Eleven

Chapter Seventeen: Baby Got Back

A/N: Check out that word count. Mmm.

Chapter Seventeen: Baby Got Back

Tuesday morning arrived in the form of a lazy shadow. The skies were overcast and dreary, cool air painting goosebumps across my skin, and I had the strangest feeling of dread welling up inside of me.

With a quick pat to my sweater-covered abdomen, I verified the nausea wasn't rearing its ugly head this morning. If I never felt the burning torment of stomach acid crawling up my throat again, it would be too soon.

My Button's appointment was scheduled earlier than the sunrise, mostly due to check-up days being better than Christmas for a certain green-eyed, flirtatious doctor I knew. He simply didn't know what to do with himself in the morning if they were scheduled later in the day, and more often than not his anticipation drove me up a wall.

"Pumpkin, do you have your vitamin chart?" He asked what must've been his tenth question of the drive so far.

"Yes, Dr. Sean," I hummed distractedly, eyeing the smattering of left-over raindrops against my window. Sean's warning look pierced into me from over his passenger seat as he swiveled around despite the seatbelt.

"Sang," Sean pressed sternly.

"I have it," I defended hotly, raising both brows at him as I pointed towards the purse at my feet.

"And how's your stomach feeling?" Sean continued, turning back around to face the front. Owen's grip on the wheel loosened a smidgen when his navigator was back to the proper position.

"I don't even feel like I was sick yesterday," I answered honestly, somewhat amazed at how much better I felt at the moment. I rested a hand against my stomach, still showing no sign of this "baby bump" business I'd heard about, and patted gently to hopefully keep it at rest.

"That's to be expected," Kota spoke up from beside me. "It's not rare for morning sickness to occur multiple days in a row during pregnancy, but women have also found it common to bounce back the following morning. Then the third morning, the nausea will return."

"Good to know," I grumbled, causing Kota to shoot me an apologetic smile.

"Have you been having gas lately, Pumpkin?" Sean continued, and I quickly turned my head back to the window with a huff.

"Sean," I whined, my forehead falling against the glass with a thud.

"It's a legitimate question!" Sean defended himself, while both Kota and Owen remained conveniently quiet. "While usually not a bad sign, we'll want to keep an eye out just in case. If you're concerned about a severe increase in flatulation, we'll need to notify Kenneth."

"I'm not telling Dr. White if I've got gas!" My eyes widened as flames licked their way up my cheeks. "That's mortifying."

"The man is a professional, and you will tell him," Sean answered soberly.

"I will not!" I snapped, turning my burning glare to the back of his headrest.

"Sean," Kota interrupted, leaning forward in his seat. "There's really no danger in more frequent gas. I've read about it in multiple articles and medical journals now. It's expected, and there's no harm to the baby."

"Just how much did you read about this?" I asked in disbelief.

Sean had time to point a narrowed look at Kota before Owen raised a hand.

"Well, I'm sure one of us will notice if there's an increase," Owen pointed out casually, and I wanted to die with embarrassment. "But regardless, we've arrived."