Because You Can't Always Have Everything
The phone rang and Jacob quickly wiped his oily hands onto a rag before the last ring went.
"Yep?" He said.
"Hello, can I please speak with Mr. Jacob Black?"
"Yep, this is he." He said, tightening a cap inside the engine before the gases exploded. "Can I ask who's calling?"
"Yes, this is the Forks General Clinic. I'm calling about a fertility test you and your wife had 3 weeks ago on the 21st of March?"
"Oh, right yeah. Are the results back? Have there been any...complications?"
"Well, erm sir, we've just received the results and I'm sorry to tell you but yourself and your wife have both received negative results." Negative results?
"Oh. So...what does that mean? Can we not have a baby? What's wrong?"
"Well from the results it seems that your wife has a womb which is inhospitable to help an egg develop and we've been told that your sperm have low motility," The lady paused and there was a tense silence that lasted a few seconds before she started to ramble on again in nervousness. "This doesn't mean that you will never have a baby but the chances of it are highly unlikely. You could keep on trying but we're doubtful anything will come of it. I'm sorry to tell you this Mr. Black but-"
"Thank you very much for calling." And he placed the phone in its cradle before the lady could say another word.
He sat down with his head in his hands and sighed quietly. Words were swimming in his head like a tank full of sharp toothed sharks, all biting and nipping at his thoughts. "Low motility. Inhospitable womb. Doubtful. Highly unlikely." After a few minutes he got up enough energy to seek out Bella and found her in their bedroom, sorting through a pile of dresses. She was currently wearing a sleeveless emerald green dress that hung just above her knees and hugged her waist. She looked beautiful but that only made him think about how much more beautiful she would have looked carrying his baby.
"Hey Jake, do you think this is okay for me to wear at Leah's rehearsal dinner next Tuesday?" She asked lightly. He looked at her and smiled sadly, wiping his hands on his jeans again. She looked at him quickly and wrinkled her nose, not noticing his expression. "You didn't say anything and that means no." She sighed. He tried to chuckle quietly, it came out as a hoarse laugh with no real emotion in it, while she was unzipping the dress and stepping back into her nightgown. She proceeded to pick out another dress from the selection laid on the bed, this time choosing a lavender one. He walked up to her before she could change again and hugged her from behind, trailing his fingers over her stomach and resting his head on her shoulder. "Bella, there's something I need to tell you." He murmured into her neck, sorrow lacing his voice. She caught that there was something different immediately.
"Baby, what's wrong? Has something happened? Are you okay?" She turned around and ran her fingers through his hair, concern in her eyes and worry turning into panic from the rise of her voice. Gently, he edged her closer to the bed and sat her down, taking her hands and holding them in his.
"Bells, the clinic called." he said, running his fingers over the smooth skin on her fingers in what he hoped was a comforting action.
"Oh...oh." she said, understanding what was he was going to say before he said it. She didn't want hear the words even though she knew he'd have to tell her.
"Honey, we can't have a baby. I mean, it's not impossible if we get really lucky but the chances are highly unlikely, at least that's what the woman said."
"Oh, erm," she paused and looked down, clearing her throat. After a few slow breaths she continued slowly, "so what's wrong? I mean, is it me or you? What is it exactly?" Her voice cracked in every other word.
"It's both of us, she says. Apparently my sperm has 'low motility' and you have an inhospitable womb." They looked at each other, searching for comfort. "I'm so sorry, Bells." He said softly. Her eyes shifted and she stared into nothing for a few moments before looking at him again with same wistful smile he was wearing just a few moments ago. She hugged him and he could feel the tears dampening his shirt as she sniffed and cried quietly for a few moments. He felt so helpless, they both did. With a tight squeeze he kissed her hair and peppered a load of butterfly kisses onto her face when she let go, wiping the tears falling from her eyes and trying to blink away a few of his own. "It's okay, baby. We can work through this. We can adopt or have a surrogacy. We'll get through this, you know that. We always get through it." He whispered to her reassuringly before pulling her into another tight hug again.
"We can still try right?" she said quietly into his neck.
"Of course we can, baby," he murmured into her hair and he kissed her gently on the forehead.
Authors Note:
This was inspired by a Friends episode...The One With The Fertility Test where Monica and Chandler both found out that they couldn't have children which is why they ended up adopting. I was really touched by the scene and decided I'd write this from that inspiration. I wanted to write a little bit more in this but I didn't want to overdo it, sometimes it seems simplicity is best.
Thank you so much for reading this but please review too because that would be the jam in my sandwich! Thank you!
Yours Sincerely,
ColourMeChaos :) x