Chapter 26

"Good afternoon. I'm Angel. I'm going to be doing your ultrasound today."

I smile politely, but for the life of me, I can't make words come out. I've imagined this moment dozens of times over the last couple of years, but not since everything with Bennett began. Maybe because it went from future fantasy to reality, and now there is so much at stake.

Bennett sets his head on the table beside mine and takes my hand, squeezing my fingers. I can feel his pulse thrashing through his palm, and something about that settles me. We're in this together, for more than just the baby now. Yes, that raises things to another level of shit that can go wrong, but I don't think that's going to be us.

We get each other.

We see each other for exactly who we are and love each other regardless. I don't need anyone else and neither does he. That's what we were missing with our exes. With everyone who came before. When I think about Bennett, I smile and my chest flutters. I realize it's new. We're only a few months in, but I don't care, and I know he doesn't either.

When something is right, it's right, and time only stands as a means to keep you apart.

Angel dims the lights and lowers my leggings to expose my lower abdomen. "Ready?"

Both Bennett and I gulp and nod. Sometimes being a doctor sucks.

After a squirt of warm lubricant, she places the wand straight into it and moves it around to get it into position. A swish and a crackle fill the room, and then the monitor lights up.

"Okay, let's see what we've got." Angel moves the probe with one hand and types some things onto the keyboard as she goes. She shifts it this way and that, the image nothing more than a staticky mass of tissue until she narrows it straight on my uterus and the teeny tiny blob in there. There's not much discernible except for a larger, rounded end, which is the baby's head, an oval shape, and possibly what looks like little arms.

Tears prick my eyes, and Bennett moves closer, holding me tighter.

A few more clicks of the keyboard and a small adjustment of the wand, and, "There's your baby's heartbeat."

It's nothing more than a rapid flicker inside its chest, but fuck, there's my baby's heartbeat. And it looks good. So good. At least from what I can tell.

"Bennett," I rasp, my voice hoarse as those tears start to cascade down my cheeks like Niagara.

"I know." His voice is as thick with emotion as mine.

She continues to check things—the thickness of my cervix and uterus and other details I don't care as much about but are obviously important. We can see our baby. We can see it moving inside me. It's the most miraculous, magical thing I've ever experienced.

It's real now.

I never saw a positive pregnancy test. It was simply a notation in my chart. That's not the same thing as seeing those two pink lines or the word pregnant on the stick.

This is the first real indication I have that this is happening. That there is no going back. Not with the baby or with Bennett. This is forever. This is life-changing. I'm going to be a mother, and Bennett is going to be a father.

My heart skips a beat and then breaks out into one of those ridiculous TikTok dances with all those convoluted moves.

"You're seven weeks two days pregnant, and your due date is June seventeenth."

Oh. I mean, I guess I knew that. I figured out the math of it before having it confirmed now. But that's right when my fellowship would begin. I have no idea what I'll do about that, but I suppose I have time to figure it out.

"Can I have pictures?" I ask the tech. I need to show Callan and Layla. I need to show Owen, Keegan, Kenna, Vander, and Mason. I need to show my people. All those years of never thinking I'd have this, and now here I am. I know the risks. I know we're far from out of the woods. I know maintaining tight control of my blood sugars will be a daily challenge, and I also know that my work schedule isn't the most conducive to either situation.

But I'll do it. I know I will. I'll do whatever it takes.

"Of course," the tech chirps. "Here you go." She hands me a strip of images and then some towels to get myself cleaned up and leaves. I wipe at my belly, pull up my leggings, and then swing my legs over the side of the table to face Bennett.

Before I know what's happening, he kneels in front of me and takes my hands, setting both of ours on my lap. He looks me straight in the eyes and says, "I told my boss we're a couple."

I blink at him, not having expected that at all. For a moment, I thought… well, that's a relief, right? Not quite ready for all that yet. I digress. "Um. Okay."

"I did this weeks and weeks ago. Before we were even a couple."

My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline. "And you didn't tell me until now? Why'd you do it?"

"We had just learned you were pregnant, and I had plans to win you even if you did call me your friend."

I roll my eyes, and he leans in and kisses the inside of my wrist.

"I'm no longer part of the decision-making for fellowship applicants, but I promised him no scandals, Katy. If you're okay with it, I'd like to tell him we're pregnant."

