Weapons of War

"How are you feeling?" Riley looked up when her doctor walked into the room carrying her medical chart.

After losing conciousness for close to three whole minutes, at least according to Shea, Riley had been poked and prodded for hours at the hospital, and she was irritated, tired, she wanted to go home and she was terrified beyond belief.

She had her arms wrapped around her stomach, and Shea was sitting beside her with one of her hands in both of his. She told her honestly, "Tired, but better now."

As Dr. Adrain nodded Shea asked her, "Is everything okay?"

"Baby is fine… mom however is not." Riley let out a breath of air as she said this, but before she or Shea could say anything Dr. Adrian looked at Riley and said, "The fluid we removed will help immensely with the trouble breathing, being uncomfortable, that kind of stuff. However, your blood pressure was… through the roof. It still hasn't gone down and it's been several hours and that's a cause of concern. Couple that with the fact that blood pressure has been a concern through this whole pregnancy… we ran a lot of tests."

"And?" Riley was afraid to even ask.

"We were hoping from the beginning that your blood pressure would even out and it hasn't. All of our tests point to pre-eclampsia." When she said this both Riley and Shea let out a sigh.

Riley clenched her jaw tightly for a moment, forcing herself not to cry like she so badly wanted to, before she relaxed and asked, "So what does that mean? How do we… what do we do from now on?"

"Typically the treatment would be to deliver the baby, but you've got just under ten weeks to go so I do not want to put either of you at risk by doing that. What I'd like is to wait it out at least six more weeks if we can. So I'd need to monitor you closely, no stress and-"

Riley finished for her, "Bed rest."

Dr. Adrian nodded and told Riley, "Not your traditional bed rest. Just take it easy, get up and walk around but I don't want you on your feet for more than an hour at a time."

Great.

Between Noah and Shea, Riley wasn't sure that was possible.

"Do you think you can handle that?"

Riley sighed and nodded her head slowly, "I can handle that, I have to."

There was a tiny bit of hesitation and Shea could have sworn Dr. Adrian glanced at him before she looked at Riley and asked her, "What about what we talked about at your last appointment? Any better?"

When Riley kept her eyes anywhere but on Shea he knew he was right, that he wasn't being paranoid about the little glance the doctor gave him. Something was up. Riley simply shrugged and admitted honestly, "Not better, but not any worse."

"Okay, that's not great but it's better than it getting any worse. I'll let you two get going, but I want to see you once a week from now on." 

With that they were left alone, and Riley was surprised that Shea didn't ask about what they had been talking about moments before. In fact, he didn't say much of anything, he just got up, grabbed her clothes from the bag on the chair beside him and he handed her the bag and turned around to give her some kind of privacy. 

Riley was surprised when he grabbed her hand as they left the hospital and headed outside, where Pekka had dropped his truck off two hours earlier. Shea helped Riley into the front seat, surprisingly without an argument from her part, before he rounded the front of the truck and got behind the wheel. He was silent, right up until he came to a stop at a red light and heard a sniffle from beside him. Shea turned to look at Riley, and she was looking out of the window, frequently wiping at her cheeks.

He reached out, grabbing her hand, startling her and pulling her attention to him as she tried to hide her tears, and he asked her gently, "You okay?"

"No, I am not okay." She groaned when she had to reach up again to wipe at her cheeks, a new wave of tears spilling out at rapid speed. Shea didn't know what to say, or do, but he didn't have to say or do anything because Riley continued, "This baby isn't even here yet and I am already screwing up."

"Riley-"

"No, it's true and I know you're thinking it and it's okay because it's true. I knew this was a possibility and I didn't do enough to prevent it, I screwed up and it's affecting this baby." She let out a breath of air, wiped under her eyes again and she turned to look at Shea and said, "I knew I should have been slowing down, I knew I should have and I didn't and now look."

"Riley, we both knew you should have been slowing down. It's not like I did anything to help you." Shea told her softly, giving her hand a squeeze for good measure. She shrugged and he told her, "This doesn't mean you're screwing up. These things happen, and now we just have to figure out a way to deal with it."

