Eleven
“Knock, Knock.” Jake’s face popped into the room from behind the door before he walked in, carrying liquid hope in his hands. An IV drip sounded so luxurious. Jessie hated the way it was hard to even lift her head off the pillow, the dizziness and throbbing making her groan.
“Hawk wasn’t kidding when he said you were having a hard time.”
“Where is he?” she asked, her voice cracking with sleep and thirst.
“He stayed out in the living room. Figured you might be more open to being honest about how rough this has been without him around.”
“Smart man.”
Jake chuckled. “I’m just going to move some pillows around to prop your arm and then I’ll get ready to access a vein. Stay on your back and feel free to keep your eyes closed if that’s helping with the nausea and dizziness.”
“It is,” she whispered, all the energy she’d managed to gather to greet him slipping from her body. Jessie heard Jakemoving around the room, and felt him push a pillow up next to her arm.
“You’re taking your prenatals?”
She swallowed, thinking of the giant oblong pills that sat like a rock in her stomach. Jessie forced one eye open, her gaze dropping to the arm Jake was prepping. “Trying to. They don’t always stay down.”
He nodded as he spread out a paper on the pillow next to her arm. “And how are you feeling about anti-nausea medication?”
“Honestly, I’m rethinking my harsh ‘I’m not taking any medication’ stance.”
Jake chuckled. “Alright. I’m thinking we try a B6 supplement and go from there. Ease you in as best we can, and hopefully the lowest grade intervention will work. It might give you time to get in to see your OB, who will have a better grasp on what medications can be prescribed.”
“Isn’t that already in my vitamins?”
He smiled as the needle pierced her skin. Jessie winced. “Sorry about that. And it is. But there’s research that supports additional supplementation of B6 can lower nausea in pregnant patients. You can absolutely talk to your OB about it before you start anything, if that would make you feel more comfortable.”
She closed her eyes and winced. “At this point, I just want to not feel nauseous ever again.”
Jake patted her ankle. “You’re a trooper, Jess. We’ll do our best to get you feeling better.”
“Jess?” Hawk’s voice woke her before she felt his warm hand pressing down on her arm.
“Did I fall asleep?” Her eyes fluttered open,immediately noticing how Hawk’s bedroom was cloaked in darkness. She’d slept the whole rest of the afternoon away apparently.
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I was getting ready to make dinner.”
Her eyes dropped to the plastic bag sandwiched between their hips.
“Is that what’s in the bag?”
“No.” His smile was bright, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I ran down to the Shop and Save while you were sleeping. Grabbed some things that might help with the nausea.”
Her heart squished wildly in her chest. “You did? How did you know what to get?”
An adorable blush dotted his cheeks. “Jake gave me some ideas, but I’ve been reading up on the first trimester stuff. You know I got that pregnancy app, too. There’s a couple articles that pointed to some additional natural remedies we could try out. And…” Hawk’s eyes dropped to the comforter.
“And what?”
“I joined a few due date groups. For parents, expecting babies in August.”
“You did? Why?”
“I don’t want to be in the dark about how to help you. Or about what you’re going through. The least I can do is be the partner that holds all the information, so if something comes up, I’ll know how to help you.”
“You’d do all that for me?”
