by Anna Castor
Bree rolled her eyes at his impatience and turned the page on some magazine with a smiling baby on its cover. Do babies even do that? Or was this kid photoshopped?
“Miss Ryan?” A young blonde woman in a doctor’s coat screened the waiting room.
Declan jumped right out of his chair.
“Yes! Over here.”
He couldn’t wait to get to see their baby’s heartbeat. The doctor smiled. “Ah, I’m guessing you’re Miss Ryan’s partner?”
“Yes. I’m Declan and this is Bree,” Declan said as he placed his hand on her lower back.
The doctor chuckled. “I know. We’ve met before. How are you, Bree? Shall we go to my office?”
Bree smiled at the doctor and nodded.
“Yes, that’s a good idea.”
“You just love seeing me like this, eh?” Declan asked. “Out of my comfort zone.”
He smiled against her hair as he pulled her in for a quick kiss on top of her head.
She held out her hand for him to take and they walked into the hallway, following their doctor.
“It’s quite entertaining,” Bree said.
“I hate to say this, but I think I’m suffering from hormones too. Pff I’m even having hot flashes at night.”
The doctor was about to sit down behind her desk but held still mid air. “Oh no, did you really say this to a pregnant woman? Oh, you, sir, have a lot to learn.”
Bree and the doctor shared a simultaneous eye roll and laughed.
“I see. So I’m just here for your entertainment.” Declan sat down in his chair next to Bree and grinned.
“Oh, Bree. This is going to be so much fun!” the doctor said while picking up a pen from her desk to wiggle it around between her fingers.
“I know, Sarah,” Bree said as she slapped Declan’s knee in good spirit.
“Sarah, as in….”
“Sarah Michaels, your partner’s ob-gyn. Nice to meet you,” Dr. Michaels said.
“I’ve changed ob-gyn after the first doctor was no match,” Bree said.
“Okay, nice to meet you too. Shall we get started?” Declan had a feeling he would not like being outnumbered by these two women during their upcoming appointments.
“It’s been a few weeks since we last seen each other. Have you been still experiencing nausea?” Dr. Michaels asked while typing something at her computer.
“Why do people say morning sickness when it’s all day long? It’s been getting better now that I know that it’s best to eat crackers all day. It seems to get worse when my stomach is empty.”
“Hmm, yeah. I get this from a lot of women. Have you tried ginger tea?”
“Yes, Declan came up with the same idea.”
Declan perched up on his seat, ready to join the conversation. But then Dr. Michaels asked her next topic on her list, “Have you been taking your pills?”
“Pills?” Declan said as he turned in his seat. Bree had said nothing about any pills.
Bree smiled. “Yeah. I take them every morning.”
“What pills? Is something wrong?”
“It’s just a precaution, Declan. The folic acid can help prevent birth defects,” Dr. Michaels said.
“I haven’t even thought about this stuff. How are we going to—”
Dr. Michaels waved her pen at him. “After this appointment, I’m giving you enough reading material to make you the next baby expert. I promise. And over four weeks, we’ll see each other again and then you can ask me everything you want. We still have months to prepare you both on this baby. I’m certain you’re going to be the best parents to this little bean when the time comes.”
Declan nodded and held his tongue. What else could he do? He didn’t know shit about all this stuff.
“Bree, it’s time to fill in the rest of my questionnaire. I noticed that Dr. Ulkner left out details about the baby’s father and about your father’s side of the family. We need to ask about the medical history of you both, and if possible, about any medical history in the rest of your family that could be of importance.”
Bree shifted in her seat. “I know nothing about my Dad. I mean, I know who he is…” she tried to laugh it off, but her nervous chuckle broke Declan’s heart.
That damn arsehole.
And her mother wasn’t any better.
Declan had always felt protective of Bree, but now that she was pregnant with his baby, it had been multiplied by a gazillion. Bree’s mom was projecting her own feelings on her daughter, filling Bree’s head with all kinds of bullshit. He wouldn’t stand for that. Mom or not.
