29. Devon
“Do you have any plans for the day?” Jeremy asked as I buttered a slice of toast. He was standing at the burner, turning several slices of bacon that she was excitedly waiting for while sitting at the breakfast bar.
“Maybe a nap?” Daisy laughed, scrunching her nose. “I’m all caught up on work, so there’s not much for me to do. Why?”
As she spoke, she ripped off small bites of bacon, sneakily feeding them to Gilbert who was waiting eagerly at her feet.
“We put you on my insurance the other day, and the OBGYN has an opening today, but I’ve got practice,” he said as he scooped up a few bits of bacon, placing them on the eager omega’s plate.
“I can take her,” I said before Daisy even had a chance to answer herself.
“Don’t you have client meetings today?” Jeremy asked.
“Nothing I can’t move.” I shrugged. “Would you mind me coming with you, sweetheart?” I turned to look at her, and she looked away from her bacon to nod.
“If you really don”t mind taking some time off, I would appreciate it. It would be nice to get a look at the little parasite,” she said as she absentmindedly rubbed her belly, chomping on bacon.
“I”ll call my foreman and let him know.” I shot her a smile before taking out my phone and texting the relevant people.
A day out with the pretty omega sounded like a far better time than what I had planned, anyway.
“Be sure you ask the doctor about any vitamins she should be taking. I got her some over-the-counter ones, but I”m betting there are better ones out there for her.” Jeremy”s brows furrowed as he spoke. Knowing him as well as I did, I could tell he was unhappy he wasn”t going to get to be there himself—he probably had a million questions for the doctor.
“Text me any questions you have for the doctor. I”ll make sure we ask them.”
Jeremy’s face broke out in a grin, and he picked up his phone. “I”ll do that now.” He started tapping away at the screen...and kept typing...and typing. Daisy and I watched, our eyes slowly getting wider and wider as we realized the extent of his questions. “I would come, but I”m stupidly contracted to be at this event today,” he grumbled as he furiously typed his inquisition.
Daisy looked at me, biting her lip. “Maybe it”s for the best you”re going with me,” she whispered lowly, so only I could hear.
“His heart is in the right place,” I said back in a hushed tone.
“Oh, I know that. I just don”t want to get kicked out of the doctor”s office because he can”t stop asking questions. No matter how adorable he is as he does it, I’m sure it would annoy the doctors.”
“I”m sure they’re used to overprotective alphas by now,” I whispered. “If not, why do we pay them the big bucks?”
“You know, I can tell you’re whispering about me,” Jeremy said, eyebrows raised as he held a piece of bacon aloft. Daisy reached out for the bacon, and for a moment, I thought he was going to pull it back and keep it for himself. But one pleading look from the omega, and he was putty in her hands.
“We are just talking about how amazing you are.” Daisy beamed at him, and his stern expression melted away.
“The appointment is at eleven, so you guys will need to leave soon. It’s in Hampton,” he explained.
That was a good fifty-minute drive away. There must have been doctor”s offices nearer, but given the rather affluent area we lived in, I imagined the costs and fees for those doctors would have been astronomical, and the NHL insurance wouldn’t touch them.
Don”t get me wrong—the NHL insurance was damn good. They just wouldn”t cover the insane plastic surgeons that worked in our area.
“Is that far away?” Daisy asked around a mouthful of bacon. Somehow, even with a mouthful of bacon, her hair piled onto her head like a wild bird”s nest, she looked amazing. No other woman looked that good with her face creased from being smashed into a pillow while she slept.
“About an hour,” Jeremy supplied.
“Oh, crap!” She took her slice of bacon, giving it to the dog, slowly extracting herself from the chair. “In that case, I need to get changed and pee...and run a brush through my hair!” She ran—or at least what passed for a run at her advanced stage of pregnancy—to go do just that.
“She’s going to be a while. You know that, right?” Jeremy laughed, taking a bite of bacon as he leaned against the counter.
“I’ll give her ten minutes, then go get her,” I said, taking my dirty plate and putting it in the dishwasher.
“Good idea. Otherwise, you”re never going to make it to that appointment. I don”t think there are many available ones you can take if you miss this one.”
