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Sherlock had decided to stay a few extra days to offer his insight on the problem Alfredo had brought up to Holmes. It had looked easy to solve at first, but the more the two Sherlocks and Joan dug into it the more complicated it got. And Holmes was grateful for that, because this afternoon there was a very important doctor’s appointment he needed to attend and he didn't want to leave Alfredo in a lurch. This was not the type of thing Joan was ready to handle on her own.
He detested doctors’ offices, but this one wasn't so bad, he decided. Irene had had him wait in the waiting room when she did most of her appointments with her obstetrician but since today was the sonogram she had decided he most definitely needed to be there. They had already discussed that they didn't want to find out the sex of the baby before he or she was born, but they did want to make sure the child was healthy. And so they were waiting patiently for the doctor to arrive. Or, rather, she was. He'd admit he felt on edge with worries flitting through his head.
“Could you please sit down?” Irene asked from the exam table she was lying down on as he paced nearby. “You're getting distracting and I'm getting irritated.”
“Fine,” he said, going to the stool on the opposite side of the machine that would tell him the news about his child that he was eager for. He sat down and then began fidgeting slightly.
“Sherlock, everything is going to be fine. Please, just relax,” she said with a sigh.
“I just worry,” he said.
“My doctor has said everything is going along swimmingly so far. I don't expect we'll get news that something is horribly wrong today. We'll find out our child is healthy and that will be that.”
“But what if he or she isn't okay?” he asked. “What if we do get bad news?”
“Then we'll handle it as best we can and do whatever it takes to make sure that he or she has a good life regardless of problems. We can survive it if things if our child has medical problems we need to deal with.” She reached over and touched her face. “Just be patient and calm down. My doctor will be here shortly and then we'll know, all right?”
“Fine,” he said quietly. He started to say more when the door opened and a redheaded woman with a friendly smile came in. “You must be Dr. Klopman,” he said.
She nodded. “Yes. It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you, Mr. Holmes.” He stood up and extended his hand towards her and she shook it. Then she let go and she moved over to Irene's other side. “Now. Before I start are you two absolutely sure you don't want to know the sex of the baby?”
“Absolutely,” Irene said with a nod. “I know it would make things easier but I very much want it to be a surprise. I know Sherlock might want to know, but I don't.”
“I'm fine with not knowing,” Holmes said as he sat back down. “I mostly just want to find out if our child is healthy.”
“Well, I can definitely tell you that,” she said as she moved the machine to do the sonogram closer. “Is this your first child, Mr. Holmes?”
“Yes,” he said. “I'll admit I'm nervous at the moment.”
“I can see that.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “Irene is healthy and has been taking mostly good care of herself.”
“Mostly?” Irene asked.
“You've put on a bit more weight than I would like, but it isn't anything I'm overly concerned about. As long as you don't gain more than thirty-five pounds during the entire pregnancy I'd say you'll be fine. It will just be harder to lose after you've had your child.”
“I can handle that well enough,” she said.
“That's good to hear. Now, I need you to lift up your shirt so I can put the gel on your abdomen. I'm going to apply pressure, but it won't be much and I can assure you it won't harm the baby. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Irene said as she shifted to pull the bottom hem of her shirt up. When her abdomen was exposed Dr. Klopman turned on the machine, then got gel and put it on her abdomen. “That's actually quite cold.”
“My apologies,” Dr. Klopman said. She pulled the wand away from the machine and put it on Irene's abdomen. Soon a fluttering was heard, but she frowned as she moved the wand. “I didn't expect that,” she said quietly.
“Is something wrong?” Holmes asked, his eyes wide.
“No. But you're having twins,” she said. “Those are two very distinct heartbeats.”
“Twins?” Irene asked incredulously.
“That explains the extra weight gain,” she replied with a nod. “Let me see if I can get a better view of them.” She moved the wand and then smiled. “There they are,” she said, nodding to the monitor.
“They're so tiny,” Holmes said quietly.
“Well, they're not underweight,” Dr. Klopman said. “And everything looks good, as far as I can tell. There may be complications at delivery, only because that's the case with multiples, but there are things we can do to minimize them the closer we get to her due date.”
“How can I be having twins? They don't run in either side of our family,” Irene asked her doctor.
“It happens sometimes,” she said, leaning over to press a button on the machine to print out the image. “But chances are if you have one set of twins you might have more if you have more children.”
“I don't think I could handle more than three,” Holmes said. “Or possibly just two.”
“I have twins myself. They can be a handful, I'll admit that much.” She pulled the printout away from the machine. “Does this change your mind about wanting to know the sex of the children?”
Irene glanced over to Sherlock, who shook his head. Then she turned back to her doctor. “No. We still want it to be a surprise.”
“Well, a surprise like this is cause for celebration.” She pulled the wand away and then handed Irene the printout before reaching over for a towel to give her. Irene handed the printout to Holmes before she took the towel to clean the gel off her abdomen. “There are going to be a few things we're going to have to change in your diet and exercise habits, and I would like to see you more often just to err on the side of caution.”
“Of course,” Irene said.
“Make an appointment for my receptionist for two weeks from now, and we'll continue to have appointment every two weeks until you're thirty-six weeks along, and then we'll move to weekly.” Then she gave them a wide smile. “Congratulations to both of you.”
“Thank you,” Holmes murmured, slightly shell-shocked.
“I'll see you in two weeks,” Dr. Klopman said to Irene as she made her way to the door and left.
Irene looked over at her boyfriend. “Sherlock? Are you all right?” she asked, slightly concerned.
“I hadn't expected twins,” he said quietly.
“It could be worse. It could be triplets,” she said. “But really, it's not so bad. They're healthy and that's the important part.”
“Yes, I know. But we need to change some of our plans.”
“I know. But let's share the good news with our friends first. You do think it's good news, right?” she asked.
“I do, I promise. It's just going to take a bit of time to wrap my head around it.” He gave her a smile after a moment. “Still, I am happy.”
“Good.” She sat up and put her legs over the side of the exam table and then motioned for him to come closer. He stood up and she leaned in more, kissing him softly. “I think we should tell your cousin and Joan first. And we should do it face to face. I want to see Sherlock's reaction to the news in person.”
His grin got wider. “Yes, I think that's going to be priceless,” he said with a chuckle.
“Then it's settled. Let's go home and start sharing the news, shall we?” She got off the table and offered him her hand, and he grasped it tightly before they left. Yes, it was a shock but really, this was good news. He just had to hope that everything stayed well and there were no complications. He didn't know what he would do if that happened.