Chapter 52
It was over a month later, after a fair amount of trying that Sam finally gave up hope. Once again, her period came and once again she sat alone in the bathroom, on the toilet seat, at three in the morning crying.
Freddie knew she had been out of bed for quite some time and could only guess what happened. The door to their private bathroom was shut almost all the way, but not latched or locked and he gently knocked on the frame.
"Sorry." She sniffed. "I'll be out in a minute. You need to go, too?"
She swung the door open after washing her hands and splashing some water on her face and drying it but he could still see she was upset. He immediately put his arms around her. "I know, baby."
"I think it's time we sit down with Mels and talk about all this." She said quietly.
"The surrogate thing?"
Sam nodded. "It's hopeless, Freddie. I just can't keep going through this. I'm done with the treatments, no more hormones, no more appointments, It's a lost cause."
"I know, honey. And I'm sorry. I agree, let's talk to Melanie."
The following evening, Carly was asked to keep Alex company while Sam, Freddie and Melanie met up to discuss the idea of surrogacy. After some other conversation, Sam finally led toward the subject.
"Hey Mel, remember how the other month we had that conversation about Freddie and I using a surrogate to carry a baby for us?"
"Yeah." Melanie replied. She knew Sam wasn't exactly in her comfort zone right now, asking someone for help and she figured the whole idea weirded Freddie out something fierce.
"Well, we kind of talked about it and thought maybe we should, um, see if you still were thinking about maybe, like, being willing to help with that part."
"We'll pay you. And of course, pay for all the doctor's visits and everything like medications and whatever." Freddie added.
"And maybe some maternity clothes." Sam added. "You and Carly can go shopping and get you whatever it is you need."
"You guys!" Melanie grinned. "I thought you were never going to say anything. Are you sure?"
"Well, we wanted to make sure we did our due diligence and tried for ourselves." Freddie told her.
"And we've been trying." Sam nodded. "A lot. Like, so much it's a wonder we get any sleep."
"Uh, Sam. I don't think she needs to know that." He shook his head. "This is an awkward enough conversation."
"I'm just saying, we've exhausted all options. And since you offered, we're ready to talk about this."
The three went on to go over all the things they thought needed to be discussed. Sam and Melanie were to coordinate an appointment with the fertility specialist and Freddie was to talk to Carly about helping them find a lawyer to draw up a formal agreement for them all to sign. He wasted no time in speaking to her about it, dropping by her apartment after she got home from work the next day before going to visit his mother.
"You want to ask Melanie do WHAT?" The brunette asked with wide eyes. "Freddie! Does Sam know about this?"
"Yes and I can't believe she hasn't told you anything about this. We know it seems odd on the surface, but we've all discussed this and it really makes perfect sense." He argued.
"But Freddie!" She whined. "This whole idea would be unusual at best, even if she was just Sam's sister. Combine that with the fact that she's your ex-wife and it goes beyond unusual to just plain old weird. Maybe even somewhat disturbing. Since you've already got a KID TOGETHER!"
He simply drew in a deep breath through his nose and thought of a comeback. This woman was a lawyer after all, arguing with her would be futile. After twenty or seconds of staring at her, he simply made one statement. "I understand if you don't want to help us Carly. We'll just talk to someone else then." He got up to leave.
She grabbed him by the arm to stop him from heading to the door. "It's not that I don't want to help, Freddie. But you know I don't work with family law for one thing and I just really think you three should really consider all the ramifications of this idea before you go through with it."
"We have, Carls. We've been considering it for months." He nodded. "Sam and Melanie actually first talked about this some time ago. We've tried and tried on our own and Sam refuses to do any more fertility hormone treatments and I don't blame her. The only option we have left medically, besides this is a risky procedure and not only is it very expensive but there could be horrible complications. Especially as we get older."
"And with what she's been through already . . . I get it, Freddie, it's scary." Carly seemed to agree with that part. "But Melanie? What about the whole mental health issue? The fact that Alex seems to have dodged that bullet only increases the odds that another child of hers would have it, right?"
"We know and, honestly, that gene is in Sam as well so it's really a risk either way. This just seems like our best chance. Can you hook us up with someone, Carls? Please?"
"OK, OK. There's this gal I know, Amanda. She works as a paralegal at one of those big law firms downtown. She does all kind of family chiz. Custody agreements, adoptions, everything. I'll talk to her and ask her to call you, alright."
"Thank you. Now, to a less divisive subject, you want to come over to our place Saturday for a cookout?" He asked.
"Can I bring Griffin?"
"Griffin? As in Pee Wee Baby collecting Griffin?" He chuckled.
"Yes, I ran into him and he asked me out. We really hit it off. Even though he's been through some rough times. I thought maybe I'd give him another chance."
"What about that mechanic guy?"
"Wes? He's cool, and I really like him but we're not exclusive and he's been too busy to do anything lately. When I met up with Griffin, I sort of thought it was a sign."
"A sign you wanted to see his Pee Wee Babies again?"
