Double the Trouble | EMBLAN

After a long trip on a boat to mainland California, Ember Lynn was finally sitting in the waiting room at one of the top OBGYNs in the country. She was gripping a denim purse like her life depended on it, watching the second tick by as she waiting to hear her name be called. She was worried that there had been a false positive on the at-home test she had taken. What if she wasn't pregnant at all and this was a wasted trip? Worse yet, what it Dylan didn't want to marry her if she wasn't pregnant? So many thoughts were racing through her mind that it didn't seem possible that only twenty seconds had passed.

She bit her lip, more to keep it from shaking than anything else. She refused to look like an unprepared child going into this meeting. She smoothed out the material of her favorite yellow sundress, effective wiping the sweat from her hands, and crossed her legs at the ankles. She felt the buckle of her denim material peep-toe heels pressing against her leg and it was a strangely calming sensation. The only real comfort she had in the sterile white room with abstract paintings in such a light grey color, it was almost white as well. Everything about this room seemed clean and perfect, which was oddly unnerving. But Dylan was here. Even from the seat next to him, she could smell in familiar scent, their scent. Her fingers played with the ring on her finger, spinning it around so the diamond faces her palm as she tightened her fist around it. The small pinch of pain reminded her that this wasn't a dream.

She saw a girl who look like she was maybe fifteen or sixteen sitting with a rather irate looking older woman. Ember Lynn leaned toward Dylan and lightly put her head on his shoulder, "I hope everything is okay. I didn't know I was pregnant so there's a chance I went drinking with Masin and hurt the baby." She finally said, voicing a concern that had been plaguing her since the moment she found out about the situation. She hadn't mentioned it to Dylan yet, but she was worried she wouldn't be a good mother to their child.

le tageth | @dylan

He was almost certain that this was the most uncomfortable experience he had ever had, sitting in the waiting room. Em was beyond nervous, and he could tell. They had every reason to be. The island wasnt prepared for its residents to be starting families, so they had risked a trip to the mainland. Her concerns about the alcohol were almost trivial in comparison to leaving the island on his mind.

"The baby is fine love. I'm sure of it." He said, confident that they would have nothing but good news today. "Just breathe. Stressing yourself out over things you couldn't control will only make things worse. Have some faith. " When his speech finished, he turned so he could hold Ember Lynn's hand in one of his own while placing the other one gently on her stomach for a brief moment before moving it away.

Ember Lynn nodded, although she wasn't as sure as he seemed to be. In fact, she was so worried about her child it hadn't even occurred to her that they may in any danger being off the island. She hadn't even bothered to consider the repercussions of being attacked by a monster at the doctor's office.

She pulled her hand from his to fan herself, "Gods, it's hot in here." Brown eyes turned to look at Dylan, "Can you get me some water, babe?"

" of course love." He replied dutifully, standing to get a small paper cup full of water from across the room. A glance around it reminded him that he was the only male visibly present, adding to his unease. Was it weird for him to be here? He wasn't sure. Focusing on his task, he retrieved the cup and filled it from the gurgling tank before returning to Ember Lynn's side. Quietly handing it over, he took the opportunity to grab a magazine to fidget with for a while. Anything to occupy his time.

Before he could try to make small talk with Em, a nurse came in to the room holding a clipboard. Hopefully it was their turn. He was more than ready to alleviate some of Ember's anxiety.

The nurse was young, probably Emmy's age, and short. She had short cropped black hair and a Latin flare to her features. Taking in a deep breath, Ember sipped her water and tried to look like she wasn't nervous. The dark haired woman looked at her clipboard and then addressed the room, "Bridges?" She said in sweet voice, thick with an accent Ember Lynn assumed was Mexican.

It took Ember a moment to stand, her body stiff from sitting in an uncomfortable chair and tensing her muscles. She stood at her chair, staring at the woman and willing herself to move. It took everything she had to propel herself forward and she never could break eye contact with the nurse, who was smiling as if things like this happened all the time.

By the time they were through the door and it had swung closed, Ember was pleased to see that Dylan had followed her. She was worried that, in her moment of complete shock, that she had left him behind in a room full of hormonal women. There is no way he would be safe in there alone...

They found themselves in a sterile white room much like the waiting room, only very small. The nurse introduced herself as Mercedes and motioned for Ember to sit on the bed. She started taking some vitals from the Chancellor and, despite it being like any regular doctor's visit so far, Emmy could calm down. She locked her eyes on Dylan and stared at him as if looking for some sort of reassurance. After a few moment, Nurse Mercedes left the room and Ember Lynn was able to slide off the weird hospital bed with the paper stretched across the top. She crawled into Dylan's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and sighing, finally feeling a little calm knowing that he was there, "I'm scared."

EmberLynn was closer to a full blown panic attack than he had seen her in her entire relationship by the time the nurse left. Rubbing her back, he began making soothing noises, attempting to calm her as well as he could under te circumstances. He only wished that he could do more. So far he was certain that things were going well. Ember was a healthy young woman and more responsible than she gave herself credit for.

