The couple opened the front door of their home after visiting Maria, Gabriella's mother. They walked into the house and went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Troy entwined his fingers with Gabriella's and kissed her knuckles.
"Your mom seemed happy" Troy said.
"Yeah, she's been getting back to her old self. This year was harder than the previous ones" Gabriella said.
Gabriella's father, Robert had died five years ago from being a victim of drunk driving. Gabriella was twenty-two at the time and was about to graduate from college. Her family was devastated when the news was announced and it hit her and her mother hard. The anniversary of his death was around this time of year and the family was still grieving the loss of their family member.
"Maybe she's finally getting the closure that she needed" Troy said.
"Maybe, I mean we will never forget dad, but time has made the grieving process a little bit more manageable" Gabriella said.
"I understand. Your dad was a great man. I know that he loved you and your mom more than anything" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled slightly.
"He loved you too. He always told me that I would be taken care of with you in the picture and that he didn't have to worry about me" Gabriella said wiping a tear that had started running down her cheek.
Troy saw this and kissed Gabriella's cheek and then her lips.
"I love you baby. You always know that you can talk to me about your dad if you need to, right?" Troy said.
Gabriella sniffled and nodded, smiling through her tears.
"Yeah and I'm really happy that I have you in my life. Because I don't know how I would have been able to go through that without you" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled slightly.
"I would still be here. Even if you didn't want me to" Troy said.
Gabriella kissed her husband's cheek.
"I love you" Gabriella said.
"I love you too sweetheart. More than anything" Troy said.
Gabriella wrapped her arms around her husband.
"Troy?" Gabriella asked as she played with the bottom of Troy's shirt.
"Hmm?" Troy said.
"Do you think I should go to the doctor again? I mean, it's been six months" Gabriella said talking about her infertility.
"Baby, she said to wait and see for six more months" Troy said looking at his wife.
"But, what if it doesn't happen in six more months? Then what are we supposed to do?" Gabriella asked.
"If you don't get pregnant in six months, then we can figure out our options. Let's just wait and see what happens in six months" Troy repeated.
Gabriella sighed.
"Brie, I know it's frustrating and I know all you want is to be pregnant right now. I know that and I understand. But, forcing something onto your body that doesn't need it, could harm you in the long run" Troy said.
"So then do we give up? Is that what you are trying to tell me?" Gabriella asked.
Troy sighed. He closed his eyes and licked his lips. Troy took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Babe, I'm not saying that I'm giving up. I'm just saying let's wait before we make any drastic decisions" Troy said.
"I'm waiting six more months and if I'm not pregnant, then we need to figure out what the next step should be. Deal?" Gabriella asked.
"Deal" Troy said.
"Sorry that I'm frustrated about this whole thing babe. It just means a lot to me" Gabriella said.
"I know it does Brie. I know it does. But in six months let's see what happens" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
"Can I have a kiss? I need one really bad from a really beautiful woman" Troy said.
Gabriella laughed. She leaned over and kissed her husband's lips.
"I love you" Gabriella said.
"I love you too sweetheart" Troy said.
"Taylor and I were going to hang out tomorrow. What are you doing tomorrow?" Gabriella asked.
"I think I'm going to visit my parents. I haven't seen them in a while" Troy said.
"Maybe we can go together tomorrow night. I want to see your parents too" Gabriella said.
"Okay, then we will go tomorrow night" Troy said.
Gabriella leaned her head against her husband's chest.
"What's going on in that head of yours Brie?" Troy asked as he moved a stray hair away from Gabriella's face.
"Nothing. Just thinking" Gabriella said.
"What are you thinking about?" Troy asked.
"Can we try again tonight?" Gabriella asked softly.
Troy smiled slightly. Gabriella was always embarrassed when she would talk about sex. She even felt weird talking about it with Troy. Troy tried to make talking about it easier for her but Gabriella still felt weird talking about it.
"Do you want to?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"Tonight" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"Alright. We will try again okay?" Troy said.
"Thank you" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"You don't have to thank me for that babe. If we want to do this, it's our decision" Troy said.
"I know but I don't want you to get frustrated, that's all" Gabriella said.
"I only get frustrated when we don't get the result that we want" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I love you" Gabriella said.
