by Cleo Jones
Jasmine gave up on reading her magazine and placed it back on the table between them. “Say something,” she whispered.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don't know...”
“Were you really planning on not telling me?”
“I didn't see any point in fucking up both of our lives,” Jasmine finally admitted, studying her hands. “I still don't. You’re in school, Liam. In a few years you’ll be this big-time attorney, and I’m not going to be the one to screw that up for you. I won’t.”
Liam started to interrupt but a nurse called Jasmine’s name before he could. “I'm coming with you,” he said instead.
“Liam,” Jasmine hissed. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t care.”
Jasmine sighed and turned away from the nurse to meet his gaze. “Look, you can read my notes, and I’ll even give you copies of the sonogram pictures. But other than that…”
“I'm coming with you,” Liam said again, this time more firmly. The look on his face was one Jasmine recognized all too well. It was one that told her that there wasn’t any point in continuing to argue with him, so she didn’t.
Jasmine made her way down the hall with Liam lingering close behind her. They entered the sonograph room a few seconds later, and she began her usual routine of climbing up onto the bed and pulling up her shirt. The sight of her stomach in all its glory made Liam's breath hitch in his throat. It looked a lot bigger than it did beneath clothing.
The ultrasound tech smiled at her before glancing at Liam. “And who might this be?” he questioned, not wanting to make any assumptions.
“I'm the father,” Liam answered before Jasmine could say anything, causing her to scowl at him. He extended his hand to the tech, who gave it a brief shake. “Names Liam.”
“Well it's nice to meet you, Liam,” the tech said before turning back to his computer screen. “If you wouldn't mind shifting just a little to the right, you'll be able to see the screen a lot better that way.”
Liam nodded and did as he was told. The tech pulled out a paper sheet and tucked it into Jasmine's pants before reaching for a tube of what could be best described as goo.
“Don't worry,” the tech assured Jasmine when she braced herself for the cold gel to make contact with her flesh. He motioned to something on his cart. “My gel warmer is up and running today.”
Liam looked confused but he didn't ask for an explanation.
“When was your last period?” the tech questioned, glancing down at Jasmine's paperwork.
Jasmine told him and he went on to mention her due date based on its correlation to the conception date. “Does that sound about right to you?” he questioned, looking up at her from his clipboard.
Jasmine glanced at Liam and swallowed hard. This was the moment of truth she'd been dreading. “Yes,” she managed. “That's correct.”
“Great, well, I'm going to turn on my monitor now and make sure everything is okay, then I'll talk you both through what I see. Sound good?”
And so began the longest five minutes of Liam's life. The tech spent ages pushing against Jasmine's stomach with a scanning wand, clicking on his keyboard every now and then to take random measurements. Eventually Liam gave up trying to watch and studied Jasmine's face instead.
Liam felt like he was looking at pre-fame Jasmine all over again. Her face was bare of any makeup and she was clearly nervous as hell. From the neck up, he was the Jasmine he knew in his youth. He wanted so badly to talk to her, but now wasn't the time. They'd both been holding their breath ever since the tech said he wanted to make sure everything was okay with the baby.
What did that mean anyway? Liam wondered. Here he was, having only just found out that he was going to be a dad, and he was already knee-deep in protective mode.
Finally, the tech turned to them and smiled. “Your baby is perfectly healthy,” he assured them. “Shall I introduce you?”
Liam and Jasmine nodded at the same time, and the tech turned his cart around so that they could better see the screen. “Here’s the head,” he explained, pointing his pen at a small circle. “And this right here is the heartbeat.”
Liam felt like his entire world had shifted off its axis. Everything he thought was important before this moment now seemed to pale in comparison. He could barely even take in what the tech was saying. All he could focus on was the tiny person he had a hand in creating.
“Do you want to know the sex?” the tech questioned, catching Liam's attention for the first time in minutes.
“No,” he and Jasmine said in unison. It marked one of the first times in their lives that they'd automatically agreed on something.
The tech smiled. He briefly wondered what the story was with these two. They seemed like a couple, but one could never be sure. The love struck way in which Liam was staring at the ultrasound made it clear that he'd only just unearthed his role of father-to be.
“There you have it,” the tech said, turning the screen back towards him and tapping a few buttons on his keyboard. “That's your baby.”
“Our baby,” Liam repeated, speaking his first words in minutes. He gripped hold of Jasmine's hand and smiled at her as a few stray tears trailed their way down his cheeks. It was the expression of a man who'd just fallen in love.
Chapter five
Jasmine ran to make a much needed bathroom break after her scan, and the tech took the opportunity to hand Liam his own copy of the ultrasound photo.
Liam's heart skipped a beat when he looked down at it. It was his first physical photograph of his child and he couldn't get over his excitement. Who knew you could love someone this much who you'd yet to meet?
“I just figured you might want one of your own,” the tech explained.
“I appreciate it,” Liam said as he neatly folded the picture in half and slid it in his wallet.
When Jasmine returned, the tech handed her a copy of the ultrasound as well. “Well alright then,” he spoke up, making his way over to the door. “It was nice meeting you both. Dr. Gilligan will be in soon for the second half of your appointment.”
