The Boot - Next Steps (Book 2)

Chapter Three

JOHN

I hold on tightly to Bailey's hand, her presence grounding me and helping to at least partially distract me from the nerves that were trying to take over.

We approach the front desk and the receptionist smiles up at us. "Hello. Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes," Bailey replies.

"Can you give me your name and date of birth? I'll also need your appointment time."

"Of course. My name is Bailey Nune, my birthday is [redacted] and my appointment is for 2:30."

The receptionist nods and types something into her computer, her long, fake nails making a steady tap-click sound as she types. After a moment, she looks back up with a smile. "Alright, I've got you all checked in. If you'll just have a seat in the waiting room, the doctor will be with you shortly."

"Thank you," Bailey says and we go to find a seat. The waiting room is relatively empty, which leads me to assume that mid-afternoon must simply not be a very busy time of day for this clinic. There are only a few other people here. A younger couple, who both look very nervous and a couple around my age, along with an older lady who I assume to be a mother or sister to one of them. The woman who is our age is clearly pregnant, so she must be a lot further along than Bailey or that younger girl.

A few minutes go by until a middle-aged woman in pale blue scrubs pokes her head out from the door behind the receptionist area. "Bailey Nune?"

"That's us," I say. Bailey and I stand, crossing the room over to the doctor.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Doctor Hart. Is this dad?" she points at me.

Bailey nods. "Yes,"

"I'm legally required to ask this, is it okay that he is in the room for your appointment?"

I don't know why, but the question bums me. I know that Bailey is going to say yes, but the fact that the doctor had to ask that, the fact that it could've been even the slightest sliver of a possibility... it just rubs me the wrong way.

"Of course," Bailey replies without hesitation.

We follow Dr. Hart through a hallway and into an examination room. "Alright, Mom, I'm going to have you go ahead and hop up on that table over there," she nods to an exam table in the center of the room. "And Dad, you can either have a seat or stand next to her, whichever the two of you would prefer."

"What do you want?" I ask Bailey, who situates herself on the table.

She reaches her hand out to me. "I want you with me."

I smile as I take her hand in mine, standing beside the exam table.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you some questions first, just so I can get a general idea of how your pregnancy is going," Dr. Hart looks at Bailey.

"Of course. Ask whatever you need."

"How have your symptoms been? Cravings, headaches, nausea and vomiting, exhaustion, body aches, swollen breasts and feet, more frequent urination, increased appetite..."

"I've been dealing with all of that," Bailey answers. Dr. Hart nods, writing something down on her clipboard.

"And you, Mr..."

"Nolan. John Nolan."

"Mr. Nolan, as an outside viewer, have you noticed a change in her attitude? Is she more irritable? Does she cry for seemingly no reason at all?"

"Uhh..." I glance at Bailey. This question feels like a trap.

"Go ahead. I won't be offended."

I sigh. "I suppose she has been a bit more irritable. And she'll sometimes cry about little things. But I'm the one who did this to her, so I don't mind dealing with her mood swings. She can't help it."

Dr. Hart scribbles something else onto her clipboard. "Okay. Now, I'm going to need a urine and blood sample from you. It'll help us to get an idea of if you've got a healthy baby in there."

"O-Of course," Bailey looks anxious.

"It'll be okay," I assure her. I know how worried she is that there could be something wrong with our baby.

"I'll be right back," Dr. Hart says, leaving the room. She returns shortly after with a nurse right behind her. Dr. Hart hands Bailey a cup for the urine sample and tells her where the bathroom is. Bailey goes to the bathroom and comes back without the cup. "Did you place it in the little door?"

"Yes," Bailey says.

"Okay, now the nurse is going to get a blood sample."

"You're doing great, babe," I tell Bailey, giving her my hand to squeeze as the nurse takes the sample. It doesn't take very long, and afterward, the nurse leaves the room with the sample.

"It shouldn't take too long for the test results to come back, in the meantime, what do you say about seeing your baby and maybe even hearing the heartbeat?"

Upon hearing this, Bailey immediately perks up. "Yes, please. I'd love that."

"Okay, lay back on that bed for me. Pull your pants down a little and lift your shirt. Just enough so that I have access to your bump."

Bailey follows Dr. Hart's directions. Once her bump is exposed, Dr. Hart gets the ultrasound machine ready.

"This is going to be a little cold," Dr. Hart warns before squirting gel onto Bailey's stomach. Her breath catches in response to the cold gel.

Dr. Hart grabs the wand, placing the end of it onto Bailey's bump, moving it across the surface of her skin. Slowly, the grainy image of our baby fades onto the screen.

I gasp. That's our kid. It's real. Obviously, it was already 'real' but actually seeing our baby on that screen... it just made the whole situation feel a bit more real.

I'm crying. I know that I am, and I'm fine with that. Honestly, if a father doesn't cry during his first time seeing his baby, then that's a problem.

"Everything looks great," Dr. Hart says as she finishes the ultrasound. She hands Bailey a paper towel to wipe the gel off of her stomach. The nurse comes in, hands a file to Dr. Hart, and leaves once again. Dr. Hart opens the file, her eyes scanning the contents, before closing it and setting it aside. She smiles at us. "Your results indicate a healthy baby."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Of course. Do you two have any questions for me?"

Bailey and I make brief eye contact and I nod. "Go ahead."

"Well, his son has a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot. I was just wondering if that could be genetic, and if it's possible that our baby might have it."

Dr. Hart smiles. "I'm happy to tell you that there is no medical evidence that the condition is caused by genetic factors."

Upon hearing this, Bailey and I both let out a collective sigh of relief.

A/N: Do you guys prefer one chapter posted at a time (easier to post more often) or do you want me to write a few chapters to post together? (It may take a little longer for the post to happen)

QOTC: What is your favourite animal?