The Rule of Three

Chapter 4

"Hey, everything will be fine," Daniel says to Anna. He had noticed how nervous she was the instant they got in the car. "We're gonna drop off Murphy with your sister, then the doctor is gonna show us our perfect little baby Jones in there," he leans over and touches Anna's stomach.

They are going in for their first ultra sound, and Anna is feeling extremely worried. It had been four weeks since they took the at home pregnancy tests and two weeks since their first appointment where the blood test confirmed the pregnancy. She knows how quickly something terrible can happen, "What if there's no heart beat?" she looks to Daniel.

"Everything will be fine," he says. They drop off Murphy at Anna's sister's house and then head to the doctor's office. Daniel holds Anna's hand and comforts her the entire time.

Once they arrive at the doctor's office, they are escorted to a room with a table and a machine with a monitor attached to it. Anna hands the blanket that was placed on the table to Daniel, laid down on the table and pulled her pants down to the top of her thighs. Daniel then laid the blanket over her and grabbed her hand. "Everything is going to be fine," he smiles and kisses the back of her hand.

The doctor walks into the room, "Well, you two know the drill." He smiles and walks over to the machine, "not your first child I suppose?" he asks.

"Second," Daniel answers.

"I see, well then you know there is nothing to worry about. This is a routine check up," he begins to prep the machine to begin the ultrasound.

Daniel smiles, "See, nothing to worry about," he says to Anna who rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Now this is going to be a little cold," the doctor says as he squirts the gel onto her stomach. He takes the wand and begins to rub it onto Anna's stomach. After a few seconds, he says," and here we go." He shifts the wand slightly and a little thumping sound fills the room. "There's your baby's heart beat," he smiles to them. Anna lets out a huge sigh of relief and smiles up to Daniel. Daniel leans down and they share a kiss.

When they part, they look back to the doctor, and their smiles instantly stop. The doctor is staring intently at the screen; his eyebrows are slightly knitted. Anna can feel the worry reappear and begin to grow. She is on the verge of tears, when Daniel asks, "Is something wrong?"

The doctor turns back to them, "Yes, it's just," he pauses again. He begins moving the wand again, and the heart beat disappears.

The couple panics, "what is happening?" Daniel asks. Anna is too worried to breathe, let alone talk.

"One moment and I will explain everything. I just want to be sure," the doctor says. He continues shifting the wand until the heart beat returns. The couple feel slightly relieved to hear the heart beat again but are still worried about what he is looking for. The heart beat disappears and returns once more; the corner of the doctor's mouth turn up.

The doctor turns the monitor to face the couple. He points to a shape resembling a bean, "there is your perfectly healthy baby," he says. He moves his hand and points to two more similar shapes, "And here is its two perfectly healthy siblings." The couple look at him in complete disbelief, "Congratulations, you are pregnant with triplets."

"What?" they both ask at the same time; smiles begin to creep across their faces.

The doctor points to each bean shape individually again, "There is baby A, baby B, and baby C. All healthy, and all appear to be about ten weeks." Both Anna and Daniel feel as though their insides are about to explode with joy and excitement. The doctor puts the wand up and wipes off Anna's stomach as she and Daniel kiss again. "Congratulations, now we'll schedule you to come back in about eight weeks for another ultrasound," he smiles.

"Thank you so much," Anna responds.

The couple, still in shock, climb into their car and head to pick up Murphy. "I have to tell Kerry," Anna beams as she stares at the sonogram picture of her babies.

"Really? Before anyone else?" Daniel asks from the driver's seat.

"Yes, she is going to ask to see this anyway," Anna says as she holds up the picture. "She'll figure it out and then be mad at us for not telling her," Anna looks back to the sonogram. The moment she found out there were three little angels growing in her stomach, she could feel her love for them swell inside her, and now she can't take her eyes off the sonogram. "Plus I want to tell everyone else after we find out their genders, maybe Kerry can help plan a party or something," she says. She continues staring at the sonogram, "Triplets," she smiles. "Can you believe it?"

Daniel laughs, "Yes babe, when the doctor said it, it really sank in." He smiles at Anna as he pulls into Kerry's drive way. The two of them get out of the car, join hands, and head to the door.

When Kerry opens the door, Murphy runs and jumps into Anna's arms. "Mommy! Aunt Kerry  got a puppy!" the toddler squeals.

"I know! Why don't you give mommy a kiss and then go and play with him again while mommy and aunt Kerry talk?" she asks as she pecks her little girl on the cheek.

"Ok, can daddy play too?" Murphy asks as she squirms to be put back on the ground.

"Of course," Daniel says as he lets Murphy drag him by the hand into the house.

"Hello, Daniel," Kerry laughs as she steps out of their way.

"Nice to see you Kerry," Daniel calls behind him from halfway down the hall.

Kerry turns to Anna and hugs her, "Hey little sis," she smiles as she wraps her arms around Anna. She finally lets go, "So? How'd it go?" She motions for Anna to walk into the house and closes the front door behind them. They walk into the living room and sit down on the couch, "Show me the sonogram! I wanna see my new little niece."

Anna hands the picture to Kerry, "You do know that we don't know the sex yet right?"

"It's a girl, I know," Kerry looks at the sonogram. "Ok I don't know what I'm looking for. Show me," she says holding the picture between the two of them.

"The baby is the little bean looking thing," Anna says.

Kerry takes another look at the picture. "But there are three little beans, which one is it?" Kerry asks observing the sonogram intently. Anna just smiles, waiting for her sister to figure it out. "Anna, there are three little beans," suddenly she gasps. "There are three little beans, three little beans, does that mean what I think it means?" Anna still only smiles at her. "YOU'RE HAVING TRIPLETS?" she screams. "Oh my God, that's amazing," she hugs Anna again.

"I know, I'm still in shock," Anna laughs. "Three babies," she grins ear to ear.

Kerry hugs Anna again, but she lets go quickly and looks at Anna wide eyed, "We have to tell mom!" She reaches for the phone but is blocked by Anna's hand.

"We don't want to tell anyone, until we find out their sexes," Anna says.

Kerry rolls her eyes, "they're all girls. Next."

"You don't know that," Anna says causing Kerry to roll her eyes. "Plus, we want to tell everyone at once," Anna takes the sonogram and gets lost in it again. She looks up to Kerry who was also looking at the sonogram. "I was hoping you could help me plan the party where we tell everyone," Anna smiles.

Kerry looks up from the picture and smirks, "Prepare for the baby shower of the century."