About an hour later I found myself hooked up to yet another drip with another tube under my nose providing additional oxygen. It was all ok though because earlier I must've passed out from exhaustion so while the medical team did what was necessary, I had time to rest. When I opened my eyes, my vision was still blurry but I felt a bit less nauseous and rested. I turned my head and saw Hunter sitting right beside my bed. His hand rested loosely on my left arm. Although I couldn't zoom in on anything, I still noticed that he didn't look too happy but quickly tried to brighten up for my sake anyway. "Hey," he breathed. I cracked a smile in his direction, then licked my lips; they felt irritably dry. "Can I get some water," I asked in a feeble voice. "Of course." He quickly moved to open the bottle on the nightstand next to him and poured me some into a white plastic cup. As he did, I wriggled and adjusted my pillow in an effort to sit up. Hunter held out the cup before me. "How's your eyes, honey" my husband asked. He kind of got his answer when I failed to successfully reach for the cup – it was a somewhat blurry mess before me. "Same." He now closed my hand around it and helped me guide it to my mouth. The cold water felt good against my dry lips and I took some small sips. "Are you sure you don't have to be at the studio? I mean I'm in hospital now," I stated concerned he was yet again miss valuable recording time because of me. "Positive," he leaned back in his chair like he was stretching. "I texted the boys. They know we're here. And you know you're my priority, right?" It wasn't a question. I touched around for the little table, then placed the cup back down. Hunter let out a deep breath, then reached for my fingers to kid of hold hands as much as one could without getting to close to that stupid drip needle inside the back of it. As he put his head down right next to my arm, his blonde hair fell out of place and tickled my skin. With my right hand I lightly raked through it. "Why you're so serious?," I asked after a while. "I'm sure the doctors can help." He sighed again. "That's not it." Then went on: "I'm not okay with something I said earlier." "Like what?" My voice sounded raspy and I noticed a sore feeling in my throat when I spoke. He turned his head, looking up at me. "Like having this baby at all costs." I furrowed my brows at him. "Let me finish. You scared me. You're scaring me now. I can't imagine losing you. And had I known this was gonna happen, I'd've never..." He stopped talking and dropped his gaze to the white sheets. The next second the doors opened and some male doctor came rushing in, a nurse shortly behind. "Hello, I'm Doctor Filan. Mrs ... –" the man looked down on his clipboard – " - ...Hayes, how are you feeling?" "Ok now, I guess." It bothered me that I couldn't make out his face so I couldn't actually decide whether he looked trustworthy or not. Why wasn't Mrs. Heartley there to see me? "I understand you're having trouble with your eyesight?," he went on as he retrieved a mini torch from his coat pocket and directed the light first to my right, then to the other eye. "Yeah, it's all blurry and kinda dark around the marginal." Again, I involuntarily used my hand to mark where the dark spots started. "Mh." The man I couldn't identify turned quickly to the nurse and mumbled: "Take a complete blood count and put the CTG on for, say, the next two hours." Then turned forward again. "Mrs. Hayes, the eye complications stem from your current toxemia state. They're reversible, although extremely uncomfortable, I believe." He paused briefly. "Unfortunately, the only cure to all your toxemia symptoms is a termination of the pregnancy." As I heard the words, a shot of adrenaline shot through my system. It was like someone had just stabbed me in the chest. "Now, you're twenty-... - He checked the paperwork again. "-...five weeks along. That's obviously too early to consider a c-section. We'd like to get you to around 30, 32 weeks, if possible. The symptoms you're experiencing, however, are likely to get worse over time." Wow. This was the kind of news I had dreaded. Things would be getting even worse when already I was clinging on for dear life. My baby, a preemie?! Suddenly, Ifound it hard to breath. The weight of the world was pushing down on me. "So there's nothing you can do?," I asked with the shock was showing in my features. "Well, we will try to get the nausea under control and keep you hydrated. That's most important right now." "Is there any way I can go full term?" I was so worried. "I'm afraid that's not likely. We'll have to take it day by day from here, week by week and kind of weigh your well-being with the baby's and then hopefully make that decision when we get there." He got up from the side of the bed and, out of words, I turned to Hunter who'd been awfully quiet this whole time. "The nurse will take a blood sample now and hook you up on the fetal monitor so we can check on the baby's vitals, ok? Doctor Heartley will check on you later tonight. I know this isn't pleasant news but we need you to hang in there." He patted my hand lightly and cast me a sympathetic look. I couldn't quite react, I was frozen. Then the door closed with a thud. Hunter got up and leaned over to engulf me in a hug that I didn't quite reciprocate. While I was staring blankly ahead the nurse didn't quite know what to do and shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the next. She was very young, about 21, and very blonde. Her name tag read "Brittany". It wasn't before Hunter let go of me again, with a kiss on the top of my head, that she came forward. "Um, hi, Mrs. Hayes, I'll take your blood sample now, ok?" She had a thick Southern accent that sounded sticky sweet. She rummaged in the trolley behind her and in a zombie-like state I rolled up my sleeve on my right side. She smiled down at me kindly, although I couldn't see. "She doesn't like needles," came Hunter's voice from next to me. All this time he had not let go of my fingers. "Oh no problem, one little prick and it's all done. Just put your head down, if you will –" "Mechanically, I did as I was told as nurse Brittany put the tie around my upper arm. I didn't care one bit about what happened to me, I was still in shock. "1, 2, three. There there, all done." Next, the girl put the other trolley with the monitor in place and gently brushed the hem of my shirt up just enough to position the belt of electrodes around it. Immediately, the familiar sound of the baby's quick heartbeat resonated in the room. Brittany turned to adjust a switch because now the volume went down to a minimum. "Ok, all set. You try and get some rest now, ok?" And she finally left. Although the sound was kind of soothing to me, a million scary questions shot through my mind. My baby was small in the first place and now they wanted to deliver her early? Five more weeks in hospital? I wanted to cry but couldn't find it in me. Hunter lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. "I love you," he said calmly. I exhaled and closed my eyes trying to catch a rational thought. Then finally his hand let go of mine, only to sneak below where the belt was secured. It felt like forever that he'd touched my belly. Like any normal father would. One that didn't have to worry about his child's and wife's health all the time. "Is she kicking?," he asked drawing small circles with his thumb. "No...I mean she did earlier but not now," I answered and I realized that a normal conversation was just what I needed now. Some time to wrap my head around all the things that had happened in the last 24 hours. Then Hunter places his head down on the sheets again, close to my belly. He turned to kiss my skin there, then said calmly: "I love you, Madison Lynette Hayes. But you're giving your Mommy hell."