Ian looked shocked. “Well, congratulations, Nick. As you know, I have four with the missus. There’s nothing like the first time you see your child. Go on. Go!”

Nick grabbed his briefcase and shot out the door, yelling over his shoulder for Kay to put Mr. Williamson down again for next week.

Too impatient to wait for the elevator, he bounded down the five flights of stairs to the lobby and then another flight to the underground parking deck.

By the time he pulled up to New Haven General, he was pretty sure he’d broken several traffic laws. He pulled around to the side of the hospital where the medical offices were located. Not finding a space close to the door, he parked at the back of the lot and jogged up the path. He entered and walked straight up to the reception desk.

“Hi. My wife, Raina, is here and I’m late.”

The nurse behind the desk smiled knowingly. “She asked us to keep a lookout for you, Mr. Alexander. She only went back five minutes ago.”

He followed the nurse through another door and down a long hallway. She stopped at a room on the right and knocked briskly. He heard Raina’s voice call out, “Come in.”

The nurse opened the door and ushered him inside.

“Nick!” Raina stood as soon as he entered. “You made it. I thought you weren’t going to get here in time.” She had already undressed and wore a light blue hospital gown. He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

“I’m so sorry, sweets. I was in the middle of a client meeting. I was on the verge of running out. Luckily, this guy has four kids of his own so he seemed to understand.”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. Her pregnancy was already obvious in the glow of her skin and the flush on her cheeks.

“I’m just glad you’re here. I’m waiting on the doctor now. I already filled out my paperwork and the nurses weighed me.”

He sat in one of the uncomfortable blue chairs next to the utilitarian gray desk in the corner. Raina sat back on the paper-lined exam table. It was stark and slightly scary to be in such a medicinal environment.

Raina has to do this all the time?

Nick couldn’t imagine having to come here on a regular basis, but Raina had already been once to confirm pregnancy. Now they would get to see the baby and hear the heartbeat.

There was another brief knock before the door opened. An older woman with salt-and-pepper hair stepped through the door.

“Ms. Winters, good to see you again.”

Raina waved. “Hi, Dr. Waters. This is my husband, Nick.”

The doctor shook his hand. “Hello, Mr. Alexander. Glad you could join us this time.” She read over Raina’s chart and then asked, “Any problems I should be aware of?”

“I’m just throwing up a lot. When is this part going to be over?”

“Usually it’ll stop before the second trimester. Hopefully, sooner. If it becomes severe and persistent then we’ll need to address it. But hopefully it won’t come to that.”

She pulled out a small machine and positioned it next to Raina. “Now it’s time for the good stuff. We get to do another ultrasound so you can hear your baby’s heartbeat. I’ll also measure the baby to make sure he or she is growing properly.”

Nick rubbed his hands together. While the doctor moved around the room gathering equipment, he leaned over and took Raina’s hand.

“She can’t tell whether it’s a boy or a girl yet, right?”

Raina shook her head. “Not yet. We have to wait until I’m twenty weeks along for that.”

“You don’t have a preference, do you? Because I should probably warn you, Alexander men mainly shoot Y chromosomes.”

Raina put a hand over her stomach. “I don’t care about that. I’ll love them either way. And they’ll love me right back.” She said the last part so softly he wondered if she’d meant to say it at all.

The doctor came back to them with a large wand. “Now don’t be alarmed, Mr. Alexander. Since your wife isn’t that far along, we have to use a probe.”

“A transvaginal ultrasound, right?” Nick supplied.

Dr. Waters looked impressed. “Very good. Not many fathers are that well informed.”

He gave himself a mental pat on the back. “I’ve been reading this book about pregnancy.”

Raina shot him a wry glance. “He probably knows more about it than I do.”

“Okay, just lie back and try to relax, Raina.”

Nick moved up closer to Raina’s head. Her eyes latched on to his. He could hear movement below, but he kept his eyes on hers. She flinched, then he heard the doctor tapping away at the keyboard of the machine she was staring at.

“Okay, I’m measuring the fetus. Growth is on target. Now, just a second and we’ll let you hear the heartbeat.”

There was a pause and then the room was filled with a loud whooshing sound. Nick felt his own heart rate jump in response.

“That’s our baby?” he whispered to Raina.

She nodded and a tear slipped down her cheek. “Listen to him! It’s so fast.”

“It does sound really fast. Is that normal?” He turned and repeated the question to Dr. Waters.

“It’s a beautiful heart rate. It’s normal for it to sound fast like a horse’s gallop.”

Raina looked at the screen. There wasn’t much to see, just a few white shaded areas and a small blob in the center.

“There’s my little jelly bean,” she said.