12 Minutes (#2 in Military series)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Mr and Mrs Langdale?"

Placing the leaflet to the side, not really taking any of the information in, she got to her feet beside Marc and walked over to the young nurse behind the desk.

"Dr Barter will see you now," She smiled and nodded to the door on their right.

Julia's heart was beating like a jackrabbit as she followed Marc over to the door. She watched him raise his hand to knock and saw that he kept it clenched by his side long after that the door had been opened.

"Come in, come in," Dr Barter appeared before them with a wide, familiar smile, "Lovely to see you both again, unfortunately it is under such circumstances." His smile faltered a little as he closed the door behind them.

It had been a few months since she was last inside his office but by the lavish upgrade in his furniture and the additional certificates that now lined the far wall, Julia assumed he had received a promotion.

As her eyes travelled over the cream carpet, leather chairs and designer lamp, her eyes fell upon something entirely different.

"Julia, Marc, may I introduce Dr Fellows. She is an obstetrician and, considering our progress, I thought it was important that we have her here with us."

As she got to her feet, smoothing down her grey skirt as she did so, Jules saw that she was of average height with her brown hair tied back with a pin. Her scarlet lips contrasted beautifully with her white lab coat.

"Pleasure to meet you both." She shook Marc's hand before she turned to Julia, "Dr Barter has briefed me on your unique case, and I just wish to say that I shall try my best to help you."

"Thanks," Julia swallowed and as she stared into Dr Fellows's eyes Jules found herself wondering if she had ever had the same problem as her. Did she know what she was saying?

"Let's take a seat shall we?" Dr Barter moved behind his desk and motioned for them both to sit.

Julia and Marc took a chair each on the other side of the desk. Dr Fellows moved around and stood beside Dr Barter, her hands resting inside her lab coat pockets.

Dr Barter, or Robert as he had instructed them to call him, knew them well and wasted no further time with pleasantries.

"Julia, how long has it been since your last miscarriage?" His bluntness both distracted and wounded her.

"One month," Julia blinked, too shocked to stutter her answer.

"And you haven't tried to become pregnant again?" Barter asked, writing their answers down on a pad of paper in front of him.

"No." Marc shifted awkwardly in the seat beside her. Julia noted that he was too big for the chair but she knew that it wasn't his size that was making him uncomfortable.

Jules looked away.

"Hmm, and how far a long were you this time?" Barter continued.

"Almost eleven weeks." Julia remembered it with painful clarity. She was just ten days from the end of her first trimester. Just ten days from cutting her chances of miscarriages down drastically when she felt it, that painful tugging inside her abdomen-

Dr Barter was a brilliant doctor but he couldn't seem to tell that his questions were bringing up some very painful memories. Marc remained looking straight ahead.

He was no doubt remembering the same thing.

Dr Fellows asked them her first question then, "How many miscarriages have you suffered since you began trying for a baby? Including your last one."