From Rags To Riches

Chapter Thirty Nine

** Pippa's POV **

I never felt pain like it.

Ive had my fair share of pain, but this... I cant even explain this.

I let my family down, I never stood a chance did I? Everything always stacks against me, havent I been punished enough?

The question rolled off my tongue before I even had time to process the thought.

"Did I do this? Did I starve my baby or worse, did I stress so much that my baby couldnt -"

"Pippa, baby no" Harry wiped at the tears I didnt know had fallen and the pain etched across his face told me how hurt he was.

"Pippa, you have to remember that carrying three babies is tough on any womans body. Its always a risk in the first few weeks. Its pretty common in pregnancies with three or more babies for this to happen."

"For what to happen?" Harry pushed, he gripped my hand tightly and I wiped at my constant flow of tears.

"Its called vanishing twin syndrome. What happens is the embryo vanishes, the fetal tissue could have been absorbed by one of the other babies with it being the first trimester and your other two babies are happy and healthy. I cant exactly determine what happened but just know your other two munchkins are safe and there was nothing that could prevent this Pippa, Im so sorry. I wish I could tell you more but thats as best as I can explain. Im sorry for your loss. Ill give you two a minute"

Elisha squeezed my hand and gave me a weak smile before she left the room.

Thats the first time I ever seen Harry cry and I just knew that I let him down. I felt sick to my stomach.

It was a good half hour before Elisha came in and after sitting in silence wiping eachothers tears. I had so many questions.

"Why didnt I bleed?" I blurted out before the door even clicked shut.

"Every case is different Pippa, they are not all detectable. Some people go through labour before its even recognised. When you go past your first trimester its usually something we have to monitor as it can have effects on the other baby or babies."

"How do you know the babies are okay from just a scan? Dont you need to do more tests?" I asked, panic settling in.

"Of course, we can run a few more tests if you would feel more comfortable but strong heartbeats and plenty of movement usually tells us a lot, they are weighing correctly and everything looks good to me but for peace of mind we will 100% do more" Elisha gave me a reassuring smile and got to work checking both the babies and myself a second time.

When she was finished I was feeling sick and so sleepy. I felt my eyelids getting heavy and my body was sore from lack of sleep.

"Lets get you settled back into a room Pippa. I could discharge you but I am going to keep you in for observation tonight if thats okay?"

"Can I stay?" Harry asked as he stood up beside the bed.

"Of course, ill fetch you a pillow and blanket when we get Pippa settled for the night. Ill just get you the chair"