Page 85 of Sebastian's Baby

Lita lies back on the bed, grabs the gel, and squirts it on her stomach before putting it aside. She turns the Doppler on, then puts the wand on her stomach. After a few seconds, the now familiar sound of the placenta can be heard through the Doppler’s speaker.

“Ugh, that happens all the time. The baby likes to hide behind the placenta, I think,” she laughs.

Lita angles the wand, and suddenly the room is filled with the best sound in the world. I close my eyes and listen to the thrumming noise as a love more intense than I’ve ever felt before fills my heart. I count the beats, and it’s more than two a second, but closer to two beats per second than three beats per second like it was last time.

“It’s slower than before,” I whisper, not wanting to stop listening but also mildly concerned that this means there’s a problem.

“Yeah, it is. Wait, how can you tell?” she asks quietly as the sound continues in the air around us.

“Because I’m a musician?” I chuckle.

“Oh, of course.” Lita smiles back at me, then shows me the screen that tells us that our baby’s heart is currently beating at one-hundred and forty-three beats per minute. “It’s the fastest at ten weeks when we first heard it, then it slows down over the rest of the pregnancy. I looked it up because I freaked out when I first did it and it was slower than before.”

I’m so relieved when she tells me that this is normal, and I listen to the beautiful thrumming noise again.

“God, this is the best sound in the whole world,” I sigh.

We fall silent and just sit there, listening. After a few minutes, Lita takes the wand off her stomach, and the sound stops.

“Thank you for that, Lolita,” I say around a lump in my throat, and with that immense amount of gratitude for her filling me. “It was the best gift anyone’s ever given me.”

Lita smiles at me, “You’re welcome, Seb.”

I get up and find a box of tissues in the bathroom to help her clean off before coming back to the bed and saying, “I wish we could go somewhere; I’d love to take you to play pool.”

“Me too; kicking your ass is fun,” Lita laughs and then cringes at me. “There have been more stories—oh, and there were pictures of us from Chicago.”

“Damn. I wondered when someone would find those.”

I’ve been dreading this happening. It means they’re one step closer to finding her. It terrifies me, and the thought of going back to Chicago and leaving her here is even scarier.

“I don’t like you being here on your own, Lita. Are you sure you won’t consider coming back to Chicago with me?”

Lita rolls her eyes. “No, Seb, we’ve been through this; I have a job here, and I have a life; I can’t just pick up and move to Chicago.”

“Isn’t your job computer-based? Surely, in 2021, you could do most of your work remotely.” I purse my lips and frown at her.

“I’ve already talked to my boss about it. It’s a possibility when I come back to work after the baby’s born, also if, for some reason, I get put on bed rest or something. What it’s not an option for, is,‘my baby daddy lives in Chicago, and I’d like to get fucked on the regular,’” she smirks at me.

It surprises me that I didn’t immediately think about how much sex we could have if she moved to Chicago.

I shake my head at her. “That’s not why I want you there, Lita; it’s just an added bonus. I hadn’t even thought about that, to be honest. Having kind of epic sex regularly would be nice, of course. I guess it’s just that I’m comfortable at home in Chicago; I know the city, and I know how to keep you safe there. I don’t know Seattle.”

“Yes, but then I would be in a strange city, and I wouldn’t be comfortable. Dr. Watson is here too.”

I laugh. “This might shock you, princess, but Chicago has doctors as well.”

“Sorry, Seb, it’s a no from me.”

I sigh, and I can see that she’s not going to change her mind. At the very least, though, I might be able to get her to come back where she’ll be safe with me for a short period of time.

“Fine, but would you consider coming over to Chicago for the weekend in two weeks’ time?”

“Sure, why?” Lita doesn’t seem to have put two and two together, which is highly amusing.

“You can’t figure out why, fangirl?” I laugh as I give her the hint.

Lita rolls over, grabs her phone, and I watch her open the calendar app.

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