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I smirk back. “Mine now.” I pull her closer, ignoring the elbow that she shoves in my stomach.
“At least I know she’ll be taken care of.” Con holds out a fist to me. “Since she can’t take care of herself.”
“Always.” I bump it with my own.
She rolls her eyes but doesn’t say anything, just snuggles up against me until we pull up to the emergency room entrance. I try to carry her, but she slaps me away. Con and I flank her on both sides and get her checked in. Everyone else shows up shortly after us. Claire is taken back and asks if Ciara can join her. I’m happy to see Claire slide her hand into her mom’s as they walk back to get her checked out.
Forty minutes later, a nurse comes out to the lobby and calls my name. She says that Claire was asking for me. I feel like it’s a little weird that she’d ask for me and not Victor, but I go back, bracing myself for any kind of awful news. I make sure to have my face locked in a neutral expression, so I can be as calming and strong as she needs me to be.
Ciara stands and leaves as soon as I walk in. Again, it’s weird. She gives me a little smile and squeezes my arm. I look over at Claire who looks scared. Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are glassy like she’s been crying. I rush over and grab her hand, about to comfort her and tell her that everything will be okay, we’ll fight it together.
“You ready to see your baby?” A nurse asks as she rolls a cart with an ultrasound machine on it.
“Baby?” I look down at Claire, who’s smiling and weeping.
She nods and gives a teary laugh. “I didn’t know. I didn’t think I could.” She laughs and swipes tears before looking up at me nervously. “Are you mad?”
“I’m not mad. I’m….” I trail off watching in wonder as the ultrasound tech squirts jelly on Claire’s stomach. “I’m surprised. Shocked. I need a second, but I’m not mad. Not one bit.” I grab her hand and kiss the back of it.
The tech goes through a list of possibilities, that she might have to do an internal ultrasound depending on how far along Claire is. They only have the positive urine test not the blood test results, which apparently can give you a better idea of how far along because of hormone levels. Or at least I think that’s what she says.
I can’t take my eyes off Claire’s stomach. Her body that’s growing my baby. A baby that theoretically shouldn’t have been conceived. The tech moves the wand back and forth a few times.
“Oh, look. There’s the baby.” She clicks a few keys on the keyboard.
My eyes fly up to the monitor where a neon green arrow points at what appears to be a tiny gummy bear.
“Looks like the baby is about seven weeks.” She clicks some more things and takes measurements. “See that fluttering right here?” She moves the mouse cursor over a section that looks a bit like static on an old television. “That’s your baby’s heart beating. Pretty cool, isn’t it?”
When I look down at Claire, her smile is so big and bright. “I’m really pregnant?” she asks quietly.
“Yes, honey.” The tech pulls a string of photos out of a slot on the machine and cuts them apart. “Here’s your visual proof. Come this time next year, you two will be exhausted new parents, covered in drool and drowning in love.”
