A Scarred Heart

Chapter 2

Nathan immediately scooped Melissa up, carrying her bridal style rushing towards the hospital they just came from. The head nurse at the desk looked up as he seen Nathan come rushing back inside even though his shift had ended. What made Max's face contort into sheer horror was the fact that Nathan was carrying Melissa, grabbing a clipboard Max ran around to the front of the desk escorting Nathan into the back so they could get her into a room.

"What happened to her?" Max inquired as they raced past their coworkers, finding an empty room. He helped Nathan get her situated on the bed and started to take her vitals while awaiting answers so he could pass the information on to the doctor who would be attending to her.

" We were talking in the employee parking lot, I finally asked her out. While waiting on her to respond she suddenly collapsed." Nathan said, while trying to contain the amount of worry seeping through. Being trained as a medical professional, your taught to always keep your emotions in check to help with decisions that are often between life and death.

" Ok, we will get her taken care of. Come wait outside and I'll inform the doctor." Max said, leading Nathan out of the room, before rushing past the nurse's station to find the doctor who was there. Finding Dr. Johnson was usually not a problem he was always in the same spot when he was not seeing patients. Which was by his office charting from the previous patient he had seen. Knocking on his office door Max entered in rush without waiting for a response.

" Dr. Johnson, Melissa just collapsed in the employee parking lot with Nathan, he brought her back in, she's in room ten, Nathan is outside of the room." Max said.

Dr. Johnson looked up from his computer, Dr. Johnson was an elderly man who had been a doctor for just over forty years, he disliked all the newfound computer programs, and was glad any chance he got to be in front of a patient even if it was one of their own in the hospital. Dr. Johnson removed his bifocals running out the door of his office, tucking those bifocals into his coat pocket making his way to room ten as Max had informed him.

Pacing back and forth outside of room ten Nathan spots Dr. Johnson running towards him. Even though this is no laughing matter Nathan cannot help the small chuckle that escapes him. Seeing a man in his early 70's sprinting down a hallway to check on a patient makes Nathan pray that once he is Dr. Johnson's age he still moves as well as he does. 

" Max just told me she collapsed in front of you, I'm glad you were there to catch her to prevent any head trauma that could have been caused." Dr. Johnson said before entering room ten

Inside room ten Dr. Johnson began his exam on Melissa, upon seeing that nothing is out of place or broken thanks to Nathan catching her. 

" Max." Dr. Johnson said.

" Yes, Doctor." Max said.

" Get a blood panel started on her seeing as her hair is duller than usual, her vitals are stable and not elevated there is something going on that we are not seeing apparently." Dr. Johnson said.

With that order Max took his leave to input the order for blood work to be started, as Max is taking his leave Melissa comes to in the bed. Looking up to see she is back inside of the hospital with a doctor in front of her. She starts trying to sit up in bed trying to figure out how she got back inside when she was going home from her day at work.

" Doctor why am I here?" Melissa asks the doctor in front of her, once he turns around Melissa notices his light brown eyes, and silver hair. His bifocals give him away as she recognizes the emergency department doctor. Dr. Johnson pulls his bifocals back down after looking over the papers in his hand that Max had filled out.

" What is the last thing you recall Melissa?" Dr. Johnson asks her.

" I was walking out to my car in the employee parking lot, when I heard Nathan ask me to wait for him, he had asked me a question, and before I could fully respond, everything was dark." Melissa answered.

" I see, you are here, because Nathan caught you as you fell, and brought you back inside to be checked over after fainting in front of him. He is quite worried out in the hallway. I have ordered a blood panel to see if we can rule out other things that would cause fainting." Dr. Johnson said turning back to the papers he had in his hand.

Melissa nodded her head as she knew that this would mean she would be sitting here for a couple of hours waiting for the phlebotomist to come draw her blood and run the tests that was ordered. As Dr. Johnson exited the room she spoke up. 

" Can you have Nathan come in please?"

