The Proposal (9 page)

Casey gasped. “Oh God, what’s wrong?”

Aidan glanced over at Emma whose eyes were once again
pinched closed while her jaw was clenched in pain. “She’s having some
contractions.”

“She’s not bleeding is she?”

“No, just the contractions.”

Aidan heard who he assumed was Nate talking in the
background. “It sounds like a good sign that she isn’t bleeding. Nate thinks it
might just be Braxton Hicks, but we’ll be there just as soon as we can.”

“Okay. Can you call Connor, too?”

Emma’s eyes flew open, and she looked at him in
shock. Aidan figured she was amazed that he didn’t have to be told to do everything,
and he could actually be considerate of her feelings.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Bye.”

Casey merely hung up, so Aidan cut the call off.
“Anyone else you want me to call? Virginia?”

Emma shook her head. “I don’t want to worry Grammy
yet in case it is something like Braxton Hicks.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

They made the rest of the drive in tense silence.
After screeching into the hospital parking lot, Aidan wheeled up to the curb at
the emergency room and killed the engine. When he got out and started over to
Emma’s side, a security guard hustled over. “Sir, you can’t park there.”

“Look, my…” he trailed off when he realized he
didn’t know what to call Emma. She certainly wasn’t his wife and their
relationship status didn’t qualify as girlfriend either. “
She’s
,” he finally
emphasized, “having early contractions, so I’m getting her inside. If you don’t
like it, then tow my fucking car!”

The security guard held up his hands. “Sorry sir.
Once you get registered, please come out and move the car. A nice Mercedes like
that will get knocked to hell at the impound lot.”

Aidan growled with frustration as he held his hand
out to Emma. “Fine. But I’m not coming back out here until I know both she and
my kid are okay!” With his free hand, he dug a hundred out of his wallet. “Watch
it for me, okay?”

The guard looked left and right before he hastily
snatched the money. “Yes, sir.”

Turning his attention back to Emma, he helped her
out of the car. She grimaced as she stepped onto her feet. “Lean on me,” Aidan
instructed as she took a tentative step onto the curb.

With one arm wrapped around her waist, Aidan led
Emma through the mechanized double doors and into the ER lobby. She gripped his
hand tighter and from the expression on her face, he could tell the pain was
worse. “Just a little further, Em,” he said.

At the registration desk, he eased her down into a
chair. When the clerk didn’t come up immediately, he banged his fist on the
desk. “Excuse me, but she might be in preterm labor here!”

The receptionist nodded to a nurse. “We’ll go ahead
and take her on back.”

“Thank you,” Aidan said.

A nurse came out of the doors with a wheelchair.
Aidan helped Emma to her feet and then helped her over to sit down in the
wheelchair. When he started to go back with them, the receptionist called to him.
“You can’t go back until we have all of her medical information.”

“I’m already pre-registered here through my OB/GYN,”
Emma muttered, through teeth gritted in pain.

“Then he’ll have to stay until we get the insurance
information.”

Aidan stared helplessly at Emma as she handed him
her purse. “My cards are in my wallet.”

He raced through the paperwork. Most of it he left
blank, hoping they already had it since he didn’t know it. The irony wasn’t
lost on him that Emma may be carrying his child, but he had no idea if she had
ever had any major surgeries or childhood illnesses. Just as he started to
punch the button to open up the doors, someone cleared his throat.

It was the security guard. “Fuck!” Aidan cried.
Several people in the waiting room looked up at him. Digging his keys from the
pocket, he sprinted past the security guard and to his waiting car. Tires
squealed as he pulled around the entrance and back-tracked it to the available
parking deck.

When he got back inside, he punched the button on
the Authorized Personnel Only doors. His gaze spun desperately around the
hallway of rooms. Feeling an odd sense of deja vu from earlier in the day, he
was just about to flag down a nurse when Dr. Nadeen appeared before him, his
face tense with worry. “She is in room five,” he said.

