Vic's Daughter

Chapter Five

After Luke left for work and they finished eating, Vic cleaned up from breakfast and helped Liv get dressed and comb her hair. She made sure the door was locked and settled Liv on the floor of her bedroom so that she could keep an eye on her while she was in the shower.

"Liv, stay in Mama's room while I take a shower, okay?"

"Okay," Liv replied as she continued to play with her toys and Vic grabbed some clean clothes and went into the bathroom leaving the door ajar so she could hear if Olivia called for her. She turned on the shower and threw her pajamas in the dirty clothes hamper before climbing under the hot spray. She washes quickly and works conditioner through her hair before finishing up and getting out. She can still hear Liv playing with her dolls as she gets dressed. She combs her own hair and brushes her teeth before exiting the bathroom.

"Okay, Liv, you wanna sit in the living room with me and we can watch cartoons until it's time to go to the doctor?"

"Yeah," Liv replies with a smile and carries her dolls out to the couch while Vic turns on her favorite cartoons. Vic scrolls through her phone as she keeps an eye on Liv and occasionally turns her attention to the television. She can see that Olivia is deep in thought, probably about the baby, and doesn't want to disturb her, Liv will come to her or Luke if she has a question or concern so Vic isn't worried anyway. She also notes the extra care she seems to be putting into playing with her dolls and smiles. She just can't wait to watch her as a big sister.

An hour later and Vic was putting Olivia in her car seat so that they could make their way to the doctor's office. Olivia was babbling about the baby to herself and Vic pulled the car into the parking lot but waited to get out until she saw Luke pull in and park beside her.

Vic got out and helped Olivia out and she immediately ran over to Luke who had come to meet them at the front of the car.

"Hey, baby." He smiled as he picked her up and settled her on his hip.

"Hi, Daddy." She replied. Vic took his free hand and they walked into the doctor's office together. Luke took Liv to sit down while Vic signed herself in. They were only seated for a few minutes before Vic was called back and they followed the nurse to the exam room. They paused to get Vic's height and weight measurements. They had her go to the bathroom for a urine sample to confirm her pregnancy and ensure her hormone levels were healthy.

Finally, the ultrasound technician came in and had Vic lay back and pull her shirt up. Vic complied and the tech, who had introduced herself as Alice, squirted the jelly onto the transducer before putting it onto her belly. She began to take the fetal measurements and once she found the heartbeat she turned the volume up for them.

"Baby has a strong heartbeat and measurements put you at about nine weeks along." Vic nodded and smiled as she wiped her tears. Luke smiled and squeezed her hand. Olivia was jumping up and down next to her mother.

"Mama, I can hear the heartbeat." She squealed.

"I know, baby. How do you feel about that?"

"Happy. I'm gonna be a big sister." Luke smiled and kissed her head.

"Yes, you are." He smiled and pulled her onto his lap.

"Alright, the doctor will be here in just a few minutes, but so far everything looks great. She'll give you more details, get you a prescription for a prenatal vitamin, and answer any questions you may have." Alice supplies as she gets up to leave. Vic nods and thanks her.

"Liv, would you rather have a baby brother or a baby sister?"

"Mama, it doesn't matter what I want, but it's gonna be a girl anyway." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"You sound awfully sure about that, Livvy." Luke chuckled.

"I had a dream last night of when the baby was born and it was a girl, so it's a girl." Vic chuckled.

"Okay, it's still gonna be a while yet before we can find out for sure, but honestly, I feel like it's a girl, too," Vic replied.

"Do you?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, it just feels the same as when I was pregnant with Liv. Take the nausea, for example, I was almost always nauseated with her but maybe puked three times, so far it's the same this time." Luke nodded.

Vic's doctor, Sara Fuentes knocked on the door and entered before he could reply. Vic smiled.

"Vic, it's good to see you." She greeted.

"It's good to see you too, Doc," Vic replied.

"So your hormone levels are exactly where we want them to be for you to be right at nine weeks and Alice recorded the baby's heartbeat at 167 bpm which is excellent."

"That's good. I know I can't be on the engine or ladder at work as a firefighter, but can you write up a restriction just so the department has that on record? I'll still be on aid cart and desk duty at the station both of which will keep me away from the smoke as much as possible."

"Absolutely, I can get you that note before we get you out of here today, and I don't see any issue with that arrangement and I'm sure with your experience as a paramedic and firefighter that you know the importance of staying as far away as possible and of being checked out immediately if you notice any symptoms of smoke inhalation or similar."

"Of course, between my crew, that will probably be keeping an eagle eye out for any signs as well, and the fact that Luke here is the Fire Chief nothing of that sort will go unnoticed."

"Great. When the time comes we may have to talk about you only doing desk duty and coming off the aid cart, but that's a while off if we even come to that. There's a chance if you and the baby are healthy enough that you could work aid cart until you go into labor."

"Which is the hope, but whatever is necessary is what we'll do," Vic replied. The doctor nodded and typed up Vic's work restrictions and printed it so that it would be up front when they went to check out. She wrote her a prescription for a prenatal vitamin and printed the ultrasound pictures for them before they left.

On the way out Vic made another appointment in a month and collected her restriction note and they made their way out to the cars.

"Babe, I have to get back to work, but I will see you two when I get home, okay?"

"Of course, I love you," Vic replied.

"I love you too," Luke replied as he kissed Liv's head and settled her in the car seat before climbing into his truck and driving off back to work. Vic got in the car and drove back to her apartment.