THE RETURN

Chapter 60

On Friday night, her phone rang just as everyone was sitting down at the table to eat the homemade chicken pot pie Olivia had asked Elliot to cook for dinner. The boys had insisted on a sleepover with Kathleen and Hailey and the girls didn't waste anytime showing up at the front door. Since the condo on 30th had four bedrooms, the two of them had decided to stick with the plans to go to the open house the next day. With a new baby coming, the need for a bigger place was even greater than before. Kathleen and Hailey had asked to tag along also, so they were going to have a full party.

As soon as her phone rang, and she saw the doctor's name on the screen, her eyes connected with Elliot's. He knew right away and glanced at all of the kids sitting at the table. They had agreed not to tell anyone until she made it successfully out of her first trimester, so escaping from the table together, to answer a phone call, seemed suspicious.

Regardless if it seemed suspicious or not, Elliot was already standing up, "We'll be right back."

She stood with him, smiling lightly at the kids and walked into the bedroom, with him following close behind her. They both sat on the bed together and took a deep breath before she hit the green answer button. Her hand positioned the phone in between them, so that they could both hear Michelle's voice. "Hello?"

"Hi, Olivia. It's Michelle. I was calling about your blood screening."

"Okay, Elliot's here with me."

"Great! So, the blood results look perfect. No trace of any abnormalities in the baby's DNA. Like I said, they're not 100% but they are about 97-99%, which is really high. We'll still do the ultrasound and continue doing blood work throughout your pregnancy, but as of now, everything looks perfect." She paused to give the parent's a moment to let that sink in, before saying, "And, I'm so sorry. But I didn't even calculate your due date for you. It will be May 8th."

They both took a moment to breathe through the fact that as of that time, the doctor was telling them that nothing was genetically wrong with their child. She was 50 and having a baby that was, most likely, going to be okay. As long as her body held onto it. Once it filtered through their minds, they both looked at one another.

"So, you mean, as of now, there are no signs that anything is genetically wrong with her?" Elliot asked into the phone.

Olivia couldn't help but smile at his use of the word 'her'. Since their doctor's appointment, he had referred to the baby as a girl. She could hear the smile in Michelle's voice as she answered, "As of now and most likely through the rest of your pregnancy, nothing is going to be wrong with the baby."

"But I'm 50..." Olivia whispered. She was old, and her eggs were old, meaning that what Michelle was saying was almost unbelievable.

"Fifty year olds can still have healthy children Olivia. You need to try to stop doubting that. Like I said, this screening is almost 100% accurate, and it tests for any chromosomal abnormalities. With your next ultrasound, I'll be able to confirm that even more for you."

They both whispered thank you to her, and she bid them a good rest of their night before the phone call ended.

Their eyes connected once more when she placed the phone down on her nightstand. "Everything is okay." She whispered as her hands came up to rest on her abdomen.

He smiled at her and placed his hand on top of hers, "Everything would have been okay regardless, Liv."

The way he looked at her in that moment, made a lump form in her throat. His message was loud and clear. Even if their baby had tested positive he would have figured it out with her. They would have done anything they could to ensure that their child lived the best life possible. She sniffled and nodded her head.