[hockeypreg2]

"Believe me, I'm not thrilled to hear this news," Zach said to her a little glumly. "If I had known there was a chance he could get pregnant, I would have taken other precautions. I don't want to put him in any danger."

Zach stroked Caleb's hand gently. "And you know he's not going to want to talk about anything other than keeping the baby even if it endangers his health."

[Sam260]

Dr. Evan's nodded and looked at Caleb and shook her head "He looks worse than when he gave birth to Noah, and that was a hell of a day..." she said quietly and looked up at Zach "Does he have any other person - besides you - that can legally make medical decisions for him? Because I know you, as well, Zach... You will cave to his requests, even if you know it'll endanger him..."

A nurse wheeled in a portable ultrasound machine and parked it near the bed and Dr. Evans "Let's get his shirt up and turn him onto his back, I need to get a good view of everything..."

[hockeypreg2]

Zach shook his head as he helped move Caleb. "No one that can legally do it. Jen is pretty close to both of us as you know but she's also incredibly pragmatic. Maybe she can help us out if we need it."

Dr. Evans started up the machine. "We'll see. Keep your hands on him. He might struggle since he's not entirely aware of what is going on right now."

She put the gel on Caleb's stomach and she was right, he did begin to move around, pushing at Zach's arms even as he tried to soothe him. Her eyes stayed on the screen as she searched for the fetus, finally finding it.

"There we go. The fetus is in his uterus which is good. Sometimes if there's a failed tubal, there can be an ectopic pregnancy which is an emergency for the father. It's nonviable. We have a viable pregnancy here. It looks like it's doing good."

[Sam260]

Caleb groaned and finally managed to push Zach away, if a bit weakly. He tried sitting up a bit, but only managed to fall back flat with another groan of pain. A shaky hand reached up to the mask, his breathing slightly labored with the effort "Baby okay...?" he asked hoarsely, eyes searching for anyone to look at him.

The question he asked made it seem like he already knew he was pregnant, and had been trying to keep it a secret - which, wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, since he works at a hospital and could have submitted his blood anonymously. "Don't lose... Wanna keep it..." Caleb said brokenly, turning his head in the direction he thought Zach was at.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach leaned over to look at him, holding his hand gently and stroking his face with his free hand. "The baby looks fine. We're not going to make any decisions right now. Just rest for me. I promise nothing will happen to you or the baby while you sleep."

Dr. Evans looked closely at the tubal she had done using the ultrasound. One side was still clearly fine, completely blocked off. The other side wasn't, the stitching having pulled out, the tube grown back together enough for eggs to pass through. She sighed as she wiped off the gel and turned off the machine. This was partially on her as well.

[Sam260]

Caleb sniffled and shook his head, being his normal stubborn self "Don't wanna sleep... The baby..." Caleb whispered, pointing toward the blank screen of the monitor, turning his head slowly to look up at Dr. Evans "How is he, Doc? I..." Caleb took a shaky breath and sniffled again "I tried to do it right... but... It was hard... I was more tired... hungry... sick..." Caleb sniffled and shook his head "I want to keep him."

[hockeypreg2]

Zach frowned at that, feeling both angry and a little hurt. "You knew? And you didn't tell me?"

Dr. Evans looked between them, saw that Caleb wasn't going to let it go, wasn't going to rest. "The baby looks fine. I'm sorry that I put you in this situation. When you feel better, the three of us can discuss the pregnancy and what needs to be done. Right now, you need to rest. I'm going to let you go home once the ER releases you but I want you in my office Monday morning."

[Sam260]

Caleb sniffled even louder, tears riding down the sides of his face slowly "I... I was scared... I... I knew you... you would want to get rid of it... Just... just to save me..." Caleb said brokenly and curled up on himself slightly, setting his hands protectively over his stomach and looking up at Zach with tear filled eyes "I'm sorry, Zach... I... I just... I didn't want to... to get rid of the baby... Not... not if it'll... it'll have a chance of surviving..."

Dr. Evans made sure that Jen had been paying attention and put it in Zach and Caleb's schedule so they knew to go to her office on Monday, and then she took her leave, not wanting to intrude on what could be a potentially volatile situation between the couple who rarely fought about anything serious. Jen also seemed to quietly slip out, claiming she was going for coffee.

[hockeypreg2]

"Baby," Zach said, tearing up himself. He shook his head and reached for Caleb's hand. "You don't think it would kill me to have to get rid of the baby? Because it would. It would be awful. But losing you would be so much worse. Things got so bad when you were pregnant with Noah that the idea of you being pregnant again terrifies me. I just want you safe."

[Sam260]

Caleb twisted his fingers into Zach's fingers and tugged him closer. "They won't... not this time..." Caleb whispered and slowly sat up, raising the head of the bed with him. "I saw it, Zach... the baby... us..." Caleb put their joined hands on his stomach and smiled tearfully "I had a dream - all five of us... The baby was perfectly healthy... I survived... It'll work this time, perfectly." Caleb said with every ounce of confidence he could muster.

[hockeypreg2]

"Oh Caleb," Zach dropped his head onto the bed. He didn't want to make any promises right now, not until they talked it over with Dr. Evans. "We will figure it out, okay. I just ... I need more information before I say yes of course. I need to know how we're going to do this safely."

