Hey guys, here is Chapter 16. I also might do another double feature today if I get chapter 17 ready to post in time.
Chapter 16
After Lucy got off the phone with Yukino, she knew she had to check in with Natsu. Her footsteps were soft as she slowly headed upstairs, feeling the weight of the week on her shoulders. She smiled fondly when she heard voices coming from the bedroom; she knew Natsu could never be silent for too long. She opened the door softly to find Natsu—freshly changed into sleep shorts—sprawled on their bed, talking to someone over the lacrima.
"Yeah, that sounds good," she heard Natsu say, as he looked up at her with a grin, "I'll ask Lucy and let you know. Alright, see you!"
"Ask me what?" Lucy asked curiously, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Oh hey, Luce," Natsu greeted, as he placed his lacrima on the nightstand. "That was Erza. She was inviting us on a mission. It's delivering diamonds to the mountains near Hargeon."
"That sounds fine," she replied with a shrug, "we can let Romeo and Wendy babysit."
"That's what I thought," he said with a sleepy yawn. As Lucy went through her nightly routine for bed, Natsu slipped under the sheets. Soon, they were both in bed and fast asleep.
The next morning was Wendy's first appointment at the OBGYN. Lucy decided to let her sleep in a little and woke her up at 9 am.
"Wendy, wake up. I made you breakfast," Lucy said, while knocking on Wendy's door.
Wendy grumbled and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She didn't want to get up, but she also didn't want to disappoint Lucy. She swung her feet over the end of her bed and started to get ready for the day.
Once she was dressed, Wendy headed downstairs to find a piece of toast with strawberries on top on the kitchen counter. She grabbed it and sat down on the couch next to Lucy to eat.
"Where's Natsu?" Wendy asked while nibbling on her slice.
"He took Nashi to the guild."
"Oh, okay," Wendy said. They sat in a comfortable silence while they watched a show on the lacrima screen.
Unfortunately, the toast did not sit well with Wendy, so she ate the strawberries and left out the toast. When she was done, she finished getting ready and, together, they headed off.
Wendy followed Lucy as they walked to the doctor's office in silence. Wendy liked the quiet. It gave her time to think, which she had been doing a lot recently.
Wendy didn't know what she wanted to do. Could they raise this baby, or would it be better off with another family? She didn't know the answer.
They had walked for about 20 minutes when Lucy stopped and said, "We're here." Wendy startled out of her meditation. She felt even more nervous now that they had gotten there; what if people openly judged her for the position she's in? Will she be able to deal with the consequences? She felt her heart racing alongside her intrusive thoughts.
Once they walked into the clinic, Lucy pointed towards a cluster of chairs, saying, "Go sit down. I will check in for you."
Wendy nodded and walked over to sit on a chair. The anxiety she felt made her hyper-aware of the hard plastic of the chair, where it dug into her elbows. While Wendy panicked internally, Lucy walked up to the receptionist's desk.
"Hi, can I help you?" the receptionist asked.
"Yes, I'm here to check in for Wendy Marvel. She should have an appointment scheduled."
"Alright," said the receptionist. She handed Lucy a clipboard full of papers, "Fill these forms out, and you will be called back shortly."
"Thank you," Lucy said.
She returned to Wendy and asked quietly, "Did you want to help me fill these out?"
Wendy nodded although the paperwork was simple for the most part. It asked for Wendy's name, address and medical history. After 15 minutes of waiting, a nurse holding a folder entered the waiting room, "Wendy Marvel?"
They both got up and followed her back to an exam room. Wendy started to lie down on the bed when the nurse said, "No, honey, that's for the patient."
Wendy exchanged a confused glance with Lucy, before looking back at the nurse, saying, "But… I am the patient."
Looking embarrassed, the woman read Wendy's file briefly before apologising, "I'm sorry, we don't normally see patients your age." She handed Wendy a small plastic cup with a lid. "Please fill this and leave it in the bathroom. It's the second door to your left."
Once the nurse left the room, Wendy turned to Lucy and asked, "What is this for?"
"They just want to get a sample of your urine to double-check you are pregnant." Wendy nodded and headed to the restroom. Once she was done, she returned and laid back on the bed, trying not to spiral into her thoughts.
Shortly after, a tall, purple-haired woman entered the room, "Lucy, it's nice to see you again."
"You as well, Dr. Helm," Lucy said.
The woman turned to look at Wendy with a comforting smile, "You must be Wendy. Hi, I'm Dr. Helm. It's nice to meet you!"
"Hi," Wendy said, "it's nice to meet you too."
"So we tested your urine and it was positive, so I am going to go ahead and do an ultrasound to see how far along you are. Can I lift up your shirt?"
Wendy nodded before the doctor lifted her shirt and said, "This will be cold." She squeezed a dollop of gel onto Wendy's stomach and began moving the ultrasound wand around her stomach.
Wendy was watching the screen with interest when a rhythmic sound filled the room.
Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum…
"Is that the…?" Wendy started, feeling her own heart skip a beat.
"Yes, that's the heartbeat and that, on the screen, is your baby," said the doctor, pointing towards a blob of grey. Wendy looked at the screen and saw her child for the very first time.
Wendy began to tear up and her hand slowly found its way to her stomach. This was it, the reality of it all. Her conflicting emotions must have shown on her face, as the next sensation she felt was Lucy softly pulling at her shaking hand.
The doctor turned the machine off and faced Wendy. "So Wendy, I believe you are about 8 weeks along. I also see from your paperwork that you're not on any vitamins, so I am prescribing a prenatal vitamin. I would also recommend…"
Wendy nodded, but began to tune out the longer the doctor talked about the things she should know about being pregnant. Wendy was having a hard time accepting that she was pregnant, much less that she would have to grow and birth a whole human from her body. It was really setting in that Wendy was gonna be a mother.
"Wendy?" Lucy said. Wendy looked up, surprised to see that the doctor had left at some point. "It's time to go."
As they exited the exam room, Lucy approached the reception desk to schedule a follow-up appointment. Wendy was about to walk outside when a voice said, "Wendy, Lucy, what are you guys doing here?"
Wendy looked over to see Gray and Juvia in the waiting room. Wendy felt as though she was drenched in ice-cold water at the idea of being outed.
Lucy turned around in surprise, "Gray! Juvia! I didn't know Dr. Helm was your OBGYN…?"
Wendy looked to Lucy for help; she didn't know what to do. She wasn't ready for the guild to know. Lucy was about to come up with an excuse when the receptionist said, "Alright, I have scheduled Wendy's appointment for her 12-week check-up."
"Twelve-week check-up?" said Gray in a confused tone, while simultaneously Juvia gasped out, "Wendy?"
Wendy cringed back at Gray's tone, but she knew that there was no way to hide anymore. Lucy quickly turned to the receptionist and said, "Alright, thank you."
She turned back to her friends. She started to speak when Wendy said, "Please don't say anything to anyone, but I'm here because I'm pregnant. We are trying to keep it on a need-to-know basis until Romeo and I can decide exactly what we wanna do."
Gray and Juvia's jaws dropped in shock, but Lucy looked oddly proud of Wendy for owning up to the situation and for being mature enough to communicate her feelings clearly.
"Wendy doesn't need a lecture," Lucy interjected firmly, "she's gotten quite enough of that from Natsu, so if you guys have anything negative to say, keep it to yourselves."
Juvia spoke first, "Juvia and Gray-sama won't say anything."
Lucy nodded thankfully when a nurse called, "Juvia Fullbuster?"
"Well, we need to go, but I'm assuming we will see you at the guild later," Gray said.
Lucy nodded, and they quickly left the doctor's office.