Although he hated to say it, Aidan mumbled, “Thank
you.”

He threw open the door to find the curtain pulled.
The sound of a baby’s heartbeat echoed off the walls. “Em?” he cried.

“I’m here.”

He raced forward, throwing the curtain aside. At the
sight of Emma in stirrups and a doctor between her legs, he froze. “Aidan,” she
urged, motioning him to her side. The insistent tone in her voice caused him to
move quickly. He sidestepped the doctor and went to her side. He grabbed up her
hand and squeezed.

“I’m sorry. I had to fill out all this paperwork and
then go move my car.”

“It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not. You shouldn’t have
had to be back here alone. You needed me.” He gazed down at her. “I needed to
be with you.”

“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

Aidan couldn’t stop himself from leaning over and
kissing her forehead. He would have to give the hospital props. They had been
there barely twenty minutes, and Emma was already outfitted in a hospital gown
and was being seen by a doctor. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was not only
the seriousness of her condition, but also Dr. Nadeen that helped matters
along.

The doctor, whose white coat had “Dr. Pendleton”
embroidered in blue, rose off his stool. “You can come out of these now.” Emma
eased her legs out of the stirrups as Dr. Pendleton slid the table back down
for her. After he tossed his rubber gloves in the trash, he turned to face
them. “Even though you were experiencing preterm labor, you’re not dilated, and
your cervical plug is still intact.”

At what Aidan assumed was his blank expression, Dr.
Pendleton said, “Those are good factors. I’m going to have a nurse come in and
administer Turbutaline, which will stop the remaining contractions you’re
experiencing. I’ll come back in and do an ultrasound to see how your baby
looks. From his heartbeat, he seems to be a little agitated, but that could be
from the uterine walls contracting.” He turned to go to the door. “Since you’re
condition is now stable, I’ll be back in a little while to check on you.”

Aidan’s legs didn’t feel like they would support him
any longer, so he collapsed into the chair by the bed. Relief washed over him.
For the moment, it appeared that Noah was going to be okay, and in turn, Emma
was as well.

“Thank you God,” Emma murmured.

A commotion came outside the door. “What the—”Aidan
began before Casey and Connor burst inside the room.

CHAPTER SIX

“Em!” Casey cried, hurrying over to the bedside. She
wrapped her arms around Emma and squeezed tight. “What’s the verdict?”

“For now, I’m okay, and Noah’s okay. Some preterm
labor, but they’re able to stop it.”

Casey and Connor both exhaled noisily. “Thank
goodness,” Connor said.

A nurse interrupted by coming in to administer the
shot of Turbutaline. She eyed everyone before shaking her head disapprovingly.
“You really shouldn’t have such a crowded room. You need rest and relaxation.”

“Please don’t make them leave. They are relaxing to
me,” Emma protested.

She tsked before sticking the needle into Emma’s IV.
“Dr. Pendelton won’t like all these people in here, disturbing you, and he’s
about to come back in to do your ultrasound.”

“We’ll step outside for a bit,” Casey said
diplomatically.

“Yeah, we don’t want to get you in trouble,” Connor
agreed.

When Aidan didn’t budge, Casey shot him a look. “I’m
staying with Emma and my son,” he replied tersely.

“Whatever,” she snapped before starting for the
door. She and Connor were about to go out when Dr. Pendleton swept inside. They
pressed themselves up against the far wall. Without a hello or an admonishment
to the over-capacity room, he proceeded to do the ultrasound. Emma felt
slightly comforted seeing Noah’s form on the screen. His heart rate had
thankfully calmed down. “He looks like he’s planning on staying inside for
awhile,” Dr. Pendleton remarked before turning off the machine.

He stood up. “While everything appears to be
improving, I’m going to insist on strict bed-rest for at least the next week to
two weeks. You may lie down or sit, but your feet are only to touch the ground
to use the restroom. I’d advise that you use a seat in the shower, too. Is that
clear?”

