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Chapter Fifty Six

We gathered outside on the back patio. The house was a beautiful historical home. It reminded me of a plantation home from days gone by. In better times, I could imagine the four of us outside with glasses of sweet tea, us girls in long hooped dresses and the boys in stuffy suits. Instead we sat around in jeans and t-shirts, the air between the four of us uncomfortable to say the least.

“So how far along are you?” Leighanne asked again. Brian held onto her hand tightly.

“Tomorrow I’ll be starting week eight,” I explained. “Leigh, you’ve got to believe me that I didn’t expect for this to happen. My doctor told me that my chances of having children were slim to none.”

“Do you guys have a plan?” Brian asked.

“Well,” Nick said. “I think the only thing we can do is get a DNA test after the baby’s born.”

Brian sighed. Leighanne looked like she was about ready to cry. Brian looked right at me. “I know this isn’t our fault, but this is…” he shook his head.

“If the baby turns out to be Brian’s what….” Leighanne trailed off. She couldn’t even vocalize the possibility.

“I plan on helping Liv raise the baby,” Nick said. “I mean, if I couldn’t have kids I’m sure Brian would hook me up. Right?”

Brian gave him a look. I felt bad for Nick; if those looks were like the ones I had given him lately I’m surprised he hadn’t melted from the glare.

“It’s just,” Brian sighed. “If it is mine; what do we tell Baylee? I just have this horrible nightmare that if we tell Baylee he’s going to be really screwed up. And if we don’t tell Baylee then the way our luck’s running you’ll have a girl and he’ll try to marry his sister.”

It sounded like a bad plot of a V.C. Andrews horror novel. I swallowed hard.

“There’s not much we can do right now,” I said. “But I didn’t want to not tell you guys.”

“This is between the four of us, right?” Leighanne said worriedly. I nodded.

“No one else knows. Anyone that does know I’m pregnant just thinks the baby’s Nick’s. The only other person that will know is my new OB/GYN because they want to do a complete “family” workup.”

Leighanne sighed. “Is there anything you need us to do right now?”

I nodded. “Nick and I are meeting with the OB/GYN in Tampa Bay on Monday,” I explained. “I’m going to need some of Brian’s history; blood type, medical issues in the family, stuff like that.”

Leighanne rose. “We put that together when I was pregnant with Baylee. I’ll go make you a copy.”

She walked inside. Nick took my hand in his. Brian looked at us; he looked so different not grinning and joking around.

“What did you do when you found out?” Brian asked, addressing Nick.

Nick took a deep breath. “I about danced around the room until Liv pointed out the dates.”

Brian raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Nick said a little defensively.

“You think you’re ready to be a dad?”

“I do,” Nick said without an ounce of doubt in his voice.

“It’s going to turn your world upside down,” Brian said. Nick smiled.

“Life’s only fun when it keeps on turning,” Nick answered back.

“That’s not what you said two years ago when your girlfriend gave you that scare,” Brian said.

Nick sighed. I looked over at him.

“My girlfriend at the time told me she thought she was pregnant,” Nick explained. “I didn’t take it so well.”

“You were unconscious on top of a bar with a shot of tequila on your head,” Brian said.

“Well, I had a little bit of a drug and alcohol problem,” Nick said. “I’m sober now and,” Nick’s voice got softer. “I’m actually in love.”

“I’ve always said things happen for a reason,” Brian said. I saw his jaw harden. “But there’s no good reason for this to be happening.”

All I could do was nod. The sliding glass doors slid open and Leighanne walked out. She handed me a file.

“This is all the info,” she explained. I looked up at her.

“Leigh,” I said softly. “I can’t imagine how angry you are. I don’t want to go on tour and make you miserable. I’m going to back out of the Canadian tour.”

“What? No you’re not,” Nick said. I looked at him and shook my head. I didn’t feel right making Leighanne see me every single day.

“Liv, what are you talking about?” she said. I looked up at her; she seemed surprised.

“I’m angry, yes,” she said. “But my anger isn’t really directed at you. It’s directed at Aaron and…life in general. You need to come with us,” she said. I raised an eyebrow doubtfully. “Really,” she added.

“Leigh, I ---“

“This isn’t going to go away just because you’re not on tour,” she said. “We’ll get through this.”

We stayed for only a few minutes longer. I stayed fairly quiet on our trip back to the hotel.

“I just want to confirm,” Nick said. “You are coming with us, right?”

I sighed. “Yes, I guess so.”

As we got ready for bed, I opened the file folder Leighanne had handed me. I read about Brian’s heart surgery and other general health information. Nick was working quietly on his own family history.

I wondered if Monday would bring us more answers; for all of our sakes, I surely hoped so.

-------------------------------

Monday, August 2

Nick and I spent Sunday at the hotel, ordering room service and ignoring the rest of the world. Around nine a.m. Monday morning, we boarded the plane for a short one hour flight to Tampa Bay. We walked off the plane into a beautiful eighty degree day.

