A/N: Here's the next chapter. I'm pretty excited about how fast I've been able to get these out. I struggled at first with trying to remember where I wanted to go with the story, but I think I'm back on track now.
Matt sighed as he sat down at his desk. It had been a long day at the office and he was ready to go home. Ever since the only other OB/GYN office in Glen Oak had closed down six months ago when the doctor had retired, his office had been swamped with patients. He'd even had to turn some away and refer them to practices in surrounding towns because he couldn't handle the influx of patients. Although he was thankful to be staying busy, it meant he was putting in long hours. With Sarah pregnant and struggling with morning sickness, he felt bad working so late. He was hoping to find another doctor to join his practice before the baby was born.
"Dr. Camden?" The nurse, who was also receptionist, poked her head into his office. "Your next patient is here."
"Thank you, Laura," Matt replied, getting up from his desk and heading towards the exam room. "This is the last patient for the day, right?"
Laura shook her head. "No, there's still one more; it's your sister, Lucy," Laura replied. "Her appointment was originally this morning, but she had an emergency come up at the church, so we rescheduled for this afternoon." She continued apologetically, "I know that this is supposed to be your last appointment slot, but Ben has to work the next couple of days, so I told Lucy that we could see her tonite."
Matt nodded. "That's fine, Laura. I know how difficult it can be to find an appointment time that works for both her and Ben, so any time that you need to schedule her after hours is fine." He stopped at the door to the exam room. "When they get here go ahead and send them back to the other exam room."
Laura nodded and headed back to the front desk as Matt opened the door to the exam room. "How are we doing tonite," he began, closing the door behind him. As he turned to face the patient, his eyes widened with surprise. "Mary? I didn't know that you had an appointment today. Why didn't you tell me?"
Mary shifted uncomfortably on the exam table where she sat. "Laura was kind enough to sneak me in at the last minute after someone else cancelled their appointment. I kind of wanted to keep it quiet for now. I don't want the whole family to know just yet."
Matt sat down on his stool facing Mary and nodded. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I know that it's difficult right now because of Ruthie."
Mary struggled to hide her emotions. She was thankful that Matt had practically given her an excuse for why she didn't want the family to know. She nodded, "Yeah, I don't want to make it any harder for her."
Matt looked at Mary seriously. He knew her well enough to know that there was something she wasn't telling him. He just wasn't sure what it was. "Mary, I know you. Something's wrong, isn't it?"
Mary sighed. She knew she should have gone to the doctor in the next town instead. She should have known that Matt would be able to see right through her. "Matt, I don't want to talk about it, okay?"
Matt crossed his arms. "Mary, you're my sister. I can tell when something's bothering you. Come on, what is it? I'm talking to you as your brother now, not your doctor."
Mary looked down, refusing the make eye contact with Matt. "I don't know who the father is," she mumbled quickly, hoping that Matt wouldn't hear. She risked a quick glance at his face and instantly knew that he had.
Matt was shocked. He never imagined that he would hear his sister say that. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his composure. "Mary, tell me what's going on," he said gently. "I won't tell anyone, and I won't judge you, I promise."
Mary tried, but failed, to hold her tears. In a way, she was relieved that someone else finally knew her secret. Out of all her siblings, she trusted Matt to be the most understanding. "It started after David and Leah's funeral," she began. "Seeing Wilson again brought all those feelings that I once had for him back to the surface. He asked me to visit him at his hotel room and I did. After that, we would see each other every time he came to town." Mary sighed, "Matt, I screwed up, big time."
Matt sat on his stool, trying to process everything Mary had told him. He was the last person to be in a place to judge her. While he had never actually cheated on Sarah, he had definitely been on rocky ground when he rekindled his friendship with Heather after he and Sarah were married. "Does Carlos know?"
Mary shook her head. "No, I just found out that I was pregnant yesterday. The only person that I've told so far is Wilson. I'm planning to tell Carlos tonite," she explained. "I also told Wilson today that we can't see each other anymore," she added defensively.
Matt nodded. "I think that's a good idea," he replied. "I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to, okay?" May nodded and Matt continued, "Now, let's go ahead and get to the checkup."
After his initial examination, Matt did an ultrasound. "We don't usually do one this early on in the pregnancy, but since you aren't sure how far along you are we'll go ahead and do one to help determine the due date," Matt explained. He squirted the gel onto Mary's stomach and watched the screen as he moved the wand around. "Okay, Mary, based on how the baby's measuring and what you've told me about your last cycle, it appears that you're about six weeks along," Matt informed her.
"Six weeks?" Mary asked. "Are you sure?" Matt nodded and Mary let out the breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. "That means that Carlos is the father. The last time Wilson was in town was almost three months ago." Mary paused for a moment and then looked concerned. "That also means I got pregnant while I was on the pill. Could that hurt the baby?"
