Before Everything
Chapter 8
Rachel was successful, mostly because of Hannah. Mike hated the pain that the little girl had to go through to create a cure that was transmittable through breathing the same air, saliva, or kissing. Her little lungs were scoped and biopsied. Through it all, Mike sat with her during every procedure. At least Rachel would put her to sleep for the worse procedures.
Mike had to take Rachel, the President and a group of kids ashore to protect them, leaving behind his own family. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done, but Christine and Kaitlyn were still very weak, and Hannah had only had her procedure the day before.
The sub was sunk, and Mike was shot in the left bicep, giving him a bit more time with his girls. Within a few days, they would be making landfall. Christine and the girls were starting to make plans for once they reached St. Louis. It sounded like they would be settling there. Mike could only hope that he would be able to provide them a nice home to recover in.
Christine and both girls were kept on the James during the swearing in and landing in St Louis and once Mike got them a hotel suite, were brought on land. Mike was protective of them. He had a bad feeling about all the fanfare that was happening.
Mike had to attend the party that was held in Michener's honor. He had offered to get Christine a dress and find a babysitter for the girls, but Christine wanted to stay in. Mike didn't particularly want to go either.
By the next morning, Rachel had died, and Mike had spent the night investigating. He needed to spend the day finding a house for his girls, but he was exhausted. Thankfully, Christine and the girls understood. They curled up around him and napped with him. Hannah especially was saddened by Rachel's death, but they had almost become cold towards death in general. It was something that happened all too frequently.
The next day, Michener arranged for Mike, Christine and the girls to meet with a real estate agent. The government was covering everything and would get them set up in a house that normally Mike and Christine would have never afforded. After viewing three houses, Christine found her ideal kitchen, the girls loved the bedrooms and Mike had a garage/workshop to tinker around in, when he was home.
Mike didn't care much about a house since he knew he would be deploying soon, but his girls needed to be settled. Christine would be home-schooling them in an office area until the schools opened back up. The government had furnished and decorated the house to Christine's taste, and they were able to move into a home. That night as Mike got ready for bed, Christine brought something up that surprised him.
"This is a four-bedroom house." Christine remarked.
"Yeah. Guest bedroom I guess." Mike said as he got into bed next to her. It felt good to have some privacy.
"Or…Mike, the real estate agent was telling me about the orphanages that have opened up. We could…adopt? Or I could see about getting a tubal ligation reversal." Christine said.
"A what?" Mike asked her.
"It's a surgery. It would reverse the surgery where I had my tubes tied. I don't think its terribly invasive." Christine said.
"Is this something you've checked out?" Mike asked.
"Yes. I know I got my tubes tied without really talking to you first and you always wanted a big family. I was satisfied with three kids but now we only have the two. If a reversal isn't possible, maybe we could adopt. Maybe a little boy." Christine said. Mike turned on his side to face her, not knowing what to say.
"I appreciate what you're saying but I don't want to replace Lucas. I'm afraid if we had another baby, either by birth or adoption; it would seem that we were trying to replace him." Mike answered. He wasn't against the idea, but he didn't want Christine to jump into it before she thought about it.
"Neither do I. Can I call a doctor tomorrow? I'd like to do this before you deploy. Once you get home, we can start really trying. Course, we never had to try very hard before. It might be harder though, and the reversal might not be successful." Christine said. Mike could tell her mind was made up. One way or another, they would be having or adopting a baby.
"Go ahead. Just if you're sure. What if you get pregnant again and it's a girl?" Mike asked.
"Then so be it. Mike, I really want this, but you have to too." Christine said.
"I want you to be happy and if adopting or having another baby will help then so be it, as you say. I won't be home a lot in the coming years though. If a reversal is possible and you do get pregnant; you will be raising the baby on your own. I will provide for it and I'm sure I will love it, but you will have to be both the mother and father ninety percent of the time. I just want you prepared for that as harsh as it sounds." Mike said.
"I understand. I do know one part that you will be more enthusiastic about." Christine said.
"What's that?" Mike asked. Christine forced him to lay back on his back and straddled him.
"Trying for a baby. You always really enjoyed that part." Christine teased as she took her night-shirt off.
"You sure you feel well enough? The Red Flu really did you in." Mike asked as his hands began wondering.
