Disclaimer: Still do not own any characters.
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Chapter 11
They were waiting for the doctor to call Lisbeth's name, this would be the first prenatal care visit they had. Mikael wanted to be there to show support also to make sure Lisbeth did not freak out. It had been two weeks since she came back.
He talked to Annika the day after Lisbeth's breakdown. He confirmed that yes she was ok and that she was in fact pregnant. His sister inquired about prenatal care and he realized that Lisbeth needed to see a doctor. Annika recommended the clinic and the doctor herself.
Mikael had not been involved during his wife's pregnancy but here he was 20 or so years later waiting for a nurse to call Sally's name.
Lisbeth was nervous, she had never trusted doctors but Kalle had convinced her that she needed to go through medical check ups to make sure everything was all right with the pregnancy.
"Salander, Lisbeth." They stood up and went into the doctor's office. The doctor introduced himself.
"Hello my name is Alrik Holm. I will be overseeing your prenatal care." The couple was a strange one. The woman seemed to be in her late teens and the man was at least in his forties, that was not uncommon. It was something else; it was the way they stood together. It was as if he was protecting her, she however looked uninterested by her surroundings.
"I am Mikael Blomkvist and this is Lisbeth Salander."
"I received your blood results Lisbeth, may I call you Lisbeth?" He waited for a response but this woman was completely uninterested.
Mikael sighed; he called attention to himself. "Is she pregnant?"
"Yes she is." After an uncomfortable silence Lisbeth decided to cooperate and answer some of the questions the doctor raised.
"I have not had any spotting. I have nausea every morning and late in the evenings. I am always tired and have mood swings." Lisbeth replied.
The doctor then prepared to examine her cervix and do an ultrasound. It was a little uncomfortable for Mikael and surprisingly the doctor. The girl did not avert her eyes as many other women do and she looked at him as if warning him.
They were able to do the ultrasound without any major complications. They were able to listen to the baby's heartbeat. Lisbeth thought it was very accelerated and asked if that was normal. The doctor assured her that nothing was wrong. Mikael was happy, things were normal, no complications.
Dr. Holm advised Lisbeth to eat more healthily and keep away from people who smoked. She told him that she was a smoker and he told her without any reservations that she had to quit at least for the next 6 to 7 months.
They left the clinic and bought the prenatal vitamins. She was supposed to take 2 different pills every day.
They went back home, Mikael spent the afternoon while Lisbeth slept. At 7:00PM he tried to wake her up but it was a lost cause, she was not budging but neither was he, she had to eat something.
"Love wake up," he shook her, but nothing so he did something that always managed to wake her. Lisbeth had confirmed that nobody but him had managed to discover that spot. His Sally's Achilles heel was the back of her knees, tickle her there and she would burst out laughing.
It was funny; he discovered the spot while they were having sex. They were between the sheets when he had raised her leg and casually touched the back of her knee. She just laughed aloud, a sound so beautiful rare even, and it was a real laugh, not the giggles or the chuckles she was prone to. He stopped midthrust and she had explained and eventually he started laughing. They ended up hugging and just laughing at each other.
He tickled her and she let out a small laugh, she rubbed her eyes at looked at him. It was crystal clear that she was annoyed.
"You have to eat," he said as a matter of explanation. She shrugged and motioned him to give her the food. She managed to eat 2 pickle sandwiches.
Mikael was exhausted; he managed to complete all the work he had accumulated for Millennium so he was out when he hit the pillow. Lisbeth was also sleeping; she felt lethargic and did not leave bed, not even to eat dinner.
At 3:30 AM Mikael woke up. Lisbeth was on top of him and was touching herself. He saw how she was touching herself. He replaced her finger and started moving his fingers the way she liked it. She moaned and realized he was awake. He lifted his hips a little and got rid of his boxers; she touched him and then rubbed herself on his erection. Sally felt so good on top of him, he teased her nipples for a while and then he sank into her. She set the pace, she loved him feverishly, she was seeking her pleasure and at the same time providing his.
She moaned his name repeatedly, while he was rolling her nipples she let out a particularly loud groan. She then collapsed on top of him, he kept moving but she was asleep already. There was something perverse about having sex with her when she was sleepy but he managed to flip her and drive into her again. She moaned quietly but did not respond as she usually did. He came inside of her and stayed on top of her until the next morning when he left for Millennium.
"Good morning," said his Sally, she was touching his face, moving his hair back to kiss him in the forehead; she miscalculated and kissed him in his left eye. She let out a small giggle and he kissed her. Mikael kissed her neck and shoulders; they got up and showered together.
Lisbeth wanted to visit Palgren, she wanted him to know about the pregnancy. She also wanted to buy clothes; she was extremely uncomfortable with her current outfits. It was a different experience for her; she had not needed to buy a new clothing size since she was thirteen years old.
She was nervous, Palgren had been a pseudo father figure in her life. It was awkward in some way, this man fought for her and she thought he deserved the courtesy of knowing about her pregnancy. She remembered when she gave him Mikael's number, Palgren wanted to know if he was being "good" to her. She assured him that she could handle Mikael Blomkvist on her own. She knew he considered her a capable and strong person but sometimes he thought of her as the thirteen-year-old girl he met years ago.
She went in and talked to him about his days and the therapy.
"Lisbeth, I am fully recovered. I will be moving to my old apartment next week." That shocked her, especially because his speech could do with more therapy.
"I will be hiring an assistant to help me with my exercises and with the housekeeping, also a speech pathologist will meet with me twice a month."
He looked at her and told her, " you know Lisbeth, I don't know how you got the money for all of the expenses or how you are managing to put money in my account every month. All I want to know is if you are in danger."
"Now, Palgren listen carefully the money is legal and you don't have to worry about a thing. If you are still uncertain just ask Mikael, he will assure you that everything is in order."
Palgren breathed easier, he did not really know this Blomkvist but he knew that he would never harm Lisbeth in any way. She was safe, it was sad for him; Lisbeth no longer needed his protection. She could take care of herself and now she had the journalist.
"So why is it that you are here Lisbeth, not that I dislike your visits but usually you come at the end of the month." She looked uncomfortable; she was hiding something from him.
"What happened?" he asked her, she kept quiet and then said, "I'm pregnant."
He was floored, that was the last thing he expected. He never saw Lisbeth having a child of her own.
Palgren assumed she was having the baby; otherwise she would not have bothered to tell him about it. So he asked the most rational question.
"Does Blomkvist know?"
Lisbeth said yes, that they were going to be together. She did not explain her detour to Gibraltar; she assured him that she was ok and that she just wanted him to know.
After Lisbeth left Palgren felt confused, she had known her since she was an adolescent and this was atypical for her. Maybe she was changing her worldviews, four years ago she would have left and nobody would have known where to find her. Now she was having the child and also establishing a family. It was interesting to see her progress.
At first when she told him about her relationship with the journalist he was very skeptic. He felt that Blomkvist could do her a lot of harm, that perhaps they were too different in personality and that inevitably Lisbeth would end up hurting in some way. It appears he was mistaken; this Mikael Blomkvist was helping Lisbeth Salander overcome her emotional barriers, aiding her in the path to becoming a more adjusted person. At least that was his humble opinion.