I want to thank each of you for the kind reviews. I get so excited when a new review shows up and then I go back and read them all with a big smile on my face. I wasn't sure how many would be interested, but I liked the idea, so I went ahead with it. I'm thrilled to find out that there are readers who like it as well. In response to several who have asked, the rest of the family will be informed of the situation at an upcoming Sunday dinner. It will probably be a few more chapters until we get there, but hopefully it will be worth the wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Pick Up on Aisle 10: Chapter 5
Frank Reagan had started his day early once again. His weekend had been busy. He'd spent the first half of his Saturday with Lucy Makenna, talking and getting to know one another. The afternoon had been spent at the christening of an old friend's grandson. In the evening, he had updated Pops on what he and Lucy had talked about.
Sunday had started with breakfast with Pops, a quick check of his email, and mass After mass, he had called Lucy, wanting to solidify the plan for the next day. Confirming that he would meet her at the hospital when she got off, their conversation moved on to the Christening the night before and the sermons they had each sat through that morning.
"Have you told anyone yet?" Frank asked. "About the pregnancy?"
"I haven't," she replied. "I planned to wait and see what Dr. Ramirez had to say tomorrow before I talk to my boss about it. I'm probably going to need to make adjustments to my work schedule."
"I imagine you will. I don't think you should be trying to work 14 hour shifts while you're pregnant. Especially since you're high risk."
"I don't generally work that long a shift. Normal is 10 to 12, but I probably won't be able to do that either."
"Do you think they'll work with you?"
"I think so. If my doctor puts a limit on my work hours, they pretty much have to follow that, I think."
"Good."
"What about you?" she asked. "Have you told anyone about our situation?"
"Just Pops," he answered, Looking at the older man. "I don't think he's said anything to anyone else."
He shook his head. "Not my place."
"I was thinking we shouldn't say anything more until we have a better idea of what the future holds," she commented.
"I agree."
Henry listened with a smile. In spite of the way this relationship had started, it seemed his son had a real interest in this woman. It had been a long time since he had invested much time in a member of the opposite sex.
There had been a couple of comments during the family dinner about how quiet Frank was being, but he simply smiled and made vague comments about 'personal stuff' and steered conversations back to other topics.
He smiled, watching and listening to the interactions of the younger generations of his family, wondering what the response would be to the news he hoped to soon be breaking to them.
Pondering, he realized that he was feeling a bit of excitement at the idea of a new baby.
Telling his offspring? Not so much.
There would be surprise, of course.
Anger, probably.
That he had betrayed Mary.
Hell, he kind of felt that he had betrayed her.
Which was odd. He had been with other women before. His family was aware of at least some of those relationships.
But creating a child with someone else.
That was different.
Looking around the table, he found his father watching him. Henry gave him a small smile and a nod, as though reading his concerns.
At least he knew someone in the family would be supporting them.
As usual, discussion at the table was lively as everyone shared wins and challenges from the completed week and plans for the week ahead. Eddie expressed her continued frustration at being on desk duty, though she did admit that she was glad that the morning sickness had passed and that she was at least able to go in to work.
She and Jamie both shared their worries that their house hunting had yielded little in the way of results. They had planned to be in a house before the baby arrived, but homes in their budget were either too small, in need of too much work, or in not so good areas.
Their families had offered to chip in, at least for a down payment, but they were insistent on doing it on their own. Besides, everyone had their own financial responsibilities.
They weren't quite yet resigned to bringing him home to their small apartment, but were starting to try to figure out how to make it work.
It was nice not to have the concerns about money and space that he and Mary had spent so much time worrying about. The same worries that Jack and Erin had dealt with as had Danny and Linda. No picking up extra shifts or looking for side jobs this time around.
A definite advantage to parenting later in life, he thought.
But it had all been worth it. The kids had turned out okay and he was proud of the loving, supportive relationships between the siblings, the cousins, and the aunts and uncles that surrounded this table.
He grinned, listening as the subject had turned to Danny's social life. Everyone was curious about the identity of the woman he had finally admitted to seeing. His oldest son took their teasing with a wry smile.
Frank had a good idea of the party involved, but kept his thoughts to himself. To do otherwise would be a bit hypocritical, seeing as how he had secrets of his own that he was unready to share with his family.
