Bounty (Leland Chapman Fanfiction - Unedited)

50

Duane Lee and Beth had just left, and Maggie was seated on a chair in her bedroom, looking out the window, eating her chicken noodle soup that Beth had made her, when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Wincing, she stood up and made her way over to the bathroom. She placed her soup on the kitchen counter, pulling her pants down and sitting on the toilet when the water splashed.

"Oh shit," Maggie mumbled, pulling her pants back up. She was halfway to her bedroom, where her phone was when she felt another sharp pain, causing her to stop, gripping the wall for support. She waited, the contraction lasted about 90 seconds before she was able to walk again. She made it to her phone, being quick to text Duane Lee.

Come back, please. I'm in labor

Just as she clicked send, another pain stabbed through her gut, causing her to drop her phone, sliding down the wall to lay down, fetal position on the floor. She held her belly, feeling frantic kicks and turns in her baby. That's a good sign, she told herself. The baby is moving, it's a good sign. Although, having her baby nearly 4 weeks early is not a good sign.

She was able to reach the strap of her school bag, pulling it towards her. She took out her blood pressure cuff and her Pulse Oximeter, setting both of them up. She waited as the cuff took her blood pressure, meanwhile her Pulse Ox read 82 in large letters, and 194 in small letters.

"Shit," she muttered to herself. She looked at her blood pressure. 92/40. "Fuck." She winced at another pain, a tear rolling down her cheek as the door flew open, and Duane Lee and Beth ran into the apartment. Beth looked at her little medical rig, ignoring the numbers as Duane Lee helped her stand up. "Get my duffel bag, it's packed - and bring my med bag please, for the car ride."

"I got it," Beth said behind her as Duane Lee walked her down towards the elevator. With each contraction, her legs went numb. Another bad sign. However, Duane Lee was quick to catch her and keep moving. They made it to the truck, where he helped her in the back, and she kept her machines hooked up, keeping an eye on the numbers. They were quick to leave, while Beth was calling Duane, who was responsible for calling everybody else.

When they got to the hospital, when Maggie was in the hospital bed, she couldn't take her eyes away from the numbers as the nurse was hooking up the machine. "My oxygen was 82, when it started," she replied to the lady, who had asked her about her pains. "82. It's 82." She was panicking.

"You'll be okay, the OB will be down soon," the nurse replied as she set up the blood pressure cuff. "And my pulse was 194. 194."

"I can assure you that you are-"

"I'm not okay!" She yelled at the nurse. "Stop lying to my face, I'm not a dumbass! Get the fucking doctor down here!" Beth smirked in the corner as she watched the nurse's expression change, and she stood there, frozen. Maggie lowered her voice to a stern threat. "Get Dr. Becker down here now, or else I'll stick you with a syringe with 50mg of melatonin," she hissed.

"Is that a threat?" She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

She rested her head back, her eyes ignoring the nurse. "No, it's a promise." The nurse gulped, turning and leaving the room as Maggie smiled to herself. "Fucking bitch didn't even set this up right," Maggie muttered to herself, adjusting the heart rate monitors.

"Honey," Beth said quietly, eyeing Duane Lee, who was standing in the corner terrified to even blink. "You'll be okay."

"I'm not worried about me," Maggie mumbled, looking at Beth. "I have an oxygen level of 82. When oxygen goes below 95, you're supposed to go to the emergency room. A rate as low as 93 is a sign of hypoxia or impending organ damage. If it's 82... we don't know how long it's been like that, one of his lungs could've-"

"Maggie," the doctor cooed, rushing into the room. "It's okay, I know it's hard, but forget that you're a pre-Med for a second, and let me listen, honey." Maggie and Dr. Becker have gotten pretty close. A heartbeat sounded, the doctor looking at the ultrasound screen. "Yeah, he's ready. This is going to be a quick one, he's 4 weeks early, but he wants to come out." Dr. Becker listened to the heartbeat. "It's fast, and it's evident that there's a lack of oxygen, but it looks like he's breathing okay. He's angry, though. He wants out." She smiled, putting the supplies away as she moved to examine Maggie. "He's definitely going to come out today. Possibly within an hour. Where is Leland?"

Beth gulped. "About an hour away."