“Our what?”
Ange’s brow creased. “She said it was new, but I didn’t realize…”
Neither had he. Wow. Okay.
“I’m sorry, Dan.” Her gaze was troubled. “I thought you knew.”
“She—we,” he corrected, “found the previous one pretty negative.”
She bit her lip. “A second opinion is always worthwhile.”
He nodded. “So, what happened?”
“We’d just come back from the appointment—Dr. Feldman seems lovely, by the way—and Sarah was driving me back to John’s parents’ place. We were slowing down for an intersection when a pick-up slammed into us at the rear.”
His chest squeezed, his grip tightening on Sarah’s hand.
“We got knocked about a bit, but fortunately the airbags deployed, though Sarah hit her head and got knocked unconscious. The paramedics were great, and she got here amazingly quick.”
Well, that was something. But, “She had contractions?”
Her grip on his shoulder firmed. “They were able to stop them, so she’s fine.”
Wetness filled his eyes. He blinked it back. “We should call her parents.”
“I’ll do that now,” Ange said.
“Tell them to book the first flight they can. Bek too, if she wants. I’ll cover it.”
She squeezed his shoulder again, and he vaguely heard John murmur that he’d pray, and that the doctor was here.
“Mr. Walton?”
Dan looked up to see the doctor approach, a light of recognition in his eyes. No, now was not the time to talk hockey.
“Mr. Walton, your wife should be fine. We’ve run scans, and it looks like your baby is okay. The baby is well protected in the big cushion of the uterus, so it’s very unlikely that there’s been any trauma.”
Dan took a deep breath, fighting the tears that begged for release. “I… I can’t lose…”
The doctor looked at him with compassion. “We’ll be taking another ultrasound soon. You can be assured that there has been no bleeding or any other signs of fetal distress.”
“But what about the contractions?”
“That’s something that can happen with a great shock. They’ve stopped now, and we’ll be monitoring her overnight, especially given her history.”
Her history. Their history. Woven with pain, and rawness, and grace, and hope. God had been there in their past. And God would be there in their future. And God was here right now, His presence unseen yet as tangible as the love that swelled his soul. For despite everything, he loved this woman. He kissed her hand. He couldn’t lose her.Couldn’t.
* * *
White walls.That horrible antiseptic smell. Flowers. No. All of this was wrong. She thought she’d left that bad dream behind years ago. Why was she still here?
Slowly the blur of images sharpened, and she finally caught the tangled dark head of Dan resting against the mattress of her bed, holding her left hand in both of his. What was he doing here?
She licked dry, chapped lips. She was so thirsty. What was that beeping noise? Why was she here? What was that thing around her stomach? As the panicky questions increased, swirling around her brain like a merry-go-round, so did the stupid beeping machine’s pulse and volume.
No. This wasn’t right, she wanted to get out of here.
Dan stirred, sleepily looking up at her. “You’re awake! Thank God.”
