"So, your mother and I are at her first official doctor's appointment, where we get to hear your heartbeat for the first time, and get a look at how much you've grown since the ultrasound we did after we first found out about you, and to find out when you're coming. Momma? Are you excited?" Tony asked, as he was recording Pepper with his phone while they were sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office.
He'd picked Pepper up from the office early that afternoon, a little earlier than necessary, really, and was giddy with excitement during the whole drive over. Pepper had settled on wearing a tailored, black skirt and matching blazer in attempts to hide her burgeoning belly from prying eyes for the time being until she and Tony could decide how to handle letting the world know of her pregnancy. And so far so good, she was happy to report to him when she got into the R8. No one was the wiser.
She had been thumbing through a Parents magazine as they waited. She raised her eyes and smiled bashfully at the camera. "Yes, of course I'm excited, Tony," she said to him, smirking.
"Don't talk to me. Talk to the baby. I'm trying to make our first home movie here, Pep," he said, staring at the screen of his phone.
Pepper blushed and giggled. "Yes, of course I'm excited," she repeated, this time looking into the camera.
"Nervous?" Tony asked.
"No," Pepper said, shaking her head. "Are you?"
Tony smiled widely and flipped the camera to face him. "Not in the least," he said confidently, cocking an eyebrow and smirking. He stopped the recording and put his phone back in his pocket. He sat back and anxiously bounced his knee up and down. Pepper eyed him out of the corner of her eye, and smirked to herself.
"I don't think I've ever seen so many pregnant women in one place before," Tony commented, glancing around the room. "When are they going to call us?"
"Soon, Tony. Have patience," Pepper said, as she reopened the magazine she had been reading.
Tony fidgeted in his chair anxiously. He shuffled through the magazines on the table next to him, but huffed in disappointment. "All pregnant lady stuff," he mumbled. "Where's the Car and Driver? Popular Mechanics? Hell, I'd even take a Consumer Reports, right now." He picked up a magazine and looked at the cover. "10 reasons why you're having trouble breast feeding," he read out loud. He grimaced and tossed it back on the table. "Oh, I don't think so," he said with disdain. "I'm in this all the way with you, Pep, but next time? I'm bringing my own stuff to read."
Pepper chuckled and shook her head.
Just then, a nurse opened the door to the corridor of exam rooms."Virginia?" she called out.
"Thank God," Tony muttered as they both stood up and walked over to the nurse. She smiled pleasantly at them, and waved them through the door.
"And how are you, today?" she asked politely.
"Fine, just fine," Pepper said warmly.
"We'll weigh you first, and then have you give us a urine sample."
"And the fun begins..." Tony muttered under his breath. Pepper smacked him lightly in the chest when the nurse wasn't looking, and he flinched.
The nurse continued, oblivious. "And then we'll order a blood draw for your screening. This tests for downs-syndrome, anemia, your hemoglobin levels, your glucose, HIV and AIDS, and RH factor."
"Wow, that's quite a list," Pepper said.
"And six vials of blood," the nurse replied. "But the good news is, you won't have to get poked again for another few weeks."
The nurse showed Pepper to the scale, and she stepped onto it. The nurse recorded the reading. She motioned in the direction of the bathroom. "Okay, step in there, and follow the directions for a clean specimen. They're on the back of door. When you're finished, put it in the cabinet in the wall next to the sink, and you can rejoin dad in there," she said, nodding toward the exam room across the hall. "Remove everything you're wearing on the bottom, and drape the paper blanket over your lap. The doctor will be in to do your exam."
Pepper thanked the nurse and Tony smiled, taking a seat next to the exam table in the room the nurse indicated. And Pepper walked into the bathroom, and closed the door.
XxXxXxXxXx
After minutes later, Pepper entered the exam room when she'd finished, and began stripping down from the waist down. She took a seat on the exam table and draped the blanket over her lap, as instructed. She sighed.
"Feeling like a lab rat, yet?" Tony teased, as he thumbed through an old People magazine someone had left in the room.
"Oh, I'm sure I will be once we're out of here," she said. She glanced at him. "Found something suitable to read, I see."
"It'll have to do," Tony said. "Hey, did you know Kim Kardashian is marrying Kanye West?" he teased, pointing to the story he was reading.
Pepper rolled her eyes and smiled, chuckling.
Tony looked at her innocently. "What? I'm working with what I've got."
Just then, the doctor knocked on the door and walked in. "Hello? Virginia? I'm Doctor Stephens," the woman said, kindly extending her hand. She was a small framed woman, with silvery gray hair pulled back in a clip at the nape of her neck. She had kind, soft blue-gray eyes and rosy cheeks. Her voice was light and soft and Pepper instantly felt at ease. Behind her came a nurse through the door with an ultrasound machine, and a caddie filled with tourniquets, vials, and syringes.
