30. Jamison

"I'm sorry." The ultrasound tech hung the wand on the side of the machine. "We can't see anything for sure today."

Reclined on the examination chair, Evie wiped her disappointed tears with a wobbly smile. "I'm okay to try again."

"We can sit here all day if needed," Jamison insisted, absolutely hating seeing her sister so upset. "Or we can come back later in the afternoon."

She arrived just in time and, afraid to miss the big reveal, ran inside like a mad woman. The kind receptionist ushered her directly to the ultrasound hall and into a room where Evie lay waiting with her enormous belly exposed.

"Sometimes this happens." The tech flipped on the light switch, dissolving the peaceful dark. "And the list for today is full."

With the fluorescent lights flooding the room, Jamison shrank into herself. The space was surprisingly smaller than she originally thought, which explained why Samuel had remained crammed in a corner next to Evie's head for the entire thing.

"She's due in less than a month," Samuel tried to explain. "Do you think we can get another appointment before that time?"

"Probably not." The tech shrugged, ignoring Evie's quiet crying. "But you'll have to check with scheduling."

"Or we can try again."

Jamison grinned. The tech hadn't been overly friendly from the start, and her brother wasn't exactly known for his patience when dealing with rude people.

Or just people in general.

"We still have to see the doctor, and like every other time we're here, I'm sure there's going to be a wait." Samuel nodded at the machine. "So, instead of us being moved into a holding room, we can stay here while you try again."

"But it's my lunch break." The woman placed her hands on her hips, unwilling to give in. "I deserve a chance to eat, and you three need to head to the rear examination rooms."

"Eat while you work," Samuel snapped, pulling out his wallet to settle the argument the Fairweather way. It wasn't a practice he usually approved of, but he could never handle seeing his wife cry. "It's not that hard."

"Seriously," Jamison mumbled. "I have to do it all the time."

Samuel held up a handful of cash. "Here's five hundred dollars to try again."

The tech's eyes went round, and she snatched the cash as Evie gasped. "You can't just bribe an ultrasound tech, Samuel!"

"Yes, he can," the tech replied, counting the money at a dizzying speed. "Take a lap around the building to help move the baby around, and then come back. If the receptionists won't let you in, tell them Pam said it was alright."

Jamison helped Evie rise, and Samuel lifted her off the chair. "This is going to be super hard," Evie groaned. "I really have to go to the bathroom."

"We can do it." Samuel took her hand and guided them down the hall and through the reception area. Stepping outside, he nodded to a man waiting at the office entrance. "She needs to take a walk."

Jamison paused for a second, her eyes as big as Pam's when she saw the cash. "That's Holden?"

"Right?" Evie took her arm. "I call him Hot Holden just to mess with Samuel."

Hot Holden came closer, sweeping his sandy brown hair from his forehead, only for it to fall forward again. "Taking a walk to get the baby moving, huh?"

"Yeah, but it's starting to hurt," Evie said, digging her nails into Jamison's arm. "I think I'm going to pee on myself."

"Ultrasounds are exciting, but not very comfortable," Holden said sympathetically. "I used to go to my sister's appointments when her husband couldn't make it, and she was miserable most of the time."

Too busy staring, Jamison tripped when Evie took a step, and let out a nervous laugh.

Samuel rolled his eyes. "We're not going far, Holden. You don't need to come with us."

"No offense, but it's my job to follow you."

Keeping the pace slow, they made it to the corner of the building. Holden kept a few feet back to give them space, and once he was out of earshot, Samuel leaned down to whisper to his wife. "If you pee on yourself, I'm making Holden carry you."

Evie giggled, the sound quickly morphing into a growl. "Leave poor Holden alone. Me and my bodily fluids are your responsibility."

Glancing behind her, Jamison smiled at the security guard. "Seriously, can I trade Izzy for him?"

Letting out a pained laugh, Evie pinched her. "Stop."

"Sorry, but he's freaking gorgeous." Jamison snuck another glance. The man looked more like a male model than an ex-FBI agent. He was dressed nicely, and the two guns on his belt brought the sexy factor way up.

"I'm not complaining." Careful of the curb, Evie made the turn onto the walkway that led down the side of the building with Samuel's help. "When Hot Holden wants to exercise, he swims laps in our pool."

Samuel wrapped an arm around his wife's lower back to give her more support. "If you don't stop calling him Hot Holden, I'm going to get you another guard. An ugly one."

Evie held on to him, her breathing growing heavy. "Would it help if I started calling you Sexy Samuel?"

He tried to remain serious but couldn't quite manage to hold back his laughter. "You will do no such thing, Evangeline."

Spotting Liam in the rear parking area, Jamison waved. He had the car's window rolled down and looked confused over what they were doing. "No penis yet," she shouted so he could hear. "We're trying again in a minute."

"There's no penis because it's a girl," Liam shouted back.

Jamison pressed her lips together, hiding a grin when Samuel and Evie yelled at him to shut up in unison. They made it a little farther before it became too much, and Evie halted. "That's enough," she moaned. "This baby is kicking, and I swear he or she is twice the size of the girls."

