“We didn’t plan this. We didn’t want this now.”
“I want this now. I wish we’d had this before,” I add. “I’m gonna go run you a bath.”
Her brows come together. “You don’t need to do that.”
I touch her stomach again, unable to stop myself. “Woman, don’t argue with me. I’ll win.”
I kiss her nose. And then head upstairs to run the bath.
Two days later, we’re in a sterile room that makes my skin itch. I fucking hate doctors, and from the way my wife is glancing around, so does she.
I grip her hand, and her eyes come to mine.
“Breathe, baby.” The gown she’s wearing drowns her, and she’s naked beneath it, which has my fingers flexing with the need to redress her. I swallow down my own feelings, because this is about her now, not me, not my bullshit.
“You try breathing when you’re about to have your legs in the air and a stranger between them with the fucking probe.”
The muscle in my jaw flexes, and for a split second I contemplate dragging her out of the room.
But then the door opens, and the doctor steps inside. Her gaze darts from me to Lexi, her expression warm.
“Lexi?”
“That’s me.”
“My name’s Callie. I’ll be doing your ultrasound today if that’s okay. We’ll see if we can find your IUD, and we’ll take a look at your baby.” Her lips quirk as she says it, and I feel Lexi relax a little.
“I didn’t even know that was a risk of having an IUD.”
“It doesn’t happen often. Can you lie down for me?” Callie says, grabbing the machine and pulling it closer to the table.
Lexi lies back, her hand instantly finding mine again. I thread my fingers through hers, telling her without words that I’m not going anywhere.
Callie helps guide Lexi’s legs into stirrups and then parts my wife’s thighs wide.
I almost growl.
I don’t like seeing her like this, spread open for a stranger. I don’t give a fuck that she’s a doctor.
Lexi squeezes my hand, as if she can sense where my thoughts have gone, and when I look down at her, her expression says I’m okay. Don’t panic.
I drag breath in through my nose, trying to calm the storm inside me.
“Okay, so we’re doing a transvaginal scan. The probe looks big and scary, but you’ll barely feel it.”
The fact she doesn’t make a joke tells me how nervous she is, so I press a kiss into her hair, stroking her head.
Callie glides the probe into her, and Lexi tenses for just a second before she unbunches her muscles.
Callie focuses on the screen in front of her, one hand in between my wife’s legs. “I’m just going to take some measurements and have a look around, and then I’ll explain things. So don’t worry if I’m quiet. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong.”
Lexi nods, her eyes focused on the ceiling overhead. I don’t think I breathe as the silence spreads between us. My thumb strokes over her hand as the minutes drag on.
What if something is wrong?
What if I damaged Lexi fucking her like a demon?
Callie sits back a little before she speaks again. “Well, the good news is there is no sign of your Mirena in your uterus. It’s not embedded in the way of where your baby is, but that’s also the bad news.”
