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Ava stood at the end of the bed, watching as the nurse rearranged the various lines protruding from Mrs. Nelson.
She gave her patient a once over and checked the monitors again before addressing the nurse, “Go ahead and lighten her sedation. And page me if her pressure gets any lower.”
The nurse bobbed her head, “Of course Dr. Rhodes.”
Ava turned and slowly made her way out of the room, briefly rubbing her midsection willing the nausea to go away.
The feeling had been bothering her all morning; to be honest, she’d been sick to her stomach for a while now and for no apparent reason. She thought she’d been coming down with the flu or some other virus but that had been weeks ago and still, the only symptom she was really experiencing was nausea.
Who could explain the mysteries of the human body? She was a doctor and she still saw things that stumped and amazed her.
Besides, she was sure that this onslaught of feeling sick was born under stress. She’d been experiencing more than the usual these last few weeks. The hospital had hosted two VIP patients in the last two weeks and on both cases, she’d been the lead surgeon which meant more meetings than normal and lots of extra paperwork. Every single move she made, the literal team of doctors and lawyers that had followed said patients, wanted to know every detail; in depth.
Both of the patients had come to Med specifically for her to perform the surgery. Not their regular doctors; and certainly not their lawyers. So, she didn’t completely understand why they all wanted to be so involved.
It was exhausting and annoying.
Connor had been helping her out as much as he could, but he’d had four M&M’s to study over the course of the past few weeks, so he’d been busy too. She’d made him her second for the surgeries, but they’d really only discussed the case while they were actually operating, that’s how hectic both of their schedules had been.
She felt like she hadn’t seen her husband in a month and that was saying a lot seeing as how they worked and lived together.
Her stomach lurched uncomfortably, and she gingerly sat down behind the ICU’s main nurses’ station, letting out a deep breath. Stress almost never made her sick like this, but she had experienced it once or twice when she was in med school.
And it didn’t help that she hadn’t had anything to eat since six o’clock last night nor had she gotten more than five hours of sleep. Both she and Connor had had a late shift and this morning at around three thirty, her pager started going off like crazy.
She’d grabbed it and was informed that one of her patients in the ICU needed surgery immediately. By what the nurse was describing over the phone while she was frantically getting dressed, Ava deduced that her repair must have blown. The CT fellow on call had instructed for her to be called in because apparently it had been a busy night and he couldn’t take care of it. Besides, it was her patient.
Jumping into her scrub pants, she’d told a sleepy, disheveled looking Connor, who was watching lethargically from their bed, to go back to bed and she’d see him at six for his shift.
He had flopped back down and was asleep before she could even get out the door. However, he was waiting for her with a bagel and a cup of coffee as soon as she got out of OR at approximately six forty-five, looking much more awake than he had during the night.
Ava had thankfully accepted the items, starving but also feeling sick. She knew how she was feeling was probably a result of little to no sleep and she hoped that eating would calm her stomach. But before she could even take an experimental bite, she was summoned frantically to the CT floor.
She’d shoved the food and drink back into a sympathetic looking Connor’s hands as she took off running, praying that she didn’t actually get sick from all the jostling. That wouldn’t be fun or productive.
And that’s pretty much how the rest of the morning had gone. Now that she had a minute, she debated on getting up to go find out where Connor had stored that bagel (the coffee was probably long gone by now) but the effort of going to search for it wasn’t very appealing. In fact, food didn’t seem very appealing with the way she was feeling.
Maybe she was sick. Now she was wondering if she had a fever. She didn’t think so, but she could have a slight one.
Amy, one of the nurses approached her, “Dr. Rhodes, Dr. Manning just called, and she needs you in the ED for a consult.”
Ava sighed wearily before giving a nod, standing up, “Thanks Amy,” She smiled at the girl and made her way to the elevator, hoping that the nausea would ebb soon.
“Hey Natalie,” Ava took the tablet she was being handed, “You need me to consult?”
The other doctor nodded, pointing to the scan that Ava was holding, “Naomi Finch, 23. Came in today with shortness of breath and feeling extremely dizzy, tingling in her arms and legs,” Natalie raised a questioning eyebrow, “Damage to the aorta?”
Ava nodded, looking over the echo, “Yes, it looks like. It’s not terribly severe but she will likely need to have it replaced in five to ten years. Is she on any meds?”
Natalie shook her head, “No. She doesn’t know about the damaged valve. I suppose her regular doctor hasn’t noticed.”
“That wouldn’t be uncommon in someone Ms. Finch’s age. Damage like this doesn’t normally present itself until later in life,” Ava frowned, “Nor does it present itself so extremely, so suddenly,” She turned to her friend, “Has she had a change in lifestyle. More stress?”
“Yes actually,” Natalie shifted her weight, “She mentioned something about a new job that’s given her a lot of heartache.”
Ava gave a short nod, trying to ignore the way her stomach was churning, “That would do it.”
Natalie’s eyebrows furrowed, noticing her friends grimace and looked at Ava more closely, “Hey, you don’t look so good. Are you alright?”
