Page 89 of Body Lock

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“Here we go, Ms. Powell.”

Cadence nodded her head, gripping her fingers tighter around mine. Smiling down on her, my fingertips grazed over her forehead, raking through her hair.

“Alright, time to see the baby like you've never seen him before.” Flicking on the machine, Doctor Young squeezed the jelly onto Cadence's stomach. “These three-D images are amazing, I think you guys are really going to love it.”

Rolling the wand over her skin, the screen began to take shape. There were fingers, real solid fingers, hovering over a perfect set of formed lips. It was a world away from the first pictures we got.

I called them his Halloween poses, he looked like a tiny mutant skeleton. Cadence didn't care for my reference when it came out the first time, but this... This was something else.

I felt my eyes starting to fill, tears balancing on my lids like they were walking a tight rope. I never got emotional, at least not over anything happy. But to see our son in such a vivid way, it really tugged at the heart strings.

Looking down at Cadence, the tears had already started to mark her face, streaking down in thin lines. Kissing the top of her head, I whispered into her ear. “He's adorable, this is wild.”

She couldn't take her eyes away from the screen, she sat still, taking it all in.

Riley's face began to take shape, his cheeks plump and pudgy, the hair of his eyebrows boldly lining his eyes. The whole scene was unbelievable, I was sitting silent, just watching our baby.Our baby.

“He looks very healthy you guys, everything's looking great.” The doctor moved over her belly, going in at different angles.

We could see his shoulders, his tiny feet as he pulled them up into his chest, even his nails. His freaking fingernails were perfectly visible.

“It's like I'm looking at him through a camera lens.” Cadence reached a hand out and touched the video, her eyes twinkling under the high resolution.

“Wild, huh?” Nodding in agreement, Dr. Young scooted in her chair on wheels. “It's amazing to see every time, even after having done hundreds of these. It still gets me, I'm in awe.” Smiling, she wiped away the jelly, shutting off the monitor. “Well, he looks great, like I said. So I think the next time I'll see you will probably be in the hospital.” Stretching out her hand, we both shook it nervously.

“That was so cool,” Cadence said, sitting up and tugging down her shirt. “It's like we got to see him before he was here, I'm blown away.”

“I know, it's crazy.” Staring off into the air, I felt her eyes draw over me.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. I... I'm just getting a little nervous, that's all.” Plopping down in the seat the doctor had just been in, I shoved my legs across the floor, rolling backwards. “Riley is going to be here so soon, and I guess it's all just starting to sink in.”

“Don't be nervous, Quinn, you're going to make a great father.” Kicking her feet, Cadence held her stomach. That was something she had started doing a lot of lately, holding our baby from the outside. “It's not like I'm not nervous, I mean... I'm the one who has to push him out. Think aboutthat.”Drawing out the last word, her eyes grew wide, brows arching high.

Chuckling, a smile tugged at my lip. “Yeah, that's true, huh, guess I didn't think about the whole exploding vagina bit.”

“Don't refer to it like that.” Slamming a palm into the air, Cadence rolled her eyes. “I do not want to think of my vagina exploding at all.”

“What? Isn't it supposed to be similar to the whole pushing a watermelon through a lemon-sized hole?”

Cradling her head, she huffed under her breath. “What the hell have you been reading?”

“That's what I learned in health class, didn't you?” Forcing a smile, I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Look, I'll love you either way, big vagina included.” Winking, I grinned, trying to ease her fears.

And I desperately tried to yank the nerves out of my system along with it. I wanted to go back to being strong and feeling like the world could never touch me, touch us.

But now with that fucking note...

I had to make sure that we would never be in that position again, that no one would ever be hiding around a corner, threatening Cadence, threatening my family.

My family is everything, and I'll do anything to protect them.

Hearing the doctor saying we wouldn't see her again until the baby was on his way, it made my stomach jump and twist into knots. It was so close, and yet it still felt like it took us forever to get here.

I couldn't really explain the emotions that were taking place inside my body. There was excitement, anxiety, fear...

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