CHAPTER 8
Ashlyn
Waking up I stretch and roll off the bed. I head for the bathroom and do my business. When I go to wipe, my eyes bug out when I see blood. I start to panic and become light headed, bleeding isn’t something you associate to be good in pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. My mind wanders to the thought of a miscarriage.
“Shit!” I clean myself up and head out into the bedroom so I can get ready. Why did this have to happen in Vegas? My doctor’s not here and I have no clue where the closest hospital is!
I quickly get dressed and run over to Josh’s door and start banging. He answers after 30 seconds looking disheveled.
“I know you are sleep fogged, but I need you to take me to the hospital right now!” Josh pulls me into his room and sits me on the bed next to him.
“Calm down Ash. What’s the matter?”
“I’m bleeding…” I choke out.
Josh jumps up and ushers me towards the door. “No offense Josh, but I think you should put some clothes on.”
“Fuck!” He dresses in less than ten seconds and we head for the elevator making our way out of the hotel. When we jump in a cab he tells the driver he’ll give him a $200 tip if he gets us there fast.
“Josh… I’m scared.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulders pulling me against him and plants a kiss on my forehead. Having him here is everything right now. He tries keeping me calm by whispering reassurances in my ear and before I know it, we pull up in front of the Emergency Room.
Being pregnant is apparently a pass to the front of the line. Within minutes I’m in a hospital bed wearing a gown and explaining to a nurse what’s going on. A doctor arrives shortly after asking me the same questions.
“Because you’re in your first trimester I’m going to send you in for an ultrasound, just to make sure everything’s okay with the baby. There’s some bleeding but I’m not concerned with the amount.”
My nerves jump into high gear after talking to the doctor, he didn’t say everything was okay yet. I’m wheeled down to my ultrasound and Josh holds my hand the whole way. He’s been my rock so far, without him here I’d be losing my ever-loving mind.
We enter the room and I hop up on the exam table. The tech squirts cold jelly on my stomach and starts to move the wand around. My heart is beating out of my chest and I’m praying to anything that will hear me to let my baby be okay.
“And there’s baby, the heartbeat is nice and strong.”
A sob bursts from my mouth when I realize everything is okay and the baby looks healthy. I reach out my hand for Josh and he grabs it giving me a reassuring squeeze. When I look up at him I see tears in his eyes, of course I should have realized this is the first time he’s seeing our baby. A beautiful thump, thump, thump echoes around the room as the tech measures the heartbeat.
As I lay here I soak up my little one on the monitor for the rest of the ultrasound. Josh remains silent and does the same thing while rubbing my shoulder. This is a moment we should have shared during my first ultrasound, not when we’re panicked and potentially in a devastating situation.
After I’m wheeled back up to my room, they tell me the doctor will be in shortly after he goes over my ultrasound pictures.
Josh pulls up a chair, entwines our fingers together and gazes at the picture of our baby in his hands. I feel drained, almost like I’ve run a marathon.
“Do you want to know what I thought every day when I was with Marybeth?”
“Not particularly.” I mutter.
“Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. Every second of the day I wished it was you. That you were the one carrying my child, the person I was making a family with. It was insane to me because I never saw myself having kids… until I met you. I know what I did was unforgivable but I’m hoping you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I love you so much.” He places his hand on my belly. “And I love our baby beyond words. I want us to be a family, you are the love of my life and I’m so sorry for hurting you the way I did. Please say I have a chance.”
The sincerity shining through his eyes is my undoing. But can I give in so easily?
“I don’t know if I can. My heart and girly bits are saying shut up and kiss him. But my head…”
“Just tell me I have a chance.”
I slightly nod my head and he presses his forehead to my stomach. A relieved sigh escapes his lips as I hear someone clear their throat. We look over towards the door and see the doctor. Josh sits back up, taking my hand in both of his.
“It looks like everything is fine. What caused your bleeding was a subchorionic hemorrhage. In layman’s terms, you have a small clot on your uterus. It’s nothing to worry about and should dissolve on its own. Just to be careful, I’d like you to schedule an appointment with your OB/GYN when you get back home.” Josh gets up and shakes his hand, thanking him before he leaves.
“Thank Christ.” He’s definitely as relieved as I am.
“I thought we were losing the baby.” Another sob escapes my mouth. Josh leans over and connects our lips in a chaste kiss.
“Hellcat, everything is going to be okay, we’ll be okay. We’re really doing this?” He questions with so much hope in his voice.
“Just don’t push things too fast. I still have things that I need to work through.” I whisper.
“I promise I’ll never hurt you again Ash, ever.”
My stomach chooses this time to growl loudly. “Guess we’re hungry.” I laugh.
“Why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll talk to the nurse about getting out of here, or tracking you down some food.” He presses his lips to my forehead then turns me towards the bathroom with a swat on my ass.
I glare at him but can’t keep the smile off my face. As I’m getting dressed I hear Josh talking to someone in the room. I crack the door and hear the end of their conversation.
“No sex, no strenuous activity and lots of rest. Also, make sure she gets in touch with her doctor back home.” I hear the nurse say sternly.
“I will personally make sure it’s all taken care of. Thank you.” Swoon.
I exit the bathroom, sign my discharge papers, then we’re headed back to the hotel.
