Superstitions

Chapter 13 - Make it real

Hello, I know it's been a long time but as I promise, here's the next chapter. Now that I'm on holliday I should have more time to write.

Enjoy !!!

CHAPTER 13 - Make it real

Her heart started to accelerate, her breathing became shorter, she was panicking.

"No, it can't be possible, I ... I, no, how?"

Her breathing became erratic, her hands were shaking Connor tried to calm her down but nothing helped, the more the time passed, the more agitated Ava became.

"Ava, you need to calm down, listen to me, look at Connor and try to follow his breathing" said Natalie, trying to calm her down in turn.

Ava took her advice, but she couldn't stop herself, she felt like she was choking. The tremors in her hands had turned into a powerful constriction of her muscles that was taking up more and more ground. She felt a tingling sensation that gradually spread through her body. She knew she had to calm down, that it was only an anxiety attack and it would pass as it always did. She was used to this kind of crisis, she usually knew how to handle them, but this time it was different. She felt so weak and out of breath to the point that her vision started to blur, flashes of light appeared in her eyes. The whole thing was amplified by the noise of the machines starting to run crazy.

Seeing how bad things were getting, Natalie decided to take the lead. She removed the pillows from under Ava's head and made sure she was lying flat to maximize her breathing. She took the first bag she could find and held it to Ava's face, forcing her to breathe into it. She injected her a little dose of anxiolytics, Ava's breathing finally seemed to stabilize and she fell into unconsciousness.

Connor was completely lost, still reeling from the recent events. His hands were clasping tightly to Ava's, he could gradually feel her body relax. He wasn't used to show his emotions, but he couldn't resist breaking into tears.

"She's gonna be ok, it was a pretty exhausting day, she needed time to process those new information"

"I know, I just hate seeing her like that, I was completely freaked out and I felt so helpless"

"She needs you more than ever and you're not helpless, you were there for her in every time. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is being there and hold her hand"

"And what about the baby?"

"I'm not a specialist but I saw something strange, I need to send the record to an obstetrician and we probably need to do more scans. But don't worry I can be wrong and I know a really good obstetrician, she is one of the best. I can ask her to handle Ava's case, if you want of course"

"Yeah thank you Nat"

Sometimes later, Ava slowly regain consciousness. Her mind was still a little foggy from the last events.

"Hey sweet heart, how do you feel?"

"A little bit dizzy, what happened?"

"You got a big panic attack, don't you remember?"

"Oh, it wasn't only a bad dream ..."

"Is it so bad for you, having a baby with me?"

"No, no, absolutely not. Having a baby wasn't planned for now. I mean, I never even really thought about it. I'm so stupid, how could I've missed that. I mean I'm a doctor, I should have realized I was pregnant"

"Ava you couldn't have known, there was no signs, it's the principle of pregnancy denial"

"I feel like I'm going crazy, first PTSD, now pregnancy denial, what's next?"

"You're not crazy Ava, you've been through so much lately and they've all made you stronger. You're an amazing woman and we're gonna get through this together" he said, taking her hand.

"So you aren't mad?"

"No, why should I be mad?"

"I don't even know if you wanted kids, especially whit me and I don't want you to feel obligated to take on this baby"

"I admit that having a baby was not part of my plans for the moment but now that he's here I can't see my life without this baby and without you either ..."

"So, the baby is okay?"

"You need to promise me to stay calm"

"What is it about Connor? You're scaring me"

"Nat saw something strange, she says she could be wrong but she prefer asking for a second advice. We have an appointment with Dr. Clarke in one hour, according to Nat she is one of the best"

Ava was too tired to proceed all of this, she asked Connor to come and lie next to her. She needed to feel him, to feel she wasn't alone. His presence was enough to reassure her. He climbed up on the bed, wrapped his arms around her and gently put his hands on her belly, which was starting to grow round. It had been a long day, they were both exhausted. It wasn't long before both of them fell into a peaceful sleep.

Connor was awakened by the sound of someone knocking on the door. It was Maggie picking them up for the appointment.

"Sorry to woke you up but it's time" she whispered.

Connor smiled sweetly and gently woke Ava up. He wished he could have let her sleep longer, she seemed so peaceful.

"Hey sweet heart it's time to go" he said softly as he ran his hand through her hair.

Ava didn't say anything, but Connor could see it in her eyes how worried she was. Then he remembered what Natalie told him earlier that day. He took her hand, held it tight and whispered that everything would be all right and that he was there for her.

They headed to Dr. Clarke's office, she greeted them with a big smile and tried to make them comfortable.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Eliza Clarke, Dr. Manning told me about your case. So it's your first pregnancy and according to your first scan you're about six month, is that right?"

"Yes I actually found out today that I was pregnant ... I made a pregnancy denial"

"Sometimes theses little things like to hide but don't you worry the most important is that this little sneaky guy showed up before the delivery. Since this is your first pregnancy and even though I know you're both doctors, I'm going to explain everything step by step"

She positioned Ava on the table, lifted her top to uncover her stomach and put a layer of gel on it. She also apologized for the cold sensation and started the examination.

"So the head is normal, nuchal translucency is normal, I can count 10 fingers and 10 toes. I can't see any anomalies, now let's move on to the part that worried Dr. Manning"

She turned the screen so Connor and Ava could see and stated focusing on the baby heart.

"Okay, here you can see two ventricles, two atriums. Here we are, as you can see this is the aorta and this is the pulmonary artery. Normally they cross but here we can see they are parallels, it's a condition called transposition of the great vessels. The name is scary but nowadays this pathology is very well managed and your child will be able to have a perfectly normal life"

"Thank you so much doctor" Connor said while Ava was staring at the image of her baby on the screen.

"I invite you to come to my office to discuss the takeover"

She held some paper to Ava so she can remove the gel from her belly and helped her to sit down.

"Oh I almost forget to ask you if you want to know the sex of the baby"

The two of them looked a little dazed, they hadn't had time to think about it yet.

"Take your time, I'll be in my office, come when you decide" she said leaving the room.

"Look Connor I know it's a lot to take in and I don't want to force this choice on you but I need to know to make it real"

"Thank God for once we agree"