Chapter four: Hospital Visit

(after school)

"I kinda feel bad lying to him, but we got to keep this thing a secret." I told her. She nodded. I sighed and plopped down on her couch. Kim's parents were still at work, so it was just me and her. "How are the guys doing?" She asked. I shrugged. "They're fine, worried about you…" She jumped up. "What? You told them?!" She cried.

"No! Kim, no, I had to make an excuse for why you haven't been to school, or the dojo recently. I've been telling them you were sick." I told her, taking her hand and making her sit back down. She looked thoroughly flustered. "Are you okay?" I asked. She nodded, sighing. "It's just this whole thing, it's… it's messing with my head." She told me, putting a hand to her forehead and puffing out her cheeks.

I sighed. "Me too." I told her, putting an arm around her. She smiled at me, taking my hand. I smiled when I saw the little ring, gleaming on her finger. I looked up at her. She wasn't smiling, She was staring down at our hands. "I think we should keep this a secret from the guys. The whole thing, for a few years... just until we're old enough for this whole thing to not seem so… wrong." She told me.

I stared at her and she glanced up at me. Her face reddened. "I don't know, if you want to tell them…" I hushed her. "Kimmy, if you don't want them to know, I'm okay with that. I respect your privacy, and it's your choice. I'll side with you no matter what." I told her, pulling her hand up and kissing it. She smiled and blushed deeply. I stared at her. My beautiful fiancé. Fiancé…. It was hard to get used to the idea that she was going to be my wife soon.

"I was thinking we could have the wedding at the beginning of next month." She told me. I thought for a moment. That was two weeks away! "Okay." I said quietly. "Are you okay with that?" She asked timidly. I smiled and kissed her hand again, then rubbed it gently. "Anything for you, love." I told her. She smiled and snuggled up next to me.

I rested my hand on her tummy. I pulled my hand back, startled. "It's okay." Kim murmured, taking my hand and putting it back where it'd been a moment ago. I stared at her stomach in confusion for a moment when I felt movement and… thumping? Was that her heart? I looked up at her. She rolled her eyes. "Hey, stupid, that's your kid." She told me.

I laughed sheepishly. How could I have been so dumb? Because I'd never had my hand on a pregnant lady's stomach before…? Yeah, bingo. I let a smile slip onto my face when I felt them continue to kick lightly. I smiled, pulling her closer to me. The sensation was hard to understand, but not too hard to get used to. The idea itself of me being the father of the thing inside of Kim was dumbfounding. Thing, I shouldn't say thing. It wasn't and 'it' it was a they, a he or she. A human-being. It was a difficult thing to grasp.

Kim sighed and closed her eyes. "Listen." She whispered, pulling my head down to her stomach. I closed my eyes and listened, feeling the baby continue to kick, listening to the strange swishing sound and the gentle rhythm. I smiled and pulled my head away. "That's so cool." I whispered. She smirked at how childish my words had sounded.

I chuckled sheepishly. I heard the front door open. "Hey guys, are you ready to go?" It was Kim's mom. "Go…?" I stood up, helping up Kim as well. "yeah, we're taking Kim to the hospital!" She reminded. "Oh!" I blushed. "I knew that." Kim shook her head, smiling and punched my arm. Kim wobbled slightly. "Are you okay?" My smile vanished and I grabbed her. "I'm fine!" She told me, pushing my hands away and walking forward.

"I'm ready." She told her mom. I ran my hand through my hair. "I guess I am too." I told them. Kim held out her hand and I took it. I walked her out to eh car and attempted to help her get up into it. She slapped me away and snapped that she could do it. After a moment of undignified struggling, Kim managed to get up on her own, her face red. I smirked and she slapped me, unable to keep from giggling.

We all talked and laughed on the way to the hospital. Once we were almost there, Kim grew silent. She gave me a tight smile every time I sent a good joke her way, but nothing else. "You okay?" I whispered. She turned her head slowly and stared at me for a moment before smiling and nodding.

