The next day, Nigel was late for work because he had a doctor's appointment to check the baby. While he was filling out paperwork in the waiting room, he looked around the room at all the women, some barely pregnant, like him, and others extremely far in. A very pregnant woman sat down next to him, and sighed deeply. She looked over at him, and he smiled at her. The woman put her hand on her belly, and Nigel couldn't help but stare, wide-eyed. "Your wife's in the bathroom or something?" "Oh, no. I'm here for me. I'm pregnant." "What, is this some kind of joke?" "No, no joke. Have you heard of the research that scientists did in England in the early 70s? The one where they injected baby boys with a serum to see if they would obtain female characteristics?" "Yeah. I remember reading about it online." "Well, I was one of the babies that they tested on. I don't know how, but I'm pregnant." "Wow. My cousin's friend was one of them also. But it didn't work on him. That's great. How far along are you?" "I just found out the other day. What about you? You look like you're uncomfortable." "Oh, I am. But that's what happens when you're eight and a half months pregnant." "I can imagine. I'm Nigel Townsend." "Rachel. Rachel Parker." "Nice to meet you, Rachel." "Likewise. Say, why do you look familiar?" "I work in the Boston ME office. I do autopsies and computer work." "I knew I recognized you from somewhere! You did the autopsy on my father a year ago. John Parker. Myocardial infarction." "Oh, yeah! I remember that. You came in and ID'd the body. He was in a car accident also, right?" "Yeah. He had the heart attack while driving to work on the freeway." "Yeah." "Nigel Townsend?" He looked up, and the nurse was calling him in. "Well, it was nice to have seen you, Rachel. Good luck with everything." "You too, Nigel."
When the doctor came in, he had been gently rubbing his stomach. "Nigel? Hi, I'm Dr. Thompson. So, it would seem as though you're pregnant. Why don't you lie back and I'll check you out." He eased himself onto his back, and she gently lifted up his shirt. When she started to gently feel around, he inhaled sharply. "What is it?" "Your hands are cold." "Oh, sorry. I tend to have cold hands. It runs in my family." "Really? Well, a warm heart runs in mine." She looked at him, and smiled. He smiled back, and they chuckled.
After staring into his eyes for a few seconds, she went back to the examination. "So, from what I can tell, you're about 11 weeks pregnant. We'll be able to hear your baby's heartbeat at the next appointment. And we'll schedule an ultrasound for around that time. Then you'll see and hear your baby on the same day." "Yeah. That'll be amazing. I just wish I could see it today." "I know. But not yet. The earliest you can see it is 13 weeks. It'll go by so fast." "I guess." He made another appointment for a month later, and headed to the morgue. When he stepped out of the elevator, he went to the bathroom. Instead of vomiting, he started to cry. "How am I going to be a dad?"