I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Martha Williamson. Please note: I am not a doctor and I based Shane's doctor's appointment off of some of my own experiences.
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Chapter 4:
He waited patiently for her name to be called, eyes intently drawn to the light blue door each time it opened. They had arrived a few minutes early so that she could fill out some paperwork, however she had long since turned it in and now he found himself watching the clock. 9:07…wasn't the appointment at 9? Oh how he disliked tardiness! He turned to face Shane and caught the twinkle in her eyes as she observed a little girl playing with a baby doll on the other side of the waiting room. He was in awe at how beautiful his wife was, she was truly glowing.
At last the door opened again and Oliver was pulled from his trance. "Shane O'Toole." The nurse called out and smiled, indicating that it was finally their turn. Shane looked at Oliver with a nervous smile as they both followed the nurse, hand in hand, through the door. The nurse led them to a private room where she took Shane's vitals, Oliver respectfully turning his head as she stepped on the scale. "Go ahead and have a seat and Dr. Mills will be in shortly." The nurse excused herself, leaving an anxious Shane and an uncomfortable Oliver.
As Shane got situated on the exam table, Oliver paced around the room. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to be doing right now. With each new thing he saw in the room, he became more and more jittery. Between the medical posters on the wall and the strange 3D diagram sitting on the counter, Oliver was officially out of his element. He turned and saw that his wife had paled, eyes wide with fear. He immediately walked over to her, taking her hand in his. "Shane, are you alright?" He soothingly stroked her hand with his thumb.
Tears immediately welled in Shane's eyes. "What if it was a false positive? What if I'm not really pregnant at all?" Her lips began to quiver and she could no longer stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. She had spent so much time worrying about Oliver's reaction and then how to tell him the news, she never really thought about the possibility of the pregnancy test not being accurate. Sure, she had the tell tale signs of pregnancy, but that didn't prove that she was. After she had told Oliver her news the day before, Shane had been on cloud nine. Once she stepped into the exam room, everything hit her and fear took over as she pondered the possibilities of something being wrong.
Oliver wrapped his arms around her, cradling the back of her head in his hand. "My love, we are in this together." He whispered, running his other hand soothingly up and down her back. He pulled away slightly and then brought one of his hands to lift her chin. "I wish that I could take all of your worries away, but I can't. However, I have faith that everything is going to be all right and turn out exactly the way that God intended." He placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you so much. We can make it through anything together." Just as Oliver drew her in for another hug, there was a light knock on the door before it opened, revealing Dr. Mills. Oliver sat down on the chair next to the exam table as Shane quickly wiped away the traces of tears on her face.
"Good morning, Shane." Dr. Mills closed the door behind her and walked over to the stool on the other side of the exam table, setting Shane's medical file on the counter. "I hear congratulations are in order."
"Thank you, Dr. Mills." Shane looked from Dr. Mills to Oliver. "This is my husband, Oliver." Introductions were made, Oliver standing and politely shaking the doctor's hand before resuming his place at his wife's side and taking her hand in his.
"How have you been feeling? Any morning sickness?" Dr. Mills sat down and began taking notes.
"Yes, except it certainly does not happen just in the morning." Shane slightly rolled her eyes. Morning sickness was something she could surely do without.
Dr. Mills softly smiled. "I know it can be hard to manage, however it's completely normal. If you find that it increases and you're having difficulty keeping anything down, please don't hesitate to contact me. The most important thing in this stage is to make sure you're drinking plenty of water." She reassured before continuing. "Do you have any other concerns?"
Shane's grip on Oliver's hand tightened as she looked to him for support. He gently squeezed her hand and offered her a small smile, giving her the reassurance she needed. "Dr. Mills, what are the chances that the pregnancy test was false?"
"I can completely understand your concern. At home pregnancy tests are pretty accurate, however there's always a chance of a false positive. The good news is that I am going to do an ultrasound right now so we can confirm. Go ahead and lie back and we'll take a look." As the doctor prepared everything for the ultrasound, Oliver helped Shane lie down. "Alright, this gel is going to be a little cold." Dr. Mills preceded to lift up Shane's shirt and squirt some gel on her abdomen. Shane took a deep breath and Oliver kissed her hand, trying his best to calm her nerves.
Dr. Mills gently placed the probe on Shane's stomach and looked up at the screen as she moved it around. After a few seconds, she kept it in place and pointed to the screen with her other hand. "Congratulations Shane and Oliver. Right there is your baby." Oliver's jaw dropped, completely transfixed by the small blip on the screen no bigger than a raspberry. He could actually see the baby—their baby, in Shane's belly. Never in his life could he have imagined being so amazed by technology. "Oh, Oliver, there's our baby!" Shane was crying tears of joy as she looked from the screen then to her husband. Oliver looked down at her and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much, Shane. Thank you for giving me this gift."
Before Shane could respond, the doctor interrupted. "Your baby looks healthy, heartbeat is at 155 beats per minute. You are about 8 weeks along and that puts your due date on December 15th. I'm going to print some pictures of your baby for you and then give you two a minute." Dr. Mills wiped off the gel on Shane's stomach and then printed out a few copies of the ultrasound before quietly walking out of the room.
