To help keep Sam's mind occupied, Elaine took her with her to the appointments with her and Micky. They wanted her to feel very welcomed with them, however, Sam was becoming more and more angrier and withdrawn. As Elaine was having the ultrasound, Elaine asked Sam, "See the babies, Sam?"
"Yeah whatever," Samantha replied.
Elaine smiled as Dr. Annabelle showed them how big the babies were getting. "You're going to be an auntie, Sam. Isn't that exciting?"
"Yeah whatever," Samantha replied. "Aren't we almost done yet?"
"In a little while," Elaine said trying to be very patient with her friend. Micky was ecstatic looking at how big the babies were growing.
"How did your office take the leave, Elaine?" Annabelle asked as she finished with the ultrasound.
"Not very well, but they have no choice," Elaine replied.
"They can call my office if they have questions." Dr. Annabelle said.
"I gave them your note along with the leave paperwork and they have it on file." Elaine replied.
Sam stared at the wall waiting for the appointment to be over with. She hated every moment of it.
After the appointment was over with, Micky took the girls out to dinner and Sam freaked, "I want to go home. I don't want to eat dinner here."
"You will eat with us whether you like it or not. We are celebrating my babies' growth and excellent progress." Elaine said.
"I hate this," Sam said sitting angrily in the booth after the waitress sat them at the table.
Micky held Elaine's hand trying to keep her calm. They ordered their food and the waitress asked, "And you, Miss?"
"That's right! I am a Miss. Thanks for rubbing it in you witch!" Samantha said storming out of the restaurant to the car.
Elaine told Micky, "I'll be right back. Give me the keys to the car." Micky handed her the keys and Elaine walked outside to the car and unlocked it for her friend. "You rest while we have a quick dinner, Sam. We'll bring you something to eat when we're finished."
"Fine!" Samantha said getting into the backseat of the car and closing the door. Elaine walked back inside the restaurant, apologized to the waitress, and then sat back down with Micky.
"What is going on with her?" Micky asked.
"I'll tell you later, Micky. But not with her nearby or around." Elaine said.
The two friends sat there eating their dinner while Sam fell asleep in the car. Elaine brought Sam a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with some chicken dumpling soup, which she knew was one of Sam's favorite meals.
That night, Sam stayed in her own apartment eating dinner and just falling asleep crying. Back in Elaine's apartment, Elaine took Micky into the bedroom and closed the door.
"What's wrong with her?" Micky asked.
"She's mad at Mike for leaving and she's also mad because Naomi and I are getting married." Elaine replied.
"How on earth do you know that, Elaine?" Micky asked.
"Her outburst with the waitress. She yelled at her for calling her 'Miss,' Micky. You have to listen to her carefully because even though she lashes out at someone, she's actually crying for help." Elaine replied. "Living with her for as long as all four of us have lived together, we know each other inside and out. And with Mike choosing his songwriting over her, well she's just upset at him so much that I hate to think of what will happen when he returns. That's why I have made a minor adjustment in the wedding processional."
"What have you done?" Micky asked.
"I've talked with Naomi and we both feel that it might be better that she's paired up with Peter and Naomi is paired up with Mike."
"Why is that?" Micky asked covering them both up with a blanket.
"Because Naomi is good at defusing bombs, Micky. And, with Sam with Peter, Peter can help Sam understand that he's not taking Naomi away from her or me or Louise. Naomi's already talked with Peter about it and it's all settled. Thankfully I haven't sent the stuff to the printers yet for the final program." Elaine said.
"You are just so smart, aren't you?" Micky asked.
"Yes, and you are too." Elaine replied looking at him.
"Why is that?" Micky asked.
"Because I'm your's." Elaine replied giving him a hug and kiss.
They cuddled with each other for a while before drifting off to sleep.
____________________
A month went by quickly and Elaine was put on bedrest. Thankfully everything was done in regards to the wedding. She could only use the restroom, shower, or walk into the livingroom to lie on the couch. Sam's anger had diminished and she was very withdrawn moreso than she had been.
Naomi came home from work one night with Sam and asked, "Wanna have supper at my place?"
"Nah," Sam replied opening up her apartment door and going inside. Naomi unlocked Sam's door and said, "Okay, I'll fix us something to eat over here then."
Sam fell on the couch and blew out a breath. Naomi walked over to the answering machine and played the messages. Sam ended up throwing a pillow at the answering machine yelling "SHUT IT OFF!"
"Sorry," Naomi said quickly turning the answering machine off after she heard 'his' voice.
Naomi went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Sam had only eggs and cheese. Naomi looked at the expiration dates and said, "Hmm, I'll be right back."
"Don't bother! I don't want anything to eat." Sam said. "Turn the light off when you leave."
