Ari stood and looked at the door one last time before she dutifully followed her nurse back to the exam room.
Where could he be?
“Step up on the scale, please.” She asked. “131.” she announced, while Ari cringed. “Bathroom next, we need a urine sample.” She pointed to the bathroom door.
Ari washed her hands before using the bathroom, then picked up one of the little cups for the required sample and the black marker. Writing her name along the label, she snapped the lid off and performed what would become her new a monthly ritual.
When she stepped out of the restroom, the nurse escorted her down a narrow hall to a small examination room. “Everything off below the waist. Use this to cover up, and someone will be in shortly.”
Not a moment later there was a hard-loud knock on the door, and the world’s perkiest nurse entered the room. She took the next required set of vitals and wrote everything down, only commenting on her blood pressure, which was slightly elevated.
“Are you nervous?” She asked.
“No.”
“Okay, the doctor will be with you in a few minutes.”
It had been a good fifteen minutes before there was a knock. No one asked to come in. The door just opened. There he was, looking frazzled, like he had missed getting a piece of birthday cake.
“Where have you been? You landed an hour ago. Did you get stuck in customs or something?” Ari hopped off the table causing the paper cover-up to fall.
“Hello to you too.” he peered down at her nakedness before kissing the top of her head. “Traffic. You Canadians don’t know how to drive. Have you been waiting for me?”
“Opposed to you, Jerseyans, ha.” she retreated to her appointed spot on the table. “No. they just put me in here. I thought you were the doctor.”
Jon darted forward and rested his hands on either side of her, the sterile white paper crinkling as he did. “Dr. Feelgood at your service.” he looked her up and down. “But, you’re a little overdressed to be my patient.”
“Would you knock it off?” She slapped his shoulder. “Go sit.”
Ari pointed to the chair in the corner. They were talking when Dr. Laurent walked in.
“Hello Ariana.” he looked up from her chart. “Oh pardon me, I didn’t know there was someone else here, Hello.” he extended his hand to Jon.
“Jon. Nice to meetcha.”
“Pleasure. I’m Dr. Laurent. Dr. Barnes and I have already spoken, and she has brought me up-to-date. We will continue to work closely together. While you are here in Canada, you will see only me, even though this practice has more than one doctor. That is just so we don’t have too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak. We will enter your medical records into an electronic database which will allow for you to have access as well while you are out of the country, in case you need them.”
“That will be a big help.” Ariana said. “I don’t know if Dr. Barnes informed you, but starting February, I will do a lot of traveling and flying. Do you foresee that to be a problem?”
“No, not at this time. As the pregnancy progresses we will monitor you closely and if we think it will cause issues we can discuss it then.” Dr. Laurent turned to the sink to wash his hands. “Now, why don’t you lie back and let’s have a look at your baby?”
Ariana let out a deep sigh as she laid back and placed her feet in the stirrups. Jon slid his chair closer and reached for her hands, that was resting on top of her stomach. A black screen appeared on the monitor as Dr. Laurent turned it on. He entered her information into the system, then turned the screen so the three of them could see.
“Let’s hope you can see something.” He said. “Are you ready, you may feel some pressure when I place the transducer inside?”
“Uh-hm,” Ariana nodded.
Jon gave her hand a squeeze when he noticed her wince in discomfort for a few seconds.
“See what fun I get to endure.” Ariana smiled up at him.
“There," Dr. Laurent interrupted as he pressed a button, and they could hear a quick pulsing sound. “That right there, is your baby's heartbeat.”
Ariana’s mouth dropped open at the first sign of the little life she had inside of her. She looked up at Jon and then back to the screen with the biggest smile on her face. A heartbeat, their baby’s heartbeat, and it sounded like music to her ears. She felt the weight of Jon’s hands as he pressed them against her stomach, as if that would bring them closer to their baby. This time it was she who squeezed, before lifting their hands up and pressed a kiss to their intertwined fingers.
