Heir of Night by Emily Goodwin
Chapter 24
“Chicago police are still left scrambling after an unusual string of violence.”
I look at the TV and telekinetically turn it off, unable to hear any more of the new reports on the path of destruction War left in his wake. The ER receptionist looks up, wondering who turned off the TV, and is startled to see no one is by it. After Abby was able to talk to Phil, we realized trying to sneak into the ER for another ultrasound wasn’t going to happen tonight.
Instead, Maryellen, the coven’s midwife, was able to arrange for me to meet her at the hospital in Thorne Hill. Several witches are nurses here, and she spoke with one who floats around between departments and is going to try and meet us. This particular witch isn’t part of my coven but understands my aversion to traditional medicine, thinking I’m more of a traditional pagan witch, wanting to treat myself with herbs and crystals.
“Breathe, my love.” Lucas runs his hand up and down my thigh. I let out a slow breath, nodding my head. We’re waiting for Maryellen to get here since she regularly works with one of the OB doctors, sending patients her way when medical intervention is necessary. It’s the middle of the night, and there’s hardly anyone else in here, thankfully. A couple came in with a puking child right after we sat down, and I had to elbow Lucas a few times to make him stop giving the kid a death-stare. I’m not going to catch whatever he has from across the waiting room.
Lucas puts his arm around me and kisses the side of my head. I lean against him, eyelids heavy. Hell is literally breaking loose on earth, and I just want to go home and sleep, wrapped in Lucas’s arms with all of my familiars and Scarlet crowding the bed. It’s chilly enough to have a fire going, and listening to a fire crackle and pop always relaxes me.
“I thought we’d have more time,” I say quietly.
“We have two months,” Lucas replies, running his fingers up and down my arm.
“I meant with the Horsemen. I really thought Eliza would be right and I’d have some sort of harebrained plan that sounds dangerous and unlikely to pan out but in the end it somehow does. And I have nothing. Literally nothing, Lucas. All we’re going on is that they were sent to Hell probably by archangels and Lucifer locked them in cages like some sort of rabid dogs.”
“Breathe,” Lucas repeats, voice calm and steady. The automatic doors open, and Maryellen comes in. She talks to the ER receptionist and then tells us to follow her up to the second floor. We have to be scanned into the Labor and Delivery floor for security reasons, and the sounds of babies crying comes from the nursery. The L&D floor is on the small side since Thorne Hill General isn’t the biggest hospital. A very-pregnant woman is slowly making laps around the unit with the father of her baby in tow, and Lucas gives my hand a squeeze, thinking that will be us someday soon.
Growing more and more nervous by the second, I keep a strong grip on Lucas’s hand, unable to let go when we get into a room. This isn’t what I expected, and when I see a hospital gown on the bed, I almost lose it.
“I’m not putting that on,” I say, and the CNA who’s helping check me in gives me a look, no doubt thinking I’m too fancy for a hospital gown or something like that.
“It’s just standard procedure,” Maryellen assures me. She doesn’t know my whole backstory but knows why I’m scared of hospitals. “Since you’ve been feeling cramps, we want to check and make sure you’re not having contractions.” She motions to some sort of machine next to the bed that I recognize as the thing that measures the baby’s heart rate as well as contractions from seeing it in movies.
“I…I’m…I…” I sputter, and Lucas pulls me to him. One of his large hands lands on my stomach, fingers splaying on my abdomen.
“It’s okay,” he says calmly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Heart in my throat, all I can do is nod. The CNA pulls the blankets down on the bed and leaves, telling me to get dressed so the nurse can come in.
“It’s just standard,” Maryellen tells me, moving to the opposite side of the room. She sets a bag down and pulls out a large rose crystal on a silver chain to check the baby’s aura. “Get changed, let them monitor you, and once we rule things out, you can go home.”
I bob my head up and down, eyes filling with tears. Maryellen has been up close and personal with me more than once, but having her stand there while I undress is still weird. Thank goodness Lucas is so damn big and broad his frame grants me a bit of privacy. I neatly fold up my clothes and sit on the bed, pulling at the hospital gown. Tears are in my eyes, and I’m working hard to keep them there.
