158 - Stop!! In The Name of Love

Jon couldn't sleep. He was too worried. Ariana had another cramp during dinner and two more since they got home. And again, she shrugged them off - claiming they were nothing but cramps from a combination of all the walking they had been doing and that she was tired. Still not satisfied with that, he ordered her to shower and go straight to bed, and she did. No fight, no smartass remarks about telling her what to do. She just went straight to bed, no questions asked, which, to be honest, caused him more than a little concern. He was on the road for a good portion of Dorothea's four pregnancies and missed a lot of these little things and had nothing to compare it too. Once she was settled and sleeping, he pulled the chair closer to the bed, so he could keep an eye on her, and fired up her laptop.  

He started with the obvious, third trimester pregnancy ABC’s. He found the typical your baby's the size of a large cabbage. Their living quarter was growing tight, yadda, yadda, yadda. His next search he added some of her symptoms. That's where things got interesting and worrisome. That search brought up a slew of things he could choose from. Reputable pregnancy sites such as; Babycenter.com, Whattoexpect.com, and Parents.com- not to mention the umpteen personal blogs and journals. Clicking every link, he skimmed each article, and everything so far seemed to be consistent with what she had been feeling all day. 

 

It was when he came upon an article about Preterm Labor from the American Pregnancy Association that he became more alarmed. The day’s events and her grimacing cries had him calling the driver and requested him to come back to the house to wait outside. He also called Carmela for hospital suggestions. Braxton Hicks, my ass, he thought. Those happen sporadically. But in the last forty-six minutes, she had three. Each one growing more intense, that he could tell. One more and he wasn’t taking any chances. They would be off to the hospital.

 

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His fingers drummed impatiently while he waited as the asinine intern typed in Ariana's information. Seriously. What was taking him so long? He needed to get back there with her and see what was going on. She had two more in the car, making that six in an hour. Something didn't seem right, and the look of panic in her eyes as they whisked her away in a wheelchair was just....

 

"Are you done yet? My wife needs me." 

 

More like he needed his wife. He knew she was in excellent hands with all the doctors. She hadn't been back there all that long. Since she became pregnant, she kept a folder of her medical records and personal information for when they traveled. She had given the triage nurse what he needed and taken the rest with her. For the love of God, he didn't know what could take so long for him to type in what he needed. 

 

"If you could just sign...." Snatching the paper from his hand, he scribbled as if he was signing for some fan who intruded on his personal time. Annoyed, he tossed down the pen. "NOW! Can I go?"

 

Jon didn't wait for him to answer. He simply followed the corridor they took Ariana down and through the double doors. On the other side of the doors was another corridor that led him to a circular wing with a nurse’s station in the middle. He could hear the beeping sounds of machines coming from the rooms as he looked for someone to help him. 

 

"Jon." Immediately turning at the sound of her voice, he sought out which room it came from. Lying in bed, he could see she had an IV, a monitor hooked up to her, and a monitor strapped across her abdomen. When she looked up at him, her tear-filled eyes had him crossing the room in three strides. 

 

"Jon, I'm so scared. They say I'm having contractions. Lily can't come now, it's too early." 

 

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took her in his arms to try to calm her. Now that she started crying, the machines beeped even more now. "Where are the doctors?" he smoothed her hair. "I want to talk to them."

 

"No. Don't. Go." She squeezed him tighter. 

 

"Shh... Shh. I'm not going anywhere."

 

The sound of someone clearing their throat drew their attention to the door where a man in his late sixties, wearing a white coat, was entering the room. He introduced himself as Dr. Rispino, head of the Obstetrics department and the one who would oversee Ariana's care. He explained that Ariana was, in fact, having contractions. About six to seven minutes apart. The monitor hooked to her stomach showed that although they were close, they weren't all that intense. 

 

A nurse entered the room pushing a portable ultrasound machine to which Dr. Rispino took the doppler and began moving over Ariana's stomach. He explained he was looking at how strong the baby's heartbeat was, along with her measurements. Once he found them, he rattled them off to the nurse, who wrote them down on a pad. Next, he explained he needed to do an internal examination to make sure she wasn't dilating. He warned her it would not be pleasant, but it needed to be done. Lying back, she placed her feet into the stirrups and clasped Jon's hand between hers. She even cried out as the doctor examined her. At this point, she lost all dignity, and she didn't care. She just wanted her little girl to be safe and healthy. 

