“What happened?”
“She was watching Noah and Liam and started to wobble. I caught her before she fell,” Mr. Preston tells Nick, who has his pen light out and is shining it in her eyes. He’s doing things I’ve never seen him do before. I’ve only seen him be a part of my son’s life, not trying to save one.
“Nick, is my mom going to be okay?”
“We need to get her to the hospital so she can be looked at. Remember, Buddy, I’m a doctor for kids like you.” But that doesn’t stop Nick from checking her over. When he places his hands on her belly, I start to panic.
“Ashford, is something wrong with the baby?”
“I can’t tell, but I believe she’s in labor.”
“It’s too early,” both her mom and mine say at the same time. I glance quickly and find them standing together, holding each other.
I’ve never been so relieved to hear sirens in my life. The EMT’s are instructing people to get out of their way as they bring the gurney over to us.
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“What happened here?” One of them asks, but is only focusing on Josie. Her father recounts the story while they take quick vitals and place a backboard under her.
“How far along is she?”
“Um… thirty-five weeks.” Answering that question is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I used to think nothing would compare to finding my grandma on the floor or watching JD go down, but this, by far, is the worst.
“What’s her name?”
“Josephine Westbury,” her father answers for me. I give him a nod in appreciation, hoping he understands why I’m tongue-tied. All around me orders are being barked out and I don’t understand a single one of them.
“You need to let go of her, Sir.”
“Wh… what?” I ask, shaking my head. “She’s my wife. I can’t.”
“You can ride along in the truck, but you have to let go of her.” When they start to lift her, I lock down. There’s a force inside of me fighting. My brain is telling my limbs to move, to let them take her, but my heart is saying no, to hold on tight. I’m losing the battle and can’t stop it.
Strong hands clamp down on my shoulders, pulling me away from her. I fight, but another set of arms grab a hold of me. Harrison and Xander are keeping me sandwiched in. I could take Harrison, but Xander would give me a run for my money.
“Come on, mate. You need to be calm for your missus. They’ll let you go with her in the ambulance if you can keep yourself under control. You don’t want that sod going with her, do you?”
Nick is running after the EMT’s and I’m left standing here. JD’s right. She’s my wife, not Nick’s.
“I’m cool,” I say, and the hands drop. I take off running, needing to catch up with the ambulance. I pat Nick on the back, telling him, “I got this,” and climb in. The female EMT working on Josie doesn’t look up, but tells me to sit down across from her. I do, instantly taking Josie’s hand in mine. When the doors slam shut, I jump.
“What’s your name?”
“Liam.”
“Okay, Liam. We’re going to get your wife to the hospital. Everything will be okay.”
The truck takes off with a lurch, causing me to wobble a little. I lean down so I can talk to my wife. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I need you to be strong.” As I’m whispering in her ear I hear beeping. The last time I heard this, JD was in a coma. Sweat starts to pebble on my forehead and my heart starts racing.
“What’s that noise?”
“Heart monitor for your wife and baby.”
“Okay, that’s good, right?”
“It is. I’m making sure she’s stable right now and that the baby isn’t in distress.”
I know I have to trust her to do her job, but in the back of my mind I fear she’s not doing enough. My wife is unconscious and they won’t tell me why.