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That stinging sensation in her eyes began again.
The tall, blonde doctor only hesitated a moment before saying, “You’re definitely underweight. That’s not good for you or the—”
“The seed.”
“The... seed,” Carly finished awkwardly. “Let me get the portable ultrasound machine in here. Sit tight.” She squeezed Autumn’s hand. “Then we’ll get some answers, okay?”
She suddenly wished Stella had come along with her, so she wasn’t so alone. But the woman had apologized because she was needed at her bar and said Sig would take good care of her, instead.
The door to the examining room opened again and another woman, shorter with dark hair, pushed a portable ultrasound machine into the room, followed closely by the doctor.
“The man out in the waiting room... He’s not the father?”
“No.” He did not plant the seed.
“Do you want him in here when we—”
“No.”
After the ultrasound was set up and jelly was squirted onto her exposed rounded belly, the doctor stood by her head, staring at the screen as did the tech.
“Do you want to hear the heartbeat?”
The heartbeat. “No.” Seeds didn’t have heartbeats.
Autumn dropped her eyes and watched as the wand slid around her stomach. Back and forth, pause. Click. Back and forth. Pause. Click. It looked bigger today than yesterday.
The last couple of days, Sig had made her a big breakfast and made sure she ate it all. He did the same this morning before tucking her into an old Jeep and driving her to this office in a large medical building.
He had made her wear one of Stella’s scarves around her hair, covering it completely, a big pair of dark sunglasses and more of Stella’s clothes. As well as a pair of borrowed sneakers.
The doctor squeezed her hand again. “Do you want to know the sex?”
“No.” Seeds didn’t have a sex.
“Do you even want this baby, Autumn?”
Seeds didn’t have a heartbeat or a gender... but babies did.
Her throat got tight and her own heartbeat began to speed up.
“Laura, can you step outside and give us a few minutes?” Dr. Carly said softly.
“Yes.” The ultrasound tech quickly left, leaving Autumn and the doctor alone.
“Autumn,” the doctor began softly. “The life—what you call the seed—in your womb is viable, even though very small for its age. I need you to understand it’s not a thing. In a couple of months you’re going to give birth to a living, breathing baby. As long as we can get you two back on track with nutrition and pre-natal vitamins. You realize that, right?”
A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and she quickly swiped at it. A burning started in her nose as a second tear escaped.
“It’s too late to terminate this pregnancy, Autumn. You’re too far along. You have no choice but to see it through. I’m assuming from the little Stella told me and from what you call this baby, you don’t want it and having it wasn’t your choice. Can you tell me why? Can you tell me why you’re in this condition and why you call this baby a seed?”
Autumn tried to swallow but she couldn’t.
The woman squeezed her hand again. “Autumn, if you were raped, I can help. I can notify the police—”
“No! No... No... I...” She licked her dry lips. “I can’t go to the police.”
“They can arrest whoever hurt you, if that’s what happened. The bruises... Were they done by the man waiting for you?”
“No. He’s done nothing but help me.”
“Help you...?”
“Escape.”
A small noise came from the doctor. “Let me help you sit up.” She wiped the jelly off Autumn’s stomach, tied her gown shut and powered the table until Autumn was sitting upright and looking right into the doctor’s pretty, but very concerned and serious face. “You’ve clearly been abused. Your low weight, the marks on your body. The baby being undersized. Please talk to me. I can help. As a doctor, I’m obligated to help.”
“I can’t tell you, because if I do, they’ll find me.”
The doctor’s face paled and she whispered, “Who will find you?”
“The one who planted the seed.”
Dr. Carly rubbed at her forehead where it was wrinkled due to her frown. She opened her mouth, and nothing came out. It snapped shut and when she opened it again she said, “If you don’t want this baby, Autumn... If you can’t love or take care of it, there are plenty of couples who would love that chance. It’s not a bad thing to want better for your child than what you can give it. It takes a lot of strength to recognize that fact. It’s not easy, but sometimes it’s for the best. You and the child would both be better off. The child would be loved unconditionally and you could get a chance to heal from your ordeal and you wouldn’t live with a constant reminder of what happened.”