"How? How am I supposed to be on bed rest for six plus weeks when we have a two year old running around and you're gone every two days?" She wasn't trying to intentionally be mean, but she felt that it may have come out that way, so she said, "I'm sorry."

Shea shook his head, "It's okay. I don't know how we're gonna do it, but we'll do it. If that means that maybe when I'm gone we get Kelly or Quinn to stay at the house, or I call my dad and get him to come here... Riley we'll figure it out. I promise." 

"I'm glad you're so confident in us, because I'm not." She stated, and Shea smiled gently.

"I always am. We've gotten through the last six months, we can get through this." 

When they arrived home Shea pulled into the garage, and helped Riley out of the truck, and he followed closely behind her as she walked into the house. Pekka and Brooke were sitting on the couch watching morning cartoons with Noah between them. They all turned when they heard the door open, and Noah came rocketing off of the couch and toward Riley and Shea before Pekka could grab him. Shea intercepted and swooped Noah into his arms, lifting him up off the ground before he could throw himself at Riley.

The two year old pouted at his dad, who simply told him, "Bud we gotta be really careful around mom for a while okay? Gentle."

Noah nodded and Shea allowed him to lean over and wrap his little arms around Riley's neck, and she rubbed his back gently as he asked, "Need fighters?"

Before Riley could answer Shea told him, "Yeah, mommy needs some fighters."

"Gentle." Noah stated, and Shea nodded his head.

So Noah squirmed until Shea let him go, and he gave Riley's legs a quick hug before he went back into the living room, which was when Pekka and Brooke both got up from the couch and approached them. Pekka looked straight at Riley and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Shea put his hands on her shoulders and turned her toward the stairs, telling her, "Upstairs."

She turned to look at him, narrowed her eyes and said, "You so don't get to boss me around now."

Shea cracked a smile and informed her, "You heard the doctor. Upstairs, straight to bed, and don't think I won't hear you walking around in there because I will and I will come up there."

"Yes dad." Riley muttered as she went up the stairs. 

Shea turned back to Pekka and Brooke, and Brooke asked him, "She on bed rest?"

"Sort of." 

Pekka made a face, "Riley, on bed rest, for like two months? Yikes, good luck man."

Shea chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, it's gonna be interesting around here that's for sure."

Shea lead them to the door, and Brooke made sure to tell him, "Let us know if you guys need anything, I can always made Nolan babysit while you're at practice or something. Take some stress off Riley."

"Thanks." Shea nodded, and as Brooke went out to the vehicle Pekka stayed behind, and Shea raised his eyebrow. 

"Really, is she gonna be okay?" Pekka asked him curiously, watching Shea intently.

Not seeing the point in sugar coating it Shea stated honestly, "I don't know, I hope so."

"Call if you need anything, really." Pekka told him, and as Shea nodded his head Pekka headed out to his vehicle.

Shea locked the door, and he came back to the living room to find Noah sitting on the floor in front of the stairs, a blanket filled with toys in front of him. Shea's brow raised and he asked him, "What are you doing?"

"Mama." Noah stated, getting up and leaving the blanket of toys on the floor as he started up the stairs, holding onto the railing carefully, just like Shea had taught him. 

So Shea gathered up the blanket and toys and followed slowly behind Noah up the stairs, and right into their bedroom. Riley was changed into a pair of sweat pants and one of Shea's t-shirts, texting on her cell phone when they walked in, and her brow raised at the sight of both of them. She watched Shea spread the blanket and toys out on the floor in front of the bed and Noah settled down to play. 

It wasn't until he headed back out of the bedroom that Riley asked, "What's going on?"

"Noah wanted to keep you company. I'll be back in a minute." Shea told her, heading out into the hallway.

So Riley sat in bed and listened to Noah babble on while he played with his toys on the floor, all she could see was the top of his mop of brown hair, but eventually he got bored of his toys and he crawled onto the bench at the end of the bed, and then onto the bed. He made his way up to Riley, and curled up between her stretched out legs and asked, "Mama okay?"

Riley nodded and ran her fingers through his hair, telling him, "I'm fine buddy."

