Begin Again novel Chapter 226

Liam never thought he'd survive two weeks in hospital.

But he did. With lots of patience, tons of reports and proposals to keep him sane and an endless supply of meds to ease his pain.

Before he knew it, the dreaded family fun day, months in the making, finally snuck upon them. However, Anderson Logistics' big day coincided with his hospital release and their first check-up with Dr Emily.

Eden was highly strung, anxious out of her wits when she came to pick him up.

"There's so much to do today," she wrung her hands as they watched James scoop Aiden up and grab Liam's travel bag. It was amazing how much stuff he had managed to collect over the past couple of weeks. His duffel bag was now heavier than it was when Eden first dropped it off.

"Tell me what's wrong," Liam said as he wheeled himself around the room and paused in front of her. He didn't need the wheelchair now, but he found it very comfortable, way better than sitting on the stiff bed.

"So, what's wrong?" he pulled her down on his lap and rubbed her tummy.

"I'm in charge of the refreshments stall at the picnic and, of course, I need to make sure Lydia's on her best behaviour. It's her first appearance as the company's spokesperson. Clara's also signed me up as her partner in the two-legged race. And we have the doctor's appointment."

"Hey, stop that," Liam scolded her when she began to scratch her hands. "Here's what we'll do. You'll tell Clara I've pulled you out of the race. You cannot be running around in your condition. Matt and I will handle the stall. And Julian will keep a close eye on Lydia."

"Why Julian?"

"They are the same. One has a dick and the other—"

Eden quickly covered his mouth with her hand to stop him from saying anything crude.

"I was going to say the other has lady parts," he smirked at her. "But they are essentially two peas in a pod."

"And that's exactly why we can't pair them together. We don't know what mayhem they'll cause."

"Stop stressing and wheel me out of here," Liam nudged her and pointed at the wheelchair.

"No!" Eden refused. "You can walk, can't you?"

"But I like it when you push me."

"If you don't hurry up, I'll push something of yours."

"I don't mind," he chuckled as he followed her out of the room, his discharge documents and the neatly typed wound care notes tucked under his arm. "It's been a while since we did any pushing. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health and said I'm ready to get on the saddle again."

"If I remember correctly, Dr Knight said no strenuous activity," she reminded him.

"Sex may be strenuous for other people, but not for this guy, right here," he pointed at himself proudly. "So if strenuous means sex, I'm pretty sure the doctor's orders don't apply to me."

"Right!" Eden laughed and pulled him along.

"I like the ribbed strawberry flavoured ones, by the way." She added, blushing like crazy as she suddenly looked at everything but him.

"Well, well," he smirked, "You discovered our secret stash!"

"Why would you panic buy condoms though, Liam, when I'm pregnant?"

"In my defence, I didn't know at that time, and well, you know, in case there's a pandemic, and we have to quarantine together. We have to stay sane somehow."

"Through sex?"

"Do you have a better way?" He asked, his eyes shining with amusement. "I'm all ears."

"What am I going to do with you for the rest of my life?" She groaned as she helped him inside the car beside Aiden, already in his car seat. Brenda was in the other car with Jace and Aaron.

Since it was a Saturday, the roads were practically empty, and they were at Van Holt Industries in a jiffy. They left Aiden with James in the car and headed inside the building.

"Isn't there a GP in our building?" Liam asked when they called the elevator to the 4th floor.

"Too many eyes there," Eden explained. "Besides, I found out from Dr Waylon I was expecting Aiden, and I was hoping he'll be my doctor this time around as well. But he passed away a year ago, and his daughter took over the practice."

The way her eyes fell when she mentioned her old doctor, Liam figured she liked the guy, and she was still shaken up over his death, so he pulled her close and held her.

"Ahem!" Someone cleared his throat from behind them, and Liam turned to see a familiar face.

"I thought it's you!" Levi Van Holt drew him in a bear hug and patted his back hard. "Long time, no chat Anderson!"

Liam winced but did his best to cover up his pain with a huge smile as they pulled apart and shook hands. "What the hell happened to you? You missed a few poker games."

Levi glanced at Eden, and Liam remembered his manners.

"Van Holt, meet my fiancée, Eden!" Turning to Eden, he carried on. "This is Levi, heir to Van Holt Industries and CEO of Chassis studios."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Eden," Levi smiled as he took her hand. Liam stepped in before he could kiss it, though.

"None of that shit Van Holt!" he warned him playfully.

His friend held up his hands and laughed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," Eden murmured and then proceeded to tell him she worked for him for three months two years ago.

"You mean you worked for my father," Levi corrected her. "I don't have anything to do with the family business. My gaming studio keeps me busy enough."

"Then what are you doing here? Have you worked things out with the old man?" Liam asked, mild intrigue flashing in his eyes.

It was an open secret in Rock Castle's upper crust circles, Levi and his father hated each other's guts, and the less they saw of each other, the better.

