Chapter 103: Dad
*A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society. – Billy Graham*
JD had come over and told Reese what had happened between himself and Dean. The younger man was hurt, but he also knew that it was the grief and not Dean that was acting out. It didn’t lessen the pain any.
“Don’t.” Amelia said as Reese came through the backdoor of the big house.
“She can’t-.”
“You’ll only make it worse.” Amelia told him. She never even looked up from the magazine she was thumbing through. “She’s angry, if you go in there, she’ll be angry at you.”
“I thought anger was later in the five, seven, forty-two steps of grief.” He replied walking into the kitchen and sitting down.
Amelia finally looked up from her magazine, but only to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl. “They go in whatever order they want to go in. Sometimes, people go through some of the stages of grief multiple times. There’s no right or wrong way to grieve.”
“There is a wrong way to treat people.”
Amelia looked up and met his angry eyes. “And both of you are angry right now. She may not be a Reese, but damnit, she has your temper. She’s still a child. She’s still learning.”
Reaching over, she grabbed her uncle’s hand. “I know, it’s easy to see the young woman that she is becoming. Dean is still a little girl. And she just lost her mom. It’s a lot to deal with.”
“I don’t know what to do for her.” Reese admitted quietly.
“I know. The main thing is just to be here. Except, not right now. Helen has a doctor’s appointment in a little bit.” Amelia smiled at his confused look and then pointed at the reminder that had popped up on his phone.
Standing up, Reese kissed the top of her head. “Take care, princess.”
“Always.” She replied as she went back to her magazine and planning her dream house. It had been a hobby of hers since she was little. She had a house that she loved and wouldn’t change it. But she also had five kids and dreamed of a day that she did not trip over toys. As her daughters got older, she also began to dread it.
Reese paused at the door with one more glance towards the hall. “You don’t think that she’ll do anything stupid, do you?”
Amelia looked back up at him and gave him a soft smile. “No. But as a precaution, I’ve already removed all of Monster’s collars and leashes and anything else that she could use. She doesn’t even have sheets on her bed.”
“Thank you.” He whispered.
“You know that we love that brat, too, right?”
“I do.” He returned the smile. “Love you, princess.”
“One four three.” She replied as he walked out of the door.
He walked back over to his house and down to his office. Helen was on the phone checking in with Katherine as she was getting ready to leave. So far, only Frank and Katherine knew what her appointment was for. She had told Katherine because she asked about her OB/GYN. And Frank because he happened to be in the office.
“You ready?” Reese asked from the doorway as she hung up.
“You know that you don’t have to go, right?” She asked standing up from the desk that she had commandeered for the morning.
“I do. But I’m still going.” He replied before giving her a kiss. “I’m not missing anything.”
“I love you.” It slipped out without her thinking and then she worried about how he would respond.
Reese cupped her cheek and kissed her lightly. “I love you too. Let’s go see this peanut that we made.”
“It’s probably too early to see your peanut.” She told him as he took her hand and walked her over to the Impala.
"It's never too early for you to see my peanut" He countered with a wolfish grin. She rolled her eyes and got in the car.
He held her hand the whole way to the doctor’s office, releasing it only to shift gears. On the way over, they talked about his call from the state department. Mary’s body was now on its way to the states by way of the Czech Republic. Reese had arrangements to meet the plane with her body tomorrow morning.
The small doctor’s office was tucked behind Mercy Hospital in a medical office building. They parked and walked across the small parking lot hand in hand. Helen thought that it was strange to be thinking that she was going to have a baby at forty-three. Her oldest was also expecting his first baby and hers would arrive a few months later.
After checking in at the front desk, Helen and Reese both received a packet of papers for medical history. They were halfway through their packets when her name was called. The nurse had her step up on the scale and Helen was glad that the weight went to the tablet, and she didn’t have to see it. The last week had been stressful, and she was certain she had eaten her weight in chocolate.
And ice cream.
And Popeye's red beans and rice.
They followed the nurse into the exam room and Reese lifted Helen up onto the exam table before sitting in the chair. They answered the nurse’s questions and then she left the room letting them know that the doctor would be right in.
“You do know that right in, means in about thirty minutes.” Helen asked him.
“Surely, not.” Reese smiled. “There’s a lot that could be done in thirty minutes with a bed with stirrups.”
“Reese!” she hissed.
He reached over and pulled out one of the stirrups.
“Stop it.” Helen laughed as she put it back. He just grinned at her as he pulled out the other one.
“You know one of the great things about pregnancy sex is?” Reese asked as he pulled her to the end of the table before pulling the other stirrup back out.
“No.” she whispered, blushing at the fact that she was turned on.
“You’re already pregnant.” He whispered just before kissing her.
“Which would be why you’re here.” Dr. Aberton chuckled as he entered the room. “I can give you a few minutes if you’re trying for twins. I will warn you, success rate for twins like that is very low.”
Helen buried her face in Reese’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He gave a light chuckle before kissing the top of her head and moving back to his chair.
“Sorry.” Helen murmured as the doctor moved the stirrups back into place.
“Nothing to be sorry for, my dear.” He smiled back at her. “I’m assuming that he’s the cause of this little one?” the doctor asked jerking a thumb over at Reese who was grinning like a loon.
A very proud loon.
“Yes.” She said smiling at Reese.
“Well, daddy, congratulations. Now, mom, you are high risk because of your age. I know we talked a little about this last time, but let’s go over it again.”
The doctor sat on his rolling stool and motioned for Reese to join Helen. He stood next to her and kissed the top of her head.
“Our main concerns this early are going to be miscarriage and, yes, twins. Fraternal are more common with older moms. There’s also a risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and premature birth. Down syndrome and other genetic disorders are also common.”
Helen nodded, keeping her fear at bay.
“Now, typically, I would see you once or twice during the first trimester and move to monthly during the second. Since we discovered your pregnancy early, and you are an older mom, I think we’re going to go ahead and do once a month for now. At the second trimester, we’ll probably move to twice a month. Does that sound good?”
Again, Helen nodded.
“Do you have any questions, dad?”
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