Ryan's POV
"What if they try and take my baby Ryan?" Hayleigh asked with panic, lacing her voice. My eyes immediately jumped to the machine next to the hospital bed that was monitoring her vitals, and seeing the blood pressure reading go up slightly alarmed me. It was still better than the 140/95 reading from her initial check in the emergency department. It had stabilized after administration of hypertensive drugs, but stress was obviously making it go back up.
I knew I needed to keep her calm. The doctor had told Hayleigh that she was at risk for developing pre-eclampsia, a condition I knew nothing about, and a quick google search was enough to terrify me. She and her baby were my responsibility.
"No one is going to take your baby Hayles, I promise you that. I won't let them. I've got you." I squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her. I was relieved to see a small smile form on her face and the blood pressure reading stabilized once again to a normal number.
"I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done Ry." She spoke, looking into my eyes.
"You don't have to thank me, Hayles. I care about you. I will always care about you. I just want you to be happy and safe and have a healthy baby." I was on the tip of my tongue to add that I loved her and I wanted to help her raise her baby, but I didn't. That was the past and I had let go of that fantasy. I had to be the friend that she needed and nothing more.
Later on, when I knew for certain that Hayleigh and her baby were going to be okay, I was going to have a talk with Deb and Carl. I was prepared to take full responsibility for everything that had gone on between Hayleigh and me and I was going to appeal to them to not do anything to upset her. Let them know that she needed to avoid stressful situations. If not for Hayleigh, then at least do it for the sake of their grandson. Hayleigh had no problem submitting to a DNA test, but not at the expense of her unborn child. They could wait until the baby was born.
"I'm feeling much better. My headache is gone. I'm not dizzy anymore. I think I'll be good to go this weekend." Hayleigh said.
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea. You probably need to rest up. They may even put you on bed rest." I said as gently as I could, hoping she wouldn't get upset.
"I think bed rest would be the absolute worst thing for me. It would give me too much time to overthink everything. Work would be a good distraction to get my mind off of things. I enjoy working. It's not stressful. I have to work. I need insurance. I have bills I have to pay. I have to be able to support myself and my baby." She argued.
"You don't need to worry about any of that Hayles. Penske will take care of you. Like Tim said, you will always have a home there."
"I don't want charity."
"It's not charity. It's taking care of family. Thats what you are Hayles....family." I said, but added in my head I will take care of you.
We were silent for the next few minutes, I guess she was letting my words sink in, when the doctor entered the room. She looked pleased when she checked the blood pressure reading.
"Okay Hayleigh, good news and bad news. The good news is your blood pressure is stable at this time and there is no protein in your urine which means your kidneys are functioning normally. Platelets are a little low, but your liver counts are normal." The doctor said.
"What's the bad news?" Hayleigh asked.
"The bad news is you are not completely out of the woods yet. You are still at an increased risk of developing preeclampsia, so I would like to keep you on an antihypertensive as well as a daily low dose aspirin. You should monitor your blood pressure daily at home and I want you to see me weekly now. Due to your elevated risk factors, we will most likely induce labor a little early at 37 weeks to avoid further complications. We will discuss that more in detail when I see you in the office next week." The doctor explained.
"Do I need to go on bed rest?" Hayleigh asked, and I could hear her voice waver just a bit.
"At this time, no. Staying active is good for you, as long as you don't do anything too strenuous. Stick to a healthy diet and limit your sodium intake and hopefully we can manage it until it's safe for you to deliver."
"So I'm okay to travel?" Hayleigh asked, sounding a little less tentative now.
"Just stay hydrated and give yourself breaks. Although walking is good for you, don't overdo it. Put your feet up when you are resting and don't forget to monitor your blood pressure." The doctor replied.
Hayleigh and I asked several more questions about restrictions and things to watch for. I had been on the verge of calling my sister Erin to stay with Hayleigh this weekend since I knew she was not going to the track, but I felt more reassured that the doctor had cleared her. She would have people around her nearly at all times and access medical care that hopefully she would not need. Also, I was going to make sure she stayed on my bus. I didn't want her in a hotel room alone.
After answering all of our questions, the doctor finally discharged Hayleigh with a written list of instructions, prescription for medication and told her to purchase a blood pressure monitor.
***********
"I'm so tired I feel like I could sleep for a week but I know that's not going to happen." Hayleigh said, as she flopped down on my living room couch as soon as I let us into my house. Yes, I know Hayleigh had her own space in a completely separate suite of my home, but I wasn't ready to let her out of my sight. What if she fainted again and I wasn't around? For that reason, I talked her into staying in the main house, at least for the next couple of days before we flew out for the weekend.
"Do you want me to go and grab a few things from your room?" I asked her.
"I can't get it later. Just give me a few minutes to rest." She replied with a wide yawn.
"I don't mind. I just want you to be comfortable." I said.
"Okay. Some lounge clothes. Leggings and T-shirts are in the second drawer. I need underwear, top drawer." She blushed slightly.
I couldn't help but chuckle. "I've seen you in your underwear, Hayles, and out of it."
"Well my underwear is a lot bigger now." She giggled. I was glad we could talk about stuff like this. Maybe we really could be friends.
I went into Hayleigh's room and picked up the items she needed, along with her toothbrush and some other personal items. I placed them in a tote bag, and as I was about to leave the room, I noticed the grey weighted blanket laid out on the bed. She claimed that helped her feel calm, so I grabbed it. Damn thing felt like it weighed about twenty pounds.
By the time I returned back to the house, she was sprawled out on the couch sleeping soundly. I laid the blanket over her and watched her for a few moments. Without thinking twice about it, I softly kissed her forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you or your baby Hayles."
A/N: A little bit of a shorter chapter but I've been stuck a on this part. Will hopefully update again in the next couple of days. Thanks everyone for sticking with me.
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Best Of Me
Fanfiction*Told primarily in flashbacks* Following the death of his childhood friend, Ryan reminisces about their friendship and the woman they both loved.
