Chapter 1: The Visit
"Why can't she just have the thing she wants?" Bluey asked her mother.
"Because it's not meant to be…" Chilli sighed.
Not meant to be, it was the unfortunate reality of Brandy's life. She was 24 when she walked in on her husband with her best friend at their Christmas Party. Needless to say Dirk was only a letter off from the thing he seemed to always think with. They'd divorced and she'd left the "dream house" that they'd spent their life savings to buy. She'd suspected for some time that there had been some sort of infidelity, but her desire for motherhood had blinded her to that.
Brandy's mother had been about the best mother anyone could've asked for, so when she was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma it was devastating. Chilli was only a teenager, and Brandy was halfway across the country at university. Needless to say the emotional toll of caring for her those few months had done a number on Chilli and her father, and it had always been a topic they refused to discuss. Brandy had wished she could be there to be with her mother in her last days, but her father had insisted that it wasn't her responsibility.
It was shortly after her divorce that Chilli had met Bandit. He seemed nice enough, if a bit loud, but they made a good pair. She could keep him in line and he could bring out her fun side. She'd tried dating after that, but it never really worked. When she hit thirty she decided to swear it off altogether and just focus on her work, which was successful for a time. She climbed the corporate ladder and ended up as the VP of marketing. She was happy with her accomplishments, but as soon as she left the office she couldn't help but feel a sadness drift in. She had friends, and she had finally reconnected with her sister and met her nieces-a day that had brought a fair share of melancholy along with joy-but it was different going home to her stark apartment.
It was on her fortieth birthday; a few short months after she'd visited Chilli, that she decided it was time. After doing her research she made an appointment, and the next Thursday she was sitting in the waiting room of the Brisbane Fertility Solutions Clinic. She fiddled with her phone, absent mindedly looking at her newsfeed.
"Ms. Cattle?" A nurse asked.
"Yes, that's me." Brandy put her phone in her purse.
"This way please, Dr. Kelev is ready to see you." The nurse led her down a white corridor and to a private room. "Please sit on the exam chair, he'll be in shortly."
It was a moment later that the doctor entered. He was a yellow lab and had on a stethoscope and a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. "Hello Ms. Cattle, I'm Dr. Kelev. Before we do the physical examination I wanted to talk with you a bit about why you came in today."
Brandy exhaled, "I wanted to see if I could have a baby. I've always wanted to be a mother, and when I was married my husband and I were trying, but we were never able to conceive. It's been years since then, and I know I'm a bit older, but I'm regular with everything down there, and I'm in good health… So, I wanted to see if it was possible."
"Yes, we got your charts from your primary doctor. You do appear to be healthy in terms of all the usual metrics." He pulled out a pair of stirrups from the chair, and then put on a pair of gloves. "Alright, would you mind placing your feet on these? Then we'll get started with the exam."
Twenty minutes later the doctor sighed. "Ms. Cattle, I'm sorry to inform you, but it appears as though there are some irregularities, so to speak."
"Irregularities?"
"Without further testing I cannot make a diagnosis, but from what I have observed there are a few things which are evident-the most concerning of which is the shape and placement of your uterus." He went on to explain that while hypothetically possible, due to her uterus' high placement and the shape of it in relation to where her eggs enter it would be very difficult for her to get pregnant.
"So I'm infertile?" Brandy asked.
"Not necessarily, but the chances of conception for you are much lower than average without medical intervention."
"And what sort of intervention would that be?"
"We could attempt IVF, in-vitro fertilization, which is where we would use one of your eggs, along with sperm from a male, which would be fertilized outside of the body. Then, once fertilized the egg would be implanted on the uterine wall where it could develop."
Brandy was quiet a moment, "And if it worked, I'd get pregnant?"
"That's correct. Though before we'd do anything you'd have to meet with a specialist and have an evaluation done to see if you'd be a good candidate. After that point there'd be some hormones you'd begin which would assist in your body accepting the pregnancy. But keep in mind it is not a guaranteed success, and sometimes there need to be multiple attempts for IVF to work. It can get costly, and invasive. I strongly recommend that before you commit to anything you look into the pros and cons of the procedure."
