Cheeky Confidence

**Allie's POV**
A firm squeeze on my limp hand pulled me from my slumber, and I did my best to focus through the fog on the conversation happening around me. I could hear Nate, but there was someone else. A man, nearly being drowned out by the constant beeping of the heart monitor beside me.
"She said she got a negative test."
"It must've been a false negative, then. It happens sometimes. Could've been faulty or her levels could've been too low for it to pick up, but I assure you, she is quite a ways along in her first trimester. I imagine she's about a month from entering the second." Wait, what? Were they talking about me? Was this a dream?
Damn it, I needed to open my eyes!
I flexed my fingers and toes, forcing my heavy lids open in the process.
"Allie?" I groaned, blinking in the blinding flourescents of the hospital room.
"Oh, good. You're awake. I've got news." The doctor smiled down at me, his hard features contradicting his kind demeanor.
"I'm pregnant." My voice was weak, raspy, but they heard me fine. I struggled to sit up, but Nate helped, supporting under my arms until I was situated more comfortably against the angled backing.
"Yes. You heard." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Guess that's one hell of a way to get you up and moving, innit?"
"Yea. I just… how?" I looked to Nate, whose eyes were sparkling with a mix of elation and relief, both of which had my stomach fluttering. "Sorry, that doesn't make sense. I mean, how am I so far along?" My eyes went back to the man in the white coat, whose nametag read 'Eugene Evans, MD Emergency Medicine'. He looked perplexed, crossing his legs and flipping over to the back of whatever page was in his clipboard, taking a pen from his pocket afterwards.
"Well, lets do some calculating, shall we? What was the first day of your last period?" I blushed. I knew it was a weird response for a grown woman, but it wasn't like I was used to discussing that shit with random strangers, much less men.
"Um, the twenty fourth of January." He shook his head, tapping the back of the pen to his lips.
"The one before. That wasn't a full period. You were already pregnant." I was? The butterflies that were in my stomach traveled north, filling my chest with jubilee and sweet warmth.
"The one before was the twentieth I guess. It was five days before Christmas, I remember that."
"Alright, perfect. Let's see, then." He took out his phone, opening his calendar and scribbling on the notepad for a couple minutes. "Ah, there we go." He rolled his stool our direction, stopping beside where Nate sat in the plastic guest chair. "Looks like there were thirty five days between your two periods, right? That normal for you?"
"Yea."
"Okay, well, that puts your ovulation somewhere between the 6th and 10th of January, so you likely conceived somewhere around there." I furrowed my brow. That's not right.
"We didn't, um… start trying until the night of the eleventh. So, I guess the twelfth." He blinked at me.
"Then, I guess you got lucky. You can still conceive between ovulation and the luteal phase, it's just rare. It's a real small window, maybe two days."
"Damn." Nate muttered in awe, saying exactly what I was thinking. We had two days to conceive, which meant we barely caught it in time. If we hadn't slept together that night…
I let out a short laugh in disbelief. I was so depressed for no fucking reason. Our little baby was growing while I was crying. I felt like an idiot, a very ecstatic idiot.
The doctor finished a few more calculations before adding, "According to your LMP, you look to be about fifty four days along. Or seven weeks, five days. Only four weeks two days left in your first trimester then. I can recommend an obstetrician, if you'd like."
"Oh, um, we don't live here. We live in New York. We're only here on holiday and we've got two weeks left. Should we leave early?"Nate asked, entwining our fingers and patting my hand with his free one. He was shaking, and I couldn't wait for the doctor to leave so we could talk. Almost two freaking months pregnant! I was so excited that I nearly forgot why the hell we were in the hospital in the first place.
"Oh. Well, I can send you with some iron supplements for the anemia. I'd say as long as you don't do anything overly strenuous on your trip, you ought to be alright."
"What do you classify as strenuous?" The doctor smirked at Nate, and I was horrified.
"You can still have sex. I meant like rock climbing or long bike rides." Oh my God. I used my open hand to cover my face, but that just made both of them laugh. "Regardless, you'll want to schedule your first appointment quickly to get established. Then just send me their information and I'll fax them your records from today's visit. How do you feel now?" He directed at me. Excited. Eager. Borderline high.
