Chapter 9: Twice the Fun

They had beat Carl back to the house, and had a lunch of soup and sandwiches ready when he arrived.  Murdock chattered enthusiastically about the airfield, and he and Carl discussed the partnership agreement while they ate and cleaned up. 

Nancy drank a quart of water as instructed, then they headed out for the hospital, taking Nancy's car, with Carl folded in the back seat, "You two really need to get a bigger vehicle," Carl chided, as they left, "How are you ever gonna fit a kid in this car?"

Murdock laughed, "A kid is a lot smaller than you, Carl," he said, "A car seat will work pretty well in either the bug or the truck, we'll be OK for awhile yet."

Carl grimaced, "Good thing I'll have my own transportation out here soon."

At the hospital, they went up to the maternity ward to see Amy.  She was dressed, and had Jonathan in the room with her.  She was waiting for Dr. Phillips to come and give her the OK to go home, "Face is supposed to be on his way, but he was going to the grocery store first. Hopefully by the time he gets here, Jonny and I will be ready to head home."

Murdock was sitting in one of the chairs, holding Jonny, and talking to him quietly.  He looked up at his pregnant wife, who was standing by the door, "I can't wait 'til we bring ours home," he said, sounding like a little kid with a new toy.

Nancy smiled at him affectionately, "I'm looking forward to that myself," then shifting uncomfortably she said, "I swear this kid is sitting right on my bladder."

Amy looked at her sympathetically, "You've gotta have a full bladder for the ultrasound," she said, "don't worry, they're pretty quick about it."

Murdock looked at his watch, "Speaking of which, we probably ought to get down there," he stood and handed Jonny back to his mother, giving each a kiss on the cheek, "We'll see you at home later, little buddy."

Down at Outpatient Services, Nancy signed in and sat down to wait.  It was only a few minutes before a technician came and took them to another waiting room.  The technician, who introduced herself as Mandy, told Carl and Murdock to sit and wait, that she would come get them in a few minutes.  She took Nancy back to the examining room and had her change into a dressing gown.  She then got her situated on a bed, with a sheet over her legs, and her swollen belly exposed.

Mandy smiled as she got Nancy situated on the bed, "I hope you're not too uncomfortable.  I'll try and make this quick," she said soothingly, "Let's see, what's your due date?"

"December 21," Nancy answered.

"And you're here because . . ."

"Dr. Phillips said I was measuring big for my due date so she wants to double check it," Nancy said, adding, "I wasn't real sure about the date of my last period."

Mandy made some entries into the computer, then gooped up the ultrasound wand, and turned to Nancy, "This shouldn't be too cold.  I'm going to take a quick look before I bring your husband and . . ." she looked at Nancy quizzically.

"Father . . ." Nancy supplied.

"Before I bring your husband and father back." Mandy placed the wand on Nancy's belly and began moving it around to spread the gel out, then she turned and looked at a screen, and broad smile crossed her face. She took some quick measurements, telling Nancy, "Everything looks normal, and I'm pretty certain I know why your measurements are off." 

A short while later she set the wand aside, "I think I should go get your husband and father now."

She came back just a couple minutes later with Murdock and Carl in tow. Murdock stopped by Nancy's side and held her hand, "How ya doin', Short Cake," he asked gently.

Nancy smiled at him, "Other than really needing to go pee, I'm OK."

Mandy chuckled, "We'll get you out of here real quick," she promised.

She turned the monitor so that they could all see, "First, just let me say, that on first glance it looks like everything is fine, and there's nothing to worry about. Of course I'll be sending the images to the radiologist, for analysis, and a report will be forwarded to Dr. Phillips.  She'll discuss the particulars with you at your next appointment.  However, I do think that we've discovered why you're measuring big for your due date," she positioned the wand and moved it slowly over Nancy's belly, pointing at the screen, she said, "Here's a perfect little hand, and another," she moved the wand again, "And another . . ."

Murdock interrupted, "I may be wrong, but shouldn't there only be two hands?" he asked.

Mandy smiled at him, "Not if there are two babies," she answered.

Carl was beaming, and clapped his speechless son-in-law on the shoulder, "You're definitely gonna have to get a bigger vehicle!"

Nancy walked out to the waiting room after getting dressed. Murdock was leaning against the wall outside the waiting room with his hands dug in his pockets, a quirky smile frozen on his face.  Nancy walked straight to him and they stood with their arms around each other, both still trying to absorb the fact that they were having twins.

Carl came out of the waiting room, still grinning from ear to ear, "Carrying on the Stockwell tradition," he said enthusiastically, "Your Uncle will be thrilled, Nancy."

"Twins are a common occurrence in the Stockwell family, huh?" Murdock asked in surprise.

Nancy looked up at him, "I don't suppose I ever told you, but Mom and Uncle were twins," she said, "I guess I just never thought about it being a possibility."

Carl clapped his hands together, "Well, where to now?  I assume we're done here."

Nancy looked at her watch, "I've got practice at the Community Center with Jazz at 5," she said, "it's only a little after 2 now, I should stop by the office and check my in box and messages."

Carl looked pensive, then said, "Maybe you could drop me off at the house and give me the keys to the truck.  I've got a couple leads on houses I want to check out."

"Tell you what, we'll drop Nan off at the office, and then I'll drive you home, Carl," Murdock said, "I've gotta stop by and see Hannibal, then I'll pick Nan back up at the office and take her to the LCC for practice."

Carl nodded, "That'll work," he said, "I'm really sorry about the run-around.  I never realized how difficult it could be to have three adults and only two vehicles."