Chapter 59- SIGN

'We have to get you to the hospital" Leonardo told Aurora as worry rang through his vocal cords

'No please, I hate hospitals" She answered, yet still in a state of panic. All her life Aurora feared hospitals. Growing up, Aurora would always visit the hospital with her sick mother to get medications and always they would refuse to treat her mother because there was never any funds on their end for the medications. And now that Leonardo had mentioned the hospital, it made Aurora more nervous.

'How can you become a doctor when you hate hospitals?" he asked her, trying to keep her talking as a mean of distracting her from her nausea.

'It's not the same thing" she angrily answered him as Leonardo got her off the floor, carried her into their room and laid her onto their bed.

'How so?" he asked her, at the same time he dialed the doctors number while Aurora hugged herself and beads of sweat ran down her face.

'It's different when I help people—"

'But you get scared when the doctors are the ones helping you" Leonardo finished her sentence for her and even as he looked into her eyes, he could see that she was tearing up.

Dropping the phone to the floor, he rushed by her side and held her in his warm embrace. Whispering words of encouragement into her ears until she calmed down.

'Yes, hospitals are not my favorite place to be that's all' Aurora responded sheepishly, her head buried deep in Leonardo's chest, so close that she could hear his heart beat a thousand times.

'Don't you worry, the doctor will be here in a few minutes" Leonardo reassured her, even though he was not aware of what time that the doctor would arrive. All Leonardo had wanted to know was whether his wife would be okay or not.


**

Leonardo paced the floor of his room as the doctor evaluated his wife, his nerves shooting up for every second that he did not get answers about her health. The doctor studied his wife's breathing, then looked at her eyes and had also proceeded to take a few samples, ones that Leonardo had no clue what it was about.

The doctor removed her stethoscope and looked at Leonardo and smiled, the doctor's reaction to him was one that baffled him.

'Yes doctor, what is wrong with my wife?" he asked.

'I have to go to the bathroom and as soon as I get the result, I can tell you what is wrong with your wife" Leonardo stepped away and allowed the doctor to walk into the bathroom, while he rushed to be by Aurora's side.

'Are you okay my love?" he asked her and just like before, Aurora still looked weak. The door to the bathroom opened and the doctor walked out with the test in her hands.

'Yes doctor, is there anything wrong?" Leonardo asked once more, fearing the worst might happen to his wife. But the doctor's smile was one that confused Leonardo.

'Well I think you both would like to hear this news, congratulations. Your wife Avena is pregnant" the doctor delivered the news. Both Leonardo and Aurora stared at each other in shock, of all things, this was the news that they had not expected.

A thousand thoughts ran through Leonardo's mind as he stared at Aurora who was equally as stunned at he was and just like that, he smiled and planted a kiss onto Aurora's forehead.

'We're going to have a baby, we're going to be parents!" Leonardo jumped up. Aurora simply stared at Leonardo as he displayed his excitement whereas Aurora thought of all things that could possibly go wrong.
Leonardo stopped jumping as he realized that Aurora was deep in thought and he could not figure out why it was that she had not shared the same excitement as he did.

'Hey my love, what is wrong with you, aren't you excited?" Leonardo asked, worried that Aurora did not share the same sentiments that he did regarding children.

'I—I just, I don't know what to say" Aurora stuttered as she tried to process the news internally. She placed her hand over the flatness of her stomach and wondered what it would be like to hold her baby in her arms. She was finally about to live her childhood dream of becoming a mother.

Slowly but slowly her life was beginning to take shape, she was now married to the man of her dreams, just purchased a new home and now she was expecting a baby along with her dream of becoming a doctor.

Aurora turned her head to face her husband and just as she did, his lips covered hers and he kissed her deeply. His hands holding onto both her hands, allowing her to focus only on the intensity of his kiss.

Leonardo let go of her and he looked at her in her eyes, already he could see her face changing and swelling up, evidence that she was indeed carrying his child.

'I think I have to leave the two of you here. Just make sure that you bring your wife for a deeper checkup"

'Of course doctor, I will bring her to your office tomorrow morning. Thank you, I will walk you out now" Leonardo kissed Aurora on her forehead and walked the doctor out. Aurora sat on her bed, still in disbelief until Leonardo walked back into their room and sat on the bed.

