Thank you all for your support. To my guest reviewer who asked for this story to stay light, I am sorry, but it can't completely stay that way. There will be drama. The story has already been all mapped out in my head. But I can promise you that the ending will be worth it all. And I will keep some of the humor in here too. I did take your request to heart about needing some happiness and I wrote a one shot called Jack that should brighten your and anyone else's day. We all could use some more smiles. You were right about that. Enjoy!
Chapter 12
A yawn passed through Anna's lips, as she curled deeper into John's chest on the couch. The two were watching a movie, which they often did now after dinner. Even though Anna now had more energy, she was always tired by the time the sun set outside.
"I…."Anna anxiously got out, turning so she was facing John, but still in his arms. "Well, I've been thinking about my appointment tomorrow." Anna had finally decided to move her OBGYN appointments with Sybil Branson. She hadn't been to a doctor's office since her first appointment to confirm her pregnancy. Now at seventeen weeks, she knew she didn't need to push it off any longer.
John's hand ran up the side of her arm and he gave her a small smile. "And what's that?" Anna sighed.
"I….I think I should tell her the truth," Anna told him, looking away. "I….what if he….I think, for the baby's sake, it would be good for the doctor to know, so we can make sure there were no…..um….other things he gave me."
"I think that's a good idea, Anna," John replied. Anna turned to face him.
"You do."
"Yes. Would you like me to wait in the waiting room while you talk to her? Then I can come in once you are done?" Anna nodded. She was grateful for his offer not to be there while she talked to Sybil. Even though he knew the truth of what had happened to her, it was still a difficult subject for her to talk about with anyone. It would be easier to tell Sybil with no one else in the room.
"You're very brave, Anna," John whispered, bending down and giving her a chaste kiss.
"I don't know about that," Anna answered. She turned back toward the television and felt as John's arms held her a little bit tighter. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Anna sat anxiously in the cold, sterile room by herself. She was regretting telling John not to come in with her. The waiting in the quiet was making her nerves grow in the pit of her stomach. She knew she shouldn't fear Sybil. Sybil was kind; she was sweet. But it didn't matter. Speaking about that night frightened her. She just wanted to forget it had happened. Life wouldn't let her.
The door opened and Sybil came in with the brightest smile on her face. She placed her clipboard on the small desk and excitedly walked up to Anna. With permission, she put her hands on Anna's growing belly.
"Seventeen weeks?" She questioned, making sure she remembered what Anna had told her.
"Yes. I…I went to a different doctor earlier, but was glad I could transfer to you."
"And John Bates is the dad?" Sybil happily clarified. While Anna and Mary were best friends, Anna had known Sybil for a long time too. She had often joined in when they were doing things and knew about Anna's crush on John.
"About that, Sybil," Anna slowly began, as she began to chew on the inside of her lip. "I…what I'm about to tell you stays between the two of us. But…I feel it's important you know."
"Of course, Anna. Doctor/patient confidentiality. I can't and won't say a word, unless you or the baby are in danger."
"You see, John is just being a good guy, a good friend," Anna began. She began to anxiously pull at the corners of her fingers, as her knee began to bounce. Tears welled up in her eyes and she was finding this much more difficult to share.
"Anna?"
"I….John isn't the father, not biologically. He is going to take over that role, but he's not the father," Anna started to explain.
"So, who is the father?"
Anna glanced up and met Sybil's eyes. As she expected, she saw worry staring back at her.
"A guy I went on a date with a couple of times," Anna answered. "He…let's just say it wasn't consensual," Anna said with a disheartened chuckle.
"Oh Anna…." Sybil reached out and placed her hand on Anna's shoulder, but Anna shrugged it away. She wiped a stray tear that had slid off her cheek and shook her head.
"I…I'm fine, Sybil. Truly, I am." Sybil didn't look convinced. "But that's why I needed to tell you about the baby's father. I want to make sure he didn't pass anything on to me that could hurt the baby and to make sure there isn't any trauma. I just….I want my baby to be alright."
"Absolutely," Sybil said with a small smile. "We'll do an exam and run some tests, okay? Then we'll do an ultrasound so I can see exactly how the baby is doing."
