The Baby's Bodyguard by Jacqueline Diamond

Author:Jacqueline Diamond [Diamond, Jacqueline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781460396858
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2004-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Realizing it had been nearly an hour since he dropped off Casey, Jack returned to the doctor’s office. He forced himself to go inside to find her, although he hated anything concerning doctors.

For himself, he avoided checkups whenever possible. He might get stuck with a needle, and the antiseptic smell brought back memories of his mother’s illness.

In the waiting room apparently shared by both doctors, a few people sat on the couches, but his wife wasn’t among them. “She’s with Dr. Smithson,” the receptionist said when he inquired. “You’re her husband, right? Go right in. It’s Room C.”

Although he considered begging off, Jack wanted to size up the man responsible for delivering his child. With a nod, he followed her directions.

At the door to Room C, he knocked lightly. A white-coated man in his late forties opened it. “Yes?”

“Jack!” Beyond the doctor, he saw Casey sitting on an examining table, wearing a short white robe that strained to cover her expanded belly. “I’m glad you came in.” She made introductions.

“Your wife’s doing very well.” The doctor picked up a file from the side counter. “She’s slightly dilated, one or two centimeters, which is normal at this stage of pregnancy, and the baby’s setting lower in the pelvis.”

Jack had no idea what that meant. “Is she in labor?”

Dr. Smithson maintained an earnest expression, although a slight wrinkling at the corners of his eyes indicated amusement. “No, Dad, although these are indicators that she’s getting ready. Delivery could still be a few weeks off or it could happen any day.”

Jack had never heard himself referred to as Dad before. He felt as if the doctor had mistaken him for someone else, a mature, slightly stodgy character from a television show who always knew the right thing to say.

“Your daughter’s got a strong heartbeat,” he went on. “Dad, would you like to hear it?”

Curious though he was, having such intimate contact with his daughter in front of the doctor didn’t seem right. However, the hopeful expression on Casey’s face gave Jack pause.

What could it hurt to listen for a minute? “Sure.”

The way his wife beamed dispelled his last doubt.

Dr. Smithson turned on a small machine and ran a device, apparently some kind of microphone, across Casey’s stomach. He flipped a switch and a rapid rhythm pulsed through the room.

In it, Jack heard the baby’s eagerness to be born and her yearning to open her eyes to a vast unexplored world. A million possibilities danced in that series of galloping heartbeats.

The doctor clicked off the instrument. “Well?” Casey asked.

“It sounds a little fast.” On a lighter note, Jack added, “That wouldn’t be because she gets nervous during doctor visits, would it?”

“An infant’s heart beats faster, about 120 times a minute, because it’s so small.” Dr. Smithson removed the device from Casey’s stomach. “The rate for a child at rest is roughly 90 times per minute. For an adult, it’s about 70 times.”

“Parents need to learn a lot about biology, I suppose. Otherwise they’re likely to screw up.

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