After everyone had left, he found himself restlessly pacing the house, his mind racing with the possibilities and the changes that might be coming.
He slept fitfully, finally deciding to head in early.
Abigail Baker was a bit surprised to find her boss already hard at work when she arrived. He even had the coffee going. When Garret and Sid arrived, they all sat down for the morning briefing.
When Frank informed them that he would be leaving early, they shared a look of concern. The canceled half day and a late arrival last week were nor normal and the addition of an early day today had them worrying.
"Is everything alright, Sir?" she finally asked.
He looked up. "Everything's fine, Abigail. Why do you ask?"
She looked to the other two men.
"Just wondering, Boss."
"You don't usually leave early without notice," Garret added.
"I'm giving you notice. Right now," he told them.
"More notice."
"Over the weekend, I was made aware of an appointment I need to be at,"
"Sounds serious."
After staring at them for a moment, Frank nodded. "I'll let you know if it's anything that will interfere with my ability to do my job. Would that be sufficient for you?"
A moment of silence followed.
"Of course."
"Yes, sir."
"Okay."
He started to continue, but was caught by the worried look on Abigail's face, remembering her mother's recent cancer diagnosis.
"It's nothing like that," he told her gently. "I'm fine."
She gulped, then nodded.
"Good," she whispered.
The rest of the day proceeded as normal, and he found himself arriving at St Victor's right on schedule. He found Lucy in discussion with another staff doctor, passing along details on a patient. When she finished, she headed towards the breakroom, motioning for him to follow.
"How's your day been?" he asked.
"Okay. Not too hectic," she told him. "Which is probably a good thing since I've been a little distracted today."
"Me, too," he admitted. "I didn't sleep much last night. Too many thoughts about what we might find out today."
She nodded, motioning for him to turn around while she changed from her scrubs into street clothes. When she was finished, he turned back, watching as she gathered her things together.
He followed her through quiet back hallways to the connected medical office building. They arrived at the elevator just as several others were exiting. Stepping aboard, she waited for Frank and Nuciforo to join her, then pressed the button for the tenth floor.
Looking down at her as the car rose, he noticed her fingers toying with the end of her braid. He reached over and took her hand. Startled, she looked up at him.
"You're nervous," he commented. "I've noticed you toy with things when you're nervous. Usually pulling at your hair."
She laughed. "I do. Ever since I was little. I had to have a quiet outlet for my nerves so I didn't bother my parents. Guess I never outgrew it."
He held on to her hand, sandwiching it between his. "Apparently, you're nervous around me a lot."
"Not you so much as the situations I find myself in with you," she corrected. "I actually feel very secure with you."
She looked over at Nuciforo, then leaned close. "He's not going to have to be in the exam room with us, is he?" she asked quietly.
Frank glanced over at the other man.
"Dr Makenna wants to know if you will need to be in the room with us."
He could have sworn the man blushed.
"No, ma'am. I'll be just fine in the waiting room. Or in the hall."
When the elevator doors slid open on the correct floor, they made their way down the hallway to the correct office. There were several women waiting, flipping through the magazines laying about or idly scrolling on phones. Several glanced up curiously at the sound of the door opening, but quickly returned to their pursuits.
The security head glanced around, spoke quietly to Frank, then left.
Lucy proceeded to the counter to check in. They were quickly taken to the back where a nurse greeted them.
"First, I'm going to need a sample," she told Lucy, holding up a plastic cup.
"Thank goodness," she replied, shoving her belongings at Frank as she grabbed the cup and headed into the bathroom.
"Just leave it on the table in there when you're done," the nurse yelled to her through the door.
When she came out several minutes later, she smiled slightly. "I'd been holding that for a while." Before she could take her things back, the nurse directed her onto the scale. They were puzzled to see the numbers climbing, then Lucy sensed a presence close behind her and turned to find Frank quickly stepping away, an innocent look on his face.
She gave him a mock glare, then turned back, finding a much more expected number showing. The nurse made a note.
"I see you had blood drawn earlier this morning, so I'm going to go ahead and get you set up in a room and give you some paperwork. We have your records already, but you need to verify some things and fill out a few more forms since you're seeing a different doctor in the practice."
