Chapter 38 #2
Tears are streaming down her face now, dripping onto the hospital gown. “Can you get her? Get her to come now. Please.”
I nod, leaning down to press a firm, reassuring kiss to her forehead. “I’ll get her. Don’t move.”
I jog down the hall, my boots scuffing on the hallway linoleum, until I find the nurse who admitted her. “Hi, um…Emily Callahan is in room three. She’s awake and…we’re a little worried. About the baby.”
She looks at me with a soft, sympathetic smile. “Of course, Mr. Miller. Let me call Ultrasound, and I’ll get someone up here to take a look for you.”
“Thank you.” I nod gratefully.
She dials the extension number. “Hi Carol? Are there any techs available to perform an ultrasound in room three…great…yes, she’s ready now.” The nurse replaces the receiver and smiles warmly. “Someone will be with you in ten minutes.”
I give her a grateful nod. “Thank you.”
My nerves begin to set in as I make my way back to Emily’s room. I’m back at her side in seconds, pulling her frail hand to mine once more.
“Nurse is sending someone in right now,” I say, pressing a soothing kiss into her hair.
“Wyatt,” she says, her voice still weak and raspy as she watches me sit. “When did you know?”
I can see she’s struggling to process this, which is unsurprising given all that’s happened tonight. She looks terrified. “They told me as soon as you went into recovery. They explained that there were certain meds you couldn’t have because…well, because of the baby.”
“How did you react?” she asks, searching my face. “Why aren’t you panicking?”
“I was fucking surprised, Em, I won’t lie. But mostly confused. I didn’t know if you knew and just hadn’t told me, but then I remembered the drinks you tanked at the wedding. And I knew there was no way in hell you’d have run into that fire if you’d known.”
I suppose logically I should be terrified, but knowing how close I came to losing her tonight—to losing them all—that little version of us growing inside her makes me feel giddy.
“Like hell I wouldn’t, Wyatt,” she says, her eyes flashing with a sudden, fierce protectiveness. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for that kid.”
God. I want to marry her right here in this hospital room.
I look at her, the concern in my chest battling with a pride so heavy I can barely swallow. “I’ve been sitting here for the last few hours getting used to the idea, but the truth is, Emily…there’s nothing in this world that makes me happier than knowing my baby is inside you.”
“Wyatt, we’ve been together barely four months. Are you insane?”
“I already put a ring on your finger. I’m completely crazy about you,” I murmur, sliding my hand over her stomach. “And our baby.”
A soft knock at the door interrupts her spiral. An ultrasound tech enters, wheeling in a large screen that looks far too high-tech and clinical.
“Hi, Emily. I’m here to take a look at your baby, if that’s okay?”
Emily sniffles and nods. I grip her hand tighter, my knuckles turning white.
“Okay, if you could just lie back for me and lift your gown,” the tech says.
I help Emily adjust around the wires and the IV line, making sure she’s covered where she needs to be. Thankfully, there are no burns across her abdomen. I immediately reclaim her hand.
“I just need to put this gel on your stomach. It’s a little cold.”
The gel squirts out onto her toned stomach, and I find myself fantasizing about how that’s going to change in the coming months, how she’s going to grow round with our child.
The tech takes the probe and places it low on Emily’s abdomen.
I can feel Emily holding her breath. She doesn’t even realize she’s doing it.
“Try to relax for me, Emily,” the tech says.
“Baby, you have to breathe. You just almost lost your lungs. Take a breath.”
She lets out a quivering exhale. The moment the probe stills, the most reassuring sound fills the room. It’s a fast, frantic, repetitive thump that echoes off the walls.
I’ve been a father for ten years. I was barely twenty when Alex was born. I’d seen this with him, but I’ll never not be in awe of the feeling of knowing that little flicker belongs to me.
My eyes lock on the monitor, and the world outside ceases to exist. The sound is one thing, but then the tech tilts the probe, and I see it.
“There,” the tech says, pointing a gloved finger at the grainy, black-and-white image. “That little flicker right there. That’s the heart beating.”
I lean in closer, eyes fixed on the screen.
It’s so tiny. No bigger than a thumbnail.
It’s a pulsing speck of light in the middle of the black expanse.
My throat tightens, and I try my hardest to swallow around the lump forming.
I look down at Emily. She’s staring at the screen with her mouth slightly open, the tears finally overflowing and tracing paths through the soot on her cheeks.
“Is it…is it okay?” she whispers, her voice trembling. “After the smoke…is it okay?”
The tech smiles warmly, moving the probe slightly to get a better angle. “Heartbeat is strong, Emily. One hundred and fifty beats per minute. Everything is measuring exactly as it should for eight weeks. Your little one is a fighter.”
I let out a breath I feel like I’ve been holding since the first puff of smoke hit the sky. This baby is a fighter, alright, just like its mother.
I bring Emily’s hand to my mouth, pressing a hard, lingering kiss to her knuckles. I can’t stop looking at that flicker. I was a kid when Alex was born, terrified and pushed to the sidelines, watching a life start from the outside looking in.
This is different.
This is us.
“You see that, Em?” I choke out. “That’s ours. That’s our baby.”
She turns her head toward me, her blue eyes searching mine, and for the first time since I found her in that burning barn, the panic and the worry are gone.
“Oh my god. I’m actually having a baby.” Emily sobs, the sound almost smothered by a laugh that’s pure, beautiful disbelief.
The tech’s face beams as she starts clicking a few buttons on the console.
“I’ll get you a photo printed out, and then I’ll let you get some rest. The OB wants to do a lot of monitoring given the circumstances, so we’ll get you back in here in a couple of weeks to see how much progress the little one has made. ”
“Thank you,” I say, my voice sounding content to my own ears.
As the door closes behind her, I don’t waste a second. I pull Emily into an embrace, careful of her ribs, but I need her as close as possible. She’s sobbing and smiling. The relief coming off her in waves is so thick I can taste it.
She pulls back an inch, wiping a tear away with the back of her soot-stained hand. “I can’t believe you knocked me up, Cowboy,” she blurts out. Her voice is still raspy but full of that old sass.
I bark out a laugh. “Em, you remember where we were eight weeks ago, right?”
She tilts her head, thinking for a second. Then, her eyes widen to the size of saucers. “Oh shit. My dad’s house. Jesus…first try, Miller? You sure got some superpowered sperm going on there.”