Lucas moves the thin blanket over my legs and perches on the edge of the bed next to me. “Are you cold?” he asks, seeing me shiver.
“A little,” I tell him, knowing most of my trembling is coming from being nervous. He gives me a look, eyes pained for a split second because he can’t sit next to me and let his own body heat keep me warm.
Once I’m settled, Maryellen comes back to the side of the bed to start her usual exam.
“How are you feeling?” She puts a smooth agate stone in my left hand to help her get a better energy reading on the baby.
“Kind of like I’m going to puke,” I answer honestly and close my fingers around the gem.
“I do have something for that,” she tells me. “Are you still taking the morning sickness potion?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to stop taking it and feel sick again. It’s not something I’m used to.”
“You’re more than halfway through the pregnancy and most likely won’t need it, but it doesn’t hurt.”
“Good,” I say, and Maryellen pulls up my hospital gown, keeping the blanket over my legs so only my stomach is exposed. She goes to measure the growth of my stomach when some sort of alarm goes off in the room next to us, making me tense and the lights above me flicker.
Maryellen pulls her hands back. “Does that hurt?”
I shake my head, afraid I’m going to puke if I open my mouth. The smell of cleaning products, the extreme exhaustion, and the frustration of not being able to be out there, yanking War’s astral ass out of whatever realm he’s hiding in so I can kick it, is just too much.
Lucas brings my hand to his mouth and kisses the back of it. “You’re safe, my love.” He gives my hand a squeeze. “You know she doesn’t like hospitals, right?” he asks Maryellen.
“Right. The High Priestess filled me in.” Maryellen smiles. “You’re safe with us, Callie. I’ve delivered many witches and warlocks in my time, including several of your friends. Evander made a quick entrance into this world, and Kristy Miller took her time. Her mother was in labor for nearly three days if I’m not mistaken.”
“I…I didn’t realize you were there then,” I say and fix the thin pillow behind me.
“I was in my final year of studies when our High Priestess went into labor. She’d just started teaching at the Academy then.” She smiles warmly and puts her hands on my stomach, feeling for the baby before getting the measuring tape again. “Evander was one of the first babies I ever delivered.” She runs the tape measure down the middle of my stomach and looks puzzled.
“What’s wrong?” Lucas asks, getting to his feet.
“Nothing. Can you lower the head of the bed?”
I press the button and lie flat. Maryellen measures me again. “Huh,” she mumbles to herself and gets a notebook from her bag.
“Is something wrong?” I sit the bed back up, feeling too vulnerable lying down like that.
“You’re measuring ahead of where I thought you would be,” she says.
“What does that mean?” I ask, and someone knocks on the door, waiting a beat before entering. It’s the nurse, and she’s not the witch we were hoping for. It’s obvious right away just what she thinks of a midwife as opposed to regular checkups from an OB.
“Hi,” she tells me with a practiced smile. “I’m Cassandra, and I’ll be taking care of you. I’m going to get you all checked in first.” She sits at a little built-in desk near the bed and opens a laptop. “Dr. Roberts sent in an order for an ultrasound,” she reads out loud, looking at the order my sister sent over. “You tripped and fell while at dinner but didn’t feel immediate pain?” She looks at me to confirm.
“Yes.”
“Are you in pain now?”
“I have a headache,” I admit, and Lucas looks at me like I just told him I’m getting biopsied for cancer. “I feel more uncomfortable than anything.”
Cassandra types a few notes and goes over more intake info. I can’t give any sort of family history, which she assures me is normal for kids who were adopted like I’m pretending to be. Though it’s really not pretend. Tabatha didn’t adopt me on paper, but she raised me. I’m getting really tired by the time she’s finally done getting my info, and all I want is to close my eyes and go to sleep.
Cassandra hooks two monitors around my stomach, one to check for contractions and another to get a reading on Elena’s heartbeat. Then she checks my vitals, and Lucas was right about my blood pressure being high. I know from reading medical romance novels what the average numbers should be, but I don’t know what’s considered concerning when you’re pregnant.
