Gift of Love

Four hours later, Ash had been admitted to the hospital for treatment after being told why his blood pressure had dropped so low. Somehow, although no one knew exactly how, both his potassium and sodium levels had dropped just enough that, when combined like they were, it caused his blood pressure to drop too low. Had it been one or the other, rather than both, he would’ve been fine.

At the present moment, he lay on one of the most uncomfortable beds ever created in the maternity ward, listening to his unborn child’s heartbeat through the fetal monitor. Andy was laying back in the recliner at his bedside napping, considering that he’d been up since well before the sun. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the night before, considering that the twins had been acting up and the baby had spent the majority of the night trying to break his ribs. That couldn’t have possibly helped the situation that’d landed him in the hospital, but he was just glad there was an easy solution to the problem.

Sure, he hated having an IV in his arm for what felt like the nine hundredth time in his life, but if it meant that he and the baby were healthy, he could deal with it. As soon as he’d gotten settled in this monstrosity, having refused to take off his gym shorts, he was hooked up to the fetal monitor and the IV was started. That’d been three hours ago, but they couldn’t give him the sodium, or especially the potassium, too fast unless they wanted to cause him to have a heart attack.

“Ugh,” Ash groaned, trying to shift slightly. “Fuck this; my back hurts too bad to keep laying on it.”

He reached over to the rail of the bed and pressed the “Call” button, something he’d never had to do during any of the times he’d been hospitalized since his teens. Moments later, a nurse came into the room to check on him, knowing that he could’ve accidentally pressed the button in his sleep or something. He told her that he’d pressed it on purpose to ask if she could help him roll over, and she nodded. Working together, they managed to get him on his left side after she checked both his and the baby’s vitals, then she readjusted the monitor so they didn’t lose the baby’s heartbeat. He thanked her quietly and sighed softly as she left the room, hoping his husband woke up soon.

“Since when were you allowed to roll over, mio deviante?” the man in question asked softly.

“A few minutes ago when I called a nurse in here,” he answered. “Think you can rub my back? It’s killing me, which is why I wanted to roll over in the first place.”

“That’s not a problem for me,” Andy told him, moving a different chair closer to the bedside.

“Ohhh, maaan,” the bassist groaned, soon purring his relief. “That feels sooo good, mio profeta.”

“Glad ya think so,” the frontman chuckled, digging his thumbs into the small of his back as gently as he could while still making the massage effective.

KNOCK KNOCK!

“Who is it?” Andy called out, knowing his sweetheart was enjoying the massage too much to answer.

“Jake and CC,” a voice called in response.

“C’mon in, guys,” he answered, concentrating on the massage again.

“How’re ya feeling, Ash?” Jake asked, squatting down on the other side of the bed where he could see him.

“Like shit, given that I’m trapped in a hospital again,” Ash answered, barely opening his eyes. “Other than that, I guess I’m doing all right.”

“So what happened?” CC asked, a note of concern in his voice, as he settled on the couch under the window, his and Jake’s son beside him.

“His blood pressure dropped insanely too low,” Andy answered. “He said he felt like it was too high or too low, and you guys know I can check someone’s blood pressure.”

“Yeah, you’ve done that for us, and even Sammi, when we weren’t feeling quite right,” the drummer agreed, nodding.

“Well, when I checked it, it was eighty-two over fifty-four. That’s insanely too low for a pregnant person,” he said. “That’s usually too low for someone who’s not, but for someone whose blood pressure should be slightly higher than normal due to the pregnancy… And that’s while keeping in mind that his is usually one-thirty over seventy, give or take, at this stage of pregnancy.”

“Well, I can see that he’s on an IV now,” Jake said. “They figure out what was wrong?”

“Yeah. Apparently both my sodium and potassium levels dropped too low,” Ash answered. “Thanks for the massage, mio profeta.”

“Molto prego, mio deviante. Anyway, the doctor said that if it’d been one or the other that’d dropped, he would’ve been fine, even though he’s pregnant,” the frontman continued. “But since it was both, on top of his pregnancy, his body couldn’t handle it.”

“We’re just glad you’re all right, man,” the guitarist said, giving him a hug as best he could.

