First time really venturing into the Wentworth fanfiction world, other than a one shot with Franky & Bridget.

- MT.

CHAPTER ONE:

The all clear. It wasn't something Maxine thought she would be ever hearing, let alone this soon. But yesterday afternoon at precisely 3:13 pm when Doctor Emma Cunningham had called her into the nurses station and sat her down, when she was expecting more bad news but was met with the best news she could have hoped for.

— Flashback —

"Making the tough decision to remove both breasts happened to be the best decision of your life, Maxine." Emma smiled as she rolled her chair closer to the prisoner. "The cancer hadn't spread, like Doctor Carter first thought."

"Meaning I don't have to stop hormone replacement therapy?" Maxine uncrossed her legs and moved closer to the paperwork Emma was holding out to her. "I don't understand."

"Removing the breasts removed the cancer and stopped it spreading to anywhere past the breast tissues. You don't have to stop the hormone replacement therapy, no, but Doctor Carter has suggested we lower the dosage for a few weeks while you partake in chemotherapy as a part of adjuvant therapy. He was pretty adamant about taking you completely off of the oestrogen but after a few hard minutes of persuasion I put forward that lowering the oestrogen rather than removing it completely may actually help you rather than hinder."

"Thank you." Is all the prisoner could say, a state of shock had overcome her mind and no other words were ready to be spoken. Maxine had already sentenced herself to death. At first the death she envisioned was gruesome. When she was stubborn and selfish and downright refused to have her breasts removed; the perfect breasts she had yearned for for years - the death would be slow, painful, in prison surrounded by loved ones and the breasts that she felt had betrayed her. And then Boomer found out and was outraged and therefore Maxine changed her mind and decided for the double mastectomy where she believed that eventually the oestrogen would be removed from her daily medication routine and she would be left with no choice other than a suicide to be complete in silence one night while the rest of her block mates slept.

"Maxine?"

Maxine startled. "I'm sorry." She blinked four times and offered a slight smile.

"It's okay." Emma smiled empathetically. "I'm sure it's a lot to take in." She watched as Maxine nodded in reply. "I was saying that later down the track you should be able to get an all clear to have a breast implantation."

— End Flashback —

It was 6:43 am and Maxine had barely slept. Perhaps half an hour here and there; if the prisoner was lucky.

Consumed with the thoughts of shock about the cancer not having spread past the main tissue breast, the fact that she didn't completely have to come off of her hormone replacement therapy, to the fact that later down the line she actually will be able to have another breast implantation - 6 rounds of chemotherapy (the aim) seemed like the prisoner was at the receiving end of being touched by an angel. She was happy, of course, but that feeling was being overshadowed by guilt - and that guilt had been there for days prior.

Maxine had made a drastic decision after what could have been a life ending ordeal. Feeling like she had nobody and that now with her breasts removed there was nothing left of her in this cold hard world, she offered her sperm to her beautiful friend Boomer. And the reasons why she had done so sickened her. Of course she offered because Boomer was a dear friend who she loved immensely, and yes Boomer did have the potential to be a fantastic mother, but she offered her sperm for her own use. Because in her mind she didn't think she had long left in this world. She was scared. She didn't believe she would recover from this, thus meaning she would die in prison and never leave and fall in love with a handsome guy who would love and accept her for her, and that they would one day marry and decide to have a baby and their first baby would be made with her sperm and the perfect surrogate mother. So why not act now? She thought. Why not sign her frozen goods over to her beautiful friend while she still had the chance? And why not have her legacy lived on while she was still able to have control over that? Boomer wanted a baby, Boomer was somebody she loved and cared for…

Maxine sighed. You don't treat people you love like that.

Rubbing her forehead with her hand, she rolled out of bed and slipped on her white shoes, zipped her hoodie, brushed her hair and stepped out of her cell.

"Good morning, love. Coffee?" Liz's cheerful voice spread throughout the room as she stood by the kettle.

"Hm?" Maxine startled. "Oh, no thank you." She offered a smile, again. She really had to get out of her head.

"What're you doin' up this early Boomer?" Liz asked as Boomer bounced out of her room.

"I'm an early riser sometimes Liz!" Boomer said as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Anyway I gotta be cause I'm gonna be a mum soon ay."