"Don't be scared. Everything is fine. You are fine. The baby is fine. We are fine. And if something isn't fine, we'll fix it, together." He said after a few moments, reaching for the hand with her engagement ring. "That's what this means. We're together for everything. Every moment, from that moment on." He hear a voice in the hallway, so he took the opportunity to kiss her on the forehead before someone could enter. "Don't be scared. I'm right here."

Ember Lynn buried her face in Dylan’s shirt, letting herself drown in his scent. It was a pleasant scent that felt more and more like home the longer she spent with him. Everything about him seemed comfortable and it was a welcome relief from the intense stress she had begun to feel while waiting for the doctor to see her. Emmy was so comfortable, she didn’t even respond when the door opened and someone entered, pushing what sounded like a cart with one bad wheel. Squeak, squeak. The cart rolled across the tile floors and the door swung shut with a thud.

Finally, Ember Lynn pulled herself from Dylan’s neck and turned so she could see the intruder. A man was wearing a long white Doctor’s coat and stood politely near the edge of the bed. He was an older man, maybe in his sixties, and looked like he could be Emmy’s grandfather. Leaving herself draped over Dylan, she smiled and waved at the man before he started speaking, “Hello, I am Dr. Nathan Jasper and I will be running your ultrasound today.” His voice was papery thin, like he has no energy to speak. The sound was somewhat comforting to Ember Lynn. Dr. Jasper held out a hospital gown and pointed at a door that the Chancellor hadn’t noticed before, “If you could go ahead and change, Mrs. Bridges.” His tone was polite and calming and Ember didn’t even care that he called her by the wrong name. She nodded and finally pried herself off of her fiancé.

It didn’t take Emmy very long to change clothes, she only needed to slip out of the yellow dress she was wearing and pulled the gown on so it covered the valuable real estate. She poked her head out the door to a room of complete silence that made her bite her lip. Ember Lynn tip toed barefoot across the floor and pulled herself back on the bed, the paper sheeting crinkled under her weight making her wince, “This will be a little cold.” The doctor said matter-of-factly before pulling up the gown and squirting a large dollop of the coldest gel on too Ember Lynn’s stomach. She sucked in a deep breath and reached for Dylan’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

While Ember went away to change, Dylan stood to greet Dr. Jasper, shaking his hand. The Doctor didnt seem too keen on talking, so Dylan made his way back to the chair closest to the bed. Maybe he was a little out of his depth right now, because he had no idea what was going on.

Ember Lynn was back before he knew it, sliding on to the hard table. Holding her hand, he waited for something, anything to happen.

She could hear the beating of the child's heart before she saw the little blob on the screen. The doctor raised his eye brows slightly and leaned in like he was more interested than before, "You're about ten weeks pregnant." He frowned, "You didn't notice?" Emmy shook her head, embarrassed and feeling like he was calling he stupid or ignorant or something. She bit her lip, "The heart sounds weird, is everything okay?" She asked, uncertain. The doctor looked at her, and then past her to Dylan, "Yes, they are both in perfect condition."

Ember Lynn's grip on Dylan's hand was so tight at this point, her knuckles were white, "You said...both? Like more that just one?" Her voice sounded small and she couldn't even make herself blink, her eyes were open so wide.

Dylan back and forth between Ember Lynn and the doctor several times before what the man had been insinuating finally sunk in. "Twins?" He said cautiously, placing his other hand on top of Ember Lynn's as he spoke. He would have simply settled for squeezing hers with the one he already held, but he was certain that moving it in her death grip would be permanently damaging.At least the babies were healthy, which brought a relieved smile to his face.

The doctor's grim nod really made the information sink in for Ember Lynn. Her grip on Dylan's hand was almost lethal as her breathing completely stopped. She stood up, grabbing her clothes without a word, and went into the bathroom to change. Her mind was moving a million miles a second and she really needed to sit down. After making sure the door was securely locked, Emmy sank tot he floor and wrapped herself up in a little ball. She was officially freaking out.

Dylan nodded at the doctor before standing up to follow Ember Lynn. The door was locked, so he decided to wait a few minutes before knocking. When she didn't come out, he knocked softly on the door. "Em. Em, open the door and let me in." He called, trying to hide the worry from his voice. He knew that she had to be worried, even more so than before if it was possible.

The sound of Dylan's voice was the only thing that pulled her from the low point. She stood up and stepped into her yellow dress, the color duller than it appeared earlier that day. She took a deep breath and pinched her cheeks, trying to make it look like she had just taken a long time changing, although she knew Dylan would know better.

Pushing through the door, she smiled at the doctor, "And they're both healthy?" She was still unable to really wrap her head around all this. She had half a mind to throw Dylan on a boat and swim back to Concordia, if only for the time to clear her mind.

Reaching out to put his arm around Ember Lynn, Dylan barely heard the Doctor's response. Their child- children- were perfectly fine, just as he had known they would be. "See, I told you everything was alright." A smile finally gracing his features after all of the insanity and uncertainty. "They are perfectly fine and so are you. We're going to be a family."

Ember forced a smile and nodded at Dylan, "You ready to go then?" She asked him Standing and retrieving her bag, wanting to get away from the unnerving and sterile environment as soon as possible. The doctor smiled and said before letting them leave, "You're having one of each, by the way. A boy and a girl." Ember stared at him, keeping her smile on even though she was wanting to run away, "Thank you, Doctor."