Love and the White Wolf - Book 2

4. A Face in the Dark

I wanted to get the engagement portrait finished on this day as it was likely our condo security upgrade would be completed over the weekend and we could go home.  It was important to me to present the portrait to Kyle and Laurel before we left.  James took the dogs out and then sweet talked the kitchen manager into letting him bring me an early breakfast to eat in our room. 

I laid down the light warm flesh tones and while it was still wet applied some reds sparingly to areas of the skin I wanted to glow.  Normally I would have let it air dry but being in a hurry I used my blow dryer.  Then I applied the mid warm and cool flesh colours trying to balance them out.  Finally, switching to smaller and finer brushes I began working on the fine details like hair, ears, face, clothing and jewelry.  This was going to take a while but I started to get sore in my shoulders and James had to give me a shoulder massage after he returned from his workout.  He didn't verbally comment on the piece but he did take a good look and smiled.  By noon I had confidence I could finish soon but my shoulders started giving me issues again.  Even though I had to finish before our ultrasound appointment later in the afternoon James suggested I take a lunch break to give my body a chance to rejuvenate.  I agreed and we went to lunch. 

While we were eating James received word from Friday of a brewing situation.  All Avengers currently on site were called into a secure video conference with those who were offsite.  I reminded him of the ultrasound and he promised to get back in time.  I returned to the room to finish the portrait but found myself quite distracted.  Since it was affecting my work I decided to give it a rest and try to finish it on the weekend before we left.  Anxiously I asked Friday if the secure video conference was still in progress.  That was confirmed.  To take my mind off of what I was sure would be a mission I took the dogs out for a walk.  While out by the tree overlooking the valley James ran up to me.

"I've talked to Bruce and they can do the ultrasound now," he said quickly.  "I'm sorry, but there's a mission and I have to leave right after.  I can't tell you about it but Fury will read you in after we've left."

We hurried back and dropped the dogs off.  James was obviously distracted by the impending mission but it was also obvious he wanted to be present at the ultrasound.  We arrived at the ultrasound unit where I was taken to change into a gown.  Bruce and James were talking in low voices and I heard the word toxin before they realized I had walked in.  Dr. Themba videoed in, Nadine was present and the technician prepared me for the ultrasound.

"Hi Gail," said Dr. Themba. "I just wanted to confirm that we normally wouldn't be doing this at this stage during a normal pregnancy.  But your baby has shown indications it is 2-3 weeks ahead of its gestational age, based on the date of conception.  It's my understanding you do not want to know the gender of your baby."

"That's correct," I replied. 

"Okay, let's get started," she replied. 

The lights were dimmed and the technician placed the wand on my abdomen and slowly began moving it across.  After several scans she pressed some buttons and a face appeared on the screen.  The baby had a hand blocking it's face but the technician was able to rotate the image so that we could see it from a different angle.  James grabbed my hand and stared intently at the screen.

"That's our child, Gail!" his voice was high with excitement. "I can't believe I'm seeing a picture of our child while it's still inside you.  I never envisioned this kind of technology in the 40s."

"Now, I understand that you, Dad, are going on mission after this session so I'm going to print out two photos – one for you and one for Mom," said the technician. 

The images were printed then the technician announced she was turning the screen away from us so we wouldn't accidentally see the sex of the baby.  Dr. Themba called out her instructions for the next scan.  After the image came up the technician told us ten fingers and ten toes were visible.  Bruce asked for height and weight estimations.  Normal for 23 weeks was about 11 inches long and a pound in weight.  They estimated our baby was 12.5 inches long and a pound and a quarter.   The technician asked if there any more scans needed and both Bruce and Dr. Themba said they were good.  Dr. Themba said it looked like our baby was between 24-25 weeks along so still developing quicker than normal but slowing down slightly.  She said our next visit with her was in 4 weeks, hopefully it would be in person.  James thanked her in Wakandan and she replied in similar fashion before signing off.