Chapter 29: Part 2
A man's panicked voice being urgently calmed down by another finally awoke me. As I groggily opened my eyes to the bright lights above me, a pained groan escaped my lips. My head was throbbing painfully, and I still felt nauseous and weak. Sitting up, I winced in pain and looked around at my surroundings. I realised that I was lying in one of the white metal beds in the hospital wing with a thin white sheet covering my legs and abdomen. What had happened to me? How did I get into a crisp, clean hospital bed from the doctor's cosy office?
Peering around the room, I spied Kieran urgently talking to a doctor, worry and concern splashed all over his face. His skin had turned white as a sheet, and I could feel the panic radiating off of his body. As if he could sense that I was finally awake, he snapped his head toward me. He hurried over, the doctors and nurses following in quick succession, and worriedly, he grabbed my hands in his and knelt beside me.
“Oh, Elena. You gave me such a fright!” Kieran mumbled, looking at me sorrowfully while gently kissing my hands. “How are you feeling? You gave us all a fright. For a minute there, I thought that I was going to lose you again.”
“My head hurts a little, and I feel a little nauseous.” I winced slightly. “Kieran, what happened? What am I doing in the hospital wing?”
“You stood up, and then the next minute, you just collapsed on the floor,” Kieran explained. “Hollie rushed to catch you, but you hit the floor too fast. That’s why your head hurts. You took quite a tumble.”
“What's wrong with me?” I groaned, rubbing my head gingerly. “There must be a reason why I passed out? Have I eaten something funny? I just feel sick and weak. And very tired all of a sudden.”
“Your vitals all came back fine, except for your heart rate,” one of the doctors explained. “There's one more test I want to carry out on you. But first of all, I need you to pee in this pot. It has white vinegar inside. There's something I want to rule out.”
“Like what?” I replied hesitantly, looking over at Kieran suspiciously.
“Just do it, please, Elena,” Kieran pleaded, smiling at me reassuringly. “Just trust the doctor on this, okay. They know what they are doing.”
Sighing, I nodded and took the small pot of white vinegar and strolled towards the bathroom where I could pee in peace. My headache was slowly subsiding, but the sickness was still gnawing away at my stomach. What was the doctor looking for? Did I have a sickness bug? Had someone poisoned me like they did my grandmother? Nervously, I squatted over the toilet and held the pot steady underneath. I didn’t know how much the doctor would need, so I only filled the pot a little way before continuing in the toilet. Not thinking about looking in the pot, I placed it down on the basin while carefully washing my hands. Inhaling a deep breath to steady my nerves, I opened the bathroom door and returned to the main room with the pot, where the doctor and Kieran were waiting for me patiently. Nervously, I handed over the pot and sat down on the edge of my hospital bed. I peered up and watched as the doctor gently shook the pot around in a circle and looked expectantly at the contents.
“Ahh, just as one suspected,” the doctor murmured before looking up at me and smiling gently. “Would you like to have a look?”
“Um, yeah, sure,” I shrugged casually before peering into the pot of yellow liquid. “What am I looking at or for exactly?”
“Do you see the bubbles?” the doctor explained gently. “Do you know what that means?”
“Um, no,” I replied, shaking my head in confusion. “Though I expect you are going to tell me what is wrong with me?”
“There's nothing wrong with you, my dear,” the doctor chuckled loudly. “You are fit as a fiddle. Healthy as a horse.”
“So why did she faint then?” Kieran asked impatiently. “Something must be wrong. You don’t just faint!”
“Well, there is a simple answer for that, you see,” the doctor continued, placing the pot on a little table beside my bed.
“And!?” me and Kieran both answered in unison, with frustration and worry growing on our faces.
“Well, I think congratulations are in order. Elena is pregnant!”