iMake House Calls

It was an awkward morning. Sam was in Melanie's living room, pacing. She'd sent Carly and the girls to the zoo with Freddie. She figured that was a reasonable day trip for the four of them. She loved her family, but she knew that this needed to be kept absolutely private – simply between them.

In the past five years, Ashley Sharkey had been much more than Carly's 'lady-doctor'. Sam was always uncomfortable with her official title. To Sam, she was just a 'lady-doctor'. The good doctor and her partner had become Carly and Sam's close friends. They weren't as chummy as Wendy and Shelby, of course, but they always ate on the house at Il Terrazzo Carmine, and they always would. Sam's children were worth far more than the occasional free meal.

"Sam… really, it's alright…" Melanie fussed from the kitchen. She appreciated her sister's devotion, but, even identical, there were parts of her anatomy that were off limits.

Sam waved Melanie off. "Shush, Princess… You think I could risk letting the Nub…"

Melanie blushed, both out of embarrassment and anger.

"Samantha Puckett! You know I love him… and it seems to me that whenever you've needed anything, who do you call? My husband, the Nub…"

Sam shrugged sheepishly. It was true. He was dependable, in a nubby sort of way.

There was a knock at the door, followed by another.

"Oh, for goodness sake…. Let the woman in, Samantha…"

Sam was a great many things, but she was no butler. Nonetheless, she buttled. She whipped open the large, heavy front door and welcomed the doctor in.

"Hey Doc…"

The doctor stood there, looking very little like a physician. She stood there in jeans and a polo shirt, her eyes hidden behind dark prescription sunglasses.

"Sam?"

"Yep… We are identical, you know…"

"Yo, Sweet Cheeks… Doctor Lady's here…"

Melanie let out a playful groan, scurrying in from the kitchen, shaking Doctor Sharkey's hand politely and demurely.

"Please do excuse my sister… her manners leave a bit to be desired, I'm afraid."

Dr. Sharkey blushed slightly. It was nothing she wasn't used to.

"Oh, Sam's not a problem… It's a pleasure to see you again, Melanie, although, I must admit, it would be so much nicer under other circumstances…"

From her disposition, Melanie wondered if her new physician had also attended her prestigious boarding school. Ashley Sharkey reminded Melanie, in a great many respects, of Carly. The soft, sweet, yet resigned smile was clearly something Carly would do. It said to Melanie 'I'm so sorry, but I'm here to help'. This woman was the same as she'd been five years previously, when they'd met during Carly's initial consultation. She attempted to put Melanie Benson at ease, making small talk rather than discussing the matter directly.

"Oh, Sam… Thanks again, for dinner."

"Welcome."

"And here…"

She reached into her purse and removed a small family portrait, showing the good doctor, her partner, and a little boy who appeared to be slightly younger than Carly and Sam's twins.

"I can't believe he turns four in a few weeks…"

She instantly knew she shouldn't have said a word. It wasn't professional. She had mixed her personal and professional lives. In this instance, of course, it was unavoidable, but she still felt awful. She could sense that Melanie had taken her moment of parental pride immediately to heart.

"Melanie, I'm sorry… I…"

Melanie smiled. She hadn't thought anything of it.

"Don't worry about it… You're a mom…"

Dr. Sharkey didn't know if Melanie was simply being sweet, or if she truly wasn't phased by her ethical slip. She smiled. She wanted to thank her without putting it into words.

Melanie knew. This woman was trying to be so many things all at one time, it was understandable if the waters muddied from time to time. She gave her a soft, yet understanding look. All was forgiven and forgotten. She was only human, after all.

A SHORT TIME LATER…

Melanie nodded as she looked over a few notes she had made. If it came to it and this woman officially became responsible for her medical care, Melanie knew she was in good hands. She saw the reasons why every single day.

"So… do you have an opinion, as to… you know… why…?"

Melanie knew she was asking a loaded question, and, realistically, one to which there was no answer. She had to ask it anyway. If there was any way of knowing, she needed to.

Sam's friend gave her the most dispassionate, clinical response she was able.

"There could be a number of factors at play, of course, but without doing any number of tests, it'd only be guesswork on my part, but if you'd like to consider…"

Sam, suddenly a medical scholar, decided to jump in and offer her own two cents.

"…like Carly did…"

Melanie flushed. This was embarrassing enough, but to have Sam jump in was akin to having Sam know exactly what went on inside her bedroom at night. It was beyond awkward.

"Samantha… please…"

Melanie swatted at Sam's hand, rapping her across the knuckles.

The only credentialed medical professional in the room decided to speak up.

"Is that something that you'd consider?"

Sitting next to her sister on the sofa, Mythical Melanie got choked up. She swallowed, sending the emotion down into the pit of her stomach. She looked Carly's doctor clearly in the eye, watery blue eyes meeting pale green ones.

"Yes, of course, but…"

The good doctor had, in anticipation of any number of questions, gone with the answer that she thought would suffice.

"I can treat you under some other name, if privacy's a concern… we can make something work…"

Melanie shrugged. She hadn't thought that far ahead, but they did come to an agreement. She would give things one more try before going the route that Carly and Sam had taken. It wasn't the route she had envisioned towards parenthood, but it was something that, unbeknownst to Sam, Melanie and Freddie had already discussed in detail. They had agreed that they would do whatever it took to become parents. They wanted a family as badly as Carly and Sam had. Either way, they agreed that this woman would be her doctor. The fact that her sister had trusted this woman with Carly's health and welfare spoke volumes. Nothing further needed to be said. Mythical Melanie wanted to be a mommy.