Matt smiled, relieved that things had worked out for his sister. "No, the baby is just fine. Birth control pills don't usually affect the baby this early in pregnancy." He added, "If you and Carlos want to come back in two or three weeks, we should be able to see and hear the baby's heartbeat by then." He wiped the ultrasound gel off of Mary's stomach and helped her get down off the exam table. "Are you still going to tell Carlos everything?" he asked.
Mary nodded. "I can't keep this secret anymore. I'm going to tell Carlos everything, and then I'll let Wilson know that the baby isn't his, and then I'm not going to see or talk to him anymore. Carlos and I are going to have a lot to work through, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, but I'm determined to make this work."
"Good," Matt stated. He walked her out to the waiting room and gave her a hug. "Remember, I'm here for you if you need anything."
Mary started to leave and then turned back. "Matt? Do you think you could maybe talk to Lucy for me? I have a feeling that Carlos and I will be paying her a visit, and it'd be easier if she already knew everything. I think she'd take it better hearing it from you," she said hesitantly.
Matt nodded. "I can do that. She and Ben are my next appointment, actually. They're already waiting for me in the other exam room. I can tell her then, if you want."
Once Mary had left, Matt turned to Laura. "You can go ahead and leave for the night. I'll lock everything up when I finish up with Lucy and Ben." Laura thanked him and then Matt headed back to the second exam room where Ben and Lucy were waiting.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting," he told them as he walked in. "My last appointment ran a little long."
"It's fine," Lucy reassured him. "Sorry for the inconvenience of the late appointment. I had something come up at the church earlier and I couldn't get away."
"It's not a problem. I know how it goes," Matt replied. "Now, let's check on this little one. How have you been feeling, Luce?"
"Okay," she replied. "The morning sickness hasn't been as bad this time as it was with the twins. I'm starting to show earlier than I did with Savannah or Erin, though. It's getting harder to hide."
Matt nodded. "That's to be expected. This is your fourth pregnancy, after all. Now, let's take a look at this little rugrat." This would be Lucy's first ultrasound. She had been pretty confidant on her due date during her first appointment, but due to her history of high risk pregnancies as well as the heart issue that Eric had when he was in utero, Matt wanted to check up on everything.
"Okay, so it looks like the baby is doing great," Matt remarked. "Everything seems to be normal, and he's measuring right for three months, just like you thought. There's the head, the arms, and the little feet are there." He paused for a moment, moving the wand around. "Yup, just one baby in there this time," he laughed, ignoring Lucy's glare.
Matt grabbed the Doppler and held the wand against Lucy's belly. The baby's heartbeat filled the room. Ben's eyes were wide with wonder as he listened. "So everything's good then, right?" he asked Matt.
Matt nodded. "Yes, everything's great. Both the baby and Lucy seem to be perfectly healthy. Because of Lucy's history with high-risk pregnancies, I'd like to see her back here in another couple of weeks, but everything seems to be going great right now."
"Should she cut back on her hours at the church?" Ben questioned. "And what about lifting stuff? I caught her carrying a laundry basket yesterday."
Matt smiled. "No, she's fine to continue working as she has been as long as she doesn't overdo it. As far as carrying things, as long as it's nothing too heavy, it's fine. A laundry basket is definitely okay." He laughed as Lucy flash Kevin an "I told you so" look. "We may revisit this discussion a few months down the road, Luce," he warned.
"I know," she responded, "but I'll deal with that when it comes. For now I'm just happy to be having a normal pregnancy…for once."
Once Matt finished Lucy's exam he asked if he could talk to her in his office. She looked confused and a little concerned, but agreed and followed Matt to his office while Ben went to the reception area to wait on them.
"What's up? Is something wrong with the baby?" she questioned once she and Matt had both sat down.
"No," Matt replied, shaking his head. "This is something completely unrelated. It's about Mary." He then proceeded to tell Lucy everything that Mary had told him earlier, finishing with the news that the baby was Carlos's and that Mary planned to tell him tonite and that they would likely be coming to see her for counseling.
When Matt had finished, Lucy sat there without saying anything, trying to process everything that Matt had just told her. She finally spoke up after a few minutes. "So, when are you going to go beat Wilson up? I'll send Ben along to help," she said curtly. "I can't believe he would try to worm his way back into Mary's life like that, especially knowing that she's married and has kids!"
Matt sighed. Lucy's response was better than he expected, but he could tell she was pretty furious. "Lucy, calm down. As much as I want to go tell Wilson exactly what I think of him that would only make things worse. The best thing for us to do right now is to just support Mary and let Wilson leave."
"I know, I know," Lucy sighed. "I just can't believe it. I never would have thought that Mary would cheat on Carlos, and I definitely didn't take Wilson as the type of guy who would convince someone to cheat on their spouse. Don't worry," Lucy reassured Matt, "I won't say anything about this to anyone, and I'll definitely be there for Mary and Carlos if they want my help."
