Always Luna

BONUS ~ adoration

noun ~ deep love and respect

PHOENIX

The paleness of the hospital sheets glared as Nova settled herself into them. She was nervous. Her past trauma still haunting her in small ways. One thing I noticed she did not like was the blood pressure machine, something that Kate would have to check a few times until she calmed down. It was no different now, as the band tightened on her arm, Kate chuckled softly as the pressure slowly started to ease.

"Okay, that's all good." Kate smiled. "If you could lay back for me, I will measure the bump."

Nova nodded, laying down on the bed. I helped support her, my hand coming to rest on her lower back as she situated herself. I was careful to not jostle her, her nerves already sky high. Her confidence with Kate as her doctor had increased and with a small nod of encouragement, Kate lifted Nova's shirt whilst Nova gently rolled the band of her trousers down.

Kate's fingers gently caressed the small bump, causing my wolf to feel a strange sense of possessiveness at someone else touching his pups. I calmed him, reassuring that it was only Kate, and she was a doctor, but he would be on edge until the moment Nova had given birth.

"So, we are estimating sixteen weeks now, aren't we?"

Nova nodded, a small smile flittering on her face as Kate grabbed a tape measure. We had estimated the gestation in the beginning and so far all of it has measured up perfectly each fortnight. Kate's fingers dug into her pelvis, causing a small wince to rise on Nova's face that had a small growl escape my chest. Kate apologised, unravelling the tape measure.

"Now, we don't usually measure bumps so early, but we are all curious, so let's see." She smiled.

Pulling the tape measure taught she placed the zero at the top of the bump before pulling it down to Nova's waistband. I eyed it warily, wondering if the numbers were okay. Taking it away, she did it once more to double check her measurements.

"Yeah, I would say it is alright at the moment, no baby here yet from what I felt. Just your body preparing itself, a little layer of protection." She chuckled. "The babies are still pretty far back in your pelvis, so I think you will carry in your back."

"Oh." Nova frowned, wringing her shirt between her fingers. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, not at all. It just means you may not have a prominent bump at this stage." She smiled. "This early on, bumps fluctuate so much and stomachs can expand for any reason. I'm not saying there isn't a bump, there is, but a lot of it is soft, normal tissue or bloat. The amount of milk you drink could be a leading cause."

I smirked with knowing at her comment, seeing Nova shoot me an embarrassed look. She drank at least four milkshakes a day, the woman unable to get enough of them. If Kate told me to get rid of her intake, she would have to think of something else. I was not going against Nova and her milkshakes.

"Let's do the scan anyway." Kate chirped. "Just eat more vegetables."

We laughed at her joke, waiting patiently as she typed some things onto the ultrasound behind her. We had all of the appointments in the hospital now, in the Luna room. It was where Nova would give birth, and it is where future and past Luna's receive care.

"Here we go." Kate chimed, squeezing a tube onto my mate's belly. "Have you looked at the card yet?"

My eyes flickered from the screen to her face, shaking my head. "No, we haven't yet."

"Okay, I will keep it neutral then." She laughed.

Placing the wand on my stomach, the screen flickered to life with the click of a button. Grey swirls soon turned into distinguishable body parts and my heart swelled with warmth. It has only been a few weeks but every time it was something new.