Let's Take a Look
Skye was biting her nails – a surefire sign, Grant had learned, that she was anxious. Really, "I'm about to burst" kind of anxious. So he took her hand, gently pulled it away from her mouth, brought it to his lips, and pressed a kiss against the back of her hand, trying to calm her down.
"Don't worry," he told her, squeezing her hand as he lay it on his thigh. "I'm sure everything is alright."
She turned towards him, her eyes wide; he could have sworn she was ready to burst into tears.
"Then why do I feel like something's up?"
He didn't answer her, at least not with words – he simply let out a sigh and squeezed her hand again.
They were sitting in the waiting room of that OB/GYN May recommended, waiting for their first prenatal appointment. He still found it a little unbelievable – they were having a baby. There were no outward signs yet, no bump or anything, and maybe that's why he was having a hard time grasping the idea of it, even with the positive pregnancy test tucked away in the desk drawer at home, with Jemma's confirmation, and the bouts of morning sickness occasionally attacking Skye in the last week or so. There was absolutely no doubt about it: there was a baby growing is Skye's belly, about seven weeks along, if they counted right.
"Skye Ward?" a perky little nurse with a clipboard in her hands stepped over to them. When Skye nodded at her, confirming that she was looking for her, she continued, "The doctor's waiting for you. Please, follow me."
Not letting go of his hand, Skye stood up, pulling him with her, and Grant was just about to stand up as well and follow her when the nurse turned back and stopped him.
"Maybe you should stay here, sir, for a while longer. I'll come for you when it's time for the ultrasound," she promised.
Grant looked at Skye, wanting to know her opinion – because, let's be honest, he couldn't have cared less for the nurse; if Skye wanted him to go with her, he'd go whether the nurse wanted it or not. But Skye only smiled softly and gave him a little nod.
"I'm a big girl, really," she said, subconsciously putting her hand on her lower stomach.
"Alright," he agreed, then bent down a little and kissed her forehead. "I'll be waiting outside."
He watched her as the nurse led her away, down the hallway into the examination room. With a heavy sigh, he sat back down, resting his elbows on his knees and linking his fingers together.
Well, at least it was a nice place, he thought, looking around. Fancy without being presumptuous, and kind of warm, inviting – he could imagine the doctor running this practice living up to May's expectations. Even the magazines on the coffee table seemed to be fresh issues, not old copies that had been forgotten there years ago. He picked one up and opened it, intending to read it – of course, it was full of pregnancy and baby care-related articles, stuff he knew he should familiarize himself with, and he even started reading one of them, but he just didn't have the patience for it right then. So he put the magazine down, leaned back in his seat, let out a heavy breath, and spent the remainder part of the wait with frequently glancing at the clock on the wall.
It was a good twenty minutes later when the nurse returned, beckoning him to follow her. He didn't need to be told twice.
Inside the examination room, Skye was sitting on the table, wearing a light pink hospital gown, her legs covered with a sheet, and looking a bit more relaxed than she had been back in the waiting room. Her doctor, a polished woman in her mid-fifties with dark, chin-length hair, was sitting facing her, but stood as soon as Grant walked into the room. She shook his hand, introduced herself, then told him to pull up a chair and take a seat by the examination table.
"To ease some of the anxieties," she started, stealing a playfully pointed glance at Skye, "we are still waiting for the results of the blood test, but so far everything looks just great. Now," she clapped her hands together, "let's move to the ultrasound! Skye, if you'd lean back, please."
Skye did as she was asked, laying down and putting her legs in the stirrups.
"We are going to do a transvaginal ultrasound today," the doctor explained as she set up the machine. "There won't be anything too exciting to see yet, but if everything goes the way we want it – and why should it go any other way? –, I can promise you some heartbeat. Are you ready?"
Almost instinctively reaching for the other's hand, Skye and Grant looked at each other and nodded.
"Yeah, let's do it," Skye confirmed.
The doctor flashed them a smile, then started the exam – which, Grant had to admit, looked a bit scary, but Skye didn't even flinch. The monitor facing her, the doctor readjusted something on the machine, and the next moment some quick, whooping noise filled the room. He might have actually teared up a little.
"Just like a promised: a heartbe…" The doctor stopped mid-sentence, her eyebrows pulling together. "Huh… Look at that." She leaned a bit closer to the monitor, adjusting some things again.
Skye's grip tightened on his hand.
"Something's wrong?" Skye asked, her voice wavering.
"No, not at all," the doctor answered leaning back, a small smile playing on her lips. "But you should see this." And with that she turned the monitor towards them.
Grant had a very good idea of what he was seeing on the still picture, and he even opened his mouth to breathe it out, but then decided to remain silent, not to jinx it. But based upon Skye's wide-eyed expression, she'd come to the same conclusion.
The doctor picked up a pen, and with it, she pointed at a gray mass on the black background. "That's a baby," she said, then moving the pen, she pointed at another mass. "And that's another. Twins," she clarified with an earnest smile. "And both seem to be thriving, so I think congratulations are in order."
That's how long Grant managed to keep it together.
Somehow laughing and crying at the same time, he stood, and, not even caring about their audience, he kissed Skye passionately.
"Twins…" he whispered once they parted, foreheads still touching, brushing her hair away from her forehead. "Wow."
"Yeah, wow," she chuckled, but then seemed to sober up a little. "But see? I told you something was up."
A/N: I actually found the blog where the prompt picture was from – they ended up being identical girls :)