Returning to the lobby, they were shown to the ultrasound room immediately. Getting Evie up on the examination chair was a bit of a group effort this time, but they managed.

"You are the size of a whale," Jamison huffed. "I mean that with all the love in my heart."

The ultrasound tech had sat on her stool the entire time, loudly chewing potato chips as she watched them struggle. "Ready?"

"I think so," Evie said once settled.

Pam dusted off her hands on her scrub pants to turn off the lights, and a large TV anchored high on the wall came on. Jamison leaned in to watch the tech squirt a gooey gel on her sister's stomach.

"It's to help us receive a clearer picture," Pam explained.

Jamison straightened. "I know what it is."

In fact, she knew the purpose of most of the items on the ultrasound cart. Obsessing over things was a favorite pastime of hers, and once something got in her head, she had a hard time letting it go until she learned all she could about it.

The thumping of the baby's heart hit the speakers the same time the screen filled with mustard tinted images. Back in his corner, Samuel frowned at the TV. "What's this?"

Pam worked the wand, rubbing here and there. "This is our new 5D ultrasound system. It just came in, and the person trained to use it is out at lunch, so I swiped it."

Evie was already crying. Again. "I've never had a 4D or 5D ultrasound, but I've always wanted one." Eyes on the screen, she yanked Samuel closer by his tie. "You need to bring cash with us every time we come here."

Samuel nodded, unable to tear his gaze away.

"Trade spots with me." This was their moment, and Jamison shuffled around her brother so he could be next to Evie as they watched.

"Baby is good on their measurements. You've got yourself a strong, healthy one here." Pam pressed two fingers into Evie's side. "But we still have those legs closed."

Evie's lip curled in discomfort as the tech continued to poke. "Easy there, Pam."

When the poking didn't work, Pam jiggled Evie's stomach, and as the wand circled around, the very distinct image of a penis appeared.

Everyone screamed.

Samuel hugged Evie, the two of them whispering to one another between kisses. Misty-eyed, Jamison took a hundred photos of the TV, and what Pam kept referring to as a turtle.

"Who wants to see the baby boy's face?" Pam was already in motion, almost as excited as they were. Maybe she thought she was going to get a tip. "It should be right about… there."

The well-defined face of a baby came on screen, and the room went silent. Jamison knew this technology existed but had no idea they would be able to see this much.

Evie's tears shot straight into full on blubbering. "He's so beautiful."

"Of course he is." Samuel wiped his own tears with the back of his hand before kissing Evie's temple. "He's my son, after all."

"Oh, shut up." Jamison snapped another photo and dropped it into the family group chat with the message, Boy! "He doesn't look like you or any of us."

The congratulatory texts poured in while Pam took more photos, and when the two messages came in from her dad and Simone, Jamison turned the phone so Evie and Samuel could read them.

"See, I told you he didn't look like us."

Holy hell. That's Albie.

He looks like Evie's daddy!!

"Really?" Evie wrapped her arms around Samuel as he helped her move to a sitting position once Pam was done. "They really think he looks like Albie?"

Samuel smoothed the hair back from her face. "I'll go up into Haven's attic and bring down the boxes of old photos for us to compare. The girls will get a kick out of it, especially if I grab some of us as kids. We can tell them stories as we go."

"Can I tell the one where you tried to kill me with a crab?"

"I wasn't intentionally trying to get it stuck in your hair, Evangeline."

Pam passed the USB stick with the images and video to Jamison. "That's a very healthy nephew you've got coming your way. You need to give him a cousin or two to play with one day."

A tug pulled at the center of her chest. A line directly linked to her heart. "Maybe."

"Okay, bathroom!" Evie said, the second her feet touched the floor. She waddled off at lightning speed. "Jamison, help me."

"Wait." Pam slung open the door to the hallway. "The patient bathrooms have been moved to the examination hall, and the ones across from here are only for employees, but I can unlock one." She pulled keys from her pocket and jingled them in the air. "We'll just have to let the nurse know you've left a urine sample in here."

"Thank you, Pam." Evie followed behind her across the hall while Jamison carried their purses. "I don't think I could have made it to the examination rooms."

Samuel stood back, looking torn as if he couldn't stand for Evie to escape his sight. "Do you need my help?"

Pam unlocked the door and held it open. "Mr. Fairweather, you'll have to come with me and get started on the follow-up paperwork. We're already running behind, and the doctor doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Samuel didn't budge, waiting while Evie entered and locked the door.

"It's a single room," Jamison assured him, even though she was just as paranoid, and snuck a look inside before her sister entered. "I'll stand right here and wait."

"You're taking her to exam room four when she finishes," Pam said, gesturing for Samuel to accompany her. "Follow me, please."

Staring at the closed bathroom door, Samuel continued to hesitate, like he was rooted in place. The crowd in the hallway thickened, with people flowing in a constant stream around them.

"I won't move, Samuel."

The muscle in his jaw ticked. "I know."

Eventually, he gave in and left with Pam, the two of them entering the cluster of patients and their families. Jamison watched as they disappeared around a corner, noting they were turning right so she would know where to bring Evie.

