Tom was sitting on the edge of the bed in his boxer after waking up mere minutes ago. He was just waiting for the woman, who he had been able to call his wife for two weeks, to exit their ensuite bathroom with a plastic stick in her hands where they would see the result together. It had been on their wedding night that they had consummated the wedding and decided that they were going to try for a baby because they were ready.
Sam had been taking vitamins for weeks, and one of the main ingredients was folic acid which they knew helped to prevent birth defects. She had also not had a drop of alcohol since their engagement because she had been broody, as had he, for quite some time. They had the money, and the security of a well paid job, so they were ready to settle and make a family.
It was the day she was due her period, and usually she came on overnight but that hadn't happened, so that had filled them both with hope. She hadn't had any symptoms at all becuase if she was pregnant, she'd only be four weeks but she'd still been looking out for any niggly things like going off her food or going to the toilet a bit more often. Yet nothing was out of the ordinary other than slightly tender breasts but she knew that it could be caused by an incoming period, or by pregnancy so it could've been a telltale sign of either.
The door clicked open and Sam came out in her pyjama shorts and vest top. She sat next to him on the bed with the screen of the plastic stick being covered by her thumb.
"One more minute I think." Sam said whilst she held the test in the middle, still covering the screen. "Jesus, I don't think I've been this nervous since my exams." Sam exclaimed.
"Me neither. But, whatever the result is, it doesn't matter okay. We've got plenty of time to try again." Tom said softly.
"I know, I know." Sam replied. "Right, you ready?" She asked as she braced herself for the result that would show them one line or two, but not a number because she saw no point in spending more money on a test to tell her how far gone - if she was pregnant- because they had only had unprompted sex once, on their wedding night, so they knew when the baby would have been conceived.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Tom nodded as he wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulder.
After taking a deep breath, she silently moved her thumb out of the way to reveal the screen showing two strong lines.
"Oh my god!" Sam squealed and Tom let out a small laugh as he took the news in.
"Come here." He smiled as they both stood up and pulled each other into a tight hug.
"I can't believe it, we're having a baby!" Sam stated happily as she pulled apart.
"Let's not get too excited, it's still early days." Tom warned, but he still couldn't conceal the smile that was tugging at his lips.
"I know, daddy Kent." Sam smiled sheepishly and Tom pulled her into a hug once more. "I'll phone obs and gynae and book an appointment for after our shifts yeah?"
"Don't you think it's a bit early?" He asked as she rested her hands on his chest.
"No. I think it's best to start getting antenatal care now. Besides, if I don't tell someone I'm gonna burst." She smiled. "But that doesn't mean we're telling anyone else yet okay." Sam said sternly to Tom.
"Of course. Now then, seeing as we've lost a couple of extra minutes this morning, I think we might have to share a shower or we'll be late." Tom said suggestively.
"Tom, it's 6:30am." Sam stated.
"Is that a no?" He asked curiously.
"Depends. Can I wash my hair first?" She asked sheepishly.
"Only if you don't take twenty minutes like you usually do." He stated as they both walked into the ensuite.
5:30pm
"Please, come in. Take a seat." The obs and gynae consultant, Mr T, said cheerily as Sam and Tom entered his office and sat down on the chairs by his desk. "Now," he said after he'd closed the door and sat down at his desk. "What can I do for you?" He asked.
"I'm pregnant, four weeks." Sam stated.
"Well congratulations." Mr T smiled. "Do you know it's four weeks for definite..." He trailed off as Sam pulled an orange envelope out of her handbag and handed it to him.
"We work in the ED... I thought it'd be quicker if I did a blood and urine test before hand." Sam admitted as he began to take a look.
"Right. Well, these match with being four weeks." Mr T agreed. "So, I'll be your obstetrician throughout your pregnancy, and you'll either meet with me or a midwife on your appointments okay?" He smiled and Sam and Tom nodded. "Right, let's start with a couple of questions, first of all have you got any gynecological problems such as STIs, or have you had any in the past?" He asked.
"Nope." Sam replied.
"Okay, is this your first pregnancy?"
"I should hope so." Tom stated. "Sorry." Tom muttered after receiving a glare.
"Yes it is." She stated.
"And, when was your last smear test?" Mr T asked.
"Um... Just over two years ago I think."
