Wethering the Storm

“Have you missed taking any pills this month?” Dr. Glamazon asks.



“No.” My face is bright red, like I’m guilty of something. I hate it when that happens. “I never forget. I’ve always been methodical about taking it.”



“Have you taken any other medication lately?”



“Yes she has,” Jake answers. He removes my hand from my mouth, stopping me from biting my nails. “Tru was sick while we were on holiday. She had food poisoning, and the doctor prescribed her some medication.”



“Did he advise if there would be any interference with contraception from taking the medication?” she asks.



“No,” Jake answers again before I get the chance to. “Tru was too sick to be asking or answering any questions at that time, so it was on me, and honestly it wasn’t something I even considered asking the doctor. The fault lies with me on that one.”



I feel him talking to me in that last sentence.



“There’s no fault,” I whisper to him. “I’m happy to be having our baby.”



He smiles. One of those special, reserved-for-me-only smiles.



Dr. Glamazon starts talking, interrupting our moment. “The medication you took, combined with the sickness, possibly will have made the contraceptive pill ineffective. The prescribing doctor should have advised of this.”



“Will my being on the pill while pregnant have harmed the baby at all?” I turn to her, shifting forward in my seat, changing the direction of this conversation.



Between the two of us, Jake and I don’t seem to have been aiming to give our baby the best start in life.



She smiles, and this one actually appears genuine. “It’s a common thing that happens among women, so no, I don’t think there will be any side effects from it. Just to give you both total peace of mind, I’ll do a scan now and take a look at your baby to make sure all is okay.”



A scan? Now? I’m going to see my baby right now? My heart practically pole vaults out of my chest.



I don’t miss the way Jake’s hand tightens around mine either.



I risk a look at him, but his face is impassive. A mask. The one he wears when he doesn’t want people—mainly me—to know what he’s thinking.



Standing and moving around her desk, past us, Dr. Glamazon asks, “When was the last day of your last period, Tru?”



I cast my mind back. Turning in my seat, I say, “The third of October, I think.”



“Okay, can you undress your lower half and hop up on the bed?” She points to the sterile-looking bed at the far side of the room she’s walking toward. “You can cover yourself up with this.” She places a drape on the bed.



With nerves fluttering in my tummy, I go over to the bed, leaving Jake in his seat. Dr. Glamazon pulls the curtain, giving me privacy.



It’s not until I’m actually on the bed that I wonder why the hell I need my pants off if she’s going to scan my tummy? Unless she’s going to do an internal examination first.



Oh God, she’s going to do an internal in front of Jake. I know he’s seen everything I have to offer, but I really don’t want him here while the doctor pokes around my lady bits. I wonder if I could ask him to leave without offending him.



“All ready?” Dr. Glamazon asks from behind the curtain.



“Yes,” I reply, my voice sounding a little strangled.



Pulling back the curtain a little she walks in, followed by Jake.



He looks uncomfortable. Then I see his eyes instantly go to my lower half, which is covered by the drape, and a sexy smile flirts across his lips.



Only Jake would see the sexy side of this current situation. He’s such a perv. But I like that no matter what circumstance I’m in, I can still get him that way.



I reach for his hand, smiling up at him. I mouth, Perv.



His eyes twinkle, and he grins, lips pressed together. He flickers a glance to Dr. Glamazon, who has her back to us, getting something from a cupboard. He mouths to me, You look so fucking sexy right now. He traces his finger along my jaw.



I roll my eyes at him and mouth back, Yeah, sure I do.



Another glance to the doctor and he mouths back, expression firm and serious, Yes, you do. You always do.



Okay. That’s me told.



I smile softly at him, and then Dr. Glamazon appears beside me.



“Okay, Trudy,” she begins, while fiddling with a monitor she’s pulled over beside me. “Because you’re so early into your pregnancy, I’m going to do a transvaginal ultrasound.”



“A what?”



“A transvaginal ultrasound. I’ll place this inside you.” She lifts up what can only be described as something that looks exactly like a handheld blender. “It will show us your baby. It’s the same as a sonogram, only done internally.”



“You’re going to put that inside of me?” My lungs seize up for a few held breaths.



“Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe and pain-free.”



I look at Jake, worried. He smiles and smooths my hair back from my forehead, but I can see in his eyes that even he’s a bit freaked.



“You’ll be fine,” he says. “Having this done means we’re going to get to see our baby.”



Yeah, well, that’s easy for him to say. He’s not getting a huge handheld blender stuck up his vagina. Of course I want to see our baby and know it’s okay, but holy fuck, that thing looks painful.



“I would normally do a sonogram for the first scan,” Dr. Glamazon explains, “but they’re done at twelve weeks. As you’re so early into your pregnancy, the baby won’t show on a sonogram. This is the only way I’m going to be able to see the baby to check that all is okay.”



