Page 34 of Mending Scars

“Great! Lay back down and lift the top part of your gown up.”

Jen wheeled the cart next to me and grabbed a tube. “This is going to be cold, okay?”

I nodded. Jen squirted the gel on my stomach before placing the ultrasound wand on it. Immediately, the computer screen on the cart came to life, but it took a few seconds before she found the right spot. “There’s your baby,” she practically cooed.

Both Ryker and I stared in awe at the screen with our tiny baby on it.

Our baby.

Looking up at him, I briefly wondered if he had done all this with Molly, and if he felt the same way with her as he did with me. I quickly pushed the thoughts aside, not wanting to ruin the moment of seeing my future child for the first time.

Dr. Wallace studied the screen. Jen glanced at her before stating, “I’d say she’s about twelve or thirteen weeks along.”

Dr. Wallace nodded. “I think so, too.” She directed her attention to me. “Only one fetus—no twins.”

Thank God.

“Would you like a picture?” Jen asked.

I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please.”

After she pressed a few buttons on the computer, a small sonogram picture printed out. She took the wand off my stomach and cleaned me up before handing me the photo. “Here you go—the first picture of your baby.”

I glanced down at the sonogram in my hands, then up at Ryker. He was staring at the image with so much love all over his face that it made my heart skip a beat.

He darted his eyes to mine and gave me a sweet smile. I couldn’t stop my own from forming over my lips because of his. I handed the picture to him as Jen said, “It was nice meeting you. Good luck with your pregnancy.”

My head turned to see her wheeling the cart out the door. “It was nice to meet you, too. Thank you so much!”

Dr. Wallace sat back down in her chair. “Do you have any questions for me?”

I looked up at Ryker, then back at my doctor. “This is all so new and overwhelming, but my mind is blank right now.”

Dr. Wallace laughed warmly. “That’s understandable. This is your first child, and not everyone knows what to ask. That’s why we have a packet with everything you need to know to take home. We can go over it before you leave.”

Some tension left me, and I sighed in relief. “Thank you. I feel so much better.”

Dr. Wallace’s eyes lit up as her eyebrows rose. “Oh, I almost forgot! Let’s listen to your baby’s heartbeat.” She stood and grabbed a handheld machine and another tube of gel from one of the cabinets. It had a wand similar to the ultrasound machine at the end, only smaller. “This is a fetal doppler.”

Dr. Wallace squeezed more gel on my belly and placed the wand on my stomach. Static and swooshing filled the room as she moved the sensor around my stomach. “Where are you, little one?”

She traced my lower abdomen before a noise that sounded like a horse galloping mixed with the other sounds. “There you are.”

I looked from my stomach to Dr. Wallace. “That’s the heartbeat? It’s so fast.”

“That’s perfectly normal. The heartbeat of a fetus ranges anywhere between one hundred twenty and one hundred eighty beats per minute.”

I continued listening to the beautiful sound. Ryker squeezed my hand and gave me a huge grin. It was amazing hearing something that he and I created together, something so pure and perfect.

Dr. Wallace left the wand there a little longer before pulling it off, and I immediately missed the sound once it stopped. I could’ve listened to it all day if she let me.

Before we left, Dr. Wallace went over some of the packet of with us, answered what questions we had, and scheduled my next appointment for four weeks later.

As we walked out, Ryker held the door for me and asked, “Crazy, huh? We’re having a baby.”

I laughed. “Yeah. Who would’ve thought?”

He linked our hands as we walked to the elevator. “Not me. You turned my life upside-down.” He pressed the down button with one of his free fingers then poked my stomach.

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