Chapter Text
December 25, 1993
Los Angeles, CA
Maureen and Scott's Apartment
Even though it was a bit earlier than they intended, Maureen and Scott were excited to become parents. Maureen had found out she was pregnant just three weeks ago, and even though she was only nine weeks along, her excitement was growing. She couldn't wait to break the news to her parents and Megan, who were currently in California with them for Christmas, the following morning. Thankfully, she managed to avoid a vomiting episode (though not a nausea spell) in their presence so her family - especially her mother - wouldn't suspect anything.
Unfortunately, all of that joy would be short-lived.
It was 5:00 in the morning when Maureen woke up to back pain and later some pelvic pain, followed by the familiar feeling of some fluids trickling into her underwear. As she climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to investigate, she only continued to feel more of it dripping out. Once she turned on the bathroom lights, she noticed that the inseams of her pants were saturated with blood.
She was by no means an expert, but she knew that this was not a good sign.
Not wanting to wake up her parents or her sister, Maureen, while in excruciating pain, limped back toward her and Scott's bedroom and shook him awake.
"Scott," Maureen, hovering over her husband, whimpered as she roughly shook him. "Scott, wake up."
Scott, who was still half-asleep, stirred as he sat up, fumbling for the switch on the bedside lamp to turn it on. "What?" He asked groggily.
"I'm bleeding," Maureen gasped in pain, digging her nails into the bedsheets as she leaned against the bed.
When Scott turned on the light, he became fully awake as he heard his wife's words and then noticed a crimson blotch in the inseam of her pajama pants.
Without hesitation or even asking any questions, the adrenaline kicked in and he immediately sprang out of bed, slipped on the nearest pair of shoes, and then escorted Maureen out to the kitchen so he could grab the car keys to take her to the hospital.
Once Scott retrieved his keys after a few seconds of frantic searching, Maureen had a sudden urge to push as she felt even more blood drip down her leg as she felt something coming down, but figured she probably shouldn't do that.
Whatever was happening down there, she didn't want to look at it or have any of it drop down her leg and onto the floor...especially if what she felt coming down was her baby.
Scott then remembered that Maureen's folks would be wondering where they were in the next hour or two, so he fumbled around the kitchen for a sticky note and a pen to leave a note for them.
"Hurry up, Scott," Maureen grunted, leaning against the table and then sinking to the floor as her pain intensified. This felt like her period, but much worse. A sudden wave of nausea hit her, and she threw up onto the kitchen floor. "God damn it," she groaned, her mind suddenly worrying about the puddle of sick on the floor for a brief moment.
Scott finished writing the brief note in less than five seconds once he got ahold of a pen and paper. "Alright, let's go," he consoled as he scooped Maureen into his arms and then carried her to their Toyota Camry since she was in so much pain that she couldn't walk. He didn't even care to grab his pager.
Once they reached their car in the parking garage, Scott placed Maureen in the front passenger seat and buckled her in before rushing to the driver's seat on the other side.
"It's going to be okay," he reassured, reaching over to squeeze Maureen's knee. She was whimpering, clutching her lower abdomen and curling her knees into a fetal position.
Immediately, Scott turned the ignition and sped off to the nearest hospital. Thankfully, there was hardly any traffic at this hour.
Throughout the entire ride to the hospital, Maureen felt as if something was about to come out of her, but she tried hard to prevent it from happening by pressing her hand between her legs.
They didn't fully realize how heavily Maureen was bleeding until they arrived at the bright lights of the ER. Some blood was even flowing down past her knee.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Maureen was quickly taken to an empty bed. A nurse immediately removed everything below her waist and covered her lower half with a sheet to assess what was going on down there. A doctor then performed a Doppler ultrasound, confirming that there was no fetal heartbeat and that Maureen was experiencing a miscarriage.
To make things worse, the doctor informed them that, upon further examination, Maureen had passed some blood clots and the gestational sac was already protruding through her cervix. He also explained she was at risk for hemorrhage or sepsis and was going to need a D&C to prevent any further complications.
Maureen, still disoriented and groggy from the anesthesia, slowly regained consciousness as she awoke to Scott sitting by her bedside, holding her hand as he tried to stay strong for her. The doctor told them the procedure went smoothly and that it wouldn't affect Maureen's chances of having another baby, but that didn't make this whole experience any better...and trying again was the last thing on either of their minds.
They were already attached to this baby and excited for it. Also, the fact that it was Christmas morning made this whole experience even worse. This morning, they were supposed to tell her parents and Megan, and then make phone calls to Scott's family and Maureen's brothers to tell them that there would be a new addition to the family.
Unbeknownst to Maureen, Frank and Sue were already in the waiting room, waiting for her to come around. Apparently, Megan got up early and noticed the puddle of vomit (which she could tell couldn't have been made by Maureen and Scott's cat or dachshund) and Scott's note, then woke up her parents to tell them what was going on. Since Scott and Maureen left their pagers at home and Scott only wrote that they went to the hospital (not telling them which one in this big metropolitan city) because Maureen was bleeding, Frank and Sue were frantically going through the phonebook and calling every ER to ask if Maureen was there so they could have a taxi bring them to whatever hospital she was at. Eventually, they figured it out when Scott used a hospital payphone to call them and let them know what had happened.
"Scott, I'm sorry," sniffed Maureen, who was cradling her belly even though there was no longer a life growing inside there anymore. She felt completely numb.
"Honey, it's..." Scott gulped as he tried to hold back his tears while he struggled to pick the right words to say to Maureen, squeezing her hand and kissing it. "It's going to be okay."
A painful silence hung in the air between them, thick with unspoken words and heavy emotions. The quiet stretched on, each passing second amplifying the sadness and grief as the couple exchanged glances, neither of them knowing how to break the silence.
"Your parents are in the waiting room," Scott informed hesitantly, exhaling deeply. "Do you want me to go get them? They're...they're really worried about you."
Albeit hesitantly, Maureen nodded tearfully. "Just my mom, please."
"Of course," Scott sighed. He didn't even kiss Maureen before he left the room to get Sue.
As soon as Sue stepped into the room, her heart sank at the sight of her daughter in such an emotionally fragile state. Maureen, who finally mustered the strength to sit up, finally allowed the dam to break and let the tears fall.
"Mommy," Maureen sobbed, her voice trembling as she finally allowed herself to call her mother that for the first time in seventeen years.
"Oh, sweetheart," Sue sat down next to Maureen on the bed, wrapping an arm around her and letting her cry into her shoulder. "Come here."
"I lost my baby," she muffled.
"I'm here," Sue whispered, running her hand in circles over her daughter's back. "I'm right here."