We'll Be There

Heartbeat

Matt's POV

Kirstie had called me and told me that she had booked an appointment at the OBGYN and wanted me there. It had been almost two weeks since Kirstie had told us about the baby and we still hadn't told the rest of the band, or our parents, that the baby was mine. We had barely even told more family or friends that Kirstie was pregnant in the first place. Kevin said that it was something to do with passing the danger zone. He said it was after the twelfth week, or something like that.

I picked Kirstie up after I finished my studio session and I could tell she was still feeling very unwell. She was very quiet when I picked her up and I was sure there was something serious on her mind.

"You okay Kirstie?"

"Yeah." She replied quietly.

"You sure? You're very quiet."

"I told my Mum the other day."

"I know. Quite a few family members know."

"No. I told her about you."

"Oh. How did she take it?"

"Better than I thought."

"She was okay with it?"

"Yeah. She was okay when I told her you hadn't taken advantage of me."

"Good. I'd be devastated if she hated me for it."

"She can't hate anyone."

The conversation died out after that. The rest of the journey to the doctors, we were comfortably quiet. I was insanely nervous about this appointment, but I don't really know what I was nervous about. I think it's just checking how far along Kirstie is and make sure things are okay. Kirstie had booked the appointment at a clinic that was relatively small, so we weren't too concerned with someone seeing us and leaking something about the baby.

"Kirstin Maldonado?" We were called back within minutes of signing in, and we were so lucky that no one else was in the waiting room at that moment. We followed the nurse back into a small room; that had a couple of chairs, a bed and a machine in the corner.

"Okay Kirstin, lie down on the bed and pull your shirt up please." The nurse said. Kirstie settled herself on the bed and pulled her top up just past her stomach. "Right, this will be a little cold."

The nurse squirted some gel onto Kirstie' stomach and then put a device on top of it. It looked like some weird wand. Kirstie flinched a little when the gel was squirted on, but she calmed down quickly.

"Okay, here's your baby." The nurse said, pointing onto the screen that she wheeled over when I wasn't looking. I could barely see anything. There was just a little blob in the middle of the screen. "So, you're about 9 weeks along." She then pressed a button on the monitor and a thumping sound filled the room. Kirstie began to tear up.

"Is that the heartbeat?" she asked.

"Yes, that is your baby's heartbeat. I'm not getting a very clear picture of baby though, so I'd like to do a transvaginal exam as well."

"What on earth is that?" I asked.

"It's where a small wand is inserted through the genitals and gently pressed against the cervix. It doesn't hurt, there may be slight pressure though."

"Okay." Kirstie said. "Matt, can you leave the room for a minute?" I respected her wishes and waited outside the room, until Kirstie called me back in.

Kirstie was lying with her feet up and a sheet covering her lower half. Thankfully, the door was to the side of Kirstie, so I didn't see anything she didn't want me to.

"You might feel slight pressure now. It's completely normal." The nurse said, moving between Kirstie's feet. Kirstie made an uncomfortable face for a second, but then relaxed again. "That's better. Hi baby." The image on the screen was so clear now. I could see all the little facial features starting to form. The nurse put the heartbeat back through the room and I nearly cried.

"Okay it's definitely just one baby and he or she is developing very well. I don't see any abnormalities and baby looks perfectly healthy."

"That's good." Kirstie said, sighing in relief. The nurse moved away from Kirstie's feet.

"I want you to come back after week 12 for another check-up."

"The baby is safe after week 12, right?" I asked.

"Well, the risk of miscarriage goes down drastically after the twelfth week, but a miscarriage can happen pretty late into the pregnancy."

Kirstie just looked at the nurse in horror at her words.

"The further into the pregnancy you get, the less likely a miscarriage is. Here's what you do need to do: start taking prenatal vitamins, no drinking, no drugs, no smoking, as little stress as possible, be careful with what you eat and plenty of water."

"I can do that." Kirstie said.

"Very good. I'll see you in a few weeks then. I'll just get your pictures."

Kirstie asked me to turn around whilst she got dressed again. The nurse gave her the ultrasound pictures and then we were all set to leave. Luck was on our side, and there was still no one in the waiting room, so we left without a hassle after Kirstie booked another appointment. I could not stop thinking of that heartbeat on the way to Kirstie's house. Flipping hell, I'm going to be a daddy.