Six weeks later, the stitches that Hortense had gotten while in the hospital had come out on their own. She was still on bedrest. She was going to have a doctor's appointment to make sure that the stitches had come out properly and to make sure that she wasn't bleeding. They also needed to make sure that the duckling inside the egg was developing properly. Hortense could barely sleep the night before the appointment. She was excited to see the development of her new little duckling and it was also time to get Blaire in to the doctor for a check-up as well.
Blaire was still asleep when Quackmore came into her room. She was on her stomach under her blanket, gripping on her teddy bear. He gently rubbed her back to wake her up. She rubbed her little eyes but didn't stir. "Blaire, come on princess. It's time to get up," he said. He gently picked her up out of her crib as she woke up. "There you are, princess," he said.
He got downstairs with Blaire in his arms. He went to the kitchen. Matilda was making breakfast and Hortense was sitting at the table drinking some tea with the egg next to her. "Good morning Hortense," he said. "Good morning," Hortense said. "Mommy," Blaire said. "Morning baby girl," Hortense said. "I'm hungry," Blaire said. "Me too," Quackmore said. "Well sit down and eat," Matilda said, bringing food over to the kitchen table and taking a seat for herself. Quackmore put Blaire down on a chair at the table. She was on a booster seat and not on a high chair. Hortense couldn't believe how fast her daughter was growing up. Hortense was worried about how tall Blaire was getting. She was surely going to have Quackmore's height and Hortense knew it. Quackmore was denying that Blaire was tall for a three year old little girl.
They soon left for the doctor's office. Blaire was going to just have a check up and a few shots. Quackmore was ready to assume the worst was going to happen when Blaire was going to get the shots. He was afraid that Blaire was going to cry and scream the entire time. He wanted to hold her down. No one really liked getting shots. It was even harder for a child to get a shot.
"Are you ready for Blaire to get a few shots, Quackmore?" Hortense asked. "I'm ready for her to get shots but I'm not ready for her to kick and scream about it," Quackmore said. "I know, I know that it's hard to see her kick and scream Quackmore. She's our little girl. It's hard for me to see her kick and scream when she gets shots but she's always okay a few minutes later," she said. "I know," he said. He wanted to get Blaire's shots done and over with.
"Everything looks good with Blaire," Dr. Garcia said, coming into the room with a crying Blaire. Quackmore took Blaire into his arms to calm her down. He got her to go to sleep on his lap. Dr. Garcia checked up on Hortense and then the egg. Hortense was perfectly healthy and the stitches all came out on their own and she wasn't bleeding. Dr. Garcia looked over the egg.
"Is everything going alright with the egg?" Dr. Garcia asked, running her hand along the egg checking for cracks, indentations, or soft spots. "Everything is fine," Hortense said. "Nothing is wrong from what we can tell," Quackmore said. Dr. Garcia placed her stethoscope on the shell of the egg. She listened for a heartbeat. "Everything is perfect," Dr. Garcia said, readjusting the stethoscope on the shell of the egg. Her face furrowed in a look of concern. "I'll be right back," Dr. Garcia said, leaving the room. "What do you think is wrong?" Hortense said. "Probably nothing, she said everything is fine," Quackmore said. Dr. Garcia came back into the room carrying a number of papers. "Have you heard of two ducklings hatching from the same egg?" Dr. Garcia said. "What?" Quackmore said. "Is that even possible?" Hortense said. "It's very rare but not unheard of, I'm hearing two heartbeats in your egg," Dr. Garcia said. "So, we're having twins?" Quackmore said. "It's a possibility. While it's rare but not unheard of, it's a very high risk-hatching with both ducklings dying in most cases," Dr. Garcia said. "So, we might lose both babies?" Hortense said. "We should do an ultrasound just to make sure," Dr. Garcia said, setting up the ultrasound machine. An image came up on the screen. "There's one," Dr. Garcia said, pointing at the screen. Dr. Garcia moved the probe a little and an image of another little duckling came up on the screen. "There's the other," Dr. Garcia said. "What does this mean?" Hortense asked. "Well, both of the heartbeats are strong and they both seem happy, but don't worry I will do everything in my power to help you with the health of the ducklings inside the egg," Dr. Garcia said. "Thank you Dr. Garcia," Hortense said, standing up and grabbing the egg.
They went right home with Blaire and the egg. "I'm exhausted," Hortense said. "Go take a nap, and I'll watch Blaire and the egg," Quackmore said. "Alright," Hortense said and went upstairs. "I love you, mommy," Blaire said. "I love you too, baby girl," Hortense said. "Go rest, Hortense," Quackmore said. "I'm going," Hortense said. She went into the bedroom that she shares with Quackmore and laid down on the bed. The doctor appointment was emotional. It had taken a lot out of her to not lose herself and start crying about losing one or both of her new little ducklings that happen to be sharing an egg. She wanted them both to live. She wanted to have three little ducklings in the house. She was looking forward to having three little ones.
Quackmore came into the room and saw the woman he loved asleep. He went and grabbed a blanket. He put the blanket over her. He gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. "I love you oh so very much," he whispered in her ear. She didn't wake up. She truly was exhausted. He was going to use the time that he had now to spend time with Blaire and keep an eye on the egg while he could. He wanted to be an involved father for his children. He was involved with Blaire's life and he wanted to be involved with the twins' lives as well. Most other dads aren't involved with their kids or wives. He wasn't like most other dads. He was different from them.