I took her hand and squeezed it. I felt her tense up beside me when we reached the hospital. I helped her down from the car when we stopped. Kim's mom had stopped us in front of the door so I could help Kim in while she parked. She stared at the door for a moment. I squeezed her hand again, and we walked in.

It took the woman at the front desk a moment to notice us, no matter how close we stood in front of her, no matter how many times I cleared my throat uncomfortably. "Oh, hi, I didn't see you. Can I help you?" She asked, looking at us from under the huge glasses poised on the tip of her nose. "Um, I'm here for a check-up?" Kim said uncomfortably. She looked Kim over and nodded. "Okay, hon, hold on." She told us, typing. "Name?" She asked. "Kimberly Crawford?" Kim told her, almost sounding like a question. "Reason you're here?" The lady asked. Kim put a hand to her bulging stomach. "Just here to see if they're doing alright." She replied. The lady nodded and told us to take a seat.

I squeezed Kim's hand again and she gave me an absent-minded smile. "What're you thinking about?" I begged, leaning closer to her. Kim shook her head slowly. Her mom came in right then. "Well, it took a while to find an empty space." She told us. I nodded to her and she sat down on Kim's other side. "How you feeling, baby?" She asked, rubbing Kim's knee. "I'm okay." She replied, her voice a barely audible, hoarse whisper.

I sighed and rubbed her back. "It's okay Kimmy." I told her quietly. She nodded, biting her lip. I absent-mindedly played with her hair. It was curly, she hadn't bothered to straighten it. I twisted the curls around my finger and smiled. She had such pretty hair. A nurse came out of the back. Kim tensed, but the lady called another name an elderly gentleman stood up and walked agonizingly slowly toward her and disappeared behind the door.

Kim was staring at that door. Staring as though her stare could keep it shut. I stared at it too. Imagining that it would open at any second…. Any second now… and…now! Nope. How about... now! Not yet. Now? Nope. I swallowed, becoming increasingly impatient as I carefully clutched Kim's hand in my own. My heart jumped and began beating rapidly when the door finally opened.

"Kimberly Crawford?" She called. Kim stood up, refusing to release my hand. I walked with her, staring at the nurse, question in my eyes. She smiled and nodded. I glanced back at Kim's mom, who hadn't moved. She smiled and nodded, waving me on. I swallowed when the door shut behind us and we could no longer see her.

We followed the nurse through a maze of desks and rooms. Finally, we came to a room that was empty. She had Kim sit on the bed and lay back. Kim still had a firm grip on my hand. I was forced to move to the other side of the bed so that the nurse could work. Kim had whimpered and whined the whole four seconds it took me to get around to the other side and take her other hand.

I smiled and patted her hand. "Okay, I have her hooked up to the heart monitor, the Obstetrician will be in shortly." She smiled at us as she walked out. I smiled back nervously. I sighed and pulled the waiting chair closer to the bed without letting go of Kim's hand. If she was taking a check-up this badly, how on Earth would she act when it was time for the baby to come?

"Hello." We both looked up as the Obstetrician came in. He stared at us for a moment, as if taking in how young we were, then smiled again and came over to Kim's other side. "Hi." I said for her, she was staring at him, not saying a word. "So, Kimberly, how far along are you?" The doctor asked, pulling up a chair. Kim stared at him. "Uhm, about six and a half months." I told him after she failed to answer for more than ten seconds. The doctor looked at me. "Are you the father?" He asked. I nodded, feeling my cheeks burn.

"Well, let's have a look, shall we?" I helped Kim pull back her shirt so that her round belly was exposed. I smiled, once again marveling about the tiny human forming inside of her. Kim stared at the bulge, welcome not written on her face, but fear. I squeezed her hand again as the doctor began moving that weird thing around over her stomach.

