Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
After a quick lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich eaten standing at her desk, May walked into Exam Room One.
Amka waited patiently on the table.
Down the hallway, a kid protested loudly while Ivy picked grit out of a scraped knee, followed by dramatic complaints about how football in the road had seemed like a great idea at the time. Nancy answered phones and managed to gossip while taking care of business at the same time.
May shut the door for privacy. “Hi, Amka. How’s it going?”
Amka smiled faintly. “Still upright.”
May returned the smile and stepped closer. “Tell me about your back.”
“It’s better.” Amka shifted on the exam table, adjusting carefully. “I’m still having spasms now and then, and there’s some aching, but honestly? It’s feeling a lot better.”
May nodded, watching her closely. “Okay. Then what’s going on?”
Amka’s hands twisted together. “I think I have cancer.”
May didn’t react outwardly. Patients jumped to worst-case scenarios all the time, but hearing it from Amka landed differently. She kept calm. “All right. Tell me why you think that.”
“I’ve been exhausted. Really exhausted.” Amka swallowed. “And my back still hurts sometimes. I just…don’t feel right.”
May sat and rolled her stool closer. “Anything else?”
A pause. “Maybe. I’ve lost about ten pounds, but we’ve been slammed at the tavern. I usually drop weight during tourist season and put it back on in the winter.” A faint grin flickered. “Like most Alaskans.”
May allowed a small smile. “Any fevers? Night sweats?”
“No.”
“Changes in appetite?”
“Not really.”
May mentally checked boxes as she continued. “Any new pain? Anything different from what you’ve already had?”
Amka hesitated. “My lymph nodes under my arms are killing me.” Her voice rose. “My aunt had cancer. They found it because of swollen lymph nodes.”
Outside the room, the clinic hummed along.
Phones rang. Footsteps crossed the hallway.
A drawer shut. Inside, May focused. “Okay. Let’s slow this down and take a proper look.
” She moved through the vitals with practiced efficiency.
Blood pressure excellent. Temperature normal.
Pulse steady. Respirations even. Oxygen saturation perfect.
“So far, everything looks really good,” May said. “We’ll run blood work to be thorough, but I want to examine you. Go ahead and take off your shirt.”
Amka waved toward the gown. “I don’t need that. We’ve gone swimming together. You’ve seen me naked.”
“I know.” May kept her tone gentle. “I just want you comfortable.”
Amka tugged her T-shirt over her head. “I’m fine.”
“All right.” May stepped closer. “Show me where it hurts.”
Amka pressed along the outer sides of both breasts, then into her armpits. “Here. It’s sore, but not like muscle soreness. It’s different.”
May palpated carefully, methodical and precise. No palpable lymphadenopathy. No masses. No abnormal swelling. No heat. No skin changes. “Well,” she said slowly, “your lymph nodes feel completely normal. No enlargement at all.”
Amka frowned. “But it hurts.”
“I believe you.” May continued the exam, checking tissue, symmetry, tenderness. “You’re not swollen. Just sore.”
Amka’s shoulders sagged. “I’m so tired, May. I don’t want to get out of bed half the time.”
May stepped back, mind already shifting gears. “Let’s get some data.” She handed Amka her shirt. “I want a quick urine sample, and we’ll draw blood.”
Amka slid off the table.
May handed her the labeled cup and directed her toward the bathroom, cataloguing new supplies she needed to order. Why were tongue depressors always running out?
Amka returned a few minutes later, shoulders tight, eyes worried. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do if I have cancer. Christian will lose his mind. He’s lost so much already.”
“We’re not losing you,” May said instantly. The words escaped before she could stop them. Friend, not doctor. “Before I go check, is there anything else I need to know?”
Amka arched one dark eyebrow. “Yeah. You and Ace Osprey really need to get together.”
May dropped onto her rolling stool. “Seriously?”
Amka nodded. “You two look right, you know? He’s asked you out because I’ve heard him do it. Everyone saw you two having dinner last night, and he drove you home.” She rested her elbows on her thighs. “Did he stay the night?”
May gulped. Should she keep this professional? This was a doctor’s visit.
Amka waved a hand in the air. “Oh, don’t go trying to separate work and friendship. I read it on your face. Start talking. Now.”
Well, Amka was her best friend, and taking her mind off her worries was a good thing, right? “He drove me home, and he did kiss me.” Heat filled May’s face. “That man can kiss.”
“Right?” Amka clapped her hands together once. “I’m sure it’s an Osprey trait. And then?”
