Chapter 23
JACK
“Why are you looking so nervous?” I ask Gracie as she lies on the bed, chewing her thumbnail.
The private doctor I’ve employed, so she doesn’t have to go to the hospital, is in the bathroom washing her hands, and seeing the sonogram equipment all set up on the bedside table seems to have her worried.
“What if I’m not pregnant? What if it’s all been in my head?” She pouts.
“It’s not in your head. We did like a hundred tests, not to mention the fact that your body’s already started changing,” I remind her, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking hold of her hand.
“Okay, but what if there's two of them in there…? Or three?” She looks adorable when she’s panicking. “Could you cope with three babies?”
“Gracie, a second ago you didn’t think there would be one in there; now you're worried there’s three.” I raise an eyebrow at her, hoping to make her think more rationally.
“Okay, but what if there were?”
“Triplets would be awesome. Twins would be fine. You could have five in there, for all I care.”
“Five?!” She sits bolt upright, looking alarmed.
“I was joking.” I kiss her forehead to try and keep her calm; things between us have been so much better since last night. All the tension has lifted, and just like that, we’re back to being us again…whatever us is.
“You know, you’d have to pay double if there were two, right?” She looks at me in a way I can’t tell if she’s being serious or not.
“Just joking.” She gives me a smart smile before resting her head back on the pillow.
“Is everyone ready? Dr. Stratton comes out of the bathroom with a huge smile on her face. I guess she should be happy with the amount I’m paying her to be here. Not that it bothers me, I’d pay triple it if it meant keeping Gracie relaxed through all of this.
“Let’s meet your little one.” She picks up the wand from her machine, then makes Gracie jump when she squirts gel all over her stomach.
“Sorry, I’ve been doing this for such a long time that I forget to warn people.”
“It’s fine.” Gracie smiles back at her, squeezing my hand a little tighter as we both watch her run the transducer across Gracie’s slightly risen tummy.
“So, is there a baby in there?” Gracie breaks the silence, biting her lip in suspense.
“There sure is.” The doctor spins around the monitor and points to a tiny bean-shaped figure in the middle of the screen.
“And that there is his or her little heart beating beautifully.” She smiles.
“I’ve brought along my instant printer so I can get you a photo printed, once I’ve got all the measurements I need.
” She puts her focus back on the screen, and Gracie rolls her head to look at me with the most excited smile on her face.
“It wasn’t in my head.” She laughs.
“I told you.” I reach down to kiss her, but she pulls slightly back.
“Jack,” she warns, reminding me that we’re taking things beyond the limits. Sex is a need; this kind of affection is obviously too much for her.
“Oh, don’t mind me.” The doctor laughs, thinking her being present is the problem, and I decide to kiss Gracie, regardless of her warning. The way she inhales, like she wants to make the moment last, makes it impossible to regret, even if she does look mad at me when I pull away.
“I’m all done, and everything looks great.
I’m dating you at twelve weeks and three days, but due dates are rarely accurate.
Babies tend to come whenever they are ready.
” She rips a copy of the photo off her digital printer and hands it to Gracie.
“I’ll need to see you in about four weeks to listen to the baby’s heartbeat and a routine check-up, but aside from that, I’ll leave you to keep doing what you’re doing. ” She smiles.
“We did want to talk to you about me having a home delivery,” Gracie speaks up.
“Okay, what questions do you have?” She listens intently.
“Is it safe?” I go in with the first one.
“Perfectly. We have some very well-trained district midwives; in fact, they would be able to answer all your questions much better than me.” She starts rifling through her bag… Pulling out a leaflet, she hands it to Gracie, too.
“You hear that, Jack? Perfectly safe.” She turns her head and smiles at me.
“And if there were complications?” I check, still not convinced it’s a good idea.
“Most women find labouring at home very relaxing; there are rarely complications, especially if mother and baby are healthy and the baby is in a cooperative position,” she assures us.
Gracie nods like her mind's at rest, but mine still needs some convincing.
“I want you on call,” I tell the doctor, looking at the picture in Gracie’s hand and deciding I won’t be taking any chances
Mr. Ravenshaw, I do have commitments; I run my own practice.” She looks shocked.
“I understand, and I’m prepared to compensate for any lost cost as well as your fee. When the time comes closer, I want you and a midwife team of your choice on permanent standby.”
“Jack.” Gracie looks up at me like I’m being unreasonable.
“You don’t want any hospitals, I’m just doing what needs to be done,” I tell her, taking the paper towels from the doctor and cleaning the excess gel from her stomach.
“I’ll have to make some arrangements and see if I can find cover.” The doctor still looks bewildered by my request.
“Whatever you need to do.” I nod while Gracie covers her face with her hands to hide how red she’s gone.
“I’m sure we can work something out.” Dr. Stratton smiles as she starts packing away her things.
“That was so embarrassing,” Gracie scolds me once the doctor’s left the room.
“Me wanting you to have the best medical care possible is embarrassing?” I change my trousers for a pair of worn jeans so I can get back to my latest project.
“Jack, you can’t just throw money at people like that.”
“Gracie, you're a duchess, and you deserve the best,” I point out, searching for a t-shirt. “And since you're refusing to go anywhere near a hospital, you have given me little choice.” I lean over and kiss her forehead to show that I’m not mad about her choice, I’m just proving a point.
“I’m sure the midwives who deliver everyone else's babies in the district are perfectly adequate to deliver yours. I don’t want or need any special treatment.
“While I want what's best for you and our son.” I smile as I touch my hand to her stomach. I was hoping that seeing him on the screen today might have softened her to the idea of sticking around.
“You're not going to budge on this, are you?” she sighs.
“Are you going to budge on going to a hospital?” I fire back, and when she shakes her head, I laugh. “Then, once again, I’ve come up with a solution for us both to get our way; you deliver here at home, with the best medical team money can buy.” I go to leave, but she grabs my arm.
“Jack.” She looks scared.
“What’s wrong?” I can’t work her out. If she’s scared, why doesn’t she want the safety of a hospital?
“I don’t want lots of people in the room. It’ll feel like too much. When the time comes, I want as little fuss as possible.” I hate how nervous she looks.
“Gracie, when the time comes, you’re going to be in full control.
I just want the correct people here on standby in case anything goes wrong.
They can wait out in the hall, and I’ll deliver the baby myself if that's what you want.” I laugh, and when I see her looking like she’s considering that as an option, I quickly change the subject.
“You should get some rest; we have a busy weekend, and I want to show off this cute little bump.” I press my lips to it one more time.
“There’s barely anything there,” she giggles, lifting the picture from the nightstand and staring at it again. “So, what are your plans for the day?” She places it back down and gives me all her attention.
“Just some more work outside,” I tell her, keeping it as brief as possible.
“Well, I’m online shopping for jeans that don’t make me feel uncomfortable.” The way she looks down at her belly and smiles makes my cock go hard.
“I think I’ll be popping over the top of them soon. I don’t even want to think about how I’ll look in a few months.” She giggles again as she gets up off the bed and stretches her arms above her head
“You are going to look sensational.” I frame her tiny stomach with my hands. “I can’t wait to see my boy stretch you out.” I take the opportunity to kiss the top of her head as she looks down at my hands.
“You have to stop referring to it as a boy,” she scolds, with a huge smile on her face when she looks back up at me.
“I can’t help it. When you know, you know.” I grin back at her, standing up and making my way to the door.
“What are you doing out there, Jack?” Curiosity must get the better of her before I leave.
“I can’t tell you, it’s a secret.” I smile, hearing her growl in frustration as I head down the hall towards the staircase, and leave her wondering.