We made it just in time. Daisy had spent a good ten minutes trying on half of her wardrobe, searching for a top that fit. Eventually, she stole a hockey hoodie from Jeremy, declaring it would have to do.
The Riverside doctors’ office was far fancier than I had imagined. The place specialized in babies, so I’d had no reason to have ever stepped foot into the building. Everything was a muted blue color, and the walls were adorned with posters of babies. Somehow, the air even smelled fresh, instead of sterile, like most doctors’ offices did.
There was a pleasant beta woman sitting behind the counter, who greeted us warmly and instructed us to take a seat in the waiting room, and told us that the doctor would see us shortly.
Taking my seat in the plastic chair next to Daisy, I couldn’t help noticing as she ran her hand through her hair, her foot tapping constantly. She was struggling to stay still.
“Hey,” I said in a soft, hopefully soothing, tone. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, not meeting my eye. “Yeah, I”m fine. I”m just...I guess I”m nervous. I mean, I”ve only been to one appointment, and they didn”t even do a proper scan or blood tests or anything because it was a free clinic. And now I”m beginning to worry about all the things that could possibly be wrong with the little parasite, and I really want everything to go well,” she babbled like a damn had broken.
“Daisy!” My hand flew to her knee, softly forcing her jiggling leg to cease its movements. “You”re doing brilliantly. Don”t worry. If there”s anything wrong, we will take care of it. You did the best you could with the resources you had, and you shouldn”t feel ashamed about that.”
If any of the doctors or nurses made her feel bad, I would personally write a very strongly worded email, then make a few very aggressive calls.
Or I could just set Jeremy on them. I was certain, if he knew his omega was upset, he would move heaven and earth to fix it.
“Miss St. James?” a nurse called, reading the name off a clipboard.
“That’s me,” Daisy said, struggling up out of her seat. I reached out, gently gripping her upper arm to help hoist her out of the chair. The nurse looked us over, her face remaining totally neutral.
“Do you want your partner to join you or wait out here?” she asked casually.
I frowned. As far as she was concerned, I was her alpha, a member of her pack. The idea that I wouldn”t want to be with her was downright absurd.
“He can come in with me.” Daisy smiled, waving off the nurse”s question.
“Okay, then, if you would like to just follow me, the doctor”s ready for you.” The nurse gave her a sweet smile before leading the way down a corridor. “They are grabbing your file, so if you wait in here, they will only be a minute!”
She left us in a typical little doctor”s office. Daisy frowned at the elevated bed for her to sit on. “How the hell am I going to be able to get up there?” she grumbled. “This place is literally designed for pregnant women. Why are they adding tall places for the pregnant women to scale? It seems like quite the design flaw.”
I chuckled, taking a step forward before gently sweeping Daisy into my arms. “That”s because there are plenty of handsome alphas willing to sweep the pretty little omegas off their feet and put them where they need to be,” I told her as I set her on the table with ease.
Daisy didn’t answer—she just rolled her eyes at me—but a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“Hello. Miss St. James, I take it?” A tall, willowy alpha breezed into the room, her long, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was young, probably not even in her thirties. “I’m Doctor Parrish.” She turned to me. “And this is?”
“Devon.” I reached forward and took the hand she had outstretched, giving it a quick shake. “I’m her packmate.”
“Perfect!” She gave us both a relaxed smile. “What brings you in today?”
“Well, uhh... Until recently, I wasn”t able to access medical care, so I”ve only had one appointment, and I just wanted to check that everything was going okay with my pregnancy.”
“We can do that,” Doctor Parrish said, turning to pick up a tablet from her desk. “I”m going to order a full set of blood work, as you haven”t had any real prenatal care. A nurse will come and take your blood at the end of this appointment and will call you in a week with the results. Have you had an ultrasound yet?”
“I haven”t. Can we do one today?” Daisy asked, her voice taking on an excited tone. How had she not seen her baby yet? The longing and curiosity to see my child would have driven me insane if I hadn”t been able to get a scan.
“We certainly can,” the doctor confirmed. “How far along are you?”
“About seven months.”