“Bree hasn’t seen her father in nearly twenty years,” Declan said as he reached out to hold Bree’s hand.
He gave her hand a little squeeze. “She also hasn’t met any grandparents from her fathers’ side. Her dad never talked about them.”
Bree gave him a pensive smile, and she squeezed his hand in thanks.
Dr. Michaels hummed while typing on her computer. “Okay, noted. And you, Declan? Anything we should know about?”
“Healthy as a horse. My family is in good health.” He cleared his throat, thinking of his mother. “Well… my mom died over twenty years ago. Breast cancer.”
Dr. Michaels typed and nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
After a moment she said, “Okay, we’re going to do some fun stuff now. Bree, can you please put on the gown I’ve placed for you on the exam table? Could you please lie down for me? I’ll be back in a sec., We’re going to see your baby for the first time. Are you excited?”
Declan and Bree smiled at each other when they simultaneously said “Yes.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.
Bree stood from her seat and walked over to the exam table.
“I can’t believe we’re going to see our baby,” he said.
“I know. I can’t wait.”
Bree made quick work at removing her clothes, and his eyes zeroed in on her stomach. Declan eyed her flat tummy and wondered about the size of their baby right now.
He picked up the hospital gown so she could step into it. He closed the gown, and she looked over her shoulder.
“Thanks. I’m glad you’re here with me. I’m so nervous. I hope everything is alright.”
Declan swallowed the lump in his throat. He nodded. “Yeah. I know. I can’t wait to see the baby. To have it all checked out and to know this is really happening.”
She placed her hand on his cheek and leaned in to kiss him. “It’s going to be alright.”
“That’s my line.”
She giggled, and Declan helped her up on the exam table.
“Thanks, guys,” Dr. Michaels said as she walked back into her office.
“Okay, so Bree already knows this from listening to the heartbeat on an earlier appointment, but I have to warn you, Declan. It can take a few moments to find the baby.”
He grabbed Bree’s hand, and she yelped, “Ouch!”
“Oh, sorry…” He kissed the back of her hand.
Bree and Dr. Michaels shared another look while they figured he didn’t notice. Or they didn’t care, anyway. Dr. Michaels exposed Bree’s lower region.
“The heartbeat is about 170 beats per minute, but from here on out this will slow.”
Dr. Michaels squirted gel on Bree’s stomach, and Bree squeezed Dec’s hand.
“Oh, sorry, it’s a bit cold,” Dr. Michaels said.
“It’s okay,” Bree said.
The doctor placed an ultrasound device on Bree’s stomach and gently slid her way over Bree’s slippery skin.
“Ah, found it!” Dr. Michaels said right after they heard the first ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.
Hearing the beating heart of their child thickened Declan’s throat. He watched the dark screen hanging on the wall. It was all grey spots and white specks.
Their child was somewhere in those pixels. He swallowed his tears away before he leaned in and kissed Bree. After their quick kiss, he looked over to Dr. Michaels before she tilted her head to the side a
nd scrunched her nose.
“What’s wrong?” Bree said, her eyebrows drawn down. Declan held his breath, trying to read the doctor’s facial expressions.
Dr. Michaels held up a finger, showing she needed another moment to investigate Bree’s uterus.
“Do either of you two have twins in the family?”
“I’m a fraternal twin,” Declan said.
“You didn’t mention this earlier,” the doctor said.
“I’m sorry, it slipped my mind?” He looked at Bree lying at the table, looking like she’d seen a ghost.
“Twins?” Bree asked. “Tell me you’re lying.”
“Geez, Bree. What are ye talkin’ ‘bout? Like ye didn’t know. Ye known me for two decades. Ye played hide and seek with Ro. What are—”
“Yes, I’m confirming it. Bree, Declan… you’re going to have twins!”
“What?!”
Declan glanced at Bree, who lay still with her eyes as wide as two UFO saucers.
