Her Inked Scars

i'm here now, princess

POV: Celeste

Please be okay. Please be okay...

It didn’t take long for me to get to the hospital but finding where Nyoka is has turned out to be a nightmare. I barely managed to find the ward she's in but I know when I'm getting close since the maid that brought her here is sat outside a room looking paler than a ghost.

"I'm here. What's wrong? What happened?" I ask between breaths.

"It's nothing too serious," a doctor leaving the room chimes in. "Just a simple case of exhaustion, though with her being pregnant it does pose more of a risk."

"Can I see her?"

He nods and let's me in, the sight of Nyoka breaking my heart a little.

There's medical equipment in her arms as she lays unconscious in the bed, her chest slowly rising and falling. Her brows are furrowed as she rests, clearly uncomfortable.

I kneel beside her bed, carefully holding her hand and squeezing it, a little relieved as she softly squeezes back. I press her hand against my forehead before planting a kiss on the back of her palm as her fingers tighten around my hand, stirring slightly.

"Celeste?" She murmurs, her eye peering open despite he clearly being exhausted.

"Yes, I'm here, princess," I mutter back, a little relieved that she's awake. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here."

"It's okay. You're stressed and were busy. It's okay," she mutters, closing her eyes again.

"But it’s not. I should have been with you. I should have taken care of you when you told me you were pregnant. I shouldn't have left you alone. I should have comforted you-"

She shushes me, squeezing my hand tighter. She musters a weak smile for me that just shatters my heart even more. I squeeze Nyoka's hand back, holding back tears as she remains in a miserable state.

"It's okay," she mutters. "I forgive you. You're here now and that's what matters to me."

I lean over and press my lips against hers, feeling how weak her body is. She can't even move her body. She's lost all her energy but this surely can't just be from throwing up and morning sickness.

I brush my hand over her forehead, brushing away her hair from her face as the doctor from earlier steps in, telling me that the maid left already. I don’t really care right now. Nyoka is my priority. She's always my priority.

"She collapsed from exhaustion. She had basically no nutrients in her blood or stomach," the doctor informs me. "Her morning sickness was causing her to throw up any food that she was actually taking in before her body could absorb it. Her condition was also caused by severe stress which has caused some hives on her body that we've already treated, though they may come back so we suggest keeping an eye on her."

She had hives as well?

To my knowledge she doesn't have any allergies so that is odd for her.

"How would she get hives? She isn't allergic to anything," I ask, a little confused.

"Probably just an immune glitch alongside her stress caused it," he explains. "Nothing to worry about."

"Celeste, I'm fine," Nyoka mumbles.

"Yes, she's just fine, though I suggest she stay in the hospital for a while until we're certain her condition is stable."

I accept but I'm not leaving her just yet. I want to stay the night with her even if it means I have to sleep in an uncomfortable hospital chair. I'm not leaving her again tonight. Besides, I have a bad feeling about leaving her on her own in this hospital.

Unlike my house, this place isn't protected and there's no lock on her door so it isn't really safe. If any of those people from her past find out she's here and unprotected for even a moment, they'll definitely come to find her.

The doctor leaves me with Nyoka, who immediately begins trying to sit up despite her arms being slightly numb. She ignores me as I tell her to lay down, gasping my hand and holding my hand against her forehead.

"I'm sorry," she utters. "I should have told you about me being pregnant sooner."

"It does matter," I assure her, perching on the edge of the bed, being careful not to accidentally pull out any of the tubes in her arms. "It's okay that you didn't tell me sooner. There's still plenty of time for me to take care of you now."

I run my fingers through her hair, gently massaging her scalp as she grumbles. I can tell she's really tired and stressed from everything, being in a hospital definitely not helping.

There's so much beeping and chaos outside her room that the door and walls fail to block out that she's bound to get overwhelmed.

"How'd it go?" She suddenly asks, confusing me.

"How did what go?"

"You saw them all, right? What happened?"

"I don't want to stress you our with all of that," I tell her, hating how worry instantly fills her eyes and her brow deeply furrows.

"It went horribly, didn't it?" She says, her bottom lip beginning to pout as she's on the verge of tears. "I'm so sorry you had to deal with them, Celeste. I'm so, so sorry..."

I pull her into a hug, loosening my grip around her a bit as she whimpers from me accidentally tugging a little at the medical tubes and monitors in her arms. I apologise and stroke her cheek, wishing to myself that I hadn't left her.

"There was just a bit of yelling and arguing, that's all," I tell her. "Nothing to worry about or be apologising for. Nothing you need to be apologising for."

She still keeps apologising through tears as she sobs, leaning into my shoulder as I cradle her. Nyoka eventually calms down, smiling as I snuggle with her.

"Sleep if you need, princess. I'll be here the whole time," I whisper to her, sitting alongside her on the bed as she drifts off. "You're exhausted, so just relax and when you're out of the hospital we'll get whatever food you want, okay?"

She hums in agreement as she falls asleep, her body relaxing against mine as I stroke her back, planting kisses on the top her head.

I can’t help but reach down and roll up the bottom of her shirt so that I can see her bare stomach. I run my hand underneath her belly, knowing that in a few months she'll have a beautiful baby bump and a few months after that we'll be parents.

And I know she'll be a wonderful mother and I'll try my best to be a good father for our child.

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Hope y'all are enjoying so far!

Thanks for all the support so far since my motivation for this story has been... lacking, to say the least.

I'd love to hear your thoughts so far and hope you keep enjoying!