
Emma gripped the edge of the sink as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She blinked at herself in the mirror, feeling breathless and worried.
OK, calm down. It’s just a dizzy spell. Totally normal; everyone gets them. It doesn’t mean anything. Right?
But her mind was busy now, working and thinking, weighing and evaluating, and it was coming up with some things that she didn’t like very much at all. For example, for the past three days, she’d been totally wiped out by two o’clock in the afternoon. She’d chalked the fatigue up to a few poor nights’ sleep… but what about fatigue combined with whole-body weakness, which she’d felt just the day before? Throw in this overwhelming dizziness, and she was starting to see an emerging picture.
Emma forced herself to meet her own frightened eyes in the mirror. She had to ask Dean to take her to the hospital. She had just been in for a check-up with Doctor Fife two weeks before and everything had been fine, so she’d go back and do a follow-up. No big deal.
But Doctor Fife said that if it came back, it would move fast, faster than anyone could believe. You have to get this checked out. Just to be safe.
She took a few steps away from the sink, then stopped cold as the nausea hit her, hard. Emma spun, fell to her knees in front of the toilet. The force of her vomiting stunned and scared her, and she tried to call for Dean, but couldn’t manage to get a breath. All she could do was throw up, over and over, shaking and sobbing.
Oh, God. The cancer is back.
The thought scared her badly, so badly that she sucked in a panicked breath and screamed Dean’s name. She heard a crash, then his footsteps as he ran down the hall to her.
****
Dean held Emma’s hand as they waited for Doctor Fife to come see them. She was pale and freezing cold, despite the summer heat.
Dean was freaked out, but he was determined to hold it together for her.
If it’s back, the last thing she needs is for you to fall apart, man. You can do that later, when you’re alone.
The office door opened and they turned to see Hal Fife. He didn’t look upset, they noticed, and they exchanged glances, almost afraid to hope. Maybe everything was OK after all?
“Emma, Dean,” Hal said. “How you guys doing?”
“Scared to death,” she said quietly. “Just tell me, please. Is it back?”
“No.”
“…No?”
“No, hon.” His dark eyes were warm. “Emma, you’re pregnant.”
Stunned, shocked, thunderstruck, Emma gazed at him. “I’m – what?”
“Between four and six weeks pregnant.”
“But… but… how can I be?”
Hal grinned. “Well, when a boy and a girl like each other very much, they –”
“But we’re always so careful!” she said. “And I’ve had all that chemo, and all those drugs, and barely had my period for ages, and how is it even possible?”
Hal shrugged. “It’s amazing, I’m not going to deny it. But your body is healthy, Emma, and it seems to me that this is one hell of a sign that it’s open to and reaching for life. Don’t you think so?”
They stared at him some more, then looked at each other. Emma was suddenly terrified at the thought of Dean’s reaction.
“Oh, God, Dean.” Tears slid down her cheeks. “We didn’t plan this… we’ve never even talked about this. I’m so, so sorry.”
His green eyes were staring down at her, and she couldn’t read the look in them at all. Was he going to bolt out the door, screaming the whole time?
“Sorry?” His rough voice was soft, adoring. “Why are you sorry, angel? I think this is the best news I’ve ever heard in my life.”
She blinked up at him. “It – it is?”
A huge smile cracked his handsome face right in two. “Pregnant! Emma… we’re going to have a baby!”
“You’re – happy?” she asked, needing to be totally sure.
“You’re damn right I am. All I’ve wanted for ages is to start a family with you.”
“It is?” She wiped the tears from her face. “But you never said anything.”
“Because we were focused on getting you healthy.” He ran his hands over her back, gentle and slow. “And now that you are, we can get on with it. Our own place, marriage, kids.” Dean grinned. “Though not necessarily in that order. Seems we got a bit of a jump on the kids part, huh?”
Emma stared up at him, needing to ask again. “So… you’re happy?”
“Hell, yeah.” He looked at her face, and a cloud passed over his. “Wait. Are you happy?”
She nodded, her throat too tight to speak. He saw that her tears were back now, and he leaned down to kiss her, over and over again.
“Good,” he whispered against her lips. “Because this is all I’ve wanted, baby, for so long. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“So!” Hal beamed at them. “Now that we’re all happy, I’ll refer you to a doctor who’s specialized in dealing with pregnant women with cancer, or who are newly-recovered from cancer. OK?”
She nodded again, but Dean gave Hal a narrow look.
“Hold up a sec, doc. You said Emma’s about a month pregnant, right?”
“Yes. Maybe a bit more.”
“Well, she was just here two weeks ago for a check-up with you, had all the blood work done. How did you miss this?”
“Because what we check for in cancer screening isn’t what we look for in pregnancy tests.” Hal smiled. “But when you came in today and described the symptoms before more blood tests, I checked the results from today for the pregnancy hormone hCG, as well as all the indicators of leukemia, just to be thorough. I was so relieved when the hCG showed up, clear as day, let me tell you.”
“And everything else is alright?” Dean seemed determined to not let this go.
“The rest of the test results will be back tomorrow, and I’ll let you know then. But so far? The reason for Emma’s fatigue and nausea and dizziness is the best reason on earth: she’s going to have a baby.”
“A baby,” she said softly, as it finally hit her.
A baby… Dean’s baby. Oh, my God. This is amazing.
“Our baby,” Dean said, almost as if he could hear her thoughts. She saw his tears now, and she smiled, her heart swelling with love.
“Our baby,” she echoed.
- Writer
