AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The obstetrician casts Laz a searching look, but as he’s gazing at me with the goofiest grin on his bloodied face, she seems to decide he’s not a threat.
“I’ve had nervous dads, talkative dads, quiet dads. I’ve never had a bleeding dad before.” She shakes her head and goes to type at her computer. “I’ll order a blood test and a urine test for you, and we’ll do your first scan now as well.”
The doctor inserts the transvaginal ultrasound wand and we all stare at the monitor together.
I really didn’t think we’d see anything, but the baby’s there. Tiny, but visible on the shadowy monitor.
Laz steps forward and peers at the screen, his mouth open. “Fuck,” he breathes. “Would you look at that? Our baby, Bambi. That’s our baby.”
Suddenly, all the color drains from his face, his knees buckle beneath him, and he falls to the ground in an unconscious heap.
I sigh as I stare at him, totally out cold. “I’m so sorry about him. If we’re finished, I should get my boyfriend to the hospital if he wants to survive long enough to hold this baby in his arms.”
Rieta looks at me sharply, an amused smile on her lips. “Boyfriend?”
I shake my head at my slipup. “Don’t tell Laz I said that.”
The obstetrician finishes with the wand and lifts her phone. “I’ll order him a medical transfer to the nearby general hospital. I don’t think you two can manage him on your own.”
“You will? Thank you so much.”
A few minutes later, Laz is on a gurney being wheeled out of the room by two paramedics, and Rieta and I say goodbye to the obstetrician.
“Don’t let him do any more cage fighting. He’s obviously not very good at it.”
I promise her that he won’t. “See you next time.”
At the hospital, Laz is sent for X-rays, given a blood transfusion and a rehydration drip. He has two broken ribs and a hairline fracture in his right wrist. There’s not much the nurses can do about his bruises and black eyes, but they put tape on his split lip and make him comfortable in bed.
Laz has stayed passed out the entire time, and it hurts to see this strong, proud man in the throes of exhaustion, pain, and blood loss. Rieta and I sit by his bedside, watching him sleep.
“What do you think, Mia, is this the man for you?” Rieta whispers with a smile on her lips. “This beat-up, black-and-blue, absolute scoundrel of a man is the love of your life, forever and ever, amen?”
I reach out and sweep Laz’s dark hair back from his eyes so it’s closer to the way he wears it when he’s awake. I play with a few strands, gazing down into his handsome face. There’s a fierce ache inside me as I wonder how much longer it’s going to be before he wakes up.
I’ve missed him.
I’ve missed him so much.
“Unfortunately, I love this big dummy with all my heart.”
“I thought you did,” Rieta replies, grinning. “You want a soda or something?”
“How about a vodka and something?”
“No vodka for you, Mama.”
Oh, shit. Of course not.
“Juice, then,” I tell her, still gazing at Laz.
The door closes behind Rieta and I’m alone with Laz, perched on the edge of his mattress. I lean down and press a soft kiss to his lips.
“Wake up soon, my troublemaker. You and me? We’re having a baby.”
18
Laz
