Updated Mar 22, 2026 • ~4 min read
Chapter 10: The Anatomy Scan
MAREN
Week sixteen.
Anatomy scan.
The big ultrasound where we find out if baby is healthy.
And if we want… the gender.
Jasper is meeting me at Dr. Elliot’s office.
Our first public appearance together.
Sort of.
I’m nervous.
Not about the scan.
About him being there.
Making this real.
***
I arrive early.
Check in.
Sit in the waiting room.
Then Jasper walks in.
Suit. Confident. Beautiful.
He sees me.
Smiles.
Sits beside me.
Takes my hand.
Right there in the waiting room.
Where anyone could see.
“Hey.”
“Hey. You came.”
“Of course I came. Wouldn’t miss this.”
The receptionist calls my name.
“Maren Ross?”
We stand together.
She looks at Jasper.
Then at me.
Smile knowing.
“Dad’s coming too?”
Jasper grins.
“Yes. I’m the dad.”
Hearing him say it.
Claiming it.
My heart flips.
***
Dr. Elliot greets us in the exam room.
Professional. Warm.
“Maren. Good to see you. And you must be…”
“Jasper. The father.”
They shake hands.
“Wonderful. Let’s take a look at baby, shall we?”
I lie back on the exam table.
Lift my shirt.
My bump is visible now.
Small but definite.
Jasper stares.
Eyes wide.
“That’s…”
“Our baby. Yeah.”
Dr. Elliot applies gel.
Cold.
Then the wand.
And suddenly, there on the screen:
Our baby.
Not a blob anymore.
A BABY.
Tiny fingers. Tiny toes. A perfect little face.
“Oh my God,” Jasper whispers.
Dr. Elliot smiles.
“Everything looks great. Strong heartbeat. Good measurements. Baby is healthy.”
I’m crying.
Happy tears.
Jasper squeezes my hand.
He’s crying too.
“That’s our baby,” he says.
“That’s our baby.”
Dr. Elliot continues the scan.
Checking organs. Measurements. Development.
“Everything is perfect. Would you like to know the sex?”
Jasper looks at me.
“Do you want to know?”
I think about it.
“Yes. I want to know.”
“Me too.”
Dr. Elliot adjusts the wand.
“Okay. Let’s see… there we go. Congratulations. You’re having a girl.”
A girl.
A daughter.
Jasper’s hand tightens on mine.
“A girl.”
His voice is thick with emotion.
“We’re having a daughter,” I say.
“We are.”
Dr. Elliot prints photos.
Hands them to us.
“See you in four weeks. Keep taking your vitamins. Any questions?”
I shake my head.
Can’t speak.
Jasper stands.
Helps me up.
“Thank you, doctor.”
***
JASPER
We walk out together.
Into the parking lot.
Maren is clutching the ultrasound photos.
Looking at them.
Smiling.
“A girl,” she says again.
“Elena.”
She looks at me.
“What?”
“You said if it’s a girl, you’d name her Elena. After your grandmother.”
She’s quiet.
Considering.
“What if we choose a new name? Not Elena. Not Thomas. Something that’s just ours. Not connected to the feud.”
I like that idea.
A lot.
“What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know yet. But we have time.”
We reach her car.
But I don’t want to leave yet.
Don’t want this moment to end.
“Maren?”
“Yeah?”
“I know we’re keeping this secret. But… can I tell Emmett? Just him. He won’t say anything.”
She hesitates.
“And I want to tell Sienna. She already knows about the pregnancy. But not about you. About us.”
Fair.
“Okay. Emmett and Sienna. No one else.”
“Deal.”
She kisses me.
Right there in the parking lot.
Public. Visible.
“We’re having a daughter.”
“We are.”
“I’m terrified.”
“Me too.”
“But also… excited.”
“Me too.”
She gets in her car.
I watch her drive away.
Then I look at the ultrasound photo.
My daughter.
I’m going to be a father.
To a little girl.
And suddenly, everything changes.
This isn’t just about Maren and me anymore.
This is about our daughter.
Her future.
Her family.
And I’ll be damned if I let some forty-year-old feud ruin that.
It’s time to end this.
Once and for all.
END OF CHAPTER 10 – END OF ACT ONE
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