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?”
“As long as you’re okay, everything is okay even when it’s not.” Unsmiling, he met her gaze. “When you’re not okay, the world is hell.”
He had tightened one hand into a fist. She laid her hand over it, remembering the raging dragon in her hallucinations. She said gently, “And I’m okay. I’m more than okay, I’m over the moon.”
“Despite feeling achy?” He passed one hand over her hair, tucking it behind her shoulder.
“This is worth feeling achy any day of the week.” Somewhere, a door slammed again, reminding her of the outside world and its concerns. “What happened while I was out of it?”
He made a face and gesture that sliced through air. “Drama llamas.”
“What?” She laughed.
The stress had begun to lift from his face, which she was glad to see. He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Don’t you remember what you said just before you collapsed?”