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded slowly and frowned deeply "We'll just wait... see what Dr. Evans says." Caleb said quietly and closed his eyes. He wouldn't say anything more either after that; he wanted this baby, and he knew - somewhere in the back of his mind - that it would likely kill him, if things didn't go smoothly, but he wanted this baby to be born, it was just another product of his and Zach's love for each other, and he wanted it to grow up with that love.

--------------

Monday came rather quickly, it seemed. Caleb's migraine had subsided and seemed to be non-existent three days later. Of course, the vomiting, the sleeping, none of that seemed to be disappearing or lessening at all. Caleb was tired, a lot, more so than when he was pregnant with Noah, when it seemed like Caleb just had an endless supply of energy. Add in the constant vomiting and it just made for a very miserable early pregnancy for Caleb - then again, Zach hadn't seen Caleb for the first three months of Noah's pregnancy, and this was *exactly* what Caleb went through the first trimester with Noah.

Noah frowned as he climbed into his papa's lap, setting his hands onto Zach's shoulders firmly and staring at Zach with such an adorable grumpy expression "Why daddy no play with me? He sleepin again!" Noah stated, pouting his bottom lip out and furrowing his brows tighter together. Of course, it was also 7 AM -- No where near "play time".

[hockeypreg2]

Zach put his hands on Noah's back, patting it gently. "Daddy's not feeling very good. We have to go to the doctor to get him checked out. And it's really early right now, Noah. It's not even time to play yet."

Noah clearly didn't like this answer and instead pouted even more. "But Daddy plays with me 'afore he leaves. You feed Vannah. I play with Daddy."

Zach sighed and gave him a hug. "Do you want to play with me instead?"

[Sam260]

Noah nodded and spun around, bouncing off of Zach's lap and holding his hand out to his papa "Uh huh. Daddy and I usually play Dino's upstairs... but we can play Lego, cause I know you like it better." Noah said as he dragged Zach behind him, heading toward the playroom. Once there Noah released Zach's fingers and turned around "How come daddy sick? He never sick 'afore!" Noah asked as he grabbed the large bucket of age-appropriately sized Legos and dumped them out across the carpet.

Noah plopped down in the center of the Lego's after clearing a space and then looked up at Zach, "An' how come you not feedin' Vannah?"

[hockeypreg2]

"Because Vannah is still sleeping. When she wakes up, I'll have to go get her but I can nurse her and play a little at the same time," Zach offered. Hopefully Savannah would be okay nursing before having actual breakfast today. He sat down on the floor as well, crossing his legs. "So what do you want to build?"

Zach didn't want to answer why Caleb was sick yet, not until they knew what the plan was and what they were going to do moving forward. He could direct Noah's attention away from that line of questioning rather easily by playing with him which wasn't a hardship for him.

[Sam260]

Noah seemed to completely forget all about Caleb's inherit illness the second him and Zach started building - there was no real design or end-game in sight, both son and father just connecting the Legos together happily. And Noah rambling on about silly things that made no sense but to the imagination of a three-year-old.

Caleb yawned quietly from the doorway, holding Savannah in his arms and watching as the duo played with one another - Almost a full hour had gone by already "Zach, I think you forgot about another very important person in our family..." Caleb said as he walked further into the playroom, rubbing Savannah's back lightly "I already fed her some bananas and oatmeal, but she's still a little hungry... Want me to take over here?"

[hockeypreg2]

Zach looked up, surprised. He hadn't even heard Savannah on the monitor and he'd been listening for her. "When did she get up? I was listening for her." He held out his arms for her, taking her from Caleb. "I was going to keep playing while we nursed. I can do it one-armed for a bit."

"Hey sweetie," Zach said to Savannah, kissing her round cheeks as he stripped his shirt off. "You still hungry?" He positioned her on one side, Savannah pretty much sitting up to nurse now so he was able to feed her and still play which made Noah very happy.

[Sam260]

Caleb sat down slowly on the couch they kept in the playroom and curled up, pulling a Paw Patrol blanket over his body "She was just laying there, cooing and babbling softly while she played with her feet. You wouldn't have heard her... Someone must have turned the upstairs monitor off or the battery in it died..." he shrugged lightly and laid his head down on the arm of the couch. Caleb still looked exhausted, but they had an appointment with Dr. Evans in an hour, and he'd need that long just to feel a little more functional.

Noah giggled as he smashed one of the buildings with his T-Rex dinosaur (the one from Toy Story) that him and Zach had created "Roar!" he exclaimed as he let Rex continue to smash about the fallen blocks. Narrating and garbling was a strong suit of Noah's, and he made all sorts of small screaming noises, as if civilians were running away from the Dino.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach watched him with a smile, shifting his body so Savannah could watch while she ate since she kept trying to turn her head and see what Noah was doing. She kept losing her latch and dribbling milk everywhere.

"I think Vannah likes your show," Zach commented to Noah. "She wants to watch you."

[Sam260]

Noah looked up at Savannah and wrinkled his forehead - he was still jealous of his baby sitter, and it showed; he loved nursing, and they had - a few months ago - laid down the law and said that he was no longer allowed to do it "I no wanna play anymore." Noah stated, dropping his toys and standing up to his feet and waddled his way out of the playroom.

Caleb sighed and yawned loudly "He's still upset..." Caleb said quietly and rubbed his stomach and then his eyes "I never knew a three-year-old could hold a grudge this long over nursing... It's rather incredible, if you ask me."