Best Kind of Surprises
Chapter 5
Andrea was glad Mike choose to accompany her to her next OBGYN appointment. He was nervous, but he was there. Andrea's OB went over the different risks with a pregnancy in Andrea's situation but made it clear that Andrea and the baby seemed to be in no danger. In fact, the pregnancy was progressing well, with barely any morning sickness and the only complaint was that she was already starting to show. Mike was fascinated by the ultrasound image and listened to the heartbeat. As they watched the tech make measurements and check things, Andrea smiled up at Mike.
"I'm sure you have seen one of these before." Andrea said.
"Actually, no. I never made the appointments with Kaitlyn and with Hannah and Lucas, I was at sea the entire pregnancies." Mike admitted.
"Oh. Well, hopefully; you can experience this pregnancy with me." Andrea hinted. She wanted Mike there for everything, but would have never demanded it. She understood his career.
"Yeah. So, is everything okay?" Mike asked the ultrasound tech, Lucy.
"From what I can tell, yes. I do need to speak with Dr. Spellman, though." Lucy said before getting up and leaving the room. Mike and Andrea exchanged a nervous look but within a moment, Dr. Spellman and Lucy were back and reviewing the ultrasound.
"I thought I heard an echo in the doppler. Alright; nothing is wrong. You are having twins. See, Baby A and Baby B." Dr. Spellman said as she turned the screen to where Mike and Andrea could see it. Sure enough, there were two arrows pointing to two distinct figures on the screen.
"Twins?" Andrea asked.
"That might be my fault. My dad was a twin and my mom had twins on her side. One of my sisters also had a set of triplets." Mike admitted.
"One of the few times I've heard a man admit fault." Dr. Spellman said with a laugh.
"With everything from my gunshot wound and my age, will things be okay?" Andrea asked. She was suddenly terrified.
"We will have to monitor you even closer, but both heart beats are strong. I would say you are approximately ten weeks along. It is a little more difficult to tell with twins, but does that sound about right?" Dr. Spellman asked.
"Yes. The first time we…it was April 10th." Andrea said.
"With twins, it wouldn't be a full forty weeks, though would it?" Mike asked.
"Given the situation, we probably would try and make thirty-five weeks. Could be you'll have Christmas or New Year's babies." Dr. Spellman said.
"As long as they are healthy, that is all that matters." Mike said.
"We will also probably opt to do a C-section. I feel it would be safer in this particular situation." Dr. Spellman said and Andrea nodded.
"They had to do one with my daughter. I was too small." Andrea said.
"We will also do an ultrasound with every appointment. Next appointment, you'll be approximately fourteen weeks along, so we wouldn't be able to tell gender unless they are laying just right. Maybe the appointment after that." Dr. Spellman said as she helped Andrea wipe the jelly off of her abdomen and set up. Mike helped her off the exam table and into her jacket. "Now, don't stress about all this. You will be fine. The babies will be fine. Just relax." Dr. Spellman told them after handing Andrea an print off from the ultrasound. They parted ways, Andrea made her next appointment and they walked out to Mike's truck without saying anything. Almost, halfway home, Mike spoke.
"You okay with this?" Mike asked.
"I had gotten attached to the idea of a baby, but two? In the shape I'm in? How will I handle two toddlers?" Andrea asked. Her emotions were getting the best of her and Mike reached over and patted her knee.
"You won't be alone. I'll be there." Mike said.
"Except when you're deployed." Andrea commented, bitterly. She hated how it made her sound but she wasn't sure she could handle both babies on her own.
"What if I didn't?" Mike retorted.
"You and I both know that isn't a possibility and I can't imagine you chained to a desk. It might have worked for Meylan, but not you. You were born to be at sea." Andrea answered.
"Maybe its time something else was a priority. I lost my wife and children to my career. I'm not doing that again. I don't know what retirement looks like for me, but I am not missing out on anything with these babies, if you are still okay with having them." Mike said.
"I'm not having an abortion and I'm not giving one up and keeping the other. How would I choose? No, I just need some time to think. I was not expecting her to say there were twins, even though I was beginning to wonder. It just makes me wonder. Fifteen years ago, I fought and struggled to get pregnant with Lily. I did the shots. Did the IVF. All of it. I'd had miscarriages and everything, but this time, I barely thought about it and now I'm pregnant with twins. I'm in my forties and had a serious injury less then a year ago. It makes no sense. I guess God has jokes." Andrea remarked.
"Christine always joked that I must have been really potent. She had no trouble getting pregnant. We didn't really try for any of ours and Lucas was an accident. She did have a miscarriage between Kaitlyn and Hannah, but it was right after her mom died so it was probably stress induced. Maybe you getting pregnant so easy was my fault too." Mike said.
"Makes sense." Andrea answered. Mike pulled into her driveway, got out and came around to help her out. He kept an arm around here and together they walked into her house.
"Why don't you rest? I can cook dinner, or order something." Mike suggested as he gently deposited her on the couch.
"Considering your cooking, order something. Maybe pizza or Chinese food?" Andrea asked.
"Chinese sounds good to me." Mike said and Andrea nodded in agreement. He called in their order and then went in and changed into comfortable clothes. Since he had come back, he had pretty much moved in and Andrea had given him a key before he deployed. It was just easier and most of their friends knew about their unorthodox relationship. To pass time, Andrea looked at a baby name book and when Mike came back from getting their food, he looked at her list.
"I'm picking boy's and girl's names. I am thinking one of each." Andrea said as she made her plate up.
"I wouldn't mind having one of each either, as long as they are both healthy." Mike said.
"That's a given. Do you want that egg roll? Andrea asked and Mike handed it to her, even though she knew he probably did want it.
"We need to pick a paint color out for the nursery. I'd like to get that done before it gets too hot." Mike remarked.
"Gender neutral?" Andrea asked.
"Yeah. I was never good at the picking part, but I can paint." Mike answered after swallowing his food.
"Were you serious about retiring?" Andrea asked him.
"I was. I missed out on a lot with my kids. If these babies are a second chance, I am not making the same mistake twice. Besides, what is left for me to do?" Mike remarked.
"Rebuild the Navy again?" Andrea said.
"I've rebuilt it enough. I'm tired. I think I would have come to that conclusion with or without the babies, but they certainly help it along. The fun part is going to be explaining it to Reiss." Mike commented.
"Yeah, I don't envy you that. He's a real sweetheart. I just want you to be certain." Andrea said.
"I am, but I am going to sleep on it before I put anything in writing. It just seems like a good time to be done." Mike said.
"It makes sense." Andrea said before giving Mike a long kiss. The one thing she hoped for besides the babies being healthy, was that their relationship would continue to progress and would still be comfortable. She loved when they sat on the couch together, watching TV or laid in bed, talking for hours. They finished supper, washed dishes and settled on the couch; talking about baby names and how to paint the nursery.