She checked her texts as she waited, reading through the thread of baby name suggestions popping in. Annabeth liked the name Maxwell, while Selah thought they should go with Samuel Alexander Fairweather Jr.

Abe suggested Homer, and everyone proceeded to give him shit for it.

"I'm sorry!" a woman with a stroller exclaimed when the wheel jammed into Jamison's shoe. "This place is insane today."

"It's okay." Jamison pressed back against the door to let her pass.

Everyone moved with purpose, Patients and staff hurrying about to their destinations. At the end of the corridor, a woman raised up to see over the crowd, her dark head popping up and down every so often as if searching for someone.

Glancing to her right, Jamison looked to see if there was a stray man who was lost. It probably wouldn't be the first time someone's husband or boyfriend got turned around in a gynecologist's office.

Not seeing anyone, she pulled out her phone to call Liam. It didn't even ring before connecting. "A boy! Can you believe it?"

"I need you to listen to me," Michael Sinclair hissed. "Where is your sister?"

Hearing his voice had her vision blurring until the edges of her sight were nothing but a kaleidoscope of colors. A tightness seized her throat, cutting off her oxygen.

"Jamison?"

Dizzy and in shock, Jamison locked eyes with the woman searching for her husband. She was closer now, weaving through the crowd.

"Get off my phone," she wheezed, his voice banging around inside her skull. "Leave me alone."

The lost woman fought against the fresh tidal wave of humans entering the fray, dodging pregnant bellies and crying toddlers. The closer she came, the more the vision of her changed. A distorted image of dark hair wearing a white dress, swirling in and out of focus.

When she reached Jamison, the woman stopped to stand a few feet away in the center of the hall.

"Where is your sister?" Michael demanded. "Jamison! Where is Evie?"

She couldn't answer. Her response stuck in her throat as the woman's white dress took shape. With her head down, she hid her features beneath the long, wet strands of her hair dripping onto the tile floor.

Raising a hand, the woman wiggled her fingers as if saying hello.

"Leave me alone." Jamison shook as she spoke to both the woman and Michael. Were the anxiety meds making her hallucinate? "Go away."

"Answer me," Michael roared in her ear. "Are you or Samuel with your sister?"

Michael's shouts clicked her brain into gear, and she yelled back at him. "Stay the fuck out of our lives."

Jamison didn't know how she did it. One second, the woman was in the middle of the hall, and in the next, a jagged slash of white bringing them face to face. The world slowed, and the woman's sunken features twisted into ghoulish fear. "Run, run, run as fast as you can," she exhaled, sharp teeth slicing chapped lips as she spoke. "Ready, Set, Go. Evie. Help."

The call from Michael went dead, and the grotesque woman moved on, marching onward as if nothing happened. The second she disappeared into the crowd, the world restarted.

Jamison stared numbly at her phone. "Evie?"

Terror struck like a cannonball, and she pressed her ear to the bathroom door but could hear nothing except running water.

"Evie?"

No answer.

Knocking, she waited for a heartbeat, and then knocked harder, the sound echoing. "Open the door, Evie!"

Water. All she could hear was water running in the sink, and it had gone on for far too long. With all her might, Jamison beat at the door, screaming her sister's name.

"Help us," she shouted, yanking on the doorknob. "Someone help!"

Slamming her shoulder into the wood, she got one solid hit before being tossed aside by her brother. Needing just a single ram from his shoulder, Samuel crashed into the bathroom.

Jamison rushed in behind him, but there was no sign of her sister. The bathroom was empty except for the water overflowing from the sink as if Evie had been washing her hands when she vanished.

Another door stood open on the rear wall, and Jamison followed Samuel through it, stepping into the practice's office area. Beige-walled cubicles surrounded them, creating a maze where anyone could hide.

Samuel didn't waste time, and neither did she. Shouting Evie's name, they searched, breaking through closed office doors, and checking every workstation. The gathering employees stared at them as if they were deranged.

"Did a blonde pregnant woman come through here?" Jamison asked a woman in scrubs.

"Ma'am, you need to calm down," the lady replied. "Tell me what's going on."

Samuel didn't speak, overturning desks and cabinets, anywhere someone could be hiding. A man attempted to approach him from behind but had second thoughts when an entire cubicle came crashing down.

"My sister was in the bathroom, and now she's missing," Jamison pushed the woman aside. "Someone kidnapped her."

"Or she came out the wrong door like so many other patients do and took the rear hallway to her examination room." The woman in scrubs attempted to grab her arm, but Jamison knocked her away. "You need to leave before I call security."

"Is there a back door that leads outside?" Samuel bellowed, rounding on the now three men attempting to stop him from destroying their office. "A fire exit?"

"Sir, I want you to take a deep breath."

Jamison caught sight of an exit sign in the rear corner. "Over there!"

She stumbled through the mess, running in her heels as the distance between her and the door seemed to stretch. Samuel made it there first, slamming it open with a thunderous hit from his palms.

On the other side, a pregnant woman stood crying with a howling baby in her arms. "Call the police," she screeched, pushing past them to seek shelter inside. "There's a man with a gun."