Naomi sat in the chair and looked at Sam. "I know you're upset at him for leaving you here and I know you're upset at him for not making you number one priority, Sam. However, that does not give you the right to take it out on me, Louise, or Elaine. Micky is not taking Elaine away and Peter is not taking me away. Yes, we will be married, but it will not change our friendships. Do you understand?"
Sam blew out a breath and rolled over onto her side. "Leave me alone, please." she cried out.
"Okay," Naomi said walking out of Sam's apartment and closing the door behind her. She stood in the hallway and listened to Sam cry. She felt so bad that her friend was hurting so much. She had no idea how much in love Sam was with Mike. As she walked down the hall, she heard, "Hi Nay Nay."
Naomi stopped and turned around to see who it was although she had a very good idea who it was and it was certainly not a good time for him to be there. "Hello Michael." Naomi said.
"I'm back early. Couldn't wait to see Sam." Mike said.
"It's not a good time, Mike." Naomi said.
"Why not?" Mike asked.
"Come over here and let me talk with you for a minute." Naomi said walking to her apartment and Mike following after her.
"How are you feeling, Naomi?" Mike asked.
"I'm fine," Naomi replied. "Peter will be here momentarily, but I don't think you should see Sam right now. She's not herself and she's very emotionally hurt."
"It's because of me, isn't it?" Mike asked sitting down in the chair.
"Yes," Naomi replied. "She's very emotional right now and I'm personally afraid if you go over there right now you won't come out alive."
"But I wanted to surprise her." Mike said.
"Another day, but please not today." Naomi said changing her shoes into her slippers and curling up on the couch. "I beg you, please wait another day."
"If you say so, Naomi." Mike said.
"I say so." Naomi replied.
Mike disappointedly went back to his apartment and went inside. Davy was sitting on the couch with Louise. "You're back!" he said to Mike.
"Yeah, I'm back," Mike replied in a low tone walking to his room and closing the door.
"How was it?" Davy asked.
"Shotgun, I don't want to talk about it now." Mike said closing the door to his room.
"I better get back too. I need to check on Naomi tonight since Sam's not feeling well, and since I got lectured for not being around much when they've all needed me." Louise said wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Tell her I hope she's doing good. Please give them a hug from me." Davy said walking Louise to the door and giving her a hug.
"I will." Louise said kissing Davy on the cheek and then walking to her car.
Davy went into his room and fell asleep peacefully.
After Louise arrived home, she made her rounds to check on the girls. Elaine was already sound asleep, so was Micky. Sam was still crying on her couch, even though Louise still left her be. Naomi was already asleep on the couch when Louise opened the door.
"Hey Louise," Peter said walking into the apartment. "How's my angel?"
"Sound asleep on the couch," Louise said.
"Good, she hasn't slept peacefully in two days so worried about Sam." Peter said.
"I'll be around more now, Peter, so don't worry." Louise said. "Goodnight." "Night, Louise." Peter said as he lay down on the couch next to Naomi and held her in his arms. She stayed sound asleep while he positioned himself on the couch behind her.
Louise went back to her apartment and took a long, hot, shower before going to sleep.
________________________
During the night, Elaine sat up and stared around the room. "Micky?" she asked.
"Yes," Micky said turning on the light.
"Um what did the lamaze lady say would happen when I went into labor?" Elaine asked.
"Um, you would start to have strong contractions and they would be under five minutes and/or your water would break. Why?" Micky asked.
Elaine's eyes started to tear up and she said, "Either my water just broke or I'm miscarrying."
Micky slowly and carefully climbed out of bed and uncovered Elaine. "I'll call the ambulance," he said as he tried to focus his attention on Elaine and look for the phone. "Don't worry, everything will be just fine." he said. "Stay calm."
Elaine sat there and tears started to flow. "They're dead!" she cried out.
"No, everything is fine, Elaine. Keep positive, remember?" Micky said trying to reassure her.
Ten minutes later when the ambulance arrived, the girls immediately shot up in their apartment and ran down the hall, "Laney?" they called out.
"They died," Elaine said crying hysterically. "I'm too early yet."
"Calm down Elaine. We are still assessing their vitals. So far they are not dead."
Micky's heart was racing like crazy. He felt so helpless.
At the hospital, Micky could hear Elaine screaming in the Emergency Room. He immediately thought she was right and he sat on the couch in disbelief. "Everything was absolutely perfect." he said. "She was doing great, eating healthy, and cutting down on the caffeine. The doctor's appointments were absolutely beautiful."
Dr. Annabelle came out and said, "Micky, come here please."
Micky wiped the tears from his eyes and followed her into the conference room and he sat down.
"First off, Elaine is absolutely fine. She didn't like the tests we had to do on her, but she's fine and the babies are absolutely perfect."
"Really?" Micky asked smiling.