"I'm meeting him and his investigators. There's a new lead on Colleen's case."

"She's still missing?" Liam asked. He'd read about his sister a few weeks back, but he'd assumed they'd found her. After all, she was a wealthy heiress, and the Van Holts had all the resources at their disposal to track her down.

Levi nodded. "Yeah, and the police aren't much help. It's been two weeks, but the case may as well be cold. There's been no real progress since. I'm sure you can understand my frustration, I mean with your pending case. Anyway, I wanted to pop by the hospital to see you, but the stuff with Colleen's been keeping me so busy. I see Aleksei's still a crazy son of a bitch—"

Levi's phone rang, and he excused himself after hugging Liam again and waving at Eden.

"I like him," she said as they watched his friend dash out of the lobby."

"He's one of the most genuine people I know," Liam called the elevator again.

"And how do you know him?"

"We went to the same boarding schools and varsity. But Levi quit business school after he flunked his first year, and he switched to computer sciences despite his old man's protests. He's one of the best programmers in the city. A few years ago, he founded Chassis Studios with his best friend, Mark."

The elevator slid open. Eden stepped inside and asked, "what is up with rich people and family feuds?"

"The Andersons don't have a family feud," Liam protested as he followed behind her.

"Yeah, but you didn't want to take over the company."

"Because I had my own life. It's not easy stepping into someone's shoes and taking over their legacy. There are too many expectations and a lot of room to fuck it all up. I didn't want to be that one Anderson man who brought down a centuries' old empire. I wanted to build my own empire and carve out a new path for myself. In a way, I envy Levi. He managed to do what most heirs don't. He walked away from it all and followed his dreams."

"Makes sense," Eden nodded and squeezed his hand.

Dr Emily Waylon was ready to see them, so they didn't have to linger in the almost empty waiting room.

The poor woman tried to hide her shock when she saw the bruises all over his face, but her eyes said everything her mouth couldn't.

"You should see the other guy." Liam cracked a smile to ease her discomfort.

"I can only imagine what he looks like."

Eden did the introductions, and they went through the motions of a check-up, the usual standard stuff, and then the doctor ushered them to the examination bed for the ultrasound.

The first time he heard the echoey sound coming from the monitor, Liam had no idea what he was supposed to be listening to until the doctor turned to Eden and announced with the biggest smile he had seen on her so far. "The baby's heartbeat is strong. But he's a little smaller than I'd want him to be at this stage."

She paused and pointed at the image on the screen, explaining the smudgy blot—on the ultrasound photo that was supposedly his little warrior—should be the size of a passionfruit.

"How come she's so small?" Liam asked, staring at the blob of nothing on the screen.

Both the doctor and Eden seemed to be enamoured with the image, though. They clearly had x-ray vision, and he didn't.

"There are several reasons," the doctor began as she turned to him. "The most common being the baby not getting enough nutrients and oxygen through the placenta, and it's very likely the case with Eden. We have to monitor her closely and make sure she gets enough rest, eats well, and minimises stress."

"If we do all of that, the baby will be fine, though, and start growing, right?" Liam asked.

"That's a start. But let's not panic yet. The baby has a healthy heartbeat, and we'll continue to monitor Eden closely."

"Can I hear it again? The heartbeat?"

"Of course," the doctor smiled and ran her fancy handheld ultrasound device over Eden's tummy again.

This time when Liam heard the sound, louder and stronger than before, he could swear it sounded like a heartbeat.

He looked at Eden, his eyes shimmering with tears, unable to believe his ears.

"That's our baby," he cried. "Our little warrior!"

Eden nodded and smiled tearfully. "There she is."

"I love her and you."

"And we love you." She mouthed right back at him.

"It's still too early to tell the sex—" The doctor said.

But Liam was adamant it's a girl. He felt it deep in his gut.

"I know it's a girl," Liam insisted as he helped Eden clean the gel from her tummy and fix her clothes.

"You could be right," Dr Emily smiled. "They say father's feel these things."

"See, even the doctor thinks I'm right, get ready to lose," he said a little while later when they left the doctor's rooms, armed with another prescription for all kinds of vitamins.

"She said you could be right." Eden reminded him. "Would you be disappointed if it's another boy?"

"No," he shook his head. "As long as it's here in eight months and it's healthy, I don't care. But I know it's a girl."

"Right!"

"Thank you," he pulled her in his embrace and kissed her nose. "For bringing me along."

"Did you think I'll want to do this on my own again?" She frowned. "The first one was free. This one is not. You are not getting out of any of it this time. The diaper changes, the vomit and sleepless nights are all yours."

"Are you trying to scare me?"

"No. But buckle up, Princess!" She smirked, echoing his words from weeks before. "It won't get any easier."

"That sass!" He smacked her ass and squeezed it as they made their way to the car.