Dr. Johnson nodded his head exiting the room to see his other patients, stopping only briefly to inform Nathan that Melissa had asked for him to go in. Watching the doctor walk away, Nathan turned the handle of the door walking back inside of room ten. He strides over to the bed, standing there for a moment before finally asking 

" How are you feeling?"

" I'm sorry, you were expecting an answer and I fainted on you, but I would love to go to dinner with you. Thank you for catching me and bringing me back to be checked over." Melissa replied looking up into Nathan's eyes.

A slow smile crossed Nathan's face all those years that he thought she would reject his advances, he was wrong. She had agreed to dinner with him, the woman he dreamed about for four years, had agreed to a date with him. He sat down beside her feeling more relaxed now that she had answered his question even though she was laying in the hospital bed being evaluated for fainting. Fifteen minutes later there is a knock at the door, it was the phlebotomist coming to fulfill the orders sent in by Dr. Johnson, after she got her four tubes of blood to run her panels, she exited the room without another word leaving Nathan and her to talk about their days at work.

An hour later Dr. Johnson has the lab work results looking over them in his office, before heading back to Melissa he notices that her HCG levels are elevated while she is low on iron, with this newfound information he finds a radiology technician to go with him to do an ultrasound to confirm for her. Making their way back to room ten, Dr. Johnson knocks waiting to be welcomed into the room.

" Yes." Melissa says, awaiting whoever is knocking on her door, she did not expect to see the portable ultrasound machine following behind the doctor.

" Doctor, why is the radiology technician with you?" Melissa asked.

" Nathan will you please step out for us once more?" Dr. Johnson asked.

" Sure, I'll be in the hallway if you need me." Nathan said exiting the room.

" Melissa, I believe from the looks of our blood panel, you are pregnant and have low iron, which is why you fainted outside earlier. To confirm I want to do an ultrasound just to make sure." Dr. Johnson said.

" I'm sorry, did you say pregnant?!" Melissa asked while trying to comprehend completely what was said, she knew there was a possibility, considering the last time she was intimate the condom had broken, but she did not think twice about it since the morning after when she had taken the plan B pill.

" Yes, your HCG levels came back high, while your iron was low. If it is all right with you, we will give you time to prepare for the ultrasound and be right back in. Do you need help removing your scrub pants? If you do, I will send in a female nurse to help you." Dr. Johnson said, offering a white sheet to her.

" No, I should be ok to do it myself." Melissa said, as she took the white sheet and waited for them to leave. Once they had left, she stood up slowly, waiting to gain her balance before she removed her scrub bottoms and panties. She sat back down on the bed covering herself up.

Five minutes later Dr. Johnson and the technician are both staring at the screen, while Melissa is left speechless. Even though she had thought she was being careful, even after taking the plan B the morning after the condom had broken. There on the screen was a tiny little miracle, with little to no shape except that of a bean with a beating heart in it. The technician was taking measurements while Dr. Johnson was talking to her.

" Melissa, it looks like you are about eight weeks, congratulations on your little bean. You obviously know since this appears to be your second pregnancy that you need to take care of yourself." 

" Yes, Doctor I know, I also know the stress is not good either, which means I will have to start learning to let things go that I cannot change." Melissa said.

" Well, now that we know, what is going on and why you fainted, and you know how to take care of yourself from a prior pregnancy, I will go write up your discharge paperwork. Meet me at the nurse’s station when you are done and your free to go." Dr. Johnson replied.

Not long after the ultrasound finished, the technician removed the wand, and exited the room with Dr. Johnson. Allowing Melissa to redress her lower half, standing there in a state of shock after sliding her scrubs back on. In disbelief she is pregnant again, wondering if she should tell the man who just asked her out. Knowing he will be curious as to why she fainted to begin with, he had been her friend for the last four years through medical school, but would he stick around after learning she was pregnant? She had hidden the last pregnancy from him, including the death of her child, was she ready to be vulnerable and let him in to her heart?