Doctor Karen

Allie sat on the table in a pink paper gown, protecting the table, crinkling as she moved. She was swinging her feet and looking at the ceiling.

"Nervous much?" Makayla asked.

Allie gave her a are you fucking kidding look.

"Take that as a yes."

There was a knock, and then the door opened. "Hi. How are you doing this morning? I am Doctor Kliner, but please call me Karen."

"Of course, your name is Karen."

Allie hung her head. "Where is Doctor Nemeth?" she asked.

"She was called to the hospital. One of her patients is in labor. So, you, my dear, are stuck with me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

Dr. Karen opened a file folder. "No big issue. Now, let's get down to business. Ms. Kingston, you are very pregnant. Your HCG is extremely high."

"Ms. Kingston is my mom. Please call me Allie."

"Alright Allie. So, who's your friend?"

"I'm the father," Makayla said.

The doctor stared at her with wide eyes.

"She's my best friend, Makayla Smartass."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Smartass," Karen said.

"Oh, I like her, Allie."

"All right, let's lay back and take a look at your little one."

Allie lay back, the paper crunching under her. The doctor put a towel over her pelvis and pulled up the gown.

"Okay, this is going to be a little cold. I'm sorry," she said.

The jelly bottle made a spurting sound, and a glop of cold jelly fell onto her.

She moved the wand around to spread the jelly, pressing down on it, picking it up, and pressing down again.

"I'm sorry if this hurts. On the bright side, I shouldn't have to press too hard because I can already see the little one. I must say your abs are amazing for your gestational period."

"So, I've been told," she said. She smiled at Makayla.

She stood up and took Allie's hand.

"There it is, your little person. Do you see that flutter right there?" she asked.

Karen put her finger on the monitor.

"I do. It looks like the mechanism in the back of a watch." Allie said.

"That is the heart. That's why we call it a person's ticker."

"Oh my God, Allie! Look at the little hands," Makayla gushed.

The little legs kicked.

"Did you feel that?"

"Holy shit, I thought that was just gas I had been feeling!"

"Do you want to know the sex of the baby? I can tell you; you are just at that point."

"No, I can wait."

"Are you sure, Allie?" Makala asked.

I know what it is. Malibu was standing next to the monitor.

"Yes. I want to find out with Dean. If he's..."

"He will be."

"Dean must be daddy? Is he excited?"

"He doesn't know yet."

Allie scrunched up her face. She didn't mean to say that out loud.

"Oh."

Karen was a little taken aback.

"He works for the FBI. He's on assignment, and she hasn't been able to contact him," Makayla chimed in.

"Oh. Well, doesn't he have a surprise coming!"

You have absolutely no idea how true that is!

Allie gave him the side eye. "Dude, really? Touché though. You are definitely not wrong."

"Why is the heartbeat so fast? Is it okay?" Allie asked. She sounded worried.

"No, that's a good thing, Allie. It should be fast. Fast means healthy," Makala reassured her.

"She's right. Are you a doctor?"

"Coroner. It's nice to hear a beating heart occasionally."

"Oh. Okay." Karen said.

She pressed a couple more buttons, and three pictures printed out. They were black-and-white and grainy, but they clearly showed her little person. She wiped off the jelly and handed Allie a clean towel.

"Here you go if you want to get what I missed. Well, Allie, everything looks great. Your amniotic fluid level is optimal, and your blood pressure is good. I want to see you gain weight, so include healthy fats and carbs in your diet. By now, you should be gaining a pound per week. I know you are exercising, which is great, don't get me wrong, but maybe back off a day or two. You don't need seven days a week. I noticed that the baby looked small for the supposed gestational age. But let's wait a few more weeks before we begin to worry about that. Is the father a small man?

Makala let out a snort. "The father is 6 foot 6 and weighs about 240- 250 pounds, somewhere around there. Pure muscle. Oh my god, wait till you get a look at him. I've been gay my whole life, but I would go straight for two hours to--"

"Really Makayla?" Allie said. "You are talking about my baby daddy.

"What? I'm not lying .10 out of 10 women can't be wrong."

A small smile curled the side of her mouth. 10? The number is nowhere near that.

"Well, I can't wait to meet him. So, is the entire family that large?"

"His sister is 4′9 " and weighs about 93 pounds, so we think there is some little stock in her family somewhere," Allie said.

