XXI - safe and sound

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cw// blood

"JOE!" she screams.

Joe immediately runs in worriedly. "Oh God, Taylor, what happened?" he asks, reaching his hand into the shower cubicle to help her out. He then notices the small beads of blood dripping down from between her legs and washing away into the drain. "Should we go to the hospital?"

"Yes," she says weakly.

He grabs the towel that was resting on the rung and pats her body dry softly. He wraps her body in a towel and sits her down on the bed. Opening the drawers, he finds the hair dryer and helps her blow dry her hair, running his fingers through the strands to calm her shaky body down.

When he's done with dying her hair, he puts down the dryer and wraps his arms around her fragile body. "I'm sure it's going to be okay, darling. You and baby are safe, don't worry."

Taylor doesn't reply. She clings onto Joe's hand even tighter, tears streaming down her face. She can't even imagine something happening to her baby. It's all she had ever wanted since she was 10. She hears Joe mumble things into her ear to soothe her but it was all incoherent.

Joe grabs the hotel phone and dials to the concierge, asking them to bring up some pads so she won't ruin her clothes on the way to the hospital. Taylor lifts the towel slightly and sees there is a bit of blood on it, but at this point she doesn't even care.
When the pads arrive, Joe helps her get dressed and supports her as they walk to the hotel carpark.  Joe opens his GPS and finds the closest reliable hospital, then starts the car, driving at the fastest pace he can legally go.

Taylor feels like she's suffocating as she walks through the hospital doors. Joe helps them register their names, and they both sit on the white plastic chairs in the waiting room, tapping their feet impatiently.

"Miss Swift?"

Taylor and Joe both look up and they follow the doctor down the pristine white corridors. They walk into the examination room and Taylor climbs onto the examination chair.

"Hello guys, I'm Dr. Hunt, and I'm just going to ask you a few questions before we get into the ultrasound, Miss Swift."

Taylor nods weakly, her hand grasping onto Joe's tightly.

"Alright, so how long have you been bleeding for?" she asks, referring to the sheet.

"For the last 45 minutes, I think," Taylor answers.

"Is the bleeding light or heavy?"

"Well I'd say relatively light, since it hasn't really gushed out or even soaked up a pad yet," Taylor says.

"Are there any cramps or pains?"

"No, or at least not yet," Taylor winces.

"Any tissue with the blood?"
"No."

"How far along are you?"

"Around 13-14 weeks." Taylor says. She is tired, and all she wants to do right now is sleep but she has to make sure everything is okay first.

The doctor makes a few more notes onto the sheet of paper and walks over to the ultrasound machine. "Alright Miss Swift, will you please lift up your shirt? We're going to do an ultrasound scan to check the movement and heartbeat."

Taylor obliges and lifts up her shirt, waiting for the squirt of liquid gel to wake her up fully with its coldness. The doctor puts a small glob on her belly and uses the transducer to navigate around her stomach. The images pop up onto the screen and the doctor keeps her hand in on spot and walks up to observe it more closely. She presses a few buttons and the familiar heartbeat pops up and echoes around the room.

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