Page 141 of More than Friends

“Maggie,” he says.

I blink a few times. “Where am I?”

“The hospital,” he says. I guess this is obvious, but what I really mean is how...how am I in the hospital? Why am I in the hospital?

“Why?” I croak out. When was the last time I spoke?

“You’ve had the flu.”

I still feel like I have the flu. “How long have I been here?”

“Two weeks.”

My eyes widen. “Two weeks?”

I don’t remember any of this. I close my eyes for a second, trying to remember. “I was having contractions.”

He nods. “The flu triggered preterm labor.”

I look down at my stomach – a monitor wrapped around it. “Am I still having them?”

He stands up and walks closer to me. “Some, but they gave you medicine to relax your uterus and fluids. You were really dehydrated.”

I place my hand on my stomach. “Is the baby okay?”

He doesn’t answer immediately so I lift my gaze from my stomach to his face. He’s blinking back tears as he says, “Yes. He’s fine.”

I choke back a sob. He leans forward and runs his hands through my hair and presses his lips to my forehead – the first kiss of any sort he’s given me since we got pregnant.

“He’s fine,” he repeats as he brushes away a tear from my cheek with his thumb.

I lean my head back against the pillow as he pulls his chair closer to the bed. He grabs my hand and then says, “You’re still having contractions though.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we need to do everything possible to delay labor.”

I nod, but I’m unsure of what he means.

He locks eyes with me. “You’re going to have to be on bedrest until you’re full term.”

I cover my hand over my mouth. “Full bedrest?”

“No standing for longer than five minutes.”

There’s a panic rising in me. “Do they think that will work?”

He squeezes my hand. “There are no guarantees, but Maggie, it’s too early. We have to try to keep him in longer.”

Of course. Of course. I’ll do anything at this point.

I nod my head. “Okay. I can do that.”

His eyes are full of sympathy. “I know this is going to be hard. You’re not going to be able to work.”

Work. Shit. I completely forgot about work. Declan seems to read my mind and lifts his hands. “Don’t panic. We’ve already been in contact with them. They know you are sick. They know you’ve been in the hospital. You’re going to have to take medical leave though. I don’t know how long you’ll get paid. If money is a problem, I’ll support you. I know you’re weird about all that, but if that’s worrying you, don’t. Please. We don’t have to talk about it right now, but...”

I cut him off. “We’ll get through it.”

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