No, in fact, she was not alright. Her stomach hurt but she was also hungry, her head wouldn’t stop pounding and now the room was starting to get blurry. So no, she did not feel alright, but she had no intentions of telling Natalie all that or she would be forced into an exam she didn’t have time for, nor did she particularly want. Not for something as simple as the flu.
However, that decision was soon yanked right out of her hands.
Ava tried to smile reassuringly, “I’m fine, I jus-” And that’s as far as she got until she was blindly reaching out to the counter in order to stop her starry-eyed fall.
“Ava! Ava! Wake up!”
Several voices were invading the fuzzy darkness that was surrounding her and she realized she was now on the floor. She must have passed out. Great! Peachy! Just what she needed.
She groaned, opening her eyes to see Natalie and Maggie’s worried faces hovering over her.
“Ava, do you know where you’re at?” Natalie asked, shining a light in her eye.
The surgeon blinked, feebly pushing away her hand and trying to sit up with the help of Maggie, “Yes, I know where I’m at. How long was I out?”
Maggie frowned, “Just a few seconds but Ava, you just passed out. What’s going on? Are you okay?”
Ava took stock of herself. She still had a headache and she was still nauseous but nothing else seemed to be wrong thankfully.
“I think I have the flu or something,” She grimaced, trying to stand up with the help of Natalie and Maggie, “I haven’t felt well for a while.”
Natalie gave her a once over before pushing her towards a treatment room and grabbing a tablet, “I’m taking some blood and doing an exam. And nothing you say or do will change my mind.”
Ava pulled a face but knew Natalie was right.
She supposed she should get checked out especially since she just passed out. At least she could get some antibiotics as well as something for her nausea. She might as well take advantage of working in a hospital; such as free medicine every now and then and being seen pretty much whenever you wanted.
Turning back to Maggie, she frowned, “You haven’t told Connor yet, have you?”
She didn’t really want her over-protective but well-meaning husband freaking out over something as little as her passing out in the ED. It was kind of humiliating and she would prefer if not more people than the ones who witnessed the incident find out about it.
Besides, she would hate it if he decided to abandon the patient that was no doubt on the table to come to her. She wouldn’t want to explain that to anyone because that would be even more humiliating.
The charge nurse shook her head, “No but I was getting ready to page him.”
“Don’t bother him. He’s in the middle of surgery and I don’t want to worry him unnecessarily.”
“Are you sure? You’re obviously not feeling well,” Maggie furrowed her eyebrows, lowering the hand holding her page.
Ava nodded gingerly, “I’m sure once I get some meds I’ll be as good as new. Besides, what could he do that Natalie can’t?”
“Alright,” Maggie sighed before turning to one of her nurses waiting at her elbow.
Ava made her way to the bed, Natalie hovering and watching wearily before turning to close the curtain once she saw her friend was settled safely on the hospital cot.
“Okay,” Natalie sighed, looking at the tablet and coming to stand next to the bed, “Are you dizzy? Nauseous? Is your vision blurry at all?”
Ava refrained from rolling her eyes at the way Natalie was treating her like an actual patient, “I can see fine and I don’t have a concussion. I haven’t had any recent trauma other than fainting a few minuets ago but I’m fairly certain I didn’t hit my head; You saw it. I was dizzy but that’s subsided. I’m still nauseous. I have been since this morning.”
“Would you like a complete medical history?” She added dryly.
Natalie frowned at her, “No, I do not,” She retorted, holding up the tablet, “I have one right here, thank you very much.”
“Now, how long has this been going on?” Natalie raised an eyebrow, making notes in the tablet, “And don’t you dare think about making something up.”
Ava pursed her lips and didn’t say anything.
“Come on, Ava,” Natalie glowered in exasperation, “Work with me here. I know you’re stubborn beyond all belief but I’m trying to help you.”
The blonde grimaced, already feeling bad for snapping at her friend who was just trying to take care of her. She knew she was stubborn; and moody, and it didn’t help that she still felt like puking. Her unpredictable attitude certainly wasn’t a secret to her. In fact, it had cost her people that could have been friends in the past.
And she knew if their roles were reversed, she would be doing the exact same thing for Natalie or anyone of her friends. Or anyone for that matter. She was a doctor.
Ava watched Natalie warily before answering honestly, “A month, I suppose. Off and on.”
Natalie raised an eyebrow “A month? And you haven’t said anything?”
“I’m saying something now,” She defended, grimacing as her stomach flipped again.
The ED doctor was not impressed judging by the disapproving look she was receiving.
Ava sighed, leaning wearily back into the bed, “I’m sorry Natalie. Truly. I’m sorry for being so horrid and I really appreciate you being willing to figure out whatever’s going on with me,” She sighed again, rubbing a hand over her face, “Something’s obviously wrong and I need it to be resolved before it starts affecting my ability to perform surgery.”
Natalie smiled softly, laying a comforting hand on Ava’s knee, “We’ll figure it out. And I’m sure you’re right; it’s probably just a virus that needs an extra kick from some antibiotics to completely go away.”
She then grabbed Ava’s hand, examining it, “You look dehydrated too,” She pinched the skin on the back of her hand and Ava jumped with a startled ‘ow’, “Yep, definitely dehydrated.”
