Part 120
Sarah sat flipping through a magazine absentmindedly. There was an article in it about AJ and she had read it quickly. She was thoroughly disgusted because it had been another shot at how the Backstreet Boys weren’t the clean-cut boys that the world thought they were and how ‘NSync was so much better. ‘Like they have a better image,’ thought Sarah. ‘Where the hell is Howie? He’s supposed to be here.’
The nurse interrupted her thoughts, "Mrs. Dorough."
Sarah got up and followed the nurse back where she was directed to sit on a stool in a corner. "If my husband shows up, will he be allowed back here?"
"Certainly. I’ll let the receptionist know to watch for him."
The nurse proceeded with the preliminary check-up asking Sarah about her history and doing the weight check and blood pressure check. "Date of last period?"
Sarah gave the date and then said, "My last period wasn’t normal though."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it’s normally really heavy the first couple days and lasts for about 6 days but the last one was only a couple days and extremely light."
"Do you remember the color of the blood?"
"A bright pink."
The nurse made a note of what Sarah said and went back to doing the check up. Then she took Sarah to the examining room where she gave her a gown.
Sarah changed quickly after the nurse left and climbed onto the table. She looked around the room at the different things on the wall as she listened to the music. The station playing was a local one that tended to play the Boys’ songs and as she looked at a poster about dreams coming true, ‘I Want It That Way’ started to play. On Howie’s part, Sarah smiled as she thought, ‘All my dreams are coming true…if this LAST one could just be true…that this IS Howie’s baby and not AJ’s.’
As she waited, her cell phone rang. "Hello."
"Hey, Angel! How’s it going?"
"D, where are you? You PROMISED to meet me here for my appointment."
"I know, Sarah, and I’m sorry. I got tied up with the club. Want me to come now?"
"Are you still at the club?"
"No, I’m in the car."
"How far are you from the doctor’s office?"
"Oh…about 15 feet."
Sarah laughed, "Then get your sorry Irish/Latino butt up here."
"I’m on my way, Angel," laughed Howie. "I love you."
Within a couple minutes, Howie was in the examining room and beside Sarah. He took her hand in both of his and kissed each finger. Together, they waited for the doctor and Howie told her about what was going on at the club.
Just before the doctor came in, Howie looked into Sarah’s eyes and he saw the fear. He brushed her cheek with his hand and said softly, "Angel, we’ll know something soon. The doctor will be here any minute and he’ll be able to tell you you’re worrying for nothing."
Sarah smiled weakly, "I’m trying, D. I really am."
Howie leaned to her, kissing her tenderly. "I know, Angel. You’ve been so brave and so strong. You just have to have faith a little longer."
With that, the doctor entered the room, greeting them warmly. "Good morning and how are you two?"
"Just fine, Doc," greeted Howie with a handshake.
"What’s going on?"
Howie looked at Sarah as she said, "I took a home pregnancy test and it
was positive."
"So you’re pregnant. Why don’t you look as excited as your husband?"
Howie proceeded to explain what had happened with AJ as he held Sarah’s hand. He watched her as he talked, seeing the tears slowly descend.
"Well, I’m not at all sure we can clear it up today but I’ll see what we can do. Sarah, lie back and we’ll do the necessary blood work first and then I’ll do the exam."
Sarah closed her eyes as she lay back on the table. Howie moved to the opposite side, out of the doctor’s way, and held Sarah’s hand. He stroked her hair tenderly as he watched the doctor begin to draw blood from Sarah’s arm. He noticed that the doctor had seven vials and he cracked, "And you thought I was the vampire!"
Sarah couldn’t help but laugh at that comment and looked at what the doctor was doing. She said, "He is giving you a run for your money."
When the doctor was finished drawing blood, he gave them to the nurse who had entered the room. Then he took Sarah’s chart and began to look over it making notes. "Hmmm…. From the looks of it, your fears about the father are way off?"
"What do you mean?" asked Sarah.
"Well, it appears that what you thought was your last period was actually the embryo attaching to the wall of your uterus."
"How can you be sure?" asked Howie.
