- Nerves of Steele,
Will of Iron and Dreams of Gold
Part 2
-
- by SteeleChic
1999
-
"Mr Steele," she began, "Your wife's early labor
-"
"Wait!" Laura interrupted, "It's my body,
talk to me, not about me."
Remington studied his wife carefully for a second or two. Now,
there was the old Laura, but how much was real and how much was
false bravado? He knew this had scared her as much as it had
scared him, but then she'd always been able to appear icy calm
and in control, even in the most serious of situations.
"I'm sorry," Dr Barnett amended, "Mrs Steele,
what you experienced was indeed early labor but we managed to
stop the contraction and the baby is just fine, so you've nothing
to worry about there." Obvious relief flooded Laura's face
and was mirrored in her husbands. Remington drew Laura's hand
to his lips, the smallest of actions evidencing his joy, but
she knew better than to take the doctor's words at face value.
"It's not as simple as that, is it?" Laura asked suspiciously.
"I'm afraid not," Dr Barnett continued, "While
the baby is just fine, we're a little concerned about you. The
labor was caused by a condition known as toxemia. Your blood
pressure is way too high to be healthy and, to be honest with
you, it's going to harm the baby if you don't slow down and take
it easy."
"No more going to the office," Remington chided softly
as he squeezed her hand gently and reassuringly.
"OK, so I'll work from home all the time instead of just
every few days," Laura conceded brightly, her stubborn streak
beginning to show. Their eyes dueled silently for a second, warning
in his, defiance in hers, until both of the Steeles turned their
gaze back to their doctor, who shook her head, eyes grave behind
a rueful smile.
"I'm afraid it's much more serious than that Mrs Steele,"
Dr Barnett admitted slowly, "I'm going to have to prescribe
something to keep your blood pressure under control, as well
as complete bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy."
Remington turned wary eyes back to his wife. He knew how headstrong
she could be, especially when it came to work. The agency was
her life and this piece of news was not going to go down well.
"That's like ten weeks!" Laura squeaked out, "You
mean I have to stay in bed for the next ten weeks? I'll go insane,
unless..." she paused a moment, "Unless we can just
bring all the papers into the bedroom -"
Remington stopped her, "Unless nothing, Laura, weren't you
listening to Dr Barnett?"
"Mrs Steele," Dr Barnett stepped in, "It's imperative
that we get your blood pressure down, if not for your sake then
for the baby's. Your husband is right, work, and especially your
kind of work can be very stressful, I want you flat on your back
for the next ten weeks and no work whatsoever, I hope you realize
how important that is."
"OK," mercifully, Laura gave in, "I understand,
I'm sorry, I just..." she trailed off tearily, rubbing a
tired hand over her eyes and through her hair. The scare had
gotten to her more than she let on and the argument had largely
been an act. Remington was almost kicking himself for not realizing
it sooner as he placed a calming hand on her forehead.
"Laura," he uttered, pained by the futility he was
feeling, "It'll be OK, just let me look after you OK?"
"Listen to Mr Steele, Mrs Steele," Dr Barnett suggested
with a smile, "If I were you, I'd be the luckiest woman
in the world to have this gorgeous husband of yours pamper me
for a while."
Laura managed a weak smile, she hated feeling this helpless,
this out of control, it scared her more than she cared to admit,
but with Remington by her side she was becoming increasingly
certain she could handle anything life tossed her way.
"When can I go home?" she asked.
"I want to keep you here one day for observation but after
that I'll release her into your care Mr Steele," the doctor
told them.
"Fine," they answered together.
"Thank you, Doctor," Remington said as Dr Barnett turned
to leave.
"I'll be back to check on you later, Mrs Steele," the
doctor told her, "You just relax and get some sleep, I know
you can't have gotten much last night."
Laura merely nodded in response as Dr Barnett left the room before
turning to her husband, "You'd better go call Mildred and
tell her I won't be in today," she said.
"That we won't be in today," Remington corrected,
wincing internally at the take charge attitude Laura had always
adopted to mask her true feelings and that now was beginning
to make an appearance.
She flashed him a grateful smile and her hand tightened almost
imperceptibly around his, the only outward sign of her inner
turmoil.
"I suppose I should call though, to let her know what's
going on, and your mother too, I should definitely call her,"
Remington pondered aloud.
One eyebrow arched as Laura grimaced, "Don't do that,"
she warned, "You heard what Dr Barnett said about my blood
pressure."
Remington smiled in spite of himself but noticed how Laura's
eyes were dropping closed with increasing frequency.
"You should get some sleep, that sedative must be taking
effect," he suggested quietly, "I'll be right here
beside you."
"Mmm, no," she protested sleepily, "What about
the Thompson case?"
"Mildred can handle it for now," he assured her, "I'll
make that call soon."
"But -" she tried.
"Laura, for once just don't argue, hmm?" he interrupted
her.
She sighed but, blessedly, did as she was told, "OK,"
she mumbled, her dark lashes fanning out across pale cheeks as
she drifted off to sleep.
-
- To Be Continued...
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