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A Need for Reassurance
Part 24
By Cari
cxcarleo@naz.edu

This piece starts on September 30, and begins a focus on Mark and Elizabeth and her pregnancy. Current plans include two pieces focusing on Elizabeth's pregnancy, and then a switch back to Doug and Carol focus for a few pieces. And then the holidays, and some other stuff in between.

As always, thanks go to Lori and Rachel for letting me bounce ideas off them. I do not own any of the characters except Colleen Richards who initially appeared when Carol gave birth to Emma. I make no money from their use.

Note: Elizabeth's father is not rich, it is just that he makes a good salary and his only expenses are his own so he can afford to help them out.

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Elizabeth and Mark are in Colleen Richards' office waiting for her appointment to start. A minute or two later, Colleen comes in and says, "Sorry to keep you waiting, today has been a very full day."

"I thought Saturdays were supposed to be your easy days," Elizabeth said with a laugh.

"Usually they are, but not this week." Opening Elizabeth's chart, Colleen asked, "How are you doing? Any problems?"

"Nothing really other than I tire easier and I have to urinate more frequently, but I know both of those are normal."

"Any morning sickness anymore?"

"Not really, only if I eat something too spicy."

"That's good to be aware of. Why don't you lay back and we can see what's going on."

Elizabeth lay back on the exam table, and Mark held her hand while standing out of the doctor's way. Colleen took Elizabeth's blood pressure and said, "I'm glad that has stayed down for the time being. Are you still checking it regularly?"

"Daily, and I'm trying to manage stress better."

"That's good to hear. Are you ready to find out the baby's sex if he or she is willing to cooperate?"

"Yes."

Colleen set up the ultrasound machine, "Fetal heart rate is 140 so that is excellent." She adjusted the screens so they all had a good view. "Let's see what we can see. Here is the head, can you see it tucked in towards the chest?"

"I see it," Mark said, gently squeezing Elizabeth's hand.

"Our baby," Elizabeth said, a tear falling from her eye.

Colleen continued, "Here are the two arms, one is down at the side and the other is resting on the head. Here we have the legs, and it looks like we will have some cooperation. Do you see this area right here? I would like to present to you, your son." Colleen said, circling the area of the genitalia.

Mark leaned over to kiss Elizabeth who said softly, "Our son."

Colleen checked out other areas of the ultrasound. "The baby looks totally healthy, from what I can see. You two decided against having an amnio done, correct?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said. "Nothing will change our decision about having this baby."

"OK."

About one half hour later, Mark and Elizabeth are walking through the ER because Mark had to get back to work. They walked toward the desk where Doug and Carol were talking.

Carol saw them approaching and asked, "Hey guys, how did it go?"

"Really well. We're going to have a son," Elizabeth said.

"Congratulations," Carol said, giving Elizabeth a warm hug. She then said, "Close your eyes." Puzzled, Elizabeth complied.

Carol then bent down and took something out of a shopping bag she had stowed below the desk. On the desk, she lay a pale blue onesy that had small yellow stars printed on it. "Open your eyes."

Elizabeth opened her eyes and when she saw the outfit she said, "Thank you, I love it. How did you know to get blue?"

"We got blue and pink," Doug said with a laugh. "Any ideas for names?"

"Not yet," Mark said. "We wanted to wait until we knew what the baby was. Doug, are you ready to get out of here? I'm sorry it took longer than I expected."

"It's not a problem, but since it's after 11 and I'm scheduled at 12, I'm not going to bother leaving. It doesn't pay for me to go home."

"I was scheduled to 12, so you don't mind covering the rest of my shift?"

"Not at all, go and celebrate the good news."

"Thanks."

Mark was exhausted from working the overnight so they opted to go home rather than go out to lunch. When they got to the house, Elizabeth asked, "Do you want me to make you lunch while you shower?"

"I'm not really hungry, I ate at the hospital before I met you for your appointment. You only need to cook if you want something, and even then, if you want to relax, I'll make you something when I get out of the shower."

"I ate too, so I'll just meet you in our room, ok?"

"Sure."

After getting a glass of water, Elizabeth went up to the bedroom and took a seat on the windowseat. It was a little chilly so she pulled a blanket up over her legs. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear Mark come into the room.

Mark walked over to her and gently lay his hand on her shoulder, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking," Elizabeth said softly.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Elizabeth was quiet for a few minutes before asking, "Would you hold me until you fall asleep?"

