Page 59 of Finding Limits

Isit on the chair beside the bed and watch the nurse prod and poke Everleigh, all the while her eyes remain tightly shut and her hand squeezes mine.

“Well, it looks as if the fall didn’t harm you, there's no tenderness. And the baby has lots of protection in there.” Her smile is warm and reassuring, though Everleigh doesn’t see it because her eyes are still closed.

“I don’t even know if I’m pregnant, the test said I was but I can’t…” She shakes her head and breathes slowly.

“Tests are rarely wrong, but we can take a look if you’d like peace of mind.”

“Yeah, we want that.” I jump in. Needing to know for sure that they’re both okay.

“Sure, I’ll go find a sonogram machine, just try to relax.” She leaves us alone and Everleigh still keeps her eyes shut.

“Darlin’, you can open your eyes, I’m here, and everythin’s okay.”

“I can’t. I hate these places, the lights are too bright and it reminds me of those first few days I was free. Everything was so loud and chaotic. It was too much. I was so scared they’d never let me go.”

“Well, you're free now, and you're safe.” I kiss her hand and wait for the nurse to return.

“Everleigh, do you remember how long ago your last period was? It will help me determine whether to examine you externally or internally.”

“Externally,” I answer for her, knowing that an internal examination would be too much for her. “She’s, erm, she’s suffered some trauma in the past,” I explain, hearing my voice go weak when I think about how close she came to suffering it again.

“No problem, early pregnancy can be hard to detect that way, but we’ll do our best.” I watch her prepare the machine until she asks me to dim the lights.

“This might feel a bit cold,” she warns Everleigh before squirting some gel on her stomach. I take her hand again, to let her know I’m right with her as the nurse presses the wand that’s attached to the machine, against her lower stomach.

“The lights are low, you can open your eyes,” I whisper. But Everleigh shakes her head. The nurse is taking her time and I’m starting to wonder myself if that test was wrong, but then a sound fills the room that makes it undeniable.

“Is that?”

“That is the heartbeat of a very, healthy baby,” she confirms, twisting the screen around so I can see for myself. I squint to see what she’s pointing at, but it soon becomes very clear.

“Everleigh, open your eyes,” I encourage her. “You really need to see this.” I turn my attention to her, wanting to see her reaction. “Please, trust me, you don’t wanna miss this.” Eventually, she opens them and when she sees the image on the screen she bursts into happy tears.

“Is that really our baby?” She covers her mouth, laughing and crying all at the same time.

“It sure is, I’d say you're about seven weeks along from the measurements. Congratulations.” The nurse leaves the image on the screen as she puts the wand back in its place and hands Everleigh some tissue.

“But I was told I couldn’t have kids. They… She made it so I couldn’t.” Everleigh speaks up and the nurse looks confused.

“Were you told that by a medical practitioner?” she asks, with a frown.

“No.”

“Well, I’ve been doing this for a long time and I can assure you that you are one hundred percent pregnant.” The nurse smiles again.

“She’s sure.” Everleigh looks at me and bursts into tears again, and I take her face in my hands and kiss her, trying to think of a time in my life when I’ve been this happy.

“Come on, let’s get ya home.”

“What about Annie?” she asks, suddenly looking panicked again.

“I texted Garrett, he’s makin’ sure she and her kid have a room at the guest house, Cole and Maisie are waitin’ with her down in pediatrics,” I assure her.

“Here’s some information you need about the do’s and don’ts. I’ve also written you a prescription for some prenatal vitamins. You’ll need to make a follow-up appointment with your local midwife in a few weeks, to check on baby’s development.” She opens the door for us and sees us out.

Taking Everleigh’s hand, I lead us out the hospital, feeling like the luckiest man on the planet.

Everleigh’s lying out on the couch fast asleep, what happened today has really taken its toll on her, and I’m so relieved that she’s resting. I sit beside her with her legs resting on my lap and my hand splayed over her flat stomach. I’m gonna be a dad, I still haven't let it sink in completely because it feels too good to be true.

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