"I love you too baby girl" Troy said.
A couple weeks later, Gabriella came home from work happily. She opened the front door and saw Troy watching television.
"Hi baby, how was your day?" Gabriella asked.
"Fine. How was yours? You are in a good mood today" Troy said kissing his wife's lips.
"I brought some stuff home" Gabriella said.
"Stuff? What stuff?" Troy asked.
Gabriella handed Troy a paper bag. He looked into the bag and then looked at Gabriella.
"Do you think you are pregnant?" Troy asked looking at the pregnancy tests in the bag.
"I don't know. I hope I am" Gabriella said.
"Well, get to urinating. Call me when you are done" Troy said.
Gabriella giggled.
"Why do you have to be such a good doctor?" Gabriella asked.
Troy laughed.
"Because I am. Now, go before your kidneys explode" Troy joked.
"Ha ha. Very funny baby" Gabriella said.
Gabriella walked upstairs and went into the master bedroom. She read the instructions of the test and took them all. After she finished, Gabriella washed her hands and walked downstairs and sat down in the living room with Troy.
"How long do we have to wait?" Troy asked.
"Seven minutes" Gabriella said.
Troy took Gabriella's in his.
"Are you nervous?" Troy asked.
"Yeah, because if I'm not pregnant, we have to try again" Gabriella said.
"Let's just hope that it's positive" Troy said.
Seven minutes felt like such a long time to be sitting and waiting. The timer that Gabriella had set on her phone went off. She turned it off and looked at Troy.
"Good luck" Troy said.
"Thanks" Gabriella said.
Gabriella got off the couch and walked upstairs and went into the master bedroom. She looked at the tests and saw that they were all negative. Gabriella sighed sadly. She threw away the tests and walked downstairs to the living room and sat down next to her husband.
"What's the verdict?" Troy asked.
"I'm not pregnant" Gabriella said breathlessly.
Troy looked at Gabriella.
"I'm sorry Brie" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled slightly.
"It's okay. We just need to try again" Gabriella said.
"Do you want me to call Tay and Kelsi? Maybe you need to just spend some time with friends" Troy suggested.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek. He put his finger under Gabriella's chin and moved it so she was looking directly into Troy's eyes.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said moving into her husband's arms.
Troy wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her head.
"Everything's going to be okay" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. That night, Troy had called Taylor and Kelsi and they took Gabriella out so she could just relax and forget about the pregnancy test. The three women drove to Zeke's restaurant and were seated immediately.
"Okay honey, spill. What's going on?" Taylor asked.
"I took another pregnancy test and it came back negative" Gabriella said.
"Gabi, I'm so sorry" Kelsi said putting a hand on her shoulder.
"It's just so frustrating. I mean, everyone I know got pregnant so fast. Why is it that when I want to get pregnant, I can't?" Gabriella asked.
"Gabi, every woman is different. Just because Kelsi gets pregnant right after she gets married, doesn't mean that I am going to get pregnant right after I get married. I know it's frustrating honey, I know it is. Have you considered other options?" Taylor asked.
"Other options like what?" Gabriella asked.
"You could adopt, have a surrogate, IVF, there are so many options nowadays, Gab" Taylor said.
"I want to carry my own baby. I don't want someone else to" Gabriella said.
"Just think about it okay? You may get pregnant on your own. But, if you can't, there are other options" Taylor said.
Gabriella sighed. She knew Taylor was right and that she should trust her since she is a doctor herself. But, she just couldn't picture herself adopting a baby or taking her and Troy's sperm and estrogen and allowing someone to have their baby for them. Thoughts swirled in Gabriella's head.
"Let me talk to Troy and see what he thinks. We talked about this already and he wants me to listen to the doctor and wait six more months before we move to the next step" Gabriella said.
"But what is the next step in his mind?" Taylor asked.
Gabriella froze. She didn't think of that. Gabriella didn't know what would happen after the six month period was over. Would they stop trying? What would happen to their plans? She was pulled out of her thoughts when Taylor started calling her name.
"Gabs, you don't need to figure all of this out right now. We are just saying that you need to talk to Troy about your options and if you don't want to do that, then what are you both going to do when the six month period is over" Taylor said.
