Chapter 07: Dr. Franklin

"This is pointless and a waste of time"

"Maybe if you tried a little bit harder"

"Beg your pardon?" Nyssa asked almost outraged "I am the only one making an effort"

"How could you possibly assume that?" her wife asked glaring at her "It's been hours. I'm exhausted and doing the best I can, but you don't seem to like anything"

"You are exhausted? Try doing this with the constant nausea your child is causing me!"

"So now that you're frustrated it's just my child? You were the one who wanted to do it this morning!"

"I assumed you would be helpful. Had I known this was going to happen, I would have done it myself with better results"

Sara clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes, deciding to keep her mouth shut. She looked at her phone and started the car again "We have enough time to see one more house before your meeting with the new doctor. You wanna do that or use the time to keep pointing out how useless I am?"

Her wife sighed tiredly and looked out the window for a minute, before mumbling an almost inaudible "I am sorry"

"What was that? I couldn't hear you"

Nyssa groaned and turned to look at the other woman, only to find her staring back at her with a half smile "I am sorry" she repeated timidly.

"For what?" the blonde asked still smiling.

"For what I did"

"Which was…?"

The brunette narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, looking into her wife's bright blue eyes before sighing "Imply you are useless, when you have done nothing but help in every possible way and take care of me from the moment we found out I am pregnant"

"And…?

Frowning confused, Nyssa kept staring at her in an attempt to guess what else was she supposed to be apologizing for "I honestly have no clue" she finally admitted.

"No? Nothing?" Sara asked, lifting a Jitters cup from the cup holder between the car seats.

"Oh…" her wife blushed and looked down at her lap, then practically mumbled "...I also apologize for eating your breakfast while you were in the bathroom earlier this morning"

The blonde chuckled and leaned closer to kiss her cheek "Apology accepted"

Nyssa smiled and turned her head, kissing her briefly and smiling into the kiss "Thank you"

"You're welcome" Sara said smiling back "Now let's go find our perfect home"


"Sara, this is it" the brunette whispered in awe, looking around the luminous living room.

"Yeah? You like it?" her wife asked grinning.

"I love it" Nyssa nodded, walking past a doorway that lead to an equally luminous, comfortably spacious kitchen "Do you like it?" she asked once the blonde joined her in the kitchen.

"You know what they say: sixteenth time's the charm" Sara smiled, wrapping one arm around the other woman's waist "I love it. Did you see that backyard?"

The brunette chuckled and nodded "Looks like you won't have to fight for a pool after all"

Looking out one of the kitchen windows, Sara grinned and tilted her head "Think I could get a hot tub next to it? There's plenty of room"

"We found a house we both like and it already comes with a pool. Pick your battles wisely, beloved"

"Fair enough" she nodded shortly "I can always work my magic to convince you once we move in" grinning mischievously, she carefully backed her wife against the nearest counter and started kissing her neck.

The brunette sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Sara's warm lips against her neck "Suddenly I have a feeling you might eventually succeed"

"So? What do you think?" their realtor, a woman in her mid forties, asked interrupting them as she casually joined them in the kitchen "Oh, I'm so sorry"

The blonde chuckled and took a step back, putting some distance between herself and her very flustered wife "No, it's okay. I'm sorry, that was on me"

"I don't mind it, I wish all the couples I work with were as affectionate and loved each other as much as you two obviously do" the woman grinned and shook her head before going back to business "I know it's slightly over your initial budget, but—"

"We love it" Sara interrupted her "Make the offer"

"Are you sure?"

"Certainly" Nyssa agreed "Adjusting our budget for the asking price should not be too much of an inconvenience, I believe we shall be able to manage it" she said as if they were even considering not doing it; after all, this woman didn't need to know about their real 'budget'.

"Great!" the woman said happily "I'll make the offer today and let you know as soon as I hear back from the owner"

Sara grinned and moved forward, extending her hand "Thank you, Liz. We really have to go now, but we'll be expecting your call"

After shaking Sara's hand, she went for Nyssa's with a big smile "Hope I can give you the good news later today"


"Look, I don't know why either, but that's what she told me" Sara said, standing in front of her wife in the woman's office.

