Without realizing it, Heather had been holding her breath the whole time, but now as that sound came through the machine, she let the air out in one quick breath.
It was one thing to read the pregnancy test and see it was positive. It was one thing to feel the mood swings and have the morning sickness. Even the swelling of her abdomen hadn't quite affected her like this. To hear a heartbeat. It was the sound that was a telltale sign of life.
She couldn't take her eyes off of the screen. There wasn't much to see there, not yet anyway, but there was a slight twinge of movement for every beat of the heart.
The doctor had been watching the screen herself, making sure she'd pinpointed the heart as well as she could for the parents to both hear and see, but she soon glanced off at each of them in turn, wearing that same warm, yet knowing smile she'd been giving them all morning. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?"