8. Lucas

In order to take Bernadette to her appointment and make sure that everything was progressing well, I had to end the workday early.

I didn't mind, of course. The most important thing to me was that she and her child were okay, and everything was as it should be.

It still felt strange to leave the office when I hadn't finished the day up yet. Because I didn't have anyone to return to, I often worked long days and stayed later than a lot of my employees. It had been my dedication that had first gotten us off the ground, and since then it had become a bit of a habit.

But since Bernadette had come to work with me, that habit had found itself mostly broken.

I didn't want to make her feel pressured in any way to stay longer than she needed to, so I began to leave the office at a decent time every day so that she would do the same. Of course, there were days where the two of us stayed a little later to finish some things up, but it wasn't ever crazy late like I was used to.

So in some ways, being able to leave the office was refreshing, even if I was going to an appointment. It still gave me a much-needed break from the office.

And of course, I was happy for any opportunity to spend more time with Bernadette.

As we exited the office and got into my car, Bernadette turned to me with a concerned expression on her face.

"I realized I don't know how I'm going to pay for this," she said. "If I use my mom's family insurance, she'll be notified and she'll know immediately what is going on. And I don't know if I have enough to pay for the whole appointment out of pocket, especially considering the fact that I'm going to be needing several of these."

"Bella don't worry about it," I said, reaching across to squeeze her hand. "I have more than enough to cover this appointment out of pocket. Just leave it to me."

"Are you sure?" She looked up at me with wide eyes. "You know it'll cost quite a bit."

I laughed. "Oh, of course I know, but I don't mind. What matters to me right now is that you are taken care of, and healthy, and happy. Part of that is making sure that your mother doesn't find out and that you don't have to worry about your financial situation. So leave this part to me."

She squeezed my hand in response. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

We arrived at the clinic and I parked, then helped Bernadette out of the car. The two of us walked into the clinic together, holding hands, and I let the receptionist know we were there for our appointment.

She let us know that the doctor would be with us shortly and the two of us sat down in the cozy waiting area.

"How did you get an appointment so fast?" Bernadette asked, turning to me.

"I actually know one of the doctors who works here. It was her day off, but she made an exception for the two of us."

"That's incredible. How did the two of you meet?" Bernadette leaned forward, clearly interested in whatever it was that I had to say.

I could almost laugh; it was so endearing. I hadn't really ever been with someone who seemed so interested in me for me, until Bernadette.

"We actually went to high school together, and just ended up staying in touch. I find it's handy in these days to have all sorts of different friends, so you can call on them when you might need something, and they can do the same with you."

She nodded, though it seemed this concept was new to her. I knew that she had a harder time making friends. It was one of the reasons the two of us had become friends in the first place. She had no one to hang out with and got bullied quite a lot, and I took pity on her.

But that pity soon turned into fascination as I realized how mature and interesting she was. The two of us got along great, and the rest was history.

My thoughts were interrupted as the doctor came out, a smile on her face as she saw me.

"Lucas, it's been a while," she said. "Come back, right this way." Bernadette and I both stood and followed her back to one of the rooms where she had Bernadette sit up on one of the examining tables.

"Now, from what I understand this is an unusual circumstance as you didn't ever come in for a preliminary visit, so I'll try to make things as easy and underwhelming as possible."

"Thank you," Bernadette said, dipping her head in acknowledgment.

"All right, let's get started."

The doctor ran through a number of questions on Bernadette's medical history, which she did her best to respond to. Then after that, she ran several exams, including a pap smear, a cervical exam, and an ultrasound to determine how far along the baby was.

"You're about fifteen weeks in, by the look of things," the doctor said. "And your baby is quite healthy. You should be a proud mother; you're doing quite well."

I squeezed Bernadette's hand, giving her a look of encouragement.

The doctor went on to talk to her about various symptoms she might experience, and then discussed with her a number of recommendations on care and vitamins and all of that.

I listened intently throughout, though the doctor did promise to give us several pamphlets. I wanted to make sure that I was as informed as possible so I could continue to help take care of Bernadette with everything that she was going through.

Finally, the appointment was over, the doctor recommending to us that we come back within the next month for another check-up to make sure everything was still going smoothly.

"You can schedule an appointment with the receptionist," she said. "She knows my availability and will make sure to get you in within the next month."

"Thank you," I said, standing and grabbing Bernadette's hand again. She stood with me, giving my hand a little squeeze.

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," she said. "I was a bit frazzled and didn't know what to do, so I'm really glad that you were able to get us in."

"Well of course. It can sometimes be difficult for new mothers. Sometimes they just don't know what to do, but you did the right thing by coming in when you did."

The two of us then headed out to the receptionist, where I gave her my billing information and we scheduled our next appointment.

As she looked for an availability, she turned to us with an appraising eye and asked, "So, are you the father?"

I had to think quickly, as I could tell that Bernadette was made extremely uncomfortable by the question.

"Yes, I am," I said, taking her hand and holding it tight in mine. Bernadette turned to me with a confused but grateful expression and just nodded.

It wasn't until we got out to the car that she asked, "Why did you do it? Say you were the father, I mean. You shouldn't have to take responsibility for that."

I raised her hand to my lips to kiss her knuckles. "Maybe not, but I could tell you were uncomfortable. I didn't want that lady to judge you, or for you to feel any less of yourself for the fact that you don't know the father. Besides, the way I see it, I'm going to be playing a big enough of a role to count as the father."

She smiled, looking down at her feet. "You mean it?"

"I really do."

"Good, because I want you to play that role too. I want my child to be able to have some sort of a father figure in their life. And the way I see it, you're the perfect candidate."

"Bella, there's something I want to ask you," I said, turning to her. She faced me, a question in her eyes.

"Of course, what is it?"

"Would you do me the ever so great honor of making this—" I gestured to the two of us. "—official? I want to be able to call you my girlfriend. And I want you to know that you can always rely on me as a boyfriend."

She threw her arms around me, pulling me close to her so that I could feel her heart beating against my chest.

"Oh Lucas, of course. I would love that, so much. You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say those words."

"Good, I'm glad. Because I've waited a long time to say them, and I can't wait to be able to tell people you're my girlfriend. The beautiful Bernadette, my girlfriend. It's a miracle."

She smiled, going up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to my lips. "Not a miracle. More like destiny."

"Destiny, I like the sound of that."

"Then destiny it is."