“Oh, God,” she
moaned, her palm cupping the curve in her abdomen.
“Do you need
the trashcan?” Seth asked.
Had she been
feeling better, Erin would have given him a lesson in acting like a human being
instead of a machine when someone else was suffering.
But she was too
distraught at the moment. “No. She’s upset.”
Seth seemed to
know immediately what she was talking about. “She doesn’t know what’s
happening. She’s fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“She’s upset,” Erin
insisted, holding on to her stomach as she kept stumbling down the hall,
leaning on Seth. “She’s moving all around.” With a shaky breath, she added
without thinking, “I’m so sorry, baby. I wish I hadn’t done this to you.
“Erin, you’re sick.
It’s not your fault. She’s fine. Try to keep walking.”
She felt a
little huffy and also a little embarrassed, but mostly she felt too sick to dwell
on either of those things, so she tried to keep moving.
Felt like it
was the hardest thing she’d ever done.
They eventually
made it down the hall. Her father had walked ahead to call the elevator, so he
was waiting in it, holding the door for them. His hands were full with her
purse, the little, plastic trashcan, a coat he must have picked up for her in
case she got cold, and the book he’d been reading during the short lulls
between her vomiting.
The sight of
him, looking worn and worried and hassled and older than she remembered him
being, waiting for them with his hands full of her stuff, nearly caused her to
break down with sudden emotion.
She loved him
so much, and he’d always been there for her. And she had always been such a
total wreck.
She choked a
little and hid her face in Seth’s shoulder again, feeling herself shake with
emotion and weakness.
“Erin, can you
get on the elevator?” Seth asked mildly.
She clung to
him. He felt so familiar now, so strong, so trustworthy. She couldn’t believe
she was thinking that way about Seth Thomas.
But she was.
“Erin?” he
prompted again. His voice had taken on a new, softer note. “Erin, I know you
feel like you’re about to fall over, but, the more often you stop, the longer
you’ll have to stay on your feet.”
“Yeah. I know.”
She tried to straighten up but couldn’t seem to do it yet. Maybe it was proof that
she was a weakling at heart, but she wanted to bury herself in his strength and
his surety.
“Erin,” Seth
said again. His voice had gotten more textured—almost gravelly now. He took her
face with one hand and eased it back so he could look into her eyes. “Baby, you
need to keep moving.”
“Yeah,” she
said again. She summoned her remaining strength, assessed her condition—she was
weak, dizzy, and faint, but didn’t think she would vomit quite yet—and took the
few steps into the elevator.
Her father let
the doors slide shut, but he was giving Seth the strangest look.
And that’s when
Erin realized it.
Seth had just
called her “baby.”
He’d called her
that before—but that had been during sex. Men said all kinds of crazy things on
their way to climax. And "baby" was one of the tamer things.
They weren’t in
bed now, though. They were in public. In front of her father.
Instead of
worrying about the implications or being emotionally affected by it, the idea
made Erin giggle.
Both her father
and Seth turned to gape at her in astonishment.
She felt like
crap—could barely stand up without leaning heavily on Seth and might throw up
again at any minute—but she couldn’t stop laughing.
“Erin?” her
father asked slowly. “Is everything all right?”
She looked up
at Seth’s wary face. “You called me ‘baby.’ Where did
that
come from?”
Seth frowned. She
had no way of reading his expression.
Erin giggled
some more. It occurred to her that she might be slightly hysterical, but at
least it was distracting her. She didn’t let Seth answer her question. “Everyone’s
calling everyone ‘baby’ tonight. Seth calls me 'baby'. Dad calls me 'baby'. I
call the baby ‘baby.’” She swayed a little until Seth’s arm tightened around
her. “Now, if only you would call my dad ‘baby,’ we’d be all set.”
Her father gave
her an amused smile, evidently recognizing that her humor was genuine, if a
little woozy and incoherent. “Not much chance of that.”
“But you’ve
left me out,” Seth objected dryly. “Who’s going to call
me
‘baby’?”
