Page 60 of Doctor Bossy

Soon, Dr. Lin came in with a grave look on her face, and she asked me to step out so she could discuss the results with her patient.

“I’m staying,” I told her, but she shook her head firmly.

“Unless my patient permits it, that’s not how I do things. And you will need to step out while I ask her.” Dr. Lin's face was stern, and her eyes told me she would not be swayed on this topic. But I should have already known she wouldn’t budge. I knew a little bit about her background and knew that she had started her career as a nurse working in a domestic abuse shelter. As such, she always liked to make sure her female patients were looked after and likely wanted to do that now to make sure nothing fishy was going on. I’m sure the power imbalance between Becca and me made it a little suspicious.

I could respect that, and as much as I wanted to be stubborn about it, I knew it wouldn’t help anyone. Besides, Becca would likely tell me what was going on when I returned.

I went out to the canteen to get some water and a snack for Becca before heading back.

And came back to a pale-faced Becca who looked like…

Well, like a woman who had just been told she was about to die.

27

BECCA

The test results Dr. Lin gave me were like a smack to the face. It was like getting knocked out for the second time today.

I shook my head for a few seconds after she spoke, unable to believe what she was saying.

“That can’t be right,” I said. “Check again.”

“We don’t need to,” Dr. Lin said. “We took three different samples of blood and tested all of them. And I assure you, all of them are accurate. There is no doubt. You are pregnant.”

I blinked at her for several minutes, trying to make sense of her words, but it simply wasn’t computing. How on earth could I be pregnant? There was no way, simply no way, that I could be pregnant. I was on the pill and had hardly had sex after a pretty significant dry spell when James and I broke up.

And, oh God, what if it was James? I didn’t know what I would do.

“How far along is the pregnancy?” I found myself asking, even though I had not entirely accepted the news.

“Only about a month,” Dr. Lin said. “You’re actually showing signs pretty early. I’m guessing that was what the fainting was from.”

Oh, thank God.

A month was too early for it to be James, which meant that…

My initial relief was immediately replaced by a different sort of panic. I mean, I hadn’t had sex with anyone else in the past month except Griffin McCormick.

I was pregnant by Dr. Griffin McCormick.

Oh Jesus, what had I done?

“You’re absolutely sure I’m pregnant?” I asked again, hoping against irrational hope that the answer would be different this time. That maybe she would say she had made a mistake or something, and that, on second thought, that wasn’t my chart at all but another Becca Moon in the room next door.

Dr. Lin gave me a sympathetic look. “I can see you’re struggling with the news. We can run the test again if you’d like, but I don’t think the results will be different.”

“Could you?” I asked. “I’m sorry, I hate to be such a bother. It’s just…I’m not sure how I can be pregnant. I’m on the pill.”

“The contraceptive pill is not—”

“A hundred percent effective, I know that,” I said. “But that usually accounts for all the people who don’t take it like they’re supposed to. Meanwhile, I’m like clockwork, especially lately. I used to forget sometimes, but then I figured out the trick. I started keeping the pill by my bedside, see?” I knew I was babbling, but I couldn’t stop. The hysteria was bubbling up inside me. “That helps me not to forget, so I haven’t, and I’ve taken them every single day at 7 p.m. sharp like clockwork.”

I paused my babble to see Dr. Lin regard me for a few moments before speaking carefully, as though afraid to set me off again.“Even when you do everything right, these things happen. Even if you take the pill at the same time every day, there are still things that can interfere with its effectiveness, like hormones, or even some other medication like—”

“Antibiotics. Fuck.” I shut my eyes as realization dawned. I had taken antibiotics the morning after I had sex with Griffin in the restaurant. That may have rendered the contraceptive pill ineffective, thus leading to my current predicament.

“Oh, God, I messed up.” I can’t believe I had forgotten about Rifampin lowering the effectiveness of the pill. I was a fucking biochemist, for crying out loud. How could I have forgotten? “How could I have forgotten that?”

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