“You want us to go get the twins and watch ’em tonight?” CC asked. Considering that his son was the same age, it’d given him someone to play with and they’d be in good hands.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Andy agreed. “I doubt they’re gonna release him before tomorrow, and I’ve already made it clear that I’m not leaving unless my house is burning down, or one of my kids is dying. Think you can have Jinxx and Sammi take Rori home with them?”

“Yeah, we can do that,” the drummer answered, nodding. “Anything specific we need to know about the twins?”

“Nothing too serious. Just do not let them get into peanut butter,” he told him. “They were diagnosed with an allergy to nuts recently, and that could kill them.”

“Have they got Epi-pens or anything that we can take, just in case?” Jake asked.

“They should have a couple already in their diaper bags,” Andy answered. “If not, look in the medicine cabinet of the hallway bathroom upstairs. I can’t think of anywhere else they’d be if they’re not in either of those two places.”

“In the medicine cabinet in our bathroom,” Ash spoke up. “I was afraid Rori might get into them, so I started keeping them there, if they’re not in their diaper bags.”

The second BVB family didn’t stay much longer afterward, knowing the bassist needed his rest and that visiting hours were over soon. Andy, being his husband, was likely going to be the only one allowed to stay by his side until his release, and as stubborn as the frontman was, they doubted the nurses and doctors would convince him otherwise. Besides they, along with Jinxx and Sammi, were perfectly capable of taking care of the twins and Rori overnight, maybe for two, despite the drummer also being pregnant again.

After the Pittses left, the young couple settled down for a night of discomfort and waiting. They were glad that what’d landed Ash in the hospital in the first place wasn’t too serious and had an easy solution, although it would take time to administer. Of course, the moment he was released and got home, they were going to make sure they went to see Dr. Hill about a vitamin supplement with more potassium in it.

He already ate bananas like they were going out of style, considering that they were one of his weird cravings ever since he’d reached that stage of his pregnancy a couple weeks ago. Clearly, if he wasn’t getting the amount of potassium he needed between that and the prenatal vitamins he was already on, they needed to see about a prescription vitamin, rather than an OTC one. They didn’t want this happening again, so long as they could help it, and definitely not with an overseas mini-tour coming up. Hell, that was something else they’d have to ask the OB/GYN about when they saw her.

For the moment, Andy just kept rubbing his sweetheart’s back until he fell asleep, listening intently to both his and their child’s heartbeats on the monitors. He realized his sweetheart’s was slowing down a bit and, after watching him for a bit, he realized it was simply because he’d fallen asleep. With a sigh, he straightened up and cracked his neck and back, glad to finally be able to give his hands a break. He never complained about having to give him massages, especially while he was pregnant, because he knew the pain in his hands from doing so was nothing in comparison to what his husband went through. In fact, it was almost miniscule in comparison, especially since the bassist’s pain was on a daily basis.

“Sleep well, mio deviante,” he whispered, kissing his temple. “Ti amo più di quanto posso mai strillare.”

With a tender, loving smile on his face as he quoted part of one of BVB’s songs, Andy moved back into the recliner so he could go back to sleep himself. He was so worried and stressed that, if he wouldn’t have worried his sweetheart, he’d have snuck downstairs and outside for a cigarette, a habit he still hadn’t been able to kick. However, he didn’t want to worry Ash and cause him to have more health problems because of it, so he chose to just sleep it off, and it wasn’t long afterward that he really did fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Ash was awake with the sun as he normally was. He’d gotten a nurse to come in the middle of the night and help him to the bathroom, considering that he had to be unhooked from the fetal monitor long enough to do so, and had to take the IV pole with him. He was hoping that he’d get discharged sometime that day, as he was ready to go back home, but it all depended on his lab results.

For the moment, he was content with just laying back and watching his husband sleep in the recliner next to him while playing with his wedding set. He often caught himself unconsciously twisting it around in circles on his finger since their wedding almost three years ago, a habit that he doubted he’d ever break, but unless one of the stones came loose and popped out, he didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t or shouldn’t. Andy’s own onyx-embedded wedding band gleamed in the sunlight streaming through the partially-open blinds, reminding him that they were in this together and could make it.