'I think you need to sleep now and gather all the strength you need" Leonardo reminded her, but Aurora stared at him with surprise written over her face.

'But I am not tired" she argued

'You might not be tired but the baby might be and I truly want you to relax. Now please, go to sleep" Leonardo kissed her on her forehead and laid her back onto the bed. Aurora smiled and Leonardo and placed her head onto the pillow, before shutting her eyes and going to bed.

Leonardo stared at his beautiful wife and smiled at himself, his dream was finally coming true and all that with the woman of his dreams. He laid with his back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling and unable to sleep. Images of Aurora's swelling belly kept him awake the entire time.

He could not hold his excitement any longer as he kept smiling every time he imagined his little son or daughter playing with him in the newly built garden.

'I am going to become a father" he whispered to himself, hoping that by speaking to himself, the reality of fatherhood might register in his head.

**

Aurora nervously held onto Leonardo's hand as the doctor applied the cold jell onto to her belly, so cold that she hissed.

'Does it hurt?" Leonardo asked, panic filled his tone of voice. Aurora lifted her head to look at him and smiled.

'No, it's just that it's cold" she explained herself and it was only then that Leonardo seemed to have calmed down. Aurora turned her head to the screen and awaited to see their baby for the very first time. The doctor placed the abdominal probe onto her stomach and then the screen lit up.

Seeing nothing much, both Aurora and Leonardo stared at one another, worried that something might have gone wrong after only learning the good news about their baby the night before.

'Doctor, is there something wrong?" Aurora asked, gripping onto Leonardo's hand tighter than she had before. The doctor simply smiled at her and went back to typing onto the computer. The silence only lasted for a minuet but that one minuet was the longest of Leonardo and Aurora's life.

Just like that, the silence that once filled the room was replaced with the sound of thunder and a galloping horse, so loud and fast that it had both Leonardo and Aurora staring at one another.

'Doctor, what is that?" He asked, panicked that their worst fears had been confirmed.

'That is your child's heartbeat" he informed them, smiling at both their worried facial expression.

'But why is it so fast doctor, is there something wrong with our baby?" Aurora asked, expecting to hear the worst but instead, she was met with her doctor's gentle smile.

'Nothing is wrong, it is completely normal to have his or her heart beat that fast. So far your baby looks healthy, heart beat perfect and is growing well" he informed both parents. Relief filled both Leonardo and Aurora, for the first time since they had walked into the doctor's office, they were fully relived that all was going well with their child.

'I will give you a slip and you obviously have to get your wife all that is on the list, the list also consists of what to eat and what not to eat" the doctor informed them and within seconds he was wiping the gel of Aurora's belly and then left the room.

'So what are we naming our little girl?"
Aurora turned to look into her husband's eyes and smiled at him. After not hearing his voice for a while, she appreciate his input on matters concerning their child.

'What makes you think that it is a girl, what if it's a boy?"

'Well, I can feel that she is going to be just like her mother, beautiful and honest" hearing such sweet words from her husband was enough to make Aurora feel emotional and just like that, guilt washed over her hearing her husband call her an honest person.

Aurora had wanted nothing but to disappear on in that moment. She was not honest woman and the last thing she wanted was for her child to come into a world of lies, especially when she was the queen of lies herself.

'Are you okay?"

'Yes, I am fine my love"

'You look concerned… and worried about something"

'No it's nothing" she answered, but quickly looking away from Leonardo because that way he would not realize that once more she was lying to him to his face.

'If you say so. Meanwhile, I have to take you and our little peanut home" Leonardo informed Aurora whom
quickly stared at him with a questionable glare.

'Peanut?"

'Yes, Peanut. I mean, did you see how small our baby looked, just like a little peanut" Leonardo smiled as he explained his reasoning to Aurora, who simply shook her head at the crazy ideas that her husband comes up with.

'Just when I think that you are normal, you go ahead and prove me wrong" she teased him, as Leonardo stepped closer to help her get off the hospital bed.

'Well I found that since I fell in love with you, I had lost my mind a bit"

'Just a bit?" Aurora questioned him.

'Well now that you mention it, with every passing day I fall madly in love with you" Leonardo's words filled her heart but the more it did, the more her guilt strangled every piece of joy that existed in her.