“Fuck…” Declan whispered. He looked over at the TV screen again, but it all seemed like a big blur.
“Oh, my, that’s… that’s…” Bree put her chin down and peered at the ultrasound device on her tummy.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Bree. I’m sure.”
Bree nodded and tugged at Dec’s hand, making him lean in.
“This is all your fault,” she said.
“Isn’t this the line women say in the movies when they’re in labor?”
“Ouch, wrong answer, Declan,” Dr. Michaels snickered.
“You and your twin! You did this to me!”
“I know this must be quite a shock. We’ll schedule extra appointments and I’m going to see if we have some leaflets on twin pregnancy for you. I’ll be right back.”
The doctor walked out of the office and Dec turned to Bree and said, “What does Ro have to do with any of this?”
“Well, without him, you wouldn’t be a twin. And I wouldn’t be having twins. My God, we’re going to need two baby seats, two baby beds, two—”
“Are you done?” Declan laughed and cocked his head.
“Excuse me?” Bree wiped the gluey stuff from her belly with some paper towels.
“Stop freaking out. Picture this,” he said as he leaned over the exam table.
“We get to have two for the price of one. Two little Brees…” He kissed her still somewhat sticky belly and rested his head against the spot.
“Or two Declans. I don’t know if I can handle this.” She puffed a breath.
“Oh, you handle me just fine…” he winked from his spot on her abdomen.
She trailed her fingers through his hair, and he closed his eyes. Inside of Bree were his two children. Two! He couldn’t wait to tell his family.
“Gwenn and Kera are going to have a field day with their Baby Pool,” Bree said.
“Pops is going to give free rounds of whiskey at Lucky when he hears this,” he said.
Bree chuckled, and Declan’s head bobbed. “We’re going to be all right Bree. I just know we are.”
“10-9.”
Declan pressed on his directional microphone’s button and repeated, “10-23.”
Caitlin crouched next to Declan, behind the see-through hedge that surrounded the house partially. They had just arrived at the scene. The front door stood wide open. A piercing female scream came from inside the one-story house.
“I’m going in,” Caitlin said as she tried to stand from her hunching position.
Declan pulled her back down and hissed, “Stay the fuck down, Ryan. We’re not flyin’ off the hook and walkin’ straight into trouble.”
“We can’t let him beat her into a pulp! I can’t sit around and do nothing!” Caitlin spat at him.
“I’m not askin’ ye to do nothin’. Just don’t go all Rambo on me. Ye need to know where ye gettin’ yerself into before ye—”
“This is not my first day on the job, Declan Mills.”
She grabbed her gun from its holster and snuck closer to the front door, hiding behind two large trash cans.
“Why do I even try?” Declan said as he looked up to the morning sky. They were going to Bree’s mother tonight for Christmas Eve. Was it too much to ask for a slow day today? Or for Cait to not lose her cool?
As he followed Cait’s lead, they crept under the window. Cait shook her head as they heard a booming voice inside say, “Admit it, Jess. You were taking Liv away from me, eh? Well, this is the last time!”
A soft little whimper followed, and a woman said, “Don’t you dare hurt my daughter!”
Declan positioned himself next to the front door and announced himself.
Cait ran past Dec with her weapon drawn and before Dec could react, she already fired at the burly man holding a knife against the little blonde girl’s throat.
The blonde woman who’d knelt at the man’s feet let out a horrendous cry. The shot missed. Cait didn’t waste another second and grabbed the angelic girl from his grasp.
She held the girl behind her back and gave the bastard a kick to his gut that lead him down to the floor.
“I’m going to kill you,” the man shouted while he attempted to get up to reach for his knife.
As if possessed, Cait gave him another kick to the face. Knocking his lights out. Dec kicked the knife to the other side of the living room.
He did a first visual check on the woman who had snagged up the child into her arms. The child was crying, but luckily not bleeding anywhere. He then passed them to stop Cait from doing further harm.
