Page 97 of Shots Fired

My lips find the top of her head as I wrap her in my arms, and she melts into my chest.

The doorbell sounds again, and she releases a sigh into my hoodie. “We need to get the door or else the phlebotomist will think we’re not here.”

Generally, a gender blood test is conducted with an at-home kit, and as it’s a finger prick test, it doesn’t require a professional. But given Darcy’s fear of needles, I paid for someone at the clinic to visit and carry it out. I figured she’d feel more confident that way.

I grip her shoulders and pull back so I can look at my girlfriend. “You don’t have to do this. We can wait until eighteen weeks, when they can confirm by ultrasound.”

She shakes her head. “No, I want us to know. This is a good opportunity for me to start getting used to the fact that I’m going to be poked and prodded for the next seven months. I want to prove to myself I can do it.”

I think I just defied gravity and fell a little bit harder for this girl.

I take her hand in mine, and we walk across to the door. I pull it open to find a smiling middle-aged woman with curly brown hair and warm, rosy cheeks.

She holds her ID card attached to a lanyard around her neck. “You must be Archer and Darcy. My name is Amanda, and I’m here to help with your early gender test.”

I swear to God I hear Darcy gulp from beside me, and I squeeze her hand in mine.

“Hey there,” Darcy replies, squeezing my hand back.

Her palm feels clammy, and I watch the way her chest rises and falls more quickly. Fuck, she doesn’t have to do this.

But if there’s one thing I’m learning about this girl, it’s that she’s got the strength to match her beauty. This is more than about finding out the baby’s gender. This is an internal war with herself and one she’s determined to win. I wonder if somethinghappened in her past that triggered her phobia of needles or if it’s simply inherent for her.

Truthfully, the reason doesn’t matter. I just want to protect and care for her in any way I can. For the rest of my life.

Amanda steps inside, shrugging off her jacket, and I break from Darcy, taking it from her and setting it on the coat stand.

Heading across to the couch, Darcy sits tentatively, and I retake her hand, stroking my thumb across the top.

“You must think I’m such a wimp.” She snorts, looking at Amanda as she pulls some paperwork from her bag and begins filling it out.

Amanda just smiles. “Actually, you’d be surprised how many people suffer with trypanophobia. I do more home visits than you can imagine, but I promise this is a noninvasive procedure, and you will only feel a tiny scratch.”

Darcy swallows hard and fast as she watches Amanda complete the paperwork. I can tell she’s a few seconds from puking as anxiety overwhelms her.

I lean into my girlfriend, speaking softly. “When I was ten, I wasn’t just into railfanning. I also liked to skateboard in places I shouldn’t, including down my mom and dad’s steep street.”

She looks up at me, wincing when I pull off my long-sleeved shirt and show her the faint scar that runs from under my armpit all the way to the crook of my elbow.

“I figured you’d gotten that from hockey.”

I shake my head. “Nope. Let’s just say, I only stopped when I hit some barbed wire. I needed a small blood transfusion. I’ve never been so scared as I was that day.”

Darcy eyes my scar, reaching up to run a finger down the faint line. “Your mum must’ve been terrified.”

“Yep.” I nod. Faintly remembering the look on her face. “My sister passed out at the sight of my injury, and my dad went fucking nuts. I didn’t get back on my skateboard for a long time.”

Her eyes flick across to Amanda as she finishes up the paperwork, and I catch her chin between my thumb and forefinger, demanding her attention.

“I know the level of anxiety you’re feeling right now is extreme, and I wish with my whole fucking heart that I could take that away from you. Every damn day, you amaze me with something new, and I sit in constant awe of you. Facing your fears like this is incredible. You are incredible.”

Now that I have her eyes on me alone, I remove my hand from Darcy’s chin to cup her cheek. “Just like my mom promised me that day—that nothing bad was going to happen because she was there with me—I can promise you that too. You have nothing to fear today or any other day because I’m here, with you, fighting for you. When you love someone as much as I do you, it isn’t possible for bad shit to happen—because I simply won’t let it. I’ll annihilate anything or anyone that tries to hurt you.”

Darcy’s breathing slows a fraction, and her pupils dilate. “I’m so fucking scared, Archer.”

My lips find the corner of her dry mouth. “Of course you are. But I believe in you, and I know you wouldn’t be here, sitting on this couch and pushing your comfort levels, if this wasn’t what you wanted.”

She looks down at her hands as she twists them in her lap, and I take one of them back between both of mine.