"Everything looks good," Dr. Romero says, freezing the picture on the ultrasound before taking the wand off of my stomach. "Both boys are right on track; a little small, but that is to be expected."
"Nothing we need to be concerned about?" I ask, taking the Kleenex she hands me. The goo on my stomach is always so uncomfortable, and no matter how much I wipe at it, there is always a sticky residue left behind.
Dr. Romero smiles, looking over at me from where she is typing on her computer. "Nothing at all. It isn't unusual for them to measure a little smaller. I am just going to recommend upping the nutrients a little to make sure they don't fall behind. But make sure to keep up the exercise. It is good for all three of you."
Nodding, I push myself up into a seated position, which is a difficult feat now that I am twenty weeks. Usually, Ollie is there to lend me a hand, after teasing me first.
My eyes flick over to the empty chair, the place where Ollie usually sits for the appointments. But this time he couldn't get off of work. Apparently, they were taking the kids to the local nursing home, hoping to brighten up their day. Seeing as the school was seeking chaperones for the trip, Ollie wasn't able to get out of it.
"I'll work on that," I say, making a mental grocery list of things to pick up after I leave the coffee shop.
She nods, but then her eyebrows wrinkle. "What's this I see about an amniocentesis?"
"What?" I ask, thoroughly confused.
She clicks on her computer some more, the crinkle in her brow only growing more defined. "There is a request in here sent here from Gabriel's." That's the hospital where I was seeing Dr. Cole. Also the place where my soon to ex-husband works. "It's for an amniocentesis, to determine the parentage of the twins." She looks over at me. "Do you know anything about this?"
Closing my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to stave off a headache I can feel coming on. "Yeah." Forcing my eyes open, I meet her worried eyes. "My ex-husband works at Gabriel's and we went to divorce court a few weeks ago. He seemed convinced the babies were his, and his lawyer requested an amniocentesis. But once I told the judge about the risks, he denied the request. He just said to get a DNA test after the boys are born."
She nods her head. "That's good. I would highly advise you to not have the amniocentesis. Having twins means you need to take it more carefully. We don't want to put the babies under any stress and cause premature labor."
My heart skips a beat at her words, hand falling down to my stomach. I went through hell to get these babies, thinking that I would never get a chance to be a parent. The thought of losing them makes my mind go blank. I can't even comprehend not having them, after having them be a part of me for twenty weeks already.
"I-I can't lose them," I whisper, words coming out shaky, no matter how hard I try to keep my voice steady.
"We're going to do everything we can to keep those babies inside you until the thirty-six-week mark." She types on her computer, before giving one final click and pushing the screen away from her. "And that means that we are going to refuse the procedure."
"Can we?" I ask, the headache I was trying to stave off is coming on in full force. "The judge dismissed the request, and they still managed to send one through."
"Just because they sent it, doesn't mean you have to have the procedure. Think of it more as a request, one that you are respectfully declining." She raises her brows at me, a smirk on her face. "They can't make you do anything you don't want to do."
Relief floods through me, some of the tension leaving my shoulders. "Thank god."
She doesn't say anything, before finally clearing her throat. "Can I say something, Milo?"
Giving a slow nod of my head, I hesitantly meet her eyes. "Of course."
"Try to ignore your ex and his requests until this divorce goes through. It seems like he likes to cause you stress, which is something that is dangerous for you right now. Don't let him make you feel like he can make you do anything. You're in control of your life, no matter what he thinks."
"Thanks," I say. "I needed that."
She nods again, her eyes soft with understanding. Opening a folder that is placed by the computer, she pulls out a piece of paper before handing it to me. "Before you go, I have the test results that you requested."
Looking down at the papers, I see that it is all my blood tests from the time that I was on fertility treatments. My brows crinkle in confusion as I try to understand all the numbers, not able to comprehend what they mean. "Does this show that I was on suppressants?"
"Yes, they do." She rolls her chair over to me, pointing out a number that looks completely random to me. "This is your omegagestrone levels. They regulate your heats, and healthy levels are anywhere between 125 and 210."
The number twenty-nine seems to glare at me.
"This number," she points to another one, lower on the paper. "Represents your alphametophenes. Omegas tend to have low levels of this, anywhere between 2 and 18 is considered normal. But your high level of 46 is higher than anything I have ever seen."
"These are just one testing, though, right?"
She shakes her head. "Yes. This is the last one before Dr. Cole decided to take you off the fertility treatments. The previous numbers were not as dangerous, but they do show a clear progression from healthy levels to the ones Dr. Cole was seeing.
