“That one looked like it hurt!” Jack cuddled his wife close, and stroked her swollen belly gently. The paper examination gown crinkled under his hand. Ever since the child had begun to kick in earnest, they’d found that, for some reason, the baby was especially soothed by Jack’s touch. His voice seemed to help too, but he hadn’t brought a guitar or Katelynn’s favorite book to the doctor’s office.
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” the doctor reassured Katelynn with a smile. “As I said, just keep an eye on it. Now, if you could just lift the gown up, we’ll get set for that new photo for the baby album.”
Once Katelynn was ready, the doctor smeared the clear, cold gel over her belly. She’d heard one of her patients tell her once that it felt like a slug crawling on you, but unfortunately it was the only way to make the ultrasound work clearly.
It was cold to the touch – wincing slightly at the initial contact before letting out a long breath. It was both for the anticipation of what was to come and also to release some of the pent of anxiety she always accumulated when visiting the doctor. She knew other mixed babies were born without a problem – considering the amount of wedded blue people in the city now – but her own body was slight and she had read about frail women miscarrying or even dying on the table.
She wanted her baby to know her and Kateynn wished to know her baby and grow up with the family she and Jack had created.
thump-thump.
Thump-thump!
Thump-thump-THUMP!—!!!
But it was soon forgotten. A sound began to fill the small space of the room, echoing off the wall and into Katelynn’s ears. How her eyes shined with the wonder of such a sound.
It was not the first time but it still made her heart race every time.
Because it was the sound of her baby – the beautiful beating of their little heart reminding her that they were there, being nurtured, loved, growing inside of her. It was if it were communicating to her – Here I am, mommy!
And in that moment, everything else melted away.
Thump-THUMP
Thump-THUMP
The moment that tiny heartbeat rose from the monitor, Jack was utterly transfixed. This … this was really happening. Yes, he’d seen the pregnancy tests Katelynn took, and seen the changes in her body over the past five months. But there was still a difference between that, and actually hearing his child’s heart beating.
His child. Their child. The child he was going to be a father to.
A father. He was going to be a father.
Jack had to resist the urge to scoop Katelynn into his arms and spin her around in delight. Only the knowledge that it would spoil the ultrasound kept him from at least pulling her into a hug. As it was, he had to settle for squeezing her hand and cuddling closer to the bed.
“It… i-it sounds strong! Th-th-that’s good, isn’t it?”
“Very good,” the doctor replied with a smile. “And that’s not all. If we can juuuuust…” She shifted the want, and an image appeared on the screen. “There, we have a visual!”
It only took Jack’s artistic eye a second to pick out the outline of the baby. The image was dark and grainy, but he could still clearly see a tiny head, fingers, feet…
Jack Maple 