“Ivy, you—”
“Just two days. That’s all I ask—two days. Please?” Ivy cut him off, giving him no room to refuse. “I’ve never asked you for anything, not really. Just this once—please, respect my wishes. Just this once.”
Jamison was torn, his mind at war with itself. Ever since Ivy’s fall, these past few weeks had been nothing short of agonizing. He barely slept through the night, plagued by constant unease. She’d finally started to recover, and they were counting down the days until she could come home. Now, out of nowhere, this new crisis had blindsided them. His heart ached for her. And now Ivy was begging him like this…
He almost caved, almost let her have her way. But the words of his colleague from OB–GYN echoed in his mind, giving him pause. After a moment’s hesitation, he steadied himself and said firmly, “We need to do the scan today. If it really is an ectopic pregnancy, we have to act quickly. If the fallopian tube ruptures, the bleeding could be severe. I don’t want you to suffer more than you already have.”
The OB–GYN had explained it all—her condition made her more susceptible to ectopic pregnancies. The timing of conception was suspicious too, happening while Ivy was still in surgery. The medications she’d received could have interfered, making it likely that the embryo never made it to the uterus.
Seeing how determined he was, Ivy’s temper flared. “It’s my body, isn’t it? Don’t I have a say?”
“Ivy…” Jamison understood how she felt and didn’t challenge her tone. After a moment’s thought, he tried to meet her halfway. “How about this: We do the scan today. If it’s not ectopic, we’ll wait two more days before doing anything else. Is that okay?”
Ivy stared at him, silent. But she was scared too—what if it really was ectopic? She was already bleeding.
“Ivy, please. Listen to me.” Jamison sat up and gently took her hands, his voice steady and sincere. Ivy didn’t respond—her tears answered for her, spilling silently down her cheeks. He understood. Her lack of protest meant she’d given in.
He pulled out his phone and called a colleague to arrange everything. “Ten minutes from now, I’ll take you over,” he told her after hanging up. Ivy said nothing, just lay back on the bed, staring into space.
A few minutes later, the ultrasound tech called—they were ready for her.
“Ivy, let’s go.” Jamison coaxed her up, helped her into a wheelchair, and wheeled her to the imaging suite. He stayed right by her side while they prepped for the scan.
Midway through, Jamison’s phone buzzed—Thad was calling.
“Ivy, I need to step out and take this,” he told his wife before slipping outside.
“Hey, big brother.”
“Jamison, both Davina and I are free today. We thought we’d drop by the hospital to see Ivy. She should be getting discharged soon, right?” Thad’s work kept him busy—he’d only managed to visit Ivy twice since her accident. It was Davina’s idea today—she’d reminded him that they ought to check in, see how Ivy was doing, and find out when she might be going home.
Jamison let out a long sigh. “You’d better not come today.”
“Why? Is something wrong with Ivy’s recovery?”
“It’s not that…” He hadn’t planned on telling anyone, but with his brother on the line, not explaining could cause all sorts of misunderstandings. “Ivy… just found out she’s pregnant. But… the baby isn’t viable. She’s pretty upset, and honestly, today’s not a good day for visitors.”
“What?” Thad was stunned, disbelief clear in his voice. “But… she fell from the eighth floor! How is it even possible she’s…”