Guess I don’t have a choice, then.



She retrieves a pair of surgical gloves from a box and puts them on.



“Don’t worry, Tru. In a few moments you’re going to see your baby on this screen here.” She nods in the direction of the monitor beside me.



“Okay.” I swallow.



I’m going to see my baby in a few moments. Wow. This is getting real now.



“If you could just bend your knees up for me. Perfect. Now just relax,” Dr. Glamazon says, resting her hand against my knee as she starts to insert that god-awful thing inside of me.



Wincing, I scrunch up my face, squeezing Jake’s hand.



Oh, okay, actually it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.



“There we go,” she says. “This tiny little thing here is your baby.”



I flick my eyes open and come face-to-face with a little blob on the screen.



My baby. Our baby.



My heart lifts into my mouth, and tears prick my eyes.



I notice Jake’s grip on my hand has tightened along with my own, and when I turn to look at him, I see his eyes fixed on the screen. Glittering and filled with awe. My heart trembles, lifts, and then flutters daintily out of my chest.



“Jake?” I whisper.



His eyes move to mine, and in their meeting, a heartbreaking smile sweeps over his face. A smile I will remember for the rest of my days.



Leaning down to me, he presses a kiss to my forehead.



“Thank you,” he whispers against my skin, and I almost crack wide open on the spot.



A tear slides from my eye, and I discreetly brush it away.



“Everything looks absolutely fine to me,” Dr. Glamazon says, looking at the screen, moving a mouse around, clicking little markers around my tiny baby. “We have a good, strong heartbeat. Baby is growing nicely. I’d say you’re coming up to about six weeks along.”



Staring at my tiny baby, I feel all kinds of emotions I’ve never felt before. I can’t even begin to form words to express them.



Then Dr. Glamazon is removing the wand from me, and my tiny baby disappears from view.



“I’ll run off some prints for you.” She smiles at both Jake and me, and I’m guessing it’s because of the mirrored expressions of disappointment on our faces.



Leaving me to dress, Jake sits back in his seat while the doctor sorts out our baby pictures.



I dress, feeling happy and excited. We’re having a baby. A real honest-to-God baby.



Seeing the pregnancy tests made it real, of course. But in a surreal way. Seeing our baby up on that screen made it real in the best possible way.



I slide my shoes back on and return to my seat beside Jake.



He takes hold of my hand the moment I sit down, linking his fingers with mine. He kisses my hand.



The love and emotion moving between us right now is palpable. I can’t wait to be alone with him and talk to him about the future we’re going to have with our baby.



“I’ll write you up a prescription for some prenatal vitamins,” Dr. Glamazon says, scribbling on a prescription pad. “And I’ll have my receptionist make an appointment for your next checkup so we can order some bloodwork.”



She tears off the prescription and hands it to me. “Don’t forget the pictures of your baby,” she adds, handing me a white envelope.



My baby. I’m going to be a mum.



Taking that as our cue to leave, I rise from my seat. “Thank you, Doctor. And thanks for seeing us on your day off.”



“I was happy to. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to call me.”



“I have a question,” Jake adds, still perched on his seat, long legs stretched out.



I pause and look down at him.



“Sex,” he says to the doctor.



“Sex?” Dr. Glamazon repeats.



Sex?



“Yes, sex. Can Tru and I still have sex while she’s pregnant? Is it safe for the baby?”



She smiles. I do too. I actually have to stop from giggling. He is so bloody cute to me right now.



“It’s absolutely safe,” Dr. Glamazon says, nodding. “You can continue to have a healthy and active sex life throughout the whole pregnancy.”



Jake scratches his forehead. “Yeah, I know people generally have sex while pregnant, but it’s just that I, um…well, I have…” He thrusts his hand through is hair, and I can’t help but smile at his struggling, wondering where on earth he’s going with this.



“Look, I have a huge penis,” he states, looking Dr. Glamazon dead in the eye.



I burst out laughing, quickly clamping my hand over my mouth.



Dr. Glamazon looks shocked. Can’t blame her. Jake Wethers just said “penis” in her office. Specifically, “I have a huge penis.”



My smutty, tattooed, sexy rock star Jake just said “penis.” It just sounds so very, very wrong.



I start laughing again.



Jake turns his head, giving me a pissed-off look. Okay, so he’s not amused.



“I’m sorry,” I say, moving my hand from my mouth. “I’ve just never heard you say that word before.” I snort. “Okay, I’ll shut up,” I add at his hardening expression. I press my lips together, twisting the grin off them. It’s harder than you’d think.



“Look, what I’m trying to say is…” Jake thrusts his hand through his hair again. “Is that I’m bigger than the average man. A lot bigger. And I just want to know I won’t hurt the baby when Tru and I have sex.”