I stared at the sonogram, or whatever that thing was called as a picture popped onto the screen after a few moments. I stared at it, smiling as I was able to make out the form, recognizable as a baby. I narrowed my eyes, it looked a little strange… I smiled at Kim, who was also staring at it. I saw the side of her lips quiver, as though she was forcing down a smile. She saw the baby move and her face reddened as she also felt it. She smiled, finally, looking back down at her stomach.

"Well, would you look at that." The doctor smiled. "What?" I asked anxiously. He smiled. "Look here, that's a head, and the body, but if you look here, there's another head, and body…" He was pointing. I stared at him, then looked at Kim, her eyes were wide. 'We're having twins?!" We both cried at the same time. He nodded. I slid down in the chair, staring ahead, my mind racing. Twins… twins…. Oh my.

I suddenly smiled excitedly, and more than a little nervously. The doctor smiled, taking a stethoscope and listening to the baby's heartbeats. "You wanna hear?" He asked after a moment. "Yes please." Kim said quietly, almost shyly. She took it and listened. A smile broke out on her face after a moment and she handed it to me. I smiled, listening. I closed my eyes. That sound, that gentle, sweet sound was the sound of life. I handed the thing reluctantly back to the doctor and he put it away. "We're going to run some more tests, and get back to you, from what I can see, your babies are perfectly healthy." He smiled and stood up, then left the room.

I looked back down at Kim and smiled, rubbing her hand carefully between mine. "See? Everything's fine, the babies are fine, you're fine, everything's fine!" She smiled and nodded. "I… I can't believe we're having twins…" She murmured and I nodded in agreement. Five nurses to check on Kim and two visits by her mom later, the doctor came back in. He smiled at us, holding some papers in his hands.

"You babies are very healthy." He told us. We both let out sighs of relief and smiled at each other before he continued. "Although I would like to put you on a better diet for them, to help make them stronger and keep them from coming immature, would you like to know what gender the babies are?" He asked. We glanced at each other. I knew Kim liked surprises, but I didn't. She shrugged slightly.

I smiled, wanting her to be happy. I knew she would be just as happy knowing, but I knew she'd prefer a surprise. "No, we want to be surprised." I told him. He nodded. "Okay. Well, Kimberly, you and your precious cargo are free to go, come back and see me in a few weeks… Okay? And no heavy lifting, sports, stress…" I laughed at the last one. "Wish us luck on that." I told him, helping Kim sit up after the nurse removed the heart monitor and other stuff.

The doctor smiled and nodded. "Good luck then." He told us. I smiled and took Kim's arm and helped her out. We smiled at her mother who was lounged comfortably in one of the chairs, her legs stretched out in front of her. She smiled and stood "Well..?" She prompted. We smiled. "Baby's healthy…" I told her. "Good. Come on, let's go home." She told us.

We stopped at the store to pick up the supplements the doctor had prescribed and got home about an hour later. By then, Kim's father was home. He was in the living room, pacing. He smiled and greeted us. "Well?" He asked. "All's good." His wife told him. He smiled and pecked her lips then turned to his daughter. "Hey, sweetheart." He hugged her gently and pecked the top of her head.

"Hey, Jack." He gave me a tight smile and I gave him a shy one. I could tell he was still disappointed, and a part of me despaired that I'd forever lost the close friendship I'd previously shared with the gentle man. "One thing." Her mother was smiling at her husband. "Kim, is having twins." She told him. His eyes widened and he looked at his baby girl. He shook his head, ruffling her hair.

"Oh boy." He was shaking his head and smiling as he headed for the kitchen. I sighed and helped Kim up to her room. She was thoroughly exhausted, having spent a lot of the day fretting about the hospital visit, then spending the rest of it at the hospital had really worn her out.

I helped her climb into bed and even took off her shoes for her. "Sleep well, Kimmy." I told her, kissing her gently on the forehead, then the nose, then the lips. Once, twice, three times. I smiled and pulled back. She was already asleep. "I love you." I whispered before closing the door.

(A/N: hope you enjoyed! before I can move on to the next chapter, I need to get at least ten new REVIEWS! so, if you want to see the next chapter, REVIEW!