Gabriella nodded.
"There are so many things running through my head" Gabriella said.
"I know there is. But you guys need to figure out a plan B" Taylor said.
"Yeah" Gabriella said.
The women ate and left the restaurant. Taylor dropped Gabriella off. Gabriella unlocked the front door and walked into the house and closed the door behind her. She walked into the kitchen and saw Troy making a sandwich for himself.
"How was your girl time?" Troy asked.
"Tay gave me a lot to think about and some things that I need to talk to you about" Gabriella said.
Troy looked at his wife.
"What did she say?" Troy asked knowing Taylor gave Gabriella medical advice.
"She told me that if we can't get pregnant on our own that we should consider our options" Gabriella said.
"Which are?" Troy asked.
"She told me adoption, IVF, and surrogate. She wants us to consider them" Gabriella said.
"Well, I think it would be weird if we took my sperm and your estrogen and put it into someone who would then have our baby" Troy said.
"I said the same exact thing to Taylor. So, surrogate is not an option. What about adoption?" Gabriella asked.
"I would be open to that. But you had said that you want to have your own child. So that really depends on you and what you think of it" Troy said.
"I want to have my own child and I don't want to adopt. There could be endless possibilities of what could happen down the line" Gabriella said.
"Okay, so adoption is not an option either. So the only thing left is IVF. What do you think of that?" Troy asked.
"What is that exactly?" Gabriella asked her husband.
"IVF is basically when you take my sperm and your estrogen and it creates an embryo that is not developed yet. Once it is created, the doctor will place it into your uterus and you will be pregnant" Troy explained.
Gabriella sighed.
"So that would require surgery" Gabriella concluded.
"Yes" Troy said.
"What do you think of that?" Gabriella asked.
"I would like our baby to come from us" Troy said.
"Me too" Gabriella said.
"So, are we making a decision then? Are you sure you want to do this babe?" Troy asked.
"I want to have my own children and if I need some help, then I want the help" Gabriella said.
"Okay. Call your doctor and set up an appointment" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
Troy kissed Gabriella's lips. Gabriella pulled back and looked at her husband.
"I'm going to go call my doctor and set up an appointment" Gabriella said.
"Alright" Troy said.
Gabriella called her obstetrician and made an appointment with her for the following day. She hung up the phone and walked over to Troy and kissed his cheek.
"When's the appointment?" Troy asked.
"Tomorrow at eleven. Can you get out of work for an hour?" Gabriella asked.
"Yeah, I'll ask someone to cover for me" Troy said.
"Okay. Are you scared?" Gabriella asked.
"I should be asking you that question" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled nervously.
"I'm scared. But, it's because I don't know what to expect" Gabriella said.
"This is just a consultation. We aren't doing the whole thing tomorrow. We are just talking about it and setting it up tomorrow" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"And if you don't want to do this, tomorrow is your last chance to say something" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
"I'm serious Brie. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do" Troy said.
"Troy, I'm not one of your patients mother's. Relax" Gabriella said.
"Alright" Troy said.
The next morning, the couple were driving to Gabriella's obstetrician's office. Troy pulled into the parking lot and parked his car. He looked at his wife.
"You ready for this?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. The couple got out of the car and walked into the office. Gabriella signed herself in and sat down next to Troy. A nurse came into the waiting room with a file.
"Gabriella Bolton?" the nurse called.
The couple stood up and followed the nurse. Both of their anxiety levels were high. Forty-five minutes later, the couple emerged from the exam room and left the office and walked to the parking lot and got into the car. Troy looked at Gabriella.
"How do you feel baby?" Troy asked.
"A thousand things are going through my head" Gabriella said.
Troy started driving home.
"Same here" Troy said.
"Well, next week is the big day" Gabriella said.
"Yeah" Troy said.
Troy took Gabriella's hand in his. A week later, Gabriella came out of the bathroom. She had started to feel sick but thought that it was just the stress of everything that was going on. Gabriella found a pregnancy test in her bathroom and looked at it and sighed. She took the test, thinking that nothing was going to happen. Seven minutes later, Gabriella went to look at the test and almost passed out when she saw the result.
Pregnant