Page 54 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
Finn
When Ryan was startingthe second third of his pregnancy, we had an appointment at the hospital to start Ryan on the chemotherapy. He was going to receive pills to swallow at home, but his doctor still wanted to talk to us beforehand.
“Now, I trust you won't be staying alone during this time?” she asked.
“No, he'll be at my place,” I said.
She gave me an approving smile. “I know I've said this before, but it's important that you take the right doses at the same time every day. You should both try to make sure of that.”
I nodded, already determined to be the best caregiver ever. I'd even brushed up on my chicken soup making skills, just in case they might be needed.
“We'll be okay,” Ryan said. “This isn't my first round of chemo, so I know what to expect.”
“I know,” the doctor said. “But these are things that I'm required to tell you. And you have to keep in mind that you're pregnant now. Your body might react in ways you're not used to because of that.”
Ryan sighed. “I understand.”
“Please call me immediately if any side effects are concerning you.”
The doctor went on for a bit longer, mostly telling us things she'd already told us once before in the past, or that I'd heard from Ryan over the course of the past two weeks. My mind drifted the littlest bit, and before I knew it, we were moving on to our next appointment with our OB/GYN.
That day was the first time we heard our baby's heartbeat. It was so strong already! I'm not ashamed to say I got a little bit teary holding Ryan's hand while listening to it.
“Growth seems to be right on schedule,” Dr. Ignis said, obviously pleased. “I hear you're starting chemotherapy today?”
“Yes,” Ryan confirmed. “But that's not going to be a problem, is it?”
“No, at this stage, the drugs you'll be taking shouldn't harm the baby. Still, I want you to make sure you get enough rest. Fighting cancer is hard. So's growing a baby, especially a dragon baby. You're doing both at the same time because you have to, but don't push yourself too hard.”
“He won't,” I said, because I was prepared to watch him like a hawk.
The doctor smiled at me, then turned to Ryan again. “If everything goes well, I'd like you to carry this baby to term, but we have to prepare for the eventuality that that might not be possible.”
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked, digging his fingernails into my hand just slightly.
Dr. Ignis sighed and turned his equipment off. “You're not in the best physical state for this pregnancy. If at any point we judge that continuing the pregnancy puts your life at risk... we're prepared to take the baby early. Now please rest assured that we have a very well equipped Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, if it should come to that.”
Ryan's face lost all color, and I was sure thatminedidn't look any better.
“This is a worst case scenario, of course,” the doctor added. “But I felt it wise to inform you what's at stake if you aren't kind to yourself. Eat well, rest, take your vitamins, and I'm sure we'll manage to keep this baby where it is for as long as necessary.”
Ryan nodded, expression grim. “We'll be careful,” he said, and I was oddly happy that he included me in that statement.
We didn't talk about what we'd heard at the doctor's office until we were back at my place. Ryan sat on the couch in the living room, a glass of water and all the drugs he was supposed to take on the table in front of him. He eyed them critically.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, because I knew that look on his face.
“I don't know.” He looked up at me. “Are we doing the right thing?”
I sat with him. “What do you mean?”
He glanced at the drugs again. “I know we decided to start chemo now before the cancer starts growing again or we run out of medicine for some reason but... after what Dr. Ignis said I'm not so sure anymore.”
“You don't want to do it?” I was flabbergasted. We'd decided together that this was the best way to improve his chances of beating this thing. The hospital had approved of the medication Jin made, but we could never be too sure that we'd keep getting it, or that Zed would succeed in recreating it.
“I have to think of the baby first,” Ryan said, eyes narrowing in determination. “What if the doctor's right and this puts so much stress on me I can't carry it full term?”
I hesitated. How could I respond to that? “It's not going to come to that,” I said eventually.
