I looked up and saw Ash re-enter the room, pushing a CTG machine with one hand, and pulling a USG machine behind him. The CTG machine monitors the baby’s heartbeat around the clock with a strap that is placed around my stomach, whereas the USG machine is used to perform ultrasound scans.
“The opposite,” Sally beamed. “The baby is fine, just sleeping.”
Ash placed his hand on his chest. “Thank fuck for that.”
I managed a laugh.
“I’ve to check on a few patients,” Sally suddenly said, and she took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Ash, get her hooked up to the CTG and I’ll perform a scan in about five minutes. Ryder, join me outside for a moment, would you?”
He did so without hesitation and Ash closed the door after the pair left.
I knew Sally was giving Ryder a rundown on the procedure for this type of patient admission, and she would ask him more questions to determine if I needed to stay in the hospital overnight. I was certain I’d have to stay overnight, especially if Sally put the decision to Ryder. I turned my focus from them to my friend and snorted. Ash, as usual, had a grin on his face that told me he was about to take my mind off everything that had just happened.
“You missed me that much that you pulled this shit just so you could come onto the ward and see me?” he asked, his hand on his chest. “I’m touched.”
I laughed. “Kiss me arse, I don’t love you that much.”
“Lies,” he teased as he switched on the CTG machine and hooked the monitoring strap around my stomach.
I shook my head, smiling. “You should have seen Ryder run up here with me. I tried to tell ‘im that this was the labour ward, and I’d need to go to the emergency department downstairs, but he wasn’t havin’ it.”
“He trusts Sally and me to take care of you,” Ash said, his chest swelling with pride. “I’d have just requested that you be brought up here anyway, so Ryder saved us time by doing this favour.”
I smiled. “I figured as much.”
Ash winked then looked at the USG machine that was next to us.
“I’m going to see if I can do this technician gig,” he announced, rubbing his hands together before turning the machine on.
I chortled as he adjusted the CTG monitoring strap.
“Go for it,” I said.
After spurting some more gel onto my skin, Ash swirled the Doppler around on my belly, and I watched him with great amusement. I didn’t think he’d find the baby’s heartbeat, or the baby at all, because while he was decent at reading ultrasounds, he wasn’t very good at using this machine to find the perfect images. We didn’t have the eye that the technicians did. To me, everything was just black and grey splotches until something was pointed out to me.
After a minute or two, I thought Ash was about to give up when he suddenly leaned in so close to the monitor that his nose almost touched the screen. He sat back on the bed after a moment and looked from the screen to me then back at the screen. He blinked and rubbed his eyes a couple of times too. I watched him with bewilderment; the man stared at the monitor like God himself had appeared and randomly began to shuffle back and forth in an Elvis costume.
“What the heck is wrong with you?” I asked with a strained laugh.
In the back of my mind, I was worried he saw something about the baby that wasn’t good, and it began to scare me.
“Nothing,” he replied, still looking at the screen. “I just... it looks like... I’m certain anyway—”
“Ash!” I cut him off, now panicked. “What do you see? Is the baby okay?”
Please be okay.
“Yeah, everything looks great. It’s just...” he mumbled to himself and leaned in closer to the monitor. “Look, I’m no technician, sweetheart, but that’s twins right there. I’m sure of it.”
For a second, all I heard was static noise.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I gathered my bearings. “Can you repeat that?”
“Ryder has mighty sperm,” Ash stated with a shake of his head. “He knocked you up with twins. I’d bet my car on it.”
My heart slammed into my chest because Ash bloody loved his car.
“I don’t find you one bit fu-unny,” I stammered. “You clearly have some other lady’s ultrasound and are pretendin’ it’s mine!”
Laughter burst free from Ash.
“That would have been hilarious, but this is not a joke. With my hand on my heart, I’m not yanking your chain. That’s all you on the screen and your two babies.”
I looked from Ash to the screen and said, “Point it out to me.”
He did as he was asked, and once I saw what he saw, I couldn’t unsee it.