It was near impossible to ignore the love fighting to the surface. We all had our imperfections and made mistakes. Gabe was trying to right his and his brother’s wrongs. It was a heavy burden to take on.
His fingers brushed against mine and I smiled as we waited for the nurse to get what was needed from her station. Around Gabe, happiness was contagious. Always had been.
The nurse pointed to the scale. “Ms. Russo, would you please step on the scale?”
I pointed at Gabe. “Turn around.”
He rolled his eyes while I stepped on. I was small, but there were some things a man did not need to know.
The nurse took my vitals next when I sat in the chair. “One-twenty-three over sixty-two. Your blood pressure looks good. Let’s get you into a room.”
As we walked to the room, Gabe’s fingers brushed against mine. I loved the little shocks of tingles I felt every time we touched.
The nurse pointed into the room. “The gown is on the table. The doctor will be in once you’ve changed,”
“Thank you.” The nurse walked down the hall as I nervously waited at the door.
He winked at me and then gave me a beautiful smile. “I’ll wait here. Let me know when you’re ready.”
I walked in, closed the door, and tried to wipe the smile off my face. Gabe was here. We were having this baby together. It was what I had wished for so many times while married to Alex. A part of me felt guilty for not realizing Alex wasn’t Gabe. It felt like I betrayed Gabe in some way. It was a complicated web of emotions to untangle from.
I hadn’t realized Alex wasn’t Gabe. “How was I so stupid?”
“Did you say come in?”
“No!” I squeaked. “Not yet!”
Quickly, I dressed in the gown and took a seat on the table. I took a few calming exaggerated breaths. Get yourself together. I looked down at the thin material. Geez, I’m practically naked.
Three quick raps brought me out of my thoughts. “Willow, are you ready for me to come in? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, come in.” Gabe opened the door and strode in looking magnificent. I was in deep, deep, deep shit with my thoughts. Then it hit me. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you to come in.”
He deadpanned, “Thanks. I looked like a creeper hanging outside your door and listening to make sure I hadn’t heard you.”
I died laughing as he leaned against the counter near the bed, imagining his ear to the door. Then he folded his arms, bringing my attention to his muscles.
Oh. My.
The fitted blue T-shirt and worn jeans caused inappropriate thoughts to swirl faster. Oh shit, I was in over my head. He shifted and his jeans tugged against his thighs just right.
My word.
Focusing on the pattern of my pale-blue gown, I tried to think of something… anything to fill the silence.
“What are you thinking about?”
“How huge you are.” My hands went to my mouth and my eyes shot to his. “Wait. No. I mean you’re bigger. I mean big. Your muscles look big. I mean your muscles!”
Silent laughter shook his solid frame as the door opened and the doctor entered. My face felt hot with my blush. What in the world was happening to me?
“Morning, Ms. Russo. You’re looking rested.” The doctor greeted us with morning cheer.
Focus on the doctor, Willow.
Plastering a smile on my face, I answered, “Thank you. I think I slept most of the day yesterday.” I chanced a glance at Gabe who winked again. The heat only intensified on my cheeks.
No looking at Gabe.
Dr. Byrum made a note in my chart. “Good. Continue resting.” Laying the chart aside, he asked, “Would you like to see if we can see the heartbeat? At almost six weeks we won’t be able to hear it, but might be able to see it.”
“I would love to.” I looked at Gabe. “Do you?”
“More than anything.”
More than anything.
I took a closer look at Gabe as he intently watched the doctor who flipped buttons on the ultrasound machine. He chanced a glance at me and froze when our eyes met. There was pure joy on his face. I returned the same look.
He was here. Safe. My Gabe came back to me as he’d promised under the oak tree in the park right before he was deployed.
“Come back to me.”
“I promise. I’ll always come back to you.”
Those were the words he’d said. And he had kept them. Dr. Byrum cleared his throat and broke our gaze. We’d been caught and the heat returned to my face.
“Okay, Ms. Russo, lie back.”
Gabe stepped away from the counter and grabbed my hand as the doctor put a condom on the wand for the transvaginal ultrasound and squirted lubrication on it. Ugh, the noise was less than pleasant.
“This may be a bit uncomfortable.”
“Okay.”
The doctor stared intently at the screen as he moved the wand around.
Gabe’s lips were at my ear making it a little less unpleasant. “That doesn’t look very big. I know big was on your mind a second ago.”
“Stop it.” I wanted to smack him and refused to look his way.
“Pardon. What did you say?” The doctor looked from the screen to us.
I died of mortification as I knew the red deepened in my cheeks. Gabe wasn’t covering for us as he remained silent. He was definitely getting smacked later. “Gabe was telling me how excited he was to see the heartbeat.”
The doctor seemed satisfied and turned his attention back to the screen as I widened my eyes at Gabe in silent scolding. Of course, I only received a playful smirk in response. So many ways things felt like they had before he left. And it was faster than I expected despite the many walls I’d constructed around my heart.
“Do twins run in either family?”
Both of our heads snapped toward the doctor. I knew where this was going.
“I had a twin,” Gabe said as he touched my shoulder.
“It was too early to see before, but there are definitely two heartbeats. Congratulations!”
A tear crept from my eye. “There’s two?”
Gabe’s hand found mine as the doctor confirmed it again.
“Are you sure?” His voice was a little more distant as he watched the screen. He’d lost a little bit of his color.
The doctor pointed to the screen and described what the different parts meant. “Yes, I’m positive.”
All I was able to do was stare at the two little fluttering dots. Those babies were inside me. Growing. They were alive. They were survivors. We’d nearly lost them in the car wreck. Two.
Dr. Byrum turned off the screen and removed the wand. “Ms. Russo, it will be imperative that you continue getting rest. I’ll want to increase your folic acid. I have a colleague I’d like to refer you to who specializes in twin pregnancies. The morning sickness may be more intense as well, and you may experience more spotting. Don’t be alarmed. Call Dr. Jamiston or me and we’ll check everything out. I have some reading material for you at the front desk. Don’t let it scare you.”
Scare me. Oh my gosh! There were two babies. Two. And everything the doctor had said was so fast, it was hard to process. The thought was beginning to sink in. They were going to outnumber me.
“Ms. Russo?”
I nodded still in shock. “Okay. I can do this.” I was definitely giving myself a needed pep talk. Two. There were going to be two. “Yes, I can do this.”
Gabe crouched down beside me and raised my hand to his lips while he placed his other hand on my stomach. My focus turned to him. “We can do this, Willow. I’m here.”
“We,” I repeated, feeling some of the nervousness decrease. Gabe was here. He wasn’t the nightmare of a husband I thought I had. This was real.
Dr. Byrum made a few more notes on a pad of paper. “I’m glad to see you supporting Ms. Russo, Mr. Thompson.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Gabe stood.
The ripping noise filled the room as the d
octor tore off a piece of paper. “Here’s a prescription for a stronger prenatal with additional folic acid. If you’d like, I can let Dr. Jamiston know you’ll be calling.”
“Please.” I knew I sounded off, but enough together to keep the doctor from pausing and asking additional questions.
“And for at least a week, I’d like for you to abstain from sexual intercourse. Everything looks good, but with you and the babies being in distress during the accident, I don’t want any additional stress on the uterus. It’s merely a precautionary measure.”
My head whipped from Dr. Byrum to Gabe repeatedly as I sat up. “Um, I’m not having sex. No sex for me. That won’t be an issue.”
Dr. Byrum’s eyes dipped to my stomach for a second. Obviously, the babies were in there because of sex.