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“Quincy.” I could hear the warning in Sam’s voice.
“I promise.”
“Ms. Cavendish!”
“What?” I snapped as I turned to her.
“Can I talk to you outside?” She pointed to the now open door and a very concerned looking Jamie.
“Whatever you’re going to discuss, you can do it right here.” Richard spoke up, the irritation in his voice bright. “Sam, I think you’re forgetting that I’m not a patient who knows fuck all about the situation.”
Her eyes snapped to his, her expression indignant. “You’re not my patient. Ms. Anderson is.”
“Well, they could both become mine!”
Jamie closed the door behind him before whistling loudly. Only when we were all looking at him did he speak. “What on earth is going on? You’re all talking over each other like a bunch of zoo animals. What’s the problem here?”
“This isn’t your concern either.” Sam gritted at him.
“Do you want me to stay?” He asked Richard and Jenna at the same time.
“Absolutely.” Jenna answered as she took off the oxygen mask and laid it on her chest.
I doubted she even knew who S
am was to me and Richard. If she did she was doing a stand-up job of hiding it.
Richard shook his head as he looked from Jamie to me to Sam. “He stays.” His voice was cold and stern.
“Great!” Jamie gave her an exaggerated fake smile.
“This is ridiculous.” She rolled her eyes at him, her fisted hands going into the pockets of her lab coat.
“No, what’s ridiculous is that all of you are arguing about what you think is best rather than asking the patient how they want to proceed. You’re better than this.” His hands closed around the rail at the foot of the bed as he leant forward putting his weight on it, his gaze on me. “You all need to be quiet and listen very intently to what’s going to be said.” He held out his hand for the folder in Sam’s hand and took it from her as she hesitantly handed it to him. “What do you want to do, Jenna?”
I was holding my breath hoping to God that she wanted to keep the baby inside for as long as possible. She was still well within her rights to terminate, if she wanted to go down that path. Although that didn’t seem like an option she was willing to consider since Sam had called Mr. Peters, the Neo Consultant, in. Of course, it being Christmas meant that he wasn’t around, so I’d insisted on staying and giving Jenna all the information he would have, if he weren’t still on his way to the hospital from the suburbs. And yes, it was a cumbersome situation to put myself in, but given the history in the room…I guess I just didn’t trust Sam in whatever capacity she was in. I wanted to make sure that Jenna understood that Sam’s priority was her, the mother, and not specifically the baby. Even though it didn’t seem like termination was a consideration for her, that didn’t mean that she was willing to go as far as her body would allow her. That baby was viable at this point and if she opted to go with the sooner the better I couldn’t do anything about it. But I also wanted her to know her options and their consequences.
She looked at Richard and then at me and Sam before she settled on Jamie, “I want what’s best for our baby.” She reached over and gave Richard’s hand a squeeze.
“Are you aware of the risks?”
“I know there are risks.”
I felt him come up behind me. His voice although soft getting louder. “But do you know what they are?”
When she didn’t say anything, but looked to me, I replied, “I didn’t get that far.”
Sam let out a huffy laugh, “It’s not your place to get there.”
Both Jamie and Jenna ignored her, but the glare Richard gave her made it very clear that he was getting fed up of her attitude.
“Then you can’t make that decision. Not without knowing all the risks.” Jamie stood next to Richard. “I assume you know them as well as I do, if not better?”
Richard nodded, his eyes looking at me in sympathy, and in swings and roundabouts it all came back to the one thing that had been the final nail in our coffin.
Jenna looked between us as understanding dawned on her. She wrapped her arms around her belly like she was cradling her unborn child, and once again my heart felt like it was fracturing into gazillions of pieces. My throat dried up as all the moisture gathered behind my eyes.
“Both you and your child could die. All your efforts could be for nothing.” Sam sat on the other side of the bed, her back to mine. Her dark mahogany hair a contrast to my lighter strands. Her olive skin darker than my own. We were complete opposites. In nature, in looks and in morals.