"Of course." Mark put his arm around Elizabeth's waist as they walked to the bed on her side. Elizabeth lay in bed on her side facing Mark and as Mark lay down, he wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and pulled her close. "You're very tense."

"I know," Elizabeth said, trying to get comfortable.

Mark woke up around 3 PM and saw that Elizabeth was asleep. He could tell she had been restless because the covers were strewn about but what disturbed him most was that her face was tear stained.

Because Elizabeth had shifted and was now lying across the bed on her side with her head resting on his chest, he reached behind her and started to gently rub her back.

Without opening her eyes, Elizabeth reached behind her back and gently took Mark's hand in hers and brought it around so he was sort of embracing her. He used his other hand to smooth back her hair from her face. "Are you OK?" he asked softly.

Elizabeth opened her eyes and said, "Now I am. I just had a lot on my mind. Did I keep you up?"

"No. I can just tell that you have been crying. I wish you had woken me up so I could have taken care of you."

"You did. Knowing that you were right here if I needed you allowed me to let my emotions go and think about everything. I knew that I could wake you up if it got to be too much."

He gently kissed her forehead and asked, "Do you feel like talking about it now or do you need more time?"

"I think I do want to talk, that might help a little." Elizabeth moved to lie next to Mark and reached for his hand. "I'm just worried about the ramifications of not having an amnio done."

"Do you think the baby could have problems?"

"I know there is no reason for him to, and I'm just paranoid, but it still worries me."

"That's normal. We can have the amnio done to reassure you if you'd like."

"I thought about it. However, insurance doesn't cover it. Also, there is nothing that would make me even consider terminating the pregnancy."

"Don't let the cost be a factor, we can work around that. If you want to do it, we'll call and schedule it."

"I'll think about it a little more, OK?"

"Sure, take all the time you need. Just know that I support either decision."

"Thank you."

"You still feel very tense. Is there more you want to talk about?"

"No, I'm OK. Its just work stuff, I guess."

"Do you want a massage?"

"Maybe a little later. I think I'm going to take a hot bath."

"That will help."

About an hour later, Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a robe. She smiled when she saw that Mark had fallen asleep reading his book. She gently removed his glasses, pulled the sheet up, and gave him a kiss.

She then quietly slipped out of the room and went downstairs to the study that she and Mark shared. Although talking to Mark had helped, Elizabeth still felt the need to talk to someone. Glancing at the clock, which read 4:30, she knew it was a safe time to call. Show Elizabeth dialing a series of numbers and the screen splits as the call connects.

"Hello?"

"Hi dad, it's me. How are you?"

"What a nice surprise to hear from you, I'm pretty good, just a little tired from long shifts this week. How are you?"

"I'm OK. I can let you go so you can get to bed. When will you be off this week?"

"Nonsense. I always have time to talk to you. Is everything OK, you don't quite sound yourself."

"I had an OB appointment today."

"How did that go?"

"I'm having a son."

"Congratulations, I'm so happy for you and Mark."

"Thank you."

"Is something wrong? Did the exam tell you something else?"

"I'm just scared. My doctor recommended that I have an amnio done to screen for birth defects. That's something I never considered. I wasn't planning to have the amnio because nothing will change my decision to carry this baby, but now I don't know if I should have it just to know." Elizabeth trailed off into tears.

"Oh sweetie, that must be so hard. Do you want to know?"

"Not because it will matter, but only so I can stop worrying that the baby will be born with three heads or something." Elizabeth was crying fairly hard by this point.

"Honey, is Mark there? You need him right now."

"He's asleep. I talked to him about my concerns earlier, and he was great. He supports any decision I make 100% and he told me not to worry about the cost."

"I'm glad he's there for you. Are the tests expensive in the States?"

"Yes, and insurance doesn't cover it."

"Do you need me to send you the money to cover it? I'm more than happy to help you out."

"That's not why I called."

"I know it isn't. I just wanted to offer in case you were hesitant to ask."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it. I think we're doing OK for the time being. We can make payments on the big items like the crib so we're managing. I just really needed someone else to talk to about it."

"I'm glad that I was home, I just wish I were more of a help."

"I know no one can make this decision for me. You helped by letting me talk, that was what I needed."

"Then I'm glad I helped. Call me at any time if you need to talk, ok? I don't care about the time. You have my mobile number, don't you?"

"Yes thanks, this all means a lot."

A few minutes later, Elizabeth crawled into bed next to a still sleeping Mark. She fell into a much more peaceful sleep than earlier that day.

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