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“Yes, please.”
“Okay. This all looks good. I’ll page the doctor and she’ll come and talk to you quickly.” She smiles again and glides out of the room.
“Shit. How can anyone be so happy at one in the morning?” I ask Tyler, meeting his eyes.
He sits on the side of the bed and smiles. It soon drops though, and he doesn’t reply.
“What?”
“Shit.” He leans forward and hugs me. His hand slides up my neck into my hair, and his other arm is firmly around my waist. He buries his face into my neck and inhales deeply. “Don’t ever faint on me like that again. You scared the crap out of me,” he says in a thick voice.
“It wasn’t intentional,” I mumble into his chest.
He laughs lamely and sighs. “Never a dull second with you around.” He pulls back and looks at me. Tears I never want to see hint at his eyes.
“I like to change things up. What can I say?” I shrug and offer a small smile.
He runs his thumb across my cheek. “Don’t. I’m starting to like it better all the same.”
He dips his head and lightly touches his lips to mine. They’re soft and warm and taste like tea. I lean into his gentle kiss, only pulling away when the door opens.
I look around him and into the face of my OBGYN. “Hi.”
“Hello, Liv,” Dr. Peters smiles. “How are you feeling?”
“Like crap,” I say, answering the same as I did to the nurse.
“I’d imagine you do.” She perches on the end of the bed and flicks through my notes. “Now I’m not in the practice of working with private patients, but since it’s you and I’m angry at you, here I am.”
I cringe.
“Now, why did you cancel our appointment and not call me after four days of not being able to stomach water?”
Both she and Tyler stare at me. Tyler’s gaze is scarier. I fidget.
“I…thought it was normal,” I admit quietly. “I figured I could sleep tonight then call you in the morning for an appointment and it would be okay.”
“And it would have, but you still would have been incredibly dehydrated and I would have had you admitted immediately.” She closes the file. “But no, Liv. Sickness this bad isn’t normal. What you have is an illness called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. You are much sicker than most pregnant women who suffer with nausea. This probably won’t be the only time throughout your pregnancy you’ll find yourself unable to keep any liquids down, and if this happens, you must call immediately so I can provide you with meds to stop it.”
I nod. “Will it hurt the baby?”
“No, the illness itself won’t, but the dehydration can. Normally, I would listen in to baby’s heartbeat now, but since you’re so early, I probably won’t be able to pick it up.”
I curl my fingers around Tyler’s and squeeze. Hard. “So what? How can you check?”
“We’ll take you for an ultrasound at nine a.m. We took blood when you came in and I rushed the HCG results. The numbers put you at around nine weeks, so we’ll get a clear view of baby on the screen.” She stands. “The best thing you can do is get some sleep.”
“I’ll try.”
“And, Liv?” She opens the door and stops. “Don’t worry. Sickness is usually a good sign. It means you have high hormone levels and a healthy baby in there.”
I nod and watch as she closes the door. I turn to Tyler. “Nine weeks?” I whisper. “That means…”
“You got pregnant straight away,” he finishes.
“But we used condoms at first.”
“Then one split. I’m not in the habit of checking them, so I wouldn’t have noticed.”