"I feel good and we have a kid-free bed. This won't accomplish what I want it to, but it will get us back in practice." Christine said before giving him a kiss.
"If you're sure. God, you're amazing." Mike said before rolling Christine off him so he could finish undressing. At that point, he didn't care about deployments, procedures or trying for a baby. He didn't mind practicing.
Three days later, he was sitting with Christine after an exam with an OB-GYN, to tell them if it was even possible to have the reversal and conceive another baby. Mike could only hope for Christine's sake it would be. She had gotten her hopes up.
"So, upon examination; we can do the tubal ligation reversal. The government is going to be encouraging repopulation. You are a bit older than we would prefer but thirty-eight is not impossible. You could conceive more than one child even. We will schedule the reversal for…next week and start giving you vitamins that will aid in your fertility. Commander, you will also need to not wear too tight boxers. In fact, when your home and its appropriate, you might go without them. This is all to help in conception." Doctor Ryder explained. Christine had started laughing when she told Mike what he would need to do.
"We never had to worry about all this before. I would barely sneeze and would be pregnant." Christine said after laughing hysterically.
"Well, you're older now and you might have some scar tissue from your tubal ligation. In older parents, fertility does decrease. Less sperm, less eggs. Even in previously fertile couples." Doctor Ryder told her.
"Anything else we need to do once the procedure is performed?" Christine asked.
"Well, as you know, the two weeks after you finish your period are your most fertile. I am giving you some brochures with suggested diets, positions and times to read through." Doctor Ryder explained.
"Positions?" Mike asked.
"Yes, there are sexual positions that better aid in conception. Are you blushing?" Doctor Ryder asked.
"He is. Mike is a bit of a traditionalist and we never had to give this a lot of thought in my other pregnancies. I'll help him." Christine said.
"I'm sure you will. Before we part ways, Commander Slattery; you seem a bit on the fence about this. You must be completely okay with having another baby. Things do happen, but if one of the partners is on the fence, it tends to derail everything. You will shoot blanks so to speak. Also, do not allow yourselves to become stressed about schedules, positions and times. This can still be fun for you. It is not meant to ever be intense or stressful. I will suggest, if you can; scheduled a getaway for just the two of you. It can coincide with Christine's more fertile time but that doesn't need to be a focus. Just be sure of what you are doing. My nurse will help you schedule the procedure." Doctor Ryder said before leaving the room.
"Mike; are you absolutely sure about this? I know you said you want me to be happy, but you have a voice in this too. This isn't just about making a deposit, me getting pregnant and us having a baby. You have to love and want this baby too." Christine said.
"You know, I always wanted a big family. I know I will love this baby. My biggest worry is that it will seem that we will be replacing our boy. I don't want that, and we can't control if we have a boy or girl. That is what I fear. And not being there when you need me. If you do get pregnant immediately, I won't be there during the pregnancy and maybe not for the birth." Mike said.
"I will handle it. Mike, I want this in the worst way. It's all I can think about. I wish I had never gotten that tubal ligation. I know I should be happy that we still have Kaitlyn and Hannah and I love them dearly, but…" Christine started.
"You want a second chance with a new baby and maybe I do too. Our family doesn't feel complete now. The problem is, a new baby won't change that. Without Lucas, we will never be complete." Mike finished.
"I know, Mike and I am sorry." Christine said. Mike saw the tears gathering in her eyes and he felt badly.
"Chris, you will have this surgery and we will have a couple's weekend. Hopefully you will get pregnant, but regardless, we will enjoy trying. I know one thing for sure, once we have a baby; we will know we can't replace Lucas, but we will have a new place in our hearts for our new son or daughter. I have never been good at refusing you anything and I refuse to start now. Besides, I've always wanted a big family. This is just giving me what I want." Mike told her as he pulled her into a hug. She was still sitting on the exam table and sunk into his chest. They stayed like that until the nurse came in.
Christine's procedure was scheduled for the following week and they learned some details and precautions for it. Mike was obviously worried, but Christine took it with her usual attitude. She wasn't worried and had given Mike his marching orders. He was to find a babysitter and plan their couple's weekend. She wanted a hotel with room service and Mike just wanted a long overdue weekend with his wife.
I don't know a lot about Tubal Ligation Reversals, but I do know, they are done so please bear in mind that when reading this. Thanks so much for the reviews!
