Until Autumn - Sheridan Anne Page 0,74
need to leave. We’re in lockdown.”
She shakes her head, holding her ground. While I usually love her stubborn nature, right now, it’s going to tear me apart. “No, I’m not leaving you here by yourself. Are you insane?”
“Autumn,” I warn, contemplating the risk of flying across the room and grabbing her by the waist just to throw her out of here. She might not be safe out in the hallway, but considering the fact that Ashleigh just stumbled through the doors of my hospital while in the middle of running from her abusive husband, I’d dare say that’s the reason for our lockdown.
“No. You can’t do this by yourself. Ashleigh needs someone by her side and so do you. You may be an incredible doctor, but you’re not superman. There are too many things to do and only one of you. So, I’m staying whether you like it or not and we’re going to get this done.”
I clench my jaw. I didn’t realize that I could ever be so angry with the woman I was in love with, but apparently, it’s more than possible. I’m just seconds away from physically hauling her ass out of here when Ashleigh’s hand whips around and grabs Autumn’s arm, almost clawing at it as she tries to gain her attention. “What’s going on?” she demands, the fear in her eyes like nothing I’ve ever seen before. “It’s him, isn’t it? He’s coming for me. He’s going to kill me.”
“No, Ashleigh,” I say, desperately trying to keep her calm. “There’s no way of knowing that. I told you that you were safe with me, and I meant that. I will not let any harm come to you.”
Autumn clings onto her hand and squeezes it tight. “There are many reasons for a hospital to go into lockdown. It could be anything. Don’t be scared. What’s important right now is delivering your baby as safely as possible.”
“No,” she panics, shaking her head. “It’s him. I can feel it. He’s coming for me.”
“I’m going to keep you safe,” I tell her as my gaze flicks across to her heart monitor to watch it steadily increase. “But to do that, I need you to work with me. Your heart rate is getting dangerously high and I need you to try and bring it back down. Take a slow, deep breath, count to five, and start again.”
Ashleigh nods and I pull the partition down to see her face better. She starts taking her breaths and closes her eyes as she focuses on counting to five over and over again.
Autumn looks to me and we both listen as the beeping from the monitor finally begins to slow; not enough to get us out of the danger zone, though. I get back to work, knowing that every wasted second is another second that we’re putting this baby’s life at risk.
Sensing that Ashleigh is finally starting to relax a little, I look at Autumn, and while I’m pissed that she’s still here and not doing everything she can to keep herself safe, I’m thankful. Doing this by myself isn’t exactly ideal. “Can you give me a hand?”
Autumn nods as Ashleigh reluctantly releases her tight grip on her hand and she moves in beside me. She’s witnessed more than her fair share of cesareans so she should be fine to help. Either way, she’s all I’ve got right now, so any help is welcome.
Autumn silently works beside me as the sound of the alarm bounces off every wall of my OR. We hear panicked cries from outside the room, people running up and down the hall, newborn babies being disturbed, and screaming for peace.
A knock sounds at the door and all three of us snap our gazes toward the small window in the center of the door. Relief surges through me as I find Suzi’s face staring back at us. I nod to Autumn and she instantly goes to the door.
I watch her with bated breath as she pulls off her gloves and peels open the door. Suzi glances up at me but remains in the doorway with Autumn. She lowers her voice to a whisper and leans into Autumn’s side, both their intense stares locked on mine.
I watch as Suzi begins explaining what’s going on and as she does, horror begins to spread over Autumn’s face. My stomach twists and tightens and just by that look on Autumn’s face, I know that it’s exactly what we fear.
Ashleigh shakes her head. “No,” she murmurs,