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She knew She’d been feeling so tired, so lethargic She pressed her knees together and sat up as straight as she could She angled her chin and stared ahead, ready to hear the next words She’d heard those kind of words before—that was all they were Words There was always hope after the shock

‘Is there anything you want to tell me?’

The consultant had turned to read the screen, scrolling through the notes

‘No? In that case, I should tell you we screened for pregnancy as well as other things I don’t know if you’re aware of that?’

A hanant What did that have to do with anything?

‘It’s routine in e it’s always a consideration’

That hah The tiny voice that had been talking to her, whispering it

Pregnant

She’d refused to hear it, had blocked it out

The hammer crashed the barrier down and suddenly she could see what she had knoas there—the hideous thought that had been lurking in the shadows of her mind

The whole world spun into a sickening swirl as a wave of nausea from low in her tummy rose up

‘I think that would explain all your other symptoms too You know—the low blood pressure That can happen And back pain can be a symptom for some women I wasn’t sure if you already knew’

‘But I’m a dancer’ She looked into the pleasant face of the other woman

‘Dancers have babies,’ she said, as if that was thein the world

‘But I can’t have a baby’