Noah, satisfied with that answer, laid his head down on her thigh and Riley looked up when she heard Shea approaching, her eyebrow raised upon finding him carrying the TV from the basement into the room, a plastic bag hanging from one hand. She watched him put the TV on the dresser across from the bed, and the bag on the nightstand and finally he turned to her and explained, "I never use it, so I figured I'd bring it up here for you. Anything to keep you off of your feet."

She rolled her eyes, "I can still get up and move around."

"Okay, so I'd prefer for you to be going up and down the stairs the least amount of times as possible." Shea stated, shooting her a look when she grumbled. He glanced back at the TV and mused out loud, "Now if only I had a little helper to help me set this up for mommy."

Noah jumped up from the bed, arms in the air and exclaimed, "I help!"

"Yeah?" Shea asked, and when Noah nodded vigorously Shea reached out, catching Noah when he launched himself toward him, before he carried him over to the dresser. 

Riley watched as Shea held Noah securely on one hip while he pretended to not know where to plug things in, making Noah guess. Noah would giggle loudly when the pieces wouldn't fit and they would have to start over, and Riley simply watched them with a smile on her face. Finally, when the TV turned on, Shea and Noah both let out a noise of triumph, before Shea set Noah back on the bed, and he sat down beside Riley.

Riley glanced at him as he found a kid's show for the time being, until he would take Noah down the hall for his nap later that afternoon, and Riley motioned to the bag beside him and asked, "What is that?"

Shea grabbed it, put it in his lap and said, "Just a few things to get us through the first of many hours hanging out in here with you."

"Sorry what?" Riley asked him, eyebrow raised.

"We're hanging out in here all afternoon. So I brought water for us, and for Noah," The moment Shea pulled a sippy cup out of the plastic bag Noah reached forward and grabbed it.

"Juice!" He took a large sip, swallowed, and then he shook his head, scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out.

Shea laughed and told Riley, "It's milk."

Riley chuckled, reaching out to brush Noah's hair from his forehead, and he took another drink, this time knowing it was milk and not juice, and he said to Shea, "Thank you."

Shea reached out and bumped Noah's nose gently with his knuckles, making the boy giggle, before Shea pulled a pad of paper and a pen from the bag in his lap and told Riley, "Start making a grocery list. Anything you want."

"Anything?" Riley asked him excitement.

"Within reason." He told her, laughing when she crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes at him.

They both turned to watch Noah shuffle off of the bed and onto the floor, running over to his blanket full of toys. As Shea wrote out his grocery list Riley shuffled down in bed to lay on her side, pushing a pillow under the lower half of her stomach as Shea lifted her knee up enough to put one under there as well.

She swatted at his hand and joked, "I'm pregnant not terminal I can do that myself."

Shea rolled his eyes and stated, "You're not moving so fast these days. I figured I would help out."

"You just like being needed. You're needy." Riley told him with a grin.

He narrowed his eyes at her and said, "True I guess."

Shea shifted so that he was laying next to her, on his back, he tossed the pad of paper and the pen onto the nightstand and Riley reached out, grabbing his hand. She told him, "I like that you're needy."

"Yeah?" He asked, a little distracted as he rolled onto his stomach and pressed a kiss to the top of her stomach.

He ran his palm across her t-shirt as she nodded her head and said, "I like that you need me. I like that you aren't afraid of showing that side of you. Most guys don't."

"It just seems pointless to me to not say how I feel." Again, for what felt like the hundredth time Riley felt guilty for not telling him about what was really going on with her.

"Shea-"

He shook his head and kissed her, surprising her, and he told her, "Whatever it is, save it for tomorrow."

"Okay…"

He smiled gently and kissed her again before he lifted himself up to the head of the bed and wrapped an arm around her. He pulled her into his side and explained, "Let's just relax and go into this thing calm and together. Let's just talk about whatever needs to be said tomorrow, not as a way to avoid the conversation but just to… enjoy what little time we have like this."

"Okay." Riley said softly, leaning up to kiss him again.

Shea ran his palm across her stomach and told her, "Don't ever do that to me again, you scared the shit out of me."

She was being honest with him when she told him, "I scared myself."