She peered up
at his face, which blurred only slightly. A flicker of irony was evident in his
eyes. She blinked at him several times and pondered that enigma. “Oh. Huh. I
guess no one calls you ‘baby.’”
“Story of my
life.”
She leaned into
him and felt a crazy glimmer of tenderness for the composed man whose strong
body was supporting her so securely. She rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. “Poor
Seth,” she murmured stupidly.
His neck
twitched, and he looked away from her.
Then Erin felt
even more stupid. Decided she’d better stop talking since she couldn’t seem to
say anything sensible.
The subject had
distracted her during the elevator ride, however, which was good because the
motion made her head spin.
As the doors
slid open on the ground floor, she started feeling nauseated again.
“Shit,” she
whispered, closing her eyes.
“Almost there,”
Seth said. “My car is waiting right outside the door.”
He was being
very helpful and considerate—more than a lot of men would have been—and she’d
be an idiot not to realize it.
With his
support, she trudged through the lobby and across the sidewalk to his waiting
car. It was a very expensive luxury car. The same blue as his tie.
He was not
supposed to be parked here, but he hadn’t gotten a ticket. Her father said that
he was going to drive his own car to the hospital, so Seth would be able to
leave whenever he wanted.
He handed Seth
her stuff before he headed to his own car, and Seth opened the door to the
passenger seat for her.
Erin was
feeling sicker and sicker. Felt familiar waves of heat and nausea wash over
her.
“Oh, God,” she
mumbled.
Seth seemed to
recognize the signs.
“Try to get in
the car first,” he said, his voice huskier than normal, “so you’ll be sitting
down.”
He was right,
so she managed to make it into the car with a lot of help from Seth.
She was
sweating, panting, and shaking uncontrollably when he hurried to the driver’s
side.
“We’re on our
way now,” he told her, his voice gentler than it had been before. “It won’t be
long.”
Erin groaned
and felt her stomach start to churn. At the same time she felt the baby kick
out at her insides with sharp little jabs.
“Oh, God,” she
moaned, holding up the trashcan. “Just kill me now.”
Then she
started to heave again.
***
It was several hours later when Erin
finally trudged back into her apartment.
This time, at
least, she was able to stand on her own very tired feet, and she didn’t need
the trashcan anymore.
Thank God.
They’d gotten
to the emergency room in very good time, and Seth had ordered the hospital
staff around with brusque efficiency until Erin got immediate attention. She
felt a little guilty because of everyone else who’d been waiting before they
arrived, but not guilty enough to object to Seth’s tactics more than a little.
They’d given
her fluids intravenously and medicine to stop the vomiting, after passing an
intense inquisition from Seth on the safety and potential risks of the
medication. The doctor had determined that Erin's illness was almost certainly
a virus that she'd taken really hard and—after a few tests—they'd verified that
the baby was fine.
So all Erin
needed to do was recover from it.
Returning to
her apartment was certainly a better experience than leaving it, and—to her
surprise—Seth was still beside her on her return. She was leaning on him as
little as she could now, but it was comforting to have his arm in place in case
she started to sway.
She’d expected him
to leave much earlier, but he’d blandly announced that he was taking her home,
before either she or her father could suggest otherwise. Her dad had been
agreeable and said that would allow him to stop by the market to pick up a few
groceries on his way back.
Stepping into
her apartment, Erin felt completely wiped out. But the fact of no longer
throwing up was a blessing. It made everything so much better, so she wasn’t
even unduly annoyed by Seth’s presumption or pushiness, despite the fact that
he kept giving her advice and instructions on how she was supposed to take care
of herself until she got better.
“And don’t stay
by yourself,” he continued, taking her purse and dropping it onto a chair in
the living room. “I know you like to be stubborn, but you need to have someone
with you until you're well again.”
Erin rolled her
eyes. Her voice was scratchy, and it hurt a little to talk, but she wouldn't
let something like that stop her from responding. “I know. Dad’s going to stay
with me, and—if ever he can’t—Liz will come over.”