"Can we bring John in before the ultrasound?"
"Of course."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Hi," John sweetly said, entering the exam room. He walked up to Anna and kissed the top of her head. "How'd it go?" He quietly asked.
"Fine," Anna replied.
"Well, hello, John! Congrats on your new little one!" Sybil brightly stated. And Anna was grateful for that. Sybil knew not to linger on the dark truth of the matter.
"Thank you," John replied with a smile. "We're thrilled."
"Anna, I'll have you lie back, pull up your shirt, and push down your pants some. We're going to have a quick look. Then we'll schedule you for the in-depth ultrasound appointment with the ultrasound tech for four weeks from now."
Sybil put the gel on the wand and placed it over Anna's abdomen. Anna looked at the black and white screen to try and see what she could of the baby.
"There's a little hand," Sybil pointed out. "And a belly. Do you want to know the sex?" Anna shook her head.
"No. I want to wait until it's born."
"Okay. Let's take a listen to the heartbeat."
The steady sound filled the room and Anna could feel her heart about to burst.
"And the baby looks healthy?"
"Yes," Sybil said. "Looks perfect. At your next appointment, they'll do measurements, check the heart, and do an in depth look to make sure everything looks like the baby is growing the way that it should."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The two had both taken a half day, so neither had to go back to work. Anna found a small magnet and placed the ultrasound picture up onto the refrigerator. John walked in behind her and placed a cardboard box next to her.
"What's this?" Anna asked. John shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't know. It was in the mail and is addressed to you."
With a twist of her lips, Anna glanced over at the package. Upon seeing the address, she knew it was from her parents. Anna took a knife and opened it. In the package was a letter and a small wrapped item. Anna pulled the letter out and read it aloud.
"I just couldn't resist. We'll see you in a week for the big move in. We love you, Mum and Dad."
Grabbing the small wrapped present, Anna gave it a small squeeze to see what it could possibly be. But whatever it was, it was in a box. Anna gingerly pulled at the tape to slowly bring the paper back. It revealed a small, rectangular box. She lifted the top and inside was a small onesie for the baby that read I love Grandma and Grandpa. Anna chuckled.
"That's cute," John replied, glancing down at the small piece of clothing.
"I guess my mum saw it and had to buy it," Anna told him. She refolded it and placed it back into the box.
"Or maybe your father," John suggested. Anna laughed hard at that one.
"No, my dad doesn't shop. It was definitely my mum. Is it bad that she's bought the baby something and we haven't?" Anna wondered aloud. It was still early, but she started pondering if she should be out looking at baby things and figuring out all that they would need.
"No," John answered for her. "Not at all. There is still plenty of time. But we could go to one of the shops, if you'd like."
"I don't want to go shopping. I haven't felt the urge to buy anything for the baby, yet. I was just wondering if that was a bad thing."
"It's not."
Anna took the box to the guest room where all of her things were still located. Within the next week, she would be moved in officially and she hadn't done anything to make the place hers. John, of course, had offered to make space in his room for her clothing. However, she felt stuck in limbo. She didn't belong at her flat anymore, but she also didn't feel as though she belonged here.
In just a short amount of time, her world had been turned on its head. While she was happy with John, she was finding it hard to figure out who she was anymore. She was dating John and having a baby with him, but she felt lost in a deep fog.
Within the safety of the guest room, Anna pulled the small onesie back out of the box. She eyed the small garment thinking of how small and vulnerable the baby was going to be. A child that she would be responsible for. She felt the sudden need to cry, but couldn't. Her lower lip trembled and she could feel a loss of control all around her. The more she tried to swim away from her problems, the faster they would rush back over her like a wave.
You're fine. She told herself. You're safe. You have John. You're fine. She repeated her mantra over and over, taking deep breaths that only became more and more shallow. And suddenly it was a full blown panic attack. Her heart was racing in her chest and she was finding it harder and harder to breathe.
Her eyes closed. She tried to regain her focus. The last thing she wanted to do was let John know what was happening. She recalled reading something about cupping your hands around your face and breathing into it to slow your breathing, so Anna tried it. She focused on that task and that task only. It took several minutes, but slowly she was calming down.