"Yes, she had an accident in bed, Micky, and that's all it was. Her water is still securely around the babies and she's just fine."
"Praise God!" Micky cried out lifting his arms.
"She's very embarrassed about this, Micky, and she's just wanting to go back home. I do suggest someone go to the apartment and take care of things before she returns home so she's not reminded of what happened."
"She's absolutely fine?" Micky asked. "No ifs, ands, or buts about it, right?"
"Absolutely, Micky. You can take her home as soon as you want. The one nurse is helping Elaine change into some clothes and she's ready to return home."
"Thank you so much, Dr. Annabelle." Micky said giving her a hug he was so happy.
Micky walked out into the waiting room and everyone looked at him with wide eyes, "Well?" Naomi asked holding her growing tummy.
"She's fine and the babies are fine and it was totally a false alarm. She's not in labor." Micky said.
"Praise God!" the girls cried out in joy lifting their arms to the sky.
"Wait a minute, then what happened with the bed?" Louise asked.
Micky walked over to the girls and whispered something into their ears. "We'll go right now, Micky. Don't worry about a thing." Samantha and Louise said running out to the car.
Naomi stayed there with Peter and said, "Praise God, she's okay."
"Yes, that was wonderful news." Peter said yawning.
About half an hour later, Elaine walked out smiling at her friends. "False alarm everyone. I'm so sorry."
"For what, Laney? You have nothing to be sorry about." Naomi said walking over to her friend and giving her a hug and kiss. The two friends walked out to the car and Peter and Micky got them situated inside.
Peter asked Micky, "Your heart slowed down yet?"
"Not yet, but it will." Micky replied.
Peter drove everyone home while Micky closed his eyes and breathed. His asthma was acting up from his nervousness about the babies.
Once everyone was at home, Samantha and Louise held open the outside door for their friends. Then they helped Elaine to the apartment. "Thanks everyone. I'm sorry it was a false alarm."
"We're just glad you and the babies are okay, Elaine." Samantha said giving Elaine a hug.
"Me too," Elaine said with tears in her eyes. "I didn't know what was happening."
"Why were you screaming in the ER, Laney?" Louise asked.
"Because when you're pregnant all of your pride goes to heck when people have to do exams." Elaine replied.
"I see," Samantha said looking at Louise.
"Well, she needs to get more rest now everyone. Thank you so much for coming to the hospital with us."
"You're welcome, Micky. That's why we're here." Samantha said and then walked to her apartment and crashed on the couch. She turned on her reading light and screamed, "Ahhhh."
Louise walked down the hallway and asked, "What is it?"
"Nothing, I'm fine. Goodnight." Sam replied.
"Okay, night." Louise replied walking back to her own apartment.
Sam asked, "What on earth are you doing here and how on earth did you get in?"
"I had my key," the person said. "Where were all of you?"
"At the hospital. We thought Laney was in labor but it was a false alarm." Sam replied.
"Is she okay?" the person asked.
"Yes, she's fine and so are the babies." Sam replied.
"Well, that's wonderful." the person said.
"Mike, what on earth are you doing here for?" Sam asked.
"I wanted to surprise you by coming home earlier than expected." Mike said.
"Well, you can go back to Texas, where you want to be anyway." Sam said standing up from the couch and walking into her bedroom closing the door behind her.
Mike blew out a breath of frustration and walked to the bedroom door. "Sam, don't push me away." he said.
"Go away and leave me alone," Sam called out after curling up under her covers.
"Whatever happened to forgive and forget, Sam?" Mike asked. "You preach about that all the time, but yet you don't follow-through with it yourself."
Sam screamed, "Get out or I will call the police."
Naomi told Peter, "He's over there."
"How do you know?" he asked.
"She just screamed get out or I will call the police. You better go and tell him to go home."
"Why me?" Peter asked.
"You're his friend, Peter." Naomi said.
"Big deal so are Micky and Davy." Peter replied.
"Micky's dealing with Elaine. You need to go get rid of him." Naomi said.
Peter put on his shoes and went to the hallway opening up Sam's apartment door. "Sam?" he said walking inside.
"Peter, get him out." Sam cried. "Please."
Peter looked at Mike and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to talk to her." Mike replied. "Obviously, it's never going to happen." Mike left Sam's apartment after leaving the key on her table. He wanted nothing to do with her anymore, unless she came to him first.
Peter walked to the bedroom door and opened it, "Sam, he's gone."
"Thank you, Peter." Sam said giving him a hug and kiss.
"He left your apartment key on the table." Peter said.
"Good," Sam replied. "Thank you for coming over to check on me."
"You're welcome. Naomi hopes you're okay." Peter replied.
"Yes, please tell her not to worry, I'm fine." Sam said.
"Okay goodnight."
"Night, Peter."
Chapter 12
Chapter 14
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