Dr. Laurent pointed to the screen, “The black spec you see over here,” he moved his finger along the screen, “the whitish line, that is the uterine lining, which looks good.” He pressed the button again. “The ovaries look nice and clean.” he enhanced the screen a little more. “And this, this little bean, here, that is your baby.”
“That!” Ariana exclaimed.
“Yes. The flashing you see is the fluttering of the heartbeat." He explained while hitting some buttons to take measurements.
Ariana noticed the doctor printed out only one image. “Can you print out a few more?” She asked.
“Sure. Do either of you have questions?”
“So, is it,” Ari smiled at Jon then continued, “does he look good and all. Healthy, I mean.”
Jon laughed openly at her insistent reference that the baby was a boy. After having actually seen the heartbeat this time, Jon was over-the-moon- ecstatic. She was finally so happy about this he’d let her have her ‘it’s a boy’ moment for now and rub it in the next time when they could tell more.
Ariana sat up as the doctor washed up. “According to my calculations, you are due late-July. This early in pregnancy I prefer not to give a specific due date, as they can change a week or two either way." As soon as the words rolled off his tongue Ariana gave one very enthusiastic yes.
“Is July special for you two?” The doctor asked.
Jon just shook his head and smiled. “Did you memorize the entire month of July?”
“Nope, just the important ones.”
“We’ll be here?”
“Technically, Toronto. But that works for me.”
Dr. Laurent stood with his hand on the doorknob. “I take it you are from Canada, Ms. Moretti?”
Ariana opened her mouth to speak but Jon had beat her to it, “Technically...” he smirked at her, “she was born in California.”
“My grandparents and my mother are… were Canadian.” Ari answered in a sullen tone.
“Ah, I see. Well, these dates are sometimes off in either direction.”
The muffled “hmpf” from Jon went unnoticed by the doctor.
“Now then, your blood pressure was slightly elevated. Not by much. Are you under and stress at the moment?”
Jon and Ari looked at each other. “A little.”
“That’s okay. There is no way of controlling the stress, we can control letting it get to us. Eating healthly is not only important for the baby, it also helps with your blood pressure. I’m not saying you have to give up your favorite indulgences, just try to moderate them.”
Jon chuckled, “See.”
“Shut it.” She playfully said.
“Is there anything you wanted to ask?”
“No.”
“Alright, then I'd like to see you back in three weeks, or if you’re not here then with Dr. Barnes.”
Ariana nodded her head. “Dr. Laurent, I can’t thank you enough for everything.”
“You’re welcome. Take care. Oh, and congratulations, again.”
With that, Dr. Laurent left. Before the door had time to click, Jon bent his head down and kissed her full on the lips and caught her off guard. Ariana closed her eyes on the impact as she leaned in more, shifting so she could fit against him more. He used a little more pressure to open her lips so he could finally taste her. After being without her for so long, his hands reached up to cradle both of her cheeks.
The sound of a knock on the door made them realize where they were, and they broke apart. His lips curved up into a smile as he noticed her kissed, bruised lips and darkened eyes.
“Come in.”
The door open and the bubbly nurse from earlier appeared. “This,” she handed Ariana a small piece of paper, “is another prescription for prenatal vitamins. Also, Dr. Laurent wanted me to mention you may experience some cramping from the ultrasound and a little staining. It’s best you refrain from sex for the next twenty-four hours.”
Ari shot a quick glance at Jon, only to see his jaw fall open. Reaching over, she pushed her finger under his chin and closed it. Looking at the nurse, she thanked her and waited for her to leave before hopping off the table to get dressed.
Walking out to the vehicle, Jon kept sneaking furtive glances towards Ariana, internally bemoaning the next twenty-four hours. He didn’t realize the groan he let out was audible until he realized she turned and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, poor baby. I know you can wait another day.”
“Don’t tease the lion, Crash.” He growled out.
“Oh, I can tease you all I want, but since you’re suffering, I’ll keep it to a minimum."
Reaching the vehicle, he pinned her against it and roughly pushed his hands into her hair. As the kiss intensified, he ground his growing erection into her soft belly, moaning into her mouth. He pulled away first, shot her a smirk, and then climbed into the vehicle.
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