"Hello," Pepper said pleasantly, shaking the doctor's hand.
"And this must be dad?" Doctor Stephens, extending her hand to Tony. He took it graciously.
"Mr..." the doctor said.
"Tony's fine. Call me Tony," he insisted.
The doctor smiled warmly. "Fine. Tony it is," she said. She turned toward Pepper. "Well," she said. "We have a lot to get done today, don't we? But I promise, your next appointment won't have you feeling like such a guinea pig," she joked.
They all chuckled.
"First thing's first," the doctor said. "Let's get the blood draw done, and then we'll get a look at your little one, hmmm?"
Pepper nodded and smiled. She glanced at Tony, and he smiled warmly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
The nurse stepped forward, and instructed Pepper to extend her arm. She thumped Pepper's vein in the crook of her arm, put on the yellow rubber tourniquet, and poked her with the syringe to fill the first vial. Pepper inhaled sharply, and pursed her lips. "Needles make you squeamish?" Tony asked. "After all the times you've had to patch me up?"
"Doesn't mean I've liked doing it," Pepper said, turning her head and wincing.
After a few moments, the nurse had filled each of the six vials and withdrew the needle from Pepper's arm. She put a cotton ball and a band aid over the puncture spot, and left the room.
Dr. Stephens thanked the nurse, and turned her attention back to Tony and Pepper. "Now," she said happily, opening her file. "It says your last period was around Thanksgiving? The 20th of November to be exact?" she said.
Pepper nodded. "Yes," she said. "It was kind of light. Lighter than usual, but I didn't think anything was that out of the ordinary. I have a very stressful job, so some months, my period is a little off. And at the end of December, once again, it was really light. I took a pregnancy test, and at first it appeared to be negative. And I didn't think I was pregnant, because I'd had two periods. But then..."
"The next morning, wasn't it, Pep?" Tony interjected.
"Yes," she confirmed. "The next morning it was positive."
The doctor nodded in understanding. "So, now you know for sure you're pregnant, correct?"
Pepper leaned back to reveal her newly formed baby bump. "Unless there is another explanation for why my waist line has suddenly expanded overnight!" she said.
The doctor chuckled. "So, you've had other symptoms? Morning sickness? Fatigue? Aversion to different foods?"
"Check, check, and check," Pepper replied.
"Lucky you," the doctor said. "Are you still having issues with morning sickness?"
"It's definitely lightened up. I was taking some anti-nausea medication each morning, but I haven't had to take any for a while."
"Do you remember which one you were taking?" the doctor asked, furrowing her brow.
Pepper shook her head. "I...don't remember the name of it, no," she said. She frowned. "Why? Is there something I should be concerned about?"
"Well," the doctor said, putting her stethoscope in her ears. "There are some that I just prefer my patients to avoid," she said. "But on the whole, if you've not had any side effects, then I'd say you're safe."
"Side effects?" Pepper asked, her voice tense with concern.
"Yes. Like digestive troubles. Diarrhea. Constipation. If everything has been normal, then you're home free."
"Oh," Pepper said. She gave Tony a look of relief, and he winked at her and nodded in assurance.
"Deep breath, please," the doctor said, pressing the stethoscope to Pepper's chest. Pepper breathed deep, and then again three more times as the doctor listened to her heart, and her lungs. "Good," the doctor said.
Next, she put the blood pressure cuff around Pepper's arm, and pumped it up to tighten it. "Very good," the doctor said, reading the results a moment later. "Any history of high blood pressure, or heart disease in your family?"
"My mother had a heart attack," Pepper explained. "And had triple bypass surgery."
"But no current issues with you?" Dr. Stephens asked.
Pepper shook her head. "I watch what I eat, and I exercise regularly. I'm very health conscious."
"Good. Stay that way," the doctor said. "Especially now. Studies show that women who exercise regularly have fewer issues in pregnancy and easier deliveries."
"Well, I'll take all the help I can get," Pepper replied.
"What about vitamins? Have you started your prenatals, yet?" the doctor asked.
Pepper shook her head. "I take multi-vitamins every day, but no. They aren't specifically prenatal vitamins."
"Well, I'll give you a prescription for a good one. It's easy on the stomach, and has plenty of folic acid," the doctor explained.
Pepper bit her lip, and frowned. "Is it bad that I haven't been taking those?" she asked, wincing.
The doctor smiled. "I wouldn't be too alarmed," she said. "The fact that you're health conscious, taking vitamins, and you exercise regularly already puts you ahead of the game. Just start taking them as soon as possible."
