Sophie was gestured to get up on the table and to lay back, she did as she was told. The doctor then placed a bit of lubricant on her stomach before placing the probe onto her belly. He moved it around for a bit before he settled on one spot, and as the room fell silent, they were all able to hear the baby’s heartbeat. Sophie could’ve cried at the sound, it was so beautiful.

“The baby has a strong heartbeat and,” the doctor said while moving the probe a little more, “it would seem that you’re having a little girl.”

Sophie heard a sniffing sound coming from the corner of the room and when she looked, she could see Andre staring at the screen with tears running down his cheeks. They were having a baby girl and Andre was crying with happiness as he smiled warmly at Sophie.

“We’re having a girl,” he whispered as he took her hand and pressed it lightly to his lips.

It was at that moment that the reality of it all sunk in for Sophie, she was going to have a daughter with Andre, that is if they decide to go through it all as a couple going forward. She didn’t know how it would work, especially considering the fact she had signed a contract and she hadn’t read if there were any ways of getting out of the contract. Obviously, if they decided to be a couple the contract would cease to matter, or so that was what Sophie thought. Legally speaking, she had signed her rights to the baby away to Andre, how would they be able to reverse that she didn’t know.

A part of her knew that if she stayed with Andre it would have to be for the long-haul and although the thought seemed nice, she still had so much more to learn about him, and she wondered if he was thinking the same thing. If their relationship had started off normally maybe there wouldn’t be so much pressure on them, but Sophie knew that going forward there were big choices to make.

The doctor printed out their scan and let them go on their way. Sophie could tell that Andre was over the moon with the news of his child, or their child she wasn’t sure. It was hard to believe that just 30 minutes before the ultrasound her best friend had warned her to be careful and yet she was nowhere near being careful.

“I think we can order in tonight? Anything you like?” Andre suggested as they walked to his car.

“Oh, that sounds amazing. I have a craving for Mexican food right now, well she does,” she joked as she pointed to her belly.

“Well, Mexican it is then,” Andre smiled.

They made their way home in silence as Sophie thought about what their next move could be as she watched Andre smiling with the corner of her eye.

Once they were home Andre ordered all the Mexican food Sophie craved and then some, just in case he had said. They spoke a little while they waited for their order, Sophie knew that they were both nervous about the discussion that was soon to happen, but she knew that once it was done everything would be clearer for both of them.

“So,” she started.

“Yes, so. I guess we have some things to talk about,” he replied.

“That we do,” she said.

“Okay, well firstly I’ll just say that if you want to start our relationship from a beginning standpoint so we can get to know each other properly as normal people do, I would be completely okay with that. We can keep the contract intact until we’ve figured out exactly where we are in our relationship. How does that sound?” Andre asked.

“That sounds really good to me. I know that either way I will be having a baby, but I have detached myself from the idea of it being my baby due to the contract. I think if we focus on our relationship first and then decide about the baby at a later stage it would work out easier on us, that way there isn’t any pressure,” Sophie said.

“I completely agree. I think it would be amazing if we could work on us like at the start of any relationship,” Andre said as he took Sophie’s hand gently into his.

“I would like that too,” she replied.

“Would you like to move your things over to my side so we can try to be together more, or would you just like to spend more time together first?” he asked.

Sophie could picture them living together rather easily but if she wanted to treat their relationship like any other, she knew they should start off just seeing each other more first. After all, she was already pregnant with his child.

“I think we should just spend more time together, go on dates and get to know each other,” Sophie replied.

“I can work with that; can we include tonight as our first official date?” he asked.

“I would like that actually,” Sophie said with a smile.

The food arrived just then, and once Andre had gotten it all inside from the delivery man, they got comfortable on the couch, forming a food ocean around them as they talked about everything and anything. They laughed together and shared their fears and dreams with each other, it felt like a first date as they stole shy glances at each other.

Sophie couldn’t believe that after 2 very awkward months something was finally happening and although she chose not to spend the night in Andre’s bed, she still felt a lot more confident that they could work as a couple. She went to bed that night and rubbed her little baby bump, thinking of what it would feel like to be a mother to a little girl that was half hers and half Andre’s. It wasn’t a bad thought.