shimmerandsing | Follow the sound of my heartbeat, now.

Once again, Alison found herself in the Nexus office of Dr. Beverly Crusher. She was laying on the exam table and trying very hard to hold still as she waited for the doctor to get her equipment set up. Today was they day they would hear their babies heartbeats for the very first time. The excitement was so overwhelming that she was nearly vibrating with it as she waited. It seemed like forever! In actuality, it was probably only about ten minutes. But, it was a very long ten minutes.

They might also get to discover what sex the babies were. Alison had spent a great deal of time with Dakota's daughter, Gloria Jean. And, with John's daughter, Lisa. Miyuki was a constant presence in their lives now, also. And she never regretted any time spent with those girls. Part of her was wishing for a couple of adorable little girls to dress up and spoil.

Part of her was also wishing for little boys to shower with all the affection her first son should have had. Two, beautiful sons to chase their daddy around the castle and learn ninja tricks that would give her premature gray hairs.

She turned to smile at the Daddy in question and squeeze his hand as he stood beside her. Whichever gender they ended up with would be perfect. And, whichever they didn't get would be what they tried for next. She had already pretty much made up her mind that one more baby, at least, was in the cards for them.

Somehow, she didn't think Longshot would require much convincing.

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"Well, don't forget. Some women say that double the babies mean they have double the strength of the pregnancy symptoms." Beverly was glad to only have had one at that thought. She had a hard time with the morning sickness.

"I don't think we need another visit for three to four weeks. You're progressing wonderfully."

"I'll manage." Nothing was going to ruin her enjoyment of this pregnancy.

She smiled. "Thank you for everything. I appreciate your time and effort. We'll give you a call if there are any problems before the next visit."

"Yeah, we should call them," Longshot commented. "Maybe we can get them to visit with the kids, too. For a little while at least. Gloria Jean and Lisa can play with you."

Or chase him and Sadie. Sometimes it would probably be Sadie with a pygmy marmoset rider on her back.

Though he did have one more thing to ask the doctor. "Doctor Beverly," he began hesitantly. "When we come for Alison's next visit, can... can we do the scans? The ones you need to fix my brain..."

He wanted to fidget badly, but his body was remaining stock still.

"I'd like that. I could take the girls shopping for baby clothes." She knew Lisa's penchant for shopping. Miyuki and Gloria Jean might not be as enthusiastic about shopping regularly, but for baby stuff she bet that she could convince them.

"And bake cookies." She had a sudden and fierce craving for peanut butter cookies. Mmmm.

Alison smiled gently and gave Longshot's hand a reassuring squeeze. Asking the doctor for brain scans was probably one of the hardest things her husband had ever done. "I'll be right here with you," she murmured softly.

Beverly raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise. She had not figured he would ask for that so soon, considering his reaction to the news last time.

"Absolutely," Beverly replied smoothly. "I do warn you that mapping your brain will probably be long and boring for you, but once I have a complete picture and have time to analyze it, I will be able to fix some of what had been done to you."

Alison squeezed Longshot's hand between both of hers and rubbed the back of his hand gently. He hated being bored, but if it meant fixing something this important to him, they would find a way to manage.

"Maybe we can find something to distract us while we wait for the scans to finish? Books or music or something..."

Longshot's jaw tightened at the warning of being bored, but he would have to do it. There was no way he could be a complete man without this.

"O-okay," he managed to get out. He swallowed a lump in his throat and squeezed one of Alison's hands back. "Whatever... ahem. Whatever it takes."

"Will it interrupt the tests if he's reading something or watching a video?" Alison would do her best to keep these test from being too miserable for Longshot. She wanted this almost as badly as he did. She wanted it for him.

"That might stir up activity in other parts of the brain, but I don't see anything detrimental about it. It can also help me isolate other parts of his brain and their functions. Which would give me a better understanding of it all." Beverly tapped a finger once on the desk as she had a thought. She would need the three to four weeks to get the permission and the equipment to her office.

"I'd suggest a video. I do need him to lie absolutely still while I scan. I don't want anything thrown off and a scan restarted because he moved a bit too much."

"That doesn't sound too bad. We can find you a Bruce Lee movie you haven't seen. Or something else fun." She wasn't particularly into Bruce Lee films -- aside from the striking resemblance the man bore to her husband -- but, if it relaxed him she'd watch anything he wanted.

Longshot just sat there for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. "Whatever it takes," he murmured.

He had Alison and two beautiful children to get better for. Despite Alison's assertions that he was perfect, he did not and would not feel that until he got past this bad brain business.

"Thank you, Doctor Beverly. For everything." He gave her a grin as he squeezed Alison's hand again.

"We'll make it," Alison whispered to him. "Promise."

She was glad he seemed to be taking his decision well. Hopefully, it would all go smoothly and he would feel better soon.

She smiled at the doctor, also. "Yes. Thank you, very much."

"You're welcome," Beverly replied as she pushed up from the desk. It was all a part of being a doctor to her anyway. "Let me get your disk to take home."

She made her way over to her equipment and retrieved the disk. She placed it in a thin container and held it out to them.

Yay! Baby videos. With the sound of tiny heartbeats. She couldn't wait to show them off. She grinned as she took the disc from the doctor.

"Our friends will love this. Thank you again."

Follow the sound of my heartbeat, now.

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