Nervously, I lick my lips. "I wanted to wait until after my interview. Hell, I wanted to wait until after they made a decision."

His expression softens. "I know you did. And I understand why you feel like you have to do that. But I don't want to hide us. I'm tired of it. You're mine, and I'm yours, and we're having a baby." His hand cups my jaw, his other still holding mine. "I'm not saying we announce this to the world. It's still very early. But I want to tell my boss, so it doesn't appear as though I'm trying to hide anything. And with that, when you get your fellowship, I will take time off and stay home with the baby until we're all ready to put them in hospital daycare."

"You will?" I choke out as more tears start to fall. Stupid pregnancy hormones.

"Yes. And if you have to move for it, Katy baby, we'll move together. All my roads, no matter how perilous or winding, have always led me to you, and they always will."

"What about your mom?"

"If she can't or doesn't want to come with us, I'll buy a fucking plane and come in once a week to see her."

Jesus. This man. He means it.

My heart swells. I don't know if it's dumb luck or some magical, twisted form of fate that brought us back together, but I don't care. I'll thank whatever it is until my dying breath.

"I'm getting this fellowship," I tell him sternly. "Boston is my home. My heart."

"I have no doubt you'll get it. You're the best applicant. But you have to take care of yourself and our little one while you're growing it. I can't risk your health or theirs. You got me?"

I nod shakily. "Yeah. I got you. Even if they want to try me on a pump again, I'll do it. Whatever it takes."

He smiles and stands to kiss me as he moves our joined hands and presses them against my belly. "Whatever it takes."

That night, I have the best slumber party ever with Owen and Rory. The three of us eat too much pizza—Owen gets me cauliflower crust because it has fewer carbs, which means less ingested sugar—and Owen makes s'mores. Insulin resistance can be a problem for type 1 diabetics when they're pregnant, so I don't tempt the fates with the s'mores. I promised Bennett—and this baby—that I was going to take good care of us, and I intend to. Instead, I munch on a couple of sugar-free Oreos he keeps here for me along with plenty of popcorn.

Paula slept most of the afternoon and night, and when she did wake up, she was so miserably sick that Bennett eventually gave her a bag of IV fluids into her PICC line. He's exhausted and has an early shift, but since it's my day off, I decided to make him something special now that I've figured out how to properly work his appliances.

Only, as usual with my cooking, nothing goes to plan. My chicken pot pie comes out tasting like paste, and no amount of Jesus could resurrect this from the dead. I end up ordering from his favorite Mexican place because they have the most amazing burritos and use handmade corn tortillas, which are better for me than flour. The only bummer is not having a margarita to go with it, but I'll get over it.

"How's she feeling?" I ask Bennett as I finish setting the table. He went to check on his mom before heading home.

"Better," he says in my ear. "Well, if you count her kicking me out and sending me home to you better, then I guess that's what she is."

"If she's feisty, she's better," I tell him as I dance around the kitchen to music from the Alexa in my fuzzy socks. Fall weather has finally set in, and it's perfectly cold outside with multicolored leaves scattered across the backyard.

"That's what I figure." The buzzer for the door sounds. "What's that?"

"Um. Well…"

He chuckles. "You burned dinner again, didn't you?"

"No!" I protest indignantly as I turn off the music and head for the door. "I didn't burn it. It was just a bit inedible." I swing open the door and freeze, staring in a stunned pause at the person lingering on the stoop. I'd think she was here for me if the equally shocked expression didn't immediately tell me I was wrong. "Oh, shit."

"What are you doing here?" Cricket Peterson snaps at me.

"Who is that?" Bennett barks in my ear, only I can tell by his voice he already knows but is hoping I'll prove him wrong. He growls in dismay. "What the hell is she doing there?"

"I feel a great reckoning is upon us," is my only reply to him. "See you soon." I hang up on Bennett and slip my phone into my back pocket. "I think that might be my question for you," I say to her. "What are you doing at my boyfriend's house?"

She blinks at me, nonplussed. "Boyfriend?"

I could have lied, but considering I opened the door in my joggers and his sweatshirt, I doubt I would have sold anything. But more importantly, why is she showing up at Bennett's front door if not to try something? No way I'm letting that go down. Plus, Bennett said he's tired of hiding us and I guess I am too, so it's game show time, folks. Let's spin the wheel and see where it lands.

