Jameson
There was so much blood. Blood everywhere. On her pants. On her thighs. On the sheets beneath her. On my hands. It felt like an eternity before the Secret Service agents arrived, but I stayed with her the entire time. I held her hand in mine and stroked her hair. The pain caused Georgie to momentarily lose consciousness. When the paramedics arrived minutes later and moved her onto a gurney, her eyes fluttered open and I could see the panic.
“It’ll be okay, little darling. I’m right here.” I jogged alongside her as we rushed through the hallways of the hotel to a service elevator. They loaded her inside, and I scrambled into the cramped space. There was no way that I was leaving her.
We made it to the ground floor, and they rushed her to a waiting ambulance, its lights flashing brightly. I followed her inside and the doors were closed. Within minutes, the ambulance was racing toward the Women’s Hospital.
I wanted to ask the paramedics what was wrong, what was happening, but I didn’t have to. A language barrier didn’t exist between the concerned looks they were sharing with each other. I didn’t have to be fluent in Finnish to read their body language. This was bad.
Georgie’s pain was momentarily subsided, but she was whimpering below me. I tried to remain as calm as possible because I didn’t want to scare her. I smoothed hair away from her sweat-soaked forehead and whispered soothing words in her ear.
“That’s not how I wanted to tell you,” she murmured. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me, Georgie.”
“Yes, I do. You deserved better.”
“No, you deserve better. I didn’t have to act that way.” Whatever medication the paramedics gave her must have started to wear off because she gritted her teeth and grunted through a wave of pain.
“How much longer?” I demanded of the driver, but he must not have understood me because he didn’t answer.
I looked down at Georgie whose eyes were closed tightly. I held her hand and prayed silently, bargaining with the powers that be. Let her live, I pleaded. Don’t take her away. I’ll give it all up. I won’t seek a second term, if you just spare her one more time.
The ambulance jerked to a stop, and the doors swung open. The gurney was pulled from the back, and I was scrambling after it, trying to keep up. Doctors were waiting, and they started a cacophony of dialogue that was hard for me to follow because of the foreign language.
Hands stopped me in my tracks, and I was ready to fight off whoever belonged to them because I needed to be with Georgie.
“Whoa, slow down, Mr. President,” the doctor said in a heavily accented voice. I looked up and my rage cooled to a simmer. “The first lady is in good hands. But we need to get her into surgery now.”
“Why? What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
“She’s having a miscarriage. Do you know how far along she is?”
I shook my head lamely. I was selfish and didn’t ask her anything about the pregnancy. “I just found out. I just found out.”
“It’s okay, sir. She’s in good hands.”
“What’s going to happen?”
“My English isn’t too good, I apologize. I will have Dr. Hartley update you.”
I had no idea what he was even talking about, but he nodded, gave me a tight smile, and then walked away. I was left floundering in a sea of nurses, doctors, and medical staff, all whom spoke an unfamiliar language. Someone grabbed me and escorted me to a private waiting room, where I sat and continued my negotiations with the powers that be.
If she makes it through this, I won’t seek reelection.
If she makes it through this, I’ll marry her.
If she makes it through this…
If she makes it through this…
Slowly, people started to trickle in. Lewis and Jenkins, Secret Service agents; they all filed into the room one by one.
For ninety minutes, I sat in silent agony, praying. Negotiating. I couldn’t lose her.
The door to the waiting room opened, and everyone stood, except me. Dr. Hartley, dressed in blue scrubs, stepped inside and looked around until her eyes landed on me.
“President Martin?” she asked cautiously.
I stood and held out my hand. “Today, I’m just Jameson. How’s my girl?”
“Ms. Washington is in recovery. She’s doing fine. The doctors went in and removed the embryo. They were concerned because of the severe cramping and blood, but there is still a chance for children in the future. They’re going to keep her overnight, just to keep an eye on her, since there was a significant amount of bleeding. You can go and see her now,” the doctor informed me.
I breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
The doctor held open the door, and we shook hands before parting ways. A nurse guided me wordlessly to the recovery room.
“She’s the only one in here,” the nurse said. I smiled politely and then stepped into the cold, sterile room.
Even with a pale, waxy complexion, Georgie was the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen. I reached into my pocket and took out the ring that one of the paramedics handed to me. I approached her cautiously because she looked peaceful but pained. I didn’t want to disturb her too much.
I reached for her left hand and carefully slipped the diamond and emerald ring back onto her left ring finger. Then I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed her fingers gingerly. And then I fell to my knees.
Thank you, God, for getting her through this.
Thank you, God, for giving me another day with her.
Thank you, God, for bringing me this rare and remarkable woman.
Thank you, God…
“Jameson.” My head jerked up at the sound of her voice. It was a hoarse whisper, but it was like a balm to my frayed nerves. “Jameson.”
“Shh, little darling. Shh. I’m here.”
She smiled weakly and I stood, shuffling a few steps to the edge of her bed. I leaned over and kissed the top of her head, letting my lips linger there for more than just a moment.
“I told you not to cancel your trip.”
“I’m terrible at listening to you,” I said with a smile.
There was absolutely no way that I would be able to continue negotiations with foreign dignitaries and leaders while Georgie was in Finland being manipulated by Maxwell Edison. I couldn’t remain silent and passive while my administration was infiltrated by Russian oligarchs with too much money and not enough power to satiate their egos.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” she said with a lopsided grin. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” I knew that the pain medication was making her a little loopy because I could hardly believe that she missed me, knowing how angry she was after I left. But there was still truth to her words, and once the medication had worn off, there wouldn’t be any way to hide some very painful facts.
A group of nurses came in to check on Georgie and then moved her to a private room. The rooms on either side of her and across the hall were vacated for security purposes, so we practically had the entire floor to ourselves. I stayed by her side while she drifted in and out.
A steady stream of doctors and nurses constantly checked on her and briefly chatted with us when she was awake, but we were mostly left alone. There was nothing but us and the terrible promise of what might have been.
“I’m sorry, Jameson,” Georgie moaned.
I sat up at the sound of her voice. I was sitting in the most uncomfortable recliner, trying and failing to rest.
I scooted the chair closer to her and saw that her cheeks were wet from tears. I whispered nonsense and stroked the wetness away with the pads of my thumbs. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” I assured her.
“I shouldn’t have told you like that. I should have waited until we both calmed down. You deserved better.”
“Don’t worry about that, Georgie. We both made mistakes. I could have handled things better.” I took her hand gingerly, mindful of the IV attached to it, and kissed the back of it.
“We could have been a family,” she cried, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.
“We will be a family. Just not right now. I promise.”
She nodded, and I swiped the fresh tears from her cheeks, replacing them with soft kisses.
“I want to marry you, Georgie. Now. Today. As soon as possible. I’m done waiting until I figure out my shit. I can’t live another minute of my life without you as my wife. Say yes, Georgie. Please.”
“No.”