Inge insisted on meeting her there, too. "I'll bring Hayley with me."
"Inge, you don't really have to go to all that trouble. I'm fine."
"Linda," she said, which surprised her since Inge rarely addressed her by her name. "You're like a younger sister to me. I need to make sure you're all right."
When she called Stephen's office, one of the bored-sounding secretaries said "He's in a meeting."
"Could you get him?" Linda requested. "This is urgent. I'm being taken to the hospital."
Not more than a few seconds later, she heard Stephen's excited, and panicked voice. "Lin! What happened?"
"I had a little leakage while I've been out. Probably nothing major. But a friend is going to drive me to North so Dr. Leifheit can get a look at me." After a few moments, during which she could hear Stephen pant, she added "It's nothing major. I'm not in pain or anything, and there's no bleeding."
"I can be there in half an hour."
As Linda and Maggie left the building, she realized that Stephen might make it there even before she did. Maggie drove a low slung, elegant Mercedes convertible. As she gunned the engine, Linda patted her wrist and said "Now I don't want you speeding all the way there. This isn't that big of a deal."
Bethesda North was on the other side of the city, but it was accessible by highways. It was not quite five o'clock. Linda hoped they would not get stuck in traffic. All along the ride, she marveled over how she got to see a side of the dance studio owner that she never saw before. Maggie was playing the role of no-nonsense savior of the day. She kept patting Linda and saying "Relax, everything's going to be okay." They reached the parking lot and found a space.
Maggie held her shoulders as they briskly walked to the door marked "Maternity."
The receptionist at the front window checked her in, asked her a few questions, and before Linda knew what was happening, two volunteers brought a wheelchair for her and brought her back to one of the birthing suites. "But I'm only seven months along! It's only a trickle, " Linda said, as they wheeled her away.
At the birthing suite, they had her change into a hospital gown and connected her to vitals monitors. Linda could not believe they were making such a big fuss, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Maggie, strangely enough, was not allowed to stay in the birthing suite with her because she was not family. This disappointed Linda, but she told Maggie that she only needed to sit in the waiting room until Stephen had arrived.