21
21
Liberty
The doctor’s office was nothing like what I was used to at the free clinic. The waiting room alone was fancy. Big, comfy leather sofas and chairs, elegant lamps, and side tables full of all kinds of magazines about pregnancy, babies, and parenting. There was even a little play area for toddlers.
Watching the other couples was a bit difficult. The dad would put his hand on the mom’s stomach, and they’d whisper and laugh with each other. Excitement clear on their expressions.
Another mom who was very pregnant sat over near the toddler area while she watched her twin daughters play. They couldn’t be more than two. I wondered how difficult that must be.
Liam said nothing as he sat down in one of the chairs across from the sofa I was on. We had walked in together, but our distance made a loud statement to anyone in the room that we weren’t a couple.
“Liberty,” a voice called out, and I looked over to see a nurse with a clipboard at the open door.
I stood up, and Liam did the same. He waited for me to go before he followed behind me.
“Liberty?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Right this way,” she said, waving a hand for me to come through. “And you’re the father?”
Liam gave her a small grin and nodded. The nurse blushed, and she fluttered her lashes as she gave him a flirty smile. Great. He was going to flirt with the nurses. I did my best to ignore it. He was a sexy man. Women were gonna look, and he sure wasn’t mine, so I had no claim to him. It still stung to watch him respond to some stranger better than he did me.
“We will get your weight and check your vitals. However, you have to hold your bladder for now,” she said. “If your husband would like, he can go wait in the room. It’s that one right over there.”
“He’s not my husband,” I blurted. I wanted that clear.
“Oh,” she said, looking embarrassed, and then she flickered her gaze over to him with more interest. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“It’s fine,” he told her. “And I’ll go wait in the room. Thank you.”
She watched him as he started down the hallway, and I cleared my throat to get her attention. The nurse’s head snapped back to me, and she gave me an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, yes, let’s see what your weight is.”
Yes, let’s. I rolled my eyes.
Once I was weighed and my heart rate and blood pressure were recorded, I was led to the examination room that Liam was already in. He was sitting in a chair with his right ankle propped on his left knee and a magazine open in his lap. He glanced up at me.
“It’s the size of an apricot,” he said.
The nurse giggled behind me. “Don’t you love how they use food to give you the approximate size of the fetus?”
Liam smirked and closed the magazine, then placed it on the table beside him.
“You can go ahead and get on the table, and Dr. Savoy will be in here with you shortly,” she said, then glanced over at Liam one more time before stepping out of the room.
Glad she was gone, I walked over and used the step stool to get onto the table.
“That magazine said you’re not supposed to eat certain things. There was a list of them,” he informed me.
I nodded. “Yep. I have a screenshot of that list on my phone. I read that a couple of weeks ago and saved it. Can’t say I eat those things much anyway.”
He studied me for a moment, then pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned his attention to sending a text.
“Seems like you’ve got Country aiming to please you,” he said without looking up.
I didn’t much care for his tone. Country had been so much help, and I’d never asked him for any of it.
“He offered to help. I didn’t ask him.”
Liam glanced up at me. “I’m sure he did.” He dropped his gaze to my sundress, then went back to looking at his phone.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked him, feeling as if he’d accused me of something without using words.
“Nothing, Liberty. But some men are weak when it comes to a face like yours. Don’t do anything that he will regret.”
I stiffened. “What exactly are you insinuating, Liam?” I asked as my nails bit into my palms.
He ran a hand over his short beard. “Don’t spread your legs for him. Not while you’re carrying my kid.”
My mouth dropped open. Had he really just said that? Did he think I was going to sleep around while I was pregnant? I started to say something when the door opened, and a petite older woman entered the room. She wore a pair of round glasses and had a businesslike smile on her face. She gave Liam a nod, but there was no flirty eyelash batting, and I decided I liked her already.
Her attention was fully on me. “I’m Dr. Savoy. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Liberty. Your blood pressure and weight are both excellent. Nothing to be concerned about. Now, it says here that judging by your last period, you should be nine weeks and six days.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“You are almost at the ten-week mark, and typically, I see a mother before then. I have the ultrasound room set up, and I’m going to personally take you in there. I would like to check things out myself, and seeing as”—she glanced at Liam—“you are my patient due to your family connections, you will remain a priority.”
I looked at Liam, then back at the doctor. What did she mean, family connections? Was this someone he was related to, or was she referring to the family, as in the Mafia? I wasn’t going to ask—at least not here.
“You can change into the hospital gown in the room. I have one waiting on you. Mr. Walsh is welcome to join you, or he can wait here while you change.”
Liam was waiting on me to answer. Sure, he’d seen me naked, and his mouth had been on almost every part of my body, but things were different now. “I’d prefer to undress alone.”