On our way back, we get a text from Zander saying they want to meet up for breakfast. I agree, but Josh wants to go back to our room so I can relax and put my feet up. I argue, but he won’t budge, so I compromise on everyone coming to our room and ordering breakfast in.
The cab pulls up outside the main entrance and Josh bends down and picks me up. I love being close to him, but this is embarrassing.
“I can walk you know, people are staring.” I notice a few photographers lingering about getting their cameras ready for the shot. I bury my face in the crook of his neck so I’m not seen.
“Let them, I’m carrying the mother of my child upstairs so she can relax. Don’t argue with me.”
I can’t so I don’t. The fact that he’s being protective over me and the baby makes me majorly fall hard. When we get to our floor Josh steps off of the elevator and heads in the direction of my room. As we come to our door we see the whole crew waiting outside in the hallway. Savvy rushes over to us.
“Ash are you okay? Josh texted me what happened. The baby’s okay?”
“Let me get her in bed, then you can ask her questions.” Josh says not waiting on a reply.
I hand the key card to Zander and he opens the door to let us in. Josh walks us to the far side of the bed, he goes to lay me down but stops and turns me quickly. Turning he barks to Jay, “Take care of it.”
I’m confused as he brings us into the bathroom. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing to worry about Ash. Figured you might want to brush your teeth before we order breakfast.”
He places me down in front of the bathroom counter and reaches over to grab my toothbrush.
“Are you trying to tell me that I have stank breath?” I ask appalled.
“Not at all babe I just wanted to brush my own so I brought you with me.” I reluctantly grab my toothbrush from his hands and begin the process.
“Hang on, your toothbrush isn’t here.” I narrow my eyes.
“No problem, I’m good anyways.” He winks at me as I roll my eyes.
When I walk back out into the room I see Savvy pulling a sheet over the last corner of the bed, then it all clicks. There must have been blood on the sheet and Josh didn’t want me to see it.
I whirl around and quickly push Josh back into the bathroom. Once the door is closed I shove him up against it and crash my mouth to his. I bite his lip and Josh groans while he grips my ass. When I pull back we’re both breathing hard.
“Thank you for looking out for us.” I whisper.
“Always.”
We order our breakfast and as we’re waiting I explain what happened. I’m met with relieved eyes and kind words when they all hear that the baby is going to be just fine. The mood in the room shifts as everyone starts smiling at us.
“So, you guys are back together?” Savvy asks bouncing in her seat.
“Yup, Ashlyn decided to give my stupid ass another chance.”
“You guys get into a relationship and become pussies. What the fucks up with that? Zander you used to be a bad ass, so hardcore. Then you became Savvy’s little bitch. Josh, you were never really bad ass, but you had a little swagger working for you. Now you’re dropping sappy as shit lines like the one you just said. I’m never settling down, ever. One of us Cage brothers needs to keep their man card.”
“Dude, what about me?” Kyle asks.
“Um…you’ve never had a way with the ladies Kyle. I should take you under my wing, show you the ways of the pussy whisperer.”
I fake gag then laugh when I see Kyle’s face. This kid is so freaking cute I want to pinch his cheeks. He’s 18 years old and Jay wasn’t far off when he said he’s bad with girls. I went to bring him lunch on campus one day and caught him trying to talk to a girl. He was a fumbling fool. One day he’ll grow into his confidence and then women won’t stand a chance. He’s a Cage after all.
“You just wait asshole. When you meet the girl that knocks you on your ass, we’re just going to sit back and laugh.” Savvy laughs.
“Not going to happen. There’s a buffet of pussy out there and I’m always hungry. It would be a complete disservice to the female population taking my magical pussy puncher off the market.”
Savvy starts going off on Jay at using such crude language towards women when we hear a knock at the door. Josh gets up and lets them in. He finds my food first and brings it over to me, setting it up on a tray.
“Come here.” I say to Josh while pouting my lips.
He bends down and presses his lips to mine and sparks fly. I hope I never get used to this feeling. Just when it starts getting good Jay yells that he’s going to puke his breakfast all over the place if we keep it up. Josh gives me one last peck and leaves me to my breakfast and goes in search of his own.
Tonight is the charity fighting event and I guess a few fighters that don’t have any fights coming up have volunteered their time for a good cause. Savvy booked us appointments in my room to get our hair done. Now I’m not sure why we would need to get our hair done for a fight, but I’m not going to argue with being pampered.
Josh voices his unease about me not going tonight, thinking it’s best for me to relax in bed and take care of the baby. At this point I expect no less from him but I remind him that the doctor said it was fine and I just can’t do anything strenuous. Ultimately, promising to park my ass in a chair the whole night appeases him. Who would have thought he’d go all alpha daddy when he found out I was pregnant?
The morning was draining to say the least, and I feel completely exhausted. After everyone leaves the room I decide to sleep the day away until I need to get ready. Josh insists on carrying me to the bathroom when I let him know I’m getting up to use it. He places me in front of the toilet and just stands there. I draw the line at Josh watching me pee like a psycho so he reluctantly leaves after I threaten his manhood. If this keeps up, we’re going to have a serious chat about boundaries.
When I head out of the bathroom and enter the room I notice Josh waiting at the bed with the covers pulled back. I place a kiss on his cheek and slide into bed, snuggling into the blanket.