That next day Alexander was crawling up the walls with stress. He was restless all day, walking back and forth, trying to find things to take his mind off of it. When Thomas finally arrived, Alex was covered in sweat, terrified. They got in the car and drove. Once he thought about it, Alex actually had no clue where they were going. Had Thomas set something up? Had he called a doctor? Made an appointment? His mind was racing, constantly, right up till they parked. The pair stepped into a walk-in Obstetrics/Gynecology clinic. A few women, gawking at them as they walked the halls up to the reception.
"Hello, how may I help you." Smiled the receptionist.
"Hi." Thomas answered with a relaxed smile. "We'd like to sign in for a check-up."
Alex stood off to the side, terrified.
"Right away. And where is your partner?" She asked, oblivious.
"Here."
Thomas grabbed Alex by the waist, pulling him closer to him. The look on the young woman's face told them everything they needed to know. This was not going well. What the hell was Thomas thinking?
They were about to get thrown out.
"I'm sorry, Sir. Is this a joke?"
"What part of this is funny to you?" The taller man riposted.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Her smile never left her face.
"What? Why? I'm serious. We'd like to see a doctor."
"Sir. Please, leave the premises."
Thomas began to argue, his fist tightening around his cane as their voices got louder. All Hamilton wanted to do was crawl into a hole and never come out. The commotion at the reception was attracting attention from all sides. Women in the waiting area stared as the darker man reasoned with the receptionist. They were almost beginning to shout when a woman in scrubs and a white coat came to intervene.
"Excuse me, Mister..."
"Jefferson."
"I'm Doctor Hosack. What seems to be the problem?"
Thomas was still pissed; he wouldn't let the woman's nice demeanor fool him.
"I was just trying to be courteous in explaining that my partner needs to see a physician but, I'm not being taken seriously." He almost spoke through gritted teeth.
"I see." The uncertainty on the woman's face was evident as she took in the couple in front of her.
"Why don't we go to my office and see what we can do for you, alright?"
The two men looked at each other skeptically but followed her nonetheless.
Once inside, they all sat down to talk, explaining why they were there. Alexander's face was burning red with embarrassment, he had kept his secret for so long, and he now felt like he had to tell every new person he met. But even after their truthful explanation, the woman looked somewhat doubtful.
"Look, all we need is a routine check-up, and we'll get out of your hair."
The woman sighed heavily and complied, taking Alexander to the exam table. She checked his vitals, from blood pressure to temperature, and even listened to his heart and lungs, thankfully finding nothing unusual. His BP was high but, that wasn't a surprise; he was so scared he would've jumped at the sight of his own shadow.
"Do you know how far along you are?"
"I uh-" Alex hadn't expected the question. "They said something about 10 weeks when I was in the E.R. two months ago."
His answer sounded like he wasn't sure himself.
The younger man laid down on the table and let the doc do her work. She exposed his stomach to the room, carefully touching his abdomen in what seemed like random areas. Her face was pensive the whole time. She pulled out a tape measure, stretching it lengthwise across his belly.
"Right, you're on the small side so, it's hard to tell from this but, I'd say your about 16-17 weeks, maybe 18, which puts you in your fourth month."
Thomas smiled at him, rubbing the shorter man's forearm.
"Now, keep in mind, this may not be accurate. I can't tell for certain without anything concrete. I don't suppose you know when your last cycle was?"
"I didn't keep track." He shook his head, averting his eyes.
She didn't have to say anything; Alexander saw the dissatisfaction on her face. She grabbed a stool and sat down, turning on an ultrasound machine, slathered some KY jelly on his stomach, and pressed the wand down on his skin. The black screen lit up like Christmas lights, only legible to one person in the room. Once she had found what she was looking for, she stilled her hand.
"Well, I'll be damned."
Even though the two men in the room had said nothing but the truth, you really had to see it to believe it.
"Look, Thomas, there it is." Alex was suddenly excited.
Thomas stood absorbed by the image on the screen. Even though he knew this whole time, it still hit him like a ton of bricks. His brain began to run inside his head - it was only now that he really wrapped his head around what was going on. Small tears rimmed his eyes. It was like the whole room was frozen in time. The younger man grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back, a warmth spreading across his chest.
"Baby looks healthy, a little small but, that's nothing to worry about."
"So it's good? It's okay?"
"See, I told you I was fine." He whined.
"You may feel okay but, you still should have regular check-ups, Mr. Hamilton." She chastised.
