A few minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom to find Bug and Lily standing at the desk, waiting for him. "So, how did the appointment go? Any pictures yet?" "No. Not for three weeks. But she said that the baby's doing fine. Developing right on schedule. And everything seems perfect with me. Heart rate's right where it should be, weight is a little under the ideal, but the doctor said that with the baby growing and putting on weight, I will also. And my blood pressure's normal, maybe even low. And the baby's the perfect size for where it is in development. It's right about at my pelvis now. My next appointment's in three weeks, and that's when I'll hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. And see my baby on the sonogram for the first time also. It'll be amazing. I can't wait."
They saw the look of sheer thrill on his face, and they became excited. "Yeah. It'll be cool. So, did your doctor give you any guidelines about the care of yourself and the baby?" "Yeah. I can't have any more coffee or anything with caffeine. Which sucks because I love coffee. But I'll do anything for the baby." "Wow. He has the daddy mentality already! And he just found out a few days ago." "Well, it didn't take long for me to adjust to the idea of having a baby. And the doctor said that the stuff I was injected with did give me a uterus. And my body developed a placenta, so the baby will get everything it needs." "That's amazing. I'll bet you're excited." "Oh, you have no idea. I love this baby so much already." "Aww. Nigel, watch out for the door!" They had been discussing the appointment as they walked to Nigel's desk, and a door suddenly swung open. It narrowly missed smacking Nigel on the head, and Bug and Lily breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew. That was close." "Yeah, that was. Nige? You feeling okay?" Bug ran forward and caught Nigel as his legs started to give out from under him. Lily took Nigel's legs, and they moved him into a chair. Lily ran to get some water, and Bug started to fan Nigel with a small handheld fan he always kept in his desk drawer. Lily came back with a small cup of water from the lounge, and put it on the small table next to the chair. "How's he doing?" "Breathing's normal. But he hasn't shown signs of coming to yet." Bug adjusted his arm in his lab coat so his watch was in plain view, and he put two fingers on the inside of Nigel's wrist. He counted for thirty seconds, and multiplied it by two in his head. He also took note of each beat and how it felt under his fingers. "Well?" "Pulse is weak, but gradually getting stronger. And his heart rate's slow. Come on, let's get him into autopsy where we can lay him down. On three. One, two, three." They hoisted him up, Bug on one side, Lily on the other, and they each draped one of Nigel's arms around their shoulders. "I've got a better idea. Let's lay him on the couch in the lounge." "Brilliant, Lily. That way, when he wakes up, he won't be surrounded by corpses. We don't want a The Sixth Sense repeat. It was weird enough the first time I heard it." "Oh, you mean where the kid says that he sees dead people?" "Exactly. And the couch will be more comfortable than a cold, hard autopsy table." "True."
They slowly got him to the lounge, and they carefully stretched him out on the couch. Lily got the emergency medical supply bag out of the cabinet, and brought it over to Bug. He rifled through it, found the stethoscope, and straightened it out. He warmed the diaphragm in his hands for a few seconds, and he slipped his hand under Nigel's shirt. He felt with his fingers for a few seconds to see where Nigel's heartbeat was, and once he found it, he put the diaphragm over where his finger had been. He listened for a minute, and he readjusted the stethoscope so it was a little further to the center of Nigel's chest. "Hey, Lily, come listen to this." "What is it, Bug?" She put the earpieces in her ears, and she heard Nigel's slow heartbeat. But she also heard something else, a sloshing with every beat. "A murmur?" "Yeah. Either that, or he has really noisy blood."