For His Forever by Kelly Favor

could almost imagine him as the old man he’d one day become, and she loved him even more somehow for that—for his humanness.
    When she’d first met him, Red had been completely foreign, out of reach, strange and unattainable. Now she reflected on the fact that she knew him better than anybody in the world, and he’d opened himself completely to her.
    Nicole sat up in bed and slowly swung her legs over the edge. Her feet struck the floor. She looked down at them and noticed they seemed unusually swollen. She knew that it was normal for feet to swell during pregnancy, and certainly hers already had, but this was different.
    She told herself she was just being paranoid again.
    Nicole gathered herself and then stood, a task that was becoming more and more of an effort lately. When she stood up, something strange happened.
    She started seeing spots in her vision. “Shit,” she said, to nobody in particular.
    There was a sensation of vertigo again, and then her head started to pound instantly, as if someone had taken a mallet and smashed her in the face with it.
    She stood there, swaying for a time, and closed her eyes.
    “Hey, Nic! Nicole, what’s wrong?” Red cried, coming out of the bathroom and seeing her frozen in place, head bowed.
    “I don’t feel so good,” she moaned.
    “Tell me what’s going on.” He was instantly beside her, holding her, lowering Nicole back to the bed where she sat with him as he rubbed her back.
    “Something’s wrong,” she cried.
    “What is it?”
    Nicole could hear the anxiety in his voice, even though he was trying to be calm for them both.
    “I’ve been getting headaches and dizzy spells. My stomach’s been hurting.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me? How long has this been going on?”
    “I didn’t want to think anything bad was happening.”
    “Okay. Come on, we’re going to see Dr. Rosen right away.”
    Nicole nodded miserably. She put her hand on her stomach and tried not to sob as the fear and desperation overcame her.

    ***
    The drive to the doctor’s office had been tense and quiet, with Red making lame attempts to keep things light and calm, but failing to do so. They were both petrified of losing the baby, and neither of them could pretend otherwise.
    At the hospital, they were immediately seen by Dr. Rosen, who did her best to reassure them. But when Nicole described her symptoms, the doctor grew concerned.
    “There’s swelling in the extremities, what we call edema,” the doctor said, examining Nicole’s hands. “It’s basically an excess of fluid in any body part.”
    “What does it mean?” Nicole asked, her heart racing.
    “It can mean different things—I don’t want to speak to soon.” The doctor began touching Nicole’s cheeks and sliding her fingers above and beneath Nicole’s eyes. “I think I’m detecting some swelling around your eyes as well.”
    Nicole glanced at Red who tried to smile at her and let her know it was okay. His arms were folded and his jaw was tight, though—she could read him like a book and he was extremely worried.
    Dr. Rosen took Nicole’s vitals—she took her blood pressure twice without saying a word, then listened to her breathing, moving the stethoscope around her chest and back for alarming lengths of time.
    “Hear anything funny?” Nicole joked in a high-pitched voice.
    Dr. Rosen didn’t even answer. She then listened to Nicole’s stomach, moving the stethoscope from place to place, and looking particularly attentive.
    Finally, the doctor sat up straight and looked at them both. “We need to test Nicole’s urine for protein, but right now I suspect her symptoms are due to preeclampsia—which is a condition that is fairly common, but needs to be monitored.”
    “Is the baby okay?” Nicole asked, her hands tightening into fists.
    Dr. Rosen nodded. “I detected a heartbeat, everything seems normal on that front.
    Your blood pressure is elevated, although not alarmingly so, but due to the symptoms you