Page 47 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
Finn
We hadto wait a little bit before we were referred to the OB/GYN. A man with graying hair and a stern look on his face. He didn't waste much time getting down to business, but I got the feeling he knew what he was doing. That was good, because we needed the most competent doctors we could get.
I held Ryan's hand as he laid on the table and the doctor--Dr. Ignis--performed the ultrasound. He looked at us and then pointed at something on the monitor next to the table. The image was black and white, and honestly, I couldn't make out much. What the doctor was pointing to now looked to me like a little worm with a swollen end.
“That's an embryo,” he said. “Now the question is, and excuse me, but I have to ask this, does it have a dragon parent?”
“Yes,” Ryan confirmed, looking at the screen. “It was definitely a dragon.” He chewed his lip. “Can you tell how long ago...”
“How long ago you conceived?”
Ryan nodded.
The doctor frowned. “It's hard to say exactly. But I would guess about a month ago. I would put your due date around the middle of April, and this little guy has a lot of growing to do before then.” For the first time since we came in, he gave us a smile, his features softening.
“A month ago...” A pensive look crossed Ryan's features and I knew why. We'd gotten together about a month ago. But it was also entirely possible that he'd conceived this child during the week he'd spent with Jin. To me, that didn't matter. He was mine. And so was his child. I squeezed his hand and looked at the doctor.
“How do we make sure the baby's going to be fine?”
Dr. Ignis' expression turned serious again. “I haven't been able to discuss with your oncologist yet, but please rest assured that we will work closely together to ensure the safety of your child through all your treatments. But even so...” He turned to Ryan. “I'm afraid this isn't going to be an easy pregnancy. The baby is going to demand a lot from you in addition to your pre-existing health struggles. I would understand if you didn't want to go through with--“
“I'm going to do whatever it takes to give my baby his best shot.”
The doctor's lip curved up. “That's what I wanted to hear. You're a fighter. I like that.”
I smiled too, glad that Ryan was willing to fight for our child, if not for himself.
* * *
On our wayback home from the hospital that evening, Ryan seemed lost in thought. He’d been quiet since our last talk with his oncologist, and I could tell that there was something on his mind, but he wasn’t ready to say it yet.
I waited. Honestly, I was a little tired myself. The day had been exhausting in more ways than one, and my mind was still reeling with the fact that I was going to be a father.
It seemed unreal. I still felt like a child myself, some days. Especially now as I took Ryan home with me and found my mother waiting for us with dinner.
“You two have been gone so long,” she said, ushering us to the table. “You must be starving! You need to eat more, Ryan.”
“Yes, Ma'am.”
I laughed, because Ryan looked like a scolded schoolboy as he sat at the table, and because she was right. Ryan really did have to eat more. He was eating for two now, after all. Since he was pregnant. Gods, he was really pregnant.
“We're having a baby,” I announced to my mom as she served us two steaming bowls of beef stew, because I couldn't keep the news inside of me anymore.
“What did you say?” she asked, confused.
“We're having a baby,” I repeated. “Ryan and I. He's pregnant.”
“Oh, is that true?” My mom whirled around to Ryan, pulled him up from his chair and swooped him up in her arms. “Congratulations, darling! Holy heavens, I can't believe my little boy is going to be a father. This is such wonderful news! How far along are you?”
“A month,” Ryan mumbled. He seemed a little bit uncomfortable, since my mom was holding him so tightly, but his lips curved up the tiniest bit. I felt myself smile too. With all the doom and gloom in the hospital, I hadn't really been able to feel happy that we were having a child. It must have been the same for Ryan too. He'd nearly lost it when he first got the news. That was no way to celebrate the creation of a new life.
“That's wonderful,” my mother said again, finally letting go of Ryan only to hug me instead. “Stay strong,” she whispered a piece of motherly advice in my ear. I nodded.
My mother knew of Ryan's illness. I'd told her. She wasn't letting that information taint our evening, though, and I loved her for that. She had a natural talent to make the people around her happy, something I'd always admired about her. I wanted to be like that for Ryan. For him and our child.
* * *
That night, I woke up to the sound of coughing. I blinked my eyes open and in the dark, I looked at Ryan, who was bending over the side of the bed and coughing his lungs out. Or that's what it sounded like.
