Cliff was in a better mood this weekend than he had been last weekend. Last weekend he had spent most of his time in the ballroom helping out with the wounded as best as he could. He was happy that the hotel had been a safe haven otherwise he wasn't sure what he and Clair would have done.

He picked up Kerai's medical file and headed into the small exam room with a smile to greet her. "Good morning, Kerai."

"Good greeting, doctor." She rubbed her hands against her pants legs nervously.

"I'm glad to see you well." She didn't remember much about that weekend, only that it had been very bad -- a nightmare inside her head as well as outside.

"As am I." He nodded. "It's nice to be treating the healthy again."

He took a seat across from her and held his smile. "So, what is is that I can do for you?" She was obviously nervous and Cliff wanted to help ease that.

"I wanted to see if I've gotten healthier with the better eating. I'm still learning about the cooking, I cooked all the vegetables to mush at first." She took a deep breath,

"And I haven't had my monthly since before the winter holiday."

"Sometimes when you can miss your period when your body goes through a lot of changes, such as gaining some weight. I have to say you do look a lot more healthier just by looking at you, which is good." And he was proud of her, too, as he knew it was a struggle for her.

"I'd like to take some blood, though, if you don't mind. Run it through some test. Maybe see why you're not having your period." Since the clinic wasn't as big as a metropolis hospital, blood work came back relatively quickly, too.

"Chuck ate them anyway," she said with a small smile, "he was very brave."

She nodded about the blood work.

"If I am...expecting, is there any way to find out if what happened last week hurt the child?"

Edited at 2013-02-11 01:36 am (UTC)

He smiled. "It's a sign of love when a man eats a woman's food no matter how it tastes." Clair was a great cook, however. Cliff was lucky in that respect.

Then he frowned. "Why?" He leaned forward a little. "Were you hurt?"

"Not...physically, although I was very tired and sore after, Chuck says because I'd been shaking so hard. It was just because I could feel all the bad." It was a hard thing to explain.

Cliff's expression was serious and he nodded. He had no idea how the baby could be affected by that. It stood to reason if Kerai had a power the child might, too.

"Well, let's do the blood work first and see if you are pregnant first. If you are, then we'll see what we can do to make sure the baby's okay. How does that sound?" He stood and started to gather the material to take her blood.

"That sounds sensible; one thing at a time," she nodded, taking a deep breath, and rolling up her sleeve. Clinics made her nervous, but it helped very much that Dr. Huxtable looked very much like an Emandisan, and nothing at all like a Pyana or Dolgorukij.

"How long until we know if I am?"

"In about twenty or so minutes." He smiled as he sat there and took blood as gently and quickly as he could. "That's the benefit of being a clinic in a small village. Little wait time."

When he was done, he placed a bandage on the tiny puncture wound and told her to apply pressure for a little bit before he stood, opened the door, and called for a nurse. He handed off the blood sample and returned.

"In the meantime, why don't you tell me a bit more about your diet. You've been eating more vegetables. What about fruit? Meat?"

"Fruit, yes, apples, oranges, grapes, and pears. I cannot wait until the strawberries ripen in the summer. The White Sheep, that is Father Sam who was here but has left, planted a bed in the church garden, and they're very good. And later in the summer, berries ripen in the woods." She realized she was letting her enthusiasm run away with her, and she stopped.

"And meat, we always ate meat, but usually in the form of lunchmeat, or fish in fish sticks. I've learned to make a stew, and chili, and to bake a chicken."

He nodded approvingly to all of it. "Sounds to me like you're diet's much more well rounded. You're even making me hungry." He grinned, joking. "Fiber's important, too. Whole wheat."

She looked a little rueful.

"I'm still working on that one, I just like the white flour better in quickbreads. I make oatmeal though, that counts, yes?"

He nodded. "You could also get supplements. The fact is most people don't get enough fiber even when they try to."

There was a soft knock on the door. Cliff got up and walked over, thanked the nurse for the file and then closed the door again, turning back around as he opened the folder to read what it had to say.

Kerai watched him as he read, hands chafing each other in her lap.

What he had to say might change her whole life...and Chuck's. She desperately wanted to hear, one way or the other, yet was a little afraid to.

"Doctor?" She almost couldn't find the breath to ask.

He looked up, face neutral. "Well, Kerai. It seems like you're going to have to continue to make changes to the way you're eating.... because the baby growing inside you is going to get awfully hungry." His expression morphed into a very large, happy grin. "Congratulations."

She just gaped for a moment, hands going reflexively to her stomach, then she clapped a hand over her wide-open mouth, and only removed it to ask,

"Really?" She began to smile, though still looking shocked, then she began to laugh, then clapped both hands over her mouth, and then began to cry.

He nodded to confirm he was telling the truth, but let her have her moment, moving to sit down with a warm smile. This was always the best part of the beginning process. Much more fun than having to tell someone they weren't pregnant.

"I will. I will eat everything you tell me, even the brown bread," she promised him, eyes welling up.

He chuckled. "We have a pamphlet, actually, for mothers-to-be. It will outline what you'll need to increase." Cliff was happy for her.

"As for your other concern," He looked a little more serious. "I'd like to schedule an ultra sound. That should let us know how the baby is doing and even how far along he or she is."

"Very well." She nodded. "May I have someone with me for that?"

"Yes. You can bring whoever you'd like to join you." One person, but still whoever she chose.

"I'd like Chuck to be there -- that's the baby's father." He probably had already figured that.

"In case the news is bad," she thought for a moment, "or if it's good, I just, would like him with me."

"Let's keep our thoughts positive, okay? I'm sure everything is fine." He wasn't 100 percent, of course, but he had hope. "I think the best thing you can do until then is go home, celebrate, and enjoy your wonderful news."

"Celebrate with vegetables, and brown bread, and meat that isn't fried," she said with a grin.

"No fish sticks, tater tots, and beer like in the old days."

He chuckled again, happy to see Kerai like this and taking everything in stride. "Sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate." He paused. "And you're right. It's best to avoid alcohol all together while you're pregnant. Alcohol can seriously harm the development of a child."

She nodded.

"I daresay it wasn't much good for my own either. I'd been on the drinkable since I was twelve or thirteen. Sometimes I feel the wanting, almost like a pain, but it passes," she breathed deep.

"It passes, if I wait long enough. But sometimes it's hard."

He frowned. It was an awfully young age for anyone to start. "Back home, we have support groups for that. We call them alcoholics anonymous. Perhaps I could look into whether we have one here. A place where you can go if you're feeling particularly wanting."

"I...think that would be a wise thing. If there were such help here."

He nodded. "Consider it already looked into, then." Cliff wanted Kerai to be successful, after all.

He got up and held out his hand to help her up from the chair, even though she didn't need it yet. "You're stronger than you think, Kerai."

She looked in surprise at the hand, as if she had no idea what it was for. Then she figured it out, took his hand, but didn't put any weight on it as she stood.

"People keep telling me that." She nodded her thanks for the offered help.

"Thank you, Dr. Huxtable. When do I see you again?"

"I'd like to see you by the end of the week for your first ultra sound. We'll be able to get a good idea of how far along you are, then, and maybe see if there's anything to be concerned about then."

Kerai breathed out, surprised it was so soon, and nervous. She realized after a moment it would be better to know sooner than later, and nodded.

"Thank you, doctor." She smiled. "And thank you for the present, the music. I like it very much."

"You're welcome. And I'm glad you enjoyed it." He smiled warmly again.

"Until next time." She nodded, and went out, wondering how she'd tell Chuck.