"An ultra sound should determine if that’s the case."
"Can you do it today?" asked Sarah hopefully.
"Sure we can. Let me get my nurse to set it up and then I’ll do the exam."
The doctor called his nurse back, gave her the instructions for the ultra-sound, and then proceeded with the exam. As he examined Sarah, Howie asked about her dizzy spells and the nausea. The doctor confirmed what Sarah had already suspected. It was her hormones helping her body adjust to the changes.
When he was done, Dr. Johnson said, "Everything seems to be fine. Now for the ultra sound. It shouldn’t take too long and you can be on your way."
"I have one more question. We’re going back out on the road in a few
weeks…August 7th and it’s gonna be difficult for Sarah to get
back here for her checkups."
"Do you know what cities you’ll be in?"
Howie looked at Sarah and she said, "I have the revised schedule in my pocketbook."
"Give me the list and I’ll give you a list of names of doctors in each town. I’ll also give you a copy of Sarah’s records to take with you. You can have the doctor fax me his results and I’ll be able to keep track of what’s going on with her. Where will you be for the birth?"
"We’ll be back here," said Howie. "The tour will be over in October, we go to Japan in November, and then its back home for the holidays."
"No problem then. She’ll only have to have three or four checkups away from this office. Let’s get this ultra sound done so that we can ease Sarah’s fears."
Howie smiled as Sarah blushed. "I think she’s more worried about the ‘I told you so’ she’s gonna hear when you prove to her that I am right."
The doctor laughed as Howie ducked the slap that Sarah tried to give him. "Probably."
The doctor instructed them to go down to the end of the hall where the lab tech would do the ultra sound and then he’d look at the results.
Howie gathered Sarah’s clothes for her and together they went down to the other room where the lab tech was waiting for them. She helped Sarah onto the table and Howie stood beside her holding her hand. They watched anxiously as the girl prepared for the procedure.
The monitor came on to reveal a black and white image and there they were…two little shapes that didn’t resemble much but the feeling that Sarah had when she saw them made her heart soar. Life…. Inside her. She couldn’t get over the miracle even though she had been pregnant before. She looked up at Howie to see his eyes moist as he too gazed at the monitor.
Sarah whispered, "D, I love you."
Howie looked down at her. He choked out, "I love you too, Angel. Look, they’re so small and they’re INSIDE you."
"It makes the ‘I told you so’ worth it."
Howie brushed her hair, "Sarah, even if AJ were the father, I would still love you and the babies…you know that, don’t you?"
"Yeah, I do."
Dr. Johnson entered the room and went over to where the lab tech was entering information into the computer. Then he too looked at the monitor as he said, "Well, Sarah, are you ready for the ‘I told you so’?"
Sarah laughed, "MORE THAN READY!"
"The spotting you had was what I suspected. From the looks of it, you’re ten weeks along and you’re due date will be February 28th. Now, would you like a copy of this?"
Howie quickly answered, "DEFINITELY!"
Sarah laughed and said, "Seems so."
"We’ll have a copy for you made. Now, get dressed and meet me in my
office so that we can talk about the dos and don’ts. This is going to be a
little different from your last pregnancy."
"Thank you, Dr. Johnson."
When the room was empty, Howie helped Sarah up and took her in his arms, kissing her. "We need to celebrate! How about…."
"How about we just go home and make love for the rest of the night? I have this incredible urge to be in your arms and NEVER leave them!!"
"We can’t, Angel, at least not right away. You’re suppose to sing tonight and I need to be there for Tito." Howie laughed, "As for being in my arms, I promise you, Angel, you won’t be far from me EVER again! I have this incredible urge to YELL it to the world that you’re pregnant with MY children! Come on…we’re going to the club for dinner! I want the world to know how much I love you!"
Sarah dressed quickly and they went to Dr. Johnson’s office. There, the three discussed the dos and don’ts of being pregnant with twins. It wasn’t too different from what Sarah had been told with Jesse but he did tell her to be extra cautious on the steps since she was experiencing dizziness. He also gave her a prescription for vitamins and wished her luck with everything.