Setting: Llanview Hospital 2013

Chapter One

"Mrs. McBain, follow me please." Rising from her seat in the waiting room, she followed the nurse back to the exam room. Eyeing the woman as she followed her down the small corridor, she noticed a stain on the corner of the nurse's lab coat. "Put this gown on and the doctor will be in shortly," she instructed, placing a paper gown on the exam table and shutting the wooden door behind her.

She picked the gown off the table. "Whoever decided to call this a gown clearly needs to read a fashion magazine," she muttered. Groaning, she pulled her sweater over her head and sighed with relief as she slid her pants down her legs. They were getting tighter every day, it seemed. She supposed she was going to have to go shopping this weekend to buy a new suit for her annual review, thus she might as well find some new work clothes, too. Looking at herself in the mirror, she frowned at the "gown." It was almost too tight for her. She could see the exam table in the reflection of the mirror and was already wandering how she was going to hoist herself up on it.

She leaned on to it with her left side as she heard a noise from behind her. "Whoa, Natalie, you shouldn't be doing that by yourself," John said, coming in the door at the perfect time.

"I'm just … trying … to get up on this damn table." Taking a hold of her elbow with his left hand and placing his other hand on her thigh, he helped her to push herself up onto the exam table. "You'd think they'd take into consideration that a woman the size of a whale has to try and flop herself up on this damn thing and not make it so high."

"There's a stool in the corner, you know," he stated, trying to hide his smile.

She had a witty reply to wipe the smirk from his face, but the doctor knocked on the door just as she opened her mouth. Smiling, he greeted them with a handshake. "So, today is the big day. We're going to find out if it's another girl or a boy this time, Mr. McBain."

"Please, doctor, it's John." The man smiled slightly as he moved to the sink to wash his hands. "Your test results and blood work are exactly where they should be for 20th week. The end of your second trimester should progress just as it did the last time." He closed the file he was looking in and pulled two plastic gloves out of a box. "I'll make this as quick as possible, as I'm sure your both anxious to find out the sex of the baby."

"We just want a healthy baby," John stated.

The doctor glanced up at Natalie as she sat down on the stool at the end of the bed. "Then, you're going to be in luck, Sir, because we've got one of those on the way," Natalie said, reaching out for John's hand.

Natalie held tightly to John's hand. She could hear the doctor telling her what he was doing, but it was just background noise. She looked down at John's hand, clutched in her own. It was just as it had been that day, back when he'd found her at the quarry. It was eight years ago and she hadn't let herself think much about that day since then, yet the feeling of his hand holding tightly to hers brought it all back.

They had sent a man down in the cave to bring her up. She was too weak to put the harness on herself so that she could be lifted out. She knew that John was waiting for her at the top, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up. She could barely move her arms or legs. The memories of the man lifting her up and scaling the wall of the cave were sketchy. She was just inches from the opening when John stuck his hand out to her. Finding the strength somewhere within herself, she reached out for his hand. He grabbed onto hers and pulled her the rest of the way up. She collapsed onto him, nearly unconscious.

Looking down at John's hand holding hers in the exam room, she could still see the small scar above her thumb. She had scratched it on a rock as she reached out for John's hand, yet she had no memory of injuring herself. All she could remember was looking up and seeing John reaching out for her.

"Mrs. McBain … Mrs. McBain …" The nurse was calling her. Snapping out of her thoughts, Natalie looked up to see a nurse across from her and not the doctor. "If I could just get you to sit up so that we can get you in position for the ultrasound…" Natalie nodded, moving as the nurse instructed.

"You OK?" John asked, aware of her aloofness. She nodded, smiling at her husband before the nurse moved between them to start the ultrasound.

"I see from your file that you already have a little girl," the nurse prodded.

"Yes, she just turned two years old last week," Natalie shared.

"Well, I wonder if she'll be happy to have a little brother to play with."

"A boy? It's a boy?" Natalie asked, tears already forming in her eyes. She glanced at John, before looking to the screen where the nurse was pointing.

"That's my son," John stated proudly as they viewed the image, the nurse pointing out how they could tell it was a boy.

"We'll get these imagines printed out for you," the nurse said, wiping Natalie's stomach with a towel and pushing the machine out of the room with her.

"I might not have been completely honest with you these past few weeks…" John said, moving to her side again.

"What?" Natalie asked with a sniff.

"I meant it when I said that I didn't care if it was a girl or a boy, but I was hoping for a boy," he admitted.

"I knew you were," Natalie said, reaching out for him. He kissed the top of her head as he held her close to him.

The door opened again and they pulled apart. "Dr. McBain, everything looks good. You can put your clothes back on and come to the front. They'll set you up for your next appointment. Here's a copy of the pictures from your ultrasound."

"Thanks," Natalie said, taking the pictures. John kissed her once again before helping her off the table.

So, I've got a lot more time to fill in (about 8 years) – if anyone's interested in more. Let me know if I should continue!