Andante con Brio

CLI

Eddy was so nervous his hands were shaking, and his breaths came way too fast. And why? It wasn't like they were doing this to him, was it? He looked up at the imposing building and grabbed Lily's hand. 
"Do you know where to go?" he said as they walked in together. His voice sounded all off, all hoarse. 
"Yeah, I think so. Obstetrics, I think it's up those stairs there."
He followed her as they walked through hall after hall. There were empty beds, dotted around the hallways, as if a sick person could appear at any moment in any one of them, and Eddy shivered slightly. 
"I hate hospitals." he said before he could employ his brain to mouth filter. 
"Yeah? You didn't have to come, you know."
He turned to her with a shock. 
"Fuck that, Lils. You know I'd never let you go alone."
She grinned. 
"I like the way your mum was convinced that you needed to be a doctor. Which is a seriously handy profession to pursue if you hate hospitals."

Mercifully, they walked into the obstetrics ward before he had to think of something to reply to that. It was nicer there. It felt healthier, somehow. Lily introduced herself to the woman behind the desk and they were waved to some white, plastic chairs, stuck to the wall. He sat down and put his hand on Lily's knee. 
"You know everyone's gonna think we're a couple, right?" she smiled. 
Oh. He was such an idiot, he had actually not even thought about that. Instantly that same awkward feeling he had had in the drugstore came over him. He grimaced at the white wall opposite them. 
Yeah. As if Lily getting pregnant would have happened on his watch. He didn't fucking well think so. 
"I don't care. I could do worse." he said then, with a sideways grin, making sure she knew he was joking. She punched him in the shoulder and looked back down at the folder that was lying on her legs. Eddy settled a bit further into the chair and waited. 

"Ms Huang?"
They looked up as one and saw a friendly looking woman in her forties with her hair in a tight bun, beckoning them from a room. They got up awkwardly and walked over to her. 
"Come on in, you two." the woman said. The lable on her lapel said she was Dr. Jones. 
"Thank you." Lily answered quietly. She was clearly nervous. 
They were ushered into more plastic chairs and Dr. Jones started firing a whole bunch of questions at Lily, that made Eddy even more glad he wasn't going to be a doctor. I mean, imagine having to ask someone when the first day of your last menstruation was?
When Dr. Jones asked her whether she had had any physical complaints Lily smiled wryly. 
"Yeah, I've been really sick for a few weeks now. I've been throwing up multiple times every day."
Dr. Jones nodded with a practised concerned look. 
"I'm sorry to hear that. Don't worry, usually it's not a problem for the baby." she said. "But it can be very unpleasant. I would like to urge you to make sure that you get enough to eat and drink, and if you can't please let us know."
"No, I'm eating." Lily shrugged. 
"Good. Okay, well, let's go and have a look then. Daddy is coming for the ultrasound?" 
Suddenly Dr. Jones looked right at him and Eddy had to bite down on his tongue hard to stop the nervous giggle.
"No, Eddy is my best friend." Lily said. "I'm not in contact with the father of the baby. And yes, Eddy is coming."
The doctor recovered amazingly quickly, and she nodded kindly at Eddy. 
"I'm glad you have a support system in place. Well, let's go see this little baby then."