*Chapter 38*

David had just got in and he had decided to phone Janice again hoping that she would talk to him this time. He dialled her number and waited for her to pick up, but she didn’t and it went to her voicemail. He frowned and left her a quick message then hung up. He was worried about her, not because she was pregnant, he’d realised he’d been acting like a total idiot over that, but there was something else worrying him and he couldn’t put his finger on it. He sighed and got ready for bed then lying on the bed switched the tv on and started to watch a film. He would try calling again later.

David was worried, he had gone to sleep and had woken up the next day and found no message from Janice and when he tried phoning her again, he still only got the answer phone. He went to the studio and told the others how he was feeling. “Why don’t you phone your mum and get her to try reaching her?” said Urs. Seb nodded and said “She might just be not answering when you call, you did say that you hadn’t made up before you left.” David nodded and pulled out his phone and dialled his mum’s number, he talked to her quickly explaining what had happened between him and Janice and how she wasn’t answering him now and he was worried and wanted her to try talking to her for him, then he listened as him mum told him off about the way he had been treating her. He then hung up and said “Why do all women have to agree on everything?” The others stared at him and he shook his head and said “Don’t worry, I’m just muttering.” He did feel a bit better though knowing that his mum would find out how she was for him. They started their recording then and kept going through lunchtime and just stopping in time for a late dinner. They were all leaving the studio as David was switching his phone back on. It beeped a few times and he looked at it and said “OMG” The others stared at him as he dialled a number and he held up his hand to tell them to be quiet. They looked at each other, all as confused as the other. David hung up and dialled another number saying “Mum’s called four times, she’s left me a message telling me she found Janice at home and she’s taken her to the hospital.” Urs took out his phone and called Auds and Carlos was about to say something when David started speaking “Mum, thank god, what’s happened, where is she, how is she, how’s the baby?” He was silent for a minute then his face fell and a tear ran down his face. He pushed it away and said “How long are they going to keep her in for and can you give me the number of the hospital?” He was silent again then he pulled a pen out of his bag and wrote the number on his hand. “Okay, thanks mum and please don’t leave her alone too much in there.” then he hung up and dialled the number he had written on his hand.

It rung for ages then a nurse answered it and he asked if he could speak to a patient called Janice. The line went quiet for a minute then David heard Janice’s voice saying “David, I’m so sorry.” then he heard her sniffing and realised she was crying. “Hey Jan, its me who should be sorry, I was an idiot and I should never have walked away from you without telling you that.” He could hear her still sniffing and struggling to speak and he wished he was there and could wrap his arms round her and tell her it was going to be okay. “I don’t know what happened, one minute I was fine and the next minute I couldn’t move, I had this incredible pain in my stomach. I went to the doctor and he said it was normal to have some kind of discomfort in the early stages and gave me some painkillers and told me to rest up for a few days. But, it got worse and that’s why I never answered the phone, it hurt too much to move.” The tears were running down David’s face now and he said “The baby? Is it okay or…” he trailed off and couldn’t finish what he was going to say. Janice sniffed and said “The hospital did a scan and said that the baby’s heartbeat was weak, but still there, they found that I had an infection in my stomach lining which was causing the pain, but until it clears up they’ve said its still possible for me to lose the baby, which is why they’re keeping me in for a while, so that they can treat the infection and keep an eye on the baby’s heartbeat.” David felt his heart sink and he said “You know I would be there with you as soon as I could be if I could Jan, but I really don’t think that I’ll be able to leave just now, but I’ve asked mum to stay close by and I’ll call you everyday as often as I can.” “Its okay David, I wasn’t expecting you to come back, its too far and you’ve only just left. I’ll be fine with your mum, you just carry on with the album, I can’t wait to hear it and I want to be able to play it to the baby so it can hear how good daddy’s voice is.” she said. David gave a weak smile and said “Okay babe, I’ll talk to you later, I love you so much.” “I love you too baby and I’m sorry I got mad at you.” said Janice then hung up and laid the phone down for the nurse to come back and collect.

David looked round him and realised he was sitting on the kerb of the pavement. He looked up at the others who were looking worried and said “When did I sit down?” They just looked at him and Urs said “What's wrong with Janice? Is the baby okay? He stood up and took a deep breath then said “At the moment yes, but they say she might still lose it yet.” he felt some tears run down his face and Seb put his arm around him as he said “I’m only just getting used to the fact that I’m going to be a daddy and now I may not be.” He brushed the tears away and said “Janice has a nasty infection in her stomach lining which the doctor she went to didn’t notice and sent her home with painkillers and the pain got so bad that she couldn’t move which is why she never answered the phone. They’re going to keep her in the hospital while they treat her so that they can keep an eye on the baby’s heartbeat as well.” The others just looked at him in shock and Seb tightened his arm round him as David finally let the tears flow freely. After he’d calmed down a bit they got him into the car and drove him home. Once inside Urs said “I phoned Auds to tell her something was wrong and she said she would get Sonia and Michelle and come round here, they should be here soon.” David smiled and said “Thanks guys, I really don’t think that I could handle being alone tonight, it would give me too much time to think about things.” Carlos patted him on the shoulder and said “That’s what friends are for, being there when they’re needed.”

Janice was let out of the hospital a week later after the doctors were happy that the infection had gone away and she wasn’t in any more danger. They had advised her to take it easy and not try and do too much. They had also done another scan and the baby’s heartbeat had got stronger and looked as if it was going to make it. David had been on the phone so often over the week that he knew all the nurses just by hearing their voices and he was so thankful to them for looking after his girl for him. Janice was planning a surprise for David and was going into work to see her boss the next day to see if he would help her with it.