Don't Walk Away

Chapter Thirty-Eight

(About Two Weeks Later)

Chloe paced about the hospital waiting room impatiently. She checked her watch and groaned in frustration. 1:53. The last time she had checked it was 1:52, and the time before that it was 1:51. She had a two o'clock appointment for an ultrasound, and her normally responsible husband was apparently feeling irresponsible today. Chloe was just about to grab her cell phone out of her purse to call him when he came bursting through the doors. He jogged up to her and gave her a quick kiss.

"Hey Diva... I'm sorry I'm late."

"You still have seven minutes."

Brady checked his own watch and then grinned at her. "Really? Geez... I think I'll go get a cup of coffee. Be right back."

Chloe playfully slapped him on the arm. "You're not funny, Brady. So, why are you late? Or running late as the case may be..."

"Bo Brady. He came to my office with the private investigator. We had a few things to discuss about your father."

"Good news?"

Brady sighed and shook his head. "I wish it was, I really do. But, we're still coming up with nothing but dead ends."

Chloe frowned at him but they both turned when they saw the nurse walk up and smile at them. Brady looked at Chloe and shrugged. "I guess I'll have to tell you later."

The redheaded nurse smiled at them and motioned towards the radiology department. "We're ready for you now, Mr. and Mrs. Black."

She turned quickly marching towards the ultrasound room with Brady and Chloe following close behind.

Chloe laughed with a snort and Brady raised his eyebrows at her curiously. "I'm sorry, Brady. I'm still not use to being called Mrs. Black. It sounds like I'm a ninth grade English teacher. Or Marlena."

Brady rolled his eyes at her as they stepped into the room. The nurse handed Chloe a paper gown and headed towards the door.

"Mrs. Black, please put this on and the doctor will be with you in just a few minutes."

"Mmm-hmmm... Thanks."

The nurse stepped out, leaving them alone in the room. Chloe stared at the light blue paper gown in her hand like it was her death warrant.

"Ugh... I hate these things. They could at least give me a cotton gown like they do for patients."

Brady laughed softly and kissed her on the forehead. "Awww, come on... I think it's kind of sexy."

Chloe shook her head and wrinkled up her nose. "And I think you're completely twisted."

Chloe sighed loudly and turned around so Brady could undo the zipper on the back of her dress for her. She quickly slipped it off and folded it, placing it on the counter. Chloe pulled what she liked to refer to as her 'death shroud' over her shoulders, leaving the front open for the ultrasound. She placed her hands on her growing belly and frowned at her husband.

"I swear to God, Brady. This baby gets bigger every day. By the end of my nine months, I'm going to look like that girl from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

"You mean the girl that turned into a giant blueberry? The one the Oompa-Loompas had to roll out of the room?"

Chloe nodded affirmatively. "That's the one."

Brady laughed and shook his head. "Chloe, now you're just being silly. You are as beautiful today as you've always been. And, no matter how big that baby gets, you will be only grow more beautiful every day."

Chloe smiled sweetly at him. "You know... You're really good at cheering up a hormonal, cranky, pissed-off pregnant woman."

"Well, thank God for that. Considering that I have to live with a hormonal, cranky, pissed-off pregnant woman every day until March 12th."

Chloe kept smiling and moved forward to give her husband a brief kiss. The door opened and Dr. McCormack entered with the same redheaded nurse from before. Dr. Kelly McCormack, a petite blonde woman in her mid 30's, was new to town, but came highly recommended. Chloe knew from her first appointment that she had picked the right obstetrician. Dr. McCormack was sweet, caring and had a wry sense of humor that matched wits quite nicely with both Brady and Chloe.

"Chloe... Brady... How are you both?"

Chloe smiled at Dr. McCormack and slid up on to the table. "Doing good... feeling like... well, as good as a pregnant woman can feel."

The doctor and nurse began preparing the ultrasound machine as Brady slid a stool up next to Chloe's side. He clasped his wife's hand and gave it a gentle kiss before turning back towards the ultrasound machine. The nurse pushed Chloe's gown aside and squirted the cool jelly on to her stomach. As they waited for the machine to ready itself, the doctor turned back to the happy couple and winked at them.

"You know, just in case you haven't decided on a name yet. Kelly is a great name for a girl."

Brady chuckled and nodded. "I bet you say that to all of your patients, Doctor."

"Yes, I do. It doesn't hurt to try, right? So, have you reached a decision on finding out the sex of the baby yet?"

Chloe and Brady exchanged a look and Chloe replied to the doctor. "No... Definitely a no. We're used to surprises, and we're kind of getting to like them."

Dr. McCormack nodded knowingly. "Let me guess, Brady wants a boy, and Chloe wants a little girl."

Brady nodded enthusiastically and Chloe shook her head. "We don't really care, as long as it's healthy. That's the most important thing."

"Alright, we're about to get this started. Remember you can change your mind about finding out the sex at any time."

The machine was ready and Dr. McCormack began the ultrasound. Chloe and Brady watched intently as they waited for the blurry images on the monitor to make sense. The doctor paused and then tapped the screen.

"There you go... There's your baby."

Chloe's breath caught in her throat and she glanced at Brady, both of them smiled at each other then turned back towards the screen to watch the tiny life moving inside of Chloe. Dr. McCormack smiled at the parents to be and then began pointing out things on the screen for them.

"Let's see. There's the head, and you can see one of the arms right there..."

As her finger moved lower, Brady interrupted. "Doctor, is that what I think it is?"