Ash sighed softly as he rested his hands on his small baby bump, feeling the baby within gently kicking at him for once. He’d felt all of his childrens’ movements around this stage of pregnancy, although he’d mistaken the twins’ movements for gas since he didn’t know he was pregnant. That one small miracle alone was enough to bring a smile to his face, and he gently caressed the dome that housed said child. He was still in awe that he was able to have children, due to his sexuality, but was grateful, nonetheless.

“Buongiorno, mio deviante.”

He glanced up at the basement-deep, gravelly voice of his husband, who’d just woken up and was stretching his arms above his head. “Buongiorno, mio profeta.”

“How’d you sleep last night?” Andy asked, groaning as he cracked his stiff back.

“’Bout as well as I could in this monstrosity they call a bed,” he grumbled, wishing he had the freedom to pop his own back.

“Aww, I’m sorry,” the baby of the band said, giving him a gentle kiss. “Want me to go find out when you can get the Hell outta here?”

“Can you? My back needs cracking like you wouldn’t believe, but they won’t let me move so I can crack it,” Ash pouted.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he promised, kissing him again.

“Obviously, I’ll be waiting,” he answered.

Once again, he rested his hands on his growing belly, enjoying feeling their baby prodding at them through the muscle and flesh. There was no way for him to describe the sensation of a child kicking within him, but it gave him a sense of awe to know that, without him for nourishment and his husband for fertilization, this little life wouldn’t exist at all.

He was lost in watching the sunlight glint off his wedding set as his hand moved along with his belly when his husband and a doctor returned. In fact, he was zoned out so much that he didn’t even realize they’d walked in until Andy leaned down to give him a gentle kiss, causing him to gasp and blush slightly. Ash apologized for having zoned out and paid attention as the OB/GYN caring for him, whom happened to be one of Dr. Hill’s partners at her practice, told him what to do to stave off another “attack” like this. She told him that, upon contacting her partner, he’d already been prescribed a different prenatal vitamin full of potassium, and all they had to do was head over to their regular pharmacy to pick it up.

Andy thanked her, asking if there was anything else they needed to be aware of before they left, and the doctor, Dr. Park, shook her head. She told them she couldn’t think of anything else that needed to be brought to their attention, although she said that Dr. Hill was going to be out of town on the date of Ash’s next appointment with her. Thankful she’d given them some advanced warning that most patients normally wouldn’t have gotten, they said their farewells as she left.

The bassist heaved a sigh of relief in knowing that both he and their child were perfectly fine, although they’d given his husband, their friends, and his doctor one helluva scare. He grinned at said husband, who handed him his shirt to put back on, and squatted down to get his shoes on him. Now disconnected from the fetal monitor and having a piece of gauze over his arm where the IV had been, all he had to do was go to the nurse’s station to sign his discharge paperwork. Andy insisted on carrying him out there, not wanting him to push himself too much, and he was perfectly content with that.

“Do you need a wheelchair, sirs?” one of the nurses asked as they signed the discharge paperwork.

“Nah, I’ve got him,” Andy answered, shaking his head. “Won’t be the first time I’ve picked him up, and while he was pregnant, to boot.”

“Are you sure? Even though he looks skinny, appearances can be deceiving,” she said.

“Look, lady, I just carried him down here from his room,” he growled testily. “I can manage him just fine.”

The crack she’d taken at his weight reminded him of so many years ago, especially right around the time when he’d met his husband, and he couldn’t look up any longer.

“Ashes? What’s wrong, mio deviante?” the frontman asked, lifting his chin up.

“Cosa che cagna ha detto circa il mio peso ha iniziato ottenendo me,” Ash answered miserably, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

“I’m not normally this rude to medical personnel, but thanks a lot, bitch,” he snapped, hugging his husband close as he wiped away his tears.

“What’s going on out here?” Dr. Park asked, shocked to see her patient in tears.

“Something one of your nurses here said triggered a bad reaction from Ash,” Andy answered, gently kissing his forehead. “Shhh, tesoro. It’s okay. I love you, and that’s all that matters.”