Ava drew her arm back, rubbing the still elevated skin where Natalie pinched it and pursed her lips, “Great bedside manner. Do you do that to all your patients?”
Natalie smiled cheekily, “No. Just the excessively stubborn ones.”
She walked over to the curtain closing off the treatment room from the rest of the ED and stuck her head out. Ava could hear her calling for April.
A few seconds later Natalie moved back into the room with the concerned looking nurse on her heels.
“Oh my goodness, Ava,” April moved to her side, “I heard you fainted! Are you okay?”
Ava warily sighed as the nurse turned on the monitor and slipped a blood pressure cuff onto her arm, “I’m fine, April. I just got a little dizzy.”
“Start a drip and give her three units of normal saline and then draw some blood. I want a full blood panel,” Natalie ordered April who nodded as she typed the tests into the system.
“A comprehensive blood panel?” Ava raised an eyebrow, “That’s a bit extensive isn’t it?”
Natalie pinned her with a look, “I know it’s probably just a case of the flu, but I want to make sure. We might as well test everything as long as we’re taking blood.”
Ava huffed glumly, watching as April slid a band up on her arm and lightly tapped her inner elbow, “Wow Ava. You really are dehydrated. I’m having trouble getting a vein to pop.”
“When was the last time you had something to drink,” Natalie pursed her lips in suspicion, “Or something to eat for that matter.”
The blonde smiled sheepishly, “Um, last night?”
“Last night!?” Her fellow doctor exclaimed putting her hands on her hips in exasperation.
“I forgot my water bottle,” Ava offered up plaintively, “And I was called in at three thirty this morning; I’ve been busy ever since.”
“I did have fruit roll-up in between surgeries as well as a cup of water so I’m not totally idiotic,” She added with weak grin.
Natalie shook her head in disbelief, “What is it with surgeons and their incapability to actually take care of themselves? I get taking care of your patients and going the extra mile but if you don’t take care of yourself, there won’t be a doctor to treat your patients!”
Ava scowled at the lecture she was receiving. It really wasn’t her fault. She took care of herself, it’s just that sometimes she doesn’t have time to eat. And she swears, she always drinks water throughout the day, but she couldn’t help the fact that she was woken at three thirty in the morning and to lethargic to remember to grab her water bottle.
April had been working diligently at her vain this whole time. She smiled before quickly slipping the IV in and turning to grab bags of saline to hang while Ava untied the tourniquet on her arm.
Natalie huffed in irritated acceptance before letting that particular subject go, running a thermometer over Ava’s forehead and looking at the screen as it beeped.
She frowned, “Well, you don’t have a fever. Have you had one at all over the last month?”
Ava shook her head, “As far as I know, no. I don’t remember feeling like I had a fever, just feeling like crap. That was one of the reasons why I didn’t get checked out sooner. I didn’t think it was bacterial. I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it if it is.”
“Well, as you know it is possible to have an infection without a fever although highly unlikely in someone as healthy as you. Especially since it seems to have been manifesting for so long,” Natalie bit her lip in thought.
“Maybe it’s not an infection,” April shrugged from where she was drawing several vials of blood out of Ava’s inner elbow.
“I really don’t think I’m sick. My symptoms are too back and forth,” Ava furrowed her eyebrows in dismay, trying to figure out why she felt so bad.
“I haven’t changed my diet recently nor drunk any water that I’m not used too. We don’t have any pets and the plants we do have I’ve had since before I got married,” She mused aloud as Natalie wrote in the tablet, “And Connor’s not sick. If he was, he’d be whining like a baby,” Both Natalie and April missed the way Ava’s expression went from thoughtful to stricken.
April was busy tapping on a glass vial and Natalie was still absorbed in making notes.
The brunette sighed, studying the tablet, “Well regardless, we should have answers once the blood samples come back…” She trailed off before looking up, dumbfounded as the realization also hit her at Ava’s unknowing words.
“Oh my God,” Natalie deadpanned, “A baby.”
April’s eyes widened and Ava looked too stunned to do anything as Natalie calmly asked, “Ava, when was the last time you had a period?”
“Umm,” She teetered before swallowing, “I’m not exactly sure right off, but at least a couple of months.”
“Well, I think we just figured this little mystery out,” April suppressed a grin.
Ava frantically whipped her head around to look at the nurse, her eyes wide, “It’s not uncommon for me to miss periods if I’m under stress and I’ve been under a lot of it lately. I-I didn’t think anything about it. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.”
Natalie and April watched her as she briefly closed her eyes in dismay, “God I’m such an idiot.”
“I take it this news is unexpected?” April spoke cautiously, her grin fading.
“Yes,” Ava replied immediately, and Natalie frowned in confusion, “I thought you and Connor wanted children.”
Ava let out a joyous laugh, a couple of tears running down her face, “Of course I want a baby! This news is unexpected,” She grinned softly at her friends, “Not unwanted.”
“I’m just shocked. I never thought I’d be a part of that one percent the pill failed to work on,” Ava chuckled, “It’s kind of ironic that when people come in here unhappy with unwanted pregnancies, we preach to them the importance of contraceptives and then here I am, possibly pregnant while on birth control.”
