Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jo
"Do you really need to go to work this early in the morning? Shouldn't you be resting?"
There wasn't enough decaf coffee in the world to deal with Maverick at this ungodly hour.
"I'm pregnant, not on my deathbed," I snapped at him as I took my first hit of coffee. It was decaf, so it wouldn't do shit to wake me up and put me in a better mood, but it was better than giving up the habit altogether.
"Maybe not but you still can't keep food down. You need something besides coffee in your system."
"What I need is for you to stop mothering me." I placed the ceramic mug down on the island a little harder than necessary. It was any wonder it didn't break.
"I'm not mothering you. I just want what's good for you and the baby."
"No, you care about the baby. You made it very clear that I disgusted you the last time we were together."
I didn't give Maverick a chance to respond before I was storming out of the house and heading straight for my car that was parked several houses down from mine.
Screw Maverick and his obsessive need to control everything. If I wanted to park farther down from my house, then I would.
I started the car and took off recklessly, not even stopping at the one stop sign at the end of my street. No one else was awake at this time in the morning to care anyway.
I was two doors down from the diner when I finally figured it was time to slow down.
I gently applied pressure on the brake pedal but nothing happened.
The car didn't slow down at all. Pushing on it harder, I began to pump the brake like that would help.
Unfortunately it didn't, and I was heading straight into another car on Main St.
As a last-ditch effort, I threw the vehicle into neutral and prayed the baby and I would be okay. Taking my hands off the steering wheel, I covered my stomach and waited for impact.
I barely comprehended what happened next. The crunching of metal rang in my ears. The horrible chalk-like taste of the airbag smacking me in the face. The seat belt cinching tighter and digging into my arms and stomach.
Panic consumed me as I waited for the wail of sirens to tell me that help was on the way. It felt like a lifetime before I finally heard them.
"Please help me," I begged when a firefighter approached my window.
"Don't worry, we'll have you out of there in no time."
No time felt much longer but in reality was probably only a few minutes, and the entire time all I could think about was the baby in my stomach and how I was suddenly having some cramping.
By the time the paramedics had me on the stretcher, I was in full panic mode. "Please. I'm only six weeks pregnant, and I can feel cramps in my stomach."
Terror like I've never felt before grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. I was afraid of losing my baby.
"Jo!" I heard his voice long before I saw his head pop into the ambulance. "Oh my God, Jo, are you okay?"
"Maverick." I reached for his hand and interlocked our fingers. "The baby. I need to know the baby's okay."
"We need to get moving. NOW!" Maverick hollered at the paramedics.
The ride to the hospital was tediously long. Several times, I wanted to scream for them to go faster even though I knew they were driving like a madman to get me there.
When we pulled up to the emergency bay of the hospital, I gave a sigh of relief. The cramping in my stomach was still there but not nearly as bad. I didn't know if that was a good thing or not.
I half listened as the paramedics relayed their report to the nurse. The only part that I comprehended was them explaining that I was pregnant and feeling cramps.
The next few minutes were a blur of activity. I was wheeled into a room and immediately hooked up to monitors. Nurses walked in and out but barely spoke to me other than to let me know the doctor would be in shortly to do an ultrasound.
All the while, Maverick didn't let go of my hand. He stayed with me and provided all the support I needed.
"Hi, Josephine. My name's Doctor Willard. I hear you're having some cramping and possibly pregnant."
"I got the bloodwork that confirms I'm pregnant."
"Can you tell me how far along you are?"
"Ummm ..." I hesitated because I knew there was some magical formula to count how far along I was but for the life of me I couldn't remember at the moment. "Maybe six or seven weeks, I think."
"Okay. Let's have a look. Because you're so early in the pregnancy, I will need to do a transvaginal ultrasound to hear the baby's heartbeat. Do you know what that is?"
I shook my head no but watched as he picked up a rather large wand-like contraption from the tray.
"I'm going to insert this wand into your vagina to have a look at the baby."
Maverick wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave a little squeeze when he saw the size of the wand the doctor had every intention of shoving inside me.
"Don't worry, big boy. I can handle a little wand after taking you." I fake joked with Maverick to help calm his nerves and to take my mind off what was happening.
Despite what I told him, the wand hurt like hell. Especially when the doctor moved it every which way in an attempt to find our little nugget.
Eventually the doctor smiled. "Do you see and hear that?"
The screen looked like a blob, but the strong heartbeat that filled the room was magic to my ears.
"That's a very strong heartbeat, mama."
Happy tears poured down my face. I never would've forgiven myself if something had happened to him or her.