Author's Note:
And we are back, folks! Time to see how our favorite two-some are handling the prospect of becoming parents! This one isn't a long one but it's getting us back into the wonderful world of MacRiley!
CHAPTER 7:
"And you've had no headaches or nausea?"
"Nope."
Mac sat on the exam table as Dr. Anderson checked him out.
"Has your memory returned yet?"
Mac smiled, "Yeah it came back the other day."
"That's great." Dr. Anderson replied, typing something into his computer. "May I ask what brought it back?"
"It was an engagement ring I had gotten my girlfriend. I was suppose to purpose the night the accident happened. My friend took the ring and had it at his place. I came across it and all of a sudden I remembered everything."
"The brain is a very interesting thing. You just never know what will trigger memories to return. So are congratulations in order?"
Mac nodded causing Dr. Anderson to smile. Riley had seemed like such a wonderful woman and he was glad the young couple got a happy ending.
"Well everything looks good. And since you have regained your memories, I don't see any reason you can't return to work. Holly at the nurses' desk can give you a letter stating you are cleared to return. But if at any time you get a headache that is severe, come see me immediately."
Mac nodded and thanked the doctor before leaving. He grabbed the letter from Holly and made his way back out into the waiting room. His eyes scanned the room looking for Riley. He spotted her standing off to the side, her phone up to her ear. The moment she saw him, she quickly ended the call.
"How'd it go?"
Mac held up the letter, "All cleared to go back on Monday."
Riley wrapped her arms around Mac's neck, pulling him down to give him a kiss. "Matty and Russ will be happy to hear that."
"So who were you on the phone with?"
"My mom. She said she will be here tomorrow around 4ish or so."
"And Elwood and Jack said they would be over around 5?"
Riley nodded, pushing the down button for the elevator. After taking in everything with the engagement and baby, Mac and Riley had decided to have her parents over to give them the good news. And since Jack was like a father figure to Riley and a big brother/father figure to Mac, they invited him as well.
"So we have about 2 hours before our next appointment. Wanna grab lunch?" Mac asked.
The elevator door slid open. "Definitely. I could really go for some Italian food and maybe some enchiladas too." She leaned over and pressed the button for the lobby.
"Um, Riles, isn't it a little too early for crazy cravings?"
Riley turned toward Mac, giving him her best boo-boo lip and puppy dog eyes. Mac knew he was going to be a sucker for her during this pregnancy. But he wouldn't have it any other way. Letting out a short laugh, he pulled Riley into his arms and kissed her deeply. They only broke apart when the elevator dinged its arrival on the ground floor and the elevator door once again slid open.
Riley and Mac sat in the waiting room of Riley's OBGYN, waiting to get called in. As soon as Mac had told her that the test was positive, Riley had called to make an appointment to confirm. Luckily, they had an opening a few days later, right after Mac went for his check up with Dr. Anderson. It was perfect.
Riley still couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that she was actually pregnant. Besides her period being late, she hadn't had any other pregnancy symptoms. Earlier, she had just been messing with Mac regarding her 'weird craving'. But it was absolutely adorable how Mac had reacted.
Riley glanced over at him, so thankful that he was the one she was going through all of this with. She couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else.
"Riley?", the nurse called from the doorway.
Riley and Mac stood up and followed her through the door and down the hall. The nurse instructed Riley to give a urine sample, showing her the bathroom, before leading Mac into the exam room.
Mac took in the room, a few diagrams related to female health hanging on the walls. He took a seat in one of the chairs next to the exam table and waited quietly for Riley. He felt a little awkward being here. But when it came to the baby, Mac didn't want to miss a single second.
Seeing the two pink lines on the test had surprised him and caused a brief moment of panic but that feeling of panic was quickly replaced with excitement. After losing his father and aunt, Mac had felt alone being the only living person in his family. But now, that was about to change.
