The Dance We Shared

23

January 27, 1999

Stevie was sitting in awkward tense silence at her gynecologist just swinging her legs in the thin paper gown. She had more done to her today than just a pregnancy confirmation and, the stupid med student that did her pelvic kind of made her feel violated. But she did agree to it for learning purposes as long as the student kept their mouth shut about who they did it too and she warned them that if anything so much as got out she'd sue. The poor kid looked traumatized and that is a giant possibility as to why she was now feeling violated because it was like the kid didn't know what to do and at some points, it hurt, and they never hurt her. But it was awkward as well because her gynecologist is a female and the student that did it was a male. 

"Alright so we do have your blood and Urine back...it looks like you are in fact pregnant but I want to do an ultrasound just to make sure. I'm quite shocked that you're back here so soon." Her doctor smiles sweetly.

"You and me both, especially because I'm fifty and I'll be fifty-one when this one is born." Stevie rolls her eyes. 

"It's rare but it does happen. You've done IVF right?" 

"Kinda...I took the shots and I have some of my eggs frozen but I never went through with everything. I never hired a sperm donor I never got a surrogate. I was going to use them until I got pregnant with Seth." She shrugs.

"Well, that's probably why." 

"What do you mean?" 

"At what age did you do the IVF?" 

"1994, so I was 45 about to turn 46 when I went through with it." 

"After age 45, a woman's likelihood of getting pregnant naturally is less than 4%, and that number plummets to 1% once she hits 50. But a mom's chances of conception bump up to between 65% and 85% if undergoing IVF treatment with youthful, viable eggs. So because you took the IVF when you still had youthful, viable, eggs it may just be because the fertility treatments boosted your egg production and enhanced it. If that's not the case you won the lottery and are of the one percent. There still is a very high chance that the baby may have problems so if you are pregnant, I'm going to want to do Amnio again, and this time. NO TOURING!" 

"No, I have nothing planned as of yet." Stevie shakes her head.

"Alright, so we're going to do a vaginal ultrasound and we're going to see what happens. I'm not guaranteeing you anything," The doctor sighs.

"I know." Stevie nods.

"Well all be damn." The doctor says after a moment.

"What?" Stevie asks as the doctor turns the screen and points to a little tiny fetus.

"Eight weeks so you're going to be due at the beginning of September. And that means." She pauses for a moment and flicks a switch and a very fast heart rate fills the room. "Their heart sounds perfectly healthy." 

"I can't believe it." Stevie laughs.

"You must be really fertile in your old age." The doctor smirks.

"I know, I don't understand it." She shakes her head.

"Well, as I said, it could have happened as a delayed effect of the IVF years ago, you won the lottery, or it's your lifestyle." She shrugs.

"My lifestyle?" Stevie inquires.

" You're not doing drugs anymore, you've cut back on the alcohol, you've lost some weight. All of those things contribute to your ability to conceive...It could be a lot of things but that is your baby." She smiles.

"So am I to be on bed rest or something now?" Stevie asks.

"Actually yes...Full bed rest until you hit twelve weeks so we can avoid a miscarriage and then you'll come in, we'll do the Amnio and then I'm putting you on partial bed rest. What I mean by that is play with your baby, but sit on the couch, cook dinner, but sit at a barstool or something while you do it, sit in the shower, or take a bath, I'll let you have sex though...but you don't do the work, you lay there and take it." She points out and Stevie blushes slightly. 

***

When Stevie gets home, she can see Lindsey in the living room watching some form of athletics and she sits next to him on the couch. 

"Hey, Angel, what's up." 

"I'm going to bed now. And I didn't take anything out for dinner, so you are in charge of figuring everything out." Stevie sighs. 

"Why, it's only...four-thirty. And you know I can't cook so it's going to be some form of take out."

"Preferably Mexican." Stevie jumps.

"It's going to be Mexican take out. Want your usual?" 

"Yes." 

"But I don't understand though, why are you going to bed?" 

"Doctor's orders." She shrugs.

"Why?" Lindsey asks sipping on his glass of lemonade. 

All Stevie does is sigh and pulls out the ultrasound image.

"What's this?" he asks.

"Seth's little brother or sister." Stevie bites her thumbnail and Lindsey's eyes bulge out of his head.

"You're fifty." 

"I know...I'm just as shocked honestly." 

"What when?" He asks.

"I don't know when they were conceived but I'm due at the beginning of September. I'm eight weeks. I'm going to bed because I'm 51 which means I am super High-Risk pregnant. She wants me on total bed rest until I hit the twelve-week mark, so for about four weeks, and then if everything checks out at my 12-week scan I'll be put on partial bedrest." She shrugs.

"What's partial bed rest?" Lindsey questions.

"I can move around the house and walk freely up to a point but if I'm playing with Seth I have to sit on the couch, if I'm cooking dinner I have to sit on the barstool, we can have sex but I just have to lay there and take it, my doctor's words,  And I just can't strain myself. So you'll be doing ALL of the housework." Stevie explains. 

"Steph...we're having another baby." He laughs.

"Yeah, we are...are you excited?" 

"Honey I'm thrilled." He kisses her head.

"I'm scared, but I'm excited." Stevie nods.

"Now, let's get your ass to bed. Come on, I'll carry you." He stands up and holds his hand out.

She takes it and stands up and then he swoops down and picks her up bridal style carrying her up the stairs. He drops her in the middle of their bed and then he walks out only to return minutes later with a sleeping Seth who he just places in her arms.