"Midnight Alarm"

Ashley jolted awake, her heart racing as she gasped for breath. She was disoriented for a moment, but as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that it was 2am and Ryan was still fast asleep beside her. She tried to calm herself down, thinking it was just a bad dream, but then she felt it again - a sharp pain in her abdomen. She sat up in bed, her hands instinctively going to her belly. Ryan stirred awake, groggy. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep. Ashley couldn't speak, she was too scared. She pointed to her stomach, her eyes wide with fear. Ryan sat up quickly, and that's when he saw it - a patch of blood on the sheets. "Oh my god," he whispered, his face pale. "Ashley, get out of bed, now." Ashley slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed, her heart racing. Ryan jumped out of bed and grabbed a towel, holding it against her stomach. "Call the hospital," he said, his voice shaking. "We need to get you there, now." Ashley nodded, her mind racing. She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed the hospital's number, her hands shaking as she tried to explain the situation to the operator. Twenty-six weeks pregnant, and everything had been going smoothly. The baby, a boy they had found out at the 20-week scan, had been growing strong and healthy. They had even started getting the nursery ready, with Erica's help. But now, it seemed like everything was falling apart. As Ryan helped Ashley get dressed, she couldn't help but think of all the things that could go wrong. She had heard of premature babies, of complications during pregnancy, of worst-case scenarios. The hospital operator assured them that an ambulance was on its way, and Ryan tried to calm Ashley down, holding her close. "It's going to be okay," he whispered. "We're going to get through this, together." But as they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Ashley couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that had settled in her stomach. Something was wrong, and she knew it. The sound of sirens outside their window made them both look up, and Ryan quickly helped Ashley out of the house, into the waiting ambulance. As they sped away into the night, Ashley couldn't help but wonder what was happening to her baby, and what the future held.