The Road Ahead of Us

The next morning brought even more severe pain for Isabelle. She laid in bed beside the still sleeping Alex, clutching at her abdomen, her eyes shut tight as a few tears slipped out. She bit at her lip, trying to keep back the scream but it ended up slipping past her lips anyway, making Alex shoot up.

"Izzy? What? What is it?" He then saw her holding her stomach and the sweat running down her face. "That's it, I'm taking you to the hospital." She tried to shake her head no but the pain was too severe. She reached over and grabbed his hand, making him wince as she squeezed his hand. "Come on." He instructed her, getting up from the bed when she released his hand. When she stood up slowly, the pain was so severe, she fainted. Alex caught her against his chest just in time. He decided that rather than having her change from her sweatpants and t-shirt that she slept in, she would go to the hospital like that.

After he laid her back on the bed he changed himself into a pair of jeans and slid on a plain black shirt. He slipped on a pair of vans before he scooped her up in his arms again, leaving the room. It was only 7 in the morning so there was no one else up yet as he made his way through the house and out the front door.

"It hurts, Alex." She told him, making him nod. He set her on her feet and helped her slowly into the back of the van, letting her lay down. Just as he slid the door shut, the front door of the house opened and out walked Micky, fully dressed.

"I heard her scream. I'm coming with you." She said, rushing over to van. She opened the door and slid into the back seat with Isabelle, letting her rest her head in her lap. Alex quickly made his way to the drivers side and sped off in the direction of the hospital that he saw on his way to record yesterday. They arrived in fifteen minutes and Isabelle had fainted from the pain once on the way there. "I'll go get a nurse." Micky said when he parked. She jumped from the van and ran into the emergency room. Alex lifted Isabelle gently from the van right as Micky and a nurse in pink scrubs appeared, pushing a wheelchair while Alex sat Isabelle in gently.

They rushed back into the hospital and the nurse led them into an examination room.

"What's been happening?" She questioned Alex as the nurse helped Isabelle onto the exam table.

"She's been really tired, sleeping a lot. She threw up yesterday morning, and then after lunch she threw up again. She's been having really bad pains in her stomach. She's fainted twice from it now. This morning and on the way here." He informed her. She nodded and turned back to Isabelle who was clutching at her stomach again. Alex walked over to her and took her hand.

"What's your name, sweetie?" The nurse asked, grabbing a clipboard off the counter beside her.

"Isabelle Sanchez." She told her. Her voice was quiet and breathy as the pain rippled through her body.

"Okay, I'm going to ask you a few questions and I need you to answer them truthfully, got it?" Isabelle simply nodded. "Alright. Are you sexually active?" Isabelle felt her face heat up as she nodded. "When was your last menstrual period?" This question made Isabelle frown and then her eyes pop open.

"I haven't had one for a month and a half, almost two months." She gasped, making Alex gasp as well. "Oh my god." She then clutched at her stomach again, this time for a different reason then pain.

"Have you had any vaginal bleeding at all?" Isabelle shook her head, biting at her lip. "Alright. I am going to go get a doctor and let him know everything you just told me. He'll be with you immediately." With that the nurse rushed out of the room, shutting the door after her. Micky fell into a chair that was up against the wall while Alex stared at the ground, still in shock.

"Damn." Micky whispered. "You're pregnant, Iz." She said but Isabelle shook her head.

"Something's wrong though... I don't think I am.." She rubbed at her stomach again. She looked up at Alex, making him meet her eyes. He tried to smile but his face just kind of twitched before he turned to look some where else. They all sat in silence for a few more minutes until a tall man in a white lab coat walked in.

"I'm Dr. Edgeco." He introduced, shaking all of their hands before he stood their and looked at Isabelle who looked at the ground, clutching at Alex's hand tightly. "Ella, the nurse tells me that you are having some abdominal pain and a missed period. Do you know if you are pregnant, Isabelle?" He questioned as he slipped on a pair of gloves.

"No. I mean... it never occurred to me that I missed my period. I just kinda.. didn't notice." She informed him, making him nod.

"Can you lay back for me?" Isabelle nodded and released Alex's hand before sliding back on the bed and laid down. Dr. Edgeco lifted up her shirt to show her stomach and placed his hands on her lower right abdomen. "Let me know if any of this hurts." He told her, pressing down. He moved his hands around, pressing all around her lower abdomen. When he got to the left side and pressed, she gasped. "Did that hurt?" She quickly nodded. "Alright, Isabelle. I want to do a pelvic examination of you. I need you to change into this." He opened a drawer and pulled out a blue paper gown and handed it to Isabelle who had sat up again. "I'll be back in a minute."

"I'll go wait in the waiting room too. Come get me if anything happens." Micky said before following the doctor out.

"Do you want me to go?" Alex asked, speaking for the first time since they found out that she could be pregnant. Isabelle looked up at him and shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Alex." She whispered. He sighed and went to wrap his arms around her, letting her bury her face in his shirt.

"Don't apologize, Iz. It's not your fault. We'll work through whatever this is, together. Alright?" She looked up at him and nodded. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Now get changed." She nodded and with his help got out of her clothes and into the paper gown. A minute later the doctor returned. He had Isabelle lay back and open her legs as he started the pelvic examination.

"Just as I thought." He mumbled to himself when he finished. Isabelle sat up and frowned at him.

