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"Who do you think he'll look like?"
Jim and Pam were stretched out together on her tiny hospital bed, both absentmindedly rubbing their hands over her belly.
"Hmm..." Jim mused. "I hope he gets my ears, nose, and chin, and your crazy hair," he said, smiling.
"Oh, God, poor kid!" Pam giggled. "He'd look like Kramer!"
"Yikes... he'd never forgive us."
"You know," Pam said, laying her head on Jim's shoulder. "Lately I've been dreaming of him, and every time, he looks exactly like you. I mean exactly. Exact same hair, exact same face... just smaller."
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm. Except for that one time where he looked like Michael. Like how he looked on that TV show when he was a kid.
"Jeez... sounds scary."
"Oh, it was. I was seriously creeped out the next day whenever I looked at him."
"I can imagine."
"Seriously, though," she continued. "I do hope he has your hair. I love your hair." She raked her fingers through his shaggy mop, emphasizing her point. "And your eyes. You have beautiful eyes."
"You mean sexy and manly eyes?"
"Yes. Sorry."
"Thank you," Jim said with a grin. "He'd look good with your eyes, too. As long as he doesn't get your eyesight along with it. I don't want my kid to be a four-eyes."
Pam let out a grunt of indignation and smacked him lightly on the chest.
"He'd look cute with glasses! Like a little professor!"
Just then, Dr. McNulty walked in, followed by Mindi, who was wheeling in an ultrasound machine.
"How're you doing, Pam?" Dr. McNulty asked.
"Okay... I haven't had a contraction in awhile," she said, realizing that, in fact, she hadn't had a contraction in 15 minutes.
Dr. McNulty examined the long piece of paper coming out of the monitor beside the bed.
"I can see that," she said with a smile. "Looks like the meds are working."
"Thank God," Pam sighed.
"We'll still need to monitor you for a few more hours, to make sure that labor's stopped. I also want to do a quick ultrasound, just to make sure that everything's okay." She wheeled the machine over and pushed Pam's gown up to expose her abdomen. She applied the ultrasound gel and pressed the wand to her belly.
"Alright, let's see how this little guy's doing," she said as she moved the wand around Pam's abdomen. She pointed to the monitor.
"There's his head... oh, look, he's sucking his thumb!"
"Oh great, we have a thumb-sucker," Jim groaned, warranting another smack from Pam.
"You are so mean!" she exclaimed. "You'd better not make fun of him."
"Hey, I say it with love."
Dr. McNulty continued to run the wand over Pam's stomach, and then paused, her brow furrowing.
"Hmm..." she said. "Mindi, who's on for anesthesiology?"
"Arora."
"Page him. Call up to OB and book a room, too."
"What's going on?" Pam asked, suddenly alarmed as Mindi hurried out of the room. Dr. McNulty turned the screen toward them.
"Do you see that gray line?" she asked, pointing to the monitor.
"Uh-huh," Pam nodded.
"You have what's called a placental abruption. That's where the placenta starts to separate from the uterus before the baby's born. That's probably what induced labor. It was your body's way of telling us that something was wrong. Right now, you and the baby are okay, but we need to get you delivered as soon as possible."
"But... it's too early!" Pam protested.
"I know, but an abruption is very dangerous. It can cut off blood supply to the baby, and can also cause maternal bleeding. 32 weeks is early, but we’ve given you steroids to mature his lungs, and our NICU cares for babies smaller than yours all the time. He’s going to be okay." She patted Pam's leg. "We'll take you up in a couple of minutes."
"Oh God, Jim," Pam sighed as Dr. McNulty left the room. "I can't believe this is happening." Tears began to well up in her eyes. Jim sat down next to her, in a daze.
"Me neither," he said softly, tears filling his own eyes. He leaned over, absentmindedly kissing her temple. "Me neither..."
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Summary - Dr. McNulty makes a frightening discovery.
Chapter End Notes:
More scary stuff ahead, but it will end happily, I promise! Thank you for all the lovely reviews!
