One Way or Another

An Appointment and Red Ribbons

The waiting room was decorated with professional photos of newborn babies. Marinette glanced around at them as she sat hand-in-hand with Adrien.

After a few minutes of silence he leaned in close to whisper to her. "I hope that we have a little girl."

"Really?" she whispered back, surprised.

"Of course, and I want her to be just like you."

She smiled. "I was kind of hoping that we'd have a little boy. So he could be just like you."

"How about one of each?" he joked. "You know that twins run in my family."

"I thought that it has to run through the woman's side?"

He shrugged. "Well you never know. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"We'll be lucky enough if we get one healthy baby," she argued gently.

Adrien paused for a moment and nodded. "You're right. Just like always."

And she smiled at him before leaning in for a kiss.

Then after waiting a little bit more, they were called back to one of the rooms. Marinette sat on the exam table while Adrien sat in an extra seat on the side. A nurse went over some medical history with them before checking Marinette's blood pressure.

"One ten over seventy, perfect," the nurse murmured, removing the cuff. "You wait right here, Dr Patel will be in shortly."

"Thank you," Marinette replied as the nurse left the room.

Once they were alone, Adrien stood and went over to her. He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. "Everything will be fine," he tried to assure her. "You'll see."

She gave him a weak smile and nodded.

A minute later there was a knock on the door and the obstetrician came into the room. "Good morning Mr and Mrs Agreste," she said. "How are you?"

"We're great," Marinette answered.

"That's very good to hear. So we'll be checking on the pregnancy today. Based on your dates you should be about nine weeks along, so I'll be taking a look with the ultrasound machine and afterwards you'll need to get some blood drawn."

Marinette nodded.

"This is your second pregnancy, correct?" Dr Patel asked, checking her chart. "You had a miscarriage last year?"

"Yes, that's correct," she replied.

"Have you had any problems during this pregnancy?" the doctor continued. "Any bleeding or cramping?"

"Nothing like that. Just a little nausea, but I haven't thrown up at all."

"Alright, well let's check you out here. I'll have you lie down and I'm going to feel your abdomen."

Marinette lay down on the table. Adrien remained at her side as the doctor examined her.

"Everything feels okay here," the doctor said. "Now let's take a look with the ultrasound."

Marinette's heart caught in her chest. She had been simultaneously looking forward to, and dreading, this part of the appointment.

"Could we get a picture to bring home today?" Adrien asked hopefully.

"If we're able to get a good picture, then I'll definitely print one out for you," the doctor told him.

He smiled. "Thanks."

Dr Patel turned the ultrasound machine on and squirted some gel onto Marinette's skin.

She flinched slightly at the cold sensation. Then she held her breath as the doctor started scanning her.