Page 26 of Jaded Red

“What was it then? What caused her pain?”

Emma looks at Nadia and Nadia nods her head before answering me. “Since Nadia isn’t spotting, bleeding or having an abnormal discharge, I’m almost certain it’s Round Ligament Pain. RLP happens when pregnant people start showing. Since Nadia has lost a lot of weight but still managed to keep sustenance down for the baby, her belly is growing bigger, even though she isn’t. Once she starts putting weight on to grow with the baby, RLP will be less and less. She just needs to limit what she does and how often she does it until her body adjusts.”

“What do you mean you’re almost certain?” This chick has a medical degree and can’t give me a straight answer, what the fuck! “You better be certain, Doc.”

“Matt,” Nadia groans in frustration. “Listen to the Doc, she does know what she’s doing.”

Emma doesn’t bat an eye at my outburst. “That is why I have a monitor hooked up to Nadia, to check the baby’s heartbeat, which is strong and healthy and we’re going to do an ultrasound now.” She turns to the machine and fires it up.

“Wait.” Nadia stops Emma from continuing. “Can Exleigh and Syvannah come in?”

I know why she is asking and I agree with her. Those two sacrificed themselves for this baby and Nadia. Emma nods herhead. I get off the bed and open the door. “Exleigh, Syvannah, can you two come in here?” The duo rise from the floor, still clutching onto each other, scared out of their minds. Everyone else is looking at me with worry in their eyes. “She’s going to be ok. Give us a few minutes and then you can see her.”

I close the door before anyone can ask questions or say anything. Exleigh and Syvannah are sitting on the edge of the bed, their eyes are stained red from crying. “Is the baby ok?” Exleigh asks.

Nadia nods her head, “Yes, everything is fine, girl. Doc Emma is going to do the ultrasound and Matt and I wanted you in here with us for it.” I approach the bed and sit next to Nadia, taking her hand in mine again.

“OK, Nadia, lay down and lift your shirt,” Emma instructs. Nadia does what she asks while Emma picks up a bottle that has jelly in it. “This will be cold at first, but then it’ll warm up.” She shakes the bottle and turns it upside down putting a blob on Nadia’s lower stomach.

Nadia releases a hiss. “Shit, you weren’t kidding. That is cold.” Exleigh giggles and Syvannah is watching in awe.

“Ok, now I’m going to take this wand and place it on your belly. I’ll get a few measurements and pictures. Are you ready?” Emma asks.

“Yes,” Nadia answers and I nod my head.

Emma places the wand on the area where she put the jelly and moves it around. She’s clicking away at the keyboard, while still moving the wand thingy. We all watch the screen as a little thing comes on. I’m shocked, Nadia squeezes my hand hard, but I can’t tear my eyes away from the screen.

My heart swells inside my chest as our baby comes to life on the screen. “Is that… I’m going… holy shit…” I rub my palm against my chest, trying to calm it down. My face turns bright red but I’m not embarrassed, I’m in awe.

“Yeah, Matt. That’s our baby.” Nadia’s throat clogs with emotion as we watch the screen together.

“Do you want to know if it’s a boy or girl?” Doc Emma asks.

“Yes.” I say at the exact moment Nadia says “No.”

Nadia frowns and looks at me, “You want to know?”

“You don’t?” I ask.

“I don’t… I don’t know if I do. What if something happens to them? My heart is already full, I don’t know if I can take it if I have a name picked out, clothes, all that crap and they’re ripped away from me?” Nadia’s bottom lip trembles with worry.

I kiss her on the forehead and look deep into her eyes. “I will help you through whatever heartache you have and together, you and I will burn this world down together if something were to happen to him or her.”

“What are you saying, Matt?” Nadia asks.

What am I saying? What am I trying to tell her? Do I love her? Will I sacrifice everything for her? Will I put anyone who harms her again to the ground? Yes, to it all. As I stare into Nadia’s eyes I know I can’t hold back any longer.

“I’m saying that I love you, Nadia. From the moment your fingernails ran across my chest, to the moment you gave yourself to me and only me, I fell for you. You are my world and I will kill anyone who harms you or our baby. You are mine. ”

Tears fall from Nadia’s eyes and roll down her cheeks. “I love you, too, Matt.”

“So does this mean you want to know if it’s a boy or girl?” Emma asks with a smile on her face.

“Yes.” We both say in unison.

A few more clicks and moves from the wand, Emma prints out a few pictures and hands them to us. After she wipes the jelly stuff off Nadia’s belly, she pulls her shirt back down. Nadia sits up in the bed and carefully swings her legs over the edge. I wrap my arms around her shoulders while we look at the ultrasoundpictures. I’m not sure what I’m seeing but I’m not going to tell these women that. One photo has a small circle, which could be the head I’m guessing, a bigger circle attached to it and sticks coming from the big circle. I’m confused as hell but I keep my mouth shut.

Emma gives me mercy and points to the smaller circle. “This is the head.” Then she points to the other circle and sticks. “This is the body, arms and legs.” Then she points to what looks like a worm. “Congrats Mom and Dad, this means you’re having a boy. And by your measurements, Nadia, you have five months left. Which is right on target to what you told me earlier. I have a 3-D image machine in my office and I can set up an appointment so you can see what he looks like in a real image.”

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