"Thank you."
Three weeks later she'd met with the specialist, a female akita named Dr. Mary Inu, and had been cleared as a candidate with an above average chance of success if she opted to use IVF. On the way out of the hospital Brandy filled the prescription and opened up her phone to send a few texts.
B: Hey Chilli, I have some big news. Can I meet with you and Bandit sometime to discuss something important?
C: Sure, what did you have in mind?
B: Why don't we go out to eat somewhere and I can talk with you two over dinner.
C: Sure, let me talk with Bandit and we can figure out a sitter for the girls.
A few minutes later Chilli texted again.
C: Would Friday night work for you? We can have Stripe and Trixie watch the girls then.
B: That works fine for me. Meet me at that Italian place we used to always go to as kids.
C: Gianni's?
B: That's the one. I'll see you two at 6.
***BC***
It was 6:08 when Bandit and Chilli arrived. Brandy was sitting at a table near the entrance and waved to them as they entered. Bandit pulled out Chilli's chair before seating himself. They quickly ordered, then started the conversation in earnest.
"Smells good in here." He commented.
"Yeah, we used to come here sometimes as kids. The place still has the same owners, so the food should still be fantastic." Brandy commented.
"So how are things at work?" Chilli asked.
"Oh you know, same old same old. We're working on launching a new laundry detergent next year and we've been doing some focus testing on the name. Aside from that it's been a lot of tweaking some of our existing strategies. For example, those new billboards outside of Brisbane, that's us. How have you two been?"
"Bandit's going to China for a dig in a few months." Chilli smiled.
"If everything goes okay." He noted.
"What are you doing in China?" Brandy asked, intrigued.
"We're working on excavating some new fossils. They discovered a new site that probably has a large number of deposits-if the sonar reads correctly. But we need approval from the Chinese government, and right now they're taking a while to give us the okay." Bandit explained.
"Sounds fascinating." Brandy commented.
"For you maybe, after 10 years I think I know more dinosaurs than I can count." Chilli quipped.
Bandit rolled his eyes, "Well, in any case Chilli said you had something important you wanted to share."
Brandy cleared her throat, "That's right. When I visited you two that first time with the onesies I realized something, I wanted to have kids again. Bluey and Bingo, your girls are wonderful." She paused, seeing that they both still appeared to be listening. "So I went to a fertility doctor, and then a specialist. You remember when I was with Dirk that we tried, but never seemed to be able to have kids, right?"
Bandit glanced at Chilli, while he had been vaguely aware of his sister-in-law's past, he'd never met her ex. "Yes, I remember." Chilli nodded.
"According to the doctor my uterus isn't in a typical location, and due to that it's difficult for me to get pregnant. So I went to a specialist and I'm starting hormones so I can be ready for IVF. According to her there's a good chance it will be successful, I can be a mum!"
Chilli smiled, "That's wonderful! I know you've wanted to be a mum for so long…"
"Let us know how we can help, it's a lot having kids, especially if you don't have someone else around. We'll support you however we can." Bandit added.
"We have tons of baby stuff left over from Bingo and Bluey. Don't even think about getting anything until we've finished giving you it all." Chilli remarked. She nudged her husband.
"Well, I have been meaning to empty out the old nursery, guess I don't have an excuse to put it off anymore." He sighed, knowing it would be a task and a half to do.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it." Brandy said, quickly wiping the corners of her eyes with a napkin. "I have a bit of a favor to ask… Which is sort of the reason I asked you here tonight."
"What is it?" Chilli asked.
Brandy exhaled and looked at Bandit, "Would you be willing to be the sperm donor?"
"What?" He flatly asked, blinking.
"Bluey and Bingo are beautiful, healthy girls-and all I want is to have that. You're an amazing father, I want someone I trust to be the donor, not some random dog out of a catalog." Brandy explained.
