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He looked at her, his eyes widening as she described her symptoms. “Is it possible . . . no, of course not, but . . .” He shook his head, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “Have you been intimate with a man lately?”
“Of course.” Vampires were notoriously sensual creatures.
Ramsden tapped his fingers on the clipboard, then laid it aside. “Lie back on the table and put your feet in the stirrups. I’m going to examine you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to give you a pelvic exam.” Opening the door, he called for his nurse, then dragged a stool up to the end of the table. After sitting down, he pulled on a rubber glove. “Have you ever been examined before?”
“Of course not. Will it hurt?”
“No. But there might be a little discomfort.”
Susan entered the room and took a place behind the doctor.
“What’s she doing in here?” Mara asked. “Does it take two of you to do a pelvic exam?”
Ramsden and his nurse both grinned, as if she had said something funny.
“It’s customary to have a nurse in the room for something like this,” the doctor explained.
Feeling scared and vulnerable, Mara lay back on the table, placed her bare feet in the cold metal stirrups, and closed her eyes while the doctor examined her. Discomfort really wasn’t the right word for it, she thought, gritting her teeth. Aside from being uncomfortable, she didn’t know which was more humiliating: having a strange man examine her so intimately, or having the nurse standing by, watching. Fortunately, it didn’t take long.
“You can sit up now,” Ramsden said. Scooting back from the table, he removed his glove and tossed it in a waste receptacle.
Sitting up, Mara smoothed the paper gown over her hips. “So?”
After dismissing his nurse and closing the door, Ramsden said, “I don’t quite know how to tell you this, but . . . you’re pregnant.”
Mara stared at the doctor as if he were speaking a foreign language. “What?”
“You’re pregnant. You know, in the family way. With child. A little over four months along, I’d say.”
She could only stare at him. “Pregnant?” She shook her head. “Are you sure?” She shook her head again. “It’s impossible!”
“I know.” He stared at her a moment, his expression distant. Rising, he picked up her chart. “Nevertheless, it’s true.”
“But . . . how can that be?”
Ramsden made a vague gesture with his hand. “I have no idea. Is Logan the father?”
“No.”
“I see.” He pulled a pen from his pocket and jotted a few things down. “Do you know who the father is?”
She hesitated a moment before shaking her head. “No.” She no longer had the power to read minds, but there was something about Dr. Ramsden that made her wary of sharing too much information about the baby’s father.
“Too bad.” Ramsden made another note on her chart, then regarded her thoughtfully for several moments. “You’re losing your powers, aren’t you?”
She started to ask how he knew, but the answer was obvious. Any vampire worth the name could sense the power another vampire possessed, just as they could detect the presence of another of the Undead, whether the other was in the same room or a mile away.
Ramsden made another notation. “How did this weakening of your powers happen?”
“I don’t know, but I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t spread it around.”
“Yes, of course, I understand.” Such knowledge could put her life in danger. “Did you lose your powers all at once,” he asked, “or gradually?”
“Gradually. What does any of this have to do with my being pregnant?”
“I’m not sure, but that’s something I hope to discover.”
“Do you think my powers will return after the baby is born?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure there’s any connection between your being pregnant and the loss of your powers. At this point, I’d say it was doubtful. In my opinion, if you lose your powers entirely, you probably won’t get them back.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just my opinion, you understand, but I think you’ll probably be immune to becoming a vampire again, sort of like humans are immune to the chicken pox once they’ve had the disease. Of course, I could be wrong. Only time will tell.”
“So, if I was to ask someone to turn me again, you don’t think it would work?”
“No, in fact I believe it would most likely be fatal for you and the baby.” Eyes narrowed, Ramsden stroked his chin, his attention momentarily focused elsewhere.
“Fatal?” A sudden coldness engulfed her as she repeated the word. And then she shook it off. As far as she knew, no vampire had ever reverted before, therefore Ramsden had no more of an idea than she did about what would happen if someone worked the Dark Trick on her a second time. Still, he was a doctor. His opinion, and the possible risks, were something to consider.
“Perhaps,” Ramsden said. “There’s no precedent for any of this, no way of knowing for certain what the consequences might be. We’re breaking new ground here. I want you to go down to the lab and let them take some blood.” He handed her the cup she had left on the counter. “And give them a urine sample.”
Ramsden pulled a pad from the pocket of his lab coat, scribbled a few lines, and tore off a sheet of paper. “Give this to the technician downstairs. Seeing as how you’re able to digest mortal food with no ill effects, I want you to stop at a drugstore on your way home and buy some prenatal vitamins. Since I’ve never looked after a pregnant vampire before, we’ll handle this as we would any other pregnancy and see how it goes.” Patting her on the shoulder, he said, “I know this is hard to accept, but stars above, it’s a miracle.”
Or a curse, Mara thought bleakly. “The . . . the baby, will it be a vampire?”
“There’s no way to know for sure one way or the other.” The doctor took both of her hands in his. “I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful, but we’re both breaking new ground here. There’s nothing about this kind of thing in Doctor Spock.” He grinned at her, then grew serious once more. “I think we need to discuss the possibility that you might not be able to carry the child to full term. To my knowledge, no vampire has ever given birth or sired a child.”
