"Nope. Not until you go to the doctor and find out exactly what's going on. Promise me." He lifted his eyebrow.
"I promise." She let out a sigh and turned back to her dresser, getting herself together for a short day thanks to her forced visit to the doctor. It seemed a bit much, but if something had been wrong with Alex, then she'd make him go as well.
*
Jamie couldn't seem to get her knee to stop bouncing as she sat outside the doctor's office in the waiting room. Alex had a blow-up at work and couldn't come with her, so she dragged Mark to sit beside her. He was the next best thing to his older brother.
"Hey." He reached out and clamped his hand down on her knee. "It's going to be fine. I'm sure it's just a bug or something. I wasn't feeling too great this morning either."
"I know. I just hate this waiting crap. They took blood, pee, spit, hair..." she rolled her eyes. "Okay, not hair or spit, but I wanted it to sound dramatic."
He pulled his hand back as he chuckled loudly. "You're too much. I swear you're the best thing that happened to my brother."
She smiled and leaned back in her chair as nervousness raced through her. "Did you throw up this morning?"
"No, but I'm telling you that something is going around. I'm sure the doctor’s going to tell us that we're being a little overly sensitive to nothing."
"I hope so." She let out a long sigh and sat up. "Alex has been super sensitive to everything since he was in the hospital. They have him on blood pressure meds for his stress level, but I think he's going to try to get off of them by stepping back at the firm a little and exercising more."
"Mrs. Reid?" The nurse stuck her head out and smiled. "Can you come back in here for a few minutes? The doctor has a few follow-up questions."
"Sure." Jamie jumped up.
"You want me to come with you?" Mark called after her.
"No. I'm fine." She forced a smile and walked behind the nurse down to the small room she'd been in for an hour before getting poked and prodded.
"Just sit right here, and Dr. Bennett will be in shortly." She gave a curt nod and closed the door.
Jamie got back up on the table and let out a long sigh before pulling her phone out. Alex had texted asking if she were still there.
She shot him a quick note that she was and that she would call as soon as she got out of there.
"Jamie?" Dr. Bennett stuck his head in the room and smiled. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm actually going to have the lab run a few more tests. Do you have any family history of miscarriage?"
"Of what?" A cold sweat covered Jamie as she gripped the sides of the table.
"Of miscarrying a baby." He closed the door behind him and moved to stand in front of her.
"I don't know. I don't talk to my family much. They're crazy. Like more than the average family." She tried to laugh, but the sound fell flat.
"Well, I'm pretty sure you're pregnant, but it would seem that the levels are a little lower than we would expect to see. I'm going to ask you to take it easy for the next few days and if you see any bleeding or spotting to go straight to the hospital." He touched her shoulder. "We'll figure out what's going on. Chances are that everything is fine and we're just a little early in the process, but I'm not sure I'm good with that answer just yet."
"I'm pregnant?" She tried to process the news, but couldn't seem to get past the fact that she was going to be responsible for someone. For a child.
"Yes. Congratulations. Where’s Alex?" He moved back and slipped his hands into his pockets.
"He's at work today, but I'll call him when I get back to the lobby."
"Good. Is he taking care of himself?"
She nodded and mumbled, "Yes."
Shock sat on her as the doctor left and told her to take a minute before walking to the front. Anyone else would have been thrilled, and some part of her was too, but the fact that something was wrong from the start left her emotionally strained.
Her phone buzzed, and she put it to her hear. "Hey."
Alex let out a soft growl. "Why didn't you call me? I've been worried sick. Meet me at home. I want to see you."