***
The appointment got to an end with the couple writing down the Doctor's phone number and setting up another appointment; at her private practice, not wishing to step foot into the clinic again. They got back in the car. Alexander sighed heavily as the darker man drove away.
"There's no way I can afford all of this."
"You don't have to. I'll pay." The other spoke like it was obvious.
"No, You've already done so much. I can't put that on you."
The Virginian laid his right hand on the other's thigh - they were at a red light.
"We're in this together; we may not be married but, we're a couple, okay? We support each other. Let me do this so I can feel useful."
"But you being there is already enough."
"Well, not for me. I feel like you're doing all the work."
Their conversation had turned all lovey-dovey, the atmosphere all sweet around them; they got back to Hamiton's apartment.
"So... you have a cycle?" Jefferson threw the question out of nowhere, a smirk on his face.
"Shut up, Thomas. Not while we're outside." He spoke through gritted teeth, panicked, trying to unlock his door.
"And no. Of course not - the stuff was so irregular I never bothered to actually keep track. It's a miracle we had sex when nothing was going on." He only spoke once they were inside with the doors closed.
They removed their coats and walked further inside.
"So you shoot blanks."
"What?!" The brunette turned to face him, vexed.
"Your sperm - I mean, no offense, I don't know how this whole thing works-" Thomas gestured at him up and down. "-but only one thing can work at a time right? You're pregnant, so you wouldn't be able to have kids with a woman."
The shorter man only made a vague noise and walked to the couch. The taller man automatically noticed the solemn change in attitude.
"Hey, did I say something wrong?"
He followed the other to the sofa.
"It's nothing, it's just- When I was with my Ex, Eliza... she wanted kids so bad. I wasn't sure about it but, I wanted to make her happy." Tears rimmed his eyes, hormones be damned.
"We tried for a while but, it never worked. I guess now I know why." He sat down, beaten.
"So what happened between the two of you?"
"I figured if I couldn't satisfy her, then she wouldn't be happy with me. I ended the relationship. She runs an orphanage now. We're still friends."
"Well, that's a pretty good trade-off."
"What do you mean?" Alex looked up, his eyes still wet.
Thomas sat down to explain.
"She gets to take care of all the kids she wants, and I get you."
He smiled, devious, making the younger man laugh.
"You're such a dork."
"You still love me." He teased.
"That, I do."
They inched closer to kiss. Thomas used the opportunity to gently push Alex onto the sofa and pulled his shirt up, leaving tender kisses on his stomach instead. He was absolutely enamored with the being within. The Caribbean man laughed, the touch tickling his skin.
"What do you think it'll be?"
Alex looked down at his lover, his neck creating a double chin.
"I don't know. You?" He played with the darker man's hair.
"A little girl. She'll be the princess of Monticello. Won't you? My little cashew."
He spoke in a baby voice addressing the brunette's belly.
"Cashew?" Alex snickered at the ridiculous nickname.
"She looked like a cashew on the ultrasound."
"Besides, she won't be a princess. You're not royalty."
"She'll be royalty to me." Jefferson kissed his stomach again.
"And what if it's a boy?" The other challenged.
"He can still be a princess if he wants."
"God, I hope this shit isn't genetic."
Hamilton groaned, reminded of his predicament.
"Hey! We don't put ourselves down, you hear me? We'll have a beautiful little baby regardless of what it is."
The shorter man looked down at his stomach, wanting so hard to believe his partner.
They laid together on the sofa in silence. Alex had his eyes closed as the other was straddling him. He could feel Thomas's hands wander on his bare skin, slithering under the fabric of his clothes. He grabbed onto the waistband of the younger man's pants. Remembering how this ended the last time.
"God, I wish I could just rip these off of you and fuck you senseless." He tugged at the fabric, making Alex's hips sway.
Alexander laughed.
"Maybe after it's all over." He smiled.
"Oh, come on, why not?" The Virginian whined.
"I don't think I'll ever be in the mood with a stomach full of devil baby."
"Hey, don't call it that."
"I'm just joking but, seriously. It's hard to wanna do it when you're in my position." He sighed.
"Then we'll try different ones. What do you like? Missionary? Doggy style? Maybe a little 69?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Alex laughed harder and harder with every position Thomas mentioned. It made his insides hurt.
"You're a dick." He laughed.
"Come on, Alex, I wanna do you so bad right now. You're so sexy in these new clothes." The taller man dry-humped him in hopes of enticing the other man but, it wasn't enough.
"Not today, Thomas. Maybe another time but, not today." He giggled at the other's futile attempt.
The older man gave up and opted to just lie down, the couple taking a late afternoon nap.