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“Why?” I ask, incredulously.
“Because!”
I throw my hands into the air. “Women. No, wait. Pregnant women!”
“Knock, knock,” Dr. Bergman announces as she raps her knuckles to the door and pushes it open. “Hi, Hallie.” She glances at me and nods. “Logan.”
“Hello, Dr. Bergman,” I reply at the same time Hallie mutters, “Hi.”
She glances from Hallie to me, as if she can tell we’re both surrounded by tension. “Well, all right. How have you been?”
Hallie gives her a wide smile. “Great. We’re both anxious to hear the heartbeat.”
“Okay, we shouldn’t have a problem hearing it on the Doppler this week. Usually by eleven or twelve weeks it can pick up the sound, so go ahead and lie back. I’ll measure your stomach, and we can take a listen.”
I move to the edge of my seat and watch as the doctor tucks a paper towel of some sort into Hallie’s underwear before she runs a small tape measure across Hallie’s lower stomach. I’m not exactly sure what’s she’s measuring, so I make a mental note to check the internet when I get home.
“All right, Hallie. This gel might feel a little cool,” she informs her right before squirting a small blob onto Hallie’s belly. Then, she reaches over and grabs this little joystick looking device from the counter and places one end onto Hallie’s stomach. She moves it around, and within a few seconds, the sound of a swooshing thump echoes through the small speaker in her other hand.
“Is that—” I’m standing up and moving toward Hallie before I realize it.
“Yep. That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”
“It’s so fast,” I say unnecessarily. I know one of the websites I was on talked about the heartbeat and how much faster it is while in the uterus.
“One hundred forty-five beats per minute. That’s a perfect heartbeat,” she announces with a smile.
I have no clue when I reached for Hallie’s hand, but when I look down, I find her much smaller, warm fingers entwined with my own. “Wow.”
Together, we listen until the doctor removes the Doppler and wipes away the gel. “Any questions for me?” Dr. Bergman asks, extending a hand to Hallie and helping her sit up.
“No, I don’t think so.”
She nods. “All right, we’ll see you back in four more weeks. After your next appointment, we’ll order some labs. A lot of patients use the walk-in clinic on Jefferson Street for lab work. It’s a fraction of the cost, and you don’t have to schedule through a hospital.”
“That would be helpful, thanks.”
“No problem. See you in four weeks,” she says before exiting the room.
I’m still standing here, holding Hallie’s hand even after she used the other to sit up on the table. She just watches me, a smile on her lush lips. Helping her off the table, I invade her personal space, standing directly in front of her. “Still mad at me?” I ask quietly, sliding my thumb over her knuckles.
“Always,” she murmurs with a crooked grin and a gleam in her blue eyes.
“Good to know nothing has changed.” I match her smile. “Ready to head out?”
“Yep,” she says, walking to the door and stepping out into the hall. Another couple is approaching, so begrudgingly, I release her hand so she can walk in front of me.
We stop by the front reception counter and schedule her next appointment, and as I push open the glass door taking us to the sidewalk, we’re hit with a cool breeze that escorts us all the way to the truck. When we reach my vehicle, I click the fob to unlock the door and prepare to pull it open. Just as I reach for the handle, my cell phone rings. I pull the device out of my pocket as I open the door. When I spot Gabe’s name on the screen, I stop and click to answer the call.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Are you with Hal?”
I glance at the woman beside me, who’s watching me intently. “Yeah, we’re just leaving her doctor’s appointment. What’s wrong?”
“Her condo. There’s a fire.”
Fuck.