Doctor Parrish’s eyebrows raised. “I would have assumed, given the size of your bump, you”re a bit further along. But there”s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to making babies. Why don”t you lie back and lift your shirt, and we will do the ultrasound now.”
Daisy didn”t need to be told twice. She immediately shuffled back on the bed, lifting her shirt as I stood next to her. Her stomach looked like it was about to burst. Her belly button had become an outie, and there were some thin silvery stretch marks spanning across her stomach.
It was beautiful.
The doctor wheeled over a gigantic clunky machine with a screen and pulled out a bottle of gel she poured generously over Daisy’s stomach. The screen was angled just so, and it was difficult for us to make out the shapes.
“Okay, so, we”re going to do a basic scan today. Measure how big Baby is and check the heartbeat. I”m assuming you want some printed photos?”
“Definitely!” I rushed to say before Daisy could even open her mouth. I wanted as many prints as she would give me. I wanted to put them on the fridge and in my wallet, and I was sure Jeremy would do the same.
“I’ll make sure I get those...” The doctor trailed off, her brow furrowing as she studied the screen. “How far along were you when you went to your one medical appointment?”
Was something wrong? Why was she frowning? Daisy’s sweet apple pastry scent soured somewhat as my stomach dropped. The doctor looked concerned or confused. Not a good sign.
“It was early. I was only a few weeks along. Why? Is everything okay?” Daisy rushed to ask. She moved to sit up, but the doctor waved her hand for her to lie back down.
“No, no. Everything looks healthy and well,” Doctor Parrish said, running the Doppler over Daisy’s stomach, her eyes flicking between her patient and the screen. “Both babies appear to be healthy and coming along nicely.”
Wait.
What did she just say?
Babies.
“Did you just say babies, as in plural?” Daisy asked in a breathlessly shocked voice. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and I could almost feel her heart pound out of her chest. And, from where I stood next to her, my own heartbeat was far from relaxed.
“I take it you had no idea you were pregnant with twins?”
“I was expecting one baby,” Daisy said, her eyes wide as she stared straight ahead, her face pale.
I should have been comforting her, helping her, but all I could think about was how we’d have double the baby we’d expected. We would need to have everything in twos—two cribs, two car seats, two strollers. Or would we use one of those strollers with spaces for both babies? I didn’t even know.
“As you can see, there are definitely two in there.” Doctor Parrish turned the screen around so we could see it better and, sure as day, there were clearly two babies smashed into the small space. “This explains why your bump is so big, and why I thought you were later in your pregnancy. Twin babies naturally take up more space, and they tend to come a few weeks earlier than singular pregnancies.”
“I thought I was going crazy every now and again. I could have sworn there were two separate movements, but I just assumed it was gas,” Daisy said, shaking her head.
“I know it”s something of a shock, but I can assure you that everything looks healthy from what I can see here.”
“How does this change things?” I asked.
The doctor shrugged. “It doesn”t change much. I would recommend some extra prenatal vitamins. I will get a prescription for you guys today. Do the blood work. Check that everything”s going okay there, but honestly, it looks like you”re having a very healthy, happy pregnancy. Have you had any severe pains? Any nausea? Morning sickness, unfortunately, is quite common, as you know.”
“I had really bad morning sickness until a few weeks ago, when I discovered spicy Korean food, and I”ve been doing quite well since then,” Daisy admitted. “I”ve been having a lot of lower back pain, but I read online that that”s normal as well.”
“It is.” Doctor Parrish nodded. “It”s due to all the strain the babies are putting on your body. I would recommend you rest as much as possible. You’re seven months along, correct?” Daisy nodded. “Well, then, you can expect to be giving birth sooner rather than later.”
“How much sooner?” Daisy asked in a strangled voice. “I thought I had months!”
“I would be happy if you can go another two weeks before giving birth,” Doctor Parrish said with a small smile. “I know it’s a shock. How about I give you guys a few minutes while I go grab some vitamins for you?”
“Sure.” Daisy nodded, not fully looking at the doctor, her breathing getting more rapid.
Well, one thing was for sure—our home was going to be getting a lot noisier soon enough.