lie back on the table.”
Moving up beside her, he slid the shoulder of her gown down. Tate suddenly found a scuff mark on the floor of major interest, but not before he caught a glimpse of one bare breast.
“Hmm. A little tender?”
Abby must have nodded in answer, because the doctor continued. “That’s to be expected at this stage. Nothing to worry about and it’ll go away soon.”
There were more rustling noises. “Okay, you can slip that back on now.”
Tate inhaled and looked up. Surely that would be the worst of it. It wasn’t. Not by a long shot. Just about the time he was starting to relax, the doctor pulled up what looked like metal stirrups from the end of the table and put Abby’s feet in them.
“Scoot your bottom down to the very edge. We need to take a look and make sure everything is where it should be.” When Abby complied, looking almost as panicked as Tate felt, the doctor parked himself on a stool between her legs. The nurse helped him put on rubber gloves and then handed him a tool that looked suspiciously like a post hole digger to Tate.
Surely he wasn’t going to… Tate blanched. Apparently he was, indeed. His stomach rolled. That must hurt like hell. His gaze shot to Abby’s face, but she was staring fixedly at a spot on the ceiling.
It was only a minute or two before the doctor handed the post-hole digger back to the nurse, but to Tate it felt like hours.
Doctor Spanos patted Abby’s sheet covered leg. “Everything looks normal and you’re right about the dates. I’d put you at about seven weeks along. Just relax there a second and we’ll take a look at the baby and see how it’s doing.”
Take a look at the baby? Tate was still trying to decide whether or not to protest when the nurse moved to a machine behind the table and pulled out a long wand-looking thing. When she rolled a condom down on it and coated it with lubricating lotion, Tate broke out in a sweat.
As the nurse flipped switches on the machine, the doctor bent over Abby again, doing something mysterious under the sheet.
There was a burst of static and the doctor, nurse and Abby all turned their heads toward a flickering light.
“Dad, you might want to move a little closer so you can see this, too.”
Slowly, Tate got to his feet and moved to stand near Abby’s head, his eyes on the screen beside her. He stared at it for a second before he realized what he was seeing. Most of the screen was white, but there was a darker half-arc in the center. And inside that arc, something was moving. Awe ran through Tate, filled him to near bursting. His breath caught in his chest. “My God,” he whispered. “Look! Is that the baby?”
Doctor Spanos chuckled from the end of the table. “It’s always easy to tell who the first-time parents are. Yes, that’s the baby.”
Tate tore his gaze away from the screen and looked down at Abby. She looked like she was about to cry again, but she was smiling. At the same moment their hands moved, fingers joining tightly together.
“There’s its head.” The doctor pointed out a larger, rounder shape on one end. “Let’s see if we can get it to hold still long enough to get a fix on its size. Sure is an energetic little thing.”
Tate looked back at the screen intently. After some shifting around and some loud static, the shadowed image of a curve appeared, indistinct, but obviously alive and active. Unconsciously, his grip on Abby’s hand tightened.
The image on the screen froze and several dots popped up with a white line stretching between them.
“What’s wrong?” Tate glanced at the doctor.
“Not a thing. Just getting some measurements. We’ll print this out for you so you can show it off to all your relatives. Baby’s first picture.”
The machine clicked and then spit out a strip of paper. The frozen image vanished and Tate could see the baby moving, almost bouncing from one side of the dark area to the other.
“Can you tell if it’s a boy or
Moving up beside her, he slid the shoulder of her gown down. Tate suddenly found a scuff mark on the floor of major interest, but not before he caught a glimpse of one bare breast.
“Hmm. A little tender?”
Abby must have nodded in answer, because the doctor continued. “That’s to be expected at this stage. Nothing to worry about and it’ll go away soon.”
There were more rustling noises. “Okay, you can slip that back on now.”
Tate inhaled and looked up. Surely that would be the worst of it. It wasn’t. Not by a long shot. Just about the time he was starting to relax, the doctor pulled up what looked like metal stirrups from the end of the table and put Abby’s feet in them.
“Scoot your bottom down to the very edge. We need to take a look and make sure everything is where it should be.” When Abby complied, looking almost as panicked as Tate felt, the doctor parked himself on a stool between her legs. The nurse helped him put on rubber gloves and then handed him a tool that looked suspiciously like a post hole digger to Tate.
Surely he wasn’t going to… Tate blanched. Apparently he was, indeed. His stomach rolled. That must hurt like hell. His gaze shot to Abby’s face, but she was staring fixedly at a spot on the ceiling.
It was only a minute or two before the doctor handed the post-hole digger back to the nurse, but to Tate it felt like hours.
Doctor Spanos patted Abby’s sheet covered leg. “Everything looks normal and you’re right about the dates. I’d put you at about seven weeks along. Just relax there a second and we’ll take a look at the baby and see how it’s doing.”
Take a look at the baby? Tate was still trying to decide whether or not to protest when the nurse moved to a machine behind the table and pulled out a long wand-looking thing. When she rolled a condom down on it and coated it with lubricating lotion, Tate broke out in a sweat.
As the nurse flipped switches on the machine, the doctor bent over Abby again, doing something mysterious under the sheet.
There was a burst of static and the doctor, nurse and Abby all turned their heads toward a flickering light.
“Dad, you might want to move a little closer so you can see this, too.”
Slowly, Tate got to his feet and moved to stand near Abby’s head, his eyes on the screen beside her. He stared at it for a second before he realized what he was seeing. Most of the screen was white, but there was a darker half-arc in the center. And inside that arc, something was moving. Awe ran through Tate, filled him to near bursting. His breath caught in his chest. “My God,” he whispered. “Look! Is that the baby?”
Doctor Spanos chuckled from the end of the table. “It’s always easy to tell who the first-time parents are. Yes, that’s the baby.”
Tate tore his gaze away from the screen and looked down at Abby. She looked like she was about to cry again, but she was smiling. At the same moment their hands moved, fingers joining tightly together.
“There’s its head.” The doctor pointed out a larger, rounder shape on one end. “Let’s see if we can get it to hold still long enough to get a fix on its size. Sure is an energetic little thing.”
Tate looked back at the screen intently. After some shifting around and some loud static, the shadowed image of a curve appeared, indistinct, but obviously alive and active. Unconsciously, his grip on Abby’s hand tightened.
The image on the screen froze and several dots popped up with a white line stretching between them.
“What’s wrong?” Tate glanced at the doctor.
“Not a thing. Just getting some measurements. We’ll print this out for you so you can show it off to all your relatives. Baby’s first picture.”
The machine clicked and then spit out a strip of paper. The frozen image vanished and Tate could see the baby moving, almost bouncing from one side of the dark area to the other.
“Can you tell if it’s a boy or
Similar Books