They were standing almost intimately close to be able to hear each other since they were both whispering. Nyssa had her arms folded and was looking at the blonde with a deep frown "How are we supposed to trust her when she provides us no explanation whatsoever? Everything was too much of a coincidence. This is a very sensitive matter, beloved, one we cannot risk endanger"

"Well, for starters, she saved your life. She could've let you and the baby die, but she didn't. Trust your gut, babe. I think she's good"

A soft knock on the glass door put a stop to their exchange, and the brunette motioned with her hand for the young man to enter "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt" he said, wincing apologetically "Mrs. Raatko, there's a woman here to see you. One Dr. Franklin? But I don't see her in your—"

"Ah, yes" she interrupted smiling kindly at him "Sara arranged this meeting for me. I forgot to let you know, Mr. Elliot, my apologies"

"It's no problem, Mrs. Raatko. Should I let her in?"

"Please" the brunette nodded, and the young man turned around to go find the woman.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Sara asked smirking "Looks like we ran out of time"

"We shall finish this conversation later" Nyssa practically hissed back "As for now, I believe we should follow our instincts"

"That I can do"

When they looked at the door again, Nyssa's assistant was escorting a beautiful woman inside. She appeared to be in her early thirties, dark skinned, with black hair and black, piercing eyes.

"Dr. Franklin" Nyssa greeted her taking a step forward and shaking her hand "I am Nyssa Raatko, this is my wife Sara Lance" she said politely, introducing both of them "It is a pleasure to meet you. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to meet with us here today"

"Pleasure's all mine" the woman answered politely, alternating her gaze between both of them.

"Please, take a seat" the brunette said pointing at the sitting area of her office.

"I understand you are in need of an obstetrician?" Dr. Franklin asked once all three of them were comfortably seated.

"Yes, indeed" Nyssa nodded while pouring three glasses of water.

"Please, don't take this the wrong way, but can I ask who recommended me?" the woman asked smiling "I've been working in Gotham up until two months ago and only recently decided to move to Star City, so I'm curious"

"One of Nyssa's co workers" Sara responded as vaguely as possible, and decided to continue to divert the attention from the question and, hopefully, redirect the subject "We just found out about a month ago that Nyssa is pregnant. She suffered an injury that required an emergency surgery, that's how we actually found out"

"What kind of injury?" Dr. Franklin asked worriedly.

"A street gang attacked us and I got stabbed. I lost a considerable amount of blood" the woman in question responded "We have been assured that every precaution was taken during my surgery and recovery, but I am fairly positive you might be able to understand our concern"

"Of course" the woman nodded, pursing her lips as she looked thoroughly at both women "How far along are you?"

"Based on what the intervening doctor told us, approximately nine weeks"

"And is it safe to assume that you were under some kind of fertility treatment that resulted in this pregnancy?"

"You could say so, yeah" Sara said shrugging.

Dr. Franklin looked at her with an amused expression, frowning and half smiling at the same time "And have you consulted with any other specialist?"

"No" Nyssa responded in all seriousness pursing her lips "For reasons I can't fully disclose at the moment our current situation requires the utmost discretion. We have been told you are not only one of the best in your field, but also discreet and trustworthy"

"And who exactly told you that?"

"Hey, Nyssa? The Almighty Supreme Leader Felicity said to bring this paperwork to you—" Julia entered Nyssa's office without knocking or even looking up, focusing on the heavy stack of papers she was carrying instead. When she finally looked up, it was already too late "Crap"

Dr. Franklin immediately stood up from the armchair she was occupying, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at the woman "You've gotta be freaking kidding me"

"Hey, Mina" Dr. Colt said as nonchalantly as possible, but not fooling anyone. She cleared her throat before continuing "Fancy seeing you here"

"Yeah, sure" Dr. Franklin said, still glaring at her. She turned briefly to address the couple "Is this the co worker you mentioned before?"

"Yeah" Sara admitted, shaking her head in disappointment at Julia and rolling her eyes.

"Then I am truly sorry, but I'll have to politely decline your request and refer you to another professional"

"No, Amina, come on, don't do that" Julia pleaded with her "We both know you are the best, that's why I recommended you. They need the best"

"Um, what's going on here?" Sara asked, not being able to stop herself.