Emma gasped. “But my job—”

Dr. Pendleton held up a finger to silence her. “Ms.
Harrison, I know it seems that since we have the situation under control at the
moment that all is well, but the future stability of your pregnancy rests on
the care you give yourself in the next ten days.”

“I understand,” she murmured, trying to calm the
rising panic that pricked its way like needles over her body.

“As for your job, I’ll fill out the necessary
paperwork for you to take a leave of absence. The most important thing right
now is for you to rest and limit your stress level.  We don’t want any more
premature labor.”

“How long do I have to stay in the hospital?” Emma
questioned, her voice wavering.

“I want to keep you over night, and then you’re free
to go home. Let me go check on the status of moving you upstairs.”

After Dr. Pendleton exited the room, Emma’s emotions
spiraled out of control. She tried fighting with everything in her not to
totally and completely lose it at the prospect that Noah’s life might still be
in danger. It was too much to bear, and she couldn’t stop the floodgates from
opening.  A strangled cry erupted from her lips, sending both Casey and Aidan
racing forward to comfort her. Somehow Casey elbowed Aidan out of the way,
blocking him from getting to her.

A frustrated grunt came from Aidan. Casey ignored
him and grabbed Emma’s hand. She squeezed it tight and gave her a reassuring
smile. “Don’t cry, Em. It’s all going to be fine. Lots of women have to go on
bed rest for a while, and then the rest of their pregnancies are completely
normal.”

Between hiccupping sobs, she replied, “I hope so.”

“I know so. And I’ll take you to Grammy’s first
thing in the morning, and she’ll get you through this.”

Emma shook her head as the tears slid down her
cheeks. “I can’t go to Grammy’s. Granddaddy had hip replacement surgery a week
ago, and she’s already ragged from taking care of him. I can’t put any more
stress on her at her age.”

Aidan cleared his throat and sidestepped Casey to
stand in front of Emma. “You’re coming home with me. I’m going to take care of
you.”

A hiss erupted from Casey. She jerked her hand away
from Emma’s to jab a finger in Aidan’s chest. “Over my dead body!”

Aidan’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

Casey’s nostrils flared. “You’ve got to be out of
your fucking mind!
You
take care of her? You’re the very reason she’s in
this condition.”

He winced. “With Pop’s episode, Emma’s had a lot of
stress on her today as well as in the last few weeks.”

“Don’t you dare try to pawn this off on someone
else!”

“Look we all know I fucked up! Royally. Even though
I’d give anything to take it back, I can’t. But I can make it right, and one
way to prove to Emma how much I care about her is to take care of her when she
needs me most.”

Emma sucked in a breath at Aidan’s words. She was
sure one of the countless monitors she was hooked up to was about to go haywire
with her accelerating heartbeat. Shock reverberated through her that he had
even suggested taking care of her, least of all that he actually meant he’d do
it. While deeply touched, she couldn’t imagine how her frayed nerves could
allow her to be so close to him. Finally, she shook her head. “I don’t think—”
she started.

His blue eyes blazed with a steely determination.
“This isn’t up for discussion.”

Casey snorted. “Oh hell yes, it
is
up for
discussion. If anyone is going to be taking care of Em, it’s me, fuckwit!”

Aidan’s face clouded over with fury, and Emma feared
he was about to truly lose his temper. His jaw clenched as he leaned closer to
Casey. “You seem to forget that’s
my
child she’s carrying. He is my
responsibility. You can sure as hell believe that nothing else matters more to
me in this world than
my
son.”

Glaring back at him, Casey countered, “Too bad you
weren’t thinking about Noah when you almost screwed that skank.”

At Aidan’s growl, Connor squeezed between them.
“Okay, enough!” He shook his head. “Damn, you two have got to chill with the
pissing contest about Em. Would you stop for a minute and think about how much
you’re upsetting her?”