Well, that was a question and a half. Boone had been dying to know if they were having a boy or a girl, just so that they knew what kind of things to buy, but now that the offer was actually there he wasn't so sure anymore. Shannon had been desperate to know. She'd told Boone she didn't care but as soon as she went in for her sonogram the day after they were rescued she wouldn't stop nagging at them until they told her.
But Boone wasn't so sure if he wanted to turn it into a big deal. He wasn't sure if it was sexist to ask if they were having a boy or a girl. He told himself it was practical to find out but he still had some niggling doubt that he was perhaps being inequitable, which he understood was quite ridiculous but it was there all the same.
He looked at Jack who he realised was looking back at him. They really should have talked about this.
"Erm, no, we don't want to know," Boone replied. He checked with Jack for confirmation who gave him a little nod and a smile so he guessed he was okay with it.
"Okay," Dr. Hamilton said, making a move to begin the sonogram.
"Wait, yes," Boone said.
Dr. Hamilton looked at him.
"Or, no," Boone continued. "I'm gonna go with no."
Dr. Hamilton waited to see if he was going to speak up again. "You sure?"
Boone looked to Jack who was looking slightly amused. "Boone, I don't really mind, it's up to you," Jack told him.
"Oh, thanks, that's very useful," Boone replied sarcastically. He turned back to Dr. Hamilton. "We don't want to know."
Dr. Hamilton tried to hide a smile, not very successfully. Smug bastard, Boone thought. "All right then," he said, turning back to Tayla. "Okay, Tayla, this is going to be a little cold," he told her as he picked up a bottle of something.
"Don't worry, I'm used to it," she replied.
Dr. Hamilton squirted something gross looking onto Tayla's stomach and spread it around a bit. He then put the instrument onto her stomach and moved it around, looking at the screen. "Okay, let's see."
Boone looked at the screen but all he could see was distortion, it was little better than a snowy television reception. He glanced at Jack who seemed to be looking more carefully, probably able to see something Boone wasn't.
"Here we are," Dr. Hamilton said.
Boone turned back to the screen and there it was. His baby. Little baby Jack. Okay so it was still pretty fuzzy and grainy but he could definitely make out the shape of a miniature person all scrunched up in, well, the fetal position.
"Wow," Boone said. "That's pretty... wow."
Jack reached over and took hold of his hand. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Boone smiled at him. "It looks like a real baby."
"It is a real baby," Jack pointed.
"Well, I know that," Boone said. "But now I can see it. It's different."
"Yeah," Jack agreed.
Boone looked back to the screen. "Does it look okay? Does it look normal?" he asked Dr. Hamilton.
"Yep, they look healthy to me," he replied, scanning the screen.
"Can you tell what it is right now?" Boone asked. "The sex, I mean."
"Not from this angle but I can take a look for you if you like," he said, moving the instrument over.
"No," Boone said quickly. "No, it's okay."
"Boone, if you wanna know..." Jack began.
Boone shook his head. "No, I wanna wait," he said. "I wanna find out when they're born."
He looked back to the screen. It was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. In another 20 weeks they were going to be real actual parents. With a baby. Boone couldn't believe they were already half way there, it seemed like only yesterday they were here getting their results.
He turned to Jack. "Does it look normal to you?" he asked quietly.
"Boone, I'm not exactly an expert in this field," Jack told him.
"Yeah, but you're a doctor, and you know about this stuff. You know a damn sight more than I do," Boone said.
Jack smiled at him. "Looks fine from where I'm stood."
Well, that was nice to hear. He knew that he should trust Dr. Hamilton but he didn't know Dr. Hamilton and he knew Jack. Plus, Dr. Hamilton hadn't saved his life. In the middle of the jungle to boot. Which Boone was sure was no mean feat so his trust was definitely going in Jack.
Boone and Tayla were sitting in the waiting area while Jack signed off on some paperwork when Tayla suddenly started giggling, putting a hand up to her stomach. Boone looked at her sideways.
"Baby's moving," Tayla explained.
Boone turned to fully face her. "Really?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah." She looked at him. "You wanna feel?"
Boone shook his head. "Oh, no, that's okay," he said. He didn't really know Tayla all that well and it didn't feel right to start touching her up in some doctors office. Which he knew wasn't what he would be doing strictly speaking but it just didn't feel like the right thing to do.
"Come on," Tayla said. "It's your baby."
Boone wanted to point out that it wasn't really his baby in the strictest sense, it was her and Jack's baby. But that really wasn't going to get him anywhere but in Jack's bad books.
Tayla grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach. "Hang on a sec, wait 'til they do it again," she said.
And then he felt it. It wasn't what he expected. In fact, if Tayla hadn't told him what he was feeling he probably wouldn't have known what the hell it was. It was subtle and it felt kind of like little bubbles moving under the surface. Boone smiled widely.
"Cool, huh?" she said.
"It's like butterflies," he said.
Tayla nodded. And he was kind of jealous of the fact that she got to feel this all the time. He felt connected, he could feel his baby moving, actually feel it moving. And okay, yeah, it was his baby. Not in any biological sense but if anyone knew that DNA really didn't matter all that much when it came to families it was him. Family wasn't just to do with blood, it was to do with love and acceptance and belonging.
"Am I missing something?" Jack asked as he walked up to the pair.
"Jack, come here, you gotta feel this," Boone exclaimed, motioning him over.
He sat down next to Tayla. "You mind?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "Go for it."
Boone guided Jack to where his hand was and Jack smiled at him, clearly feeling what he'd felt. "Isn't that the coolest thing ever?" Boone gushed. "This might be better than actually seeing them."
"Yeah, it's pretty special," Jack replied, taking his hand off Tayla's stomach. "Thanks," he said to her.
Boone sat in the car with the sonogram on his knee, looking it over. "Wow, I can't wait to show this to Shannon, it's so cool," he said. He knew he was acting like a crazy idiot but he didn't even care. And it was funny really cos he didn't even want a baby all that much. Not that he didn't want a baby but he really wasn't desperate for one. In fact, if it wasn't for Jack wanting one so much it probably wouldn't have even occurred to him. Which was pretty stupid cos he was clearly made to be a father.
"You're really excited," Jack grinned at him. "You're acting like Charlie on a sugar high and that's pretty excitable."
"Sorry," Boone said.
"No, I think it's great, but I'm getting worn out just looking at you," Jack told him.
"I just, I can't really believe it, y'know," Boone began, trying to find the words. "I guess it hadn't really sunk in. I mean, it had, but I guess it hadn't" He was aware of the fact that he was making little to no sense. "Now I can see it. And I can feel it. And it's like a little person, a real little person. And I guess I hadn't really thought of them like that before. I guess I didn't really expect to feel a connection until they were born."
"Oh, you start to bond before their born, believe me," Jack said.
Boone cringed at his stupidity. Good one, Carlyle, put your foot in it again. But Jack still looked happy, which was pretty weird because he tended to have a meltdown if anyone mentioned Kimberley or alluded to Kimberley or said something that randomly reminded him of Kimberley. But Boone guessed he should count his blessings so he wasn't about to push the issue.
He looked down at the sonogram again. Little, tiny baby Jack. He knew he should stop calling them that but it was a baby Jack and that was what made him love it so much more. Having a Jack baby was so much more special to him than having a Boone baby. Which Shannon thought was weird because she said it would be like raising somebody else's baby. But Boone couldn't think of anyone's baby he'd rather raise.
"You ready to go home?" Jack asked.
Boone looked up at him. "Let's go shopping," he said. "I want to buy baby stuff."
Jack smiled and shook his head a little. "You're the boss," he said as he started up the engine.