Page 25 of Now that I Found You
Chapter Eleven
Callum ~ January
Stepping into the doctor’s office, I glance around the waiting room for Ellie. She’s seated off to the side near the window. The sunshine peeks in through the blinds making her look even more like an angel.
The first trimester was hard on her in several ways. For a while, it started to feel like what happened at Hudson’s had set us back to where we were after she was taken by Royal.
The combination of morning sickness, which seemed to happen more than just in the morning, and the lack of sleep from nightmares, made it hard on her body. After we spent some time together and separately talking to her counselor, we found she still has a lot of fear over the thought of losing me and raising our child alone.
In a lot of ways, it resurfaced the same feelings she had when she was younger after her dad died and how difficult it had been to witness the grief her mom went through from his passing. Over the past few weeks, her morning sickness has improved, and she decided it was time for her to go back to work. We hadn’t really talked about what she would do when the baby arrived, but I didn’t want to push her. If she felt she was ready, I knew it was a big step for her to go back to working at Hudson’s. Those steps forward were all I wanted to focus on right now, no matter how hard they may be for the both of us.
She reminded me it was time we focused on all the things we had to be thankful for. I couldn’t have agreed with her more.
Ellie glances up from the magazine she was flipping through as the door shuts behind me. When her eyes fall on mine, they light up as her smile grows wide. There’s something so sexy about seeing my wife’s stomach along with our baby inside her.
She sees me look down at her stomach, as she runs her palm over her shirt.
“Daddy’s here,” she whispers as I approach, so only the two of us can hear. Rubbing my hand over her stomach, I lean forward and kiss her.
“Of course, I am. Do you think I’d want to miss this?”
There’s a flash of guilt on Ellie’s face. I know she feels bad I wasn’t with her for the first ultrasound. We didn’t know she was pregnant or what to expect. When she explained to me how she wanted to be certain it was positive before she told me she was pregnant, I understood why, even though I hated knowing I missed something so important. She didn’t want to tell me, get my hopes up, only for it to turn out to be negative. I hate thinking about how this all could’ve been ripped away from both of us.
Either way, I had to remind her regardless of what came our way, I was always gonna be by her side every step of the way. She promised me we wouldn’t have any secrets between us ever again.
“Ellie Reid,” the nurse announces into the waiting room and we both stand.
“Oh my gosh, Callum, I’m so excited.” There’s a nervous giggle in her voice I hear bubble up.
“I am, too,” I whisper to her, as I run my palm over her back leading her through the door and down the hallway to the patient room.
“I’m Leddy, I’ll be your nurse for today. Do you have any concerns before Doctor Sattler comes in?”
Ellie glances over at me, before looking back at her and shakes her head. “No, we’re just really excited for the sonogram.”
“I can imagine.” She smiles a warm smile, as she approaches Ellie picking up the blood pressure cuff and wrapping it securely around Ellie’s arm. I stand next to her, rubbing her back as she goes through the motions of getting her vitals.
“I’ll let her know you’re ready.”
We both thank her as Ellie lies back on the exam room table, running her hands over her stomach. Bending down next to her, I pull up her shirt and press a kiss against her stomach. That’s how the doc finds us when she walks into the room a minute later.
We’re on a first name basis now, as we’ve become well acquainted over the past few months. I don’t think she understood what I meant when I told her I was going to be very involved with making sure my wife was well cared for during her pregnancy.
“Ellie, Callum. It’s good to see you both.”
She has a pen tucked behind her ear, as she pulls the chair out facing us both before reading through Ellie’s chart.
“How have you been feeling? Has your morning sickness improved? I haven’t heard from you both lately.”
There’s a smirk on the edge of her mouth as her eyes bounce between mine and back to Ellie. There’s a not-so-subtle hint she had been receiving one too many phone calls from me. Ellie laughs, her face turning a rosy shade of pink, as she adjusts her shirt and I help her to sit up.
“Much better, thank you for your advice. The past couple of weeks have been a lot better. I’m glad because I couldn’t imagine going through the rest of the pregnancy feeling the way I was.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad, for both of your sakes, that you’re feeling better.”
Ellie laughs again, as she pats her hand on my arm, clearly finding my overprotective ways amusing. I went to Everton and nearly bought out the Target store with all the products Doctor Sattler and other experienced moms were suggesting online.
“I’m always going to take care of you,” I say matter-of-factly. Ellie’s face softens, as I lean forward pressing a kiss to her lips. I don’t give a shit I’m kissing her, right here in the exam room in front of our doctor. I don’t think Ellie cares either.
