She knew he was right, but she didn't want to cause a fuss over nothing. He was already up and pulling on clothes before she swung her legs out of bed. Then she looked down and a wave of dread washed over her. She gasped, tears rushing to her eyes.
Brooks was immediately by her side. "Shit, Leah, you're as white as a sheet."
"Look," she whispered, pointing at a bloodstain the size of a grapefruit on the sheets.
"Oh my God," he said. "Come here, sit down." He led her to a chair.
"I'll mess it up," she said, pulling away.
"I don't care, it doesn't matter. Sit down, please."
He finished throwing on his clothes and brought her a pair of sweatpants from his drawer. "It's okay. Don't worry. We'll get help. I'll call an ambulance."
"I don't need an ambulance. A car is fine."
"But-"
"Brooks," she said, laying a hand on his arm. "If I'm losing the baby, there won't be much they can do to help. If I'm not … a car will get us there fast enough. And I'll feel more comfortable than being hauled out of here on a gurney."
He stared at her for a moment, his eyes wide. Finally, he nodded and handed her the clothes. Then he grabbed his phone to order a car. She started walking toward the door, but he stopped her, swinging her up and into his arms.
"I can walk," she said.
"I'm sure you can. That doesn't mean you should. And until I know what's wrong with you, I'm not putting you down."
He carried her to the elevator that led out of his apartment and straight to the waiting car. His driver held the door open for them and then rushed around to the driver's seat.
"Get us there in under ten minutes and there's an extra Christmas bonus in it for you."
"Not necessary, sir," his driver said. "I'll get you there." They shot out of the parking garage before Leah could say a word.
Brooks was on his phone texting and making calls to Kiersten and Cole and the doctor at the hospital the whole time, though he would lean over every few minutes to make sure she was doing okay.
"I'm fine. Don't call my mother. I'll call her later once we know what's going on."
Brooks didn't look like he approved, but he didn't argue with her.
Her belly still cramped off and on, but it wasn't the sharp scary pain that had first woken her. Now it was more like a dull ache. Still something she probably shouldn't be feeling, but at least it wasn't horribly painful. That had to be good, right?
When they got to the hospital they were met at the door by two nurses with a wheelchair. Brooks helped her out and into the chair where he took over, waving the nurses ahead to show him the way. Brooks glared when they stopped.
"I'll need these filled out," the nurse behind the counter said.
He grabbed the clipboard she handed him. "Later. I want her in a room now. Where's the doctor?"
"He's coming, sir," the nurse said. "Please be patient."
"I'm not going to be patient," he said in a tone of voice Leah had never heard from him before. He was serious, with a deadly calm that was probably barely containing the explosion beneath, if the white knuckles gripping the handles of her wheelchair were any indication.
"My wife is pregnant and bleeding so we need a doctor now. Get us to her room so I can get her out of this damn chair and into a bed."
"Sir, they are getting her room ready, but we need to have the admission and insurance paperwork filled out … "
Brooks opened his mouth to let loose but Leah grabbed his hand. "Brooks," she said, silently pleading with him to chill out. The fact that he was completely losing his shit for her filled her heart to overflowing. But she needed him to calm down because having a drag-out fight with the nurse who was trying to check them in was going to send Leah straight to the ER.
Luckily for everyone, the doctor, who was apparently a friend of Brooks's, came around the corner.
"Brooks, hi. Sorry, was with another patient. What seems to be the problem?"
Brooks breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Greg, this is my wife. She's pregnant, about fourteen weeks along, and she woke up cramping and bleeding."
"Don't panic. We'll get her settled and see what's going on. Hi, Mrs. Larson," he said, leaning down to shake Leah's hand. She took it gratefully, glad to have him there. Now that the doctor was in front of her, her self-imposed calm denial was beginning to wear off. "Follow me."
The doctor waved them down a corridor. Brooks gave the nurse a parting glare and followed the doctor and nurses down the hallway to where they had set up a private room for Leah. She glanced around as a nurse helped her into a gown and assisted her into bed. She hadn't been to many hospitals before, but the ones she had been to hadn't been nearly as nice. Then again, maybe there'd always been rooms like this, she had just never been with someone important enough to gain access to one. Seriously, the place was nicer than her apartment. She climbed into the bed, biting her lip against another cramp.
Brooks was at her side immediately. "Are you okay?" he asked, leaning down to whisper into her ear.
"I don't know," she said, hating the fear in her voice. She couldn't help it, though. Yes, the pregnancy had been a complete surprise and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought at least once that life might be easier if she just miscarried. But she hadn't meant it. And now that the baby was in danger she knew there was nothing she wanted more than to make sure everything was okay.
The doctor spoke with Brooks quietly in the corner and then came over to examine her. "Let's take a look," he said.
He asked her several questions about how she felt and what had happened, along with a few more embarrassing questions about their activities that night while he examined her. Brooks, thankfully, stayed up near her head, holding her hand through the whole thing.
Then the doctor patted her leg. "It looks like the bleeding has stopped, which is a good sign. We're going to do an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay."
She nodded, but glanced up at Brooks. For the first time since she met him, he gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "It'll be okay," he said, giving her hand a squeeze.
He stood by her side while the doctor squirted the cold gel on her belly and moved the wand around.
After what seemed like an eternity, the fast staccato of her baby's heartbeat filled the room.
"There we are," he said.
Leah's heart clenched and she looked at the monitor where a small black blob quickly beat inside the tiny body of her baby.
"Is that it?" Brooks asked. "That's the baby?"
"Yes," the doctor said. "And everything looks fine. The heart rate is 164 beats per minute. Perfectly normal. Baby is measuring about fourteen weeks along. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Leah said past the lump in her throat. "Are you sure everything is okay? Why would I be bleeding?"
"Well," the doctor said, putting away his equipment, "sometimes that can happen after certain strenuous activities. Especially sexual intercourse."
Leah blushed fifty shades of red, she was sure.
"It's our wedding night," Brooks said.
The doctor nodded. "Ah. Well. For the time being, we might want to put a hold on the honeymoon, along with any other strenuous activities, just to be on the safe side."
The heat rushed to Leah's cheeks and she glanced up at Brooks, but he had his attention fixed on the doctor.
"I want you to come back in the morning so we can take another look and we'll go from there. But as far as I can tell everything looks like it's going to be fine."
Brooks nodded. "Is there anything else we need to do? Does she need to take it easy? Stay in bed?"
"If everything still looks well after tomorrow, she should be fine to go about her normal activities, but take it easy overall."
"Thank you, doctor," Leah said, trying to pour all the gratitude she felt into a handshake.
The doctor nodded and shook Brooks's hand as well. "Just talk to the nurse on the way out. She'll schedule you an appointment."
He left them so she could get dressed.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Brooks asked. "Because I can get him back in here. Or if you'd feel better staying here for the night, I can arrange that. We can stay as long as you'd like."
She smiled at him. "It's not a hotel, we can't just stay."
"Sure we can. I'll buy the damn place if I have to. If you'd feel better staying here, you give me the word."
It took a second for Leah to realize that Brooks was totally serious and capable of doing exactly what he said. To have that kind of pull at her beck and call was both overwhelming and incredibly nice. She would have to be careful not to misuse that kind of power … and not get too used to it.
"I'm doing fine. The cramping has stopped and I don't think I'm bleeding anymore. Do you think the doctor is right? Do you think everything is fine? He's not just saying that?"