"What is it?" She questioned him, reaching out to find Alex's hand.

"You are in fact pregnant, Isabelle but it seems that it's an ectopic pregnancy." He informed her, making her frown. "What that means is that the fertilized egg, while on it's way through the fallopian tube to the uterus, it got stuck in the tube and that is where it is now growing. That is why you are having such pains." He explained. Isabelle's eyes were wide and she gripped Alex's hand tightly.

"So.... what now?" Alex questioned, trying to stay calm and be strong as he knew Isabelle wouldn't be.

"I want to do an ultrasound to be for sure that's what it is. Then if it is that, you have two choices. I can give you two shots that will end the pregnancy and you will pass the fertilized egg naturally, or it can be removed surgically." He explained. "I'll get the ultrasound done and let you two decide." With that the doctor left the room again.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked his girlfriend softly.

"I was pregnant." She whispered. Alex sighed and went to stand in front of her, lifting her face up so she looked at him.

"Everything is going to be alright, Izzy. We'll get through this."

"What if I can't have any more kids, Alex?" What she said made him stop. He hadn't thought of that.

"We can ask the doctor when he gets back if its possible for you to get pregnant again, alright?" She nodded right as the nurse in pink scrubs returned, pushing a table full of equipment in front of her.

"So, I am to do an ultrasound on you." She informed Isabelle who nodded. After setting everything up she had Isabelle lay back down and pushed up her paper gown. After turning the lights off she smeared some cold blue gel onto Isabelle's abdomen and began the ultrasound. "Sure enough, there it is." She pointed to a small circle in the center of the screen. "That's the egg embedded in the fillopian tube." She told them. She took some screenshots of it, which printed out, and then cleaned up Isabelle's stomach. "Dr. Edgeco will be right with you." With that she took the equipment and left.

"That was our baby, Alex. Our baby and... I killed it." Isabelle whispered, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Alex had no time to respond as the doctor walked back in.

"So have you decided? Surgery or shot?" He asked them. Alex looked down at Isabelle who was just staring at the wall.

"What are the side effects of both?" Alex asked, knowing that she wasn't going to say anything.

"Well, with surgery, the fillopian tube can be damaged more, resulting in her to be unable to have any more children. With the shots it has the chance of weakening your immune system for a little while, that's really the only main side effect you could expect to get, Isabelle. As long as you stay away from people who are sick, you should be okay with that. If you do of course choose that, I will do blood work for the next two weeks to monitor it's process and make sure that the pregnancy has ended." The doctor explained making Alex nod and Isabelle just sit there. The doctor frowned at Isabelle before looking up at Alex who sighed.

"She's worried that she won't be able to have children." He told the doctor who nodded.

"This does not mean that you can't have children, Isabelle. There is the risk of this happening again, and it may be a little harder to actually get pregnant but if the pregnancy is monitored early on, you can have children." He told her. She looked up at him and nodded.

"Let's do the shot then." She told him weakly, making him nod. He left to go get the shots while she got dressed again.

"See, I told you that everything will be fine." Alex told her after she was finished dressing. Alex sat down in one of the chairs and pulled her into his lap. She put her feet up in the chair beside them and buried her face in his neck. "How does your stomach feel?" He asked her.

"It hurts." She whispered, her hand rubbing her stomach. Alex sighed and kissed her forehead, rubbing her back up and down. After the doctor returned, he took a blood sample from Isabelle and administered the shots.

"You may now go. I want to see you in two days, alright?" Isabelle nodded and stood up from Alex's lap.

"Thank you so much." Alex told him, shaking his hand.

"in many cases of this, the women falls into depressed, because she lost the baby and such so keep an eye on her." Edgeco told him, making Alex nod.

"I will." With that, Alex took Isabelle's hand and pulled her back to the waiting room where Micky was waiting.

"So? How'd it go? Is everything alright?" She asked as they made their way back to the car.

"I was pregnant. It went wrong though and now I'm not." Was Isabelle said before letting go of Alex's hand and rushing forward to the van. Alex unlocked the doors with the remote and let her get into the passengers seat.

"She's taking it really hard." He told Micky who sighed and nodded.

"You two will make it through this though."

"Of course. I love her too much to let something like this ruin us." He told her, making her nod.

"Does this effect future children?" She asked him. Alex explained what the doctor had told them, making Micky nod. They got in the van and stayed silent, letting Isabelle have some peace.

"Do you want to go lay down?" Alex asked her when they got home. Her eyes welled up in tears and she nodded. Alex sighed and went around the the passengers side as Micky got out and went inside, leaving the two alone. "Come here." Alex opened his arms to Isabelle who fell into them easily, sobbing into his neck. He bent down and put his arm behind her leg, lifting her up just as he had carried her outside a few hours ago. He went inside and ignored all the questions thrown at them, knowing Micky would take care of it. He carried her up to their room and laid her on the bed.

"Will you lay with me?" She asked him softly, tears still pouring down her cheeks. He nodded and took of his shoes and slid into the bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I love you, Isabelle." Alex whispered to her, wiping at the tears on her face. She smiled at him softly, reaching over to kiss him softly.

"Thank you for everything, Alex. I love you so much." He simply nodded and let her bury her face in his neck. When she slipped off to sleep was when Alex finally let go and let tears of his own slip down his cheeks...