"Brandy, that's a lot to ask…" Chilli said, unsure of how to respond.
"I understand, I know it's a lot. That's why I wanted to ask you both together."
Bandit coughed, "And what exactly would it mean if I said yes?"
"Well, they'd collect a sperm sample and use it to fertilize one of my eggs, then that egg would be implanted using IVF."
Bandit rubbed Chilli's hand under the table, "Would you be okay if we took some time to think before we answer?"
"Of course, take your time. It wouldn't even be for a few months for the first attempt. And if you say no I'm sure I can find someone else." Brandy waved her hands.
The rest of the meal was pleasant enough, but it was clear that there was a slight tension. They both were glad when they'd returned home.
***BC***
The girls were in bed and Bandit was pacing in the couple's bedroom.
"It would be weird, right? It would be like cheating, wouldn't it?" He muttered as Chilli sat in bed.
"I mean, you wouldn't be having sex with her, so no, I wouldn't see it that way." Chilli responded. "IVF doesn't mean you two even touch each other. It's done completely separate from either donor."
"So what, I just wank off in a cup and they use that to get her pregnant?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that, but essentially yes."
"How are you so calm about this? Your sister just asked if I could basically get her pregnant!"
Chilli sighed, "Brandy's had it tough. She's wanted to be a mum for as long as I can remember and she's sacrificed that so many times. Now that there's something that might give her a chance… I want her to have that opportunity."
"But with me as the dad?"
"She said it herself, you're an excellent father, and you're a great uncle, she sees that and she trusts you because of it. You won't be her child's dad, just the paternal half of its biology." Chilli smiled, "But regardless of what you choose, I support it."
Bandit sighed as he sat on the bed. He smiled as he looked at his wife. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" He kissed her on the forehead. "Let me sleep on it."
"G'night Ban."
"G'night Chilli."
***BC***
"Higher!" Bluey and Bingo yelled in unison as Bandit pushed the swing again.
"Girls, I don't know how much longer I can do this…" Bandit smiled coyly to himself, "I think my arms might just fall off."
"That couldn't ever happen!" Bluey replied.
"Yeah, arms don't fall off when you get tired!" Bingo added.
Bandit dropped to the ground and started moaning in fake pain. "Oh no! It happened! I told you!" He hid his arms behind his back.
The girls jumped off the swing.
"Bingo! He was right! His arms did fall off!" Bluey said, playing along.
"Oh no! We've got to get him new ones!"
"Girls, don't trouble yourselves for your poor old dad, soon my legs and head'll fall off, then there won't be anything left at all!" Bandit said, laying the melodrama on thickly.
"No! We'll glue the rest of you together so you don't lose anything." Bingo stated.
"Yeah! But first we need to make you some arms. Come on dad, let's get some!" Bluey helped Bandit back to his feet and guided him into the house.
After some scrounging around the girls had produced a few options.
"Let's try this first." Bluey taped a pool noodle to her father's shoulder. "Try and pick up something."
Bandit swung his shoulder and the noodle tapped against the tv remote. "No luck."
"Oh! Maybe this!" Bingo offered some erector set pieces she'd cobbled together.
"That looks promising." Bandit said as he stooped down to let her place it on his shoulder.
"Try it out!" Bandit swung the fake arm and managed to scoop up the remote.
"Yay! It works!" The girls cheered.
"Now to glue the rest of you together…" Bluey grinned cheekily holding a pot of rubber cement.
"Wait… no, I think my arms are growing back…" Bandit removed his arms from behind his back. "No need to glue anything."
"Better to be safe than sorry!" And with that Bluey and Bingo started chasing their father, giggling the entire time as he ran through the house.
Bandit woke up with a small smile on his muzzle. He knew what he had to do.
***Author's Note***
Hello everyone! This sort of came to me after seeing clips from Onesies online (not yet available in the US-thanks Disney…). I want to give Brandy a chance to get her happy ending. This is mostly going to be a fluffier piece, but will still obviously have adult themes and language at times. Please read and review to let me know what you think!