"Yes. Bennett and I are together." I lean my hip against the doorjamb and fold my arms casually over my chest. "Though I guess calling him my boyfriend is prosaic for a man like him. But manfriend sounds creepy, right?"

She sputters. "What? What are you… you're really with him? How long has that been going on?"

Cricket stomps her foot like a child demanding answers, and I step outside, shutting the door behind me and wrapping my arms tighter around my chest. Why is it freaking forty-five degrees at the beginning of October?

"Have a seat." I sit my butt down on the stone step and pat the space beside me. Cricket looks like she's about to blow a gasket, but she does as I ask. Probably because she's too overwrought to fight me for once. "Let me ask you again because I think my question will kill two birds with one stone. What are you doing at my boyfriend's house?"

Her arms and legs shoot out in front of her, and for a second I think she's about to run, but then she relaxes and starts nervously playing with her neck. "I um…"

"You thought you'd come here and say something like, I was just in the neighborhood and happened to know where you live even though it's not listed anywhere searchable and was wondering if you wanted to grab some dinner or a drink before I work you up into taking me back here for the night. Right?"

She shifts, looking to her right, but just like me being here is obvious, so is the intent behind her showing up here. The awesome thing about this moment is that if this had been Zane, I would have been suspicious that he was having an affair, and the girl showing up didn't know about me. In Bennett's case, I know she's here unsolicited so she can try and get with our boss.

Probably for several reasons, including the fact that he's next-level gorgeous and she believes he's still the one running the fellowship. "You'll do anything to get a competitive edge," I find myself saying.

Her head whips in my direction, fury blazing in her dark eyes. "Oh, and you're not?" She harumphs. "Why are you here, Katy? You've obviously been keeping your affair a secret. Even his best friend didn't know about you."

My brows scrunch. "Huh? His best friend?"

"A neurosurgeon from Minnesota showed up at work today looking for Bennett, but he had just missed him. He said he was leaving town but wanted to give him this"—she pulls out something wrapped in brown paper from her pocket—"before he left."

"So he gave it to you? Just like that?"

"He told me where he lived and asked if I'd deliver it. He said he'd heard a lot about me from Bennett, and I thought…"

"You thought you'd use that as your opening."

Her cheeks flush.

There is a lot in what she's saying that isn't quite adding up. Especially about Cayden.

"Bennett and I have been together for a few months. We knew each other a while back when I was a third-year medical student, and he was chief resident. And before you start getting all Cricket on my ass, he's not deciding over fellowships anymore. Once he and I got together, he stepped back from that so it wouldn't be a conflict of interest."

Yeah, Cricket might be ready to murder me.

"Are you kidding me?!" she shrieks. "What is wrong with you? What kind of?—"

I hold up my hand. "I'm gonna stop you there, Cricket, since your reasons for being here are far from altruistic. You could have given him whatever is in that bag tomorrow at work. Instead, you came out here to his private residence to make a personal house call. So let's not throw stones. I love Bennett. My relationship with him has nothing to do with getting ahead. But you, you give women a bad name. You wasted four years hating me and knocking me down every chance you got when we could have been friends. Competitors does not have to mean adversaries."

She sulks for a moment, dropping her elbows to her thighs and staring out at the quiet side street. The cool autumn air whips by us, rustling our hair as we fall into silence. Finally, she turns and gives me a look I can't quite read.

"Everything always comes easy to you."

I roll my eyes at her childish antagonism, resting my forearms on my knees. "Hardly. Did you not see me eat linoleum in the OR? I have a life too, Cricket. Just like everyone else does. Shit hits us all. You were always so focused on me, you never gave yourself a chance to shine."

She huffs like a brat, and I sigh. Sometimes there is no reaching people.

I stand and look down on her. "I'm going in. I'm cold." For a moment, I'm tempted to tell her I'm pregnant, but why bother? She'll see my bump eventually, and I don't owe her any explanations. "I hope your interview goes well, and no, there's no sarcasm in there. I honestly do. But I also plan to kick your ass and win that fellowship. I can wish you well and still want to win. Have a good night, Cricket."

I go inside, then shut, and lock the door since Bennett usually comes in through the back and he'll be home any minute. Cricket can do what she likes. She's no longer an issue for me. It isn't until I get inside and she's gone that I realize I never grabbed the brown bag from her.