Unexpected Trouble
300 Words
Everything
The shift dragged into a brutal evening. Trauma cases piled up, and Liam disappeared into the OR for emergency surgery.
Ava pushed through fatigue and nausea, but her body was wearing thin.
Around midnight, she felt a deep cramp—sharper than anything before.
Not normal.
She sat down hard, gripping her abdomen, breath shaking.
Maya rushed over. “Ava? What’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t know…”
Fear spiked through her.
“Get Liam,” Maya ordered the nearest nurse.
But Liam was still in surgery.
Minutes stretched like hours.
Cramp after cramp hit her—painful, wrong.
Maya knelt in front of her. “Hey. Look at me. We’re not losing this baby. Not today.”
Ava tried to breathe, mind spiraling.
Then everything blurred at the edges.
A wave of dizziness crashed over her.
She felt herself tipping—
—and strong arms caught her.
Liam.
He must have left the OR early.
“Ava—sweetheart—hey, stay with me.” His voice cracked. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
She tried to speak, but tears spilled instead.
“It hurts,” she whispered.
Liam lifted her into his arms. “I’m taking her to OB now.”
Hale appeared suddenly. “What happened?”
“Get out of the way,” Liam snapped, holding Ava closer.
Hale stepped back, but something about his expression bothered her—calculating, almost satisfied.
Liam carried her down the hall, Maya racing behind them.
“It’s okay,” Liam murmured, voice shaking despite his calm. “You’re safe. The baby is safe. I promise you—”
Ava gripped his scrub top.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered.
His voice broke completely.
“Never.”
The doors to obstetrics opened.
And everything went white.
- Writer
