She stares at the screen in wonder. “I can hardly believe it.” Her eyes meet mine, and they shine with emotion. “Our baby.”
Pure joy flows through me, starting at my heart and traveling out from there. “Yeah, sweetheart. That’s right.”
The doctor clears his throat. “Take it slow over the next few days, but I don’t think there’s any cause to worry. Sometimes bleeding happens during pregnancy, and it doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad. Given your history, I can see why it gave you such a scare, but everything seems to be in order.” He gives her a kind smile and passes her a cloth to clean up. When she’s finished, he helps cover her and takes off his gloves. “Your baby is fine. You might continue to get some spotting. If the bleeding becomes heavy again, come back, but in the meantime, you’re free to go whenever you’re ready.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes flutter shut in a moment of gratitude.
“We can’t thank you enough, doctor.” I offer him a hand, and he shakes it.
“Keep an eye on her,” he adds softly. “Make sure she eats something tonight. I think the scare has been worse for her than the bleeding.”
“I will,” I promise. The doctor leaves, and I reclaim Ashlin’s hand, expecting the worry to have faded from her expression, but while it’s certainly reduced, it hasn’t vanished. I raise her hand to my lips and kiss it. “Did you hear that, Ash? The baby is fine.”
She tries to smile, but the edges of her mouth tremble and she can’t hold the expression. “I was so scared.”
“I know, sweetheart.” I wrap her in a hug as best I can. “Let’s get you home. We can cuddle it out. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers.
Harley’s face appears in the gap between the curtains. “Is everything okay?”
I haul her into an embrace. She squeaks in surprise. We’re not generally an affectionate family. “Thank you for taking care of my girl.”
“No problem,” she gasps. “I love her too.”
I release her and push through the curtains to hug Devon too.
“Anytime, bro,” he says.
A sound behind me has us all turning. Ashlin has tugged on a skirt and is standing, but her legs are wobbly.
“Whoa.” I place an arm around her. “I’ve got you.”
She swats my shoulder. “I’m fine. I didn’t lose that much blood.”
“Maybe not.” I keep my tone low and soothing since she seems to be veering into pissed-off territory. “But I want to help you. Please let me.”
She sags. “Fine.”
I hate how small and defeated she sounds. My girl is tough. Perhaps not in a stereotypical way, but tough nonetheless, and it pains me to see her like this.
“Do you mind driving us to her place in my car?” I ask Harley. “I want to sit with her.”
“No problem. Devon can bring his car to drive me home in afterward.”
I nod. We deal with the paperwork and make our way back to the basement. I insist on physically supporting Ashlin while Harley takes her purse. I keep my girl company in the back seat while Harley navigates the roads. When we’re finally at Ashlin’s place, and Harley and Devon have left, I settle her into the bed and climb in beside her.
“How are you doing?”
She draws her knees up to her chest, and her lower lip trembles. “I couldn’t get a hold of you.”
“I know.” I’ll never forgive myself for that. “I’m so sorry.”
“I was terrified.” She rests her forehead on her knees and her voice grows muffled. Her shoulders hunch, and I ache to remove the burden from them, but there’s only so much I can do. “You know what scared me even more than losing the baby?”
Stroking a hand down her hair, I ask, “What’s that?”
“How dependent I felt on you to rescue me.” Her eyes gleam with tears. Slowly, they start to stream down her cheeks. “I thought I’d become stronger than that, but now I’m worried that I was deluding myself, and history might repeat.” She shakes her head vigorously. “I really, really don’t want that.”
