Chapter 36

Again, I don't own these characters except the ones I create.

The following Tuesday, it was time for a return to the doctor. It was Addison's week 16 appointment as well as Bailey's week 20 checkup. Of course, before her appointment, Bailey had a promise to keep. So, once arriving at Mass General, she made her way up to the cardiology floor. Making her way to the nurse's desk, she was greeted by a warm smile.

"Well, well...Look at you, Bailey. You are absolutely glowing."

Bailey smiled back. "Thank you, Joyce..." She began to laugh. "My husband told me...well...begged me to stop by today."

Joyce laughed back. "Young doctors are so easy to manipulate..."

"Because they're all afraid of you..."

Joyce grinned. "Hey...You train them young to do things the right way..."

Bailey grinned back. "As long as your training doesn't interfere with all the years of training I've put in on him..."

"Oh don't worry. In his free time, all he talks about is you and the twins. He's been pumping me for as much information as possible."

"Good. He must be listening well because he's been absolutely wonderful through all of this...Speaking of which, where is Cody?"

"One of the cardiothoracic surgeons asked him to scrub in on a surgery. He's been up in the operating room since this morning, so he should be out soon..."

Bailey nodded. "I'm sure he was thrilled about that..."

"What about you? How have you been doing?"

Bailey smiled. "About as well as I'm supposed to be..."

Joyce nodded. "How far along are you now?"

"Twenty weeks..."

"Well, from my personal experience, you've got the hard part out of the way..."

"I hope so, but I have a definite bulge now and people have started asking how far along I am..."

"That comes with the territory. Look at it this way though, all your patients are going to do is meow or bark at you..."

Bailey grinned. "Very true..."

From behind her, Bailey felt a kiss on her cheek.

"What's true?"

Bailey turned and saw Cody smiling at her. "Oh, Joyce was just telling me to let her know if you slack off in treating me well..."

Cody looked back and forth between them. "Is that so?"

Joyce just looked at Cody. "Yes, Dr. Martin...It is."

Cody swallowed and had a nervous look as both Bailey and Joyce began laughing.

Soon enough though, they had to be moving on to Dr. Adams office. Addison's appointment was first, and she and Woody were already in the waiting room when Cody and Bailey arrived.

"Did you guys have to come in earlier to have blood drawn?"

Addison nodded. "Yeah...Something about a multiple marker test..."

Cody nodded. "Its just a normal step. But on the positive side, your baby should be able to hear now, so be careful what you say around it..."

Addison elbowed Woody in the ribs. "Yeah, let's try to make sure our child's first words aren't Hurtful or Dang It..."

Cody and Bailey both laughed as Woody began to sulk. Soon, Zack, Cassie and Carey arrived in the waiting room, and Woody and Addison were called back to the exam room. Addison's week 16 appointment went similar to Bailey's. And her test results came back normal as well much to the relief of Woody and Addison. After another ultrasound, Woody and Addison were given a picture of their baby as well as more prenatal vitamins.

Once they were done, Cody and Bailey were called back to the exam room.

Dr. Adams smiled. "Well, twenty weeks...You're halfway through, Bailey..."

"Really?"

Cody nodded. "I know...Seems like we just began this..."

"Well, most pregnancies last between thirty-seven and forty-two weeks. Of course, these things can be genetic, so, Bailey, you might want to ask your mother how long she was pregnant with you..."

Bailey nodded. "I'll make sure to do that."

"Now, normally, first time mothers deliver late, but we have that countered here with the fact that you are having twins. About half of all twin deliveries are premature deliveries..."

Cody nodded. "My Mom says Zack and I were two weeks early..."

Dr. Adams smiled. "So, basically, what I'm saying is...we'll have to keep monitoring to see if there are any signs of a premature labor..."

Bailey nodded. "Alright. What's next?"

"Well, you're obviously showing now and your uterus should be at the level of your belly button now. So, we are going to begin measuring your bump so to speak. Now, with twins, its going to be larger than a singleton birth..."

And with that, Dr. Adams proceeded to measure Bailey.

"Okay, I know you've probably been concerned with gaining weight..."

Bailey sighed. "I'm up eleven pounds..."

Dr. Adams smiled. "Ten pounds by week twenty is normal, so you are right on target. Now, the bad news, at least in your perspective, is that from here on out, you will be gaining another pound or so every week..."

Bailey groaned, and Cody just began to rub her shoulders.

"Its okay, Sweetie. Its perfectly natural, and you will still be as gorgeous as ever..."

Bailey smiled up at him. "Thanks, Sweetie..."

Dr. Adams continued. "So, I will say to just keep doing what you have been doing. Now, I will see you again in four weeks for your week twenty-four appointment, but remember, after that, every two weeks..."

Cody and Bailey both nodded.

"Alright, lets get the ultrasound machine in here and see what it tells us this time..."

Once again, Bailey's belly is rubbed with the cold gel, and Dr. Adams began scanning her womb.

"Everything looks completely normal..." She paused. "Ohh..."

Cody looked up at her. "Ohh?"

"Well, I know you two don't want to know the babies' sexes, but I do see something interesting..."

"What's that?"

"Well, I can definitely tell there are two different placentas..."

Bailey paused to consider what that meant. "Does that mean they are dizygotic twins?"

Dr. Adams shook her head. "Not necessarily. They could be dizygotic but they could also be monozygotic still. Of course, they could also be polar body twins..."

Cody and Bailey looked at each other in confusion. "Polar body twins?"

Dr. Adams smiled. "Its a new theory that the mother's egg splits before fertilization and each half is fertilized by a separate sperm..."

Cody paused to consider that. "So, instead of having 100% of the same genetic markers as identical twins or 50% with fraternal twins, they would have 75%?"

"Exactly..."

Cody sighed. "My senior biology paper is all wrong now..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Its okay, Codykins...I don't think Yale is going to take away your degree now..." She turned back to Dr. Adams. "Does it make a difference?"

"Not really. It would only be if you two are curious to know what kind of twins they are after they are born. If they are both the same sex, it could be any of the three. Different sexes would mean it could only by dizygotic or polar body..."

Bailey nodded. "Okay. Right now, all I care about is that they are healthy..." She grinned. "Once they are born, our curiosity may get the best of us..."

Dr. Adams laughed. "I wouldn't expect anything less..."

After the appointment, everyone returned to Cody and Bailey's apartment and they shared the interesting information they had found out. Zack and Cassie turned to each other and wondered what kind of twins they were carrying as well. Of course, Carey took detailed notes and borrowed a laptop to send out a detailed email to the whole family.

But outside of their building, an individual had watched all of them enter and head up in the elevator.

"Such a happily family. Too bad I have to ruin their lives like they did mine. By this time tomorrow, I will have my revenge..."

To be Continued...