Mend (Care Duet, #2)

15 | mend health

"EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD," Doctor Fitzgerald announced, backing away from the Sonogram.

Adrik went out of his way to make sure they had everything the doctor could ever need. He even set up a room just for Avelina's appointments to make sure she stayed in the best of health. He wanted to make up for all the stress and damage he caused. It wasn't good for her and it wasn't good for the baby.

"Would you like to listen?" Doctor Fitzgerald asked. Adrik quickly nodded his head in eagerness.

He replaced the sonogram with an ultrasound and began to move the device across Avelina's belly. Adrik looked over at the screen to see the small baby. It was curled up inside of her stomach and had little movement as the doctor searched for sound.

Suddenly, the entire room could hear it. It was enough to make Adrik smile as he looked over at the screen. The sound of his unborn baby replicating nothing but a whoosh was suddenly the best sound he had ever heard.

He looked over at Avelina to see she was staring up at him. The moment they made eye contact, she turned away.

"That sounds like a very healthy baby to me." Doctor Fitzgerald smiled.

Once they got to see the baby for a moment, he removed the device from Avelina's belly and began to clean up. Adrik watched him hand Avelina a small towel she could use where she wiped off the jelly from her stomach.

Doctor Fitzgerald slid his gloves off with a snap and threw them away in a nearby bin.

"It was great finally meeting you in person, Mr. Zolotov," Doctor Fitzgerald said, raising his hand up so Adrik could shake it.

Adrik uncomfortably slid his hand into the doctors and gave him a firm shake. He knew it was a custom for people in America to shake hands, but no matter how many times he had done it, he still wasn't comfortable in the slightest bit.

"Miss Santos tells me that you were diagnosed with ASD," Doctor Fitzgerald stated. I glanced over at Avelina to see her attention was grasped by the ceiling.

"Yes," was all I said.

"I told Avelina that there was a eighty-percent chance your child could be born with ASD as a result, but it appears that I was mistaken. After throughly researching, I found that the chance of inheriting autism could vary greatly. The only way we will be able to determine if your child has autism will be tests we have to run but later in your child's life—anything before eighteen months. Make sure you are aware of the early signs of autism and what you need to look out for. However, it won't be me running these tests, of course, seeing as I am a Obstetrician. You will have to look into a neurologist or pediatrician," Doctor Fitzgerald advised.

"No matter what, and excuse me for saying this, but you look a lovely family. Your child will be very lucky to have you as parents," he said, smiling.

"Thank you," I said.

Doctor Fitzgerald gave a curt nod. "Have a great rest of your evening!" he exclaimed, walking out of the room.

A driver was already waiting for him to take him back to one of the guest houses where he and his wife would be staying until the delivery of Avelina's baby. Based on the swimming trunks and wet t-shirt he came to the appointment in, Adrik was aware that the doctor was enjoying his time.

"I do not want my child to have autism," Adrik confessed. Avelina's head sharply turned toward him where her brows rose in pure shock.

"Excuse me?" she questioned.

"You are excused," Adrik told her, holding the door open for her to leave.

She didn't get up. She sat up in the bed and let a frown settle on her face. Adrik realized she had been frowning a lot recently based on the wrinkles that were starting to gather on her face.