"So Nathan couldn't make it to this appointment either?" Doctor Tate asked Haley as she turned off the ultra sound machine.
"Um…" Haley replied as she sat up on the table. "Well, actually he didn't know about the appointment because he, um, he doesn't know I'm pregnant."
Doctor Tate's expression turned to a look of surprise.
"Wow," she replied. "That surprises me Haley. You and Nathan were so excited with your last three pregnancies. As I recall, he was always with you at the early appointments and never missed appointments after the first ones."
Haley bowed her head and said, "Well things are a little different this time around. We weren't expecting to get pregnant again right now."
"Well, unexpected pregnancies happen a lot more often nowadays. Does your not telling him you're pregnant have to do with what you were asking me about at your last appointment?"
Haley nodded her head and replied, "Yeah, Nathan doesn't want me to have another baby because he doesn't want me to have the same difficulties I had with Cooper.
"And you're worried about that too?"
Haley thought for a moment, then replied, "Yeah, I think I am."
Doctor Tate sat down on her rolling stool and began to explain, "Haley, you and I have known each other for awhile. I mean, our parents have always been good friends. So I hope you can trust my advice. So here it is. There are risks in every pregnancy. Some have higher risks than others, but there is almost no way of controlling that. And it's like I said before, no doctor can make promises that everything will go smoothly because things can change at the last minute sometimes. It happens. Doctors know only what they tell their patients and what they tell their patients, whether it is good or bad news, is never 100 percent guaranteed. That's just how medicine is.
So the only thing you can really do is trust in yourself that all will be oaky. Sometimes just believing good will happen, helps to heep the body healthy."
Haley smiled. She felt a little more confidant in herself now, but she still wasn't entirely confident in telling Nathan. Maybe she needed a little more time. No, time wasn't doing any good. She neede to stop procrastinating and tell Nathan about the baby before her stomach did it for her. The only thing was…she needed encouragement and lots of it.
"Everything looks great Peyton." Peyton's OB-GYN, doctor Byrnes told her after her ultra sound was over.
"You've only got about twelve weeks left until you reach full term, but considering you were early with your last pregnancy, you could be again. However, we don't want your little one coming too early. So it's important that you don't do too much and try and avoid stress for the next few months okay?"
Peyton nodded and the doctor asked, "So where is Jake today?"
"Working." Peyton sighed.
"Ah, well, you'll tell him I said hello, won't you?"
"Sure." Peyton replied as she started to climb off the table. Doctor Byrnes held her arm while she slid off the rest of the way.
"Any questions before you leave?" He asked.
"No, I think you covered everything." Peyton said as she grabbed her purse off a chair.
"Okay, then I will see you next month."
He opened the door and said, "Take it easy."
Peyton left the exam room and walked back to the waiting room, where Brooke was playing with Emma. Peyton smiled when she saw her little girl look over at her.
"Momma!" Emma shouted and Brooke looked up and saw Peyton coming.
She put Emma on the floor in front of her and said, "Go get mommy, Emma. Go on."
Laughing, Emma ran unsteadily over to Peyton, who lifted her from the ground and kissed her.
"Hey cutie." She said and Emma returned with a scrunched up face and smile.
Peyton chuckled as Brooke walked up with her purse and Emma's toddler cup and diaper bag.
"Hey," she greeted. "Everything okay?"
"Yep." Peyton replied. "So far so good. I just have to schedule my next appointment and then we can go."
"Okay." Brooke replied. "Here, I'll take Emma while you do that."
Brooke held out her arms and Emma reached for her. Brooke followed Peyton over to the front desk.
"May I help you?" The secretary asked when she noticed Peyton on the other side of the window.
"Yes," Peyton replied. "I need to schedule my next appointment."
"Okay, with Doctor Byrnes, Carter or Tate?"
"Doctor Byrnes."
"All right." The secretary typed the name into her computer and after a minute said, "How about July 16 at 2:00 p.m.?"
"Sounds good."
"Okay, it is all set."
"Thanks." Peyton said as she faced Brooke and Emma again. "Okay, are we ready to go?"
"Yep." Brooke replied. "How about you, Em? Are you ready to go bye bye?"
But Emma was staring at the opposite end of the room and when Brooke spoke to her, she replied with, "Ha-ey."
"Did she just say Haley?" Peyton wondered and she and Brooke looked over to where Emma had pointed to and sure enough, they spotted Haley walking towards the desk where they were standing. Haley stopped she saw her friends.
"Uh, oh." She said to herself and continued walking up to them.
"Hey guys." She said casually. She could feel her face growing hotter as her friends stared back at her.
"Hey Haley…" Peyton said slowly."…fancy seeing you here."
"Yeah, I was um, I was just visiting."
Brooke and Peyton exchanged curious looks.
"Visiting who?" Peyton wondered. "Your obstetrician?"
"No." Haley replied nervously. "I mean, yes doctor Tate is an OB-GYN, my OB-GYN, but she's also a friend of my family's and I just stopped by to say hi."
"Haley," Brooke said seriously as she finally understood why Haley had been acting the way she had been lately, "it's us. You know, your best friends. You can tell us the truth. You don't have to make up stories. You're pregnant, aren't you?"
Haley rolled her eyes and sighed, "Yes."
"Oh my gosh, Haley, that's great!" Peyton said.
"Yeah." Brooke agreed. "How far along are you?"
"About ten weeks." Haley replied as she ran her hand through her hair.
"So you've known for awhile, haven't you?" Peyton realized.
"No, huh, uh." Haley lied again, but her friends' stares made her feel guilty and she changed her answer to, "Yes, I found out about three weeks ago."
"Three weeks?" Peyton said, shocked. "Geese, how long were you and Nathan going to wait before you let the cat out of the bag?"
Haley did not respond and Brooke studied her face. Everything made sense now. It was clear why Haley hadn't been herself lately. She was hiding this very big news from them and from Nathan."
"You haven't told him, you're pregnant have you." Brooke asked.
Haley did not respond, but stood with a guilty expression on her face.
"Oh my gosh Haley," Peyton said, "Why haven't you told Nathan?"
"Because," Haley whined, "I don't want to disappoint him. When I first tried to tell him about the baby, he made it perfectly clear that he does not want another baby."
"Um, Haley," Brooke said with a smile, "You do realize that Nathan will find out eventually right?"
"I know, I know. And I am going to tell him soon. I'm just trying to figure out how to tell him. I don't know why, but I can't seem to find the guts to tell him. Every time I try, I turn the words into something else or I walk away."
"Well," Brooke began, "do you think you need some help telling him?"
"No, I can tell him. I will tell him. There's just something I need to work through before I can tell him, like an answer or something."
"An answer to what?" Peyton wondered.
Haley thought for a moment, then answered, "I think it's about my fear about the baby. I need to figure out why I am afraid."
"But I thought you wanted another baby?" Brooke stated.
"I do, it's just…I don't know. All I know is that I need to be the one to tell him I'm pregnant, which is why I haven't told any of you. So can you guys do me a really huge favor and don't mention this to anyone, especially Nathan?"
Brooke and Peyton glanced at each other, then Brooke replied, "Sure, Hales. We won't say anything."
"Yeah," Peyton said, "Your secret is safe with us."
