Watching his fingers knot and twist repeatedly as though he is trying to ring out a wet cloth makes me feel more nervous that I already did... if that's possible. Daniel's eyes must follow my gaze because he immediately stops, and places his hands on his knees. But, within two seconds his fingers begin to drum against his kneecaps.
"How are you feeling?" I ask to break the silence that has fallen in the back of Lawrence's car.
"All good." His strained tone and failure to look at me tells me a different story.
"Brilliant actor... rubbish liar in real life." I smirk playfully before reaching across to place my hand on his. Thankfully both of his hands engulf mine, ceasing his fidgeting.
"Pain killers are wearing off..." he takes a deep breath through gritted teeth. "...and I'm nervous to fuck!" He answers me honestly.
"I told you that you shouldn't have come today. You should still be in bed-"
Daniel cuts me off. "Doc said I was fine to come, and even if he didn't, there was no way on Earth I'm missing this." He lifts my hand to press his lips against my knuckles softly. Daniel's clean shaven face is smooth against my hand. I have to admit that I miss the friction of his stubble against my sensitive skin.
Instinctively, I almost lean into him. Thankfully, remembering his stitches just in time, I pull away. Instead, I squeeze his hand a little tighter. "I'm glad your here."
The vibration of his phone stops whatever Daniel was going to say when he opens, but then closes his mouth. He pulls his phone out of his pocket with a grimace of pain while he moves. Chris's name lights up the screen.
"I want to say Good Morning, but isn't it the middle of the night for you?" He playfully teases her.
Across the thousands of miles I can hear the tone of her animated response which makes Daniel laugh. I sit back in the seat, still holding onto Daniel's hand and lean my head back.
The call is mainly Chris talking. Daniel responds every now and then with a "yes," "no," or "OK."
Once he ends the call, I turn my head towards him. "Have you told her?" I ask. The question is more like an accusation when it leaves my lips.
"No, I haven't told her! I said I had a hospital appointment for a check up this morning. Is that OK with you?" His tone is just as clipped.
I nod my head slowly. "I'm sorry. I'm just...."
"Worried?" He asks with a furrowed brow.
"Worried, nervous, overwhelmed, terrified. But, at the same time... excited, thrilled, bewildered..." I look up to meet his intense stare. "I think that just about covers it."
"Add in frightened, but content! How fucked up is that." He rubs his hand down his face before gliding it through his wayward hair. "Today could well be the biggest day of my life."
"We're approaching the hospital." Lawrence's voice is clear and measured.
Daniel sighs as he pushes back his waves before putting on his baseball cap. He then puts the hood of his jumper over the cap to hide his face. Daniel's jaw is set in a hard line while he straightens the front of his cap.
"I know you hate having to do this, but it's important that you don't get recognised today." I speak as reassuringly as I can.
"I know... it's just so messed up... my choices... and all that." His expression is one of pure exhaustion.
"Daniel, please don't go down this path again. People want to know what you're doing, where you are, and who you're with! That's just how it is, I'm afraid."
"I'm just so drained." Daniel squeezes the bridge of his nose.
I'm not really sure what to say to him. I can't help him figure this out regarding his movie star status and how he's struggling with it because I have no idea how he's feeling. Time is what he needs... everything is so raw after what Georgia did to us. I watch him take some slow, deep breaths to compose himself.
Reaching across, I lift up his chin to look at me. "We will figure it all out. When is Chris flying over?"
"In a couple of days."
"I think we need to sit down with her and put a plan in place of how we handle it all. Until then, let's just try and get in and out of here without the world knowing our little secret."
He nods in response before slowly leaning forward to meet my lips in a short and gentle kiss.
"OK, guys. We're here. Just call me once you're done and I'll meet you back here straight away." Lawrence smiles softly before striding around the car to open Daniel's door. We both thank him as he helps Daniel out of the car.
Walking slightly ahead I step into the hospital first so I can quickly see where we need to go from the map. "Fourth floor." I inform Daniel simply as he catches up to me.
I take his arm and lead him towards the queue of people waiting for the lift. "We can't go in there." He whispers to me as we walk slowly.
"Well, you can't walk up four flights of stairs." I respond swiftly when I already see the strain that the effort to walk down the corridor is having on him.
Immediately, I know I've said the wrong thing by the look of stubbornness on his face. "Course I can." He immediately turns towards the door onto the stairs. "I'm not risking being seen... not today."
It's a good job we were early for the appointment as it takes Daniel fifteen minutes to climb the four flights of stairs. By the time we reach the right floor sweat beads drip down his cheeks.
We enter the quiet corridor and I see a few chairs. "You need to rest a minute." Pointing towards the chairs, Daniel follows my gaze and then nods in response. I walk over to the vending machine and buy a bottle of water.
