A/N: I get so happy every time I sit down to write a chapter of this story! I have so many surprises planned and I can't wait to see what you guys think of what I've come up with! The story is going to start picking up after this chapter. Again, thank you for reading.
Chapter 3
"Yes, I would love to have your baby." Shelby said, her smile was equally as big as the men across from her.
"Thank you so much!" Hiram said. He picks up the cloth napkin and dabs at his tears of joy.
Leroy rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "We greatly appreciate you offering to do this for us Dove." He said.
"I can see it means a lot to you. I'm more than happy to do it." Shelby said. "What's the next step?" She asks.
"Well, tomorrow you'll meet with the fertility specialist and she will give you a thorough exam, and ask questions about your cycle." Leroy answered.
"Oh Ok, it doesn't sound too scary." Shelby said.
"Once we find out you're pregnant you will receive twelve and a half thousand dollars. If the pregnancy is successful and you deliver a healthy baby you'll get the other half." Hiram said.
"Sounds easy enough." Shelby said.
The next day Shelby meets the Berrys at the fertility center. She's squirming anxiously in her seat, waiting for her name to be called.
"We'll be right out here Dove." Leroy said, patting her leg. He could tell Shelby was nervous. And wanted to show her as much support as possible.
When Shelby gets called back, the nurse takes Shelby's weight, temperature and blood pressure. Before leaving, she hands her a robe and instructs her to take off all her clothing and put it on.
"Wait? What?" Shelby asks confused.
"Dr. Claremont gives all new patients a complete physical on their first visit." The nurse kindly explains before exiting the room.
Shelby strips down and slips into the robe before hopping up onto the exam table. She doesn't know how long the Dr. is going to be so she starts playing mahjong on her phone. She gets so engrossed in the game she almost doesn't hear a knock at the door before it opens.
A woman about ten years older than Shelby with red hair in an A-line cut, a kind smile and blue eyes enters the room. "Hi, I'm Dr. Terri Claremont." She said, holding out her hand for Shelby to shake.
"Hello, I'm Dove Markwell." Shelby said, accepting the Dr's hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm going to perform a pap smear and an ultrasound of your ovaries today." Dr. Claremont said.
"Ok." Shelby said nervously.
"Relax." Dr. Claremont said, squeezing Shelby's shoulder. "Go ahead and lay back for me." She says, putting on gloves to perform the vaginal exam.
Shelby lays back and releases a shaky breathe. She thinks about why she's doing all of this. She tells herself it's so she can have the life she wants to live. A life free for making her own decisions and thinking for herself. A life free of having someone tell her what she can and can't do.
"When was your last menstrual period?" Dr. Claremont asks. She takes the gloves off and tosses them. Then she squeezes some hand sanitizer into her palm and rubs her hands together vigorously. She applies some gel to Shelby's lower abdomen and moves the ultrasound wand around and snaps a few pictures.
"A week and a half ago." Shelby said.
"Ok. You'll need to come back in on the first day of your period." Dr. Claremont said. "I have everything I need. If you have any questions don't be afraid to call." She says, handing Shelby a card with her information on it.
"Thank you so much Dr. Claremont." Shelby said.
"You're welcome. Have a good rest of your day Dove." Dr. Claremont said, before leaving the room.
After Shelby walks back into the waiting room she sees Hiram and Leroy still sitting there and walks over to them. "It wasn't that bad." She said.
Hiram and Leroy stand together and embrace Shelby.
"Terri is the best!" Hiram said.
"We won't come to anymore appointments with you until it's time to inseminate." Leroy said.
Shelby nods. "Thank you so much for coming with me." She said.
"Of course. If you didn't like Terri, we would have found you someone else." Hiram said.
"Who will be the biological Father?" Shelby asks.
"That will be me." Leroy said. "Hiram has low motility." He adds.
"Oh. Ok." Shelby said. She didn't know what all the terminology meant, but she understood enough.
On the first day of her period, Shelby goes in to see Dr. Claremont.
"How many days do your periods last?" Dr. Claremont asks.
"Five days." Shelby said.
Dr. Claremont nodded as she typed away on the computer. She printed out a calendar and circled a week on it. "This is what is known as your fertile window, when you're most likely to ovulate." She said, pointing to the calendar with a pen. She handed the calendar to Shelby.
"How will I know when I ovulate?" Shelby asked.
"Start taking your temperature, and using ovulation prediction kits. We are going to track your cycle for three months." Dr. Claremont said. She pulled out a box of ovulation strips and a thermometer and passed them to Shelby.
"Ok." Shelby nodded in understanding. She didn't realize all that was involved in getting pregnant.
3 MONTHS LATER...
"Hey, Dove. How are you feeling? It's O day!" Dr. Claremont asks when she enters the room.
"A little nervous." Shelby said. She's already on the exam table with her feet in the stirrups.
"It's ok. All your tests look great." Dr. Claremont said. She puts on gloves and positions the lamp so she can see what she's doing. She inserts the sperm into Shelby's canal and tilts the exam table up so Shelby's legs are in the air and sets the timer for fifteen minutes. "All done. When the timer goes off a nurse will come and set you right side up." She said, removing her gloves and turning the lamp off.
Once she leaves, Shelby starts giving her body a pep talk, laying her hands over her lower abdomen. "C'mon body. Women get pregnant everyday. We can do this." She chants over and over until the timer goes off.
Three weeks later Shelby is feeling horrible and she notices she's a couple of days late. She decides it's time to take a pregnancy test. She goes into the bathroom and pees in a cup, then she takes the test out of the box and dips it in the pee for five seconds. Then she waits. She waits for five minutes. When the five minute timer on her phone goes off, she takes a deep breath and turns the test over. And her face breaks into the largest smile when she sees two pink lines. She's pregnant! She takes a picture of the test and sends it to Leroy and Hiram. Less than two minutes later they are calling her.
"Dove?! It worked?" Hiram asked excitedly.
Leroy tells Hiram not to get so worked up or else he'll pass out. "You're really pregnant? On the first try?" He asks in disbelief.
Shelby giggles. "Yes. I'm pregnant!"
Sorry about the boring medical stuff. But, I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway!
