The Baby's Heartbeat

“If you are ready, we can begin with the breast exam?” he asked but she got the feeling that he was staring at her. Pandora looked his way but his head was not positioned in a way that he could look at her. “I will be touching you now. My hands are warm.”

“That’s fine,” she said nervously. “It will be hard for you to do the exam without touching me.”

His soft hands touched her breasts, sending tingles throughout her body. He took his time as he pressed and moved his fingers over her. Once he was finished, he covered her back up with the sheet provided. Of course, by this point, her nipples were hard and tenting the sheet in two spots.

“You have a small stature. Is your husband tall?” Dr. Parks asked.

Pandora frowned, looking up at him. “He’s—” She cut herself short as Derrik wasn’t her husband any longer. How did she answer that question? The doctor obviously didn’t need her explanation but she was curious as to why he needed to know how tall Derrik was.

“Is he over six feet?”

Pandora nodded, still confused.

“I ask because if the baby’s father is taller than six feet, there is a high chance that your baby will be big. Due to you being so small added to the fact that you have scar tissue from surgery, you may have trouble with natural childbirth.”

“Oh,” she whispered, trying to remember how tall her mystery man was. She was brought out of her thoughts as she felt Dr. Parks’ hands move the sheets up her leg. She gasped softly and squeezed her eyes closed.

“Are you alright, Pandora?” he asked, but she could feel his warmth on her skin. Her eyes sprang open.

“Yes,” she said and he grinned at her. His smile made her heart race and her lady bits felt like they were being tickled. They definitely wanted his attention.

“I will need to insert this to do a pelvic exam, and then we will use an Internal Doppler to get a look at baby Leonard, okay?”

Pandora felt the blood drain from her face, knowing that the good doctor would know that she was aroused. She cursed internally. 

“It will not hurt,” he said with a small but reassuring squeeze of her hand. “Okay, here we—” He cut himself off, and even though he couldn’t see his face, she knew he had found out. “Go,” he finished after a skipped beat.

“Okay, Mrs. Leonard,” he said, sounding oddly and overly professional.

“Pandora, please,” she said in a low voice, ducking her face down. She didn’t know how this situation was going to work. She had embarrassed herself completely in front of her doctor. As he finished the pelvic exam, she felt him remove the device. She heard him moving things around and she could only nod as he told her that he was going to insert the Doppler next.

“Pandora,” he said, still sounding professional, but there was a hint of softness to it then. “This is your baby,” he carried on, but Pandora was unable to look his way.

“Pandora, you need to look at the screen,” he called in a softer voice.

Pandora closed her eyes and moved her head up, only opening them again when she was sure she was looking at the screen.

“What’s that?” she asked, seeing a small dot coming and going.

“That’s the baby’s heartbeat.” Dr. Parks grinned and her head snapped in his direction, forgetting all about how she was trying to avoid him.

“Really?” she gasped. “My little bean has a heartbeat?” She felt her heart flutter more as she looked at his smile. 

“Bean?” he repeated. “Yes, would you like to hear it?”

She nodded and he pressed a switch. The room was filled with the sound of thumping.

“I’m going to have a baby,” she blurted out. She covered her mouth and held back a sob. “It sounds a bit like rain falling on metal, doesn’t it?” she commented with her hand still over her mouth. 

“Pandora, are you okay?” Dr. Parks asked and she nodded before shaking her head.

“Just—” She felt tears leak out of her eyes. “I never imagined I would get pregnant,” she told him. “Bean is going to be okay, right? I won’t lose bean, will I?” she pleaded.

She watched as his brows furrowed and his head shifted to the nurse before coming back to her. “Everything looks good but there is always a risk, Pandora.”

After everything she had been through. All the years of trying for a baby and failing miserably, she could only cry. Her mother walked out on her, Derrik cheated and they divorced. But none of those things hurt as much as the mere thought of losing her baby. She wanted to tell Dr. Parks that she was okay, but all that came out was a quivering sob.

“Why don’t you get dressed and I will meet you back in the office,” Dr. Park said with more warmth than Derrik had used during their years of marriage.

His kindness made her pull herself together. She knew she could trust this man with her baby. She felt his hand touch her arm and she looked at him. His eyes locked with hers and she felt a strange connection moving between them. She still couldn’t see his eyes clearly, but she knew they held softness and love in them.

“Go ahead and get dressed,” he said quickly and dashed out of the room.

“Let me help you up,” the nurse interjected as she guided Pandora into a sitting position.

Once she was on her feet, the nurse let her go. Pandora walked back into the changing room. After getting dressed, she knocked on the door to Dr. Parks’ office, and he told her to come in.

“Please take a seat, Pandora,” he said, sounding professional again.

“I’m sorry for being so emotional,” she apologized for her inappropriate behavior, but also her crying.