He took Cait by the shoulders and pulled her away from the motionless arsehole. Although unconscious, the man’s pulse was luckily still there. Declan also checked for any internal bleedings caused by Cait’s kick to the gut. He searched the room and next to a painting was a bullet hole. The shot had gone wide.
If she’d killed him, he would be her second perp this year. First she’d shot Kayla’s stalker in March, and now this. Declan knew this would be Cait’s final straw.
There would be no coming back from this incident. She’d stormed into the house, shooting at the man holding the knife to the child’s throat. Although she’d saved the child, today’s actions were unlike Cait.
Declan steered Cait into the small kitchen and called everything in. After receiving word from dispatch, he sat Cait down on a stool and made her promise to sit tight and to talk to no one.
He needed her to save whatever left of her sanity. The feral expression she’d showed today after kicking that man unconscious, made even Declan shudder. And he didn’t get easily spooked.
He walked over to the woman. She rocked the little girl in her arms.
He checked the man’s pulse again. Still steady. And still out cold.
Declan blocked the sight of the man as it was nothing for a young girl to see. My God, today hit him close to home.
He just found out he was having twins, and here he was, saving a little girl’s life. How old would she be? Five? Six, maybe? She looked around the same age as Tommy.
“Thank you so much,” whispered the woman.
“He would’ve…” she sobbed and her entire body shook as her cries increased in volume.
“Ma’am, can I please have a look at your beautiful baby girl?” he said.
The woman eyed Declan suspiciously, but he could understand the need to hold on to your child after this morning. He held out a hand and kneeled down again. “Just to make sure she’s not hurt. Would that be okay?”
The woman nodded and her red rimmed blue eyes turned on her daughter. “Liv, we’ve got to let this nice police officer have a quick look at you. Come, show him your face, sweetie.”
“That’s a good girl,” Declan said. The girl had a bruise on her upper arm, probably where that man had grabbed her, but other than that, no injuries showed on the surface.
“Do you hurt anywhere, Liv?” Declan said.
He needed to make sure the girl didn’t have any internal bleeding. In ti
mes like this, these small check-ups could save lives.
Liv shook her head and looked up to her mommy. “I want to go see Ryleigh.”
“Ryleigh?” Declan asked, wondering if they’d missed someone during the altercation. He instantly stood and eyed all exits.
“Is there someone else present here?”
He couldn’t believe they made this rookie mistake. He hadn’t even cleared all rooms yet. He’d been too preoccupied with his partner losing her shit and almost killing the bastard holding a knife to this child.
The woman shook her head. “No. No, it’s just us. Liv and I live here, and…” she waved a trembling hand at the man on the floor who still was knocked out cold.
“Nobody’s here?”
Cait walked into the living room. “I got it.” She checked out the pantry before he could even tell her to sit her arse back down in the kitchen. Just his luck if she would find another man to shoot in the bedroom. But he couldn’t exactly yell this in front of the victims before him.
“Just a minute, I’ll be right back. Call out for me the moment he stirs.”
He followed Caitlin as she just entered the last bedroom down the hall. His eyes scanned the room, and he looked under the bed. After checking the closet, he turned to Cait, who held still in front of a chest of drawers with several pictures on top.
“Okay, the room is clear,” he said and made a move to walk out of the room.
Cait stood stock-still. She trained her eyes on the bigger photo frame and her hand went to pick it up, as if in slow motion.
“Cait.”
She didn’t respond and trailed her finger over the picture.
“Cait!”
She picked up the photo frame and turned it to Declan.
“It’s him,” she said.
“Who? What are you talking about? Leave that and walk back with me to the kitchen. Stop touching their stuff.” Declan was getting more agitated by the minute, and more worried. The haunted eyes of Cait shot over the photo and she picked up her cell phone.
“What are ye doin’?” Declan said as he tried to take the picture from Cait’s hand.
“Stop it, Dec! It’s all I have of him. I need to take a picture!”
