Page 107 of Broken Bonds

“Hey guys. What’s going on?” she asks as Link picks me up and sits me in the chair.

“I’m thirty-one weeks pregnant with triplets and am having bright red bleeding with clots. I’m scheduled for a c-section next week, but my OB told me to come straight to labor and delivery if I experienced any bleeding or pain before then,” I tell her as calmly as I can, my pants sticking to my thighs with more blood.

“I’m just going to park the car, Ramsey. I’ll meet you up there, okay?” Link tells me, kissing my hand.

The nurse tells him she’s taking me up to labor and delivery before he runs off and she rolls me inside.

“Can you tell me if anything happened before the bleeding started?” she asks as she hurries down the hallways to the elevators.

“I-I just got up to go to the b-bathroom and felt a gush. When I sat down to pee, I heard a loud p-popping sound and then felt the c-clots and another gush of blood. It was s-so much. Oh gods, please, don’t let anything happen to my babies,” I tell her, sobbing as I curl in on myself around my belly.

“Hey, hey, don’t think like that. It’s okay. We’re going to get you upstairs and get everything figured out. Just try to stay calm for me, sweetie,” the nurse tells me, aiming to be soothing, so I try to listen to her and take deep breaths.

“Who’s your doctor?”

“Doctor Moreno,” I hiccup, and she pulls her phone out, fingers flying over the screen as she sends a message.

The doors to one of the three elevators finally opens and we get on, my stomach dropping when the car jolts before moving up. In seconds, the doors are opening again on the third floor and the nurse is wheeling me down the hall to a room. When we enter, she hands me a gown to change into that closes in the front and a pair of thick socks.

I undress quickly, taking the wet rag she hands me so I can clean myself off and throw my pants and underwear in the trash. I slip my arms into the gown and tie it at the top of my belly before the nurse helps me into the bed and gives me paperwork to fill out, asking for my name and date of birth.

“Still bleeding? More clots?” she asks as she types on the computer near my bedside.

“Yes,” I say, swallowing around the lump in my throat.

Link comes in with my bags just as I hand the nurse the signed paperwork, looking frazzled with his hair sticking up like he’s been running his fingers through it. Grabbing everything she needs to start an IV line for me, the nurse grabs my arm gently to search for a vein, asking me to make a fist for her. As the needle pierces my skin, I wince, and she gives me an apologetic look while she tapes everything down. Once that’s done, she draws some blood before hooking me up to a saline bag. When she leaves, Link comes straight to my side, kissing the side of my head. He tries to hide it, but I can see the fear in his eyes as he leans his forehead against mine.

“They’re going to be okay. Lake wouldn’t let anything happen to them, you hear me?” he whispers, and I close my eyes and nod my head as tears drip onto my gown.

It feels like forever before Doctor Moreno finally comes in and my nerves are frayed. I can’t stop crying and Link hasn’t left my side. He’s holding me up as I try not to completely lose it.

“Okay, mama. Let’s see what’s going on,” she says, her steps hurried as she slips on a pair of gloves after washing her hands.

She has me bend my knees and let my legs fall open, pulling the sheet and my gown up so she can get a look. Link looks at my face the entire time, kissing me when I wince at her prodding. She covers me back up and disposes of her gloves, but I still catch the blood on them. Next, she opens my gown to expose my belly and squirts the gel on me before placing the wand for the ultrasound machine in the same spot. She moves it around, eyes flickering over the screen, and I hold my breath, squeezing Link’s hand in mine in a death grip.

“Any pain, Ramsey?” Doctor Moreno asks me as she moves to my left side.

“Yes. Sharp pains, but bearable. Are they okay?” I whimper, unable to take my eyes off of her.

Letting out a deep sigh, she reluctantly tucks the wand away.

“Two of the babies’ placentas have detached. We’ve got to get you in for an emergency c-section right now to get them out, so we don’t risk you hemorrhaging or clotting complications for you or the babies.”

She looks over at the nurse that came in with her, telling her to let them know we’re on our way up to the OR and to page anesthesiology to be ready. The nurse leaves again and Doctor Moreno looks at me, trying to put on a brave face for me.

“This is it, mama. Time to meet those babies. You ready?”

I sniffle, my lips trembling.

“Tell me they’re going to be okay. Tell me you’ll do everything you can to make sure my babies make it, Isabel. Please,” I plead with her, using her first name for the first time ever.

She grabs ahold of my other hand and squeezes.

“I promise you I will do everything I can to make sure all four of you make it out of that operating room alive.”

After that, my room is a flurry of commotion as multiple people enter. They ready my bed to be wheeled out, raising the side rails. Two nurses take up either side of my bed while Link stays by my head, and they wheel me out as everyone else that came into the room follows close behind us.

We’re almost at the end of the hallway when I hear someone running from the opposite end. Then I hear Forde hollering my name. He comes to a sliding stop on the opposite side of Link and grips my other hand, swiping the hair on my forehead out of the way and wiping away my tears.

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