"I know." My voice cracks. "I know you are. But I've got you. I'm not letting you go."
The drive takes three minutes, but it feels like three hours.
I've never felt this helpless in my life.
We screech to a stop outside the emergency entrance. I'm out of the car before it fully stops, Sera still in my arms.
"I need help!" I shout. "Now!"
Nurses and doctors converge immediately. Professionals. Trained for this.
"What happened?" A doctor is already assessing her. Checking vitals.
"She's thirty-three weeks pregnant. She's bleeding. She's in labor." The words come out clipped. Controlled. "Fix it."
They're already moving, putting her on a gurney.
Sera's grip on my shirt tightens. "Adrian?—"
"I'm right here."
"If you have to choose—" Her voice breaks as another wave of pain takes her. Her skin is clammy, and her lovely eyes are unfocused. "Save our son. Promise me. Whatever it takes. Save him. Tell him I'm sorry. I should have protected him."
"I'm not choosing." I lean down so our faces are inches apart. "I'm saving you both. Do you understand? Both of you."
"Adrian—"
"Both of you, Sera. That's not negotiable."
"We need to get her to surgery," one of the doctors says. "Emergency C-section. She's losing too much blood."
"Then do it." My voice is steel. "Save them."
"We will. But you need to let her go. Now."
I do. Barely. My fingers are itching to hold onto her.
They're already wheeling her away. Down the hall. Toward the surgical wing.
Sera reaches back toward me. "Adrian?—"
"I'm right here." I follow them, keeping up with the frantic pace. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Sir, you can't come past this point." A nurse steps in front of me. Firm but not unkind. "We need to prep her for surgery. You'll have to wait."
"No." I move to push past her.
"Sir—"
"That's my wife. That's my son. I'm not?—"
"Sir," a doctor appears. Older. Authoritative. "If you want us to save them, you need to let us work. You'll only be in the way. Your wife has likely had placental abruption. The longer we talk, the more likely it is we lose them both."
The words land like blows.
In the way.
Useless.