She led them into a room and handed Lucy a tablet, then laid out a gown and a drape, telling her to get changed once she had finished and that the doctor would be with them soon.
Frank watched her as she read through the information on the device, a look of concentration on her face. Her skin was fair, but she had a healthy glow about her. He smiled as he once again noted the dusting of freckles on her cheeks. Long, dark lashes lowered as she blinked.
She finally finished the paperwork, signing her name at the bottom with a flourish before turning to look at him.
"I'll bet you got a lot of confessions staring at people like that."
"A few," he admitted, grinning. "Oh. I have something for you."
He reached in his pocket.
"I meant to give you this the other day, but I forgot."
She reached out to accept the blue plastic card.
"A courtesy card," she said.
"My courtesy card," he clarified. "In case you get stopped or have an issue with the police, you can give them that and ask them to give me a call."
"Your office, you mean."
"No," he corrected, pointing to the number on the back. "This one has my personal number."
"Oh."
"Now, it's not a 'get out of jail free' card or anything."
"So, still no drag racing through the streets of New York."
"No, no drag racing, please."
He grinned. "It just helps to assure that I'll be informed if someone in the department has cause to interact with you. It may also serve as a reminder to them to treat you courteously."
"Thank you," she told him, opening her wallet to tuck it into an empty spot.. "Hopefully, I'll never need it. I've never had to use the one I've got."
"Oscar's?" he asked.
She nodded, pulling the other card out to show him.
"Apparently they're issued to dependents of officers killed in the line of duty," she commented.
He studied it for a moment, nodding as he handed it back to her.
"We still have an obligation to the families of the fallen. Even though I know you don't like that word."
"Not really," she agreed. She picked up the gown from the table and unfolded it, then started undressing. Stopping, she gave him a meaningful stare.
"Do you mind?"
He looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded as realization dawned. He stood up and turned his back to give her privacy to change.
"Done."
Turning back, he found her sitting on the end of the table, carefully adjusting the drape across her lap. He was struck by how small and vulnerable she looked.
She gave him a weak smile before dropping her gaze to her lap. Noticing herself fidgeting with the sheet, she deliberately folded her hands together and looked up at him again.
Walking over to stand in front of her, Frank took her hands in his again.
"Why were you so worried about being quiet around your parents when you were a child?" he asked.
"If I stayed quiet and didn't draw attention to myself, I was more likely to be left alone. Most attention I received from them was of the negative sort."
"I know you mentioned that your father was an abusive alcoholic," he recalled. "What about your mother?"
"Not as bad, but not great. She couldn't fight back against him, so she had to find someone else to take it out on."
"I'm sorry."
"Foster care was better. None of them were particularly caring, but at least none of them were abusive."
Chewing on her lower lip, she met his gaze again.
"Do you think that means I'll be a bad parent? Because I never had a good example of the right way to do it?"
"The fact that you're concerned about that is a good sign. You know that that isn't right. As a doctor, you're probably a scientific person. You study and research. You'll be reading parenting books and studying up on methods and trends."
Lucy nodded. "You've read me well."
"And you'll have me. I didn't do everything perfectly, but I think we should be able to do this together."
"I hope so," she said quietly.
A few minutes later, the door opened and the nurse entered with another woman. She held out her hand.
"Hi, Dr. Makenna. I'm Dr Angelica Ramirez."
"Please. Call me Lucy."
"Angie," the other woman replied.
"And this is…Frank," she added, not entirely sure how to classify him."
The nurse held the tablet out to her. "You didn't fill out the information for your emergency contact, Dr Makenna."
"I don't really have anyone," she admitted.
"You can put me down," Frank told her, taking the tablet and adding his information to the form.
Afterwards, the doctor opened her laptop and pulled up Lucy's file. While it was opening,she turned to face them.
"I have the results from your blood work here. I'll go over that with you real quickly, then we'll check your blood pressure and heart rate."
"Both of which will be elevated," Lucy told her.
"That's to be expected," the other woman replied. "After that, I'll do a brief internal exam, check the cervix and make sure that all looks okay."
They both nodded.
