Malfunction

“Happy week 16.” He whispered, kissing her stomach. She smiled and watched him stroke her stomach. My life just keeps getting better and better…

 

Being pregnant wasn’t nearly as scary as she imagined. Although the sick parts weren’t fun, the rest of the time it was wonderful. Grigori was nearly constantly crooning over her. Most of the time it was embarrassing or amusing, but she still enjoyed the attention.

 

He gave her stomach one last kiss before moving up to her face. “What do you want for breakfast?” He murmured, kissing her cheek.

 

“Mm…waffles?” she mumbled, leaning against him.

 

“Alright…” He said softly, sweeping her up into his arms. He carried her to the living room and gently set her on the couch. While she waited, she studied her stomach. I wonder what gender it is… She mused, stroking it. Although they could find out the gender, Grigori wanted it to be a surprise. Not that she minded.

 

A small pain started in her back. She ignored it at first, but it quickly intensified until she was whimpering in pain.

 

“Charoum? Are you alright?” Grigori exited the kitchen and went to her.

 

“I-it hurts.” She whimpered, clutching her stomach. He gently pulled her into his arms, with a faint sense of urgency.

 

He stood with her in his arms, and quickly took her to the car.

 

She didn’t remember much after that. Her eyes were closed tightly, and she was concentrating on not passing out from the pain. She vaguely remembered arriving at the hospital in a panic, but that was the last of it.

--

Grigori paced frantically up and down the hallway. The doctors had rushed her off quickly, and he was panicked, not only from what was happening, but from not knowing if she was okay.

 

Eventually, a doctor came to him.

 

“Is she alright?” Grigori asked urgently.

 

“She’s fine…” The doctor paused a moment. “At least, physically.”

 

“…what happened?” He didn’t want to ask, afraid of the answer.

 

“She’s had a miscarriage…”

 

“…dear god no. Can I see her?” The doctor nodded silently and led him to the room, before leaving to do other things.

 

Charoum was lying on the bed, face in her hand, very obviously crying. He rushed over and hugged her as best he could.

 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered, starting to cry harder. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry…”

 

“It’s not your fault.” He whispered, cradling her. “Shhh…” He wanted to cry with her, but he feared that seeing him cry would make her hurt even more. She sobbed into his chest, until she simply couldn’t cry anymore.

 

Her breath came in in sharp, shaky breaths. She was trembling, from what he wasn’t quite sure. He kissed her forehead and tried to comfort her.

 

“It’ll be okay…we’ll go home and have waffles…” She sniffled and tried to bury herself further into his chest. “We’ll cuddle, and I can feed you if you want…” His voice shook slightly, and he prayed she didn’t notice.

 

Except for her still labored breathing, she was silent.

 

The doctor quietly tiptoed in and gently checked her.

 

“She can go home in the morning.” He said gently, before leaving them be. Once he was gone, Grigori began again.

 

“See? You can go home tomorrow…everything will be fine…” Her eyes were still puffy from crying. He wanted to get something to wash her face with, but at the same time, he didn’t want to leave her alone.

 

Finally, he decided that being with her was more important than anything else. She needed him there.

 

A few hours later, she fell asleep against him, still never speaking a word. The doctor poked his head in a few minutes afterwards.

 

“You have to leave.” He said quietly, with a faint hint of regret. Grigori glanced one last time at her sleeping form before gently lying her down. She shifted slightly, but stayed asleep. Leaning down, he lightly kissed her, before leaving.

 

At home, he couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was how much pain she must be in. Of course, he was in pain as well, but he could only imagine how much worse it was on her, especially since she was already blaming herself.

 

He silently stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out how to comfort her. She wouldn’t respond to him at all, no matter what he did. Maybe she’ll feel better in the morning…

--

The next morning he awoke with a bit of a jolt, not remembering falling asleep at all. He quickly got out of bed and fixed his hair, just enough so he looked presentable. He didn’t have time to be prim and proper like he usually was.

 

He was still wearing the same clothes, but he didn’t care. Rushing outside, he got into his car and hurried to the hospital.

 

The next few events were a bit of a whirlwind, but he ended up at her bedside. She was still asleep.

