Here's the next installment in Keep Breathing. Enjoy!
House groaned as he rolled to his left, his arm reaching out and finding Lisa's side of the bed empty. Deprived of her warm curves pressed against his side, sleep had quickly abandoned him, so he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed before standing. His eyes still heavy with sleep, he staggered through the dimly lit bedroom to the connecting master bathroom.
Upon reaching the doorway, he heard a sound that he knew well, and felt his heart jump into his throat. Lightly tapping the open door, surely left that way in her haste to make it in time, he saw her. Her lean body was curled around the toilet, her skin of a sallow, yellowish green complexion.
"You're pregnant." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact.
Cuddy just sighed, not arguing because she knew he was right. Even as her stomach roiled with morning sickness, her heart was doing some flip flopping of its own. She had tried so hard to get pregnant, and now it seemed her dream had come true. She lifted her head from its position over the toilet bowl, wanting to see his eyes, to gauge his reaction, and felt her heart drop when she saw his back turned to her as he left the room.
She had thought for sure he would react differently; she had been so sure that this man, the Greg she now knew, would at least talk to her about it. She heaved a sigh, curling tighter around the toilet. Suddenly she heard footfalls coming back down the hallway.
Greg appeared in the doorway, carrying a washcloth in one hand, and a glass of ginger ale in the other.
He placed the glass on the counter top and then proceeded to sit down behind her. Directly behind her, his chest pressing into her back as his arms wrapped around her, his left palm resting over her belly, the spot were even now, a new life was beginning to grow inside her.
"Lise, you're pregnant." His whisper filled with a near childlike wonder. He handed her the warm wet washcloth and she wiped first her forehead, and then her mouth. Reaching for the ginger ale, she took a swig, rinsing the taste of bile from her mouth before taking another sip. They sat on the floor of their bathroom in the early morning, and he held her while they waited for the nausea to subside.
House and Cuddy entered the hospital together, the fingers of his right hand twined with those of her left. Cuddy's free hand traced over her stomach, the beginnings of her pregnancy belly already evident beneath her fingers. Making their way to the exam room, a nurse assured them the doctor would be in shortly and ducked out of the room, breathing a sigh of relief when House said nothing, just sat by Cuddy's side, still holding her hand. Even Lisa herself was surprised by her fiancés behavior. She had not expected him to be so calm about the whole thing.
She hadn't expected him to be so attentive. He had been amazing for her this week, offering foot rubs and massages, waiting with crackers and a washcloth when her morning sickness subsided. It had taken her a day or two for her to get over her surprise enough to not stare at her like he'd suddenly grown a third eye when he would do something for her. Soon enough though, the lack of energy and near constant nausea had worn her down enough that she accepted his actions with gratitude.
Looking at him now, his thumb rubbing soft soothing circles on the back of her hand as he simply stared at her, his blue eyes twinkling. He leaned forward to press his lips to her temple just as the doctor entered the room.
"Lisa, Greg, I'm Dr. Moriarty but you can call me Tina. Looks like we're going to be seeing each other a lot these next few months eh?" Tina was a small woman, a few inches shorter than Cuddy even, but she seemed to be bursting at the seams with excitement. A bright smile seemed locked in place on a face that didn't appear to be able to carry a frown as she shook Cuddy's hand enthusiastically.
Lisa squeezed Greg's hand, trying to convey a warning for him to be nice, sure that the woman was a bit too bubbly for his taste. When she looked over at him however, he seemed to be…smiling back. She clenched her jaw to keep it from dropping to the exam room floor as he stuck out his free hand to shake.
After shrugging off Cuddy's fervent thanks for being able to schedule her on such short notice, Tina instructed Cuddy to pull her top up and unbutton her trousers as she set up the ultrasound machine. Lisa winced as the cold gel hit her belly, and then kept her eyes on Houses face as he watched the screen.
"You won't be able to see much yet, but I should be able to point you in the general direction…" Tina trailed off as she squinted at the screen. Her brows rose in surprise and Houses hand squeezed hers as he spotted the findings. Cuddy felt her heart tighten in her chest as she looked back and forth between Greg and Tina's faces.
"How bout we check the heartbeat?" She set up the machine quickly, stealing a glance at Cuddy as she positioned the probe and turned it on. Instantly the thump of a heartbeat filled the room. It was fast as expected, but there was something weird about it, it seemed to echo strangely. Her eyes shot to Houses face with worry that turned quickly to confusion as she saw the broad smile he wore.
"Well that proves it. Lisa, Greg, seems you two are soon to be the proud parents of not just one baby but two. You appear to be about 6 weeks pregnant with twins. Congratulations."
Okay so I know nothing about pregnancy, when things are supposed to happen or what, so I'm just gonna wing it from general knowledge, so sorry if I get things wrong. And yes I looked it up, it is possible (and even more likely in fact) for women over age 35 to have twin pregnancy. Something to do with their hormones adjusting or something of the like, so I'm not coming completely out of left field with this. Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading, the next bit should be up within the next few days. I'm gonna be busy… Graduating from high school tonight. Congratulations in order? Or you could just leave a review. Thanks for reading!