May rubbed her hands down her jeans. Her lab coat was open. She liked being casual at work. “Then he left. I don’t know, Amka. He’s got issues, and I have enough going on.” The man kept getting in fights.
“Then help him,” Amka said, her black eyes soft. “I’m with a man who prefers to sleep outside, so we do. A lot.” She winked. “He makes it well worth my while.” She lost the fun on her face. “I can’t be dying of cancer. He’ll be a mess.”
May cleared her throat. “Sit tight. Take some deep breaths, and I’ll be right back.
” She left and walked down to the tiny lab to run the test herself, because she had an idea of what was happening with her friend.
The seconds stretched longer than they should have.
When the result appeared, she stared at it.
Yep. That made sense. She ducked to a low shelf and grabbed two books before heading back.
Amka’s gaze locked on them immediately. “What are those?” Suspicion flickered across her expression. “Cancer books?”
“No.” May couldn’t stop the smile this time. “Pregnancy books.”
Amka froze. “What?”
“You don’t have cancer.” May stepped closer. “You’re pregnant.”
Silence filled the room.
Amka stared at her. “I… I don’t know how to be pregnant.”
Amusement filtered through May. Yeah, she knew Amka. “That’s why I brought you two books on pregnancy.”
Amka shook her head slowly. “But this isn’t how my breasts get sore during my period. The pain this time is on the sides. In the lymph nodes.”
May settled back into doctor mode, hoping to ground them both. “Early pregnancy hormones can cause exactly that. Estrogen and progesterone increase blood flow, and the tissue becomes more sensitive. Tenderness along the sides is very common.”
Amka stared down at the books in her hands, her fingers tightening around the edges. Her expression shifted in real time. Surprise first, then disbelief, then something softer and far more fragile. “Can this be it? Really?”
May wanted to be reassuring. “It is. Your breasts are fine, and your lymph nodes feel completely normal. We’ll do a full examination and make sure everything’s progressing the way it should, but your symptoms are all consistent with a healthy pregnancy.”
Amka look stunned. “No. You don’t understand. We use protection.”
“Yes,” May said calmly. “Even with protection, pregnancies happen. No method is one hundred percent perfect.”
Amka stared at the wall for a second, then looked back. “Oh.”
May smiled softly. “I’d say you’ve given it a solid run for its money.”
Silence lingered. Emotion flickered across Amka’s face too fast to name.
May rested a hand on her knee. “You’re happy about this, right?”
Amka blinked, shock slowly giving way to something brighter. “Well… yes. I mean, I’m really happy about it. We definitely want kids.” She hesitated. “But Christian is going to lose his mind.”
“Lose his mind how?” May asked.
“He’ll be happy,” Amka said quickly. “Of course he’ll be happy. He wants kids. But he’s supposed to leave for three months for training. He won’t go if I’m pregnant. You know how overprotective he is.”
May stood and wrapped her arms around her friend. “Hey. It’s okay.”
Amka laughed softly against her shoulder, sounding half breathless, half overwhelmed.
“He can still go,” May said, easing back. “People manage this all the time. Work doesn’t disappear because life happens.”
“You don’t know Christian.”
May grinned. “Oh, I do. He’ll worry. He’ll hover. He’ll probably try to bubble-wrap you.”
Amka huffed a laugh.
“You’re not alone here,” May continued. “You’ve got friends everywhere. You’ve got support, and he can come back on weekends whenever possible.”
Amka looked down at the books, eyes suddenly shining. “Oh my gosh.”
May watched the realization fully land.
“I’m pregnant,” Amka whispered. Then she laughed. A bright, disbelieving sound that filled the room.
Relief loosened the knot in May’s stomach. This. This was why she did what she did. Not the emergencies, not the injuries, not the endless on-call nights. Moments like this. Life. Hope. Something good. “Yes. You are.”
Wonder filled Amka’s eyes. “Christian is seriously going to freak out.”
“He’s going to be thrilled,” May said.
“I have to find the right time to tell him. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Or you’ll tell him in five minutes.”
Amka grinned. “Probably.”
May laughed. As the happiness settled into the space between them, quiet and warm, her thoughts drifted.
To Ace.
To the way he’d offered his spare room without pressure. To the way he’d looked at her like she mattered. To the fierce protectiveness he didn’t even try to hide. Yeah. She could see him being exactly like Christian with someone he loved. The realization caught her off guard.
And unsettled her far more than it should.