AN: More potentially uncomfortable medical moments after ☽...☾ line, in case you skipped last!
I exhaled slowly, my thoughts a
total blizzard
of conflicting emotions. Pregnant... carrying Jace’s child...
Even if I already
really
knew, to be
congratulated
for it is not really what I want to hear.
"How far along am I?"
The answer could only be a
couple weeks
, based on her memories. But I had to ask anyway - just to keep up the
small charade
of being ’unaware’ about the exact timing.
It just seemed like the thing you are
supposed
to ask. In this situation.
"From what I felt and saw during the examination, I would estimate you to be over a month along. Perhaps two."
My mind reeled back at
that revelation
. Pure white from the lights I was near filled my sight as my
vision tunnels
.
Slowly I blink back
color
into the world. It didn’t make
any sense
at all!
> Two months... but that’s not possible. How could it be? Right? Helene only had her impregnating sex... just this last time. At the very least, two months ago she has no memory of being with Jace that way. Or is... did she maybe... But more proof can at least keep me from denying it. Kyrie Voss’s company. Of course. I don’t know what to think. Whether as my patient savior or as an inevitable mistake. She seems impossible to escape. And now I’ve just learned this, too... it also makes her seem impossible to approach. Stupid perfect CEO... <
"I’ll need you to lie back down and get in the stirrups once again, I’m afraid."
A
slight frown
grows on my face. The few pictures of this procedure that the books showed off did not seem to
require
this?
"I can guess what you’re thinking. If you’d like to wait until another visit, we can do a transabdominal ultrasound instead. At that time, I’ll need for you to have a full bladder so we get the clearest images."
My brain struggled with how
everything connected
together, so I merely nodded. A handy skill in statecraft to move past potential
unnecessary delays
.
"But you have a way to do it now?"
☽...☾
"Transvaginal. Insertion of a probe would be much like the two exams before. Though I will admit the ultrasound gel is... viscous. Thicker and stickier than the lubricant from before. So-"
"I’m sorry to interrupt, but will this truly help prove the timescale you described?"
The
werewolf doctor
smiles and nods. And gives me the answer I
needed
to hear.
"Absolutely."
As I get back into the spot, with this uncomfortable bending of my knees, she turns on the machine. A soft hum filled the room as the screen illuminated.
"This is the transducer I’ll be using. I’ve placed the disposable cover on already."
What looked like a wand connected to the machine by a thick cable was raised for me to see.
"This gel I’m applying to it will feel cold, but it’s necessary to prevent air pockets from affecting the image clarity."
Dr. Lang warned, uncapping a bottle and showing it to me as she talked about
what was coming
. The clear substance
was indeed cold
.
Or so I learned when
yet another
medical device was inserted inside me. I flinched more from the
unfamiliar sensation
than actual discomfort.
Altogether not that different from either of the other two exams... though she was right about the
stickier
sensation. Over the minutes, the screen filled with grainy
black and white
images that meant nothing to my untrained eye.
But she would
occasionally
stop and press buttons to save different images as she manipulated the probe. Noticing I’d grown more curious and
less withdrawn
, she began talking more while her eyes were fixed on the screen.
"At this stage, we’re looking for several key markers. Clear views of the gestational sac, which is the fluid-filled structure that contains the embryo. The yolk sac, which provides it early nutrition. And hopefully the fetal pole, which is the first visible sign of the embryo itself."