“Good.” Seth
didn’t even look tired, even though he’d been up all night. His face was slightly
damp with perspiration, but otherwise there were no signs of stress or fatigue.
His suit looked like it was still perfectly pressed.
There was
something almost unnatural about such composure.
Erin sneered at
the thought as she let him help her into her bedroom. Very obnoxious—that's
what it was. Especially since she was such a mess.
But then she
told herself that she shouldn’t be so grumpy after the way Seth had helped them
tonight.
She really was
very grateful. Which made her feel even snippier with him than usual.
As they stepped
into her bedroom, Erin moaned softly. The room looked disgusting. The bed wasn’t
made, and the air still had a hint of foul smell.
She wanted to
collapse onto her bed, but she felt too repulsed to do so.
“What’s wrong?”
Seth asked, eyeing her face with impersonal scrutiny.
“I’m trying to
decide whether I just want to get in bed or if I have the energy to take a
shower first.”
“You’ll
probably feel better if you get cleaned up a little.”
“I suppose that
means I stink.”
His cocked
eyebrow was her silent answer.
She showered
quickly and pulled on clean pajamas that felt absolutely wonderful.
“Your bedding
is a mess, so I thought I’d remake your bed,” Seth said when she emerged from
the bathroom. “Do you have clean sheets?”
Erin felt
ridiculously emotional all of a sudden and was absurdly touched by the
thoughtful offer. Her face crumpled, and her mouth wobbled dangerously.
Seth took a
step back. “Oh, damn. Please don’t cry. I can let your father make your bed if
it means that much to you.”
Erin sniffed
and managed not to break down. Knew she’d be heartily embarrassed by her
irrational behavior when she finally recovered from this. “In the hall closet.”
When he
returned, she helped him make the bed. He wouldn’t let her move very much, but
she helped him with the fitted sheet and also helped him fold down the covers
the way she liked them.
Then her bed
was all fresh and clean and inviting. She couldn’t wait anymore. Didn’t care if
Seth was standing there.
She crawled
into bed with a blissful sigh.
Seth didn’t
move. Just stood there watching her.
Sometimes, it
was kind of frustrating to have no idea what was going on in his mind.
“Thanks,” she
whispered. “Really, Seth. I know I’m kind of ornery, but thanks for all your
help tonight.”
He nodded and
looked slightly awkward again. She had a suspicion that he was like her—didn’t
like to accept thanks that were too earnest or sincere. “No problem.”
“Well, it
was
kind of a problem for you. I’m sorry you had to cancel a date.”
“What makes you
think that?”
“I heard you on
the phone in the hospital, calling her up to cancel. I know this wasn’t how
you’d planned to spend your Friday night.”
He gave a
dismissive shrug. “Don’t worry about it. The date was no big deal.”
“Even so, I’m
sorry you had to cancel it. You really didn’t have to do this, you know. It
wasn’t your responsibility.”
Seth’s
expression started to look exasperated. “How many times do I have to defend my
involvement in this pregnancy?”
At his sharp
tone, Erin realized he’d misunderstood her. She began to speak but had to pause
as a huge yawn ripped through her. Then, “I know. I wasn’t talking about the
pregnancy. Tonight, you were doing way more than that. I mean, tonight really
was beyond the call of duty.”
He shifted his
weight slightly and glanced away. “You were sick. So I helped you. Nothing to
get worked up about.”
Erin pulled the
covers up higher and looked at him through bleary eyes. “Yeah, but I still wouldn’t
have expected it.”
His tone
changed, sounded a little insulted. “Why not? What kind of selfish pig would I be
if I’d found you sick and helpless and then gone on merrily to my date?”
Erin blinked
rapidly. Could barely stay awake. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
It was
practically morning now, and Erin’s endless night was finally coming to an end.
Thank God.
She mumbled
just before she fell asleep, “Night, baby.” She rubbed her belly fondly. Then
vaguely remembered Seth was still in the room. “You too. Glad you’re not a
selfish pig.”
She was mostly
asleep, so she couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard Seth chuckling.