𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃

꧁ T W E N T Y T W O ꧂

Nessa takes her eyes off of the large skyscraper outside and turns her head, smiling softly at an out of breath Josh as he hesitantly walks into the room. He had been too impatient to wait for news and called Mad's the second he could but she didn't give away much- much to his dismay. Only that the baby was okay.

"Come here" Nessa says, her voice carrying gentle tones. She extends her arm, waiting for him to take her hand which he does cautiously.

Dr Kepner was kind enough to allow Nessa to wait for Josh in a more private room. The view of the Los Angeles skyline kept her calm whilst waiting and allowed her the breathing space to think, to process everything. Nessa sits down on one of the hospital beds, Josh sitting beside her- his eyes studying her face for any hint at what she could possibly be about to tell him but she hid her emotions well.

"I need you to let me speak okay? No interrupting no matter how emotional you get or how eager you are to talk, okay?". Josh creases his eyebrows as the confusion starts to seep in. It must be serious if she doesn't want him to interrupt. He nods firmly in response.

"Dr Kepner ran some tests and found out that I have a condition called placenta previa". Nessa explains slowly. Josh opens his mouth to speak but she places her index finger over his lips, her polite way of telling him to shut up. "The baby's placenta is low and it's covering my cervix. That means that when it's time for the baby to be born it'll be through a c section only".

"That doesn't sound so bad, right? I mean it'll be more painful for you which sucks but I know you're strong! You'll be amazing". Josh reassures her, slipping his hand into hers.

Nessa breathes out a smile before she starts to get emotional again. She promised herself before he arrived that she wouldn't cry yet here she is, sniffling like a toddler and she hasn't even told him the worst part yet.

"Josh throughout the rest of this pregnancy I'm going to bleed quite a lot and I might have to get transfusions and the baby could come early but none of that really matters. When I'm delivery the baby, there's a high chance that I'll hemorrhage and bleed out".

The room falls dead silent as Nessa's words linger in the stuffy air. Josh lets go of her hand. The last sentence repeats over and over in his head, quickly playing on loop and getting louder every time. He looks at her- his Nessa. His Bambi. He prays that she's going to burst into a fit of laughter any second now and tell him that she was just joking. That she was just playing a sick fucking prank on him.

"So what you're saying is that you could die? If you go in to have this baby, you probably won't be coming back out...alive?" He asks through gritted teeth, his knee shaking furiously.

Wiping her tears eyes with the sleeves of her hoodie, Nessa nods her head 'yes'. Josh stands up and begins to pace the room while the anger continues to build up inside. How could this happy? Why is this happening?

He finally comes to a halt. "Well then we end it". He says as of it's the most obvious answer.

Through teary eyes, Nessa looks up at him with shock and disbelief. Josh. Her Josh. The Josh that fell asleep in a nursing chair after staying up all night finishing a nursery. The Josh who reads bedtime stories to her bump every night. The Josh who fought so hard for her to let him be a dad- wants to end the pregnancy?

"You're emotional! You're not thinking straight Joshua. Calm down and just breathe" she insists, walking over to him.

"If ending the pregnancy will save you then that's the price we're going to have to pay" He dismisses.

Nessa ignores his words because she knows he doesn't mean then and that he's only in shock. She grabs his face with her hands- forcing the blue eyed boy to look at her.

"Now you listen to me Joshua Richards" she demands. "You said it yourself that I'm strong right? So you know that I'll be just fine. I need you to believe in me and know that I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that I do come out of that room alive".

Josh wraps his arms around her, pulling Nessa's smaller frame into him as he lets the tears stream down his face.

"Bambi I cant lose you. I cant lose you already" He whispers.

Their faces pull apart from each other just enough so that they're face to face. They stare at each other with warm eyes and surprisingly it's Nessa who decides to lean in first. She captures his soft plump lips in between her own before placing her hand on the back of his head, her hands raking through his brown locks. Josh kisses her back instantly, his own hand finding its way to her cheek and using his thumb to gently brush away the few strands of hair that frame her face.

Nessa pulls away after a minute or so- in desperate need for air. Her head is dizzy and her heart is full. She feels overwhelmed knowing that it wasn't all in her head and that Josh has feelings for her too.

"I want to keep the baby with you. I want us to be a family".