 

Relieved that he got there in time, he sat beside her and watched her closely. Please be alright…

 

After about an hour, she slowly woke up, and blinked at the hospital room, then at him.

 

“Charoum…” he whispered, taking her hand in his. She lowered her gaze away from him.

 

“Let’s go home…” He whispered with a pained sigh.

 

The ride home was long and silent. He wanted to speak to her, but what could he say? At home, he gently carried her inside and set her on the couch. Rather quickly, he went to the kitchen and returned with some waffles.

 

“I made waffles, like I said…” She nodded, but still wouldn’t look into his face. He sat beside her and pulled her into his lap, as gently as he could. He got a piece of the waffle on the fork and offered it to her. She silently ate it.

 

He continued feeding her like this until she was done Then he gently held her against himself.

 

“What do you want to do?” He asked softly, watching her. She shrugged and continued avoiding his gaze. As gently as he could, he lifted her chin up so he could see her face. Their eyes met just for a moment before she flinched and looked away. He blinked at the sudden reaction.

 

“Charoum?” He whispered gently, hoping for a response.

 

“I’m sorry.” She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. “Didn’t mean to lose the baby…” Her voice cracked and she started crying again.

 

“Shhhh…” He whispered, holding her tighter and stroking her hair. “I know…it’s not your fault…” She silently cried into his chest for a good long while, before stopping and peeking out at him. Even though she was still upset, it was relieving that she looked at him willingly.

 

“Grigori?” She whispered tentatively, watching his face uncertainly.

 

“Yes?” He gently responded, making sure not to seem intimidating.

 

“Can…can we try again?” Her voice was small and afraid, yet determined. He blinked slightly at the question. He hadn’t wanted to try again, not after this. What if it happened again? I don’t think she could handle it a second time… Then again… did she really recover this fast? She can’t possibly be ready…

 

“…do you really want to?” He did want her to have children with him, but the miscarriage had changed things. He wasn’t sure if he could put her through it again, knowing it might not end well.

 

She nodded seriously, looking into his face. …maybe she’s trying to distract herself…

 

“…let’s find out why you had a miscarriage first…so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again…alright?” She nodded again and snuggled into his chest.

 

He set up an appointment, but it was a few days away. She needs the time, anyway…

 

It soon became apparent that she hadn’t recovered, contrary to how she had been acting. The next morning, he couldn’t get her out of bed. She just laid there and stared at the wall, occasionally glancing at her stomach.

 

But he refused to leave her, and he lay behind her, holding her close. She didn’t seem to notice, but he hoped his presence at least helped. He didn’t say anything, and neither did she. There was nothing to say.

 

After awhile, she seemed to become aware of his presence. Wordlessly, she placed her hand over his hands, which were on her stomach.

 

“I love you.” He whispered, kissing the back of her head. She sniffled but didn’t cry.

 

“I love you, too…” she whispered back, closing her eyes.

 

“C’mon…let’s get out of this room…” He said gently, turning her towards him. Tears were in her eyes, but she refused to let them out. He kissed her forehead, and held his lips there for a long moment. When he finished, he gently wiped her eyes and picked her up.

 

“It’ll be okay…I promise…”

--

“She has a weakened cervix.” The doctor told Grigori. Charoum watched silently.

 

“Which means?”

 

“You see, during pregnancy, as the baby grows and gets heavier, it presses on the cervix. In this case, it causes the cervix to open before it’s time to give birth.”

 

“…so she can’t give birth?”

 

“Well…there is a surgery we can give that will prevent that from happening. It’s done around the 14^th week of pregnancy.”

 

“Alright…thank you.” The doctor gave him a nod and walked out. Grigori glanced over at Charoum. “…do you still want to try?” She gave a little nod.

 

“We can do this…” she mumbled, grabbing his hand. He couldn’t help but smile.

 

“Yeah. We can.”

Reviews

[LumpyOatmeal]

I really enjoyed this chapter. It was very well written, and definitely grabbed at the emotions right from the beginning! I hope to see more in the near future!

[*Kantola*]

Interesting chapter!
HAPPY To sad sad sad sad sad sad sad BAWL YOUR EYES OUT then it gets happier b/c they're going to have a child :D
So... I'm betting an extra leg, and fins. How bout you? =3
Wonderful way of writing this, elemiah!