"The omegagestrone and alphametophenes are the hormones that you should be interested in, because they prove that Minuere was in your system. It is the only known suppressant to cause these results, which is exactly why it is rarely ever used. These levels would make it impossible for you to get pregnant, and if they were maintained, you would most likely become infertile, as well as increasing your chances of developing multiple cancers."
"Jesus," I mumble, forcing my eyes away from the papers. "I can't believe Aaron was giving me these."
"Now you have proof that you were taking them and that there is no record of you being prescribed them. I hope they help."
Standing up, I give her a shaky smile. "They do. Thank you, Dr. Romero."
She stands up, walking me over to the door. "Of course, Milo. Try to relax. I want to see a lower blood pressure score next time I see you."
Laughing, I nod my head, walking to the door that leads to the lobby while she goes further down the hall to her office.
After scheduling my next appointment, four weeks from now, I walk out to my car. A drizzling rain greets me as I step out of the building, making the walk to the car uncomfortably wet.
Music starts to play as I turn the key to my car, and I sit back in the chair, eyes falling closed. Sighing, I rest my hands on my stomach, feeling where the babies are lazily kicking. It feels completely different on the outside than it does on the inside, but no matter how I feel them, their movements always seem to calm me down.
No longer is it hard to believe that Aaron would treat me so horribly. The past few months have been enlightening, showing me his true nature. His pride is coming out strong, something that I tended to ignore when I was in a relationship with him.
That is the only explanation as to why he would want these children to be his. He worked so hard to slip me suppressants. It truly baffles me as to why he is demanding tests to prove the children are his when he didn't want any children with me in the first place. Besides, he has a child on the way already with his mistress. Couldn't he let me have my children and leave us in peace?
But Aaron likes to have the upper hand, not liking it when I don't bow to his every whim. Having a judge go against his demands must have been a huge blow to the alpha who always gets what he wants.
That thought brings a small smile to my face.
Opening my eyes, I shift my car into gear and drive out of the parking lot.
*****
The coffee shop is empty when I get there. No cars are out front, and there is no movement from inside. Looking at the clock on the dash, I see that it is near five o'clock. I must have been at the doctor's for longer than I planned. But usually the coffee shop is open for another hour, closing at six.
Parking the car, I pull myself out and walk to the front door. My keys jingle as I struggle to unlock the front door, just as what always happens.
The silence I was expecting doesn't greet me, instead soft jazz music is playing. The fireplace has a crackling fire in it, and the scent of savory meats is coming from the kitchen.
"What is going on?" I say to myself, fully expecting no one to answer me.
Suffice to say, Ollie coming out of the kitchen with two full plates of food startles me. "You made it." He walks over to me, giving me a quick kiss on my stunned mouth before setting the food on the table. "How'd the doctor's appointment go?"
Setting down my bag, I slowly walk over to the table. Ollie pulls out my chair, clearly taking advantage of me being stunned to spoil me.
"It went great. The babies are fine, a little small, but Dr. Romero said that it was nothing to worry about, since twins can sometimes be a little smaller than singletons."
He sits in the chair across from me, a smile on his face. "That's good. I was worried about all of you. I don't like not being there for those appointments."
Reaching over, I grab his hand, rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb. "I know. We need to try and schedule them better. I like it when you are there with me, too. It feels weird to be there without you."
He nods, giving my hand a squeeze. "I wanted to do something special for us today."
My eyes narrow, mind buzzing as I try to calculate the date. "Wait. Today is Valentine's day, isn't it?"
A small blush spreads across his face, but Ollie just nods his head. "It might be."
"I completely forgot."
Ollie just laughs. "I know. But you've been stressing, so I don't blame you." He digs around in his pocket, pulling out a lighter before leaning over the table to light the three small candles sitting in the middle of the table. "I wanted us to have a moment that was just us, where we can ignore the rest of the world for at least a few hours."
My eyes burn as I try to fight off the tears that are trying to spill over. The pregnancy has made me much more hormonal than normal, something that I hate. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I give him a shaky smile. "Well, let's get this food. I'm starving."
Ollie chuckles, giving my hand a kiss before dropping my it. "I mean, if you insist."
Rolling my eyes, I take a bite of food, listening to Ollie as he tells me about the field trip with his kids to the nursing home. For the first time in a while, my mind doesn't wander back to my divorce. Instead, I live in the moment, laughing with Ollie and feeling our babies kick as we enjoy a quiet night, no distractions.
Just us.