She laughed softly and shook her head. "No, Brady, it's not. That's the baby's leg. It's a little too big to be what you think it is."

"But..."

Chloe nudged her husband with her elbow and shook her head. "Don't even start with that, macho man."

They watched in silence, both of them too amazed with what was before them to speak. Every day it seemed more real to them, knowing that their child was on its way. And, now they could see it moving in front of them, living and thriving.

Chloe sighed softly and questioned the doctor. "How is the baby? Does everything look okay?

"Everything looks perfect. No complications at all. He or she is strong, healthy, at the size they are supposed to be at. No problems at all, mom and dad."

Brady looked at his wife in amazement, hearing those words for the first time. "Wow... mom and dad... That's us."

Chloe nodded and grinned at him. "Scary, huh?"

"Not at all. It's... perfect."

Chloe smiled and kept her eyes on the monitor as the nurse attached the heart monitor to her stomach. She had no idea how he did it, but Brady always knew the right things to say and the right time to say them. He always claimed not to be good with words, or expressing his feelings, but she disagreed. Whether he said it in two words or a hundred, he almost always said the things she needed to hear.

Dr. McCormack flipped a switch and the baby's heartbeat came loud and clear through the small speaker. Brady squeezed her hand gently, his face filling with pride as heard the beat of their baby's heart fill the room.

Dr. McCormack smiled at them and nodded happily. "This baby's got one strong heart."

Brady leaned forward and kissed Chloe on the forehead. "Just like his mother."

Chloe smiled at him and shook her head. "Just like her father."

They sat that way for quite awhile, holding hands and smiling as they stared at the monitor and listened to the baby's heartbeat. Finally the doctor had to look at them with her eyebrows raised.

"You know, I would leave you in here the rest of the day if I could. But, we've got another patient who needs the room."

Chloe nodded in understanding and began to sit up. "Alright, alright... We'll get out of your hair."

Dr. McCormack switched the machines off and the nurse began putting all of the equipment way. The doctor stood and checked Chloe's chart before speaking to them.

"Okay, you two... I guess I'll see you at the next appointment. Take care of yourselves, and call me if you have any problems."

Chloe smiled at her and sat up, grabbing paper towels to wipe the goo off of her stomach. "Thanks, Dr. McCormack..."

The doctor and nurse left them alone, so Chloe could get dressed and ready to go. She swung her legs off the table, and kept herself perched on the edge, grinning at Brady in amazement.

"Wow... Brady... That was just... WOW."

Brady chuckled and nodded enthusiastically. "I know, Diva. I know. It's unbelievable. The miracle of life... wow."

Chloe slid off the table and quickly tossed her paper gown aside. She grabbed her dress off the counter and threw it over her head, turning her back to Brady so he could zip her up. She smoothed her dress down and went to the mirror on the wall, attempting to make her hair presentable again.

Chloe turned back to Brady and looked at him expectantly. "So, what's the latest on my case? We didn't get to finish our conversation before."

Brady sighed loudly and shrugged. "That's the problem. There is no 'latest'. It's like this guy doesn't exist, and he never has."

"What about Harvard? Did they call to find out about his education there?"

"Oh, they called. But, there is no record of a Rob Hillton, or a Robert Hillton anywhere in the records. There was a Robert Hilton, with one 'L', that went there in the fifties, but he died about four years before you were born."

Chloe sighed sadly and frowned at him. "So... It's possible he gave Nancy a fake name. Geez... this just couldn't be more difficult, could it?"

Brady nodded and pulled her into his arms to comfort her. "I know, but we will find him. It's just... We checked with the American Medical Association, with Harvard, all over... and we can't find any records of this guy. And, if you're right... if he did give Nancy a fake name, it means he just might be..."

"Untraceable. Completely untraceable."

"It seems like it. But... We're not going to stop until we find him."

Brady let go of her, when there was a knock on the door. The nurse stepped inside and handed Chloe a videotape and a dark blue folder.

"Mr. and Mrs. Black. This is a video of your ultrasound, and in that folder is your baby's first pictures."

Chloe nodded slightly. "Thank you."

She grabbed her purse off the counter and followed Brady out the door and into the hallway. The folder and video were clutched tightly to her chest, and then it hit her. She had never understood the meaning of a 'light bulb going off in your head', but she did now. It was like a brilliant flash of light hitting her brain.

"Pictures! Pictures, Brady, pic-tures." She made sure to emphasize the syllables, excited over the idea that had just sprang into her head.

Brady stared at her like she was insane. "Chloe? What? Yes, you have pictures of the baby. Very good... Why are you crazy all of a sudden?"

"No, no. Not pictures of the baby. Pictures of my father. They have this big alumni weekend at Harvard every single year. It's a huge deal, and not only does it make the campus press, but it makes local news too. So, it's possible, highly possible..."

Brady nodded, understanding what she was getting at now. "It's possible that your father is in one of those pictures."

"Yes, and if he's going by another name, it could be in an article or a caption underneath the photo. And even if his name isn't there, at least we can get Nancy to pick his face out in the crowd."

Brady smiled widely and impulsively kissed her on the lips. "Chloe... Have I ever mentioned how completely brilliant you are?"

Chloe giggled and shook her head. "No, you haven't."

"Well, you are. You're a genius. Let's go home, and I'll call Bo, and we will get right on that."

Chloe smiled happily as they left the hospital hand in hand. She said a silent prayer as they headed towards Brady's jeep. She prayed that her idea would pay off; giving them the break they needed to find out who her father really was.

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