Dragos Goes to Washington (Elder Races #8.5)(38)

“What are you saying?” Pia asked, gripping Dragos’s hand tightly. “Are you saying I’ve developed antibodies to carrying Dragos’s fetuses?”

“That’s a simple way to put it, but yes, you have,” the doctor replied. “And your symptoms appeared much more quickly and are more extreme.”

“But you said they would be all right,” Dragos said sharply.

“And they will.” Dr. Medina turned to her and said forcefully, “You will. We will make sure of it. There is no reason at all to panic over this. You will do everything you did for Liam’s pregnancy. You will eat right, exercise when you feel good and whenever possible avoid stress. Last night I treated you with spells to dampen your symptoms. I can also develop a drug protocol specifically targeted to suppress your antibodies, so that your body doesn’t reject the baby. We will monitor this pregnancy very closely. That means examinations every two weeks, so that we can make adjustments if necessary.”

Pia tried to calm the shaking in her limbs. “Okay,” she said unsteadily. She tried to smile at Dragos. “We can do that. It’s going to be okay.”

“Yes,” he said simply. “Nothing else is acceptable.”

But Pia could tell—they both felt too much on edge, too close to disaster to really settle, which was why, when Dr. Medina took a deep breath, they turned to her so quickly.

“Now for the not so great news,” Dr. Medina said.

Pia felt her stomach bottom out. She whispered, “I thought that was the not so great news.”

The doctor gave her a kind smile. “That was part of it. The other part is—and there’s no easy way to say this—Pia, this has got to be your last pregnancy. I’m very sorry to tell you this, but if you try to get pregnant a third time, as extreme as your reaction has become, the likelihood is, you’ll miscarry it almost right away. You would almost certainly miscarry with this pregnancy too over the next month or two, if you hadn’t received medical attention—which you have, and you and this baby are just fine. But if you were to try for a third pregnancy, you’ll only put yourself at risk and both you and Dragos through a great deal of heartache. I can help you bring this baby to term, but I can’t help you with another one.”

Pia held herself still, absorbing the news. After a moment, she said, “Is that all of it?”

“Yes, pretty much.”

She bit her lip as she looked from Dr. Medina to Dragos. “I was so sure I wasn’t pregnant, I took a couple of doses of antihistamines yesterday. Is that a problem?”

The doctor shook her head. “Not at all. Some human drugs work well for Wyr, and that happens to be one of them. And since you’re not human, you can enjoy everything that you did when you were pregnant with Liam, including wine and alcohol, since there’s no placental transfer of alcohol for expectant Wyr mothers.”

She expelled a quick sigh of relief and the stiffness went out of her spine.

Dr. Medina continued, “I want you on bed rest for the next two days, so that your system can recover from the symptoms you’ve developed while I get your protocol developed. Then you can take your first dose. I’ve been making arrangements through the night for my other patients, and I’ve set up temporary privileges at Georgetown Hospital while you remain in D.C. That’s where I’m going in a few hours to work on creating your protocol, so I’ll be on hand if you need me. If you have any questions or concerns, you’ve got me on speed dial. Until then, calm down, don’t stress, eat lots of lovely good food and enjoy your new pregnancy with that very intriguing mystery you’ve got baking in your oven.” Dr. Medina’s gaze slid to Dragos. “And let your husband pamper you.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” Pia told her.

Dr. Medina touched her shoulder. “It’s my pleasure, Pia. I’ll leave you two alone now.”

When the door shut behind her, Pia sat for a moment, absorbing everything the doctor had said.

Then she whirled around to throw her arms around Dragos, her face suffused with glee. “Oh my God, we’re really pregnant! Part of me was so convinced it wasn’t ever going to happen!”

His arms came around her, crushing her ribs, he held her so tightly. He rasped, “When you fainted like that, you scared the shit out of me.”

“I know, I’m so sorry.” She stroked the back of his head.

Pulling back, he kissed her hard, several times, then hugged her tightly again and rocked her.

Compulsively, she put her hand on her stomach and sought once more for that subtle shadow. When she found it, joy thrilled through her again. “You didn’t by any chance get a glimpse of what sex it is, did you?”

“No. It’s cloaking too tightly.” Catching what she did, one corner of his mouth lifted as he said, “He’s sneaky.”

“Or she’s discreet,” she told him. “Oh my God, I really didn’t think we could do it—and I certainly didn’t think we could do it so soon.”

Dragos’s smile died. He asked, “How do you feel about the rest of what the doctor told us?”

She sobered too as she considered. After a few minutes, she said, “You know, I feel good. I’m still in shock that we actually got pregnant, and I’m just relieved to know that the baby and I are fine.” She caught a glimpse of his face and added quickly, “And we’re going to continue to be fine. As far as the rest of it goes . . . Dragos, we’re lucky that we have one child, let alone that we’re going to have two. I think—I’m not going to lie, I think it’s going to make me sad sometimes. But if that happens, it will be far in the future, and all I will have to do is look at the two beautiful children we do have and I’ll be able to remind myself how lucky we are. Besides, if we get ever desperate to have another baby around, we can always adopt.” She sneaked a peek at his frowning expression. “How about you?”