Bailey growled in frustration, “Would you two knock it the fuck off?”
Then she sighed and rubbed her stomach, looking at me. “You don’t really know me, Wyatt, and I don’t know you all that well either. I’m just trying to say that I can understand why he’s worried things won’t work out.”
I shook my head a little, confused and hurt. “It was your idea to get married in Vegas. If you thought this wouldn’t last, why would you agree to marry me?”
“I do think this will—” Bailey gasped and bent over slightly, her hands cradling her belly. She looked up at me with pain written on her face and tears starting to roll down her cheeks. I grabbed her arms in a panic, not understanding what was happening. With another gasp, she suddenly curled into herself, hugging her middle tight. Her face drained of color, her eyes closed, and I caught her right before her head hit the ground.
Chapter 11
Bailey
“I’m scared,” I cried, my hold on Wyatt’s hand tightening while I waited on a bed in the emergency room. We’d been here for several hours already, and they’d run numerous tests to see what was going on. The pain was gone, leaving only light cramping in its wake, but the blood stain I’d found in the gusset of my panties when I changed into the hospital gown they’d given me was what had me completely freaked out.
“I’m here, baby.” His thumb rubbed the underside of my wedding ring, a reminder that we were in this together as man and wife. “No matter what.”
I was barely holding on by a thread, the feel of his hand on mine the only thing keeping me sane. Jack kept hold of my other hand. He hadn’t said a word since we arrived and he’d insisted he was coming back with us. My dad and Sharon were in the waiting room, and I knew the only reason none of us had argued with my brother was because we all knew he felt guilty for starting the argument with Wyatt.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, staring up at my Wyatt with tears running down my cheeks.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” he reassured me.
But I did. I felt horrible for hurting him earlier. For not being able to find the right words. I’d only been trying to talk my brother down from his anger, to make him see that I knew he had my back, even though Wyatt was his best friend. “What I was saying before? When the pain started? I was trying to tell you I do think this will last. I would never have suggested we get married right away if I didn’t.”
“Baby,” he sighed, his gaze moving to Jack before coming back to me. “Don’t worry about that right now. It isn’t important.”
“It is,” I insisted. “You need to know how happy I was to become your wife.”
“Seriously, Bailey,” he growled. “This is the last thing you need to be focused on right now.”
“Wyatt’s right, little sis,” Jack agreed.
It was nice to hear my brother backing up his best friend after all the arguing. “It kills me to know I’m the reason you’re fighting.”
“We’re done with the fighting,” Wyatt declared.
“You are?” My gaze darted between the two of them.
“We are,” Jack confirmed, smiling at me before shifting his focus on Wyatt. “I’ve been a dick and I’m sorry.”
“No apologies needed, man. I get it. She’s your sister and you want what’s best for her. I can respect that.”
“I do want what’s best for her,” Jack agreed. “And if I hadn’t been so damn busy freaking out at the idea of losing my baby sister to my best friend, I would have admitted she couldn’t do any better than you.”
“Shit, Jack. You’ve got to know I’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy.”
“I know you will,” my brother smiled down at me. “I’ve seen it for myself with how you’ve been taking care of her ever since we got here.”
And my thoughts went back to why we were in the hospital in the first place. “What if there’s something wrong with the pregnancy?”
“I’ll never forgive myself,” Jack muttered. “I should have pulled my head out of my ass before I managed to land you in the emergency room.”
“I’m the one who was arguing with her,” Wyatt pointed out.
“It’s not your fault. Either of you.”
“You should listen to my patient. She’s right,” a doctor we hadn’t seen before told the guys as she walked into the exam room. Her eyes slid to my hands, her brow quirking up when she noted both men were holding one. “Mrs. Kincaid, would you prefer to be alone while we talk?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Wyatt growled, glaring at the doctor.
“Neither am I,” Jack added.
“My husband and brother are anxious about me,” I explained, “and the baby.”
Her stance relaxed as she sat down on a stool and rolled it towards my bed. “I’m Dr. Harris, one of the OBGYNs with privileges here at the hospital. I bumped into your emergency room physician and he asked if I’d take a look at your chart, come in, and speak with you.”
“Okay,” I whispered, tensing up because this didn’t sound good.
“It’s not a bad thing,” she assured me. “Since your husband mentioned to him that you hadn’t found a doctor of your own yet because you wanted a female, he thought you might like to meet me as long as we were both here.”
“Oh!” I gasped, understanding dawning and relief setting in. If the emergency room doctor thought I needed an OBGYN then—“I’m not miscarrying?”
“None of the tests indicate a miscarriage,” she confirmed.
“Thank goodness,” I breathed.
“What about the pain?”
“Why did she faint?”
Wyatt and Jack asked their questions in unison.
“How’s the pain now?” the doctor asked, her gaze on the tablet in her hands. “You described it as a four on a scale of one to ten when you first arrived. Is it still at the same level?”
“No,” I whispered. “I’d say it’s more like a two right now. I’d describe it as cramping instead of pain.”
“That’s great to hear,” she murmured, looking up at me and smiling. “Cramping during the early stage of pregnancy is normal unless it’s accompanied by severe pain or bleeding.”
“There was blood in my panties when I took them off,” I whispered.
“Spotting can be normal, too. As long as it wasn't full flow then it was nothing to be concerned about.”
“And the fainting?” I asked.
“Well, your blood sugar is a little low which could explain why you fainted,” she replied. “When’s the last time you ate today?”
“She barely touched her breakfast and only had a light lunch,” Wyatt answered for me.
“We were meeting for dinner at our dad’s house when she fainted,” Jack added.
“I’ve been having problems with morning sickness,” I defended. “It’s more like all day sickness.”
“I’ll write you a prescription for some anti-nausea meds which are safe for the baby,” the doctor offered. “I’ll see if they have any of the ginger pops my patients rave about so you can take a few home with you and see if they work for you. Then I’d like for you to call my office to schedule an appointment this week to follow-up and discuss the plan for your pregnancy going forward.”
“That’s it?” I asked.
“Yup,” she confirmed. “Call my office if the spotting or cramps get worse before your appointment. And from what I heard when I walked in, I’d also advise you to avoid heated arguments as much as possible. You don’t need the added stress during your pregnancy.”
“No more arguing,” Wyatt promised, squeezing my hand.
“Or stress of any kind,” my brother added.
“If you figure out how to manage that, let me know,” the doctor laughed, getting back to her feet. “A nurse will be in soon to go over your discharge paperwork and then you can head home.”
“I’ll go give Dad and Sharon the good news.” Jack dropped a kiss on my forehead before following her out the door.
“Love you, Bailey,” Wyatt murmured.
“Love you, too.”
His free hand moved to rest on my belly. “You and my baby boy.”
“Baby girl,” I corrected lightly, relieved to know he or she was safe and sound and we could get back to teasing each other about the pregnancy.
As promised, the nurse came in to discharge me—and walked in on us sharing a passionate kiss. A few minutes later, I was being rolled out to the waiting room in a wheelchair by Wyatt, who’d refused to let anyone else push me.
“Are you two knuckleheads done being stupid?” my dad asked, he and Sharon both jumping to their feet as soon as they saw us. The power of his glare was lessened by the sight of him holding a giant stuffed teddy bear, though.
“Yeah, we’re done,” Wyatt confirmed.
Jack nodded in agreement. “It’s a good thing, too, because I think Wyatt’s going to need all the help he can get keeping my sister in line.”
“Oh, crap,” I groaned at the thought of the two of them ganging up on me for the rest of my pregnancy.