Chapter Fifteen

Chasten

We woke up early the next morning to have the first slot at the walk-in clinic for Mercy of Frost. Confirming my pregnancy with an ultrasound was the last bit of paperwork we needed to file for Kirk's time off. I waited for morning sickness to slap me across the belly, but it didn't.

"It doesn't happen to everyone," Kirk reminded me.

"I know," I shrugged. "It's not like I want it. I'm just being careful. Can't imagine it's any good for my blood glucose."

"It's not but we have the morning sickness gummies on hand too. I did think of grabbing some of those before I left work yesterday. Just in case."

"Because you thought I was acting hormonal," I narrowed my eyes on him, playfully.

"I thought your reaction was a bit out of character for you," he nodded thoughtfully.

"What would you have done if it was the other way around?"

"If you told Treg to hang out with me?" he asked and I nodded. "Well, since they're your friend I might've thought you were trying for a threesome."

"Hey!" I laughed and slapped his arm. "That's not nice! That's not what you were trying for, was it?"

"No!" Kirk said, his expression turning from goofy to serious.

"I know, alpha," I squeezed his arm. "We better get moving if we're going to not spend all day at the clinic."

"Come on. Get my baby out of the bed," Kirk said and stole a kiss.

***

It turned out that we weren't the first expecting parents at the walk-in clinic, but the second. The wait wasn't long and we were taken right back as the young parents before us left whispering between themselves. I only made out "I don't know how we're going to tell them."

I almost asked Kirk who he thought they were talking about but realized maybe he wouldn't like me gossiping about other patients. I'm sure there was something about that in the Nurses' Oath. I knew there was in the Healer's Oath. Besides, I wanted to see our little jellybean more than I wanted to know who the young lovebirds were talking about.

The examination room was smaller than I expected it to be. It was just large enough for the table, a chair, and a little bit of walking room for the doctor to move around. I hopped up on the table and bounced my legs as I always did when I was nervous. Energy bounced through my body, and I tried to ignore the light bulb buzzing above our heads.

"You alright? Want a snack? I brought you a granola bar," Kirk patted his left front pocket.

"Just buzzy. This is me nervous," I said and glanced up at the ceiling. "At least they don't have that stupid sign in here."

"Which sign?" Kirk arched a brow.

"Call don't fall," I said in the same singsong voice I had the sign in the first time I saw it.

"Oh! That one actually saves lives and bones and other body parts."

"It laughed at me while I was shoved full of tubes," I crossed my arms but was happy for the distraction. "I swear. That bright yellow sign is gonna haunt my nightmares one day."

"Well, it was a good thing you didn't fall though," Kirk teased me, pushing my knees apart and stepping in between them.

"Do you think they'll still let me do a home birth?" I asked him. "Even with my issue."

"Probably. Maybe. If the pregnancy goes well, probably."

"You don't sound that certain, alpha," I said, bouncing my feet again.

"I'm not and I don't ever want to lie to you – even by accident."

"That's sweet but I hope they do. I can't imagine having every worker at the hospital staring at me while I try to push out a furry watermelon."

"I'd eat them and tell them to get back to work. Most of the staff have nothing to do with labor and delivery."

"Have you ever delivered a baby before?"

"Twice in nursing school and once when I was an intern," he nodded. "The last one was breech. Scared the shit out of me but we got her out. She was breech and had her tail out in human form."

"That can happen? Was she okay?"

"She was. Both mom and baby," Kirk nodded. "And it happens but not often."

Someone knocked on the door and I flew off the table into Kirk's arms. When the door cracked open a second later and a blonde-haired woman peered in, I felt like the biggest idiot to ever step inside Mercy of Frost.

"No worries, it's just me. I'm Doctor Dreala and I'll be performing your ultrasound today, if that's quite alright?" She spoke with the lightest trace of a London accent. I sniffed the air, but like Kirk while he worked, she didn't have a scent either. My wolf grumbled about the ‘deception' under his breath, but I nodded at her as Kirk sat me back down on the examination table.

"That's fine," Kirk grinned.

"Well, sire, I didn't ask you, did I? I was talking to my patient. He's the one getting the imaging. He'll be making the calls today."

Kirk smelled annoyed for a second but relaxed when I grinned. I liked her.

