Page 32 of Unstoppable

Andie jumped when he opened the door. He took one look at her and was kicking himself for dragging her out of NYC and on a plane. Looking at her now he could see it, she looked broken inside. Taking one look at him, she finally broke into tears. He climbed into the car and immediately pulled her onto his lap. Jason and Christy sat across from them, and he listened as Jason called the pilot to plan for them to fly home immediately. Then he heard Christy on the phone with the midwife, arranging for her to be at the apartment as soon as they landed.

He was still beyond furious at them, but he was thankful they were there to help. All he could think of right now was Andie and his child. It took everything inside him to not break down. He held her tight, trying his best to keep her in one piece while she was breaking apart. He looked over at Jason and the expression of sadness on his face caused tears to sprint into his own eyes. He knew in that moment his love for this woman was unstoppable and it was time he gave into it completely. He would do anything to make sure they made it through this okay.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mikecarriedherupthe steps to the plane and sat with her in his lap the entire flight. The plane ride was quick but felt like hours to him. He was relieved when she had finally closed her eyes. However, as soon as they started landing, she awoke and began silently crying again. The tears just kept running down her face, no matter how many times he wiped them away. When they'd landed, Mike carried her to his car and handed Jason his keys. The silence among them all was deafening. He knew that Jason understood there was no way he was going to let go of Andie long enough to drive. Mike sat in the back seat holding on to Andie as if his life depended on it, while his best friend drove them all back to the apartment . Mike felt destroyed inside and couldn't imagine what she was going through. He didn't ask questions, he just kept whispering in her ear that everything was going to be okay, that they would get through this, and that she was the strongest woman he had ever known. The tears just kept running down her face, no matter how many times he wiped them away.

They pulled into the parking garage for their building, and Jason and Christy jumped out to help with the doors. Christy ran to the lobby to get the midwife and bring her up to the apartment. Jason helped Mike get Andie upstairs. He wanted her at home with him and he was happy the midwife was there, but he kept thinking he should have brought her to a hospital instead. He wanted to bring it up but didn't want to frighten Andie even more. Bella seemed to think she could handle this, so he was going to trust her, for now.

They exited the elevator, entered the foyer of his apartment, and found Christy walking out from his bedroom as they approached her.

"I have Bella setting up in your room."

Mike didn't say a word, he just walked past her and left Jason behind. He carried Andie into their room and laid her on their bed. Their bed, he thought, not his bed. Because every part of him wanted everything of his to be hers. The midwife had laid some protective plastic looking blankets down and she was unpacking the ultrasound machine and a small doppler for the heart rate monitor. She had looked up as he walked in the bedroom. She had a kind smile, but he could see that the joyful expression she usually held was tainted with concern.

She turned to Andie and asked, "Okay sweetie, tell me what's going on. When did the bleeding start and are you still cramping?"

She looked cautiously at Mike before responding to her. "No, I... I don't know what happened. I did what you said and laid down earlier before the flight, drank plenty of fluids and the cramping stopped. Then when I got up on the plane to use the restroom, I noticed I was bleeding a bit."

Mike was trying his best to keep his mouth shut, but it was a painful task. He could not believe she didn't feel well earlier in the day and never told him. He would have canceled everything and stayed there with her. They just talked about trusting one another, and she didn't trust him enough to tell him something this important. He couldn't believe this is where her silence led them, yet he knew he couldn't chastise her for it now. They had to figure out what was going on with their child and make sure that Andie was okay. He was worried about the baby, but all the stupid pregnancy books he read left nothing but nightmares in the back of his mind. He knew this was just as dangerous for Andie as it was for the baby.

"Right. Just so you know, the cramping could have been unrelated to what is going on now," Bella said, looking straight at Mike. She must have picked up on something. Even Andie was avoiding his gaze.

"Christy told me it is more like spotting, is that right?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Okay, let's get everything set up here and see what is going on."

While she finished setting up her ultrasound machine, Mike climbed into bed alongside Andie. He placed his arm behind her head and kissed her forehead. As angry as he was that she didn't tell him what was going on, he knew now wasn't the time. She finally looked over at him and her face was tear stained. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, but she was looking at him. It was more than she had done for the entire trip back home, so he was thankful for that.

"Many times, these things happen, and no one really knows why. You're just about thirteen weeks, now, right? Still early, but that doesn't mean much. Pregnancy is a world of mystery for everyone. Even me., Bella said, winking at Andie. "Daddy, do you think you could help get some comfortable clothes for our little mama? She sure looks beautiful, but I don't think I'll be able to get that dress out of the way to see your baby."

"Uh, ya... of course," he said as he got out of bed and headed to his closet.

Annoyed as hell that she still refused to move in and wouldn't even leave a nightie, he grabbed one of his T-shirts and headed back into the bedroom. Andie was sitting on the side of the bed trying to reach her zipper.

"Here, let me help," he said as he approached her.

He undid the zipper to her dress, helped take her shoes off. He got her into his t-shirt, all while avoiding the gaze of the midwife. He was too nervous and kept trying to interpret her facial expressions, body language and words. This was one of those things that made him amazing at his job but made day-to-day life difficult. Once he got Andie back into place, he went back to his position next to her in the bed.

"Alright let's see here," Bella said, while Andie pulled up her t-shirt and revealed the place where their child lay.

After applying clear gel, she got to work.

It was the sound that got him first. It sounded like a muffled radio, but looking on her monitor he could see the large round blob. That was the only way he would have known how to explain it.

"Okay, now I'm going to take a couple of pictures. I want to see if we can figure out what's happening." She got quiet for longer than their liking.

Suddenly Andie gained her voice and said, "Is our baby okay?"

"Here, let me show you something," she said as she pointed to the monitor, "This is the sac the baby is in. It still looks very much intact, so that is a great sign." Andie smiled a bit.

"Here is why you really know the little one is doing okay." She pointed to a little flicker on the screen. "That's the heartbeat."

Andie and Mike both let out a huge breath of air. Visibly relaxing, he turned and kissed her and said, "See, I told you everything would be fine."

"Well, now not so fast," Bella turned to them, "I still want to find out where this bleed is coming from. I'm going to finish taking some additional pictures and I'd like to do an internal exam. We need to make sure that Andie and the baby are out of the woods."

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