Page 37 of Soaring and Saucy

“Hang on! I’m thinking,” Lance snapped as Stephanie’s eyes fluttered. He immediately grabbed her hand. “Princess, are you okay? What happened?”

“Mrs. Cavanaugh, how are you feeling?” the EMT interrupted, flashing a light in Stephanie’s eyes – as she turned toward Lance quickly.

“Seriously? You called 9-1-1?”

“You passed out!”

“I’m anemic and just got over the flu a week ago. There’s a reason I feel and look like crap when I picked you up yesterday. I’ve been put through the wringer and pregnant to boot. Do you know what it’s like to be out of breath, have something growing inside of you, and be sicker than a dog?” she lashed out in disbelief. “I stand up too fast, I get light-headed. I take too hot of a shower, I get woozy. I’m a fainter, okay? I recognize the signs, and I faint, Lance. It’s normal.”

“It’s not normal to me.”

“You should probably have someone check you,” the EMT suggested, obviously trying not to get involved with whatever was going on behind the scenes. To him, it probably just looked like ‘trouble in paradise’ – but to Lance it was glaringly obvious the differences between them.

As they got to the hospital, Stephanie was checked in and they drew the curtain closed, moving to fetch a doctor. Lance spoke up, needing to clear the air.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered during this moment of privacy. “I was really scared.”

“I know,” she replied – and held out her hand to him. “I shouldn’t have gotten upset; it’s just ambulances and ER visits are so expensive – and this happens. I recognize the symptoms, the spinning, the muffled hearing, and usually sit down or lie down before it’s overwhelming.”

“How many times have you passed out? Is it your heart or…”

“Lance, I’ve passed out about six times in my life, and anemia runs in my family. It’s normal.”

He nodded nervously, grateful she was holding his hand.

“Should I call your mom, your dad, or someone?”

“My Dad remarried a woman half his age after my mother died and moved to California. We’re not close anymore.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine – and it was a while ago.”

“What did your mother die from?”

“Heart failure,” she admitted, and there was something in her tone that made him hesitate. “From chronic anemia…”

Lance cursed under his breath, clenching her hand in his.

“Which is why I am very careful and get checked regularly,” she assured him quietly. “I don’t have leukemia, sickle cell, or anything else. I just have a tough time keeping my iron levels up – so I take iron, drink orange juice, eat spinach, and red meat as much as I can afford. I haven’t had to have an infusion or anything like that. I promise I’m very careful – especially now.”

“Anything else I should know?” he asked hoarsely, staring at her and obviously worried. The baby would cause a demand on her body, and while he wasn’t a doctor, he imagined it would affect things for her.

“I’m A positive,” she smiled gently, squeezing his hand and trying to lighten the mood. “And a little grumpy in the mornings. Coffee helps a lot.”

“My blood type is coffee,” he joked tenderly, leaning forward to drop a kiss on her cheek like it was nothing between them. He expected her to pull back, to tell him once again that they weren’t married, but instead, she angled her cheek toward him.

“I promise I’m okay,” she whispered as he caressed her cheek with his own, nodding. “The baby is okay too. My doctor is aware, and they poke me with a needle almost every visit.”

“Good,” he smirked, kissing her cheek again to take the sting out of his words. “How about a big, nasty T-bone steak for dinner, my princess.”

“Honestly, that sounds amazing.”

“Then it’s a date. You just rest and let them check you out, okay? No more getting upset that I want to make sure you can stick around for a long time. It’s kinda nice to have my very own person to annoy.”

And her eyes met his as he leaned back to take a seat beside the hospital bed. He could see the glimmer of moisture in those gorgeous eyes, the fear, the doubts, and that flicker of hope, too. She looked vulnerable and if her guard was down, he sure didn’t want to be the cause of her hiking those walls up once again.

A few hours later, against Stephanie’s protests, they went back to her apartment. He had wanted to take her shopping, to pick out baby items and talk with her, but the need for rest outshone any of that. They could always go do that on his next visit, but today, he wanted it to be simplified. He wanted to talk, hang out, and feed her things that would be good for the baby, and then talk some more.

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