"We used to date" Dr. Colt explained "As you can see, she's not very fond of me"

"Jeez, wonder why" Amina said, voice dripping with sarcasm "And 'date'? No, Julia, you made it pretty clear that we weren't dating"

"Mina, come on, don't make them pay for what I did" Julia said, leaving the stack of papers over Nyssa's desk and rubbing the back of her neck "They need you. She got hurt pretty bad; did they tell you?" she waited for the woman to nod and continued "I was the one who performed that surgery, she had a pierced spleen and lost a lot of blood" she glanced at the nervous couple and continued, looking into her ex's eyes "This is their first one. They're nervous and scared, and there's only so much I can do for them. You can hate me as much as you want and you don't have to see my face ever again if you don't want to, but please, take Nyssa as your patient"

Amina sighed and looked at the nervous couple; for whatever reason, she actually liked both of them. Rolling her eyes, she focused once more on Julia "Don't give yourself so much credit; I don't hate you, Julia, get over yourself"

"You know I can't do that, my enormous ego wouldn't let me"

"Who told you I was here and not in Gotham anymore?"

"I… um…" she cleared her throat and looked around the room "...I read about it… the… doctors… newsletter of—"

"Oh, for Christ's sake, cut the crap. You don't even check your emails. It was obviously either Mallory or Kate"

"Alright, fine! It was Mal!" Julia admitted throwing her arms in the air "Just don't tell her I told you"

"Fine, just… leave us" Dr. Franklin said looking at Julia "I need to go over a few details with my patient and schedule her first appointment"

"Thank you so much" Julia took a step forward, intending to hug her.

Just before she could do it, though, Amina took a step back, holding her hands up "I'll break your nose if you touch me"

"You haven't changed a bit" Julia said with a smirk.

"Yes, I have. I don't date assholes anymore"

Sara chuckled, reminding both of them they were still there, so Dr. Colt smirked one more time before leaving the office.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that" Dr. Franklin said uncomfortably as she took a seat again.

"I'm not, that was surprisingly interesting" the blonde said smirking, immediately getting elbowed by her wife, but making their new doctor laugh.

"Alright, Nyssa: I would like to see you next week for your first appointment. When are you free?"


"Would you please stop?"

Sara immediately halted the constant drumming of her fingers against the armrest at the harsh tone of her wife's request.

"Thank you" Nyssa huffed, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"At the risk of getting my head ripped off: what's with the mood?"

The brunette narrowed her eyes at her "What mood are you referring to?"

"You are getting easily irritated" the blonde explained calmly.

Her wife winced apologetically and sighed "I am quite nervous, beloved"

Sara reached for the woman's hand, lacing their fingers together before lifting them to leave a soft kiss on Nyssa's fingers "Everything's gonna be okay, babe"

"You do not know that"

"Yeah, I kinda do"

"How?"

"We talk when you're asleep"

Frowning in confusion, the brunette asked "What on earth are you talking about?"

"The kid and I" she explained with a hint of a smile "Every night when you are asleep, I scoot down in bed and we talk. Well, maybe I do most of the talking, but still"

Nyssa chuckled, shaking her head and squeezing her wife's hand "You are one strange woman, Sara Lance"

"Yeah, but I made you laugh"

"Do you truly do that, though?" the brunette asked, actually intrigued.

"Nah, I've done my research. According to the internet, it's too early for the baby to actually hear and recognize my voice" Sara said, shaking her head "But as soon as we hit week eighteen, it's on"

"Sara, Nyssa? Are you ready?" Dr. Franklin asked smiling from the doorway, politely interrupting their conversation.

Both women nodded and got up, following the woman back to the room where she had just came from. She closed the door behind them, and motioned her hand in the direction of the comfortable looking ultrasound table "Nyssa, if you don't mind"

The brunette sighed nervously, then pursed her lips in determination and moved to said table, getting comfortable with her wife's help. Sara took a seat next to her, grinning and running her fingers through her hair.

Chart in hand as she examined the woman's latest blood work, Dr. Franklin moved to Nyssa's other side and asked "So, how've you been feeling lately?"

