Race the Storm

Chapter 23

"Can you feel that?"

Willa turned her head to look at what Vern was talking about. He was poking her arm with a needle, the point actually in her skin. She wiggled her fingers a bit, but she still couldn't feel the needle poking her.

"Nope," she said, somewhat fascinated. Before the Estate, she had never spent much time in medical facilities or anything like that. Her family was the kind that patched themselves up with whiskey and Walmart bandages. They didn't have the money for fancy stuff.

"What about here?" He poked her farther up her arm, closer to her elbow.

"Still nothing."

"All right, we're good to go," Vern said cheerfully. "Now, you might feel some pressure but hopefully not too much pain." He raised his eyebrows at her. "Let me know if it does start hurting, okay?"

"No problem, I can definitely do that," she said.

Willa was laying down on a table in the Hendersons' basement, which looked like a half-hospital room, half-laundry room situation. There was a washer and dryer in the corner, beyond a sheet of plastic. Vern had taken her vitals, checked on the baby the best he could, and got her set up with a couple monitors before numbing up her arm with local anesthetic. Her arm was stretched out and strapped down on a platform that extended from the table, and she was watching what Vern was doing with curiosity.

Jax hovered nearby, arms crossed tight over his chest, almost looming over Vern. The older man glanced up over his shoulder and smirked. "Did you want to do it?" he asked, pretending to offer the scalpel he had just picked up to Jax.

Jax's nostrils flared, and Willa bit down on a nervous laugh. "Come hold my other hand," she said, lifting her right hand.

He moved over to her side and sat down on a stool that Vern had placed besides her. "You don't have to watch."

"I'll look away if I get grossed out," Willa said, "Promise."

"Why don't you talk to me?"

"Because that's a very one-sided conversation," Willa said, her voice light and mildly anxious. She didn't mind watching, but she really didn't want it to hurt. Still...she could handle pain. She just didn't want it to hurt the baby.

Vern made the first cut into her arm, and the blood that instantly trickled out did finally make her look away. She focused on Jax. "If you keep frowning like that, your face might get stuck."

"It won't."

Willa leaned her head to the side. "Vern, the baby did seem okay, didn't it?" Might as well focus on an important subject that wasn't her arm. Maybe that would give Jax something else to worry about and divide his concern? Lessen it. Or maybe it'd make it worse.

"As far as I could tell," Vern said, working on her arm. "I don't have an ultrasound machine, and I don't think it'd be a bad idea to check in with an obstetrician sometime soon." He chuckled. "And maybe take some prenatal vitamins, hmm?"

"Oh right," Willa said, "I forgot about those." They had always been on the trays back at the Estate, served with their meals.

"We'll get some," Jax said firmly. "At a pharmacy."

"CVS, Walgreen's, they should all have them," Vern said distractedly, his attention on Willa's arm. Which was exactly where she wanted his attention to be.

Willa found herself wondering if the pregnancy would be normal, considering Jax's unusual genes, but she didn't exactly know how to ask that. She wasn't sure if Vern knew about Jax having abilities, and she didn't want to give away anything she didn't have to. She was already developing the habit of keeping things close to her chest, thanks to Jax.