"Yes love but waking up before 9 am isn't really going to prepare you. Babies are unpredictable hun."

"Yeah I know that Liz I ain't stupid, alright?!" Boomer glared at her friend before she practically skipped toward Maxine. "Anyway, Mr J said I can go out into the exercise yard at 7 when all them other fit fuckers go out there."

"What on earth for?" Liz questioned as she blew on her morning coffee before taking a sip.

"I gotta get fit before I get up the duff." Boomer deadpanned, then looked to Maxine. "Hey what's up with you? Ya all quiet and pale and shit. Oh fuck is it the cancer? Do ya need ta spew or somethin'?" Boomer looked around for something that her friend could throw up into.

"No, no I'm fine, Boomer. I just didn't sleep well last night." Maxine said; rubbing Boomer's arm. "I really am fine."

"Oh good. Well um I'm going to be doing like push ups or some shit out in the yard so if ya need me just come out there."

"I'm here for Maxine, love. You go exercise and Maxi and I can enjoy some quiet time before the rest of the bloody prison wakes up." Liz practically pushed Boomer out the gate and wove goodbye to her simple minded friend.

Sighing as she sat down, Maxine pulled a magazine in her direction and absentmindedly began to cypher through them.

"Spill the beans." Liz casually threw the words out there as she joined Maxine at the table. "You're not right and you've been worse since you came back from seeing the quack yesty arvo. Were your results not good?"

Maxine began shaking her head and bit her lip to stop the tears from falling.

"Oh love." Liz leaned forward and cupped Maxine's hands in hers.

"No, the results were fine Liz. Everything…Everything's good. The cancer hadn't spread past the breast tissue and all of that was removed. A few short weeks of chemotherapy is all."

"Then what is it love? 'Cause the way you've been ain't exactly something I'd see from someone who just got good news." Liz was concerned. The perfect mother hen - there for everyone.

"I've been feeling like the worst person, Liz." Maxine pulled her hands from Liz's and wiped her face. "And what makes it worse is that Bea has been caught up with all this Kaz, Allie and The Freak bullshit that I've not had a chance to sit down with her and talk it all out." She looked at Liz. "Now that makes me sound ungrateful for you."

"Now don't be silly, I know that Bea was the first one here for you, I know the friendship you two have. But I'm here, and you need to talk to somebody and I know it's not going to be Dore, not with how distant she has been with us all - peer worker or not."

"I regret offering my sperm to Boomer." There. She had said it. No holding back, no pussy footing around. She had simply stated what had been drilling into her mind. She regretted offering her sperm to Boomer. "While I was laying there in the hospital bed wondering whether or not my body was riddled with cancer, all I could think about is that I didn't leave much of an impact on this world. My family disowned me, the person I fell in love with disowned me, I've no friends on the outside. I had nothing but my frozen produce in a sperm bank and I had it locked away for personal use meaning that I am the only one that can have say over somebody using it."

Liz nodded and encouraged Maxine to continue.

"So I thought why not Boomer? Why not somebody I know and love?" Maxine shook her head. "And now I keep going back to Boomer screaming at me telling me how selfish I am. Because even though this would make Boomer a mum, I mainly suggested it all for me. For my benefit. I mean, what kind of fucked up person does that, Liz?"

"Oh hun, you're far from fucked up. God. You're one of the more level headed one of us all. It's not selfish love, it's normal. Well I think it would be normal for someone in your situation to be thinking about." The mother hen's brow crinkled in confusion. "What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know, Liz." Max leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She spotted a packet of Monte Carlo's on the kitchen counter and smiled at the thought of her adorable friend who had said she was "giving up the bikkies to get preggers". And that made Maxine's heart hurt. "I could get out of here in 5 years Liz, find a guy and have my dream play out right in front of my eyes." She smiled. "But then I could be Boomer's last chance at motherhood." The smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"Do you not have enough for both? Perhaps tell Boomer you only have enough for 4 tries and if it doesn't work then she doesn't need to know that you've got more jizz left over."

That idea had crossed Conway's mind twice now, and she shook her head. "I couldn't lie to her, Liz."

"What's the alternative?"

Taking in a deep breath, Maxine exhaled slowly. What was the alternative, indeed?

Yay or Nay?

- MT