Going Back

Chapter 9 - Shocks

Martyn had been adamant that Stacey saw a doctor after she'd thrown up for the fourth time that morning, and the fact she'd been saying for a couple of weeks now she hadn't been feeling the best, was convinced it had to be more than a touch of food poisoning, since they'd shared the same dish from the Indian takeaway the night before.
It was Saturday morning. Martyn pulled up in front of the surgery having managed to get her a last-minute appointment. And now, as she sat anxiously awaiting the results of a test the doctor had taken, nothing could have prepared her for the devastating news he was about to deliver.

'Congratulations, Stacey,' he said, in his usual gentle manner. 'You're going to be a mother.'
Stacey's mouth fell open in utter shock, and she just stared at him while Martyn, absolutely astounded, leapt to his feet and began shaking the doctor's hand vigorously, as if he was personally responsible for it.
'That's fantastic news!' he said, turning back to Stacey with the biggest smile on his face.
He kissed her on the forehead before sitting back down in his seat again. 'Absolutely fantastic news!'

He looked like the cat who had stolen the cream!

'How far am I?' was all she could ask amidst the smiling happy faces, and before the doctor had a chance to answer, added, sounding totally distraught. 'I'm still on the pill, how could it happen?'
It was a question that actually got Martyn thinking, too – but for different reasons. He was able to count on one hand the number of times they'd had sex in the last six months.
'Is this going to be an unwanted pregnancy?' the doctor now asked Stacey directly, seeing she wasn't as thrilled as Martyn.
She desperately wanted to scream, 'YES!', but couldn't, not with Martyn sitting there beside her. Why hadn't she gone by herself, then she could have dealt with it on her own, and he'd never have been any the wiser?
'Of course it isn't,' Martyn piped up for the pair of them. 'It just wasn't planned, that's all.'

'Well,' said the doctor, repositioning himself in his seat as he explained just a couple of facts. 'The pill Stacey is on is a very low dosage. Just missing one or taking it irregularly can leave her unprotected.'
Stacey closed her eyes in despair, knowing just how slack she had been in taking it. With their track record in the bedroom, she hadn't thought it was all that necessary. She always caught up eventually.
'So, how far along is she?' Martyn wanted to know, totally aware that no consensual sex had taken place for a long time now.
'Eight, nine weeks at the most, I'd say, judging by this result,' he said, also taking into account the very little change in her body shape from what he could see. 'But once she goes for an ultrasound, you'll get more of an accurate date.'

Stacey was beside herself. This had to be the worst news she'd had in her entire life. She was pregnant, and it wasn't going to go away.
Meanwhile, Martyn, having done the sums in his head, nodded, looking around at her with a couple of raised eyebrows as he said in lowered tones, 'yeah, that's about right. The week we moved into the house ...'
Stacey admonished him with a frown, feeling the doctor really didn't need to know their intimate details – if that's what they could be called, as there were no intimate details. This child had been conceived in nothing more than a drunken mauling! How vile was that!
She felt sick to the core.

It was only then, as her mind turned fleetingly to Lee and their brief moment in the attic, did it dawn on her just how serious this could have been.
Thank Christ she had stopped him when she had. If they'd gone all the way, not knowing how she'd messed up her pills, things could have been a whole lot worse right now. She could've been sitting there, not having the faintest idea as to who the real father was, and then would have to have spent the next seven months worried to death, not knowing whether she'd give birth to a brown-eyed, olive-skinned, dark-haired child like her Italian born husband, or a blue-eyed, fair-skinned, blond-haired Liam look-alike – it didn't bear thinking about. At least that was one upside to this horrible, horrible nightmare!