Free Our Lovely Baby Bump by Dahlia Rose Page A

adamantly refused and ordered him to stay home for six weeks like the doctor ordered. The man had stitches in his stomach and a shoulder wound and wanted to get up and cook for her.  He only relented because she vowed to take duct tape him to the bed when he was asleep.
    John finally went back to work two weeks ago, and she was slowly able to push the fear of him being hurt aside.  They’d added extra security both inside and outside the club. Plus, the men who shot John had been apprehended.  They’d all been charged with attempted murder and would be facing prison time after the trial. John and Caleb would testify against them without a second thought.
    Angel and Caleb couldn’t go to this doctor’s appointment. Lucas was getting shots the same day, and Caleb was leaving town to go take care of some business in Jasper that same evening.  They’d gone two times before and the twins refused to play show and tell.  They signed in and Charlie went through the usual routine of getting weighed, having her stomach measured, and having a gestational diabetes test. After it was all done they waited for Barbara to come into the ultrasound room to see their babies on the monitor.
    “We’re at twenty eight weeks,” Barbara said cheerfully as she stepped into the room. “How are you feeling, Charlie?”
    “Heavy,” Charlie answered with a laugh. “They’re in there using my liver as a football.”
    Barbara laughed. “Active, I like that. Let’s look at what they’re doing in there.”
    She squeezed the warm gel on Charlie’s stomach and used the ultrasound wand to find and chart the measurements of each baby. She pointed to each face and tiny hands and legs and when she switched to the four-dimensional sonogram. Everything was as crisp as a picture. Charlie watched as one baby yawned and the other seemed to be sucking a thumb. She heard John’s husky laugh as one baby seemed to swat the other on the shoulder, and then they settled down close to each other for sleep. She could feel this going on inside her stomach and watched it on the screen.
    “Let’s move lower and see if we can tell what these two rascals are hiding from us,” Barbara said. “The cords look good and in no way tangled. That’s a good thing, even so I’m going to set a date for C-section at thirty-eight weeks after an amniocentesis to make sure their lungs are fully developed. I really don’t want to go any further than that and risk a placental abruption or prolapse.”
    “So, in ten weeks?” John asked.
    Barbara nodded. “That is correct, sir. And we can see baby genitals.”
    “We can?” Charlie said with excitement. ‘What do you have?”
    “Girls.” Barbara laughed. “I should have guessed when I didn’t see even a shadow of a penis.”
    “Doctor, please,” John said with a slight wince but he was grinning. “I knew it—girls. Caleb and that Dr. Kendall owe me moolah.”
    Charlie was laughing, too, as Barbara printed out the ultrasound pictures for them. They were going to have two identical little girls.
    Charlie’s smiled waned a bit when she asked her next question. “Barbara, is it possible to perform the hysterectomy after my C-section?”
    Barbara nodded. “Yes, after the babies are safely delivered we can put you under and complete the procedure. But Charlie, is that what you want? You could have more children…”
    She and John were holding hands, and Charlie spoke with determination. “We discussed it, and I have his support. This is what I want to do. I want to grow old with my John, I want to see my girls grow up. If this gives me the chance, then I’m completely at peace my choice.”
    “I’ll get the paperwork together for you to sign,” Barbara said with a soft smile.
    They left after she signed the paperwork for her C-section and hysterectomy. She was sad she had to make the choice but thrilled with the girls nestled in her womb.  They were a blessing in itself.  Now they had ten weeks to prepare