Brandy and Tasia were in the waiting room for only about five minutes before they were called into his office.





"Hello Brandy, nice to see you again," Dr.Brooks greeted her warmly.
Brandy then introduced him to Tasia. "Ladies please have a seat," said Dr. Brooks.





"How have you been feeling Brandy?," Dr.Brooks asked her,
he sat down at his desk.



"I think I am about to go crazy with curiosity about my ultrasound results."
"I second that," said Tasia.



"Well Brandy, the reason I asked you to bring someone with you is
because I have some well, surprising news. Some of it you will no
doubt find very shocking."



"Let me get your file out here in front of me."



"Brandy, the ultrasound shows that you are pregnant with twins."



"Twins?"




"Me? Really? Twins!"



"Brandy that is awesome," said Tasia.




"So why all the hubbub to tell me I'm pregnant with twins?"



"Brandy there is more; there has been a complication with one
of the babies, and unfortunately, one has not survived."



"I am very sorry Brandy. The other baby however, according to your ultrasound, is healthy and doing very well."



"What?! What do you mean a "complication", and one has not survived?!"



"You mean I have a ... a dead baby inside of me?," Brandy said,
horrified at the thought.



"Noooooooooooooooo!!"



"You're lying!"



"Brandy, I wish I was, but I am not."



"Oh Brandy, I am so sorry," said Tasia, trying to comfort



"Sorry!" Brandy screamed at her best friend. "Why are you sorry?!"



"You're not the one walking around with a dead baby inside of you!"









"Brandy, this is going to be difficult. But you do have a healthy
baby that you have to focus on for the next five weeks."



"The other baby, the one that is living - is it a boy or a girl?,"
Brandy asked, clearly trying to grasp at the straws of sanity.
"It is a little boy Brandy," Dr.Brooks said, calmly and carefully.



"I will name him Skip," she said, with tears in her eyes.



"That's a very good name, Brandy. I like Skip."



"Skip! Skip! Where are you?," she sobbed. "Why did you leave me
like this?," she whimpered.



"You promised to never leave meeeeeeeeee!"



"And now I'm all aloooonnnnnnne!!," she bitterly wept.



Brandy was getting hysterical and needed to stand up.



Dr. Brooks came from around his desk to comfort and reassure his fragile
patient, that yes, things were bad, but not impossible to get through.
And that she was not alone and she would get through this with a healthy
baby.



Tasia got up and made her way around the desk, to give her dear friend
some very much needed moral support. It was all very clear to Tasia why
the Dr. had insisted that Brandy bring someone with her. She was glad
that she was there for her friend.





"I will be right here with you all the way, Brandy," Tasia promised her.



Dr. Brooks had been dreading this appointment all day. His heart did
ache for Brandy. He knew Brandy had been through a lot
lately emotionally with her husband missing. He was very concerned for her.
He was also glad and relieved to see that Brandy had a good friend. She would
need all the moral support she could get over the next five weeks or so.



He asked Brandy and Tasia to please sit back down after things calmed
down a bit. He needed to talk to them and let Brandy know what to expect
in the weeks to come. And he wanted Brandy sitting down while going
over the sensitive issue.



"Brandy, I am glad to see that you have a good friend here like Tasia. I
am also here for you 24/7. You have my private phone number; promise
me that you will feel free to call me anytime, day or night. I don't
care what time it is. I am a doctor and I'm used to late night or very early
calls. So please don't hesitate to call me, ok, Brandy?" He waited for a
response from Brandy.
"Yes, Doctor. I will call you if I need you. Thank you."




First, I want to talk about your pregnancy. Your babies are di-amniotic diachronic - that means that they have two separate placentas. This is very
good news for you. Another term would be di-zygotic twins, also commonly referred to as fraternal twins.

{If I have gotten any of the medical terms wrong please forgive me and drop me a mail so I can fix it. Thank you.}



"This is important because that means that your living baby is able to
thrive and do well. And there is little risk to you or your baby during
the next weeks of pregnancy. Of course, I will need to see you every
four days now, to keep you closely monitored. But everything else
concerning your pregnancy so far is very good. Your baby is growing well
and looks good on all the ultrasounds."




"Brandy do you have any questions for me?" Dr. Brooks asked her.
"Yes doctor. What kind of complications could happen for my last five
weeks of pregnancy?" "We will be closely monitoring your placentas
and making sure that they are not breaking down. That is really the
biggest concern for right now. If that happens, a C-section will be performed immediately, and you will become a mother a little sooner. Of course,
then the baby would be in NICU until your baby is stable, breathing on
its own, gaining weight and able to hold his body temperature."



Brandy and Tasia both had the same looks on there faces, and Dr. Brooks
knew what they were thinking. He did not want to be abrasive, but it was
his job as her doctor to tell her everything. So he went ahead and
explained further. "Now Brandy, the non - living twin will of course be
still born. We have grief counselors that will be talking with you this
week, to help you through the time to come. They are the ones along
with myself and my staff, that will help you make arrangements that you
are comfortable with.
Then there seemed to be a disturbing silence in the room for a very long moment.



So Tasia broke the ice. "Doctor, when is her next appointment?," asked Tasia.
"I want to see her back here tomorrow. We want to do some blood tests
and another ultrasound. Ok Brandy?," said Dr. Brooks, as he made eye
contact with Brandy. "Yes, Doctor," Brandy said, in sort of a daze.
"I will bring her, doctor," Tasia volunteered, not wanting her friend to be alone. "Now
Brandy you have a healthy son growing inside of you," Dr. Brooks
reminded her. "He is going to need you to be positive and focus on him. Can you do that for him?" Brandy shook her head yes, as she felt tears in her eyes again. "Alright then, I have 11am available tomorrow morning, just before lunch. Is that good for you Brandy?"
"Yes, that will be fine." Brandy answered quickly.



Dr. Brooks got up and walked over to Brandy, as she was getting ready to
leave. They had been there for over a hour, and Brandy was very tired
and ready to go home. It had been an exhausting day.
"Brandy, don't hesitate to call me if you need me. Don't forget."
"I won't, doctor."




"Are you ready to go home?," asked Tasia. Of course you know
I'm spending the night. Or you could stay at my place if you'd like."




"Thank you, Tasia." "What are friends for?" Tasia whispered to her.
... The End of Part 4 ...


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Thank you for reading, please leave me a comment. I love feedback. Thank you
Come back for Part 5.