Natalie grinned, “Oh well, I guess it just proves the only way to one-hundred percent ensure that no pregnancy happens is to not have sex.”
“Try telling that to some of the patients who walk through our doors,” April smirked, and they all burst out laughing.
Once they all calmed down, Natalie reached for the vials of blood still chuckling, “I think we all know what test is truly needed and I think I can predict it’s outcome but,” She gave Ava a look, “I’m still running a full rainbow.”
April nodded in agreement, “Especially now. It would be good to check all your levels.”
“Oh my God,” Ava huffed in annoyance that was directed at herself, “I guess I really do need to start taking care of myself now. And I’m already so dehydrated and I haven’t eaten.”
“We’ll get you fixed up,” Natalie shook the tubes of blood, heading out of the treatment room, “Once I get the results back, we can balance your levels out. Once you go for your first prenatal appointment, if you’re pregnant, then your OB will make sure you’re getting what you need. Of course, you already know all that.”
Ava smiled, her eyes sparkling, “Oh,” She called from the bed, catching Natalie from leaving, “Don’t tell anyone and whatever you do, do not let Connor find out.”
Natalie grinned, shaking her head, “I wouldn’t dream of it,” She winked, “I’ll get the lab to put a rush on these.”
And she was gone leaving only April and Ava in the room.
April grabbed her hands, “This is so exciting!”
Ava grinned wearily, “Let’s just hope we’re right.”
Natalie slipped back into the room, April on her heels once more as she held up a tablet excitedly, “We were right!” She whispered in glee.
We were right.
She was pregnant.
Like as in growing a child right this very second.
She was pregnant.
They were right!
Ava looked at her obviously excited friends, stunned even though she’d had at least twenty minutes to process the fact that she might be pregnant (although, she had asked April to bring her her CT patient’s folders in an attempt to distract her from the anxiety.)
Wordlessly, she took the tablet Natalie was handing her and she scrolled down the test results, ignoring everything until she got to what she was looking for: hCG levels.
100,000 U/L
She was so totally pregnant. There was no denying it (not that she wanted to) and judging by these levels, she was farther along than she thought. At least eight weeks.
She was going to be a mother. Something she hadn’t thought she’d really wanted until she met Connor. And Connor; he was going to be a father. She already knew he would be a great dad.
Ava wondered how he would react. Of course, they had discussed children, even before they got married and they both had agreed that yes, one day they would have a family. They’d thought once their careers died down but that was definitely not the case at the moment. They were both in the thick of it.
They would have to talk about that.
She definitely had no intensions of quitting or slowing down and honestly, she didn’t think she’d ever get to that point regardless of planned or unplanned pregnancy. And she was pretty sure Connor felt the same.
They would work it out; Like they always did.
But they were having a baby and Ava couldn’t be more thrilled. Scared, yes. Nervous, yes but she already loved the life that she and Connor had made, and that was enough.
“I’m going to have a baby!” She whispered incredulously, looking teary-eyed at April and Natalie who were watching her, equally teary-eyed, from the end of the bed.
“Congratulations!” April squealed softly.
Natalie beamed, “Do you want us to go get Connor?”
Ava bit her lip excitedly, “Actually, I want you to go get Maggie.”
The ecstatic shriek from treatment five could be heard by all the staff in the ED. Heads looked up from computers and folders as everyone shared a curious glance before disregarding the sound and focusing back on their work, not hearing anything else.
Ava was laughing quietly as Maggie hugged her fiercely from her place in the bed. The charge nurse rocked the surgeon back and forth; April and Natalie watching them with humorous expressions.
“This is so exciting!” Maggie squealed again still hugging her.
Ava chuckled again, patting her friend on the back, “Shh, Maggie. You’re going to bring security in here. Everyone’s probably wondering what’s going on.”
The nurse released her hold, positively beaming, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, it’s just so thrilling! A baby!”
“I know. I’m excited too, believe me,” Ava smiled back.
Maggie moved to stand with Natalie as April adjusted Ava’s blood pressure cuff and hung another bag of saline.
“I called you in here because I need your help in telling Connor, if you’re willing,” Ava glanced at each of her friends, knowing full well they would be more than willing to help her.
All three were quick to prove her right; All of them speaking animatedly at once.
“Of course!”
“Anything you need!”
“What can we do to help!?”
Ava smiled cheerfully, her eyes sparkling before decisively clapping her hands together, “Now, here’s what you’re going to do…”
Connor finished tying his shoes and shut his locker, rolling his shoulders. He yawned, he had just finished a four-hour long surgery but thankfully everything had gone according to plan and hadn’t needed to call reinforcements.
Although, he really loved operating with his wife every chance he got. Not only did they make a great team, but she always kept the OR entertained with her quick one-liners and much to his chagrin, she seemed to enjoy retelling some of the stupid things he had done in the past, especially if it involved their relationship (like that one time he forgot her birthday but to be fair, she never told him when it was.)
