with her answer. “He can stay. He has a right to know what is going on with the baby.”
The doctor nodded, his eyes steady and guarded. “How far along are you?”
“Two and a half months.”
“And you’ve been to a doctor?”
“I have, back in my homeland.”
“Well, your pulse appears normal, as do your other vital signs, but you stayed unconscious for a solid fifteen minutes. I would suggest you see a local physician.”
Gervais shot to his feet. “I’ll take her straightaway.”
Erika sat up, the world steadier now. “But you will miss the rest of the game.”
“Your health is more important. We’ll take the private elevator down and slip out the back.” He shifted his attention to the physician. “Doc, can you send up a wheelchair?”
She swung her feet to the ground. “I can walk. I am not an invalid. I simply passed out. It happens to pregnant women.”
“Pregnant women who don’t eat,” Gervais groused, sliding an arm around her waist for support. “You should take care of yourself.”
Even as she heard the grouchiness in his voice, she saw the concern in his eyes, the fear. She wanted to soothe the furrowed lines on his forehead but knew he wouldn’t welcome the gesture, especially not right now.
So she opted to lighten the mood instead. Heaven knew she could use some levity after the stress she had been under. And how strange to realize that in spite of being terrified, she felt safer now with Gervais present.
She looked up at him and forced a shaky smile. “Don’t forget my chili dog.”
* * *
Gervais paced the emergency room. The hum of the lights above provided a rhythm to his pacing. He tried to focus on what he could control.
Which was absolutely nothing at this point. Instead of being in the know, he was completely in the dark. He couldn’t start planning, something he liked to do.
Sitting still had never been his strong suit. Gervais wanted to be in the midst of the action, not hanging on the sidelines. That was how he’d been as a football player, how he dealt with his family. Always engaged. Always on.
But now? No one would tell him anything. He wasn’t a family member. Not technically, even though that was his unborn child.
God, he hated feeling helpless. Most of all he hated feeling cut off from his family. His child.
What the hell was taking the doctor so long?
Sure, the place was packed with weekend traffic. To his left was a boy with what appeared to be a broken arm and a cracked tooth. His sister, a petite blonde thing, wrinkled her nose in disgust as he shoved his arm in her face.
The man on his right elevated a very swollen ankle. He was in the ER alone, sitting in silence, hands rough with calluses.
Gervais could hear snippets of the conversation going on in the far corner of the room. A young mom cooed over her baby, holding tight to her husband’s hand. They were probably first-time parents. Nervous as hell. But they were tackling the problem together. As he wanted to with Erika, but the lack of information was killing him.
The whole ride over, Erika had been woozy and nauseated. He tried to tell himself that fainting wasn’t a big deal. But he wasn’t having much luck calming down his worries.
The possibilities of what could be wrong played over and over again in his head. He hated this feeling. Helplessness. It did not sit well with him.
A creak from the door called his attention back to the present moment. Snapping his focus back to the ER. And to the two men heading for him. His brothers Henri and Dempsey. Henri’s sweat-stained face was grave as he caught Gervais’s eye. Hell, he knew time had passed. But that much? And he hadn’t even watched the rest of the game on the waiting room television.
He charged over to his brothers.
Henri hauled him in hard and fast for a hug, slapping him on the back. Smelled of Gatorade. Heavily. The leftover jug must have been poured over his head, signifying victory. “What’s the news?”
“I’m still waiting to hear from the docs.” He guided both of his brothers over to the privacy of a corner by a fat fake topiary tree. “We won?”
Dempsey didn’t haul him in for a brotherly hug, but he thumped him on the back. They were brothers. Not as close as Henri and Gervais, but the bond was there. Solid. “Yes, by three points. Even though we sidelined most of our starters to test depth at various positions. Henri’s backup did a credible job marching the offense downfield for one more TD in the closing minutes. But that’s not what matters right now. We’re here for you. Is everything okay?”
Gervais shrugged. “We don’t know yet. Nobody’s talking to me. I’m not tied to her in any legal way.”
Dempsey’s voice lowered till it was something barely audible. He looked squarely into his brother’s eyes. “Do you plan to be there for your child?”
“Yes.” Gervais didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely.”
Henri shifted his weight from foot to foot. The three Reynaud men stared at each other, no one daring to utter so much as a syllable for a few moments.
Dempsey nodded. “Good. You know what? I’m going to get coffee for us. Who knows how long we will be here. ER visits are never short.”
“Great. Thanks,” Henri said as Dempsey walked back toward the doors. “Is she considering giving the baby up for adoption?”
“I didn’t bring that up.” Truth be told, he hadn’t even thought of that as a real option. It was his child. He wanted to provide for his child.
“Did she?” Henri crossed his arms, voice lowered so only they could hear each other.
“No. I’m not even sure how the royalty part plays into this.” God, what if his power, prestige, money, wasn’t worth jack and she took his child away altogether? “She discussed shared parenting.”
Henri shrugged. An attempt at nonchalance that fell flat. “I just want you to know that if things change, Fiona and I are willing to raise the baby as our own.”
Gervais looked over at his brother quickly, thinking of all the miscarriages his brother and sister-in-law had been through, the strain that had put on their marriage. This baby news had to be hitting his normally happy-go-lucky brother hard. “Thank you, my brother. That means a lot to me. But this is my child. Not some mistake. Not just a responsibility. My child.”
Henri nodded and hooked an arm around his brother’s shoulders. “I look forward to meeting my niece or nephew. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Gervais noticed how Henri’s face became blank. Distant. “Are you and Fiona okay?”
“Sure, we’re fine,” Henri replied a bit too quickly.
“We