"Ready for the morning sickness to be over, to be honest"

The doctor laughed and shook her head, placing the chart on a small table and taking a seat on her stool to face both women "Well, you're gonna have to survive it a little longer" she started with a soft smile "As much as it pains me to admit: the intervening doctor was pretty accurate. Based on everything you told me and the results we just got, I estimate you are now ten weeks pregnant"

"Nyssa is kinda nervous" Sara said softly, still running her fingers through the woman's hair "After the surgery and everything"

"And that's completely understandable" Dr. Franklin nodded "So, what do you say we take a look to ease all those worries?"

"Yes!" the blonde immediately responded excitedly, making both women laugh.

"Okay, now we know how Sara feels about it" the doctor chuckled "Nyssa? You want to see your baby?"

"Please"

"Great. I'm gonna need you to lift your shirt up to expose your stomach and unbutton your jeans" she instructed, and in a fraction of a second the blonde was pulling up her wife's shirt.

After readjusting the machine to an angle where both women would be able to see the screen, Dr. Franklin reached for the gel, squeezing a generous amount on Nyssa's stomach before reaching for the wand "I'm sorry for not warming up the gel first, but I doubt Sara's excitement would've allowed me to waste a single unnecessary second"

"Damn right" the blonde nodded her agreement.

"Have you experienced some discomfort, other than the morning sickness?" Dr. Franklin asked while using the transducer to spread the gel on her patient's lower abdomen.

"No"

"Spotting or any kind of secretion out of the ordinary?"

"No"

"Mood swings?"

Sara snorted before her wife got the chance to answer, earning herself a hard glare from the woman and making the doctor smile "I'm gonna take that as a 'slightly', if that's okay with you"

Nyssa narrowed her eyes at her wife one more time before focusing on Dr. Franklin again "It's been recently brought to my attention that I might have been unusually irritable lately"

"Well, that's totally normal, Nyssa. You're going through some very drastic hormonal changes and that's to be expected" she reassured her, then looked as Sara "The best advice I could give you is: suck it up, she's giving you a child"

Both women laughed at the doctor's advice, and Sara nodded "I will, that's the least—"

A rhythmic, loud sound coming from the machine interrupted her words, and she immediately fell silent. Nyssa reached for her hand and she squeezed it tightly as they both stared at the screen.

"Is that…?" the brunette asked, blinking back tears.

"Your baby's heartbeat" Dr. Franklin confirmed with a smile, pressing some buttons and readjusting the transducer so the sound would come out clearer.

"Oh my God" Sara gasped, using her free hand to cover her mouth.

"It's still too early for me to show you anything remotely significant…" the doctor said grinning, but pointed at a part of the screen "...but see this right here?"

"Yes" Nyssa responded biting her lip while her wife only nodded.

"That's your baby" Dr. Franklin said grinning "Strong heartbeat" she pressed a few more buttons before continuing "It measures almost two inches right now, all extremities are clearly visible and well formed"

Sara leaned forward to kiss the side of her wife's head and squeezed her hand again before whispering "That's our baby"

"It is" the brunette nodded, still blinking back tears "Is everything alright?" she asked looking at their doctor, her fear still clear in her voice.

"Absolutely" Dr. Franklin moved the transducer away and the constant, rhythmic sound immediately stopped "Your latest, more detailed blood work and prenatal studies showed no anomalies whatsoever. Everything looks and sounds as it should. You're carrying a healthy baby, Nyssa" she smiled, pressing a button on the side of the machine that printed a few images "If you want to know, I should be able to tell you the sex of the baby next time"


"Is that the last one?"

"Yeah. We're officially moved in" Sara responded, placing a heavy looking box down on the floor and looking around their new home "Saracon is taking care of the truck. Everyone else went home to 'give us some space'. Pretty sure they think we're gonna start screwing in every room right away" she chuckled and kicked the front door closed.

Nyssa bit her lower lip and tilted her head as she looked at her wife "Would that be so terrible?"

The blonde blinked a few times in disbelief before smirking as she asked "Are you serious?"

Shrugging, Nyssa looked around the cluttered living room "The couch is free"

"Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" Sara asked giggling, but still making her way through the boxes to get as fast as possible to the other woman before she changed her mind.

The brunette giggled once she had her wife's arms around her waist, and wrapped hers around Sara's neck "I could blame my pregnancy hormones, but it wouldn't be fair to you, my beautiful wife"

"Smooth" her wife giggled before kissing her softly.

"I believe it was, yes"