I'm A Twenty-Two Year Old Widow And I'm All Alone...

Halfway

Chapter Six... Halfway

Week twenty.

Today I had my next doctors' appointment, and Chelsea had kindly offered to come with me. I think she was keen to see her little niece or nephew again, instead of just seeing my tummy. Buggsy kicked a lot, and I smiled every time, even if it was just seconds after the previous kick, or at the most inappropriate of times.

I sat in the doctor's office, waiting for the ultrasound. I'd gone through all the annoying blood tests, and whatever other tests they had for me. Chelsea stood by my side, muttering about something stupid from when she was pregnant, and all the tests she had to go through.

The door swung open, and I nearly toppled off of the seat.

"Hello, Carrie," the doctor, named Dr Watson, grinned. "Okay, so from all your last tests, everything was fine, but you would have gotten the results for them, right?"

"Yes," I answered, recalling the phone call I'd received the day after I found out I was pregnant.

"Okay, well we'll take a look at your baby now," she smiled. "I'll just get you to lay down, and then we can start."

I followed the instructions of the doctor, and laid down a bit nervously. It didn't take me much to get nervous... Chelsea took a hold of my hand, and the doctor put some cold gel on my stomach. My eyes were fixated on the screen as I saw my little baby come up.

The heartbeat sounded amazing... the most beautiful sound...

"Wow," Chelsea smiled. "It's grown heaps in four weeks!"

"It's so... I love it so much," I said with tears of joy forming in my eyes.

"Are you interested in knowing what the sex of the baby is?" Dr Watson asked.

"No, I like surprises," I grinned.

"You didn't find out you were pregnant until four weeks ago, did you?" she asked.

"No," I smiled. "But I wouldn't have it any other way..."

"I know what it is," Chelsea smiled. "At least... I think I do," she chuckled.

"Shh, then," I grinned. "I can wait five months to find out what Buggsy is."

We got all the pictures that came with the ultrasound, and as we walked out into the hallway of the doctor's surgery, I ran into a tall man.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir," I smiled politely, and then realised it was Ryan Christianson, the man I met in the park the other day.

"Hello, Carrie," Ryan smiled, looking startled to see me. "How have you been?"

"Yeah, really good," I smiled. "Just had a check up. Baby's doing well."

"Yeah, I had to bring Ana here," he sighed. "She tripped over and cut her hand on some glass at kindergarten. Lucky, only needed a couple of stitches."

Ana stood tucked in behind Ryan.

"Well, this is my sister Chelsea," I introduced Chelsea to Ryan.

"Hi," she smiled greetingly.

"You're an identical twin?" Ryan asked, smiling.

"Yes," I replied. "Well, uh... we had better keep... I've gotta go tell my mom... I have to... we'll have to..."

"We have to go show mom that the baby's fine," Chelsea finished for me.

"Thanks," I breathed.

"Well, I have to go take Ana home to rest for the afternoon," Ryan smiled. "But we should catch up for coffee soon. You have my number. Just ring me when you're free."

"Sure, I'd love to," I grinned. "I'll uh... I'll see you later."

Chelsea and I walked out into the carpark, and I piled into the passenger's seat. Chelsea started up the car, then turned and looked at me.

"So... who's Ryan?" she teased.

"I met him last week when I walked to the park," I answered. "He's nice."

"You like him!" Chelsea grinned.

"I hardly know him," I replied. "He's a widow, too. He knows what it's like."

"He definitely likes you," she complimented. "He's cute, too."

"Yeah, he tried to hit on me when I first met him," I chuckled. "But... I could like him, you know. If I wasn't mourning Lucas... if I had been widowed for as long as he has... I probably would have kissed him the first say we'd met."

The rest of the drive to mom's house, Chelse remained relatively quiet. But every now and then she would throw me a glance and grin cheekily, and I would have to look away to avoid blushing. When we walked into mom's house, Chelsea just couldn't help herself.

"Hey, mom!" I grinned excitedly. "Here, look!" I beamed, handing all the ultrasound pictures to her. Chelsea stood there with that funny grin on her face, and mom got a bit nervous...

"What is it?" mom asked, frowning.

"Carrie's got an admirer," Chelsea chuckled. "Good looking one, too!"

"Chels!" I hissed.

"What do you mean?" mom asked.

"I... the other day I walked to the park from my house, and I met a guy there who is also widowed," I sighed. "He's nice. It's nice to have someone else to talk to it about who actually understands what it's like to lose someone like that."

"But he likes her, mom," Chelsea blurted out. "Like, a lot. I could tell."

"I... a guy?" mom managed to say. "Isn't it a bit too early to be moving on with someone else?"

"Mom, relax," I groaned. "I'm not moving on. I'm just... I'm making a friend. Chelsea's just... overreacting."

"You said he hit on you the day you met," Chelsea said, raising an eyebrow.

"Until I told him about Lucas," I sighed. "But that... it was because he understood me that he didn't try and hit on me anymore. And he's got a cute little daughter, Anastasia."

"Why did he call her Ana then?" Chelsea frowned.

"As a nickname," I mumbled.

"Oh," she gasped. "Duh."

Mom laughed, and I smiled.

"He's just a friend, mom," I said honestly.

"You agreed to a date, though," Chelsea pointed out.

"It's coffee!" I snapped. "It's not a date!"

"Well, I'd call it a date," Chelsea muttered.

"It doesn't have to be a date," mom said honestly.

"See, Chels?" I grinned. "I'm not you. Coffee for me doesn't lead to sex!"

"That happened once!" Chelsea shouted.

"When?" mom asked, frowning.

"One of her possible baby daddies," I replied.

"Okay, don't remind me of that..." mom said weakly.

The mystery that surrounded the paternity of Nathaniel was a sore subject for mom. When Chelsea first told mom she was pregnant, back when she was still seventeen, mom's first question was "Who's the father?" and mom wishes she'd never asked. Especially when Chelsea rattled off about seven or eight names of possible fathers.

I was shocked, too. But at the time, mom hadn't known that Chelsea got around a fair bit. I did, but I thought she'd be smart enough to not get saddled with a child. Especially if she could never remember which guy got her pregnant...

"Well, if you're comfortable with being friends with him, you should be," mom smiled encouragingly.

"Thanks," I smiled brightly.

"I'm glad to see you finally happy," mom grinned.

"Me, too," I replied, unable to stop smiling.