Love Under the Western Skies

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ

ᴍᴀᴅɪꜱᴏɴ

➵➵➵➵➵➵➵❂➵➵➵➵➵➵➵

I felt faint.

I always did when they took blood, it made me nauseous, but I knew it had to be done to determine how far along in my pregnancy I was. Rae was in the corner of the room, scrolling through her phone as we waited for the doctor to finally arrive, and Steve sat behind me, rocking us side to side slowly. He had been so good, so loving these past few days, I couldn't believe this was his first time going through the stages of pregnancy. Steve had his cheek pressed to my temple, his fingers laced with mine as I leaned back against him, letting his palms rest against my stomach. "Who would've thought," I looked over to Rae who had a grin on her face, "That a little bit of fucking would get you two pregnant and in love, I'm taking full credit."

Steve chuckled behind me, his chest rumbling with the sound, "If I felt better I'd argue," I tried to bite out towards Rae, but the exhaustion was strong, and the nausea was stronger, so my tone lacked its normal edge, "As of right now, take all the credit you want."

"What am I going to do with you two?" Steve playfully chided, pressing a kiss to my temple, my eyes closing at the feel of him. I was wearing a pair of spandex and his t-shirt, so the rough fabric of the denim he was wearing felt scratchy on my skin, but it took my focus from the wave of nausea that washed over me. "Breathe through your nose baby," Steve rubbed soothing circles on my stomach, trying to ease the constant sick feeling, "Out through your nose as well." I followed his instruction, sinking against him when I finally felt okay. Morning sickness is a fucking joke in my case, it's well into the afternoon and I've been nauseous all fucking day.

I looked to the door when there were two knocks on it, opening to reveal a man who looked to be in his late forties, "Hi there Madison," I smiled at him, letting Steve help me sit up, "I'm Dr. Williams, and I'll be your OBGYN, I see this is the first time you've been to our clinic," I nodded, and he smiled, glancing at Steve then over to Rae, "You've got a great support team, and I hear that you're pregnant, congratulations, you must be the father."

"I am," Steve stuck his hand out for the doctor, Dr. Williams set his clipboard down, taking Steve's hand and giving it a strong shake, before Steve went back to wrapping his arms around me, "Thank you, we're both excited."

I nodded because I was. After I got over the initial shock, I sobbed because I was so excited, I vowed to myself I would never be my mother, I would be there for my children always and do what was best for them, even if Steve and I broke up. I'd still be at rodeos so they could see their daddy and I would still brave through holidays so they could be around their daddy and brother. "So Madison, I'm just going to go over what's going to happen today, we'll go over your medical history, any sort of family medical history that would be relevant, I'll look over your blood work and give an estimate for your due date, tell you how far along you are, we'll do a physical and pelvic exam and I can answer any questions or concerns you may have, so," he walked to the sink in the corner of the room, running his hands under water to wash them, "Shall we begin. Please go change into the gown."

I changed quickly and got into position, holding Steve's hand. He went through the steps of a pelvic exam first, and I would never get over how utterly uncomfortable it was, but I knew it had to be done, then he did the physical exam, checking my heart, lungs, kidneys, and when he was satisfied he gestured to the screen again. "You may redress while I record everything."

I nearly jumped off the exam table, yanking the paper gown off and putting on Steve's shirt again, immediately feeling more comfortable. Dr. Williams didn't make me uncomfortable, in fact, he was one of the only doctors I've ever had that had talked to me through every step of the exam, making sure I was comfortable and reminding me I was in control, and I appreciated it. But I was so exposed, and that's the part that scared me, Rae and Steve had seen me at my absolute worst, and having them in the room made me comfortable, but it was still not a fun exam.