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“OK, here we go,” said the sonographer and she began pointing out what was what with the image on screen. Lucy felt Dylan’s hand take hers and give it a little squeeze as relief washed over her. She squeezed his back without taking her eyes off of the screen.

“Your baby is about the size of a large plum now,” the sonographer said.

“Hey there, Little Plum,” Dylan said, his eyes fixed on the screen. Lucy noticed this made the sonographer smile. Was she the only woman he wasn’t able to completely charm?

They watched as the sonographer talked through what she was doing, and pointed out what she could see.

“Everything looks absolutely perfect,” the sonographer finally concluded, “I’ll just take some photos which we’ll print out for you.”

A couple of minutes later, they were all done, and the sonographer handed Lucy some paper towel to wipe her stomach with.

“The photos will be ready for you at the reception desk when you come out,” she said before she left.

“That was pretty incredible, wasn’t it?” Lucy said, sitting up and getting down from the bed. Her face ached from smiling at the screen.

“It all feels very real suddenly,” said Dylan. He looked very white. “There’s an actual baby growing inside you that we’re going to be in charge of.”

“Can we talk about this in a minute?” Lucy said. “I’m really sorry, but I have to pee.”

She hurried out of the scan room as quickly as she could, considering the state she was in.

A few minutes later and returning from the bathroom, Lucy found Dylan waiting for her in the reception area with her bag and the ultrasound pictures. He was still rather pale.

“Better?” he asked.

“Sooo much better. Let me see the photos!”

Dylan held them out for her to examine. “You’re right,” Lucy said. “This does all seem rather real.”

“Like, there’s an actual tiny person inside you.”

“That’s going to have to come out somehow in a few months . . . actually, let’s not think about that.”

“Yeah,” agreed Dylan. “That can wait a while.”

They began to walk down the hospital corridors towards the entrance they’d come in.

“The size of a large plum,” Dylan said in awe.

“I bet you knew that already,” said Lucy. The moment felt surreal. The fact that she was going through this incredible journey — one that she’d definitely imagined — with Dylan, was something she was still getting used to and coming to terms with.

“Kind of. The size of a lemon was what the site I looked at said, but a plum is so much cuter.”

“It is,” Lucy agreed.

“And, I’m not being funny, but I’m sure our plum is cuter in their ultrasound photos than Michael and Carrie’s.”

“Don’t be awful,” Lucy reprimanded. “But you’re right, of course. Ours is far more photogenic.”

“Is it just me or is Plum kind of a cool name?” Dylan said.

“It’s just you,” Lucy replied firmly.

They laughed as they made their way out of the hospital and to the car park.

“It feels so good to know that everything’s fine and growing as it should. I’ve felt so rough at times that it seemed like there was maybe something wrong.”

“Hey,” said Dylan, stopping and offering his arm out to her for a hug. She found herself accepting. “Nausea and tiredness are often a sign of a healthy baby. Your body’s putting in a lot of effort to grow our little plum, it’s going to leave you feeling rubbish at times.”