“Very.” Zahara clasped her hands on her stomach and worried her fingers.
“Have you made a decision on how you want to handle the pregnancy?” Dr. Cardinally opened a small plastic suitcase and pulled out a laptop. Then he connected devices with long cords.
Handle it? She was still hoping he found a tumor inside her instead of a pregnancy. She also felt vaguely guilty over that wish but couldn’t quite pinpoint why—a common theme in her life lately.
“I don’t know anything right now,” she told him. “Is that the ultrasound?”
“Yep. They make ’em so small nowadays. They even have units you can carry in your pocket. Technology is amazing.” He stopped fidgeting and met her gaze directly. “If you’d rather not see the fetus, you can look away from the screen.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Some women don’t wan
t to see the images if they’re not planning on keeping the pregnancy.”
Another burst of anxiety filled her veins.
“I just want you to know that I’m here to help you through the process,” he said, “not judge your decisions.”
Decisions? Decisions implied a person had choices, and Zahara wasn’t feeling like she had many of those available right now. “I have”—she heaved a breath—“a lot of questions.”
“Would you like me to answer them now or after the ultrasound?”
“Now, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.” He turned a desk chair toward the bed and gave her his undivided attention.
Zahara’s mind jumbled. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Just toss one out. There’s no perfect order.”
She sat up and wrapped her arms around her sheet-covered knees. “This nausea—”
“Is totally normal. It usually eases around twelve weeks. Try to keep something small in your stomach. Going too long between meals could make you light-headed.”
“Well, that answers my next question.”
“Dizzy?”
“Yeah.” She rested her chin on her knees. “My job is…unconventional, to say the least. And these crazy emotions… I feel borderline certifiable, to be honest.”
He smiled and nodded. “That’s the surge of hormones. Just as some women feel emotional around their periods, the first few months of pregnancy can cause myriad emotions and symptoms, from nausea to increased sex drive.”
That would explain why it had been so hard to pull away from Chase the night before.
“Despina told me you’re a stuntwoman.”
“Yes, and this movie is…” She rolled her eyes at the gravity of this dilemma. “It’s a career changer, but it’s also intense.”
“I understand. Many of my patients are performers of one kind or another.”
“What kind of risks am I looking at? Just yesterday, before I knew I was pregnant, I fell out of a car at fifty miles an hour and rolled a few hundred feet.”
“Oh, wow.” His brows shot up. “I can’t say I like the sound of that. What kind of protection do you wear?”
“Joint pads and body armor. Most of my stunts aren’t that extreme. I looked ahead in the script, and the rest of my stunts are a lot of fighting, jumping, running, climbing, falling.”
“No direct impact to your pelvis?”