“Which one was it, and what did they say?” the OB/GYN asked, a stern tone to her voice.

“That one, and she made a comment about how, although he appeared to be skinny, appearances can be deceiving when I said that I could carry him out and didn’t need a wheelchair,” he told her.

“Considering that my practice owns this floor of the hospital, and you’ve been warned thrice by both my partners and twice by myself, Kelly, pack your things. Your employment is now terminated,” she told the nurse he’d pointed out. “We won’t stand for you constantly harassing and insulting our patients, whether it’s in a direct or back-handed manner.”

“You didn’t have to do that, Dr. Park,” Ash said softly, looking up at the OB/GYN.

“Oh, but I did, Ashley.” She gave him a gentle smile. “You see, we have a protocol that we follow, both in this ward and in our practice. If one of our employees gets three warnings from all three of us who started the practice, they get fired. This would’ve been her third warning from me, ninth in total, and she would’ve gotten fired, whether it was on the spot or later on.”

“Ah, I see,” he murmured, nodding.

“Still, I’m sorry she said such a thing to you.” Dr. Park scowled. “One never knows when such a thing will trigger a negative reaction in a patient, and we’ve been trying to tell her that.”

“If it weren’t for the fact that we’re both recovering anorexics, even almost a decade later, I wouldn’t have gotten pissed at her for it,” Andy explained. “I haven’t thought about relapsing since I met Ash, but I know he struggled with the condition far worse, and for far longer, than I did.”

“And with his hormones all over the place and his body undergoing many changes, it’s not a good thing to say something like that to him,” the OB/GYN agreed in an understanding manner.

“Exactly. I don’t want him trying to hurt himself again, but damn sure not while he’s pregnant.” He hugged his spouse tightly. “Don’t you ever think you’re not beautiful, Ashes. You’re more beautiful than any precious gem on this planet to me, and I’m awed by that beauty every day. In fact, your beauty only multiplies when you’re pregnant because you’re so happy while creating a new life.”

“You have such a gift with words, mio profeta,” Ash said shyly, hiding his face as he gently smacked his chest.

“That was so beautiful, Andy,” the OB/GYN and remaining nurses said, some of them borderline fangirling.

“It’s the truth, whether anyone else sees it or not.” He shrugged. “I see beauty in things that most others don’t, and my husband means more to me than I can say. To quote the lyrics of a song I wrote for him one time, ‘I love you more than I can ever scream’.”

Grinning, the bassist looked up and gently locked their lips together as he swept him up into his arms, hugging him tightly to his chest. The nurses all cooed and gushed over their combined beauty, clapping softly at such a beautiful scene, while their boss stood back and grinned at them. Once they ended their kiss, he snuggled comfortably into his husband’s arms and rested his head on his shoulder, turning it so he could bury his face into his neck, and allowed him to carry him to the elevator.

Once inside it with the doors closed, Andy gently set him down to make sure his arms didn’t give out on him while carrying him to the car. He knew that he hadn’t done that because he couldn’t handle his weight; even as tall and lanky as he was, the young frontman was far stronger than anyone realized at first glance. He just set him down for the moment to be damn sure he didn’t drop him, thus hurting him and their baby.

When the elevator reached the ground floor and dinged, he picked him back up as the doors slid open to let them out. They both ignored any looks they were given by passers-by, pretending they were in another dimension all on their own where the haters didn’t exist. All that mattered to them right now was each other and their babies, and nothing else. They never heard others yelling hateful comments about their sexuality at them, if they even figured out that Ash was a guy, nor how they thought the one being carried was a fat-ass who needed to go on a diet.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their car, where Andy gently settled his sweetheart into the front seat, as he’d done on numerous occasions. He grinned at him as he strapped his seat belt around himself, taking care to keep it loose around his belly, and watched him walk around the hood to the driver’s side. He’d already brought the bag he’d packed for them back down earlier this morning while Ash was asleep, so it was sitting in the floor board in the back. He heaved a soft sigh of relief as rested his hands on his belly once again while his lover cranked the car, more than ready to get home. With a smile on his face, he managed to arch his back enough to crack it, then dozed off on the ride through insane amounts of traffic home.

Notes