Chapter 365 - Four Weeks Apart

The couple arrived at the hospital earlier than their scheduled appointment. It was still eight in the morning while they were told to come at nine.

Andrea could barely sleep last night. The anticipation. The waiting. It was killing her. 

While waiting for the doctors to arrive, Andrea and Lu Fang sat in the waiting area. Thankfully, Dr. Qi and her companions arrived early, thirty minutes after eight. 

"Oh, Andrea, Lu Fang. You are already here," said Dr. Qi. She smiled at them and turned back to her fellow doctors, gesturing to give her a minute. 

Glancing back at the couple, she said, "We will just have another briefing before we start, okay? Just wait here and I'll ask one of the hospital staff to call you when we are ready."

The couple gave their words of approval and waited for fifteen minutes. It had been nearly two weeks since her last visit with Dr. Qi.

When the couple did not hear from the doctor, they thought perhaps nothing was wrong, but three days back, they finally received the expected call. 

Doctor Qi had told them she had her suspicion about the last scan but because it is strangely close to impossible, she requested the opinions of other doctors in the same practice. 

When Andrea asked if it is something to be worried about, Dr. Qi said, it was too soon to confirm. 

"Babe, I'm so nervous," she said while holding tightly the man's arm. 

Lu Fang had seen her troubled expression since they woke up to get ready. Andrea did not even go to see the children, wanting to leave for the hospital sooner. He pulled her closer for an embrace and simply touched her belly. "Our baby saved you from Kimya disease. Who's to say, our baby will save you from another one… Then again, we are thinking way ahead... maybe it's another baby!"

She smirked at the thought of having a twin. Obviously, there was only one from the previous ultrasound.

"Mr. and Mrs, Lu," called one of the hospital attendants. "The doctors are ready for you. Please get changed first."

Andrea took a deep breath and slowly got up from her seat. Lu Fang followed her and ultimately, they made their way to the ultrasound room. 

Laying herself on the bed, she looked straight at her husband and held his hand tightly.

When Dr. Qi came inside with her colleagues, she introduced the other doctors. "Andrea and Lu Fang, this is Dr. Chu. She is our current head department in this hospital."

Pointing to the other doctors behind her she introduced them saying, "This is Dr. Min and Dr. Huang. Both are fellow obstetricians, and gynecologists. They will all help us confirm the results of your ultrasound today. Shall we get started?"

"Yes, doctor. I really want this over and done with," said Andrea before biting her lip and closing her eyes. She did not want to see the ultrasound itself, but just want to know the findings. 

It was Lu Fang who kept staring at the monitor, trying to make sense of it all. He saw their baby floating in its sac. The sight of it made him smile since the head was much clearer than the last time they came. 

Eventually, Dr. Qi moved to a different view and the man properly saw what caused all the concern. He swore he did not see it the last time.  

"Oh my, it really is," reacted Dr. Min. Turning to her fellow doctor, she asked, "Do we have the same assessment?"

Dr. Huang closely looked at the monitor and requested Dr. Qi,  Let's check the heartbeat."

The doctors were suddenly in awe after hearing the sound-wave. Lu Fang figured it was the heartbeat. It sounded strange to him. 

"It's phenomenal," commented Dr. Huang. 

"It's good that we waited this long. The heartbeat can already be well heard," added Dr. Min.

"Dr. Qi," said Dr. Chu. "This is in fact a case of superfetation."

Andrea heard the doctors whispering to each other, and she knew it was time to know the results of her scan. She heard them say superfetation. She wondered, 'What is that?'

"Oh, Dr. Qi, I hope my baby is not mutating. Sueperfat -What?" said Andrea with a frown on her face. 

The doctors laughed at her concern, but before Dr. Qi answered to both the couple, she reconfirmed once more with her colleague, "Are we all in agreement?"

The two doctors gave a nod while Dr. Chu repeated herself, "Definitely a case of superfetation."

Dr. Qi let out a heavy sigh before facing the couple. She said, "Andrea, Lu Fang. You are pregnant."

The couple gave a puzzled look at each other before they heard the doctor explain herself. 

"What I mean is… You got pregnant again after having conceived," Dr. Qi finally said. 

Andrea and Lu Fang's face fell into a complete shock. Andrea's mouth hung open while the man tried to probe further, "Pregnant again?"

They saw all three doctors nod. 

"Yes, your first baby is not ten weeks old while the second one is six weeks old," answered Dr. Qi. "I did not see this on your first ultrasound since the second baby may not have implanted."

"It is a very rare kind of pregnancy and not every OB doctor will get to experience this kind of delivery," explained Dr. Chu. 

"Andrea, I took into account that your first pregnancy resulted in having fraternal twins. Therefore, it is very much possible that you often release two eggs…. Because of your circumstance - you know the disease - I assume that you still had sex after getting pregnant - trying hard to get pregnant - and sperm made its way up and got one other egg fertilized… That is usually how superfetation works," Dr. Qi added. 

"So technically, you are having twins but they are four weeks apart by age."

Andrea nearly fainted with the news. On the bright side, it was not bad news. However, the idea of giving birth a month apart made her nauseous. She asked, "Dr. Qi? How can I deliver the babies in that case?"

"We will need to make sure that the babies stay inside you the longest possible, so the second baby can grow at least up to 36 weeks. However, we can never tell if the first baby can wait up to 40 weeks. If the first baby comes out, the second baby will have to as well."

Dr. Qi continued to narrate the precautions that will have to be made. It included getting steroid shots on the 6th month of the first baby and a possible complete bed rest starting the 7th month. 

As the couple drove to the office, Andrea was still in a daze. It worried her that it was going to be a tough pregnancy.

Her husband saw through her sighs and facial expressions. He said, "Babe, don't worry. I'll take care of you… just like the last pregnancies. I'll paint your nails, put on your socks, cook multiple times for you, buy you an entire grocery store of food…"

The man went on and on with his promise, just so Andrea would feel better and before he knew it, his wife was already laughing hysterically saying, " are you seriously going to paint my toenails? Mr. CEO of Lu-Wei Enterprises, painting his wife's nails!"

"I swear this is the fault of that pregnancy test."