“We can run some tests.” He says softly.
If Paul had touched her like that... I stop the thought before it forms because I can see there is something else as the doctor looks at me.
He hesitates.
“What?” I ask.
My voice is sharper now.
His expression shifts, something more careful settling into it.
“There’s something else,” he says.
Everything in me stills.
Completely.
“Are you aware your wife is pregnant?”
The world stops.
Like everything inside me has been cut clean through in one precise motion.
“What did you say?”
My voice comes out quieter this time.
Controlled in a way that takes effort.
Like I’m holding something back that wants to break through.
“Your wife is pregnant,” he repeats. “From what we can estimate, she’s around six weeks along. It’s very early.”
Six weeks.
The number lands.
And this time...it hits.
It collides with everything else already sitting in my chest.
The blood.
The surgery.
The waiting.
And now this.
Pregnant.
My chest tightens hard enough that I have to force a breath in.
“Is she still pregnant?” I ask.
The question comes out immediately. There is no hesitation. No space for anything else.
“Yes,” he says. “From what we can see, everything appears stable.”
