Nova sat on Roman's couch. She looked around his living room. He had a nice, little house. It felt warm and welcoming. The painkiller was kicking in which made her able to sit up straight without being in too much pain. He came walking in from the kitchen with a cold bottle of pepsi lime.
"Here you go," he handed her the bottle. "I would offer you a drink but that probably wouldn't be wise as long as you're on painkillers."
"No, that would really fuck with my head and make me do weird shit," she chuckled.
"It might be a fun experiment though," he chuckled back.
He sat down too, watching her as she took small sips of the bottle.
"Why him? Why Baron? What made you fall for him?" He asked.
"I've been asking myself that many times too," she sighed. "He was so persistent. He didn't take no for an answer. All the warning signs were there but I didn't read into them. I thought he was a man knowing what he wanted and not afraid to go for it. And he was a cop. Cops are supposed to protect us. That was the one thing that made me overlook all the warning signs."
She fiddled with the lid of the bottle, screwing it back on only to screw it right back off again.
"I never wanted children," she said.
"So how did it happen?" He asked.
"He messed with my birth control," she answered.
"What a bastard!" He growled.
"I always wanted to get sterilized," she said.
"So what's stopping you?" He asked.
She sighed and took a sip of the bottle.
"First it was the doctors. The whole thing with telling me that I'm too young to know what I want and that I'll change my mind. It's funny how you'll never say that to a person at the same age saying she wants children. And I'm not too young to get a nose job or a tattoo. But damn it if you don't fit the mold, then suddenly your opinion doesn't matter and you no longer know your own mind," she said.
He reached over and took her hand.
"Double standards," he said. "It really needs to stop. People need to accept that there are childfree people in this world and that they don't change their mind for anything or anybody. And they need to stop arguing about things like this when it's really none of their business."
"Thank you," she said.
"I get it. So what came after the doctors?" He asked.
"A few years went by before I tried again. I found one that wanted to do it but I couldn't afford it. I'm just a waitress. And then Baron happened. He wouldn't allow me to do it," she said.
He squeezed her hand and she gave him a smile in return. No one had ever understood or accepted this before other than Seth.
"So what if I paid?" He asked.
"Roman," she sighed.
"Hypothetical," he said. "Just humor me."
"Baron would know. He keeps track of me the weirdest ways. My name would pop up in the system and he'd hunt down the doctor who did it. I can't just walk into a clinic and get it done the same day. There's a waiting list. My name would be out there for a long period of time. Long enough for him to stand and wait in front of the building that day," she said.
"What if you could?" He asked. "What if you could walk in and get it done the same day? Will you take a ride with me? There's someone I want you to meet."
Once again she had bit back the pain as he drove them to a private practice. He went straight to a room in the back as if he knew the place. It didn't take long until a doctor joined them.
"Roman!" He greeted them happily.
"John!" Roman greeted him back. "Nova, this is a friend of mine. John Cena. He owns this practice."
"What brings you here?" John asked.
"She wants to get sterilized," Roman said.
"I can do that," John said.
"Just like that?" She asked.
"John's sterilized too. He gets it," Roman said. "However, he needs to know about Baron and the abortion first."
She stumbled through her words, telling John enough for him to get the picture.
"Normally I would wait but since your body is already trying to heal in the same area, I think we should do it now. That way you'll get all the healing out of the way at once," John said.
He grabbed his calender and looked in it.
"Tomorrow morning at 9?" He asked.
"Aren't you off work on Mondays?" Roman asked.
"Not if Nova's coming in," John winked. "I can keep her name out of the system until I open at 8. I gotta put her in before the surgery but he won't find her that fast."
"Once my name is in there, it doesn't go away again. He'll come for you," she said.
"Let him come," John shrugged. "I'm not allowed to talk about my patients. And you won't be here once he finally comes around. I performed surgery on you but I don't know where you went after that."
"Nova?" Roman asked. "Your choice, chipmunk."
"Let's fucking do it!" She smiled widely.
Her bright smile rubbed off on Roman. In that moment she looked happy. It was her choice, her decision, and it was clearly the right thing for her.
"Okay, no eating or drinking after midnight," John said. "And I'll see you tomorrow."
She was calm next morning. Roman studied her silently.
"What?" She asked.
"You look..." He searched for the right word. "...hopeful."
"I am," she said. "I've always wanted this. Even if Baron finds me after this, he can't ever hurt me that way again."
"He won't find you," he said. "Now let's get you carved up."
"Was that supposed to be some sort of morbid joke?" She asked.
"That was horrible. I know," he laughed.
He drove her to the private practice where John was waiting for them.
"It's gonna take a little while. You can run out and do whatever meanwhile," John said.
"No," Roman sat down on a chair. "I'm gonna be right here waiting. I wanna be here when she wakes up."