Spiderdad

34

The next morning, Peter held back MJ's hair as she threw up in the trash can he held for her. As he stroked her back lovingly, he thought back to all of the blurry mornings where he was hungover and had his girlfriend at his side, caressing his hair or patiently waiting for his stomach to empty itself. I'm so sorry I did this to you, Peter thought silently as MJ wiped her mouth with the back of his hand.

"Better?" Peter asked softly.

MJ nodded silently, she hasn't said much since being attacked. The two shakily stood up then made their way to the living room where Nora was responding to an email on her laptop while David paced back and forth as he ate a bowl of cereal. Adrian, who had been sitting on the couch, was the first to acknowledge the couple as they entered the living area.

"How'd you guys sleep?" The boy asked.

"We didn't," they replied in unison.

Nora looked up from her laptop and frowned at her daughter, "hun, I told you to get some rest."

"How can I rest when my kid could've just been killed," MJ spat with an intensity rarely heard from her.

Peter instantly turned to face his girlfriend and gently clapped his hands over hers, "MJ, calm down," he had hardly heard anything but the thunderous pounding of her heart ever since the day before, it was quickly making him grow lightheaded, "please. I promise you we'll get this figured out, and I promise you it'll be okay."

MJ looked into his exhausted eyes and chewed anxiously on her lower lip; for a moment she forgot about her father who had paused mid-bite to watch how the two interacted (since he rarely saw them together) while her mother and brother became nonexistent. She gave a shaky nod then kissed his forehead lightly, making a tiny smile flicker across his lips.

"You two better get married," Adrian stated in an almost warning tone.

Panic flared up in Peter's chest and he tightened his lips into a forced grin, "we'll see."

"Oh, by the way, Michelle," David quickly announced, "you have an ultrasound at noon. You need to eat regularly and have a full bladder for that."

MJ nodded then said, "wanna know what sounds good?"

"Carrots and ice cream?" Adrian guessed.

David looked down at his bowl, "cereal?"

"Grapes and mayonnaise?" Nora offered.

"Bagels and green beans?" Peter suggested.

MJ cocked an eyebrow, "all good ideas. Except from you, Dad. That's dumb. But I was thinking steak and avocados."

"We have leftover steak from the night before last," Nora stated, "and I think we have one or two avocados somewhere in the kitchen."

"Sweet," MJ headed to the kitchen, "anyone else want some?"

"Nope. No one ruins my breakfast," David quickly answered, "not even you."

"I'll take some," Adrian shrugged.

"Me too," Peter agreed.

MJ smiled slightly at them and started preparing the steak while Adrian started to cut up an avocado. He had grown used to his sister's strange eating habits during her pregnancy and often times participated in snacking on whatever she was eating. Part of this was out of curiosity, but most of this was because he knew MJ had (at first) gotten self-conscious about the weird cravings and it made her feel a little better if he joined in. Adrian wasn't going to lie— he was a pretty good brother.

Finally, noon came around and Peter found himself holding MJ's hand tightly as she scrunched her face up at the cold, water-based gel being spread across her stomach; the cool sensation made her shudder as it tickled her skin awkwardly. The two teens plus Nora and Adrian (David had to work) watched the nurse holding the small wand that hovered over MJ's baby bump with desperate eyes.

A fuzzy, black and white image formed on the screen in front of the blonde nurse (who reminded Peter of Hello Nurse from Animaniacs) as she stared at the monitor with laser sharp focus. Peter examined the blurry, whitish outline of the unborn baby curled up comfortable inside of MJ; they looked cozy and peaceful... and hopefully alive.

"Have you felt any moving or kicking since the incident?" The nurse asked.

"I don't think so," MJ replied sheepishly, "but they're normally pretty quiet..."

"Ah," she nodded, "my baby boy was the same way. He was so quiet, I'd actually worry about him. Now his legs won't stop swinging."

MJ chuckled softly at that and Peter could see her relax. Hello Nurse smiled warmly then returned her attention to the screen. She started to chew on her plump lower lip as her eyes narrowed at the screen; Peter felt her growing anxiety that she hid so well.

"Alright, hun, here's what I'm seeing and I don't want you to worry," Hello Nurse began, "you have a minor placental abruption, which is when the placenta separates from the uterus. In this case, it is not fatal and your baby is alive," the family sighed in relief then let her continue, "but, this is something we will want to monitor closely."

"Which means..." MJ let her voice trail off.

"You will be hospitalized until your baby is stable," Hello Nurse replied, "it should only be a few days, but for your safety and the safety of your baby, it is necessary."

Peter felt tears of relief stinging his eyes, "thank you ma'am."

"Just doing my job," she smiles sweetly then looks back at the screen, "before I report to the doctor, would you like to know your baby's gender?"

"Yes," Everyone seemed to reply in unison; MJ may or may not have already been told the baby's gender, but she wasn't sure (she wasn't a good listener when it came to adults).

Again, a thin grin spread across her lips, "it's a girl."