She lay on the table. 

The doctor passed the scanner over her gel covered abdomen.  The man held his wife’s hand and smiled as he remembered watching the tiny heart beat three weeks ago on the screen above the examining table. 

This time it seemed to take longer.  Unwanted thoughts crept into the man’s mind, but he blocked them from reaching the surface.  This was to be a happy day.

A few more seconds passed, the longest seconds he could remember.  Then the doctor said, “There is no heartbeat.  The fetus has died.” 

There were no tears, not yet.  Just silence.