Riley entered the room and handed the urine sample to the nurse. She hopped up onto the exam table as her stomach began twisting into knots. The feel of Mac sliding his hand into hers helped a little. She gave his hand a quick squeeze.
"It looks like you are indeed pregnant! Congratulations!", the nurse stated as she turned around to face the young couple.
She took Riley's blood pressure and weight, logging it all down. "Dr. Murphy will be in shortly. Again, congratulations."
Mac stood up and came to step in front of Riley. Taking a hold of her hands in his, his thumbs caressing her knuckles as usual, Mac smiled. "So….how are you feeling about all this?" He could tell it hadn't really sank in for her yet, sometimes he still didn't really believe it. Over the past two days they had talked about the baby but it had felt more of a 'in the future' scenario than something that was actually happening to them.
Riley shrugged one shoulder. She wasn't really sure how she was doing. Mac pulled her to him as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I'll admit, I'm a bit scared."
Riley pulled back slightly, surprised at Mac's reveal. "You are?"
Mac nodded. "Yeah I mean, my mom died when I was little and my dad left. I didn't really have parents. I'm not sure I know how to be one."
"Believe me, Mac. I know you will be a fantastic dad. I've seen the way you are with kids. You're a natural. Our baby is so luck to have you as their daddy."
A blush tinged Mac's cheeks as he bowed his head.
"Well this baby lucked out in the mom department for sure."
"I don't know about that."
Mac lifted Riley's chin so that her eyes looked up at him. "I do. There is no one on this entire planet I'd want as the mother to my child than you."
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. The door opened and Riley's OBGYN, Dr. Murphy, walked in.
"Nice to see you again, Riley."
"Hello Dr. Murphy. This is my fiancé, Mac."
Mac shook the doctor's hand.
"So I hear congratulations are in order for the two of you. So Riley, when was your last period?"
Riley answered the doctor's question. A moment past before he spoke. "Well then it looks like you are around 7 1/2 weeks along. But just to make sure, we will do an ultrasound. You ready to see your little one?"
Excitement filled both Mac and Riley. They hadn't been prepared to actually see the baby so this was a very welcome surprise.
Dr. Murphy adjusted the exam table to allow for Riley to lay down. As she began pulling her shirt up a bit to expose her stomach, Dr. Murphy wheeled the portable ultrasound machine over. He squirted the gel onto Riley's stomach, then picked up the wand and began moving it around.
Riley and Mac were transfixed on the screen.
"And there is your baby." The doctor pointed out the head and arms and legs. Though it wasn't completely formed yet, you could make out the shape of the baby. Tears began to fall from Riley's eyes at the sight. There really was a little human growing inside of her. In that moment, unconditional love for this tiny being washed over her.
Mac stood there, mesmerized by the image of the baby. A whispered 'wow' escaped from him. Dr. Murphy loved moments like this. Getting to see the reaction of first time parents, especially fathers, was one of the many things he loved about his profession.
"Would you like to hear the heartbeat?"
Mac nodded his head, his eyes not leaving the image of the baby on the screen. Smiling, Dr. Murphy clicked a few buttons and suddenly the 'whoosh whoosh whoosh' of the baby's heartbeat filled the room.
"Heartbeat sounds great! You look to have a healthy little one."
Dr. Murphy removed the wand from Riley's stomach and handed her some tissues to use to clean up the gel. Grabbing the pictures he had printed, Dr. Murphy handed them to a smiling Mac.
"Ok I'd like to see you back here in four weeks. By then you will be able to schedule your 12 week imaging and if you want, we can do some testing for downs syndrome. Have you had any morning sickness yet?"
"No, I've been fine so far." Riley answered.
"Well around this time is when women usually start to get it, though there are some who never have it at all. If you do start, it's best to keep some crackers and ginger ale next to your bed so that you can have it as soon as you wake up. Do you have any other questions?"
Both Riley and Mac shook their heads.
Dr. Murphy smiled. "Once again, congratulations. I'll see you both in four weeks."