CHAPTER 28: Good News, Bad News
You awaken abruptly, your body sucking air in panic from the memories of earlier that night. You feel your hand being held and see Henry there. You try to sit up.
"Easy, easy." Henry looks over his shoulder as he stands up. "Doctor, she's awake!"
You look around to see you are in an infirmary. "What?"
"Hold on, darling," he says as Dr. Stevens, the head of the movie medical team, starts examining you. You flinch as your thigh is touched. and it starts coming back to you. You had an allergic reaction. You are breathing normally, but you are tired. And, you've started your period.
"Gave us all a scare, there," Dr. Stevens nodded, shining a light in your eyes.
"Sorry."
"Be glad that Henry had training," Dr. Stevens said, unwrapping a tongue depressor. "Ah."
"Ahhhhh." You hate those things. They don't seem happy till you gag, and true to form you do.
"Henry knew exactly what to do when you had your reaction," Dr. Stevens said, taking your pulse. "Might have saved your life."
You look at Henry, but he doesn't look happy. He looks worried. "I feel much better. May I go?"
"You had a late reaction."
"Two?"
"I'm afraid so," Dr. Stevens nodded. "and it caused the..." he looks at Henry. "may we talk?"
"He can stay," you say with an uneasy smile.
Dr. Stevens blinks at Henry, then at you. "Oh...I see." He goes to the door and closes it and gestures Henry closer. "We took blood from you."
"And?"
He glances at you both, then focuses on you. "You were pregnant."
You blink, swallowing hard. You glance at Henry, who looks surprised, then saddened. "Were?"
"It was in very early stages," Dr. Stevens explains. "I know I told you to come back in two weeks, but when this happened I decided to test today just in case." He purposely didn't look at Henry, whose eyes now glistened. "Your reactions triggered it. I'm sorry, there wasn't anything we could do..."
Dr. Steven's voice becomes mumbled as he goes on. You watch Henry talk to him and you just feel like you are behind a glass, unable to hear, and in your own world. There was a...a baby. And...it's gone, just like that. Your period isn't a period. It's a miscarriage. You begin to tremble. You fight tears. You don't know how you feel. You look at Henry, catching his eye.
"I'd like to take her home," Henry nods, his look solemn. "Is that alright?"
"It's been four hours," Dr. Stevens nods. "She had her second reaction, so I think she'll be alright. She needs to rest a couple of days. I will give you some literature with signs to look for if she has more reactions or bleeds excessively." He gives a card. "This is my number. I will come straight away if you need me."
"Thank you."
"When can I go back to work?" you ask, earning a look of surprise from Henry.
"If you feel up to it, I'd say Tuesday." Dr. Steven says. "Of course, I'd like to see you Monday before you do."
"Alright," you agree, starting to sit up. You feel like shit, but you want your own bed. You want something normal. The last few hours have not been that.
"You can stay here—"
"No, I want to go home." You look at Henry pleadingly.
"I'll look after her," Henry assures.
Dr. Stevens gave some medicine for pain, a small stack of sheets, and once again, a card that Henry put in his phone and you are on your way.
"My place or yours?"
You look at him. "What?"
"My place or yours?" He repeats. "I'm not leaving you alone, you know that."
You sit. You want to be alone, all of sudden. You want a minute to deal with everything.
"Okay."
"What?"
"Your place it is," he nods.
He drives to his house, and is in and out in five minutes, toting a gym bag and a shopping bag. He throws the stuff in the back seat next to Kal and slides back in. Then you head to your shoebox of an apartment. You look in the back seat, and watch Kal sniff at the shopping bag.
"No, Kal."
You realize Kal's food and snacks are in that bag. He is staying for the weekend, and for some reason, you don't know how you feel about that. How can you be of two minds all of a sudden?
"It's kind of late, so we'll just...go to sleep, alright?"
You get home and see signs predawn. It must be two or three in the morning, but you don't care enough to look at your watch. You start to move up the steps and hear a kitten cry. "Oh, no. Wait!"
"What?"
"Delilah had her kittens!" you say quickly. "She must have brought them here!" You move toward the noise. "But why am I hearing one?"
"I'm sure she'll take care of it," Henry assured.
You follow the noise and find Delilah as you'd hoped-in a plastic box you cut a hole in. You sigh with relief, but then see one kitten off to the side. "Oh, no."
"What?"
"It's...it's not moving."
Henry sighs. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It happens, some aren't strong enough—sweetheart?"
You crouch down, and look at the kitten, terribly small. It doesn't even look like it's breathing. You count four others who are asleep against her and nursing. You push the kitten gently toward her, but the kitten barely moves. Delilah looks at you and then lays down.
"There's not much you can do."
"Yes, there is." You reach inside. "I'll take her, Delilah."
"What?"
You ignore Henry and head up the steps. "Not much time." You open the door and scurry to the kitchen. "I can't believe I was ready for this."
"What?"
You ignore Henry's look of surprise as you get a small soft towel and start rubbing the small ball of fur. "Henry, there's a dropper and bottle in that drawer. Get the cat milk out."
His eyes go wide. "Cat milk?!"
"God, man, just do it." You roll your eyes as you sit on the couch. You are suddenly glad you invested in a towel warmer for the bathroom. "Come on, girl," you whisper, rubbing the kitten up and down its back. "Please."
You watch Henry read the directions and put the formula together. "Were you studying to be a vet, love?"
"When I was a kid, I was bullied," you shrug. "I befriended neighborhood pets and strays because my mom wouldn't let me have a pet. She said I wasn't ready. I spent a whole summer, reading up on dogs and cats. A neighbor had a cat who had kittens. The mother rejected the runt. I asked if I could have her, begged my mom. She agreed. I nursed the kitten with skim milk and a few drops of pet milk. I ran back and forth, feeding it on schedule."
"Did it make it?" he sits next to you and the kitten gives a weak cry. "Oh, my God."
"Yes, Fifi made it," you smile gently. "She lived a full life, too." You put your hand out, and he hands you the bottle. "See, sometimes, life just needs a hand." You swallow hard, tears coming to your eyes. "This is going to be interesting."
"What—"
"This kitten has to be fed every four hours," you say, looking down at her. "She has to have her belly rubbed to help her go to the bathroom, too." You start feeding the kitten who nurses on the bottle weakly, but does. You keep rubbing her. "Here."
"What?"
"Just hold the bottle, she'll do the rest."
You change clothes and get into one of Henry's t-shirts. He chuckles at you, and you stick your tongue out at him and sigh as he undresses. You face each other as he continues feeding the kitten laying in the dark. "Why?"