Page 25 of Charlotte
A week passes so fast. We meet the OB, Dr. Rebecca Martin. She is very kind. We quickly explain our situation. I wasn’t sure when my last period was, but Hawk remembers. He tells the doctor I was ending it when he found me, around August 18th. She examines me and checks some labs. Dr Martin decides that she wants to get an ultrasound. She thinks I am farther along than my dates. There is no way. I have not been with anyone except Hawk. She looks at me with sympathy. She thinks that I really was raped but blocked it out. Could that be possible?
She gets the equipment ready and begins the exam. I am looking at the screen, but I can’t make heads or tails out of what we are seeing. It looks like there are two little peanuts, but she must have it on a split screen or something. Dr Martin begins to chuckle.
“Well that explains a lot.” She says with a huge grin. She continues to move the wand and push buttons on the machine.
“What is it? Is something wrong?” I am in a near panic. Hawk is clutching my hand tightly. My eyes fill with tears.
“Oh, nothing is wrong.” Dr. Martin says still laughing softly. “You are having twins, that’s why you feel further along. It’s also why your symptoms have been so bad.”
What? We are having twins, really? I turn to Hawk. He looks as shocked as I am. I turn back to the screen and see 2 tiny heart beats moving in time to one another. When our eyes meet, a huge grin slowly spreads across his face. His eyes light up. He places a gentle kiss on my forehead.
“Thank you, love.” He whispers to me. As I frown at him in confusion, he continues. “You are giving me two blessings. It’s amazing. I was thrilled we were having a baby. I wanted us to have children, pleural, together, but I know we really didn’t have the time with our ages. Here you are taking care of the problem. We are going to have them all at one time.” He begins to laugh. I am quite certain he has lost his mind.
Dr Martin assures us that everything is fine. I voice concerns over my age, but she again tells us while we are at a higher risk for complications, not to worry. We ask about flying. I need to go see my children and meet Hawk’s son. She says that will be fine up until the last trimester. She recommends that I take it easy and only work a part-time job at the most. Hawk declares that I won’t be working at all if he has any say in the matter. Dr Martin sets us up for a follow up appointment in four weeks. He gets on the phone as soon as we are in the truck.
“Deadeye? Get the guys together, Wolf’s SEAL team, call Olson, too and meet me at our house at 19:00 hours.” Hawk says into the phone. “I have an announcement to make.” After a pause, he continues. “It’s even better than the engagement.” He declares with a wink in my direction. I roll my eyes with a grin. He is going to be over the top over this pregnancy, but I am loving it.
Chapter 23
Hawk
We headto a department store and load up on supplies for an epic party. It’s impossible to keep the grin off my face as we go through the store. Once we have gotten the cart full. We head to the check out. While standing in line, I can’t keep my hands from Charlotte. The need to touch her is a compulsion. My hands wonder over her hips, up her back to her hair. Her hair smells like coconuts and reminds me of her in bed under me calling my name as I take her. People are beginning to stare. Charlotte is giggling like a schoolgirl with her first crush at my attention. I hear someone calling her name.
“Charlotte, Hawk what are you two doing today?” I look back into the store and see Summer, Jess, and Fiona coming up the aisle toward us. Charlotte looks to me as if she is unsure what to say. I just smile at her as I whisper in her ear while placing a kiss on her temple. “I’ve got this, babe.”
“Hello, ladies.” I say. “What are you up to today?”
“Shopping, but we asked you first.” Summer replies, with an eyebrow raised in question and a coy smile on her face. The others are looking at us with similar expressions.
“We are shopping as well. We are having a little get together at our house on base tonight. Deadeye is supposed to be calling everyone to invite you.” I inform the group. “I hope you all can make it.”
“What’s the occasion? I thought the engagement party was last week.” Jess asks, grinning at me. She knows what is going on.
“Do we need to have a reason?” I ask with a smile. Jessyka knows our little secret or a least a part of it, but I have a feeling she hasn’t disclosed it to anyone. “We had to leave so suddenly last time, I thought we might finish the party tonight.”
“That’s right! Are you feeling alright, Charlotte?” Fiona asks, her brow furrowed in concern.
“Yes, I am fine. Thanks for asking.” Charlotte replies as she sways in my embrace. She must be dizzy again. I can’t help but worry about the symptoms even though the doctor said everything was fine.
“Well, ladies it seems the line is moving. We will see you all this evening.” I say in an almost sing-song voice. It is impossible to hide my good mood. We turn and head to the checkout counter.
A few hours later we are almost ready for our guests. Charlotte has been really sick today and very tired. She laid down as soon as we got home and has had a 2-hour nap. When she woke, I had almost everything ready for gathering. Streamers in neutral pastel colors, yellow, green, and purple along with several balloons have been placed around the house. Deadeye and Ace are here already. They are outside manning the grill. The food smells delicious. Charlotte seems to be avoiding being around the food. Nausea has kept her in the bathroom even more today. This pregnancy is going to be harder for her than either of her other pregnancies. It concerns me, but she has reassured me not to worry that it is common for a woman with twins to have strong symptoms.
A little while later, everyone else begins to arrive. Charlotte is pale and weak, but still gorgeous in my eyes. I want her to be the center of attention and feel like a Queen, because she is my Queen.
The house is filling with laughter, music, and friends. Several people ask what’s up with the decorations? After all its Fall of the year and the place looks decorated for Spring (or a baby shower). I just smile politely and say we just like the colors. Which is true, not a lie. At least until we find out if they are boys or girls or one of each. I still can’t believe this is happening. We are having twins!
Once we everyone has eaten, it’s time to announce our secret. Charlotte is sitting in a chair in the living room. Lifting her easily I take her seat and sit her in my lap. I clear my throat loudly, but it’s hard to get everyone’s attention. Straw sees my struggle and whistles loudly. All eyes turn toward us.
“Charlotte and I invited you all to come here this evening to let you all in on a little secret.” I declare with a huge smile. “We found out today we are going to be parents.” I pause for dramatic effect. “of twins.”
A loud chorus of congratulations, hoots, and hollers fills the room. I am so happy to overflow. I wasn’t sure everyone would be as happy as we were, after all we haven’t known each other that long. But in the long run it only matters what Charlotte and I think. We haven’t told our other children yet. We really want to do that in person. Captain Olson has approved my leave to take Charlotte home to Kentucky to see her children. We will be leaving in a couple of day. After spending a little time with her kids, we are going to North Carolina to see my family.
A few days later we are landing at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Captain Olson arranged for us to fly on a military transport instead of commercial. We are still concerned about Lopez looking for Charlotte. It will be harder for him to track her movements by not using commercial. Sara and Justin are here to pick us up and make the trek across Southern Kentucky to Charlotte’s hometown of Deer Run.
Charlotte has been telling me all about her little town. It’s more or less a dot on the map according to her. It’s very rural with only a couple of gas stations, one grocery store, a bank, and few small general stores. There is a critical access hospital where she worked before her ill-fated trip. The population is only about five thousand for the whole county and about a thousand in the little town. Charlotte says everyone knows everyone. It’s hard to keep a secret. I’m looking forward to getting a glimpse into her world that has made her the amazing woman she is today.
Once we disembark the plane, Sara and Justin are standing near the hanger. Charlotte starts to run to them, but I hold back gently. She looks at me with curiosity. She arches her eyebrows and I can’t hold back a smile. She is so damn cute when she looks at me like that, half-pissed, half-curious.
