Chapter Twenty
Jay
#TheNurseVoice
As soon as I took his blood pressure again, I shifted into nurse mode. The last thing my mate needed was a frantic alpha on his hands.
“Okay, so let’s climb into the car and go get you checked out.” I kissed his forehead again, and although he probably found it comforting, it was more to check if he was feverish than a sweet gesture.
His blood pressure was through the roof and while I helped him tie those Converse, I saw his ankles. A covert squeeze of his calf confirmed the swelling around his shins as well.
This wasn’t good for the babies or Brent.
We got in the car, and I rubbed circles on Brent’s belly while I drove with the other hand. The hospital was about thirty minutes away. We pulled into the parking lot, and although my heart was beating a hundred miles a minute, I stayed steady for him. My voice was my nurse’s voice, all soothing and hot chocolate.
“I’m scared,” Brent said with a death grip on my arm as we walked toward the hospital.
“It’s okay, love. I’m just taking precautions. You and those babies are my entire world. I’m making sure my world is well.”
That’s when Brent started crying, and it nearly broke me. In fact, it did. I scooped him up in the parking lot, honeymoon style, and carried him in. No more of that walking bullcrap for my family.
“This is not necessary,” Brent said into my ear.
“But it’s fun, right?” I turned my head and winked at him.
“It is a little fun. Now, put me down.”
The hospital emergency room was tiny with only a few patients sitting in the chairs. I didn’t see any blood or head wounds, so I used my nurse power to get my way.
“Excuse me,” I said to the nurse at the check-in station. “Hi, my name is Joaquim, I’m a nurse, too, and this is my...Brent, and he’s pregnant with twins. I just took his blood pressure and it’s 169/110. He has a history of high blood pressure. There’s some lower extremity swelling as well. Can we get him checked out asap?”
The nurse crooked her finger at me. ”Bring him in.” I set him on a gurney right inside the triage area where she took his info.
“I can hook up the vitals.” Because just watching was killing me.
“Sir, I know you’re a nurse, but just let me do my job, okay? You just be the mate tonight, okay?”
She used the damned nurse voice on me.
It worked.
“Everything is going to be fine, love.” I sat next to Brent who didn’t look pleased with any part of the situation.
While she typed in his insurance and other info from his driver’s license, he turned his head toward me. “I don’t want to spend another night without you.”
I nodded and semi-stalked the nurse to make sure she was handling my omega right. “I know. I won’t leave the hospital. I swear.”
“Not the hospital, Jay. I mean in life. I don’t want to sleep without you anymore.”
“Then you never have to. I’ll move my stuff over as soon as we get back. Right now, let’s send good thoughts to these babies. They need their daddy to chill out.”
“I didn’t eat any salt.” He looked straight into my eyes.
“I know. Maybe it was temporary. That’s what we’re here to find out.”
The nurse put the blood pressure machine next to the gurney and hooked Brent up. He never stopped looking at me.
I heard the hum of the machine and prayed as fast as I could while the numbers decided our fate.
“Okay, Daddy. We are a little high. We don’t play around with babies and high blood pressure, so let’s get you admitted. Just a little observation and maybe a few pain-in-the-butt tests.”
I helped Brent up, and we followed the nurse into the main hospital and down the hall to the rooms. They stuck him in a corner room and shut the curtains and door, after telling us to wait. I knew from experience that the doctor would take a while.
I had to distract him.
“I sing terribly.”
“What?” He laughed.
“I sing terribly, but I’m a fantastic dancer. I can salsa my way into your heart in five seconds flat.”
My heart sank as I searched on my phone to find a salsa song. But I had a choice—make him worse by dwelling on the bad or relieve his stress the only way I knew how. Well, the only way I should in a hospital room.
“Here.” I found the tune, got up from the stool, and danced the hell out of the song. I swayed my hips and sang along, making Brent smile and even clap from his bed.
“I see we’re having a show?” the doctor said as he came in. I didn’t even hear him knock.
I cleared my throat. “Stress relief. Trying to make his blood pressure go down.”
“Well, let’s see, shall we?”
He looked over the records and told us what tests he was ordering. They had him take a urine test and of course, they took blood, after another ultrasound.
“Do you want to know the sexes?” the tech asked.
“No,” Brent nearly shouted. “I like surprises.”
“Okay.”
The night grew longer and longer, and soon Brent was exhausted. I figured he had time between tests and results for a nap, so I went to the nurse’s station and asked for a warmed blanket.
“We don’t really carry those here. They are up in surgery and OB. Your husband is having twins, you said?”
I nodded, not even denying the husband remark.
“Well, I’m about to go on my break, so I can swing by surgery and pick a couple up. I’ll be back in a few.”
“Thank you.”
Husband didn’t sound bad at all.
True to her word, a few minutes later, she returned with two comfy warmed blankets. I carried them to the room and laid them out on Brent who was already half-asleep.
“Oh, where can we get one of those blanket-warmer things?” he lazily asked.
“It’s called a dryer, and if you love this, I can make sure you have them every night. Anything for my omega.”
“Don’t leave me,” he whispered, eyes closed.
“Brent, I won’t ever leave you.”
“I haven’t said it because I’m a big scaredy-cat, but I love you and I want you to stay here in Mapleville with me and the babies and I want a house and...I want it all with you.”
His words came out jumbled and strung together like one word, but I got the gist.
I leaned down and kissed his forehead and gave our babies a rub while I did. “You never have to worry about me leaving, love. You’ve got an alpha for life.”