Page 19 of Ours (The Possession Duology #2)

Smiling at his love, Kade felt his ego skyrocket from the nurse’s compliment. Knowing that a complete stranger could see just how perfect he was for her warmed his black heart.

“Actually. I’m the lucky one,” he said, laying it on thick.

Grinning warmly at the pair, Emma chose to ignore the slight tension she felt radiating from her patient. It was normal to feel on edge after experiencing something like she had. Although it was none of her business, she had no doubt that the two deeply loved one another.

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Emma said enthusiastically. “Your baby is blessed to have parents that love one another so much.”

Letting out a nervous chuckle, Lexi gave the nurse a shaky smile. Oh yeah, she thought to herself. Their son was incredibly blessed to have a pair of loving, psychotic murderers as parents.

Mimicking her laugh, Emma brushed past Kade.

Careful not to spill the contents of the cup she was carrying, she gently placed it on the bedside table.

“Ok, so I’m going to take your vitals, then I’m going to check to see how the baby is doing.

..and then, if everything looks good, I’ll take that darn IV out of your hand and wheel you down to Ultrasound. How does that sound?” she asked.

“Perfect,” Kade responded.

Almost in unison, both women turned to look at him. Amusement danced over Emma’s face, while Lexi didn’t seem too thrilled by his interruption. If looks could kill, he knew for certain that he would be dead ten times over.

Clearing her throat in warning, Lexi moved her gaze from him to the nurse. She couldn’t believe his attitude. They would be having lengthy discussions about multiple things when they got back to the farm.

“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to getting this damn thing out,” she said, motioning to the needle in her hand. “Just curious, what’s in the cup? Do you need me to drink that?”

“Oh, I always like to bring in a big cup of juice to the moms before they go in for their ultrasound. Usually the sugar will wake the baby up! I brought you my favorite, apple juice. I hope that’s ok?” she asked, running a temporal thermometer across Lexi’s forehead.

“That sounds delicious, actually,” Lexi replied, her mouth watering at the thought. “It feels like I haven’t had anything to drink in ages. I can’t even remember what the last thing I had to drink was.”

“It definitely wasn’t juice,” Kade muttered bitterly under his breath.

Blinking at him, Lexi tried to remain still so the curse could take her remaining vitals as quickly as possible. What the hell was he talking about? What had Nikki done while she was locked away?

Oblivious to his comment, the nurse smiled sweetly at Lexi as she took her blood pressure. “Well, I’m almost done so you’ll be able to chug it down, soon. I promise you, it’ll be the best apple juice you’ve ever had!”

“Good, I’m so thirsty. So... does, uh...does everything look ok?” she asked, watching the nurse walk over to her computer monitor.

Stepping behind her keyboard, Emma gave a quick nod of her head. Considering how dehydrated she was when she was admitted, she was surprised at how well her body had bounced back in such a short length of time.

“You’re as healthy as can b—”

“Thank fucking God!” Kade interrupted, grabbing Lexi’s hand and giving it a tight squeeze. “But what about our boy?! Is he just as healthy?” he asked, his deep voice edged in panic.

Glancing at him from the corners of her eyes, Lexi’s anxiety spiked. She had never heard him sound so scared. That coupled with his whispered comment set off alarms in her head. Just what the fuck did her alter do?

Typing away, Emma hummed at his question. “Well, I’m almost done entering in her vitals. I’ll check on the baby in just a second, but none of the monitors have alarmed me so that’s a good sign. So, you’re having a boy, huh? Have you guys settled on a name?” she asked, locking up her computer.

Turning his head, Kade met Lexi’s. He was caught off guard by the question, they hadn’t had any time to discuss a name. He prayed she wouldn’t say ‘Junior.’ Nikki had ruined that nickname for him for all of eternity.

Shaking her head, Lexi looked at the nurse as she checked the fetal monitor. For a brief moment, she was pulled to the night of her second kidnapping. While she and Leo were having dinner, he told her he wanted to name her son ‘Ace.’ The memory was a dagger to her heart.

“We...uh, we haven’t discussed names, yet,” she replied, her voice cracking slightly.

Reviewing the monitor’s stats, Emma nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. It wasn’t that unusual for parents to be overwhelmed with the naming process. Especially with their first child.

“Well, you guys still have around fourteen weeks to decide on one, try not to stress over it,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s true. Fourteen weeks, plenty of time,” Lexi replied, fighting back tears.

Heading back to her monitor, the nurse went to work entering the baby’s information. Focusing on her task, she was completely oblivious to the confused stare Kade was giving Lexi.

“What’s wrong?” he mouthed. “Is it the baby?”

Frowning at him, Lexi quickly wiped away the tears rolling down her face. She could never let him know how much she hated herself for allowing Nikki to kill Leo. Part of her wished she just would have allowed Valentina to shoot her.

Pressing his lips together, he struggled with the uncomfortable weight of not knowing what was going on with her.

Was she emotional from all of the hormones swirling around in her body?

Was the gravity of the day’s events finally catching up with her?

Was she thinking about her limp dicked husband? Fuck. He hoped not.

Finishing the last sentence of her report, Emma looked up from her monitor at Lexi.

Her blue eyes widened as she noticed the distress in her patient’s face.

“Oh, please don’t worry! Everything is ok!

You’re doing well and so is your baby boy.

Why don’t you drink that juice while I go and get a wheelchair.