(Her response was that he should have been thoughtful enough to ask or find out when they became friends. And he should have definitely done it when they had entered into a dating relationship. In hindsight, Connor had to admit that he’d been pretty stupid, and he had felt horrible after the fact too. Especially since she kept giving him a hard time about it.)
His pager buzzed and he hoped it was Ava needing his help. He felt like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks, they had both been busy with separate cases. Instead it was Maggie.
NEED YOU IN ED FOR CONSULT. URGENT BUT NOT CRITICAL.
He sighed, rubbing his thumb on his forehead. Typical. Ah well, hopefully he could seek Ava out after this. Hopefully the consult would be quick and not complicated.
Deciding not to take the elevator, he took the stairs two at a time, turning the corners absentmindedly and following the route he knew by heart.
He spotted Maggie behind one of the counters in the middle of the ED flipping through a binder and he made his way towards her.
“Hey Mags. You paged?” He approached the counter and Maggie looked up, her eyes dancing.
“Yup! It took you long enough,” She huffed in exasperation.
Connor raised an eyebrow, “I literally walked down here as soon as I got the page. Besides, you said it wasn’t critical.”
The nurse seemed to suppress a smile that didn’t match her grumpy words, “Well, you walk slow.”
The doctor shook his head, puzzled by Maggie’s strange behavior, “Okay then,” He rocked on his feet, still confused before shaking his head and continuing with his main mission, “I thought you said someone needed me for a consult?”
The nurse full out smiled then, handing him a tablet, “Treatment 5.”
Connor eyed Maggie, perplexed before glancing down at the tablet, his eyes widening, “Maggie, why does this say ‘Ava Rhodes’?”
Maggie arched an eyebrow, pushing him towards the treatment room, “Because that’s her name?”
Connor whipped around to look at her, alarmed, “What happened? Is she in the ED? Why? Is she okay!?”
“Why don’t you ask her yourself,” Maggie pointed authoritatively to the room they were now standing in front of.
Connor wasn’t sure what was going on, but he intended to find out. Not bothering to knock, he flung the curtain back and sure enough, there was his wife sitting cross-legged on the bed, hooked up to the heart monitor and an IV, the blood pressure cuff on her arm. She had her head bent, studying what looked like patient charts sprawled out on her lap.
“Ava, honey,” She lifted her head and he quickly crossed the space between him and her bedside.
He abandoned the tablet on the bed as he frantically looked her over, his hands hovering over her body.
“What’s going on!? Are you okay?” Connor’s eyes roamed between her and the stats on the monitor.
As far as he could tell everything seemed fine. Her blood pressure and pulse were stable and the only thing that she seemed to be receiving through the IV was what looked like normal saline, but he needed answers. Was she sick?
“Connor,” Ava’s voice finally cut through the worried fog, his brain in overdrive, running through every possible sickness and the courses of treatment.
She grabbed his cheeks in exasperation, forcing him to look at her. She rolled her eyes, “Will you just listen to me? I’m okay.”
Connor searched her eyes, still incredibly confused, “If you’re okay, then why are you here? What’s going on?”
Ava bit her lip, nodding to the tablet that was on the bed by her feet, “Did you even look at the tablet?”
“No, I saw your name and was more concerned about getting to you,” He swallowed, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.
“Just look at the tablet,” She sighed lazily as he picked it up and stood at the end of the bed; wondering why she was being so cryptic and frustrated at not knowing.
Ava was watching him, “Go on,” She nodded to the tablet in his hand and he forced himself to look at it, “Those are the results to the blood test Natalie ordered this morning.”
Connor’s head snapped back up, his face white, growing more and more concerned that Ava was stalling because she was really sick, “Blood test? Why-”
“I haven’t been feeling well lately and I passed out about forty-five minutes ago, so Natalie gave me an exam, ordered tests, to see if I had some sort of virus,” Ava explained calmly, her hands folded in her lap over her folders.
He swallowed, clutching the tablet, now convinced that it held horrible news and his wife was trying to ease him into it, “Ava, whatever it is. We can get through it together.”
She huffed in exasperation, “Connor, just read the results. You could have known by now if you’d stopped blubbering and had just looked. The answers are right there.”
She had a point. He could have known a long time ago if he’d just gotten his head together. He took a deep breath and looked down, this time actually comprehending the results.
“Now,” Came her soft accent, “What do they say?”
“The mineral balance looks fine and so does your cholesterol. The ELISA looks clean,” Connor looked up and Ava was patiently listening.
So far, so good but he kept expecting to find something radically off with her numbers.
He kept reading, “Your blood glucose is a little low and you seem anemic but,” Connor furrowed his eyebrows, “Your blood cell counts look fine.”
By this point, he had expected to find whatever it was that Ava seemingly wanted him to find out for himself. If she wasn’t seriously ill, then what was wrong? So far, the things that he’d seen were easy fixes and most likely just a result of a surgeon’s lifestyle. Not anything to warrant any real worry.
“Keep reading,” Ava prompted at his confused stare.
“Iron, Hemoglobin, your stats look fine,” He half-mumbled, slowly scrolling through the results.
Connor shook his head; she looked extremely healthy, “Chromosomes, hCG…” He trailed off, “Oh my God.”
