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“It says to contact Chicago PD with any information.”
“We should do that, right now, in fact—” Bella was digging out her phone, but I stopped her by placing my hands on hers. She stared deep into my eyes.
“I know you want answers, but I do not want you stressing about this. At all. It’s not good for you or the babies. Do you trust me?”
She nodded. “Absolutely, Gabe. I trust you and Ava more than I trust anyone in my life.”
“Then let me handle it, okay? I can dig around, find out everything I can, and I will pass it along to you. Before we bring in the police though, we really need to be 100% sure, for your sake as well as the parents of this child.”
“You’re right. Thanks Gabe,” she said, her voice soft.
A strand of hair fell in front of her face. Without even thinking, I reached over and tucked it behind her ear. She smiled at me, and in that moment, it was hard not to press my lips to hers. I leaned closer, but instead of meeting her lips, I kissed her forehead.
“I think I’m going to rest a bit, it’s been a long, distressing day,” she said.
“I think that’s a very good idea,” I agreed.
“You’ll tell me if you find anything?”
“Promise.”
She smiled again, and I helped her from the couch. Walking her down the hallway to her room, I so badly wanted to kiss her, but knew that we had agreed to keep things friendly. I stopped outside of her door.
“Do you need any help getting into bed?”
“I think I can manage that on my own, but thank you for everything, Gabe.”
She hesitated there for a moment or two, her eyes twinkling behind thick, black lashes. I could have stayed there and counted the freckles on her cheeks all day, but I knew she needed to rest.
She slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. I waited in the hallway, listening for any sounds coming from inside in case she called out for me.
After a few minutes of silence, I walked back down to the library and stared at the pile of stuff she had left for me. Her birth certificate was on top. Picking it up, I read over it again and pulled out a magnifying glass to get a closer look.
There, on her name, was a change in font from the rest of it. Barely noticeable, but once I picked up on it, I noticed it in a few other places. Maybe it was a coincidence but knowing her family, I had a feeling I had just found my second clue.
9
Bella
Gabe had found a highly-rated heart specialist, and we had sent the babies’ ultrasound pictures along with other medical documents ahead of meeting with him. Dr. Montgomery had looked over the ultrasound images and had ordered further testing as well. He came into the room with a smile on his face, which instantly relieved some of the anxiety coursing through my body.
“Well the good news is, I agree with your obstetrician that this is something we can manage,” he said. “I’ve seen this sort of problem many times before, and it usually closes up on its own after birth. If we need to do surgery, we can wait a few months for it, at least until the baby puts on some weight. Considering you’re having quadruplets, we expect all of the babies to be pretty small at birth. Obviously the longer you can go before giving birth, the better. I would encourage almost complete bedrest, if at all possible.”
“I’m already doing that, for the most part,” I replied.
“Good, keep it up,” the doctor said. “Since you’re having multiples, delivery will most likely be scheduled and there will be a lot of specialists on hand. I’ll be there as well, and I really think that with your care team, everything is going to be okay.”
I suddenly realized I’d been squeezing Gabe’s hand a little too tightly—when I released my grip I left white marks in his flesh. Hearing those words, however, helped me to relax. I felt like I could breathe for the first time in days, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, at least somewhat.
Until the babies were born healthy and were out of the woods, there was no way I could fully relax. I loved those little monkeys already. I loved them more than life itself and knowing that they were at risk simply because there were four of them, and with the heart issue, I knew the third trimester was going to seem excruciatingly long.
Gabe asked a few questions, having done some research on his own. I couldn’t help but smile over at him, feeling blessed to have him at my side throughout all of this. He was a caring, doting father to the babies already. He did everything for us, and I had no doubt he would continue to do whatever was needed to make sure our children were healthy and happy.
Gabe gave my hand a squeeze, and when we walked out of the office and into the parking lot, he pulled me into a hug.
“Well that’s mostly a relief,” I said. “Not that I’m not still worried—”
“I know you are. We both are. But it is nice to hear from a specialist that our baby boy is likely to be fine.”