"Right well, we'd best do one now if you're okay with that. And I can give you a pelvic examination too."
"Yeah sure." Sam rolled her eyes at the thought but she got up and went over to the bed towards the back of the room. Mr T was just pulling on a pair of gloves when Sam noticed that Tom was looking so she pulled the curtain around the bed so that he couldn't see anything.
7pm
After spending more than an hour asking and answering questions, and listening to advice, Sam and Tom were walking out hand in hand to their car in the hospital car park. She had her next appointment booked. It was going to be when she was 12 weeks gone and she would have her first ultrasound scan.
"Right, what do you want for dinner?" He asked. "Shall we pop to tescos quickly?" He suggested.
"Nah, let's just make do with what we've got." Sam sighed.
"Why? You feeling tired?" He asked happily.
"Stop looking so smug about it."
"Sorry it's just... I'm excited!" He smiled. "How about, I cook some pasta with a healthy tomatoey sauce, and I'll chop up the apples and bananas we've got in the fruit bowl for pudding?" He suggested. "And, if you want to get into bed, I'll bring it to you." He added.
"Sounds perfect." Sam nodded.
"And if you're interested, there's a celebratory cuddle on offer." He smiled.
"You'll have to be gentle; my arm's a bit sore." Sam admitted because she had just had the influenza jab for her and her baby. She didn't mind needles at all, but her arm was beginning to ache.
"I'm always gentle." Tom protested.
"Pft, you gentle?" Sam laughed. "Don't you remember the time you tried cutting up a swede but it was rock solid so you ended up chopping left right and centre?" Sam remarked and Tom squinted his eyes at her.
"That swede was blo- wait sorry, I'm not using expletives in the presence of my son." Tom stopped himself from swearing but Sam returned the squint at his comment.
"Who said it's a boy?" She protested.
"Well... Not being sexist here but it would be so much more relaxed and chilled to raise a boy than it would be to raise a girl." Tom explained. "Not to mention a lot cheaper." He added.
"You can't say you're not sexist and then say something like that! It's like saying, oh I'm an atheist and I believe in god." Sam mocked him as she opened her car door.
"What? So you want a girl?" He asked to change the subject.
"I wouldn't mind either gender." Sam shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh c'mon, you've got to prefer one or the other. Even if it's by a tiny bit."
"Well, if all men are like you, I'd prefer a daughter." Sam stated cheekily as she pulled her seatbelt on.
"I knew it!"
"Knew what?"
"You want a girl. I saw that little smile Sam, you want a girl." Tom concluded.
"So? Wouldn't you want a daddy's girls rather than a mummy's boy?" Sam asked curiously.
8:30pm
Tom and Sam were laid in bed after having their satisfying meal and desert, and it wasn't until he saw Sam's empty bowl almost tip over that he realised she was asleep. He gently took her bowl off of her, and then pulled the duvet over her properly up to her chin. He flicked the bedroom light off, and then headed to the kitchen because he wasn't tired enough to go to sleep just yet. After cleaning away everything from dinner, he sat down at the breakfast bar with a notepad and a pen to make a shopping list because he had rustled up their dinner from what they had in the cupboards and they needed to do a big shop.
Once he had made the list of essentials like milk, bread, fruit and veg etc, he thought about some of the early pregnancy symptoms that Sam could face, and he wanted to be prepared for every eventuality. So, he added a few different types and flavours of crackers to the lists should Sam suffer from morning sickness, along with Gaviscon for heartburn, paracetamol for headaches etcetera etcetera. It had barely reached nine by the time he had finished the list, and he didn't want to go to bed yet, so he decided on ordering the shopping online and getting it delivered to save them some time. Once finished, he switched the kitchen light off, and snuck into their bedroom -without turning the light on in case it woke Sam. He slowly slipped under the covers and decided against wrapping his arms around her just in case he woke her up, so he got comfortable before he soon fell into a deep slumber.
Little did Sam and Tom know, that something extremely rare - in fact, it would be the first case not caused by medical intervention, ever - would arise from Sam's pregnancy, yet whether it was a good or bad thing, depended on the couple's point of view.
Thanks for reading, and I bet no one can guess what the 'something extremely rare' is going to be! Please leave a review and let me know if there are still any Tam fans out there :) Also, I'm open to any constructive criticism for improvements :)