Page 123 of My Vows Are Sealed

“You could say that,” I sighed.

“Well, let’s see if I can make it a little better. How about if we check on your baby?”

“Yes, please.”

Sally gently pulled my shirt up, hissing quietly. My terror returned all over again, and I couldn’t help the tears that started to trail down my cheeks.

“How bad is it?” I choked out.

“You’ve got a lot of bruising around your ribs,” she told me.

“I tried to protect my stomach,” I sobbed. “I tried to keep the baby safe. I tried.”

“And it looks like you did a good job of that,” she soothed me. “Let’s just fire the machine up and take a look. Do you know how far along you are?”

“No,” I blubbered. “I just took the test yesterday. My last period was like seven weeks ago.”

“Okay. Have you had any cramping or bleeding?”

I shook my head.

“That’s a good sign, sweetheart,” she said as she plugged the machine in and turned it on. “We won’t know for sure until the doctor takes a look at these images, but you have reason to be hopeful.”

I heard an electronic humming sound as the machine fired up, and she squirted some gel onto the wand and then she grabbed the rolling stool and sat down.

“Sorry, I know this is cold,” she chuckled weakly.

Despite the warning, I still yelped when the ice-cold gel made contact with my skin. I felt an uncomfortable pressure as she pressed the wand down over my stomach and pelvic area, and there was a whooshing sound coming from the machine as she moved it around. And then I heard a rapid thumping sound, and Sally pushed some buttons on the machine as she moved the wand around, then looked at me and pointed to a small image on the screen that looked kind of like a lima bean.

“See that?” she asked.

I nodded.

“That’s your baby. And that sound you hear is the heartbeat. I’m taking some pictures for the doctor right now, and she’s going to give you the final verdict, but it looks like it’s just fine.”

More tears leaked out as I looked at the life that Brendan and I had created on the fuzzy screen. Even at this early stage of life, our baby was already a fighter, and she had held on through everything we’d been through today. And then I started sobbing as I realized that I was getting my first look at this baby and my fiancé was stuck at the police station waiting to be released.

“Thank you,” I sniffled. “Is there any way I can get copies of the pictures? For my fiancé.”

She smiled. “Of course. I’ll make sure the doctor makes copies for you.”

After another few minutes, Sally left. As soon as she was gone, Kate and Ashton rushed into the room with tears streaming down their faces, followed closely by Alex and Ethan.

“Oh, my God,” Kate sobbed as she threw her arms around my neck. “Oh, my God, Darla.”

Immediately, I was able to breathe a little easier. I still wanted Brendan here more than I wanted my next breath, but at least if he couldn’t be here, two of my best friends were.

“Please say you’re okay,” Ashton choked out as they hugged me from the other side.

“Everything hurts,” I sniffled as I rubbed both of my friends’ arms with my good hand. “I’m still waiting for x-rays because I’m pretty sure my arm and a couple of ribs are broken, but that was the ultrasound tech that just left. She said the doctor has to be the one to say for sure, but it looks like the baby’s okay. I just want Brendan.”

“Thank God,” Kate sniffled. “Brendan should be here soon. Nay went to the police station so she could give him a ride here when he gets released. We came straight here.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

“Where else would we be, honey?” Ashton murmured. “You’re family. Scare the shit out of us, why don’t you?”

I couldn’t help it. I let out a watery chuckle, then groaned in pain as it jolted my ribs.

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