Her hand that wasn’t covering the wound over her head, though, was still clutched tightly in mine.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said softly.
I looked over at her eyes to find them on me.
My doubt must’ve shown on my face because her features softened. “It’s not over yet.”
That was all she said until I pulled my cruiser into the emergency drive at the ER entrance, and rushed to her side.
I scooped her up much like I had before, walking directly through the hospital doors.
The people in the front room rushed around at seeing all the blood, and started taking her straight back to a room.
“What’s her history?” The nurse who was the first one to us, asked.
“She’s pregnant and took a hard fall. Her head hit the corner of the desk, and that’s how she got the head lac,” I told them, following them as they opened door after door.
We finally made it to the back of the hospital where she led us into the room furthest to the right.
“Is she allergic to anything?” The nurse asked as the doctor entered the room.
“She can answer. And she is not allergic to anything,” Mercy said tiredly.
“Sir, if you can leave the room while we perform the internal…” the doctor started to say, but Mercy started to fight.
“No!” She screeched, pulling away from the nurse’s hands and into my chest.
She practically crawled up my chest, and I looked at the doctor who was staring at Mercy with not a little amount of concern.
“She was raped six weeks ago,” I said softly. “She’s not comfortable with having a man do this. You’ll need to find a woman. Preferably one that’s small.”
He nodded and left without another word, and a woman returned not long after with the name Dr. A. Abernathy embroidered on the breast pocket.
“Hello,” the woman said softly. “I’m Dr. A. Can I see you now, dear?”
Mercy turned her head so it was no longer buried under my chin, enabling her to see the sweet looking doctor.
She was in her late twenties, and had long blonde hair that came down to her waist. It was pulled back in a low ponytail out of her face, allowing me to see her pretty blue eyes.
Eyes that were filled with sadness and hurt.
The nurse that was already in the room, gently took a hold of Mercy’s hand, and helped her onto the bed.
“Do you want us to cut your pants off or let your husband take them off?” The nurse asked softly.
“Husband,” she said softly.
Something warmed inside of me at hearing those words.
Moving slowly, I gestured towards the door. “Close it.”
The doctor nodded and turned to close it, then kept her back turned to us.
I slowly worked the pants down Mercy’s legs, shimmying them over her hips and down her legs with practiced ease.
This felt nothing like it normally did.
I was surprised to see that there wasn’t nearly as much blood as I’d once feared.
The nurse, Aubrey, as her nametag read, held up a gown to cover her legs even before I thought to ask her to.
I smiled at her gratefully, then turned so I could watch Mercy’s face to ascertain how she was doing. Which if the pale, blank look was anything to go by, wasn’t very good.
“Mercy Me,” I said softly.
She turned her face towards mine, and I leaned down to give her a small kiss.
“Tell me what you’re thinkin’.” I demanded softly.
She closed her eyes for a minute, and when she opened them again I saw her inner fire.
“I’m gonna take that bitch’s house and kick her the fuck out. Then I’m gonna donate the place to the homeless shelter,” she growled.
I blinked. Then I threw my head back and laughed.
“That’s my girl,” I said through the tears of laughter. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”***Mercy
“I don’t want to be on bed rest,” I grumbled.
Miller looked over at me with pity. “It’s only for the night.”
I sneered at him.
“That’s easy for you to say. You get to go to work. And you get to go take a shower. I still have blood all over me,” I replied. “My head doesn’t even hurt!”
“I’ll wait to take a shower with you,” he teased.
I wrinkled my nose. “Then I’d just be subjected to smelling your sweat on the sheets. No thank you.”
He winked, then looked down at his phone on the bed between us when it started to vibrate.
Mummy Calling.
“Mummy?” I asked teasingly.
He winked and pressed answer, then put it on speaker phone.
“Mummy, how’s it shakin’?” Miller asked loudly.
I shook my head and laid down on the pillow, watching Miller’s face as he spoke.
“Miller Genuine, I got a call today from your brother telling me I’m going to be a grandmother again, and not by him. Does Foster have some floozy knocked up again?” His mother started in without preamble.
Miller’s eyes scrunched closed, and a scar appeared that wasn’t normally visible right under his eye; it stretched across his cheek bone.
I reached my hand out and traced the scar, causing him to open his eye as he replied to his mother.
“Mom, Foster was never the father of that girl’s kid. He…”
His mother didn’t wait for him to finish.
“I’m not hearing this again. That kid is his. She said so. It looks just like him. I have a grandkid running around this town and I know it. Foster’s just too stupid and stubborn to admit it. I also don’t hear you denying that he knocked another floozy up,” she snapped.
“Mother, Foster doesn’t have some girl knocked up. I do,” Miller said loudly.
Silence.
I took my finger away from the scar and stared at the phone like it was a live bomb about to go off.
Then a surprised, excited squeal sounded from the phone, making us both laugh.
“Micah! My baby’s having a baby!” His mother screeched.
I closed my eyes and smiled.
Thankful that I was still pregnant and witnessing this conversation under much different circumstances than I would’ve been if I’d miscarried like I’d thought was happening earlier.
Turns out that the source of the bleeding hadn’t had anything at all to do with the baby, and everything to do with the fact that I’d managed to fall on a shard of glass. I was to follow up with my OB/GYN two days from now to have a more thorough exam, but from what they could tell, I was fine.