"Next will be the ultrasound. First, we'll check that the embryo has implanted properly in the uterus itself and not in one of the tubes or something. Next, I'll take a look at the placenta. Where it's laying, if it looks to be firmly attached, if it looks healthy. Same with the umbilical cord. Does it appear healthy? Three vessels?"
More nods.
"Finally, we take a look at the star of the show. Baby Makenna. I want to make sure that growth and development are in line with fetal age."
She looked at a chart note.
"You gave the probable date of conception as…"
Lucy verified the date.
"Roughly 10 weeks at this point."
"Okay. We measure growth, look at organs: heart, brain, digestive system. We will also do some measurements that act as a screening of sorts for certain genetic abnormalities."
"Down's syndrome."
"Among other things, yes."
She paused for a moment to allow the duo a moment.
"Any questions at this point?"
Both shook their heads, and she turned back to the laptop.
"Okay. Blood work looks good. Glucose levels are normal. Cholesterol and thyroid levels are good."
"Hormone levels?" Lucy queried.
"Good." She paused. "They're increasing."
Frank looked at Lucy, noticing she felt there was something that wasn't being said.
"But?" she asked.
Angie gave them a reassuring smile. "They're increasing. As they should."
A check of her blood pressure followed, then a listen to her heart and lungs and her breathing. The doctor nodded her satisfaction as she added the numbers into the file.
Frank moved to the head of the table and took her hand as Kelly did the next part of the exam. Finally, she stood and removed her gloves while the nurse helped Lucy get comfortable before leaving to get the ultrasound technician.
"Everything looks good at this point," the doctor assured them. "I'm not seeing anything going on with mama that would indicate any problems."
When everything was set up, the technician bared Lucy's stomach and picked up the bottle of gel.
"Don't worry. It's nice and warm," she told her.
Everyone held their breath as she adjusted the settings on the machine, turned the screen so everyone could see it, and placed the wand on the patient's abdomen. A soft 'whooshing' sound filled the room.
"That's the heartbeat?" Lucy asked.
"It is," the doctor verified.
After a moment, she started moving the scanner, the doctor commenting on what she was seeing as the nurse typed her notes into the laptop.
She declared the ovaries and tubes to look fine, the placenta to be properly attached and healthy, and the umbilical cord likewise.
A slight adjustment to the wand brought a small shape into focus. In the center, they could see something fluttering in time with the sound.
"Wow."
Frank glanced down at Lucy, smiling at the look of awe on her face, her eyes glued to the monitor. He lifted the hand he was holding and placed a light kiss on the back of it.
She looked over at him.
"We're having a baby, Lucy," he said softly, his gaze moving back to the sight on the monitor.
Squeezing his hand, she also turned her attention back to the screen. The doctor was studying the image, zooming in on certain areas as she explained to the duo what they were looking at. She instructed the technician to make certain measurements, nodding in seeming satisfaction at the numbers.
Finally she stopped, turning her attention back to the parents.
"Any questions or concerns so far?"
Lucy chewed her bottom lip, watching the monitor.
"You said the heart is okay? No sign of any problems?"
"It looks fine," the other woman assured her. "Measuring just on the small end of the expected range for the gestational age."
"But it doesn't sound right," Lucy commented.
"It's supposed to be that fast, right?" Frank queried.
Lucy nodded. "It is. But it sounds…off. Like an extra beat in there or something. Like a heart murmur, maybe?"
He took a deep breath and listened, finally hearing what she meant. Reaching over to rest his other hand on her head, he turned back to face the doctor.
Angie nodded. "Usually, a murmur detected this early isn't a problem. We keep a close watch, but most of the time, it resolves on its own before the baby is ever born."
Frank looked down at Lucy, an encouraging smile on his face.
"However," she continued. "I don't think that's the issue this time."
Taking the scanner, she rolled it across her patient's stomach
"I told you that your hormone levels were increasing. What I didn't mention was that they're increasing much faster than we usually see."
"What does that mean?" Frank asked, noticing a panicked expression appeared on Lucy's face.
"No," she protested.
When the doctor stopped her motion, they could all see a second small figure and a very obvious flutter.
"Twins!"
Surpise! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to knowing what you thought about it. More to come.