“If you were one of my typical witches, this would be a point where I tell you that you need to seek medical intervention. It’s alarming and upsetting for any expectant mother.” She comes back to the bedside. “More so for you, I’m aware.”
“What do we do?” I look at Lucas, needing to see the always calm and cocky look on his face, but his furrowed brows let me know he’s just as freaked out as I am.
“You’re more human right now than the last time you were in a hospital,” he says, and my eyes widen, staring at him like he just sided with the enemy. “You need to be taken care of, as well as our daughter. I think you should let the doctor do what she deems necessary.”
“You’re willing to take that risk?” I push myself up.
“You’re willing to take a bigger one,” he comes back, blue eyes flashing.
“I’m not human, Lucas,” I say right as Cassandra walks back in the room holding an IV bag of fluids.
“I just talked to Dr. Stevenson, and she wants you started with some fluids and get some lab work done. She just delivered a baby a few rooms down and will be in shortly.”
I close my eyes, on the verge of having that breakdown Ruby warned me about. Dad, can you hear me? I’m scared, really scared, and this time there are no demons.
Cassandra gives me a little cup for a urine sample, and I use the bathroom before getting back into bed. Forcing myself to breathe and center myself, I outstretch my left arm and turn my head. Lucas sits on my opposite side, running his fingers up and down my arm.
Getting the IV started is pretty painless, and done correctly, you hardly notice it once it’s in your arm. The nurses here care, unlike the ones at the research lab who saw me as a freak of nature and not a person.
“All right,” Cassandra says, taking off her gloves. “Dr. Stevenson will be in shortly and will do the ultrasound herself since we don’t have techs here overnight. Someone from the lab will be up within the next twenty minutes or so as well. If you need anything, hit the call button.”
“Thank you,” Lucas tells her and readjusts the blankets over me. Maryellen does a quick reading of Elena’s energy—it’s strong—and then heads out since there’s nothing left for her to do. She closes the door behind her, and I wave my hand out, casting a silence spell on the room.
“You’re going to hold the lab person spellbound, right?” I ask Lucas, looking at the clock and mentally count down the minutes until he has to leave and wait out the sun. “They’re not going to take my blood.”
“Callie,” he says gently, lacing his fingers through mine. “You’re not well.”
“Seriously?” I snatch my hand back. “Not well? I’m fine.”
He gives me an incredulous look.
“Fine, I’m not. I’m tired and stressed and want to go home.”
Lucas looks at me, choosing his words carefully before continuing. I let my head fall back, heart hammering and a sense of unease rapidly growing inside me. An alarm on the monitor goes off, and Lucas jumps to his feet.
“Are you having a contraction?”
“No,” I say, and we both know what the alarm is for. Something is wrong with the baby’s heart rate.
Chapter 25
A nurse who’s not Cassandra comes into the room, looking at the machine with a bit of confusion on her face. Oh, right. I cast a silence spell on this room. She could see the alert from the nurses’ station but couldn’t hear the alarm until she crossed the barrier and came into the room with us. She silences the alarm and looks at the screen for a moment.
“Is my daughter all right?” Lucas asks, brows furrowed. The young nurse looks from the screen to him, visibly taken aback by everything that Lucas is: attractive, intimidating, and giving off ancient dark energy nons wouldn’t be able to place but are both scared of and drawn to at the same time.
“Ummmm,” she starts and squirts hand sanitizer onto her hands, quickly rubbing it in before coming over to me. “Let me adjust this first.” She moves one of the monitors strapped around my stomach and helps me move more onto my side. Her face relaxes when she looks back at the monitor. “Baby’s heart rate is back to normal. The monitors slip out of place rather easily.”
“Thank you,” I tell her.
“Of course.” She watches the screen for a moment, making sure things are still good, and then goes back to whatever she was on her way to do.
“Fuck,” I say under my breath and put a hand on the side of my stomach, careful not to move the monitors. My skin feels so fucking tight, like it’s super dry and sunburned at the same time.