Rightfully His

.11

All rights reserved...@brightlights101

No time was wasted. Matteo called the first person he knew who wouldn't refuse to help. After all, it was Ricardo's wife. He would've taken her to the hospital but the nearest one was almost an hour away, and Ricardo's house was just twenty minutes away. Time was of the essence.

Ricardo's wife, Mia, was a ten year OB/GYN. She had her own private practice in Italy and was excellent in her field. But that didn't mean he was going to go easy on her. One mistake, he won't hesitate to cause some serious consequences.

Mia brought all the equipment that she could. She nearly had to bring her whole office with her, knowing Matteo would want a thorough examination. Which he did.

Matteo waited outside the bedroom, pacing back and forth with his arms crossed. Even though he looked calm and collected in front of Ricardo, his long time friend knew he was crumbling on the inside. Any expecting father would be.

"Hi, Andrea," Mia smiles, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm Mia, Ricardo's wife. I am a specialized and licensed OB/GYN. Is it okay that I do the examination?"

Sniffling, Andrea nods her head, biting harshly on her nails.

Mia puts on sterile gloves and starts up the machine as she instructs Andrea to remove everything below the waist so she can conduct a transvaginal ultrasound to get a better reading on why she was bleeding.

Waiting a few seconds before a strong heartbeat is heard, Andrea sighs with relief. 

"This is a good sign," Mia says out loud, taking pictures of the ultrasound to make sure everything is good before finishing. "Your little bean is okay."

After removing the wand and throwing away her gloves, Andrea covers up before Mia opens the door and allows Matteo and Ricardo in.

Matteo moves to Andrea's side. No one utters a single word, leaving a thick fog of tension lingering in the room.

Irritated with their lack of response, he snaps, "spit it out!"

Stepping forward, Mia says, "everything is okay. There's nothing wrong with the baby."

Matteo's tense shoulders sag at her words. Just like Andrea, he was relieved.

But wanting more answers, he goes on to ask, "then why was she bleeding?"

"Has she been under an unusual amount of stress lately?"

Matteo looks to Andrea, she refuses to meet his gaze and continues to bite on her nails. Remembering what her mother said from the other day, he subconsciously takes the hand she is nervously biting down to the nub and puts it in her lap.

"I take that as a yes."

Matteo leaves Andrea's side and walks to the window.

Mia talks to his back, "I recommend she is bed ridden for a week. She can't overexert herself during this time. I would like to follow up with her a week from today."

Neither of them respond.

Ricardo helps his wife pack up and head back home.

After they leave, Andrea and Matteo sit in consuming silence, until Andrea finally mutters with a strained voice, "I want to go home."

At her words, he wanted to say no. He didn't want to keep her out of his sights. Not after this. But not wanting to add more onto her stress, he turns around.

What he didn't expect was to meet her gaze. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot. The woman he had seen as strong and hardheaded looked frail and weak. He never wants to see her like this: in pain. And he felt he was the cause of this.