Once she felt slightly better, Anna stood and hid the onesie in one of the drawers. It was then that John knocked on the door.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes!" Anna called back.
"Okay. I'm going to start dinner. I'll let you know when it's ready."
"Thanks." Anna then sat back down on the bed so she could fully calm down before dinner. She didn't want John to worry. She could handle this on her own.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-
John rushed down the small drive to help open the back door of the moving truck. Today was move in day for Charles and Elsie. Anna was several steps behind him. As John lifted the large door, Anna stepped in to grab a small box.
"No," Charles called out from the drive way. "John and I will handle the boxes. You and your mother can go through them. But don't pick up anything heavy!"
"Dad, I can carry this small box. It barely weighs anything," Anna protested. Charles walked up to her and took it out of her hands.
"That's quite enough, young lady, now do as I say," Charles responded. Anna nearly chuckled, but when she saw her father's serious face, she refrained.
"Have you felt the baby move yet, dear?" Elsie questioned Anna, when she walked into their new small cottage. Anna shook her head.
"Not yet. Sybil said I probably will in a couple more weeks," Anna answered.
"Have you decided on any nursery themes or baby names?" Anna's head shook, again.
"No. I…I haven't. And do you really need a nursery theme? Aren't a dresser and crib enough?" Anna asked, although she really didn't want to talk about the baby at all. She found that in the past week, just the reminder made her anxious. As her stomach grew, it became more and more real.
"Of course, you have just always enjoyed decorating. I thought you'd be excited to have a nursery to decorate," Elsie said. Elsie's eyes narrowed in on Anna's face and Anna grew increasingly uncomfortable. If she didn't change the subject soon, her mother would start asking more questions.
"I really like this cottage," Anna told her.
"Yes, we didn't want to be in a flat. But we also didn't want something big with a lot of upkeep. When you got us in touch with Mary's father, Robert, he was very kind and found us this place on the property. It has a great little yard in the back where the baby can play."
"That's nice," Anna said with a weak smile. "Take me on a tour while they bring in the boxes."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
After several hours, the house was set up enough for Elsie and Charles to settle in for the night. John had gone out to get pizza and the four sat on the couch with paper plates for dinner.
"Should we play a game?" Elsie offered.
"Do we have any games?" Anna asked.
"Of course we do. I have some in the car. Charlie, go get the game boxes."
"Elsie, it's late and I have been carrying in things all day. Can't we just sit and enjoy something on the telly? John said he could set it up for us."
"Oh, alright."
John put his plate down and walked over to the television. He had called the cable company earlier that day to set it up for them, so all he had to do was plug in a few cords. In just a couple of minutes, the television was on a random cooking show.
"Thank you, John!" Elsie replied.
As John sat back on the couch, Anna rested her head on his shoulder. She was growing tired. Anna caught her dad throwing them a look, but he thankfully didn't make a sound or say anything. He remembered her request about being nice. Anna hoped that their time today showed her father what type of guy John was. He was loyal, kind, and giving.
"We should probably get going," John said a little while later. Anna had nearly fallen asleep on his shoulder.
"Do you need us to help you with Anna's things?" Elsie asked. Anna sat up and reached her hands over her head as she yawned.
"No. The flat I was living in was fully furnished. So I just have to get my clothes and a few other small things. But in a few weeks, we'll have you over for dinner at our place. I'll come back by tomorrow to help you finish."
"No, your mother and I can handle it from here, sweetheart. Don't want you overdoing it right now," Charles said, as he stood. He kissed Anna's cheek and gave her a wink. "You take care of that grandchild of ours."
"I will." Anna uncomfortably replied. Then she hugged her mother, before she and John left.
When the two were out of the door, Elsie sighed.
"That girl is hiding something from us, Charlie. Anytime the baby was brought up, she looked anxious."
"Maybe she has first time parent jitters, Elsie. I wouldn't read too much into it. Now let's go to bed," Charles told her. "We can discuss your theories more in the morning."
"Oh, alright," Elsie replied, but there was still a nagging thought in the back of her mind that Anna was hiding something big from them. And Elsie wasn't sure she would be able to rest until she found out what it was.
To be continued...
Elsie is not letting it drop. lol. Thank you for reading!