The doctor replaced the blood pressure cuff on the meter on the wall, and smiled warmly. "Now, comes the exciting part!" she said, rubbing her hands together. "Let's get a look at the little guy, shall we?"
"Guy?" Tony said, perking up. "See, Pep? Even she thinks we're having a boy!" he said.
Pepper and the Doctor giggled. "Or girl," the doctor corrected. She directed Pepper to lie down on the exam table.
"So, when do we get to find out what we're having?" Tony asked anxiously.
"At about 20 weeks. Maybe a little sooner," Dr. Stephens said. "The fetus is a bit small right now for a pelvic ultrasound, so today, we'll do a vaginal. This will give us a closer look to be able to take some measurements, and give you a due date."
Pepper glanced at Tony, who had moved from his seat to a chair beside her, near her head, to get a better look at the screen. The doctor instructed Pepper to bend her legs at the knees as she prepared the probe and inserted it.
Suddenly, a grainy image appeared on the screen of the machine, and the doctor manipulated the probe to find where the baby was. After a moment, a very discernible image appeared, and Tony and Pepper cooed in delight.
"Oh my God, he's grown so much!" Tony gushed. "He's got arms and legs and everything, now!" Pepper giggled and rolled her eyes at his use of he again. "Wait. I gotta record this," he said, getting his phone out again.
"Oh, no. Not again," Pepper teased.
"You've had an ultrasound before?" the doctor asked.
Tony nodded. "In New York, about six weeks ago. We did it the day we found out she was pregnant," he explained.
"You'll get a DVD and pictures at the end, you know," the doctor said, smiling at Tony's enthusiasm and pointing at his phone.
"Yeah, but it's not in real time," Tony said, hitting record. "Okay, first official doctor's appointment, doing the ultrasound. That's Dr. Stephens," Tony said, pointing at the doctor. Dr. Stephens played along and smiled bashfully, and gave a little wave. "And this," Tony said, turning the camera toward Pepper's exposed belly. "Is your mother's stomach. See that little bump? That just appeared to us this morning. That's you in there. Pepper?" Tony said, moving the camera to Pepper's face. "Have any words for our unborn child?"
"Hello, again," Pepper said, smirking. "And I love you," she added sweetly. "And, yes, your father is this annoying most of time, with or without a camera. Just get ready to have every moment of your life digitally captured."
Tony pouted. "Just recording for posterity, honey," he reminded her. "Someday, you'll thank me," he assured.
"But that day's not today," she rebutted.
Tony turned the phone back to the ultrasound screen. "And that little monkey, on that screen," he said, smiling proudly. "Is you. Look at you. Aren't you amazing," he cooed fondly.
Pepper smiled, moving her gaze from the screen to Tony's face, admiring how enamored he was.
The doctor had busied herself taking measurements and recording them in the data on the machine, while they had been chattering. "From what I can gather..." she said, marking the size of the baby and the circumference of the amniotic sack. "These measurements would indicate a 12 week old fetus."
"12 weeks. J was right," Tony said proudly. Pepper grinned.
"And your due date is..." she said, clicking in a few more places on the screen. "August 20th. Congratulations."
"Wow," Tony gasped. "That seems so far away."
Pepper scoffed. "For who?" Pepper said, looking at him curiously. "Do you realize how much we have to do to get ready before then?"
Tony just smiled sheepishly and shrugged. He and Pepper stared lovingly at their baby, and Tony kept his phone's camera pointed at the screen.
"Let's see if we can't get a heartbeat, here," the doctor said. She turned up the volume on the machine and opened up the EKG at the bottom of the screen. It tracked the fetal heartbeat for a moment, and suddenly a soft woosh-woosh-woosh-woosh came out of the speaker.
"Oh, wow!" Tony exclaimed. He smiled in amazement. "Heh heh. Sounds like we're standing outside of a club," he quipped.
"Only you would know," Pepper teased.
"It's beating at 155 beats per minute," the doctor said.
"Is that good?" Pepper asked.
The doctor smiled at her kindly. "It's perfect," she said. "By the looks of it, you have a very healthy baby, you two."
Pepper smiled lovingly at Tony, and grabbed his hand. He kept the camera trained on the ultrasound, but turned his head to look at her in adoration. "I love you," he murmured sweetly. "You're amazing." He bent down to kiss her lips, and Pepper kissed him back.
"We're amazing," she corrected. She turned her gaze back to the screen. "Just look at what we made," she murmured lovingly.
Tony nodded in agreement and then looked back at the screen. "Best creation ever," he murmured, gazing in awe at his child.