A Storm Is Brewing

Past, Present and Future

1 year later...

"Soph? Sophie! Soph? Someone call an ambulance!"

I could hear Leah talking, but I couldn't see her face. I think that's what scared me the most. Her voice was soft as she tried to talk to me, to bring me back to her. Without really meaning to, Leah brought me a level of comfort that I didn't think was possible right now.

"I'm right here, Soph. I love you. I'm right here beside you." She repeated as her thumb stroked across my cheek.

Fear was something I didn't like to let myself experience, often trying to find something to distract my mind enough to eliminate the fear completely, and so it was no surprise where my mind went.

Flashback:

Leah had left for camp just a week after her endometriosis caused her first horrendous period in months. She struggled more this time, mostly because Teddy was slowly learning to do new things and to say aloud that he missed her. We coped, though, using frequent FaceTimes and a routine bedtime phone call every night.

I knew not to tell her about the newest thing he had discovered; I knew she needed to see it for herself, just as I had.

And so, on the day she was due to return, I sat patiently waiting for her, like always. The second I heard her car pull into the driveway, I internally prayed that this would go as I planned. Babies don't always do what you want them to.

"Is that mummy? Is mummy home?" I gasped, watching as his eyes lit up.

I picked him up and brought him to the end of the hallway, hunkering down so I could hold him between my knees until I heard Leah's key in the door.

"Go get mummy!"

Leah opened the door slowly, probably afraid that Teddy would be in his walker behind it. Instead, she was greeted with his tiny little legs strolling towards her as fast as he could make them go.

"Mummy!"

Her left hand went to her mouth, muffling the half-laughing, half-crying noises that left it.

"Oh my god. Look at my clever little man. Mummy missed you." She whispered.

She swept him off the ground and into her arms, cuddling his head into her neck. Her eyes searched for me, that glaze covering them as they met mine, and that bright smile was unable to be taken away from her face.

"Thank you." She mouthed.

I allowed her to have that moment with him, although she didn't last too long until she was making her way towards me.

"I missed you, Soph." She mumbled against my lips.
"I missed you, Le. We both did."

— — — —

Suddenly, I woke up in a hospital bed with Leah's hand still in the exact same place.

"She has risen." Leah chuckled.
"Well this was not my plan for today."
"No, mine neither."
"What happened?"
"I don't know, Soph. We haven't long arrived. They said it was your blood pressure, but it's gone back up now."
"I feel sick." I groaned.
"I know, babe. You hit your head pretty hard."
"Sorry."
"Stop that, silly." She whispered, stopping as the doctor walked into the room.
"You're awake. How you feeling, Sophie?"
"Meh. What happened?"
"Hm."
"Am I sick?"
"No, Sophie. All of our tests came back clear. It appears that you might just be putting too much pressure on your body because, well, you're two months pregnant."

Flashback:

"He might be a little strange with the other kids at first; is this his first baby class?"
"Yeah." Leah nodded.
"Does he have brothers or sisters?"
"No. Just him." I smiled while watching Teddy waddle his way towards the other kids.