14 | l.s mpreg

chapter twenty-one

"It might be a little cold," Dr. Calder warned and then squirted the bluish-green tinted gel on Harry's small baby bump. "So, you said you're about twelve weeks along?" She asked Harry, who nodded his head a little as he watched her. "The fetus should be about two to three inches long. So, about the size of a plum." She informed as she grabbed the wand and placed it on Harry's stomach, pretty low. "Tiny, but we should be able to see the fetus."

Both Harry and Eleanor stared at the black and white screen as Eleanor's mother looked for the baby. Harry could feel his heart thumping in anticipation and he looked over at Eleanor for a moment, the girl giving him a small smile to reassure him everything would be fine.

"There we are," Dr. Calder spoke again and then smiled a little over at Harry, "see that?" She asked and then pointed to a little area of white on the screen. "That's your baby." She said and did her best to get a better image of the fetus. 

"Woah," Harry said softly as he stared at the screen.

"Let's see if we can hear the heartbeat," Dr. Calder smiled at the young boy's amazed facial expression and then tried to find the heartbeat, which took a few moments, but she found it.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The heartbeat was quick and Harry thought that the sound was marvelous. So marvelous that he could feel tears brimming his eyes. It felt real now.

The positive pregnancy test didn't make this feel real. The baby bump growing didn't make this feel real. The sample of blood he'd given to the doctor to test if he was, in fact, actually pregnant didn't make this feel real. Even the picture of the fetus up on the screen didn't make this feel real.

Hearing the heartbeat of his unborn baby for the very first time made this all feel real. Much, much more real. He felt emotional, maybe a little too emotional. But that was to be expected.

"Did you want to talk about options?" Dr. Calder asked the boy as she handed him a paper towel to wipe his stomach off with. "It's completely up to you. This is your choice." She reminded and offered him a small smile.

"Um, yeah," Harry said as he wiped his stomach off and then sat up a bit more, letting his shirt fall down over his stomach again. "I think that... I'd like to keep it actually. If that's... okay."

"That's fine," Dr. Calder responded and then nodded her head. "In that case, congratulations, Harry." She nodded her head. "But if you do change your mind, you know where to find me. I'm only a call away." She said softly and then discussed a few more things with Harry such as prenatal vitamins and the importance of taking them and discussed the due date with him as well.

"I'll go get the sonogram images and you two can meet me in the front to schedule Harry's next appointment." She said and then gave them both a small smile before walking out of the room.

"Woah," Eleanor said softly as she looked at Harry. "Are you okay?" She asked and then watched Harry.

"No, yeah, I'm good," Harry said and then nodded his head before looking over at the still image of his baby on the screen again. "That's my baby," He said and then placed a gentle hand on his stomach. "Everything just got so much more real, El."

"I know," Eleanor said and then looked over at the still image. "You decided you wanted to keep it after all?" She asked and Harry nodded his head.

"I do. I think that I've always wanted to keep him or her. It's just scary to think about," Harry replied with a small shrug of his shoulders. "El, I'm going to have a baby by the end of the summer."

"That is insane," Eleanor said and then laughed a little before standing up and pulling Harry into a gentle hug. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

Once they'd made their way to the front, scheduling his next appointment and taking the sonogram images, they walked with Asher back out to his car.

"So, how did things go?" Asher asked curiously when he'd gotten into the car with the two younger teens. Harry handed Asher the sonogram images and Asher went through them while Harry spoke.

"I want to keep the baby," Harry said softly and Asher nodded his head a little before handing the pictures back. 

"Then I guess you'll have to tell that boyfriend of yours," Asher said as he buckled himself up, turning on the car. 

"I'm... working on it, yeah?" Harry asked and then sighed softly. "Okay, so... if Gemma was pregnant and she was going to tell you, how and when would you like to be told?" He asked, needing advice.

"Well," Asher said as he pulled out of the parking lot and then sighed softly, "Sooner than later would be better, I think. Personally, I would like to know sooner because... I'm the kind of guy who would stick around. I'd want to have a choice in whether or not we would keep it. If we decided to keep it, I'd want to go to every doctor's appointment and see every ultrasound and I'd be excited and happy. I'd start picking names and thinking about our future together. But that's just me." Asher said softly. "I think the way I'd want to be told is... in private. Just the two of us. I would want her to outright tell me and then give me time to think and give me time to have some space to think."

"Meaning?" Harry asked softly as he watched Asher.

"Meaning, that if he needs some time to walk away or leave or... just remain quiet to collect his thoughts, you shouldn't automatically assume the worst of him," Asher spoke and then shrugged his shoulders. "You have to give him time to process. Because you've had your time to process, you know?" He asked softly. "If it were me, I would want to have time to process things before talking about... decisions and the future."

"Dump Gemma and date me," Eleanor joked and then shook her head. "Why are you the most thoughtful guy I've ever met?" She asked and then smiled a little.

"Sorry, babe. I really adore Gems," Asher chuckled lightly and then glanced in the rearview mirror to look at Harry. "Tell him... in a way that feels right to you, Harry. You have the choice on when to tell him and how to tell him. The longer you don't tell him, the more you'll doubt any decisions you make about your baby and the more you'll overthink the situation."

"I'll tell him soon," Harry promised and then let out a small smile. "Thanks, Asher. I can see what my sister sees in you." He said and then smiled a little when he saw Asher smirk in the rearview mirror.