"Honey, please. I'm trying to make breakfast. I'm starving," Amanda said as she pushed Andrew away after he came up behind her and tried to put his arms around her while she was fixing breakfast.
Andrew sighed loudly and walked away frustrated. "Can't I even give my wife a hug? I'm getting tired of you always pushing me away whenever I try to get near you."
"I don't push you away," Amanda objected, even though she knew what Andrew was saying was the truth. She was pushing him away and she was doing it purposely. It was the only way.
"Yes, you do. Every time I come near you, there's always something. Either you're nauseous, or tired, or your back hurts. It's always something."
"Hello, I'm pregnant," Amanda replied.
"You didn't mind being with me when you first found out you were pregnant. You were the one coming on to me all the time. I don't get it."
"I'm sorry, but my hormones are out of control. I'm not feeling well right now and just want to be left alone, ok? I can't help it."
"Well, I can't help being frustrated."
"I'm sorry. Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but it's taken us so long to get pregnant and I don't want to do anything that might risk the baby."
"We aren't going to do anything to risk the baby and if you don't believe me, ask your doctor about it."
"I'll do that. In fact, I have an appointment today and I'll ask him then."
"Good. I promise you, he'll tell you that I'm right and that you're going overboard about this," Andrew said. "Are you almost ready to go to work?"
"Almost," Amanda replied.
"I'll go out and start the car."
"Fine," Amanda answered. She watched as Andrew left the apartment. As soon as the door was shut, she headed for the phone and dialed Reese's number. When there was no answer, she tried her office.
"I'm sorry, but Reese isn't in today. She had an emergency and couldn't come in," the receptionist answered when Amanda asked for Reese. "Can I take a message?"
"An emergency? What happened? Is she alright?" Amanda asked in a panic.
"Oh yeah. She's in the hospital with a ruptured appendix, but she'll be fine."
Amanda hung up the phone without responding. For a second she felt like her heart had just stopped. What about the baby? It had to be alright.
Reese watched anxiously as the doctor studied the monitors and came to a conclusion. "The medications we gave you aren't working. Your contractions aren't slowing down. It looks like we're going to have to deliver."
"But isn't it too soon?" Reese asked with concern.
"Yes, but we don't have any choice. The baby is coming whether we want it to or not," the doctor said. "Fortunately, you're far enough along that the odds of delivering a healthy baby without complications are very good. We'll do everything we can, alright?"
Reese nodded unsurely. She couldn't believe this was happening. She thought she had plenty of time before she had to deliver and now suddenly everything was happening so fast.
"Ok, I think it's time," the doctor said after examining her again. "When I say, go, I'm going to need you to push."
Reese blindly followed the doctor's instructions. The whole thing was surreal. She couldn't make herself believe that this was really happening to her. For the moment she tried to stop thinking and just do what was asked of her to the best of her ability. She could only hope that everything would be alright.
The next thing she knew, she heard a baby's cry and the doctor's happy voice announcing, "It's a girl!"
Reese opened her eyes in time to see the doctor hand a tiny, red infant off to the nurse, who carried her over to the crib.
"I know you must be anxious to see your little girl, but we're going to have to take her to the NICU," the doctor explained. "Since she is premature, we want to get her set up in an incubator and start monitoring her breathing, heart rate, and temperature right away. If all is well, you should be able to see her in just a few minutes, ok?"
Reese just nodded weakly.
"Just try to rest and relax. You did a great job. Congratulations."
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