Dr. Savoy nodded and stepped back to wave a hand toward the door. “I’ll take you to the ultrasound room, and then I’ll come back and get Mr. Walsh when it is time.”
I headed out the door without looking at him again.
Once I was undressed and in my open-back gown, I sat down on the table and waited. It was colder in here, and I had chill bumps break out on my arms and legs. Add that to the fact that I really needed to pee, and it was getting uncomfortable. There was a knock on the door, and then a moment later, Dr. Savoy stuck her head in.
“Ready?” she asked.
I nodded.
“I’ll go get Mr. Walsh,” she replied.
My nerves were building as I stared at the blank screen, where I assumed the ultrasound would be projected. What if something was wrong? What if there was no heartbeat? I hadn’t thought much about these things before now, but the longer I sat here, the more worked up over it I seemed to get. I hadn’t exactly wanted to get pregnant, but now that I was and I’d had time to grow attached to the idea of this baby, I wanted it.
The door opened, and in walked Dr. Savoy, followed by Liam.
I fisted my hands tightly in my lap. This was it. I’d know soon if everything was okay. She’d said I should have seen a doctor by now. What if my not coming in sooner harmed it in some way?
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath.
“Everything’s fine, Liberty,” Dr. Savoy said, sensing my nerves. She patted my shoulder. “Lie back, and let’s get this started before you get any more worked up. Try and relax.” Her tone was gentle, and I focused on that, ignoring Liam’s presence in the room.
“It is very normal to be nervous. Even a seasoned mom of three comes in here with a mix of excitement and anxiety,” she assured me.
I nodded, lying back on the table.
The screen lit up, and she typed something in, then took a blanket and handed it to me. “Go ahead and cover yourself up. This is an internal probe since you are under twelve weeks pregnant. It gives us a better image. Your bladder should be full, and it isn’t that comfortable, but bear with me. It won’t be that long. Bend you knees and scoot toward me some.”
“Okay,” I replied, covering myself with the blanket, then bending my knees up like she’d instructed.
I watched the screen and tried to understand what I was seeing as the thing in her hand was inserted into me. She was right; it didn’t feel great, but it wasn’t painful. I had no idea what the picture was on the screen or how to tell what was the baby. I didn’t much care for them calling it a fetus.
A sound came from the screen, and I stilled, glancing from the doctor back to the screen. It was a fast thumping sound.
Dr. Savoy smiled. “That’s the heartbeat,” she said.
I hadn’t been prepared for the emotion that rushed into my chest as I sucked in a sob. Tears filled my eyes, making the screen blurry. The relief that came with that sound was overwhelming.
Dr. Savoy held out a tissue to me. I laughed and sniffled as I took it, then wiped at my face.
“Sorry,” I said, then laughed again.
“Don’t apologize. That is also a very normal reaction. It’s a relief the first time you hear it. And your little one has a strong one. One hundred fifty beats per minute, to be exact.”
Another small sob escaped me, followed by a laugh. A large warm hand slid over mine, and I stiffened, startled by the contact. I turned to look up at Liam as he stood beside me. His hand holding mine and his eyes fixed on the screen. I blinked and studied him. It was dark in here, but the light from the screen made his eyes appear glassy. The thought that he had gotten emotional only caused mine to fill with tears again as I turned to look back at the screen.
“Everything measures perfectly,” Dr. Savoy told us. She used an arrow across the screen. “That right there is your baby.”
I stared at it, trying to make it out but it was hard. The head I could see.
“This is the top of its head,” she said, “and these are its legs. It’s kicking away. Very active.”
I watched in fascination as the little things I could now see were legs moved back and forth.
Liam’s hand tightened on mine, and I pressed my lips together to keep from letting out another sob. I had been more hormonal lately. I’d cried over a picture of a mother holding her baby after birth that I’d seen while searching the pregnancy websites. But this was by far the most emotional I had been.
“Oh, and now, that is its arm. Looks like it’s waving,” she said, smiling at the screen and making notes as she clicked on certain things.
When the probe eased out of me, I wanted to beg her not to stop yet. I wasn’t done looking at it. She handed me several photos, and I took them to see she had captured pictures of the head, legs, and arms.
“You and the baby are in excellent condition. I know you’re ready to use the bathroom. Be sure to leave a urine sample. You can go in that room right there and do it. Once you’re done, get dressed and meet me back in the examination room. I have some things to go over with you, and I’m going to give you a book that I like all my prenatal patients to read and keep for reference.”
Liam had let go of my hand once the screen went off. I sat up and then handed him the photos to look at before hurrying to the bathroom. Getting a moment to myself, along with relieving my bladder, was needed.
I opened the bathroom door, then glanced back to see Liam looking at the photos in his hand with such intensity that my stupid eyes started stinging again.