Oliver helped Shane sit up and she immediately threw her arms around Oliver's neck. "I love you, Oliver. We're going to have a baby!" She pulled back and drew him in for a passionate kiss, completely forgetting and not really caring where they were. They held each other tightly, marveling together in their miracle.
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Oliver and Shane walked into the Mailbox Grille and saw that the Dormans were already sitting at a table. They held hands and made their way over to them, barely able to conceal their excitement. "Rita, Norman." Oliver greeted as he held out the chair for Shane before taking his own seat. "I appreciate your understanding of our need to take a last minute vacation day."
"Of course, Oliver, it was no trouble at all." Norman reassured his friend. "Is everything okay?" He was a little concerned when Oliver had called him up the night before to let him know that he and Shane would not be coming into the office on Monday. In all the years he had known Oliver, he had never done anything like that before. His worry increased when Shane called Rita an hour ago and asked if they would meet them for lunch. He looked back and forth between Oliver and Shane and could see that something was different, although he couldn't figure out what it was.
"Well, we actually have some news that we wanted to share with our dearest friends." Oliver continued to grasp his wife's hand and then looked at her, encouraging her to share their news.
"Oliver and I just left the doctor. She confirmed that we are expecting a baby, due in December!" Shane announced, looking back and forth between Rita and Norman.
"Oh wow! That is so wonderful!" Rita got up from her chair and hugged Shane, relieved that Shane told Oliver about the baby. She had found it extremely difficult keeping this secret from Norman all weekend.
"Congratulations!" Norman shook Oliver's hand. "You are going to love fatherhood. If you ever need any advice, I would be more than happy to share my insight with you."
Oliver chuckled. "Thank you, Norman. I do appreciate that."
"You are going to be wonderful parents! I'm so happy for you both!" Rita was positively giddy. "Have you told anyone else yet?"
"So far just you. We were going to tell Joe today, but he went fishing with a couple of his friends and won't be back until tomorrow. " Shane said as she looked over at Oliver. She got lost in the intense way that her husband was staring at her, her breath catching in her throat slightly. Oliver was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of his wife. From the moment she had told him that she was pregnant, he saw her in a way that he never had before. He had always known that having a baby was a miracle, a gift from God. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would be privileged enough to embark on the journey into parenthood with such a remarkable woman. He could not wait to see their baby grow within her belly and feel him or her kick beneath his hand. He instantly regretted their decision to share their news today, as he wanted nothing more than to take his wife home and hold her in his arms for the rest of the day and night with no one to disturb them.
"Why don't we go ahead and order our meal. I am actually quite hungry and you, my love, are eating for two now." Oliver gave Shane a provocative yet sly look, hoping she would take his hint that he wanted to hurry this along. Shane caught the hungry look in his eye, instantly catching on to what he was trying to do.
"You are absolutely right, Oliver." She returned her husband's gaze. "I'm starving." The Dormans and O'Toole's ordered their meals and exchanged friendly chatter while they waited for their food to arrive. Once it did, Shane was sure that she had never seen Oliver eat so quickly. Once the plates were cleared, Rita and Norman excused themselves, as their lunch hour was over and they needed to get back to the DLO. Oliver grabbed Shane's hand and made a quick exit, desperate to be alone with his wife.
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The car ride home was strangely quiet, as Oliver drove with an intensity that Shane had never seen. She wasn't worried in any way, just incredibly anxious see what was going on in her husband's mind. As soon as Oliver and Shane walked through the door to their home, Oliver's lips were on Shane's in an instant, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her impossibly close. From the moment that they had married, Shane quickly discovered how passionate her husband was. He made her feel things that she only ever dreamt about after reading those shameless romance novels that she secretly loved. He was always concerned with her wants and needs, making sure that she was protected and always felt safe with him. Oh how she loved this wonderful, sexy man! Shane ran her hand up Oliver's chest, feeling his heart racing underneath her palm. When they parted, they were gasping for air, breathing uneven. Oliver gazed into Shane's eyes and tenderly cupped her face in his hands. "I have wanted to do that all day." He gave her a flirty smile before continuing. "I apologize if I, in any way, put you in an uncomfortable situation at lunch with Rita and Norman. I know that I rushed through our meal, which was awfully rude of me, however I could not help myself. I didn't want to share you with anyone else today. I just needed to be with you, as I've yearned to hold you in my arms all day."
"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for." Shane raised her eyebrows to him and kissed his lips. "You are not alone in your needs, Oliver. I've wanted to hold you and be held by you all day. I'm actually quite pleased that you rushed through our meal. The way you kept watching me was driving me wild." Shane blushed and then kissed him again.
"Well, my love, great minds think alike." He gave her a confident smile and then walked over to the record player, soft jazz music filling the room. He grabbed her hand, spinning her around and then catching her in his arms. "Right now, I would like to dance with my lovely wife. Then after, I am going to spend the rest of the night showing you just how much I love you." As Oliver held Shane close, guiding her through the steps they memorized so long ago, they both could not wait to revel in the power of their love.
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Next up: Oliver and Shane tell Joe and Shane's mom their news!
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