The Kings IV I

13

Alexis

"Hi," Fred greeted, "sorry, traffic was terrible."

I smiled up at him, accepting his kiss. "It's okay, I just got brought back."

"You feel okay?" He asked, gently rubbing my face.

I nodded, a soft smile on my face. "A bit better than last night."

"Good," he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. He shrugged out of his jacket and sat on the stool next to me.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. King," the nurse greeted, shooting us a warm smile, "are we ready for an ultrasound?"

"Absolutely," Fred answered, grinning as he grabbed my hand.

I clenched his hand when I felt the cold gel being spread across my stomach, giggling. "Kinda tickles."

The nurse smiled and turned off the lights, and the screen popped up in front of us.

There was a silence, an unusual one. The three of us looked a bit confused at the sight before us. An empty screen.

The nurse tilted her head over in obvious confusion. "I'm not picking up a heartbeat."

I felt it- I knew I did. It seemed like in that very moment, everything made sense. I'd felt empty for the past two days, but I didn't want to even think that this was a possibility.

Fred looked over at the nurse. "W-what does that mean?"

I looked over at him, biting down on my lip.

"No," he said, shaking his head, "maybe he's hiding. Maybe he's already a prankster."

The nurse sighed and turned off the machine, making me blink back tears.

"Right?" Fred asked, his voice breaking.

"I'll give you two some time," she said, gently rubbing my arm. She wiped the gel off of my stomach and walked out of the room, leaving Fred and I.

"It's not real," he said, shaking his head, "it can't be."

"It is," I whispered, dropping my head.

We sat in the silent room, only the sound of my heart pounding through my chest. He stood up, gripping his hips.

"We almost had it, didn't we?" He asked, looking over at me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, letting out a silent sob. "What did I do wrong?"

"Baby," he said, rushing over to me, "this is not your fault."

He knelt down and placed his hands on my face, looking up at me as he wiped my tears. "It's not your fault."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, sobbing into him. He rubbed my hair, pressing a kiss to my temple.

I sniffled, pulling away from him. "I'm so sorry."

He flexed his jaw, pulling me into his arms. He held me close, his jaw pressed against my temple.

"We need to leave," I said, pulling away from him, "I can't even look at it, God."

I wiped my tears, looking down at the ultrasound machine.

Fred pressed a kiss to the back of my head. "Come on."

He led me out of the room and the nurse shot me a weak smile. "I'm sorry."

I bit down on my bottom lip. "Is that what it's going to be?"

I looked back at Fred, making him look down at me.