Page 70 of Player Misconduct
She notices. “Are you nervous?”
I huff out a laugh. “A little bit.”
Her mouth quirks. “You’ve faced down NHL defensemen twice your size and you’re nervous about an ultrasound?”
“Defensemen don’t have heartbeats A\as far as I’m concerned. They’re heartless robots sent to destroy my season.”
That earns a soft laugh. It’s small, but real, and for the next few minutes we sit there in comfortable silence.
Dr. Rodriguez knocks lightly to warn she’s entering and then comes in . She greets Kendall first, asking a few routine questions before glancing at me. “And you must be the dad.”
My chest tightens at the word. Dad. It’s the first time anyone’s said it out loud.
I don’t say anything in response, giving Kendall the option here. I want her comfortable and I don’t know where we’re landing when it comes to telling everyone yet. Even if half the team already knows.
“Yes, he is. This is Aleksi,” Kendall says, looking at me and then the doctor.
“Great. I’m so glad you could make it this time, Aleksi. I’m Dr. Rodriguez, and I’ll be Kendall’s OBGYN through the entire pregnancy. I’ll also be the doctor on call when Kendall gives birth—assuming she delivers within two weeks of February twentieth. Otherwise, one of my partners will cover if I’m in another delivery.”
Kendall turns quickly, as if something just occurred to her. “Just so you know, he may or may not be here when I give birth.”
“Not here for the birth? I wouldn’t miss it,” I tell her, not understanding why she’d think I wouldn’t show.
She glances over at me. “The season. You might be out of town for an away game.”
Her explanation hits like a slap of cold air. She’s right. I might be on the road when she goes into labor. The idea of not being there to drive her to the hospital, to hold her hand, to cut the cord—feels like a foreign concept I’ve never had to consider until now.
She sees the shock on my face. “It’s okay,” she says gently. “I knew that was a possibility.”
No… it’s not okay. But there’s nothing I can do about it right now.
“Doc, do you travel for patients?”
“Aleksi…” Kendall warns.
“I can pay double. Triple. Name your price.”
“Oh my God.” She slaps her forehead and looks at the doctor. “Ignore him.”
Dr. Rodriguez just smiles. “We’re a little far away to worry about that right now. Once we’re closer to delivery, we’ll talk about options, okay?”
Kendall nods, calm as ever, but it doesn’t touch the anxiety tightening my chest. I hate the idea of missing any of this.
“Now, are we ready for the fun part?” the doctor asks, warming up the monitor. “Seeing the baby?”
“Yes, we’re very excited,” Kendall says.
Then the doctor glances at me. “You’re welcome to move closer, and you can hold her hand if you’d like.”
I look at Kendall. She doesn’t say yes, but she doesn’t say no either. So I slide my chair closer until I’m beside the table, and when I reach out, she takes my hand.
“And how do we feel about finding out the sex of the baby today? Or are you planning to wait?” Dr. Rodriguez asks.
Kendall’s eyes dart to mine, wide and uncertain. “I thought we found out at the twenty-week ultrasound?”
“Yes, typically,” Dr. Rodriguez says with an easy smile. “But since you didn’t know sooner, we’re a little behind, which means we should be able to tell now. That is, if the baby cooperates. It’s entirely up to you.”
Kendall looks at me like a deer in headlights. I can practically see the calculation behind her eyes. The part of her that lives by rules, schedules, and plans suddenly dropped into something unpredictable.