There was a clatter as the tablet hit the floor.
And then he was by Ava’s side, looking like he wasn’t entirely sure what to do. He almost seemed afraid to touch her as his hands hovered between her shoulders and face, barely skimming over her. He eased down next to her on the bed, still staring her in the face, overwhelmed.
“Ava, honey?” Connor whispered, tears in his eyes as he finally managed to reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind Ava’s ear, “Does this mean-?” He paused, searching his wife’s face; She also had tears in her eyes.
Connor swallowed hard before letting out a choked, “Really?”
Ava nodded, laughing through her tears in joy and at Connor’s awestruck expression, “Yes, really!”
He framed her face, looking deeply into her eyes before whispering again, “Really?”
“Yes!” Ava nodded again, still laughing, “Numbers that high don’t lie.”
Connor’s eyes kept roaming her face in wonder, smoothing her hair behind her ears absentmindedly before he abruptly moved, crashing his lips into hers.
Ava moaned into the kiss, not caring that her folders were sliding off, probably getting jumbled. She sank down further into the bed and Connor followed, wrapping his arms around her.
Her arms came around, cradling his head as she carded her fingers through his thick hair. She gasped as Connor drew back, instead moving to her clavicle. He rested his forehead on her shoulder, his breathing deep.
She hummed contentedly, smoothing her hands over his head, “I take it you’re happy?”
“Happy?” His voice was muffled from where his face was buried into her neck.
Connor looked up, shaking his head in disbelief, “Happy doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
“Good,” Ava sighed in relief, “I thought you would be, but I wasn’t sure. It’s all very sudden and very unexpected.”
“Ava,” Connor shook his head, looking at her with so much love and wiped his tears, “I would never be unhappy at news like this. Ever. Planned or not,” He gulped, moving his hand to rest low over Ava’s stomach, “This is our baby. We made it. Me and you. How could I ever be disappointed in that?”
Tears sprung into Ava’s eyes again, overcome by emotion; Love swelling in her heart for this man she called her husband and for her child that was resting within her.
Connor looked down in wonder at where his large hands were covering her still very flat stomach, “I can’t believe it,” He shook his head, tears dripping from his eyes and whispered, “We’re having a baby.”
Ava let out a giggle, “We’re having a baby!”
They sat there in silence, letting the news wash over them as Connor rested his head on Ava’s chest, keeping his hand over her stomach while Ava lazily stroked Connor’s back.
Frankly, she was almost asleep (she was tired okay. It had been a long day regardless of the fact she was woken at three thirty that morning) when Connor lifted his head. Ava opened her eyes and she could tell that he was starting to slip into ‘doctor mode’.
“You said you passed out,” He frowned like he was just remembering her words, “You didn’t hit your head or your stomach, did you?”
Ava shook her head, “No, it was pretty graceful, and I was only out for a few seconds. Don’t worry, I’m sure it was just a drop in my BP from the pregnancy.”
Connor narrowed his eyes, sitting upright on the bed, “Hold on, you said you haven’t been feeling well for a while. How long is ‘a while’ and why haven’t you told me?”
She refrained from rolling her eyes, now he was turning into a worried husband with extensive medical knowledge, “I’ve been sick to my stomach off and on for about a month. I thought I had some sort of bug and kept waiting for it to go away but now, I realize it’s been morning sickness and unfortunately, it’ll probably be sticking around for a few more weeks. I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t terrible and like I said, I thought it would go away.”
Ava pursed her lips, “It’s only been in the last couple of weeks that I’ve truly felt horrible, but I dismissed it as stress however I’m sure that added with the pregnancy is why I feel so exhausted and sick.”
He gave her a look, “That’s going to have to change. No more working this hard. You need to start resting and taking care of your body.”
“And you barely got any sleep last night and have you eaten at all today?” Connor stood up, crossing his arms to appear more authoritative.
Her guilty look was all the confirmation he needed.
He sighed, “That is not good for you or the baby.”
Shaking his head, he picked up the tablet which was surprisingly not shattered from where he dropped it in shock and scrolled through the results again. Ava knew he was about to give her one of his doctor lectures.
It wasn’t often that she was on the receiving end of this type of talk, but it had happened on occasion when she had been sick or working so hard to save others, she was neglecting her own health. And then there was the occasional incident at the hospital, and she got to witness one of Connor’s ‘are you okay? You shouldn’t have taken that risk. What were you thinking?’ speeches.
He was a worrier and she used to balk at this kind of conversation, fighting and lecturing back a lot more but now, after being with him for a few years, she would sometimes let him rant and get whatever it was off his chest. Mind you, she still gave her two cents once he was finished.
But, as much as it irked her, she let him admonish her this time because she knew he was right. That she needed to really start taking care of herself because she would need the energy and nutrients to grow another human being in her uterus.
“Three meals a day, at least seventy-two ounces of water. At least. And we need to start you on prenatals right away. It looks like you’re dehydrated, hence the need to drink water, but I noticed Natalie gave you a couple of units of saline,” Connor furrowed his eyebrows, “And I’m not liking this anemia. It’s probably a symptom from the pregnancy. We’re having red meat tonight and maybe I’ll prescribe you with iron supplements.”
