Our Little Surprise

Chapter 13: Injury

It all happened so fast.
Mitch didn't even know how it happened. He must've misjudged the step.
What he did know was that he was in pain.
And a lot of it.
Everyone was silent and didn't move. Almost as if they were in a state of shock. However, that soon passed and chaos broke loose.
Kevin was the first one to rush over to Mitch, who was laying at the bottom of the stairs on his side holding his stomach.
Kevin: "Mitch! Mitchy, oh my god! What happened?! What hurts?!"
Kevin, despite being a pre-med graduate, was completely panicking and had no idea what to do in the moment. His pregnant husband just fell down half a dozen stairs and was injured in some way. How could he be calm?
Mitch: "I don't know! M-my stomach hurts! And my ankle!"
Kevin briefly glances down at Mitch's ankle. It wasn't bent in any weird way, so hopefully it was just sprained or twisted, not broken. Kevin wasn't that concerned about his ankle anyways. Mitch had said that his stomach hurts and he's five months pregnant.
That can't be good.
Kevin: "Is there blood anywhere?"
He looks around Mitch for any blood, but luckily doesn't see any.
The rest of the band, along with the crew, rush over to see what's wrong. A few fans even try to climb up on stage to get a better look, but are stopped by security. Because of this, the curtain is then pulled back across the stage.
Scott: "Kevin, what's wrong with him?"
Mitch: "Stomach... hurts!"
He clutches his stomach harder.
Kevin: "Scott... call an ambulance!"
Scott: "An ambulance?!"
Kevin: "I don't know what else to do! He's pregnant and is in this much pain! I don't know what's wrong!"
Matt: "I'm on it! I'll call!"
He runs away to get his phone.
Kirstie: "Mitchy, everything's gonna be alright."
Mitch: "I'm scared!"
Kevin: "Hey, we're right here with you."
Mitch: "What if something happened to the baby?!"
Kevin: "Honey, please don't think like that. I'm sure the baby's fine."
Mitch starts crying.
Mitch: "Kevin, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! This is all my fault!"
Kevin: "Honey, this isn't your fault. Any one of us could've tripped down the stairs."
Mitch: "I'm not talking about the fall. I've been feeling weird for days now! I've been crampy and tired and now I'm scared that something bad happened! I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Kevin! I should have told you! I'm sorry!"
Kevin is shocked and a little angry at what Mitch tells him. However, he stays calm with him.
Kevin: "Mitch, just calm down. Everything will be alright. As for what's been going on these past couple of days, we'll talk about that later."
Mitch: "I'm still scared."
Kevin: "Hey, I'll be right here with you the whole way."
Kevin leans down to kiss Mitch on the lips, then his stomach.
Kevin: "Everything will be okay. I promise."
Sirens are soon heard in the distance.
When the ambulance arrives, the EMTs check over Mitch quickly before getting him in the ambulance and taking him to the nearest hospital. Kevin was able to ride to the hospital in the ambulance with Mitch while the rest of the crew drove there.

At the hospital...
The PTX crew is sitting in the waiting room waiting on news on Mitch.
Finally after what seemed like forever, a nurse walked out.
Nurse: "Family for Mitch Grassi-Olusola?"
The remaining four members of the band stand up.
Kevin: "Is he and the baby okay?"
Nurse: "They're doing just fine. After an ultrasound and multiple tests, there doesn't seem to be any damage done to the baby."
Everyone lets out a sigh of relief.
Kevin: "What about Mitch?"
Nurse: "Considering the fall, Mitch is doing fairly well. However, he seems to have sprained his ankle pretty badly. But with proper rest he should be good as new in a few weeks."
A few weeks? What's the band supposed to do about tour?
Kevin: "Do they have any idea what might've caused the fall?"
Nurse: "We don't know for sure, but Mitch seems to be suffering from exhaustion. Has he been traveling or working a lot or in general just not sleeping well?"
Kevin: "Well, yeah, I guess so."
Nurse: "That could be the problem. Since Mitch is pregnant his body requires more rest than normal, and if he doesn't get that rest then he could become overly-exhausted. Most people suffering from this aren't as alert and their reaction time could be off, so it makes sense that Mitch could be overly-exhausted. In general, male pregnancies are a lot harder than female pregnancies, so in order for Mitch and the baby to remain healthy, Mitch needs to be getting proper rest."
Everyone slowly nods.
Kevin: "Can we see him now?"
Nurse: "You can, but only two at a time."
Kevin looks at the others, but they motion for him to go.
Scott: "Go ahead, Kev. We'll wait."
Kevin: "Thanks."
Nurse: "Follow me."

In Mitch's room...
Mitch is half asleep when Kevin enters.
Kevin: "Hey, Mitchy."
Mitch perks up when he hears Kevin.
Mitch: "Kevin!"
Kevin rushes over to the hospital bed where the two share a kiss.
Mitch: "I'm so glad you're here. Bad news. I sprained my ankle. I'm gonna have to take it easy for awhile."
Kevin: "Mitch, don't worry about it. Do whatever you need to do to get healed."
Mitch: "But what about tour?"
Kevin: "Everything will work out. We'll discuss it later with the entire band. But right now I wanna talk about what you told me earlier. You haven't been feeling right and you didn't tell me?"
Mitch: "The cramps and stuff? The doctors think that's just from me being so worn out. They told me everything's fine."
Kevin: "But, Mitch, everything might not have been fine. Something could've been seriously wrong and with no one knowing, who knows what could've happened."
Mitch: "I know it was stupid of me, but I didn't wanna worry anyone. You saw how the band acts with my pregnancy. One thing out of the ordinary turns into the game of twenty questions."
Kevin: "I know they can be crazy, but this is serious. This is our daughter's life we're talking about."
Mitch: "Kevin, nothing that serious came of this."
Kevin: "But it could've. I don't expect you to go to the entire band with every problem, but I do expect you to come to me. I'm your husband. You should trust me."
Mitch: "I do trust you."
Kevin: "Then why didn't you tell me about this?"
Mitch: "... I didn't wanna worry you. I'm sorry. I know I should've told you."
Kevin: "Mitch, we need to be honest with each other now more than ever."
Mitch: "You're right. From now on I won't keep anything from you. No more secrets?"
Kevin: "No more secrets. I love you, Mitch."
Mitch: "I love you too, Kevin."
The two lean in and share another kiss.