Michael trailed after Jason as he followed Elizabeth’s doctor into the bedroom the rented ultrasound machine was set up in.
Dr. Luther Vincent was a somewhat young doctor and he kept smiling at Elizabeth in a way that made Jason’s jaw tense.

“I’m glad to finally meet you, Mr. Morgan,” Dr. Vincent remarked as he smoothed the cold gel over Elizabeth’s abdomen. “And who is this young man?”

“I’m Michael,” Michael said somewhat suspiciously. “What’re you doing to Liz?”

“We’re going to see your little sister on this screen right here,” Dr. Vincent said, gesturing towards the ultrasound machine.

“Sister?” Michael perked up.

“Michael…” Jason shook his head.

“Right, right,” Michael sighed. “Does that hurt, Liz?”

“No, it’s just really cold,” Elizabeth replied.

Dr. Vincent started the procedure and after a few moments, something appeared on the screen. “There she is.”

Elizabeth propped herself up on her elbows. “Oh…” she breathed. She looked at Jason. “Can you see her?”

Jason hesitated. “Not–not really.”

“Oh, it’s cool, Uncle Jason,” Michael piped up. He rounded the bed and stood by the screen. “These are Andi’s arms, right?”

“Right,” the doctor answered.

“And those are her legs and that’s her head,” Michael finished. He looked at Elizabeth. “I nicknamed her Andi cuz Alexandria is too long for a little baby. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine. I like it, I think it’s a great nickname,” Elizabeth touched his arm and smiled. “Does everything look okay, Dr. Vincent?”

“It all looks great, you’re about seven months along and everything looks nicely developed. In two months, you’ll be the proud parents of a very healthy little girl.” Dr. Vincent reached into his bag and took out a manila envelope. “I sent over to the American Embassy for the documents your daughter will need to be a US Citizen if you’re not back home when she’s born.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth accepted the envelope. “I appreciate all your help.”

Dr. Vincent nodded. He gathered his bag and stood. “Some men will be buy to pick up the machine,” he told Jason. “As long as she keeps up with her vitamins and her current routine, I see no reason why I would have to bring it out again.”

“Thank you,” Jason nodded. “I’ll walk you out. Michael, stay with Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth frowned as they left. “Why do they always give the instructions to the men?” she muttered.

“Because Uncle Jason will make sure you don’t sneak any junk food,” Michael said. “How come the doctor said you’d both be parents? Doesn’t he know about Ric?”

Elizabeth bit her lip. “Well, Jason helped me set up this vacation,” she said after a moment. “He arranged for the house, so it’s rented in his name and the doctor just assumed I was his wife.”

“You didn’t tell him the truth?” Michael frowned at her. “It’s wrong to lie.”

“Michael…”

The little boy sighed. “This is gonna be one of them grown up things, isn’t it?”

“Can you keep a really important secret?” Elizabeth asked after some deliberation. “I mean, really extremely important?”

Michael nodded. “Sure. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick in a needle in my eye,” he recited somberly.

“No one can know I’m here, which means my name isn’t on anything and if I were to tell the doctor that I had a husband back home and that Jason wasn’t it, he would start to ask questions and maybe he’d look into stuff back home. And then maybe people would come looking for me here.”

“Why can’t no one know?” Michael asked curiously.

Elizabeth bit her lip. “Because I did something bad,” she admitted in a small voice. “I was trying to protect me and my baby, but it was still bad and I’m here until they stop looking for the person who did the bad thing.”

Michael turned this over in his mind for a few moments. “So they don’t know it was you?”

She shook her head. “But I didn’t want to wait for them to find out so Jason agreed to help me. At least until Andi’s born.”

“Doing bad stuff isn’t right,” Michael said finally. “And you should always always tell the truth, Liz. But I think there’s…” he searched for the right word. “There’s times when it’s okay.”

“There are exceptions,” Elizabeth supplied softly.

“Yeah, exceptions,” Michael nodded. “There’s exceptions and if you was protecting you and the baby, then it’s not really okay but it’s not really bad either.” He leaned forward and wrapped his thin arms around her neck. “And I’m glad Uncle Jason is helping you and the baby.”