"Well, that is an enormous difference. I am going to grab you some prenatal vitamins. It would be best if you started taking them right away. Your diet has ensured that the baby has developed perfectly healthy up to this point.

The doctor stood up and ripped off the photos from the printer.

"And these are for you. A little something for your fridge."

She handed Allie the photos and left the room. Allie and Makayla stared at the little person in the pictures. Allie took her finger and traced the profile.

"Makayla, this is unbelievable. I can't believe that this has happened."

"No, this is a miracle, and it was supposed to happen. God was waiting for you to find the right person to be the daddy."

"When Karen returns, can you do me a favor and step out for a minute?"

She looked confused. "Of course, you can have anything you want. But I have to ask if everything is okay."

She smiled at her friend. "Yes. You have nothing to worry about. But some things need to remain personal."

Dr. Karen returned with two bottles of prenatal vitamins.

"Excuse me for a moment," Makayla said, leaving the room.

"Okay, this should be enough to get you through the rest of the pregnancy. If, for some reason, they make you nauseous, which can very well happen, take them at night right before you go to bed. That way, you'll be asleep when the nausea would normally hit. We would like to see you back in four weeks. I would like to see you have gained at least three pounds. It was very nice to meet you."

"Dr. Karen. I need to discuss something."

"Sure. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"A couple of months ago, I did something idiotic, and I am afraid that it may have harmed the baby."

The doctor looked at her with concern.

"The truth is the father is out of town because of work, but it was a last-minute thing, and I have no idea how long he will be gone. We didn't exactly leave things. The truth is I have no idea what our relationship is going to be."

"Allie, I'm so sorry. Do you think he will be upset to find out that you're having a baby?"

"Oh heavens no. He is going to be over the moon. Shocked as shit but over the moon. First of all I am on anti-depressents and i am worried about the effects it will have on the baby."

"What are you on?"

"Zoloft."

"How much?"

"Fifty milligrams."

"Zoloft is a safe drug. Don't worry. If your doctor does up your dosage please let me know. But I have a feeling that you are going to be in a better mood going forward."

"That's a relief. But there is more. Like I said, I did something idiotic. When I was... umm... five weeks, I guess I went out and had a night of very heavy drinking."

"I see. Have you drunk since?"

"No. Not a sip."

"One night at five weeks, I think you are safe. Does that ease your mind?" Dr. Karen asked.

"There's more."

"More? Okay."

"That night, I was drinking because of the situation with the father being gone. I was trying to forget him. My friend came and picked me up and took me home. I was so sad. I was so low." She took a deep breath. "I tried to kill myself. I swallowed a bottle of Ambien. My friend found me and poured an entire bottle of ipecac down my throat. He told me that he saw at least twenty of the twenty-five pills come up. Along with everything else in my tummy."

"I am so sorry you are going through all of this. I am relieved that you stopped drinking. As far as the pills from your ultra-sound, blood work, and what we do know, I think that as horrible as what you are going through is, I believe that the baby is just fine. You are lucky that your friend was there."

"He's my best friend. Don't tell Makayla."

She smiled. "Don't worry; I won't. I want you to make a follow-up appointment for two weeks, and I will consult with Dr. Nemeth and tell her you need a blood panel and an internal ultrasound."

"Karen, as much as I love Doctor Nemeth, can you take over my care? I just have a feeling that I was supposed to meet you. I never planned on ever telling anyone about that night. Makayla doesn't even know. I felt so comfortable with you that I did."

"I will talk to Doctor Nemeth. I think that can be arranged. When you finally tell Dad, tell him I said congratulations."

Yeah, Caretaker, tell Dad congratulations but tell him you're pregnant first. That's what I would do.

"Why did you have to come along? I know you aren't around all the time."

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

"What?"

He pointed at the frozen image on the screen.

This is why I am here. I wouldn't miss seeing this. I want to hold your hand, kiss you on the forehead, and say, "Look what we did. That's love right there." Allie, as soon as you have the opportunity to tell the big guy, I think you should go to Kent and tell him. Maybe the big supervisor can get a message to him.

A single tear ran down Allie's cheek. She traced the outline of the little person in the picture again. She wanted to tell him not to have someone else tell somebody else to tell him. She's not having him find out through a game of telephone. And she knew hearing that kind of news would completely change the way he conducted his persona. Who would take such risks knowing you have a baby on the way?

How are you enjoying the third book? Please vote and all that jazz.