 

When Dr. Rispino finished, he gave the nurse some instructions and turned his attention back to Jon and Arianna. "Mrs. Bongiovi." he said with a thick Italian accent. "Your contractions are four minutes apart. You are twenty-five percent effaced and one percent dilated. Though this is not good at this stage in your pregnancy, it isn't too bad. I will start you on magnesium sulfate to help stop the contractions. This will go through your IV. It's the quickest way. However, there are some side effects. Sweats, headaches, rapid heartbeat were the milder ones, you could possibly hallucinate and have some burning sensations." 

 

She and Jon both agreed that anything they tried would be worth dealing with, if it meant stopping the contractions. He was also going to do a fibronectin test to determine if she would deliver within the next two weeks. Another test that wasn't always accurate. She would receive one last shot to help with the development of the baby's lungs, just in case she did indeed deliver this soon. 

 

The nurse returned with all the medication. As she administered each one, she explained to Ariana and Jon their purpose. When she got to the magnesium, she warned Ari what she might feel, and she wasn't wrong. The minute she pushed the needle into the IV, Ariana felt her veins burn. She became hot from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She felt as if she was on fire and the devil himself was crawling through her veins. The nurse left and returned with a few ice packs, which she placed behind Ariana's neck, behind her knees and one each for her wrists. She told them she would be back to check on her in a little bit. 

 

"Hang tight, Lily. We’ll get through this." Jon whispered against her belly. 

 

"Yes, we will. As much as we want you here with us, it's too soon. Besides, you need to wait till we get to Canada." Ari moved her hand from the ice pack to her stomach. "Oooh. C'mon Lily. Settle down."

 

"Was that another one?"

 

"Yeah."

 

 Jon looked at his watch. "Okay. Tell me when you feel the next."

 

"Everything happened so fast. Did you call back home to let them know what is going on?"

 

"Not yet. I wanted to see what the doctors had to say."

 

"I'm pretty sure I'm here for the night. Observation and all. You should at least call your mother."

 

"You trying to get rid of me?" he said jokingly. 

 

"Nope. I just know you. And sitting here, helpless, is driving you insane. Go. Call your mom. I'll be fine."

 

"You forget who you're talking to, missy. You’re just as coo-coo as me. I'm staying put until..." Ari squeezed his hand and bit down on her lower lip, "Another?" He asked, looking at his watch.

 

"How long?" She took a few deep breaths.

 

"Four minutes, still. I'm going to get the nurse. Dont'cha be going anywhere on me now."  

 

Slipping from the room, Jon looked to his left, then his right, until he spotted who he was looking for, leaving Ariana to have a few moments to herself. Placing both hands on each side of her stomach, she began moving her hands in a small circular motion. 

 

"Oh, my sweet Lily, I need you to do mommy a huge favor. Can you slow it down in there? Okay. I waited my entire life to allow myself to want you. I'm scared. Scared that if you come too soon, something bad will happen. Scared that this is some sort of punishment for all the things I've done with my life. I want you more than anything I ever wanted, I swear. So please just chill for a little bit longer."

 

"Who ya talking to?" Jon walked into the room, with the nurse and the doctor behind him. 

 

The doctor went over to the machine, which was monitoring Ari's contraction, as the nurse injected two more syringes into her IV. One she knew immediately was magnesium, as she felt the familiar hot rush throughout her body. "What else did you give me?"

 

"Terbutaline." replied the doctor as he made his way to her bedside. "You'll be staying the night. You're still having contractions fairly close together, though not as strong. I want to get them regulated before I release you and send you home."

 

"Then I can have Dr. Barnes keep a watchful eye on me."

 

"No, I'm sorry. You didn't quite understand me. Mrs. Bongiovi, you can't travel back to the States. For the time being, you are on the no-fly list and on bed rest."