Anna had been waiting for this day with both excitement and anxiety.
The second ultrasound — the one where you finally see your baby, hear the heartbeat, make sure everything is fine.
She had spent weeks choosing the right doctor, booked the appointment early, and read hundreds of reviews.
She wanted everything to be perfect.
The room smelled faintly of antiseptic.
The doctor — a calm man in his fifties with a gentle voice — asked her to lie down on the examination couch.
The machine hummed to life, and the cold gel touched her skin.
Anna watched the screen, holding her breath.
“Here’s the head,” the doctor said quietly. “Here are the arms…”
He smiled — but then his expression changed.
He frowned, leaned closer to the monitor, and began moving the probe slowly, carefully.
“Is… is everything okay?” Anna asked, her voice trembling.
The doctor didn’t answer right away.
He pressed a few buttons, took a snapshot, then another.
“When was your last ultrasound?” he asked softly.
“Three weeks ago. Everything was fine. Why?”
He exhaled deeply.
“Look here,” he said, turning the screen slightly toward her. “Do you see this shadow?”
Anna nodded, confused.
“That’s not one heartbeat,” he said finally. “It’s two.”
She froze.
“Two?..”
“Yes,” the doctor said with a relieved smile. “You’re expecting twins. One of them was hiding behind the other before — that’s why no one noticed.”
Tears welled up in Anna’s eyes — not from fear, but from joy.
The doctor wiped his forehead with a small laugh and added,
“You scared me more than I scared you.”
