They walked to the hospital in silence. Alec knew he'd been harsh to Magnus but he'd meant what he'd said and wouldn't take it back. He'd apologize for his severity later.
"This is it." Magnus said. He placed a hand on the small of Alec's back and led him up the front steps of the hospital. Catarina waited for them by a nurse's station near the entrance. She showed the pair to an exam room near the one she'd brought Magnus to the day before. Magnus took a seat in one of the plastic chairs against the wall.
"Could you put this on for me?" Catarina asked. She held out a small blue gown to Alec. He nodded hesitantly and took it from her hand. Blushing, he realized he would have to change in the middle of the small room. Luckily for him Catarina quickly caught on to his discomfort and excused herself. She decided now would not be a good time to tell the boy she'd need to see everything pretty soon anyway.
Alec pulled off his shirt, shoes, and socks and set them on the empty chair next to Magnus's. He slid the gown over his head and tied it in the back before removing his jeans and underwear. His apparent desire to keep his modesty on this visit worried Magnus. Alec didn't appear to realize what this was going to entail. Opening the door a little he peeked into the hall and called for Catarina.
"All ready?" She asked, washing her hands in the sink. Alec grew pale but nodded and sat up on the table at the female warlock's instruction. "Before we start I've got some questions for you." Catarina said, pulling out a form.
"Okay." Alec responded meekly.
"Have you been sick or nauseous at all?"
"Um. Last night I got sick but that's it."
"What about fatigue?"
"Yeah I've definitely been tired. I thought I just wasn't sleeping well."
"Okay. What about your mood? Have you noticed yourself acting out of character lately?"
"Yeah." Alec said softly. Catarina smiled encouragingly.
"That's perfectly normal. It's just your hormones adjusting for the baby. I suspect that the further into this you get the symptoms will worsen because your hormones have to shift so much." She said, putting aside the form. Both Alec and Magnus groaned a little. She ignored them and got up to adjust the back of the table. With a wave of her hand she motioned for Alec to lean back into the semi-sitting position.
"Do you want to do crappy part first or hear the baby's heartbeat?" She asked.
"Crappy part." Alec answered. Catarina nodded and produced a thin sheet from a cabinet under the sink. She laid it over his lap then reached to the bottom of the table and pulled out the stirrups to support his legs, snapping them into place she looked up at her patient's face. Alec looked stricken. Mouth gaping, he was blushing again.
"I, um." He stammered.
"Yeah I know. It's weird and embarrassing but I have to check some stuff out so it's got to be done." Catarina said. He hesitated a moment more but then placed his feet in the stirrups. She spread the sheet over his lap then pulled up the gown to around his belly button. Alec had his eyes closed now and he kept them that way through Catarina's exam, as if that would make it less awkward.
Finding that everything seemed to be in working order, she let him put his legs down and folded the stirrups into their slots on the bed again. The poor boy's face was still bright red and his eyes had become glassy with tears of embarrassment. Catarina decided to pretend she didn't notice and just move on in hopes of making him a little more comfortable.
"Ready to hear the heartbeat now?" She asked, reaching for the cart holding the sonogram machine. Alec nodded excitedly and even smiled a little. Magnus stood next to Alec now and held his hand.
Leaving the sheet on his lap she pulled the gown all the way up to his waist and poured a line of gel along his lower abdomen. At the press of a button the machine came to life and she pressed the wand into the gel. It took her only seconds to locate the baby, which she pointed out to the parents on the screen.
"Whoa." Was Alec's only reaction to seeing the inch long child kicking around inside him. He'd seen it yesterday of course but the picture had been too small to see much more than a general outline. Now however, it was a distinctly humanoid form with four tiny limbs and a little face.
"See this blurry spot?" Catarina asked pointing out a spot on the screen. Both Magnus and Alec nodded. "That's it's heart beating."
"Whoa." Alec repeated. She pressed a button on the monitor and a sound filled the room. An incredibly fast thumping that brought tears to Magnus's eyes. They quickly spilled onto his cheeks as he clutched his love's hand. It took a little longer for Alec to understand what the sound was. When realization dawned on him his face lit up and he teared up as well, although he didn't cry.
"It's a good solid heartbeat. Exactly what we like to hear." Catarina told them with a smile. The three of them sat there listening for a few more minutes before Catarina turned off the machine. "Everything looks pretty good. I want to see that baby get a little bigger pretty soon but right now it's all fine." She said standing. Reaching into a folder on the counter she pulled out a packet of information which she handed to Magnus as Alec cleaned up the gel with a paper towel.
"What's this?" Magnus asked, accepting the packet of papers.
"Information about pregnancy. It's mostly general stuff about symptoms and possible complications. Read it, both of you." She instructed. Magnus rolled his eyes but smiled at her and gave a quick nod. Alec, who was dressing, nodded as well. Catarina shook her head at Magnus then turned back to the sonogram machine and punched a few buttons before leaving the room.
"Ready to go?" Magnus asked as Alec folded up the blue gown and placed it on the counter.
"Yes." He said with a nod. The two turned to the door just as Catarina re-entered through it carrying a small rectangle of photo paper. She handed it to Alec who flipped it over to reveal a picture of the sonogram on the other side. He smiled at her and she grinned back.
"Baby's first picture." She explained before moving out of the doorway. Alec and Magnus both thanked her before exiting the small room. Now in a much better mood, Alec took hold of his boyfriend's hand and didn't let go all the way back to their now shared loft.