Page 86 of Surprise Baby for Mr. Fischer
With one last concerned glance in my direction, he slipped away.
“How are you feeling, Harper?” Dr. Solano walked in, glancing down at her clipboard before flashing a friendly smile.
“Much better. I’m starting to relax now, knowing the baby isn’t in any danger.”
“Good.” I loved her soft, soothing voice. “We need to keep an eye on your blood pressure to make sure you don’t develop preeclampsia. If you do, and it becomes a problem, then you’ll need to stay in the hospital until you deliver. Until then, we’ll see you every other week to monitor your condition.”
I gaped. “But my due date is months away. I’m only twenty-four weeks right now.”
“Exactly, which is why we want to keep you healthy and monitor you. I’m going to schedule a follow-up appointment for you next week, and then bi-weekly after that. If everything goes well, we’ll switch to every week once you reach thirty-four weeks as we originally planned.”
“Okay. Should I be worried about anything else?” I hated to ask the question without Lincoln here, but I wasn’t sure how quickly he’d return.
Dr. Solano’s eyes gentled. “Many women have something like this happen during pregnancy. Up until now, we haven’t had any concerns about you or the baby. Keep your stress level low, eat right, get some exercise, and you’ll both be fine.”
The knots in my stomach eased. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now get home and relax. Try not to overdo it during Christmas.”
“I won’t.” That was an easy promise to make. Christmas was in two days, and my parents were handling everything. We only needed to show up, stuff ourselves with food, and have a good time.
I changed out of the hospital gown and put on my regular clothes. Already, I was feeling more myself. Where was Lincoln? He seemed to be taking an awfully long time. I decided to open the curtain to see if I could find him. I wanted to go home.
My gaze swept the room, taking in the various patients and medical staff moving between the curtained sections. Finally, I noticed Lincoln near the emergency room exit, talking to a man I didn’t recognize.
“Poor guy,” I muttered. Lincoln must have been caught and had to talk to a fan. I frowned. The nurse had said they’d keep his identity a secret. Knowing Lincoln, he wouldn't want to create a scene or be rude.
I headed in his direction. What was going on?
“Listen, Mr. Erickson. We don’t have the staff on hand to disperse them. We’ve put in a call to the town police, but it’ll be a few minutes before we can move back the crowd. We’ve tried, but it’s the parking lot. They have free rein there.” This man wasn’t a fan. He was part of the hospital’s security team.
“Move back what crowd?” My voice rose in pitch while my stomach rolled. It couldn’t be what I thought. This couldn't be happening. My chest tightened, and a chill slid down my spine.
Lincoln’s gaze swung to me. His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “I’m sorry, Harper. I tried to fix this.”
“Sorry about what?”
Lincoln held my gaze steady. “When we get outside, I want you to stay by my side. Don’t say anything, just keep walking. Once we get to the car, we’ll be fine. It’s still parked right out front.”
I narrowed my gaze, still trying to piece together what was happening. “Lincoln—”
“Do you understand?” His voice had a sharp edge to it.
“Y—yes,” I stammered. He’d never raised his voice to me before.
“Babe,” He brushed his fingers across my cheekbone. “I’m sorry. I need to keep you safe.”
“Safe? Lincoln, you need to tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me.”
“Mr. Erickson. We’re ready to escort you and your partner to your car.”
Escort us?Lincoln wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close.
The second we stepped through the door, lights flashed, and people yelled out questions.For the love of God.I stumbled and was only able to keep moving with Lincoln’s arm holding me up. Panic rushed through me, making my limbs heavy. I struggled to force one foot in front of the other. The fifty feet to the car could have been a mile.
“Mr. Erickson, why is it that we are just now finding out you’re expecting a child?” One reporter yelled to us.
So far, so good.
