A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this!
Ch. 43
It took five days for Jack to get back to the US. When they finally did dock the boat, Angelica instantly rushed him off and insisted that he go see Dr. Schnabel before the day was out.
So, the two of them walked through the shelter's front door a bit later. Jack was feeling a bit woozy, having not eaten much that day. Angelica was trying to keep him upright as they walked. Ashley caught sight of them as they entered the common room.
"Jack! Angelica! It's nice to see you guys again!" She then noticed how Jack was leaning heavily on Angelica. "Um, are you okay, Jack?"
"Dizzy," He replied.
Ashley wrapped an arm around Jack's waist, and together she and Angelica led him to an exam room.
"Do you have any candy, or something else with lots of sugar? That'll make him less dizzy," Angelica asked once Jack was safely sitting down.
"We have some ice cream in the kitchen. I'll get you a bowl of it," Ashley said.
Jack nodded weakly. "Thanks."
Once Ashley had left, Angelica hopped up on the table and wrapped an arm around Jack, pulling him close to her. She kissed him on the forehead. "You'll be okay."
"I know. I just feel so tired," Jack replied, yawning. "And woozy."
"Ashley will be back soon, then you'll feel better."
"Okay."
Ashley did return a moment later, a small bowl of chocolate ice cream in hand. "Here you go. You'd better tell Dr. Schnabel about this, if it's happening a lot," She said, handing the treat to Jack.
Jack dove into the ice cream. "I will," He said in between bites.
"I was telling Jack that I think he has hypoglycemia and—"
Angelica was cut off by Jack moaning loudly.
"What's wrong?!" Angelica and Ashley asked at once, very concerned.
Jack put the ice cream down and held his head in his hands. "It hurts…"
"What does? Your head?" Ashley asked, going into nurse-mode.
"Yeah…I think it's…" Jack trailed off.
"What do you think it is? Where does it hurt?"
"I think it's brain freeze," Jack continued.
Both Angelica and Ashley sighed, and Angelica slapped Jack gently on the arm.
"Oi," Jack said, rubbing his arm. "What was that for?"
"A bit dramatic, are we?" Angelica asked, glaring at him. "I thought you were having an aneurysm!"
"It hurt like hell!" Jack replied, bracing himself for another smack. Angelica didn't hit him, though.
"You're a trip, Jack," Ashley said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to go now. Dr. Schnabel will be in shortly."
"Okay." Jack picked up the ice cream again, and again began shoveling it into his mouth.
Angelica just sighed. Leave it to Jack to give himself a brain freeze twice in five minutes.
00
Dr. Schnabel came in and greeted Jack and Angelica very kindly. He was happy to see his former patients again. After some small talk about Angela and the new residents at the shelter, the doctor began his exam.
"You know how it goes, Jack. And can you put the ice cream down before we start, please?"
Jack sighed and put the bowl of ice cream down next to him. He then held out his arm so the doctor could take his blood pressure.
"Your blood pressure is normal," The doctor reported, marking it down in Jack's file. He then measured Jack's pulse, which was also normal. All that was left was to take Jack's weight and then do an ultrasound.
Dr. Schnabel pointed to the scale, and he and Jack walked over. Jack stood on it and frowned when the numbers stopped moving.
"That can't be right."
"We calibrate our instruments monthly… do you know for sure how far along you are?" The doctor asked.
Jack shrugged and stepped down. "A month or two?"
"That'll make a difference in your weight. We can do an ultrasound and find out for sure."
"Alright," Jack agreed. He got back up on the exam table and laid down. Angelica held his hand as the doctor prepped him. He flinched as the doctor applied the ice-cold gel to his stomach. "It's cold! You can't get anything warmer than that?"
"Sorry," Schnabel said. "It's just how we do the procedure. The temperature of the gel keeps the wand from overheating. If you're ready now, we'll start."
Jack nodded in agreement.
The doctor moved the ultrasound wand around a bit before settling in one spot. He stared at the monitor for a moment before turning it to face Jack and Angelica.
"Well, the reason you're heavier than you were last time is because you're eight weeks pregnant with twins," Dr. Schnabel explained.
"Twins…" Jack repeated. "Two of them."
"Yes, two babies."
"So that's two more kids running around."
"Yes, it's definitely two babies."
Jack looked like he was about to faint.
"Are you okay?" Angelica asked, nervously.
"Y… yes. I think so."
The doctor allowed the couple a few moments to look at the image, before promising to print them out a copy.
"Is there anything else you'd like to discuss while we're here?" The doctor asked, as he cleaned the gel off Jack's stomach.
"No-" Jack started, but Angelica cut him off.
"Jack keeps getting dizzy if he doesn't eat."
"That's pretty normal. Most people get dizzy if they don't eat," The doctor said.
"It happens every two or three hours, though," Angelica added.
"That's not normal. Explain exactly what happens."
"Well," Angelica said, looking at Jack. "He gets dizzy and then faints if he doesn't eat. If he eats sugar, like candy or ice cream, he's fine for awhile."
"What if he eats regular food?"
"If he does that before he gets dizzy, he stays fine for a while."
"Hm," Schnabel began looking through one of the drawers in the room. He pulled out a blood sugar monitor, and Jack noticed that it was similar to the one Will used. "Usually diabetics use this, but it'll give me an accurate reading of your blood sugar. I need to prick your finger to get a reading."
Jack allowed the doctor to take his hand, not even flinching when the needle hit him.
"It's normal for now. But I'm going to give you this monitor. If it goes below 70mg/DL, then you have to eat soon. Record the numbers, maybe we can see exactly what's going on and when, and bring the list back to me in two weeks."
"Okay," Jack agreed.
"And make sure you're careful. If you get dizzy and fall, you could hurt the babies," Schnabel warned.
"Yeah… about that, I have a question," Jack said, looking a bit nervous.
"Yes?"
"If I happened to drink some rum, say, a month or so into the pregnancy, would it mess up the children?"
"Well.. it could, yes," Schnabel replied. "Why? Did you do that?"
Jack paled. "Maybe."
"The babies looked healthy on the ultrasound, so I think they're okay. But DO NOT do that again!"
"Okay, okay. I promise I won't," Jack said. "I'm sorry."
Dr. Schnabel looked annoyed, but didn't voice it. "I'll see you in two weeks, Jack," was all he said.
Jack nodded, and watched as the doctor left the room. Once he'd closed the door, Jack turned to Angelica.
"Do you think I pissed him off?" He asked. "Because I think I did."