Or what’s even normal for me in the first place.
The last time Maryellen examined me at the Academy, she said my blood pressure was higher than normal, but it wasn’t a cause of great concern. By the way Cassandra is leaving to get the doctor, I think it is this time around.
“What’s going on?” I ask once she’s out of the room.
“Your blood pressure is high,” Maryellen explains, keeping her voice calm and level. “When you’re past twenty weeks, it’s something that needs to be closely monitored and treated.”
“Treated how?” I rush out.
“That depends. The doctor is going to run some tests and it—”
“No,” I say, pulling my hand out of Lucas’s and sitting up. “They can’t run tests. The last time they did, it didn’t work.”
“What kind of tests?” Lucas asks, and I shoot him a glare.
“Blood and urine to check for protein,” Maryellen tells him.
“No,” I say again, and the lights flicker. “My blood comes back as not human.”
Maryellen’s face tightens. She has no idea what to do, either. “High blood pressure can be temporary from stress, but I am concerned, Callie.” Her eyes go to the monitor recording Elena’s heartbeat. “Your baby is fine now, but untreated…” She shakes her head. “I know things aren’t typical with this pregnancy, and you know we are both in uncharted waters here.”
“I know.” I ball the blanket in my hand and listen to the rapid yet steady beeping of Elena’s heartbeat.
“If you were one of my typical witches, this would be a point where I tell you that you need to seek medical intervention. It’s alarming and upsetting for any expectant mother.” She comes back to the bedside. “More so for you, I’m aware.”
“What do we do?” I look at Lucas, needing to see the always calm and cocky look on his face, but his furrowed brows let me know he’s just as freaked out as I am.
“You’re more human right now than the last time you were in a hospital,” he says, and my eyes widen, staring at him like he just sided with the enemy. “You need to be taken care of, as well as our daughter. I think you should let the doctor do what she deems necessary.”
“You’re willing to take that risk?” I push myself up.
“You’re willing to take a bigger one,” he comes back, blue eyes flashing.
“I’m not human, Lucas,” I say right as Cassandra walks back in the room holding an IV bag of fluids.
“I just talked to Dr. Stevenson, and she wants you started with some fluids and get some lab work done. She just delivered a baby a few rooms down and will be in shortly.”
I close my eyes, on the verge of having that breakdown Ruby warned me about. Dad, can you hear me? I’m scared, really scared, and this time there are no demons.
Cassandra gives me a little cup for a urine sample, and I use the bathroom before getting back into bed. Forcing myself to breathe and center myself, I outstretch my left arm and turn my head. Lucas sits on my opposite side, running his fingers up and down my arm.
Getting the IV started is pretty painless, and done correctly, you hardly notice it once it’s in your arm. The nurses here care, unlike the ones at the research lab who saw me as a freak of nature and not a person.
“All right,” Cassandra says, taking off her gloves. “Dr. Stevenson will be in shortly and will do the ultrasound herself since we don’t have techs here overnight. Someone from the lab will be up within the next twenty minutes or so as well. If you need anything, hit the call button.”
“Thank you,” Lucas tells her and readjusts the blankets over me. Maryellen does a quick reading of Elena’s energy—it’s strong—and then heads out since there’s nothing left for her to do. She closes the door behind her, and I wave my hand out, casting a silence spell on the room.
“You’re going to hold the lab person spellbound, right?” I ask Lucas, looking at the clock and mentally count down the minutes until he has to leave and wait out the sun. “They’re not going to take my blood.”
“Callie,” he says gently, lacing his fingers through mine. “You’re not well.”
“Seriously?” I snatch my hand back. “Not well? I’m fine.”
He gives me an incredulous look.
“Fine, I’m not. I’m tired and stressed and want to go home.”
Lucas looks at me, choosing his words carefully before continuing. I let my head fall back, heart hammering and a sense of unease rapidly growing inside me. An alarm on the monitor goes off, and Lucas jumps to his feet.
“Are you having a contraction?”
“No,” I say, and we both know what the alarm is for. Something is wrong with the baby’s heart rate.