He looked up at her, “Of course, we’ll confer with your OBGYN. In fact, we should set up an appointment for as soon as possible and get an ultrasound so we can know exactly how far along you are. Although, judging by these hCG levels, you’re probably around nine to ten weeks which means it’s time to get an NIPT and NTS,” Connor bit his lip, perplexed, “And you didn’t suspect pregnancy when you missed your period?”
Ava sighed and gave him a look, “You know that I can miss periods because of stress. I didn’t suspect anything until today and everything just seemed to click.”
Connor didn’t look terribly happy, “I can’t believe I haven’t noticed. Especially your missed periods because we’ve talked about that too.”
Oh yes, she remembered. It had honestly been one of the oddest conversations up until that point of her life. They hadn’t been together for long, but he must have been somehow tracking her periods (although it wasn’t hard to guess when she was on them because she was a lot more snappish than usual) and he asked her one day out of the blue if she was late.
After getting over the fact that it was creepy and also kind of sweet that he was attentive enough to notice those kinds of things, she explained that missed periods were common for her if she was under stress and let’s face it, when was she not under stress. It was basically in the job description.
He then gave her a doctor lecture on the importance of reproductive health and that it wasn’t good if she was under so much pressure that it affected her cycles. It was one of the oddest and most uncomfortable experiences in her life. Rarely was she caught off guard but that little talk had thrown her for a loop. She’d never had a conversation like that, about that, with anyone (let alone a boyfriend. Granted, said boyfriend was a doctor).
Not her mum or even her own doctor. Of course, she’d had conversations revolving around those subjects with Connor and even Dr. Latham, but it was always about their patients, not her.
She was a doctor; all of them were well-versed in anatomy.
And after the fact, she found that she was touched by his concern and decided that she shouldn’t have been surprised. Connor might not seem like it sometimes, but he was one of the most attentive and most caring people she knew, especially when it came to those he was closest to; It was one of the reasons he was such a great doctor.
Now though, she was pretty confidant they had talked about every uncomfortable and sensitive topic there was to discuss. It helped that they were doctors and bodily functions were a part of their day to day conversations.
“I’ve already scheduled an appointment with Dr. Grant, but I was thinking,” Ava glanced shyly at Connor, “Maybe we could do an ultrasound right now?”
He seemed surprised and nervous at this suggestion before his eyes started sparkling and he moved over to the ultrasound machine, “Why not?”
Connor quickly turned it on as Ava laid down, rolling her scrub top up to just underneath her breasts then pushing her drawstring pants slightly down. She could see Connor’s hands just barely shaking as he reached for the gel.
Ava huffed nervously, waiting for him to put the stuff on her flat belly, “I’ve done countless of these to other people. It feels weird to be on the receiving end.”
“Tell me about it. It feels weird to be doing it to my wife,” Connor mumbled.
She jumped as he squirted the gel onto her abdomen, “Wow, that really is cold.”
He offered a wry smile, “Sorry.”
Connor rubbed the wand over Ava’s stomach as they both rapidly watched the screen. Almost immediately, he found the heartbeat as the tiny but fast sound echoed through the room; a tiny body coming into view. Already defined legs and arms moving around.
“Oh my God,” They both breathed at the same time.
It was amazing how enrapturing a blob could be. Of course, they had both seen ultrasounds of baby’s, had done them but seeing their baby was surreal. Now they knew exactly what expecting parents were feeling when one of them performed a quick ultrasound for whatever reason.
“Too bad we can’t see the heart,” Ava bit her lip worriedly, “I suppose we’ll just have to wait till the anatomy scan.”
Connor flicked away a tear, zooming in on their baby and mused, “At twenty weeks; as far as I can tell, all the measurements seem normal for a ten-week-old fetus. Of course, I’m no expert.”
“Fetal heart tones are steady and strong,” Ava swallowed, her eyes roaming her baby.
They searched every inch of that small blob, bouncing all the information that they detected back and forth.
After a few minutes, Ava started laughing and Connor looked at her questioningly.
“Listen to us,” She giggled, “We’re doing preliminary examinations. We sound a lot more like doctors than parents who are seeing their child for the first time.”
Connor suppressed a grin, “Well, that would make since seeing as how we are doctors. Clinical exams are hardwired into our brains but God,” He sighed, watching his child kick, “isn’t he perfect? He looks perfect.”
Ava nodded in approval, “Now you sound more like an expectant father,” Then she arched an eyebrow, “He? What if it’s a she?”
“I don’t care. He or she; they look absolutely perfect and everything is checking out to be within the normal ranges of a ten-week-old baby.”
Ava shook her head humorously, still watching the moving ultrasound with amazement, “We’re going to be nightmares at my OB appointments. Especially during my twenty-week scan. Everyone’s going to hate us.”
Connor nodded in agreement, “We’ll definitely be scrutinizing his-or her- heart. I’m glad though; I trust myself and you to catch anything more than I trust a simple ultrasound tech. And, if anything is wrong, they won’t be able to hide it from us.”