Liam and Jasmine both thanked him. As soon as he was gone, Jasmine's smile dissipated and she turned to look Liam in the eye.
“You don't need to stay for this part,” she told him. “You've had your confirmation.”
Liam didn't flinch.
“Liam,” Jasmine said with a deep sigh. “This isn't like the ultrasound. This is private.”
Liam shrugged. “If it involves my child, I want to be there for it. You're just going to have to get used to it.”
Jasmine narrowed her eyes at him but remained quiet. She contemplated pointing out the fact that he had no real rights as a father considering the baby wasn't even born yet, but something stopped her from doing so. It occurred to her that maybe if he heard all the gory details of what went into childbirth, he wouldn't feel the need to tag along next time.
“Whatever,” Jasmine muttered. “I'm not in the mood to fight with you.”
“Good.”
They sat in an awkward silence for a good ten minutes and Jasmine distracted herself by flipping through some celebrity gossip site on her phone. She knew it wasn't a smart idea to look at bad press about herself, but she couldn't help it. There was something so fascinating about reading what people thought they knew about you.
“Why?” Liam finally spoke up.
“Why what?” Jasmine questioned, pulling her attention from an article that was dragging her for her natural hair transition. Not that she cared. Frequent perms and bleaches weren't safe during pregnancy, and she cared a lot more about her unborn child than she did her hair.
Liam took a deep breath. He had a hard time getting the words out. “Why did you go through with it?” he questioned, keeping his gaze steadied on his hands.
Jasmine swallowed hard and went back to flipping through her phone. “I don't believe in that,” she said. It was a simple enough reason, but
what she really wanted to say was, 'this baby is a part of us. I could never get rid of it'.
The implications of speaking those words were far too heavy for Jasmine’s liking. She and Liam were over. Baby or not, was no ‘them’ left.
“Thank you,” Liam said.
It was the most sincere thing Jasmine had heard him say in awhile, and she couldn't help but look at him. “I did it for the baby,” she clarified. “Not for you.”
“I know,” Liam said in his usual cocky manner. “But that doesn't make me any less grateful.”
Dr. Gilligan entered the room a few seconds later. “Good afternoon, Miss Davis,” he said, nodding at Jasmine without looking up from his clipboard.
Liam was immediately put off by how bored he sounded. He didn't want any doctor who was in charge of bringing his kid into the world seeming annoyed by his profession. Not to mention the fact that he had clearly seen better days. He had to have been at least sixty by the looks of it. Why hadn't he retired yet?
“I've reviewed your file,” Dr. Gilligan continued without acknowledging Liam's presence. “Your baby's development is exactly where it should be this far along. All I need to do today is get some additional information from you. Your next scan is a big one. We need to know if there’s anything in specific that we should watch out for. Let's start with the father. Do you happen to know anything about his medical history?”
“Actually,” Liam spoke up, gritting his teeth. “I'm the father.”
Dr. Gilligan looked surprised. “Oh, I'm sorry. Of course. How rude of me.”
Liam shrugged.
Dr. Gilligan cleared his throat and looked down at Jasmine's paperwork again. “As I was saying,” he continued, stumbling over his words a bit. “Your baby's development is right where it should be this far along. My main concern is how you've been feeling. It says here that you've been experiencing a bit of heartburn?”
“Yes,” Jasmine said. “But it's manageable. It mostly only happens after I've eaten something spicy. The little one doesn't seem to agree with my Thai cravings.”
Dr. Gilligan snickered at the remark, but the look in his eyes made it clear that he wasn't entirely listening. He went on to make a few recommendations before explaining the birthing process Jasmine had decided on in vivid detail. Liam latched onto every word, but he was left feeling physically ill by the time the appointment was over.
“Jazz hold on, we need to talk,” he spoke up, placing a hand on her arm to stop her from walking so fast.
Jasmine laughed and shook her head. “Oh no we don't,” she shot back, continuing down the corridor towards the parking garage where her driver was waiting.
Liam ran after her. “Jazz come on,” he pleaded. “I know we're not the best of friends, but you can't keep me out of my child's life.”
Jasmine sighed. “What exactly do you want?”
“Easy,” Liam said, leaning against the wall. “I want in on the decisions from here on out. I want to come to these appointments, I want to be there for the birth, and I want joint custody.”
“What?” Jasmine hissed. “Joint custody? Liam, come on...”
“No, you come on,” Liam shot back. “Any child of mine is going to have both their mother and their father in their life.” He paused and grabbed her hand, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Even if one of them hates the others guts.”
Jasmine glared at him. “I don't hate you,” she muttered.
Liam raised an eyebrow, making it clear that he didn't believe her.
“Fine,” Jasmine agreed, exhaling a deep sigh. “But when I ask you to back off, you back off. And your involvement in my life ends with our child. It doesn't cross over the boundaries of that.”
“Of course,” Liam said. He smiled and held up his hands. “So long as you don't let your life have an affect on our kid's.”
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