Chapter Text
Sweaty palms. Shaky hands. Quicker heartbeat. Shelby was scared. Oh, Lord, how could she not be? Later that day she was going to the last place on earth she wanted to be. She’d rather be in the middle of freaking desert with no water than go there, for crying out loud. She was freakin' terrified.
“I ain’t sure but I would bet my business that the poor pie wasn’t the one that kicked your puppy, Shelby.” A deep voice sounded behind her, and Shelby jumped, letting go of the fork she was using to disfigure the slice of pie she was supposed to be eating. Shit, that was a mess.
The woman sighed and spined on her heels. Leaning against the door frame was her boss, Tim Campbell, with an easy smile on his face. “Oh, Mr. C! I didn’t see you there.”
The man left his spot near the door and sat beside her. “I figured. You were too focused murdering your lunch.” He teased, his smile never leaving his face. “Do you want to tell me what is bothering you, kid?”
Shelby looked at her smashed pie. What was bothering her? Did he want the full list or the synthesis? She sighed for what looked like the thousandth time that day. “Life… that’s what’s bothering me.”
“Oh, ain’t that what bother every poor mortal?” Campbell laughed but put a reassuring hand one her shoulder. “Do you want to elaborate?”
For a moment, the blonde-haired looked into the older man’s eyes, they were full for comprehension and care. How long it had been since she last saw that same look in her father’s eyes? Years? Did she really ever see it? Her throat tightened, so she just shook her head. She was ready for him to pushed her to talk or for that look to leave his eyes, but neither of those happened.
“Alright, kid. But know that I’m here for you if you need it.” Tim assured her and she felt like crying. Fuck, stupid hormones.
“Sir, I have something I would like to ask you.” Fighting her tears, Shelby said, and the man gestured her to continue. “I was thinking if I could leave early. I have an appointment and I can come early tomorrow to compensate. Or leave later or….” She started to ramble, but it was cut short by Tim.
“Shelby, you know that, when you have appointments, you just have to say, and you can leave. I trust you girls won’t go bailing on work just for fun.”
The woman muttered a «thank you» and decided that if she kept having this conversation with the winner of the «Kindest Person Alive» contest, she would burst into tears, so she stood up and quickly returned to the kitchen.
She had work to do.
***
Later that day, with hesitant steps, Shelby headed to the OB-GYN clinic. She had spent a couple of hours researching her best option. She needed something nearby, professional, and good, but it couldn’t cost her kidneys. She was glad when she found a well-reviewed clinic called Blackburn Clinic. Apparently, it was kind of a family business. Fortunately, there was an opening to an appointment that afternoon and Goodkind didn’t think twice before booking.
When the young woman entered the building – a nice architecture, she had to admit –, she could see a nice waiting room, where maybe half a dozen of people was sitting. Some of them were with their partner, she assumed, others were alone, and that fact put Shelby’s heart a little more at ease.
She was not the only one.
She approached the receptionist, who looked like she was barely eighteen – one of the owners’ kids perhaps? The young girl looked up from the computer in from of her and gave her a sweet smile.
“Good afternoon. My name is Jenna. How can I help you?” she asked amicably.
“I have an appointment with Dr. Blackburn. The name’s Shelby Goodkind.” The older informed, nervously.
“Dr. Blackburn? Which one?” the teen chuckled, joking, and typed the woman’s name on the computer. “Oh, Marty… I mean, Dr. Martha. She will be seeing you as soon as possible. Please, take a seat and if you need anything don’t feel shy to ask.”
Shelby sat on one of the free chairs. She was anxious. How could she not be? She started to play with her hair, a nervous tick she had, and the woman beside her noticed.
“First time here?” she questioned with a gentle smile. She was maybe thirty or forty and her belly was huge, and her face looked a little tired. That could be her few months from now… Despite that, she had a genuine light in her eyes. “Don’t be, Hun. Everything’s gonna be okay. I mean, they can be a precious little parasite sometimes, but you’re gonna be okay.”
Shelby only had the strength to respond with a weak smile and nod. From behind a closed door appeared another gentle face – did everyone in that building looked like they had the heart full of love? – and announced. “Mrs. Goodkind, the doctor will see you now. Please, follow me.”
The blonde-haired stood up, feeling her knees weak, but did as she was required to. The person who called her – a nurse, she assumed by her uniform – opened a door for her and signed her to enter the room.
Inside the small, but neat and equipped, room, Goodkind found the doctor, sat at her desk. She was a young woman, probably her age and – surprise, surprise – greeted her with a gentle smile.
“Mrs. Goodkind! It is a pleasure to meet you! Take a seat, please.” Dr. Martha said and gestured to the examination table. God, that was uncomfortable.
Shelby was sure that she was eradiating anxiety. However, if the doctor notice it, she didn’t point it out and she was really grateful for that.
“So… Mrs. Goodkind…” she started but it was interrupted by Shelby asking in a mumble to be called by her first name and the other continued. “Shelby, as it is you first appointment with us, we’ll need to do some tests and talk about some things. You told us via phone call that you’re pregnant, right? Did you do a pharmacy test?”
“Yes… Two days ago. I had been feeling nauseous, so I decided to do it.” The patient confirmed.
The doctor nodded and wrote something on the notebook she had in front of her. “We’ll have to do a blood test to make sure, but false positives are far less common than false negatives.”
The doctor asked her to sit right and retrieve a small vial of her blood. She asked if Shelby was feeling okay and she assumed she meant physically, so she confirmed.
After her blood was sent to the lab through the same nurse who call her, Blackburn looked at her patient again and with the same gentle expression that never left her face, she told the other. “Now, Shelby, I would like to discuss with you what you want to do next. Is it okay?” Goodkind looked at the other woman, signing her to continue. “This clinic has a politic. We’ll never leave our clients feeling like they have just one option. So, I need you to know we have a lot of resources available. We have a set of courses to help first-time parents. We also have contact with a group of really good and respectable adoption agencies. And, if that’s what our patients want, we are a safe and non-judgmental place to do abortions. The only question here is what you, Shelby, want to do with your body and your life?”
The green-eyed woman took everything in. She reconsidered her options one more time. She looked at the young doctor in front of her. Her kind eyes. The way she put every decision in her hands without judging or coercing her. She didn’t feel so much control in her life since, well, ever. With all that in front of her, she said. “I’m gonna keep it. I have a plan.”
Martha just smiled; the way Shelby was sure she would smile didn’t matter which option she chose. “Okay. Just know that the door never closes, Shelby. Our plans can always change.” And went to the next topic of discussion.
After some more questions, that Shelby answered as truthfully as she could, she was sent to the waiting room again. Blackburn told her she would be called again as soon as her results came back. It wouldn’t take more than thirty or forty-five minutes.
Thirty minutes – that seemed more like thirty hours – later, Shelby entered the same room again. Dr. Martha opened the envelope the nurse handed her and with her kind expression told her the results.
Well, turns out she was the new official member of Club Knocked Up.