As I walk back through the quiet corridor, I see Daniel's head is down to fully hide his face. From his tense position, it's clear he's in agony. I pull his painkillers out of my handbag and snap two out for him. "Take these." He looks up for a second to meet my eyes before another couple walk down the corridor. Daniel's head swiftly falls back down to make sure they don't see him.
I watch as he takes his painkillers. "Thanks, babe. I'm OK. Let's just get in there." He holds out his hand and I grab it straight away to help him to his feet.
"Lizzie Cooper to see Dr. Isaac." I smile warmly at the young receptionist as she checks her records. Daniel waits behind me.
"Dr. Isaac shouldn't be too long. But he's said to pass on that he understands the circumstances you explained, so you can both wait in our private waiting room." I nod gratefully, but notice that she makes a point of not looking at Daniel. "Would you like to follow me?"
Daniel puts his good arm around my waist as we are escorted to the waiting room. "Thank you." We both say in unison.
"You are very welcome." She smiles professionally until Daniel removes his hood and I watch her face light up. She clears her throat. "If there is anything you need, just let me know."
Once the door is closed I smirk towards Daniel. "You've still got it!" He takes off his cap and playfully throws it at me. I catch it and start to laugh.
It's not long before we meet with Dr. Isaac. We talk through my medical history and Daniel holds my hand tightly as I explain what happened to Charlotte. I fight through my tears to talk, but my voice begins to wobble. Thankfully, Daniel steps in to fill in the gaps I'm unable to say.
"Shall we have a look then?" Dr. Isaac asks with a smile once he has finished the consultation.
"Yes please." I turn to Daniel with an enormous grin. When I take in his features I see that his expression mirrors mine.
"Hop on." Dr. Isaac gestured towards the bed. "Lift your top please." I shuffle onto the bed and do as he asks, exposing my stomach. "Brace yourself, the gel will be cold."
I gasp as the blob of clear gel lands on my stomach. As I begin to reach for Daniel, I'm happy to feel that he's already right by my side. He leans down slowly to kiss my forehead. "I love you." He whispers just for me to hear.
"I love you too." I whisper as I rest my head briefly on his shoulder.
"Ready?" Dr. Isaac asks and we both nod. Daniel grips my hand tightly.
Dr. Isaac then places the ultrasound transducer on top of the gel and begins to spread the gel around my stomach. I hold my breath in anticipation of what will unfold.
"Now remember What I told you earlier, we're not going to be able to see much today considering how early on you think..." Dr. Isaac falls silent as the grainy image on the screen comes into focus. He clicks several buttons on the machine. My heart begins to pound and I feel my squeeze on Daniel's hand getting tighter with each passing second of silence.
He's going to tell me the baby has died... I feel a stray tear fall down my cheek. Daniel looks from the screen to me and wipes away my tear. "Is everything OK?" He asks to break the silence with his voice full of worry.
Dr. Isaac turns from the screen to face us. "Yes. congratulations... you are around 7 weeks pregnant."
"Oh Doc! Thank you!" Daniel exclaims before kissing me on the lips.
Dr. Isaac turns back to the screen and uses his pen to point at a grey shape in the darkness. "Can you see the heartbeat?" He asks.
I squint at the screen. "Yes!" I practically shriek in delight as I watch the flicker on the screen.
"That's our baby?" Daniel mumbles. I turn to face him and watch him wipe fiercely at his eyes. I nod with the biggest smile on my face.
When I turn back to the screen, my attention is drawn to another flicker within the darkness. "Dr. Isaac, what's that other shape?"
"That's your other baby... you're having twins!" He bellows with laughter.
I don't even attempt to fight my tears of happiness as I watch the two flickers on the screen. "Daniel, did you hear that? Twins! Can you see them?"
I turn my head and see that Daniel looks like he's going to pass out. Quickly wiping the gel off my stomach, I jump to my feet and take his arm. "You OK? You've gone awfully pale." I guide him to sit in the chair behind him.
He clumsily sits down before putting his head in his hands. "This is really happening isn't it?" He sobs quietly.
I drop to my knees, holding onto his thighs.
"I feel like I'm still unconscious and this is just a beautiful dream." He mumbles through his tears.
"Mr Weston..." Dr. Isaac walks over to us and hands Daniel a picture of the two babies. "This is very much real, you're going to be a father. Now; I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes while I do some paperwork."
I mime thank you to Dr. Isaac and he winks before softly closing the door.
Daniel stares at the photograph in his hand. He then uses his sleeve to wipe at his eyes. When he looks up at me the moisture makes his azure blues sparkle like the sun on the ocean. "We're having twins!" He whispers before biting his lower lip to suppress more tears.
Unfortunately, I don't have the same willpower and simply burst into tears. I cannot seem to form and words, so I just nod and wrap my arms around him.
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