Ryder came around my side of the car, shut the door, locked the car, and then scooped me up into his arms. Instinctively, my arms went around his neck as he briskly walked across the car park, through the double doors and into the hospital. I told him how to get to the emergency room, but he ignored me and the security guard, and took the stairs two at a time until we reached the second floor.
The labour ward.
“I’m not in labour,” I said to him as he advanced towards the double doors. “I have to go to the emergency department.”
“Like hell,” he said before literally kicking the door open and stepping onto the ward.
“Ryder!” I gasped.
“Sally, Ash?” he shouted, not caring that everyone else on the ward could hear him. “I need your help; it’s Branna!”
I looked to my left and saw Ash literally sprinting down the hallway with Sally and my other co-workers in tow.
“Bran,” Ash panted as he came to a skidding stop before Ryder and me. “What the hell happened?”
“She fell into the river near the cabin we were staying in,” Ryder answered, hiking me up against his chest so he could adjust his grip on my body. “She was submerged for about ten to fifteen seconds, and it was ice cold so I had to warm her up before we could come here. She hasn’t felt the baby move since it happened nearly three hours ago.”
“Room one is free,” Sally said as she dug her phone from her pocket. “Get ‘er in there, and I’ll call me husband up from the emergency room.”
Ryder kept me in his arms as he followed Ash into room one. Ryder placed me on the bed and remained by my side as Ash silently moved around the room, grabbing everything he would need to check on the baby. He cursed when he found no CTG machine in the room.
“I’ll go grab a CTG,” he said to Sally who entered the room.
“There is a Fetal Doppler in here. I’ll use that until you get a machine. I’m sure Branna and Ryder are anxious to hear the baby’s heartbeat.”
If there is a heartbeat.
I began crying, and it caused Ryder to sit on the bed next to me and wrap his arm around me. Ash left the room quickly, and Sally grabbed the Fetal Doppler from the storage press at the end of the room. Ryder helped me remove my jacket and jumper and pull up my t-shirt until my belly was exposed. Sally helped me tug down my leggings until my pubic bone showed. Without waiting for consent, she squirted some gel on my stomach, turned on the Doppler, and placed it on my stomach. She swirled it around the gel, and for a few moments there was static and the usual sound that came from the device. I listened hard, and when I heard the soft drum of a heartbeat, I knew it wasn’t mine from the pace of it. The sound got louder and louder until it was all that could be heard.
“The heartbeat is strong,” Sally announced, and her sigh of relief was obvious. “The baby is okay, probably just sleepin’.”
I burst into tears once more, and I think Ryder did too.
“I told you,” he said as he kissed my face. “I told you he would be okay.”
I clung to him; the relief I felt was almost too much to bear.
“Shit, don’t tell me it’s bad, Sal?”
I looked up and saw Ash re-enter the room, pushing a CTG machine with one hand, and pulling a USG machine behind him. The CTG machine monitors the baby’s heartbeat around the clock with a strap that is placed around my stomach, whereas the USG machine is used to perform ultrasound scans.
“The opposite,” Sally beamed. “The baby is fine, just sleeping.”
Ash placed his hand on his chest. “Thank fuck for that.”
I managed a laugh.
“I’ve to check on a few patients,” Sally suddenly said, and she took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Ash, get her hooked up to the CTG and I’ll perform a scan in about five minutes. Ryder, join me outside for a moment, would you?”
He did so without hesitation and Ash closed the door after the pair left.
I knew Sally was giving Ryder a rundown on the procedure for this type of patient admission, and she would ask him more questions to determine if I needed to stay in the hospital overnight. I was certain I’d have to stay overnight, especially if Sally put the decision to Ryder. I turned my focus from them to my friend and snorted. Ash, as usual, had a grin on his face that told me he was about to take my mind off everything that had just happened.
“You missed me that much that you pulled this shit just so you could come onto the ward and see me?” he asked, his hand on his chest. “I’m touched.”