"Good."
"Not dizzy or nauseous anymore, then?" Oh. Right. I paused my inward celebration to actually consider my physical state.
"I think I'm okay. Just tired."
"Very good. I don't think we need to do imaging, but if you start to feel worse, come back and see me. I'll have the nurse draft your discharge."
"Thank you so much."
"Yea, thanks Doctor." Nate added, standing to shake the man's hand.
"It was a pleasure helping you two. And congratulations." With that, he left, and I had to physically force myself not to jump out of the damn bed and into Nate's arms. Thankfully, though, he brought himself to me, immediately climbing into the bed and pulling me into his arms, impressively dodging the IV in my arm along the way.
"I'm pregnant!" I squealed, shaking my legs like a hyperactive child on Christmas morning. He laughed, a beautifully mirthful laugh that shook my torso, before leaning back to plant kisses all over my face.
"I love you." He said finally, leaning back on his knees to get a good look at me. His bright eyes were shimmering as he scanned my face, down to my belly, then back, grinning in the same way he did when we said our vows that morning.
"I love you, too." I tugged at his shirt, pulling him in closer so I could catch his lips with mine. I was on cloud nine, completely drunk on our beautiful news, but reality began leaking in, filling my mind with more questions than I had the answers to. "Oh God, what are we going to do?"
"What?" Nate sat back, cocking his head.
"I don't know shit about being pregnant! I need books, or something, right? And we need a nursery! What if we have twins? The apartment isn't baby-proofed at all! We'll need to renovate, and how are we going to do that while I'm pregnant? We can find another place to stay temporarily, but that'll put us outside of central New York because I doubt there are any openings anywhere close to where we are now. And clothes! I'll need new clothes! When do pregnant women even start showing, Nate? What if I have to get a c-section? Do I need one of those yoga balls to bounce on? I bet there's classes I could join, but should you come too? Where the hell do I even find that crap?" I paused to take a deep breath, feeling lightheaded in my rambling, only to look up and see Nate with his lips puckered, clearly trying to hold in his laugh. "Don't you do it."
He blinked rapidly, shrugging his shoulders up while shaking his head. "What? I wasn't doing anything." He defended himself weakly, not even trying to sound believable, which just made me want to laugh, too.
"I'm pregnant now. You have your own hell coming, mister, so you'd better behave."
"Oi, you threatening me, now?" He said with an amused grin. "Violent little thing."
"Nate…" I groaned in complaint, leaning forward to rest my head on his shoulder. "I've never been around a pregnant person before. I need help."
"I haven't either, love. Looks like we'll both need to do our research. But that's alright. No stressing, kay?" I raised my brows along with my head.
"You can't just tell a woman not to stress. It doesn't work that way."
"Well, what am I supposed to say?"
"You're supposed to distract us so that we don't stress." He thought for a moment, before flashing a mischievous smirk, leaning in close enough to whisper.
"Ever had a fantasy about fucking in a doctor's office?" My jaw dropped, my face turning hot and scarlet.
"Oh my God, Nate! Get off my bed!" I demanded incredulously, but my smile was still there because he was laughing his ass off, clutching me closer to his chest as he vibrated with his fit. He was starting to be more open joking with me about sex, which was both a blessing and a curse. It made me feel less like a victim, but also, it was embarrassing as hell. The man had a knack for making totally inappropriate things hilarious and it was one of the things I loved about him, but damn it, I wasn't used to it.
"I'm sorry…" He breathed, snickering still. "You're just so damn cute."
"Yea, well now you've got me picturing naughty things. How am I supposed to talk to the nurse now, huh?" I rubbed at my cheeks, hoping to direct the blood somewhere else while Nate leaned back to give me another kiss.
I wanted to pout. I wanted to scold him.
But I couldn't. Because regardless of how unconventional his tactic was… it worked. I felt at ease, comfortable.
I really felt like we could do this whole parenting thing.