2 7 1 |Noorhelm|

DAY 87: AUGUST 30st

I'll try to get back to normal schedule from today on, but might skip tomorrow if I don't et around to write a new chapter today. In that case, REALLY enjoy today's chapter haha.

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Posters, magazines, babies, moms, posters with babies on, magazines with babies and moms on the cover. Everywhere William had looked, since they'd walked into the clinic, it seemed to be all there was. The wait had been very short, silent as well, as William's leg had bounced nervously. Noora, noticing this, but too nervous herself, had simply held her hands for those few minutes of waiting.

"Noora Amalie Sætre?" They heard a nurse call her name, immediately following her to the examination room.

"Just get comfortable on the examination couch, and Dr. Hansson will be with you in a second," the black-haired woman smiled, before leaving and closing the door behind her. Noora, feeling like she was taking another exam back at Nissen, lied down on the slightly inclined, cold plastic metallic bed. William sat on the chair next to the bed, before looking at Noora and grabbing her hand. He almost looked like he was waiting for her to say something, but she couldn't. At least not the right thing. A smile back was what he got. It was usually enough, but this time, he wasn't quite sure.

"Hej, Noora," The doctor, a man in his late 40s with glasses and dark brown hair, walked in with a warm smile and shook her hand.

"Hej," Noora answered shyly, giving him her best smile as he turned to William.

"And this must be the father, I assume?" He looked at Noora, then back at William.

"Yes. I'm William," William being William didn't say much more. His rare, but otherwise beautiful, smile was barely noticeable but Dr. Hansson didn't seem to mind. He was probably used to the many kinds of emotions in this room.

"Welcome, William," he kept smiling, before turning around to turn on the ultrasound scanner, before sitting down at the large wooden desk to check his computer. "So, Noora..." He clicked around, opening a file that made absolutely no sense to anyone else but himself. "You're in your 13th week. Correct?"

The older man didn't look away from the screen, but Noora assumed that she had to answer.

"Yes."

"Fantastic. Last time, everything looked fine, but et's take a look at the little one, shall we? Please pull up your shirt." He spun his office chair around, sliding over to the machine next to Noora, allowing him to grab the little scanner-handle that would allow them to see the baby. He squirted the icy gel, which caused her to squeeze William's hand and shiver, onto her bare stomach with his other hand. No one could ever have prepared her for what an ultrasound scanning felt like - both emotionally and physically. The handle, which Dr. Hansson was gently moving around on her stomach, finally allowed them to see their baby for the first time. The monitor lit up.

"So..." He moved the handle around a bit, obviously looking for something specific. Both Noora and William's eyes were glued to the screen, their breaths halting in anxiety, as a little blob moved around on the screen. Suddenly, the blob turned into a little head attached to an even smaller body.

"There it is," Dr. Hansson's smile could be heard in his voice. "There it is. Your future daughter or son."

Not that they did much moving before that, but Noora and William froze like deer in headlights. There it was. Their child. The little human that was growing inside of body, the little human that they'd love unconditionally and the little human whose entire life would depend on them. Their hands were glued together, not even letting the sweat forming in their palms break them apart. The world seemed to stop. All oxygen, all noise, everything but that monitor disappeared.

"We can't tell the gender just yet, but at your next check up, it should be possible, if that's what you wish. But what I can tell you is that," he looked at the two, young parents before pointing to the monitor. "Your baby looks very healthy. I'll do a few more tests and check-ups, but based on what I can see now," he moved the handle around. "He or she looks perfect."

Actually hearing what the doctor said, Noora managed to unglue her eyes from the screen and look at him as he continued to inform them. William, on the other hand, could only feel two things; the light from the monitor hitting his face, and his heart beat beneath his chest. Loudly, harshly, like never before.

The baby was perfect. All he could think of, was the billions of ways he could possibly fuck that up. No way he could create something this beautiful without messing it up. He could never protect something this precious, let alone perfect. It all came rushing back. His parents, Amalie, Nickolaj, the crash, his dad leaving, his mom disappearing. What did he know about love and family? Nothing. Everyone believed that William Magnusson was perfect, but the truth was; he wasn't. On the contrary. William, firmly believing so himself, could never be in the possession of something perfect. Not without ruining it.

This was perfect. Way too perfect.