“Me too.” She hugged him back. “Can we keep this conversation between you and me? I don’t know if Jason would want you to know this stuff.”

Michael sighed. “I don’t wanna keep secrets,” he said. “But if you–”

“No, you know what? I’ll tell him I told you. You’re right, there’s no reason for secrets, especially between you and Jason.”

Michael nodded in relief. “Okay, I would have kept the secret but I’m sure glad I don’t have to.”

—

On the porch, Dr. Vincent turned to Jason. “I was a little surprised it took you a month to join your wife, Mr. Morgan. A woman in her condition really shouldn’t be isolated out here.”

“I’m not sure that’s any of your business,” Jason said stiffly.

“She’s my patient and her welfare is my business,” Dr. Vincent said stubbornly. “Now if you and your boy can’t be here all the time, I don’t know why she is. Is there some reason she can’t be where you spend the rest of your time?”

“She likes it here,” Jason said, a little irritated. “And it’s more peaceful than our hometown. Is the baby at risk if Elizabeth continues to stay here?”

“No,” Dr. Vincent admitted, “I just suppose I can’t understand why an expectant father would be so uninvolved in his own child’s birth.”

“I’m not uninvolved,” Jason snapped. “I’m here aren’t I?”

“Yes, but for how long?” Dr. Vincent shrugged and stepped off the porch.

Jason glared at the doctor’s back for a few moments before slamming back inside the house and moving back towards the bedroom. “Michael, go play somewhere,” he said shortly.

Michael blinked. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked softly.

Elizabeth shook her head and kissed his cheek. “No, I just think your uncle wants to yell at me.” She lowered her voice and smiled. “He probably found my stash of Oreos. Why don’t you go start on a sand castle and I’ll join you.”

“Michael, I didn’t mean to yell,” Jason said with obvious regret in his eyes.

“It’s okay, Elizabeth shouldn’t be eating Oreos,” Michael said gravely. “I won’t go into the water until you guys get there.”

He left the room and Jason sighed, some of the tension gone from his shoulders. He crossed to the window where he had a view of the beach. After a moment, he spoke. “We’re getting another doctor.”

Elizabeth frowned and stood with some obvious difficulty. “What’s wrong with Dr. Vincent?”

“He’s too nosy,” Jason muttered. “He asks too many questions.”

Elizabeth bit her lip. “It’s my fault. He asked why my husband wasn’t here and I thought about telling him you weren’t but I didn’t want him to wonder or decide to ask questions. I should have told him you weren’t my husband.”

“No, no, it’s better that way. If they think your husband is here most of the time, they won’t start asking questions. But he’s asking too many questions, Elizabeth. We need to find another doctor.”

“Jason–”

“He wanted to know why an expectant father is so uninvolved,” he muttered. “I’m not uninvolved, damn it. I’m here as much as I can be and don’t we talk three or four times a week?”

Elizabeth thought about mentioning the fact that he wasn’t even the father but didn’t. “Yes, yes we do–”

“Michael’s in school, I can’t just drop it all and move over here,” Jason continued. “And Carly would miss him. I have a job to do, Elizabeth. I can’t be here all the time.”

“I never expected–”

“I made sure you had everything you need, everything I could provide. The only thing you don’t have is friends and family and with the exception of your grandmother, I can bring them any time they want,” Jason told her.

“That would be great–”

“I draw the line at Ric,” he cut in. “I don’t care if you love him, I don’t care if he walks on water, I don’t trust him and you can’t change my mind about that. He cannot know where you are–”

“I agree,” Elizabeth interrupted. She touched his arm. “Jason, do you hear me complaining?”

He hesitated. “Well, no.”

“Okay then.” She met his eyes. “Then, what does some doctor you don’t even know’s opinion matter to you?”

“I just–I’m not uninvolved,” he said stubbornly.

“No, no you’re not.” She kissed his cheek. “You’re really very sweet, Jason.”

His cheeks felt warm and if he didn’t know it was impossible, he might think he was blushing. “No I’m not,” he muttered.

“Sure you are,” Elizabeth said with a bright smile. “Come on. We’d better get to the beach before Michael fries in that sun out there. I bet he hasn’t put his lotion on.”

← Chapter Five | Chapter Seven →