AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Breathe through the pain, Mrs. Victor,” the nurse’s voice was calm and gentle.
When the pain subsided, Max and the nurse guided Steph into the examination room of the doctor’s surgery, which was located at Naples Medical Center. It was a new state-of-the-art hospital where one of Florida’s top OB/GYN, Doctor Phillips.
The nurse helped Steph into an examination gown while Max paced impatiently behind the closed curtains. When Doctor Phillips entered the room, Steph had barely gotten comfortable on the examination bed.
“Hello, Victor family,” Doctor Phillips’s cheerful voice filled the room, which warmed with his smile. “Nurse Jenkins tells me you’re experiencing some pain, Mrs. Victor.”
Doctor Phillips pulled on latex gloves as he got ready to examine Steph.
“Oh, just some minor ones,” Steph tried to fob it off as she didn’t want to let the fear or panic that were trying to break into her positivity in. “It’s probably wind.”
“I noticed in your records from Marco Island Clinic that you haven’t yet had a three-D sonogram,” Doctor Phillips commented. “You’ve had TVUS in your first trimester and two two-D ultrasounds in your second and third trimesters.”
“That’s right,” Max answered, and Steph took his hand. She could feel how nervous he was.
Steph knew, like her, that as soon as the pain had gripped her, his mind had gone back to the day the twins were born. The pain she was experiencing had been similar to the way the pain had started that day.
“Okay, let’s take a look, shall we?” Doctor Phillips moved next to Steph and got the machine ready.
The nurse covered part of Steph’s body with a sheet, exposing her rounded belly to coat it with gel. Steph’s breath caught in her throat as the initial cold hit her, making her baby kick out in protest.
“Goodness, that little one doesn’t like the cold.” The nurse smiled and stepped away as Doctor Phillips positioned the machine. As soon as he did, the sound of the heartbeat filled their ears.
“Oh my!” Doctor Phillips said, squinting at the screen.
“What is it?” Steph craned her neck to see the screen, and Max leaned over her to get a better look.
Before he could reply, the nurse caught their attention. “Excuse me, Doctor Phillips.” She pointed to the bed.
“Oh dear!” Doctor Phillips’s brows rose.
“What is it?” Steph and Max chorused, their voices slightly raised in panic.
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” Doctor Phillips put his hands on the monitor, preparing to turn it toward them. “But the doctor on Marco Island got it wrong.” He turned the monitor, making Max and Steph gasp. “You’re having twins.” He glanced at the wet patch seeping onto the sheets. “And from the look of it, your twins want to meet their parents today.”
While Max gaped at the doctor in shock, Steph laughed as she turned to Max, saying smugly, “Itoldyou all that I was having twins!”
But her smugness was wiped from her face as pain sliced through her belly again, and her laughter turned to an agonizing groan. The next hour passed by in a blur of hospital walls rushing by, masked medical staff gathered around her. Max was by her side the entire time, gripping her hand and chewing the nails of his free hand. Steph could feel Max’s anxiety mirrored her own, and it was like they were both holding their breath until the doctor placed two healthy babies in their arms.
“Victor family, meet your twin daughters,” Doctor Phillips smiled as he gently handed Steph the tiny girls. “We’ll need to take them to the nursery, but I thought you may want to see them first.”
“They’re gorgeous,” Max’s voice was hoarse with emotions, and his eyes were filled with tears. “We have daughters, Steph.”
“Yes, I think we should name them Faith and Hope.” Steph’s own eyes filled with tears, and the nurses took them away.
“I love those names.” Max kissed Steph and followed beside her as she was wheeled to the recovery room.
Steph’s heart was once again whole filled with the accomplishment of bringing new life into the world and she knew that whatever lay ahead, they’d be able to face it together as they once again navigated the beautiful chaos of parenthood.
CONTINUE THE SERIES
SCOTT SISTERS SERIES - BOOK 3
THE BACHELOR ON MARCO ISLAND
CHAPTER 1
Theearlymorningsunpainted Tigertail Avenue in soft pastel hues as Lorry Scott stepped onto the balcony of her apartment on the top floor of the Scott family’s historic hotel. Her temples throbbed in rhythm with the distant sounds of construction that already reverberated through the air. The day had barely begun, and the pounding in her head was aggravated by the relentless clamor of renovations that, by agreement, weren’t supposed to commence until after nine in the morning.