"That'll be fine. I think I'm just jumpy today."

"Perfectly normal. Your intake paperwork says you had a positive pixelated baby, correct?" she asked.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"If you are pregnant, which you probably are due to how accurate modern testing is, your body is currently being flooded with hormones that are bound to change your emotional state occasionally. Everything in your chart looks in order. We'll see the baby today and schedule you for a well omega exam afterward, if that sounds alright?"

"Okay," I nodded.

"Just lay back and lift your shirt when you're ready," she said, crossing the room and taking a small machine out of her pocket.

I laid back and Kirk nodded at the monitor on the opposite wall that I hadn't noticed before, "that's where the baby will be."

"Can you see it alright?" Doctor Dreala asked.

"Perfectly," I nodded, trying not to bounce my feet as I lifted up my shirt.

Kirk's scent turned protective, and I sighed. I loved him to pieces but the more on guard he smelled the more my feet wanted to bounce. His jaw tensed and I took his hand in mine. He glanced at me and my bare belly and his wolf growled something unintelligible into my thoughts over our mating link.

"Calm down, sire," Doctor Dreala looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "They'll be no biting me. I bite back and I'm afraid you'll only be a snack-sized morsel if it comes to that."

For a second, I expected Kirk to snap at her, but he laughed.

"He works here," I pointed out.

"I'm aware of that. Which is why I expect him not to bite me."

"I bit him. I mean, when we first met. We met here," I rambled on explaining what happened leading up to our fated meeting.

Doctor Dreala nodded along with my story as she pressed the wand of her pocket-sized machine to my bare belly.

"Chilly," I interrupted myself to say.

"Not as bad as it used to be and yes, I'm old enough to remember when the gel was involved and was as cold as the tippy top of Hemlock Mountain on Yuletide Day."

"There on the screen," Kirk pointed at the monitor before the doctor had the chance to.

His eyes were alight with pure fascination and pride as he stared at our little jellybean on screen. All the irritation fled his scent and for a moment he looked like a wide-eyed little boy about to tear into his presents on Yule morning. I squeezed his hand and turned my attention to the screen. It was all in color, but our little jellybean pup was just the color of fleshy cells and blood.

"We'll provide plenty of printed sonograms and a letter recommending your mate be given high risk leave for the duration of your pregnancy. Everything looks fine but I would feel much better if you had someone by your side most of the time. Diabetes can be a bit unpredictable, and we'll want to closely monitor anything that happens."

"Do you think I can do a home birth?"

"If you have the appropriate space, most likely, yes," Doctor Dreala nodded, taking off her gloves and making a few notes on her clipboard. "If not, you'd probably qualify to do a water birth here at the hospital. Either way, rest assured that you are in capable claws. I've managed many high-risk pregnancies and eggings. Mostly eggings in the past. Pregnant dragons often have cravings that aren't best for the glucose levels. So, if something happens and it spikes, call me right away, but don't feel bad about it." She pulled my shirt down as we finished speaking. "We'll discuss all that and more at your well omega exam. How's next Friday for you?"

"What time?" I asked as if I did important things all day.

"Any time. Earlier might mean less of a wait but any time that works for you, I'll do my best to work you in. I understand how hectic life is and I don't like to stress my patients out with exact times. Like who can show up and pee in a cup and be in the mood to have an exam at 9:43 on the dot? Not me!" She laughed.

"Thank you," I sat up and shook her hand.

She shook Kirk's hand and told us that we could pick up our sonograms when we checked out at the front desk.

"I like her," I told Kirk when we were once again alone.

"I knew you would. She has a good rep. I called ahead and told them about you," Kirk admitted. "Don't yell at me again."

"What would've happened if you hadn't? I mean, it's nice that you have connections here but what about people who don't?"

"They would've had to wait a bit longer to meet with her or the other doctor who works with diabetic carriers. They could call ahead too if they wanted. I don't know if most people know that, but Mercy of Frost is pretty patient oriented."

"You're going to make me start a vlog to tell people these things," I chuckled.

"You could and to show off your art."

"Pregnancies and porn. Got it."

"I think people who like erotic art and people who are pregnant or have a pregnant partner probably overlap quite a bit. You know, the whole naked and erotic thing," he said and stole a kiss before helping me off the examination table.