The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

Chapter 10-1

Chapter Ten

“We should call your family,” Jack said.

Karen was lying on a gurney in a dark room, waiting for an ultrasound, as the doctor had agreed with Jack that they needed to confirm the fetus wasn’t viable. She stared at the ceiling, feeling the quiet of the room as Jack’s hand rested on her forehead. She closed her eyes to his touch.

“Why?” she said. “We’ll have the ultrasound, confirm everything I know, and go home. You should call Marcus about Charlotte, see if she had the baby, talk to them. You shouldn’t tell anyone about this, though. It would take away from Marcus and Charlotte’s happy day. No one needs to know.”

There was just something about knowing her brother and Charlotte were having a baby and she wasn’t. She didn’t want to think about it too long.

“If that’s what you want,” Jack said. “I still think your family needs to know, though.”

She turned her head just as the door opened and the lab technician stepped inside.

“Okay, are you ready to get started?” she said.

“We are,” Jack answered for her.

The tech pulled up her gown and squirted cold jelly on Karen’s belly. She said something else to her, but Karen had stopped listening. It appeared Jack was talking for her, as it took her only a moment to realize the technician didn’t know all the details.

“Just having a look here…” she said as she pressed the wand to Karen’s abdomen. The monitor was turned away so Karen couldn’t see. Then the tech pulled away the wand, slid it back into a slot by the monitor, and switched it off. “Okay, I think we’re done,” was all she said before wiping off the rest of the jelly with a towel. “You can get dressed, and your doctor will talk with you.”

When she walked out of the room, Karen pulled in a breath and looked over to Jack, who wasn’t smiling but had slid his hand over her arm.

“Come on, get up,” he said. “Let’s talk to the doctor.”

Karen let Jack help her up, and she slid around on the bed in the hospital gown, tossing the paper blanket to the side. She stood up and pulled off the gown, then tossed it on the gurney, standing in her bra as Jack handed her the long-sleeved shirt she’d worn. She pulled it over her head, then pulled up the sweats and underwear that she had pulled low, below her pelvic bone. She sat in the chair as she reached for her sneakers and shoved her socked feet into them. Jack was holding her purse and her coat, and he slid his arm around her and guided her to the door, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

“I know you want to wallow, but I know you, Karen. Maybe you should call your mom and talk to her…”

She reached for the door and pulled it open. Jack’s hand went to the frame, holding it above her head. He was so much taller than her as they stepped into the hallway, and he was still holding her coat and purse. He reached for her hand then and linked their fingers, and she slowed her pace as she took in the sterile hall of the hospital.

“You think me talking to my mom’s going to help?”

He pulled her to a stop just before the desk where they had checked in for the ultrasound, seeing the staff back there. She wanted to just go home.

“I think if you’re not going to talk to me, you need to talk to someone,” he said. “Why not your mom? I know how close you are, all of you. You don’t want to tell anyone else right now to steal the limelight from Marcus and Charlotte, even though I think your family wouldn’t agree…”

“Karen, Jack,” Doctor Breckenridge called out. She had dark hair tied back, a strong, confident woman. She gestured them over to the side of the hall. “So, as I said, the baby isn’t viable. It happens sometimes, one of those things. You have a couple of choices: You can go home and wait for it to pass on its own, or we can schedule you in now and take care of it here in the hospital.”

The doctor glanced only a second to Jack before looking back at her. Right, it was her decision. Jack was still holding her hand, and maybe the reality of where she was and what had happened was why she was having some trouble trying to figure things out.

“And you want me to decide right now?” she said. Even she could hear the edge to her voice.

Doctor Breckenridge shook her head. “You can wait a few days, see if it passes on its own. Don’t feel pressured here, Karen. It’s entirely your choice.”

“Well, that’s the thing. I do feel pressured. I never asked you, but did I do something to cause this?”

The doctor pressed a hand to her shoulder, moving them closer to the wall, the only privacy they could find. She felt awkward. Jack was so close, and he didn’t walk away or pull his hand from hers.

“No, this happens more than you know, Karen,” the doctor said. “It’s just one of those things, so don’t think you did something. We don’t know why it happens. Often, it’s nature’s way of taking care of something that was wrong with the fetus. As I said to you, there’s no reason you can’t start trying again after this.”

She said nothing, just felt Jack squeezing her hand.

“We’re here now in the hospital, Karen,” he said. “If you’d rather we do this now, come on.”

At his urging, she wondered how he could be so calm.

He turned to the doctor. “Can you schedule it now?”

The doctor was still looking at her, then over to Jack. “Yeah, we’ll get you checked in, Karen, and it shouldn’t be more than a few hours. You can be home tonight.”

All Karen did was nod, because she couldn’t find the words.

“Just pop in down the hall at admissions, and they’ll get you checked in and see you soon,” the doctor said. Then she was walking away.

“Well, that was easy,” Karen said.

Jack was now standing in front of her, his hand on her arm, holding everything together. “Nothing easy about it, but let’s move on and get you checked in. You sure you don’t want me to call anyone?” He handed her purse to her as they strode down the hall, his arm around her.

She heard her phone ding, so she reached in and saw she had a voicemail and a missed call. Jack said nothing as she pressed the phone to her ear and listened.

“Hey, darlin’.” It was her dad. “Just wanted to let you know we’re back. Call me when you get this. Your mom is talking to Suzanne right now. She misses all of you and wants to see everyone tonight.”

She wasn’t sure why hearing her dad’s voice had her suddenly stopping in the hall. She pulled the phone away, looking down at the floor as she shoved it back in her purse.

“Who was it?” Jack asked, always reasonable.

“They’re back,” she said, then lowered her voice as she turned around. “My dad,” she continued quietly, and she wasn’t sure what to make of his expression.

He only nodded and then said, “Come on,” as he reached for her hand and pulled her along toward admissions. They would check her in and take care of the problem so they could move on.

But she was having a hard time adopting that reasonable way of thinking.