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
Simon knocked on the door to Peter and Ruthie's house and was quickly greeted by an energetic three year-old. "Uncle Simon!"
Simon leaned down and picked up his nephew. "Hi, Danny," he said, giving his nephew a kiss. "Where's your Mommy?" he asked, setting Daniel down.
"Yeah, she's in the kitchen," Daniel replied, grabbing Simon's hand and pulling him towards the kitchen. "She's making the cupcakes for my party." Daniel's fourth birthday was next Tuesday, and Peter and Ruthie were having his party Saturday afternoon. "Mommy, Uncle Simon is here!" he proclaimed loudly as he entered the kitchen. He didn't bring Katie with him," he said, pouting. Daniel and Kaitlyn were only a few days apart in age and were best friends.
Ruthie glanced over her shoulder at her brother. "Hey, Simon," she greeted him. She turned to Daniel, "Danny, why don't you go play with your toys so that Uncle Simon and I can talk," she instructed. After Daniel ran off to his room, Ruthie nodded towards the kitchen table. "Go ahead and take a seat," she told Simon. "I'm about to put this last batch of cupcakes in the oven and then I'll join you."
Simon pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. He was joined by Ruthie a couple minutes later. "What's up?" Ruthie asked. "Is it about the party tomorrow?" Daniel and Kaitlyn were having a joint party since their birthdays were so close.
Simon shook his head, "No, I just wanted to stop by and see you. Peter said you two got into a pretty big fight yesterday and he was worried about you." Ruthie rolled her eyes and started to say something but Simon cut her off, "Look, Ruthie, I know that the past couple of months have been difficult on you. I also know how you are. You push people away when things happen. You did it after Dad died, and you're doing it again now. You need to talk to someone."
"I can't, Simon. It hurts too much to talk about her," Ruthie admitted. "Every time I think about Sarah Joyce it hurts. I feel guilty because my body failed her, I get angry at Matt even though I know it wasn't his fault, I yell at Peter for pushing me to have a C-section even though I know there was no other option, and I get mad at God for taking my baby girl away too soon." Ruthie started crying, "Her due date was one month from today, Simon. I can't stop thinking about what she would have been like if I'd just been able to carry her to term."
"Ruthie, there's nothing that you could have done. It's no one's fault. Nothing caused it, and nothing could have prevented it," Simon comforted. "I can only imagine how much you're hurting, but pushing people away only makes it harder for you. Peter's hurting, too." Simon paused for a moment and then continued, "Only one other person knows this, but a year and a half ago we found out that she was pregnant. She was only a couple of days away from her second trimester when she lost the baby." Simon's voice broke. "We had planned on telling everyone the next day, but she woke up that night in a lot of pain. We got to the hospital right away, but it was too late. There was nothing they could do to stop it. It was hard, Ruthie. It hurt a lot, and we struggled." Simon cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. "I know that it's not the same, Ruthie, but I wanted to know that Rose and I know a little bit about how you and Peter are feeling. What helped us to get through it was talking to Chandler and just being there for each other."
Ruthie reached over and hugged her brother. "I'm so sorry, Simon. Why didn't you tell anyone?" she asked.
"At first it was just too hard. We didn't want to talk about it. By the time we felt we were ready to talk about it, we decided it would just be easiest to move on and keep it to ourselves," Simon explained.
Ruthie nodded. "I can definitely understand that. In a way, it would be easier if no one knew." She sighed. "Thanks, Simon. I'm glad that Peter called you."
Simon smiled. "Me, too, Ruthie." He continued, "Ruthie? There's one more thing that I want to tell you before I leave." Ruthie nodded for him to go on. "Rose is pregnant again," he said hesitantly, unsure of what Ruthie's reaction would be. "We just found out yesterday. She's not that far along, maybe a month at the most. We're not planning to tell anyone else for a while because of what happened last time, but we wanted you to know now."
Ruthie smiled. "Simon, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you guys. Kaitlyn will make an awesome big sister." Although Simon tried to hide his relief, Ruthie still noticed. "Simon, just because of what happened to Sarah Joyce doesn't mean that everyone else has to hide their pregnancies from me. I can still be happy for you guys. I know that's why Lucy hasn't told me about her pregnancy yet."
"Wait, Lucy's pregnant?" Simon asked, confused, making Ruthie laugh.
"Seriously, Simon? You haven't noticed yet? She's been showing for a couple of weeks now. I know that she's been trying to hide it, but it's not working too well," Ruthie laughed.
Simon smiled. It was good to hear Ruthie laugh again, even if it was at his expense.
A/N: I originally planned to stretch the Mary/Wilson relationship and baby drama out a little longer, but I was really struggling with it, so I decided to go ahead and wrap it up this chapter. I apologize if I got anything wrong in regards to the pregnancies. I tried to research everything as much as possible, but I can't guarantee that everything's 100% accurate.