“I had a friend drop of my car,” Nick explained. He led me towards a small SUV.

Under better circumstances and less stress, I knew I could easily fall in love with Tampa. Our drive was only thirty minutes, but the scenery was amazing. Water was everywhere; boats skimmed over the water.

“Like it?” Nick asked, driving along. I nodded.

“It’s beautiful.”

He pulled up to a gorgeous white ocean side house. Bright flowers lined the walk. A balcony wrapped around the whole second story.

I didn’t have much time to enjoy the inside, but the pictures and touches of home reminded me of his condo in LA. I dropped my bags off into his room.

“Have you heard from your mom yet?” Nick asked.

I nodded. Mom was going to put Bitsy on a flight to Washington that would arrive at about the same time we would.

“She should be waiting for us when we land,” I said as I glanced at my watch. “We better head out for my appointment.”

My doctor’s appointment was at noon. By the time we checked in and I filled out new patient paperwork, the doctor was waiting for us. It was a stark contrast to the lateness of Dr. Danielson.

“Good afternoon, I’m Dr. Tresher,” the doctor said with a smile. She had a natural tan that only those who lived beachside could obtain. She reminded me a little bit of Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell. She was tall and her hair was tightly coiled and out of control. I liked her immediately.

She shook my hand and Nick’s and then sat down leisurely as if she had all the time in the world.

“So how did you find me?” she asked.

Nick smiled. “You came highly recommended.”

She winked at him. “Excellent. Now, Nick told me that we have a, er, unusual problem,” she said, directing her attention to me.

I looked at her. “No one else can know,” I said.

“Ah, that’s the beauty of doctor / patient confidentiality,” she responded. “Whatever we do or talk about stays in this room.”

I felt my shoulders relax.

“Now, did you bring everyone’s family history sheets?” she asked. I handed her my own file and Brian’s. Nick handed her his.

She studied them for several minutes.

“How are you feeling?”

“Well, my previous doctor prescribed some nausea medication,” I said.

“Is it helping?”

I closed my eyes. I had devoured a chocolate donut before we left Atlanta and had begged Nick to swing by McDonald’s on the way here. “Yes, immensely.”

“Well, just by looking at these briefly it looks like we have a few concerns no matter who the father ends up being,” Dr. Tresher explained. I looked at Nick.

“Concerns?” he said.

“Well both you and Brian seem to have some heart issues. We’ll monitor that on an ultrasound, but it’s nothing to panic about right now. What I am worried about are these blood types.”

I looked at her surprised. “Blood types?”

She nodded. “It says here you’re an O-.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well,” she leaned back. “There’s something called the RH factor that we have to monitor in pregnancy. Now if we knew for certain that Nick was the father, we’d have no problem. Nick’s blood type is A-. Two negatives are absolutely fine. But Brian’s is B+.”

“I guess I don’t understand,” I admitted.

“You’re a negative and Brian’s a positive. Even though mom and baby’s blood systems are separate, there are times when the blood from the baby can enter into the mother's system. This can cause the mother to create antibodies against the Rh factor, thus treating an Rh positive baby like an intruder in her body.”

I felt myself grow pale.

“What can we do to find out if we need to worry about this?” Nick said. At the mention of the word “intruder,”
I saw the same fear fly through his eyes that I felt.

“There’s a process called chorionic villus sampling. We can test the RH factor. In fact,” she smiled. “the sample we take can also be tested for DNA.”

“Is it dangerous?” I asked. It didn’t sound pleasant.

“It’s like an amniocentesis, so yes there are some risks. A small percentage of procedures end in miscarriage.”

I took a deep breath; I glanced over at Nick. He looked conflicted.

“What if we don’t get this done?” Nick asked.

“We can give shots throughout the pregnancy. Of course, there are small side effects of giving the meds to a baby with no risk factor.”

“When do you do this testing?”

She glanced at the chart. “We can do it anywhere from ten to thirteen weeks in. You’re in week eight now, so within the next two to five weeks.”

“Our last concert is August 21,” Nick said.

“If you want to go ahead with it, we can schedule for August 23. If you change your mind you can call me anytime between now and then and we can go with plan B.”

I nodded. “That sounds fine.” The idea of my body rejecting the baby had me scared to death.

“How long will it take to find out the results?” I asked.

“It usually takes less than week.”

“And you said you can test DNA?” Nick said.

Dr. Tresher smiled. “Yes. We wouldn’t do the procedure just to do a DNA test, but since we have this issue I don’t see why we can’t. That way you can continue with the pregnancy knowing for sure. It’ll take some stress of the momma.”

At the idea of having a definitive answer, we made the appointment. As we drove back to Nick’s, I couldn’t help but think that the fact Brian and I were so incompatible was a sign; I crossed my fingers and sent a prayer heavenward.

Please, please little one. Please be Nick’s.