Chapter 52

Rachel POV

Moonrise Entertainment - Media Conference Room

A frisson of excitement went through me as Tyler said we were going to look at our daughter.

I loved hearing him say 'our daughter' so much more than I had ever imagined I would.

"Let's see her!"

Bella and I had shared my ultrasounds in the past so it wasn't the first time I had watched my baby with a partner. All the same I felt much more excited to see Tyler's reaction. I decided it was because I knew we were looking at our child together and I wanted her father to love her, be excited to see her, be proud of her growing strong inside me.

We stood before a large cabinet where Tyler fiddled with the doors until one opened. I could tell he didn't do this on his own very often -a part of me wondered if Tyler had ever set up his own presentation before- but he managed to get the disk tray out to accept the DVD.

I looked around for a television, but didn't see one.

"Where's the screen?"

Tyler held up a remote for me to see, "Watch this."

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the large screen which descended in front of us surprised me. The projector screen took up the whole wall before the conference table. As the projector lit up, my ultrasound filled the wall in front of us and I jumped as the whooshing sound of my daughter's heartbeat echoed all around us.

"Surround sound," Tyler explained, pushing buttons on the remote until the volume lowered to a more acceptable level, "So this is her?"

Tyler was searching the screen before us with his eyes. His gaze held an intensity I was familiar with because he did all his work with the same degree of focus. I had never realized how fast he processed things until I was standing beside him as he took in the strange new world of my womb.

"She's moving a lot. Is that a good thing? Is she in some kind of distress? Her heart is beating so fast."

I had been able to ask all my questions to the technician or the obstetrician. I felt inadequate to explain in comparison to experts, but Tyler didn't have an expert on hand to ask. He only had me. I would have to do the best I could with the information I had gotten on my own.

"Babies in utero have fast heartbeats. They told me it was normal for her heart to beat up to 160 beats a minute. Sometimes it will beat faster and sometimes slower. It depends on how 'awake' she is at the time."

"Does she sleep?" Tyler asked, turning the full force of his glance on me.

"Yes," I shrugged, "Apparently babies do sleep most of the time in the womb. She's active right now because they were pushing on my belly with the wand a lot and I had my caffeine for the day right before the scan."

"This is normal then?"

I nodded, "Yes, this is completely normal for this stage of my pregnancy and taking into consideration she's had caffeine which makes her flip around and kick and flail. She isn't 'distressed' or anything. She's just energetic which is a good thing according to the doctor. She's very healthy."

Tyler and I went back to watching her move on the wall in front of us. Seeing her limbs waving, her body flipping around, her hands flexing in such large scale was surreal. I could have watched her for hours, but the video was only a few minutes before it stopped.

"Are you doing what you're supposed to do? Listening to the doctors?"

I had been healthy my whole life. Doctors had not supervised me at any memorable period of time in my past; I was grateful for my body's efficiency because I associated doctors with death after only seeing them when my mother's cancer began to wither her away.

"I do listen to them," I said, "They don't tell me to do too much right now. I have to take things easier because my blood pressure and blood sugar haven't been stable. All pregnant ladies are told to take it easy on the sugar and caffeine though."

Tyler collected his disk and used the remote to send the screen back into the ceiling. He actually seemed to be trying to avoid looking at me. I felt awkward without knowing why.

Stepping back, I perched on the edge of the conference table to take some weight off my feet, "You enjoyed seeing her?"

Tyler leaned against the podium where I imagined they gave their presentations from, folding his arms over his chest as he looked at me.

I could tell he was interested in me. His gaze was fond, but there was a heat in his eyes I knew had nothing to do with fatherly affection. I wondered what I'd done to encourage the warmth building between us.

"I would love to see her again. Will you tell me when your next appointment is so I can attend?"

"Yes."

Both of us were surprised by how quickly I responded. There was a husky quality to my voice I didn't want to examine too closely.

Heat warmed my body as I stretched a little on the edge of the table. I wanted Tyler to see his daughter. I wanted Tyler to keep looking at me---to see how my body was changing as I grew our child inside me.

My breasts were heavier already, fuller and my nipples were more sensitive than they'd been in years. I had noticed a little swelling in my feet, true, but there was also a little more padding on my hips which I loved. I felt incredibly feminine.

"You're beautiful. You look healthy to me. Is there anything you need? If you came home, I could make sure there was a nurse at home around the clock. Magda could take care of your needs during the day. I wouldn't mind fetching and carrying for you at night---or I could stay here in the city if you would prefer to have the house to yourself."

"What would be better about me being alone in your house rather than with Bella in our apartment? Tyler, I'm fine. I don't need a nurse and I can fetch and carry for myself. Sometimes my feet get a little sore or swollen. I have to be careful not to stand up too fast. I drink a lot of water. I eat every few hours. I'm okay."

"You will tell me if you need anything."

Tyler wasn't asking. The command in his tone brooked no argument even though his Alpha gene wasn't active while his wolf slept. Instead of being annoyed, I found myself smiling at him fondly.

"I will tell you," I agreed.

We had argued about so many things in the past. How many of those arguments had been pointless? I felt a sudden flush of shame for my part in the failure of our mating. I was sure I could have been more understanding, more open, just done more period to make things work between us.

"Good. I would love to help in any way I can. Any way I can," Tyler emphasized, giving me a half-smile I was all too familiar with as his eyes roamed my body again, "You look as if you are doing well."

"I mostly feel---well."

No good answer existed for being hit on by my former mate while pregnant with his baby and a slave to my hormones.

The conference room felt as if it had shrank. An intimacy existed between us I didn't want to lose even if we weren't together.

"Would you let me take you home? We could get something to eat together first. You said you had caffeine before the appointment. I'm thinking you chose a latte over lunch?"

I grinned back at Tyler, pleasantly surprised he knew I chose latte or lunch but never both, "I did. And you? Did you get time for lunch today? I never know if you remember to eat or if you have a meeting or---or anything about your day."

We fell silent at the reminder of how we'd failed to communicate for years. I wasn't sure if I wanted to sabotage our conversation out of some sense of self-preservation or if I was just awkward because of my raging hormones.

"I'm sorry. I never made a conscious decision to exclude you from my life. I just let my anger push you away and then told myself we were better off living with distance between us."

"I don't feel very distant right now. Do you?"

Tyler considered me, smiled, "No. Dinner and then a drive home? I promise I won't try to take advantage of you when you're full and under the influence of too many carbs."

Trust Tyler to remember I was prone to pliancy after eating. Zeroing in on someone's weaknesses must be an Alpha trait.

"Fine. Dinner. Then you drive me home to my apartment."

Tyler took my arm and towed me along while I hoped I hadn't made a mistake getting involved with him again.