Find Me (The Found Duet #2)(70)
Author: Laurelin Paige

He also insisted on coming with me to the check-up, which I’d been against at first, but was glad for when I realized that the visit would entail a lot more than an arm poke and a urine dip.

“You know, I think your breasts do seem bigger,” he said, looking up from the pamphlet the doctor had handed him while we waited for the ultrasound technician.

“You would know.” I fluffed the pillow behind me, trying to make myself comfortable on the exam table.

He grinned even though he was already back to reading. “You really haven’t felt any morning sickness?”

“Nope.”

“Maybe it’s too early.”

“Or maybe I’m not the type who gets nauseated. I’m being optimistic.” I didn’t need to read a pamphlet to know that there was a lot about pregnancy that sucked ass. Swollen hands and feet? Varicose veins? Stretch marks? Ugh.

“Oh.” He peered at me tentatively. “It says they may do the ultrasound transvaginally.”

“Uh, what does that mean?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“I’m pretty sure it means that they’ll stick something up your vagina.”

And I was back to wishing he’d stayed home. “Stop saying vagina. It’s weird.”

“Your pussy then. Is that better?” He gave me a naughty grin. Only JC could turn an impending violation into something sexual.

“Not if they’re sticking something up it. I’d prefer anything that goes up there be connected to you.”

“I prefer that as well. But you do realize that that’s where the baby will come out, right?”

“They can’t just unzip the pouch at the bottom of my abdomen and take it out that way?”

He laughed. “Maybe we can have them put one in for next time.”

“Let’s just get through this one first, okay?” It wasn’t that I was still apprehensive about the pregnancy—though I was that too—but the doctor had warned that the rate of miscarriage was higher because of the IUD. Oddly, the idea of losing the baby was worse than the idea of having it. When Laynie had said people could change, I hadn’t expected it would be overnight.

“We’re going to get through it fine,” JC said as his phone started ringing. “Sorry, I’ll reject it.” He glanced at the screen and his brow furrowed, but he pressed a button and put the phone back in his pocket.

I was curious about his call, but too wrapped up in thinking about the creature in my belly. “I wonder if they’ll be able to tell if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“Not until twenty weeks.” He held up the pamphlet. “According to this anyway. Do you have a preference? Boy or girl?”

“Right now I’m still trying to grapple with the idea that it’s an actual baby. Gender is going to be a while, I think.”

His phone buzzed again, this time just once, alerting him to a text, I guessed. The crease in his forehead deepened as he read it.

This time his reaction was too severe to ignore. “What is it?”

Just then the door opened, and the tech walked in. “Good morning, Mrs. Anders. Mr. Anders.”

“Nothing that can’t wait,” he said to me as he pocketed his phone again. “It’s Bruzzo. And soon to be Mrs. Bruzzo.” He took my hand, and I fleetingly wondered if that made him as giddy to say as it did for me to hear.

Then I was just glad that he was holding my hand because I was suddenly very nervous. “Is this going to hurt?”

“No, but if we end up going transvaginally, it might be slightly uncomfortable. Since you aren’t having periods, and we have no idea how far along you are, we’re going to see what we can find with a standard ultrasound. Please raise your gown to just under your breasts.” She handed me a blanket while she spoke. “You can use this to cover up below your belly.”

As I adjusted my gown and the blanket, Dr. Wright, the doctor we’d seen earlier, returned.

“I wanted to be in here to see the placement of the IUD,” she explained to the tech.

“What is it that the ultrasound is looking for?” JC asked. She’d already told us, but I suspected that he wanted to hear it again because he was as nervous as I was.

“We want to see how far along the pregnancy is, which we can figure out by measuring the embryo, and we’ll want to be sure that the baby is developing as it should for its age. We’ll also want to locate your IUD. Like I said before, we’ll try to remove that if we can.”

JC tightened his grip on my hand. The IUD removal, she’d explained earlier, was often the cause of miscarriage, but the chances of a successful pregnancy were better with it out.