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Dallas felt so helpless,and he hated it. Jess had gone into labor at home. Early, yes. Surprising, yes. But at home, where he’d promptly picked her up and taken her out to the car. They’d been at the hospital less than fifteen minutes later, and she’d been admitted on their first try.
“That’s it, angel,” Luke said. “Wake on up now.” Across the truck, Nate said something, and Dallas just stayed out of the way.
Luke turned toward him and said, “Dallas, I need you.”
He stepped through the dogs and past Ted, who seemed to have taken up a protective position just like the six canines. “The ambulance is almost here,” Dallas said
“She’s bleeding a lot,” Luke said. “Is that normal?”
“I’m not an OBGYN,” Dallas said, not daring to look at Hannah though the sight of blood didn’t bother him. “I haven’t practiced for years.”
“Is it normal?” Nate asked.
Dallas looked at Hannah, whose entire lower body was soaked in blood. He shook his head, fear ripping through him. “No. This is bad. This is—” He didn’t allow himself to say what it could be.
A ruptured placenta. A tear in the uterine wall.
Hannah’s skin looked like dry cement, and while her chest rose and fell, it was in quick, shallow breaths.
The siren came closer, growing louder, and Dallas quickly circled to Nate’s side of the truck. He climbed onto the seat and leaned over Hannah, pulling up her sweater to just under her chest. No blood on her belly, which meant she hadn’t fallen and injured herself there.
“She’s hemorrhaging,” he said. “I don’t know how to stop the bleeding.” He looked across her body to Luke, his thoughts growing clearer and clearer. “She’s going to need a C-section to take the baby as fast as possible,” he said. “Luke, listen to me. They’re going to have to take her from you. They’ll take the baby, and they’ll bring him out to you. Then they’re going to focus on saving her life.”
Luke’s face crumbled, and Ted took a step closer to him.
“It’s going to be okay,” Dallas said. “We got to her quickly, and the human body has a lot of blood. She’s going to be okay.” He shouted the last words as the ambulance pulled up.
He jumped from the truck and started briefing the man as he got out of the passenger seat. “She’s going to need a blood clotting agent. I think she’s got a ruptured placenta, and she’s bleeding a lot. You should take the baby C-section. Call it in right now so they’re ready. She’s been down for fifteen minutes, and you have to save her.”
The man asked Dallas question after question as they got Hannah onto a gurney and hooked up to an IV. Her breathing actually settled, and Dallas told Luke that was a good sign. “You ride with them, Luke. Go.”
Luke climbed in the back of the ambulance and said, “You’re all coming, right?” just before the door closed.
“You heard him,” Ted said. “We’re all going.”
Everyone scrambled to get into a truck or car, and Dallas ended up alone, waiting for Jess to get back from her ride. She came running up to him five minutes after everyone had pulled out, and Dallas was still standing there, watching the dust settle.
“What’s going on?” Jess asked, a sob coming from her throat. “Where is she? Where is everyone?”
Dallas looked at her and put his arm around her and their son in her arms. The boy was fifteen months now and squirmed under the weight of Dallas’s arm. “She’s going to have the baby early,” he said, his voice almost numb. “Let’s go. I’ll explain on the way there.”
* * *
“We’ll be back tonight,”he said into the phone. “You really don’t need to make the drive. Missy is almost fourteen years old.” He glanced at Emma, who couldn’t stop crying. The desperation in the truck was the highest Ted had ever felt, and he’d seen Emma handcuffed to a chair before.
“We’re already heading out to the car,” Fran said. “I know Missy can handle it, but we haven’t seen Frannie in a few months, and I have a gift for both girls.”
Ted knew she didn’t have a gift for his girls. Or maybe she did. He knew he didn’t want to argue with her. “Thank you, Fran,” he said as he made the turn into the emergency room parking lot. The ambulance had beat them there, of course, but they’d only pulled in maybe a minute ago.
“Of course,” Fran said. “We’ll pray for Hannah too.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.” Ted pulled up to the circle drive as he hung up the call. “Go on,” he said. “I’ll park and come find everyone.”
Emma slid from the truck, as did Slate, Jill, and Jill’s mother, Sabrina. Nate and Ginger had her father with them, and Dallas had stayed behind to wait for his wife.
“I love you,” Ted called to Emma, suddenly needing to tell her at least once an hour. That way, if something happened, she’d know how he felt.
She gave him a quick smile and wiped her face. “I love you too, Teddy.” She closed the door and leaned into Sabrina, who seemed to have the most strength out of all of them.