When I come back, I’ll take the IV out and we’ll head to Ultrasound. Is that alright with you?”

Pulling her lower lip between her teeth, Lexi focused her blurry vision on the nurse’s kind face. Unable to speak, she nodded an answer. She didn’t deserve even an ounce of the compassion she was giving her.

“Great! Ok, I’ll be back in just a second. I’m sure you two can’t wait to see your sweet baby, that’s always the fun part!” the nurse said with a wink, relieved to see her patient’s face suddenly light up.

...

Wiggling the back of her head against the medical pillow, Lexi tried to ignore the mixture of excitement and trepidation that had settled into the pit of her stomach.

While she was ecstatic to see her son again, Kade’s hushed comments during her examination had her on edge.

She prayed that the ultrasound wouldn’t reveal any abnormalities.

Adjusting Lexi’s medical gown to expose her belly, the technician reached to her side for a bottle of lubricant. “I always try to warm the gel, but this is a new bottle so it might not be completely warm. I apologize in advance if it’s a little chilly,” said the redhead, offering her a kind grin.

Shaking herself from her racing thoughts, Lexi met the tech’s warm brown eyes. She hadn’t heard a word that the woman had said, but didn’t have the energy to ask her to repeat herself.

“Ok,” she muttered, ignoring Kade as he took her hand.

Opening the plastic bottle, the ultrasound tech smacked it on her knee before turning it over and squirting the sticky substance onto her bump.

Shocked by the icy cold gel, Lexi yelped as it touched her skin. Was this a medical procedure, or a torture session?

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said the tech. “I did warn you, though!”

Swallowing a curse, Lexi nodded her head. Trying to get used to the sensation, she found comfort in a series of sharp kicks just above her bladder. It seemed as if her boy was just as startled, the thought that he was just as miffed as she made her snort.

Staring fondly at his love, he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. It was a shame that she had no idea how adorable she was. He could listen to her snorting all day.

Frowning at him, Lexi clawed her nails into the skin of his hand as hard as she could. How dare the jackass laugh at her plight.

Wincing in pain, he yanked his hand away. Her hot and cold attitude made his head spin. He didn’t think he would ever get used to her damn hormones. “Hey, don’t be mad at me, this is all Susan’s fault,” he said, motioning to the ultrasound tech.

Shaking her head, Susan laughed under her breath and pressed the flat of the ultrasound wand against Lexi’s stomach. Just because the chiseled man was incredibly handsome didn’t mean he could blame her for this little spat.

“Hey, I warned her!” she exclaimed, her voice filled with humor.

Breathing out a sigh, Lexi reached for his hand once again. He was annoying the hell out of her, but she did need his support. She wanted his support. “I’m sorry,” she said aloud, hoping that both Kade and Susan would accept the shared apology.

“Think nothing of it,” Susan replied, flipping on the speaker to hear the baby’s heartbeat.

Bringing her hand to his lips, Kade pressed a kiss against her knuckles. Little did she know there wasn’t much she would ever have to apologize for. “You can scratch me anytime you want to, Sweetheart,” he said with a wink.

Giving him a genuine smile, Lexi turned her attention to the monitor attached to the wall beside her. Within a handful of seconds, the black and white skeletal image of her son appeared on the screen, causing her to gasp in awe.

Leaning in, Kade blinked his dark eyes as his brain registered what he was looking at.

Within a split second, his entire world changed once again.

This was really happening, there was an actual baby in her womb.

He was going to be a father. Of course these were things he already knew, but seeing his son cemented everything. There was no turning back, now.

“Oh my God,” he said in amazement.

Pressing the wand against Lexi’s stomach, Susan allowed the parents a second to gawk at their child. The first look was always magical.

“What a cutie,” she cooed.

Letting the room around her fall away, Lexi watched the monitor like a hawk as her baby danced across the screen.

Feeling her heart swell, she silently counted each limb and made notes of his facial features.

From what she could see, everything looked as if it should. He looked like a perfect little cherub.

“Is everything ok?” she asked, not taking her eyes off her baby’s profile.

Rolling the wand over her bump, Susan continued to take measurements for the doctor. Technically, she wasn’t supposed to give out any information after the data was reviewed, but she didn’t see any harm in putting her fears to rest.

“Everything looks great! She’s growing and moving around like she should,” she said.

Catching the misspoken word, Lexi blinked at the woman. She? She? Clearly, she had heard her wrong. There was no way her baby was a girl.

“I’m sorry...I thought I heard you say she,” Lexi said with a small laugh.

Clenching his free hand to center himself, Kade toggled his attention back and forth between Lexi and Susan. Shit. His ears weren’t playing tricks on him. She had caught it, too. The realization caused his adrenaline to spike through his veins.

This isn’t good, Demetri warned, mirroring his alter’s knee jerk reaction.

Oblivious to their palpable fear, the ultrasound tech pointed towards the monitor with a confident smile.

“Yep! I did! Here, let me get a better angle,” she said, pressing the wand to get a view of the baby’s lower half.

“Ahh...there we go. Yep! Definitely a girl! No penis, there! You’re having a very healthy little girl! ”

Turning her head towards Kade, Lexi locked her stunned gaze upon his. With hot bile rising in her throat, she found herself unable to speak. The last thing she heard before she heaved was him saying the words that her mind wouldn’t stop screaming.

“Oh, fuck.”