Page 4 of Always Yours

Ally

It’s bad.

I can tell by the way the nurse keeps looking up at me as she jots down my numbers. I swear she tsked at me when she saw that I’d gained ten pounds in the last month. Trust me, I don’t need her tsking me. I feel the weight of every one of those pounds, and it’s punishment enough.

“So?” I ask her after she’s taken a urine sample, checked my weight, oxygen, and blood pressure.

She finishes writing, and I’m beginning to wonder if she even heard me when finally, she jumps up from her seat. “Okay, so Dr. Parks is out of town, but Dr. Reynolds is filling in for him. He’ll be in soon.”

I hold my hands up. “Wait, I want to see Dr. Parks.”

The nurse rolls her eyes at me with impatience. “I understand that, but he’s out of town. Dr. Reynolds is a great doctor. Plus, he’s nice to look at too.”

My mouth falls open. Really? Did she really just say that? I’m sure there’s some code of ethics or something, and you’re not supposed to talk about your doctor being hot with a patient, but obviously Nurse Hatchet doesn’t know that. And no, her name is not really Nurse Hatchett, but that’s the name I’ve given her, the one I think she deserves. The last time I was here, she made a big deal about the fact I was pregnant and not married. I thought about switching doctors then, but I couldn’t because Dr. Parks has been so wonderful to me. “I don’t care if he’s nice to look at. I want Dr. Parks.” I grab my purse, sling it over my shoulder, and try to make a statement by getting out of my chair, even though it ends up taking me what feels like five tries before I’m finally stable on my feet. “I’ll just wait until he’s back in town.”

I have my hand on the door when she stops me. “Miss Trevers, I don’t advise you to leave. Your blood pressure is high, and I suggest you stay to be seen.” I pause, but I’m still determined. I love my doctor. He’s an older man that has delivered thousands of babies, and he’s nice. I’m about to tell her I’ll make another appointment when she continues, “And I understand you want to see Dr. Parks, but for the health of your baby, you should at least stay and let Dr. Reynolds check you out.”

I let my head fall. It’s not just me anymore. I can’t just do what I want; I need to look out for my child now, and even though this baby is a surprise, I already love him or her. I grit my teeth and turn back to my seat. “Fine.”

She doesn’t gloat or anything since she obviously got her way. She just singsongs, “The doctor will be in shortly” and then walks out the door.

I sit back in my seat and cross my hands over my belly. I’m not sure how long I sit here, but when I wake up, I have a very handsome man with a white coat on standing over me.

“Hi, Miss Trevers, I’m sorry to interrupt your sleep.”

I sit up higher in my seat and wipe at my mouth because yes, I even have some drool that has pooled at the corner of my lips. “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry for falling asleep.”

He pulls his rolling stool over and leans toward me. I will give it to the nurse because she wasn’t lying. Dr. Reynolds is nice to look at. He smiles at me. “It’s completely understandable. So let’s talk.”

I nod and cross my hands over my stomach.

He grabs my chart and starts reading before closing it and tilting his head to the side. “You look familiar…”

I push my hair off my face. “Well, I’ve lived in Whiskey Run my whole life.”

He nods. “Aren’t you Austin Blaze’s…”

Before he can finish that sentence, I tack on. “Best friend? Yes, we’ve been friends practically our whole lives.”

He frowns at that but nods his head. “Right. Well, I’ve got good news, and I have some bad news. Do you have a preference of what you want first?”

I blow out a breath. “The good news.”

He smiles again. “Good. Okay, well the good news is that if you do what I tell you to do, then you and the baby will have a better chance of being healthy.”

I can feel a tug in my chest because I know I’m not going to like the bad news. “Well, that is good. So what’s the bad news?”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “Uh, do you have someone you’d like to be here with you?”

For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, real fear takes over. I’m nervous by the change of his tone. I grip the sides of my chair. “Doctor, quite honestly, you’re freaking me out. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

He crosses his arms over his chest and nods. “Okay, well, we found protein in your urine, and your blood pressure is high. Way too high.”

I cross my feet at my ankles which even seems to be a feat. “Uh, what does protein in my urine mean?”

He ignores my question, grabbing for my foot and bringing it up, “You have quite a bit of swelling.”

I gulp. “Yep.”

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