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“Go home, Waverly,” the charge nurse said. “You’re sicker than a dog. You shouldn’t be here at all.”
“The hospital is short-staffed,” I mumbled, cleaning myself up after I puked. The fact that I vomited after a simple IV placement should have told me how bad the situation was. Still, I dug my heels in. I wouldn’t leave them short-staffed for one hour or even ten hours.
The charge nurse frowned. “How are you feeling now?”
Better. Though embarrassed. “My stomach doesn’t seem so bad now.”
She continued to stare at me with a critical eye. “Can I ask you something, Waverly?”
I shrugged. “Might as well.” Not like I could hide anything from them. We still had periodic drug testing and blood draws for practice.
“Are you sure you’re sick?”
What kind of question was that? My face twisted in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Well, how long have you not felt well?” the charge nurse hedged.
I shrugged. “This is the first day I’ve woken up feeling like death warmed over. Why?”
“Girl...” The charge nurse grabbed my hand. “Come on, let’s get you the all-clear before I agree to let you stay on the floor.”
We went to the locker room first, where I could change out of dirty my scrubs. I still didn’t understand what she meant, only I was glad she hadn’t sent me straight home. When she put me in a room, she did all the required tests, including drawing blood and urine and doing throat swabs and nose swabs. If I had what the others did, the doctors would figure it out. She also handed me a vomit bag, just in case.
Truth be told, I was glad she did. My stomach, though better, still churned. My heart pounded, and my skin was clammy. The hot and cold sensations had returned too. I felt better but worse than I did when I climbed out of bed.What the heck is wrong with me?
As if hearing my question, there was a knock at my door before it opened, and there stood the doctor on call, Dr. Hahn. She glanced at the sheet in front of her and back to me. Her glasses were low on her nose, and her large brown eyes were filled with concern and something else.I wish they didn’t do this shit to me.Whatever was wrong, I could handle it.
“Good afternoon, Waverly,” Dr. Hahn said. “Nurse Martinez was just telling me about your incident with the IV.”
Humiliation swamped me. “Guess there’s a first time for everything.” I gave a weak chuckle. “Woke up not feeling good. I figured I had whatever was going around here.”
Dr. Hahn nodded. “I see here that was your concern.” She sat on the chair in front of me. “When was your last menstrual cycle?”
Oh... I guess I’d been so busy, I hadn’t even thought about it. College stressed me out, then there was all the sickness going around. To say I was burning the candle at both ends would be an understatement. “I—” I frowned. Before my birthday, I supposed. “Awhile.”
“Have you had any sexual relations since then?”
Embarrassment heated my cheeks, or maybe it was whatever had been wrong with me. One time. With Jackson. He’d even used protection. We’d talked since then, but because of school and his job, we hadn’t reconnected more than a handful of occasions. “Yes.”
Dr. Hahn exhaled. “Waverly, these results are from your tests. While you have a nasty case of the flu, you’re also pregnant. By the HCG count, I’d say at least six or eight weeks along.”
The room swam. My stomach rolled. Bile bit at the back of my throat. I was going to be sick. I snatched up the bag as whatever was left in my stomach came back up, purging me. “Pregnant?” There was no way.
Yes, there was.
My and Jackson’s meeting burned fast. We had sex even if we used protection. Yet, we created a life.
“We used protection.”
Dr. Hahn gave me a sympathetic look while Nurse Martinez took the bag from me. “Accidents happen. It could have been a defective condom or improper use.” The concern on Dr. Hahn’s face scared me more than anything. “You have options, Waverly. You always have options.”
I knew.
“This might not be the right time,” I said, sure of what I wanted, even if I was scared shitless. “But this is my baby.” Everything could backfire in my face. Jackson could turn his back on me. He could tell me I was lying. Or worse. All those things didn’t matter to me. Whatever had happened on my birthday was meant to be.
Dr. Hahn stared at me another moment then nodded. “Then I’ll make sure you have everything you need. Until then, go back to your dorm and rest. You have the flu. I’ll also put in a prescription for prenatal vitamins along with something for influenza type B. It won’t interfere with the baby, and you should, besides morning sickness, feel better in a few days.” She squeezed my knee. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Fear clogged my throat. I was pregnant. My parents were going to be mad. My sister disappointed. Mack... Mack might kill Jackson, brother-in-law or not. Shocked and a bit flabbergasted, I trudged back to my room. I’d have to tell Jackson too. He deserved to know first before anyone else.