They had nothing indicating that something could be wrong, but both Ava and Connor had seen way too many cases involving heart defects detected in the womb and other complications with unborn babies to not be running through every possible scenario that could happen.
“That’s our baby, Ava,” Connor shook his head in wonder, grabbing her her hand.
“We’re going to be parents,” Ava sighed, slightly overwhelmed but incredibly content.
She didn’t know how she ever got so lucky. To have Connor, a prosperous career that she loved, a wonderful life and now, a baby to call her own. She didn’t know how much she’d wanted it until it happened.
It was astonishing to look back at the person she was when she moved to Chicago and to look at her now. Of course, she was mostly the same, but she had learned to let herself feel and show her emotions. Connor had slowly but surely peeled back her walls, cracking the ice that had surrounded her heart.
She vowed that she would never let her child grow up the way she did. Ava wanted her baby to be free in showing his or her emotions and encouraged to pursue whatever he or she wanted in life, whether it be dance lessons or horseback riding; An artist or a Cardiothorasic Surgeon.
To always be encouraged to just be his or herself and not to conform to expectations of the world.
Ava never wanted any child of hers to become closed off like she’d been and still was to a point. It was a part of who she was as a result of her upbringing.
Connor paused the ultrasound and they just stared at it, captivated.
That was his baby. His wife was carrying their baby.
And when he thought he couldn’t fall in love with her anymore.
Ava looked beautiful, sitting in that bed, her eyes trained on the screen. She was positively glowing despite looking a little tired. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before because there was no denying it. She looked like an expectant mother.
She wasn’t showing yet, of course but her body had changed. Her hips and thighs were thicker and her chest, fuller. And now she had that sparkle in her eye.
She was carrying his child. He could barely wrap his head around it.
Never in a million years had he thought he would have this. A wife he loved, who was smart and kind and stunning, not only on the outside but on the inside.
Who was proud and confident, not at all like the shallow women that his dad had dated or the girls that flung themselves at him.
When he was younger, before med school, he had always thought he would probably end up like his dad, cheating and not caring about anyone other than who was as rich and famous as he was. He had never wanted that, he just assumed that he would eventually fall into his father’s ways because that was all he really knew. All the men in his father’s circle was like that.
Then, he’d run away from his problems and that’s when he found a love of medicine and he vowed he wouldn’t become his father. He would be kind, if not arrogant (he couldn’t help that, it was apart of his personality) and real, not shallow like his dad.
And he hadn’t thought anything about a future with anyone. He decided he would never have one, that medicine was his life. Only dating girls off and on and having the occasional one-night stand for pure entertainment.
Even when he got to Chicago and he’d had what he would consider serious relationships; first with Sam then Robin. He had cared about them a great deal, but he had never thought about settling down; not with them, not with anyone.
But then, Ava walked in and took him-and everyone else-by storm. She flipped his life upside down without even really noticing it. As they got to know each other and he began to fall in love with her, he knew it was different than anything he’d had before. Then they got together, and it felt different than what he’d had with Sam or Robin or any of his other relationships.
One day, when he looked at her, the thought ‘this is what my future looks like’ came unbidden to his mind. It had startled him, but he found that yes, he wanted a future with her; a long one. He wanted to marry her.
Not long after that, he’d watched her comfort a child who had just lost a parent and thought, ‘she is going to be such a great mother’.
That had startled him even more because he never thought he would have kids. It’s not that he didn’t like them (he really enjoyed them actually) it was just he had never envisioned a future with a wife and kids. It hadn’t been on his radar.
Until Ava. He found he wanted it all with Ava.
So, he’d popped the question, they’d gotten married and talked about having children sometime in the future. Well, the future had come, maybe quicker than they had imagined but he wasn’t complaining. Besides, there was never a perfect time to have children, so he supposed now was as good a time as any.
Connor already loved that child so much it hurt. He didn’t even know it was possible to feel this much love.
And he promised that he would never let any child of his grow up the way he did; a childhood based on lies, deception and greed. No, he promised that his child’s life would be based on love and trust.
That he and Ava would show them what a healthy, loving relationship between a husband and wife looked like. Not fighting, like his parents did seemingly all the time before his mother slipped into depression and was absent in his life, only nannies raising him and never seeing his father who could care less.
Of course, he and Ava would need to find childcare when they were working, and they would have to talk about it, but he knew they would make sure that their child always knew that they were loved by his or her parents. Always, no matter what.
When he’d seen her very elevated hGC numbers, he’d had to do a double take. That was the last thing he was expecting and then it had hit him of what that meant.
His wife was pregnant, and they were having a baby.
She was carrying his baby. And he could never be any more grateful to Ava for giving him a family.
If someone were to tell him a few years ago he would have a job he loved with the greatest friends he could ever want and married to the love of his life who was about to bless them with the birth of their first child, he probably wouldn’t have believed them.
A little girl with Ava’s blonde hair, his blue eyes and as smart as her mother or a little boy with his hair and Ava’s eyes whose personality was a mix of theirs.
Yeah, he had a pretty amazing life and he wouldn’t change it for the world.
And he couldn’t wait to meet the newest member of his family.