"Oh, shut up. He doesn't have them any more. He told me he sold them. He sold them to pay for the lawsuit."
Freddie just smirked, he knew about Griffin and his ponzi schemes. Heck, he probably orchestrated 'running into' Carly to get free legal advice. "What's he selling now, menstral crystals? Or is he re-packaging fish food and trying to make it out to be some miracle cure for anything and everything?"
Carly just rolled her eyes at his attitude. "He's really trying, Freddie. So is it cool if I bring him?"
"Yeah, yeah. But no promises Sam won't go busting on him for, well, anything. You know she hates the sight of him and his get rich quick ideas. I'm surprised he's not in jail."
"Well, he kinda was. But it really sounds like it wasn't his fault. It was all a setup."
"Yeah, that's what Sam's uncle said about the time he tried to smuggle Canadian bacon into that boarding school. But he still ended up behind bars."
A couple more weeks passed and Sam, Freddie and Melanie had met with the lawyer. Their formal agreement had been drawn up and the three had consulted with the fertility specialist that Sam and Freddie had been seeing.
To say Sam had sticker shock at the fees was an understatement. Freddie wasn't exactly pleased either, but he did his best to keep his opinions in check. After all, Sam wanted this and he would give it to her even though the price tag was ridiculously high. It was obvious he wouldn't be getting a new car anytime in the next ten years, given the numbers on the sheet in his hand.
He and the twins left the doctor's office with lots of things to think about and discuss before their next appointment, if they even decided to go that far. Sam was on the verge of giving up completely after seeing the costs involved. On the drive back to their place from dropping off Melanie, they began to talk about it all.
"I never thought this was going to be such an expensive proposition." Sam begged. "I'm sorry, I just had no idea they were going to be talking about those kind of numbers or I would have never brought it up."
He shrugged. "Nothing is cheap, I mean look at how much the adoption cost to file for you and Alex. And you were not only her blood relative but married to her biological father. I've heard to adopt a kid out of the system is more than this surrogacy deal."
"But we've already spent so much. We've been dealing with Dr. Rogers for almost a year and all those hormones I've been taking aren't covered by insurance. Then there was the lawyer and all that. I just wish we would have known how much it cost up front."
Freddie just nodded. What could he say? "It would definitely be cheaper to get a puppy." He tried to joke.
"I just can't help but think there has to be a better way to get someone pregnant." She turned toward him a little. "I mean, geez, how much can it cost to suck some sperm up in a tube and squirt it inside some chick."
"Well, it's not like there's really any other way to do it." He smirked. "It's not something that can be done at home. I think we all know the turkey baster isn't really an option."
"Actually there is." She said with wide eyes, suddenly getting an idea. "Pretty sure it's been tried and true since the beginning of the human race."
"Right, but we've done that and not had much luck." He looked sullen before smirking. "Not that trying isn't still the best part of my day, but you said you didn't want to go through any more of those hormone treatments."
"You haven't had much luck trying with me. But what about with Mels? Like, obviously one time you two shook the sheets when she wasn't on birth control, she got preggers. What's to say . . . ?"
"Are you seriously proposing that I sleep with Melanie? My ex-wife? Your twin sister?" He gasped. "Sam! I don't know if I could do that. I mean, that would be like totally cheating on you."
"It'd be a helluva lot cheaper." She argued with a smirk. "And it's not cheating if I know about it and it's for a good reason."
"But." He sighed. "I don't know Sam."
"Stop and think. If we took the money that doctor wants to do what you could do yourself the old fashioned way, and invested it in one of those college savings accounts, we could afford to send both Alex and this kid to a damn good college. And still take a trip to Hawaii."
"You'd really have me sleep with Melanie just to save money?"
"For that kind of money? No offense baby, but I'd let any woman who offered those kind of figures have a go at you."
"That kind of makes me feel cheap." He frowned.
"Nothing cheap about that kind of price tag, Fredward." She smirked. "Those seem like pretty high end gigolo numbers to me. Of course, this is all dependent on whether we can get Mels on board with it."
"Yeah, she might be as weirded out by this whole idea as I am." He frowned. "I just don't know if this is a good idea."
Before talking to her sister about it, Sam decided to run the idea past Carly. The brunette was shocked at the thought. When the girls talked the following day.
"Seriously?" Carly gasped, nearly spitting out her coffee. "Oh my God! Like, seriously Freddie was almost normal before he was part of the Puckett family. Now you've got him talked into this?"
"You have met his mother, he was far from normal." Sam smirked.
"Good point." The brunette agreed. "What does Freddie think about all this? Or Melanie?"
"He's acting kind of weird, honestly. But he's been weird ever since I met him so the bar is pretty low. We haven't approached Mels yet." Sam said dryly. "But I told you how much that damn doctor wants to squirt some baby batter inside her with a needle when I called last night. Doesn't this just seem more practical? And maybe a little less painful, not to mention the ick factor of the doctor's office being where the kid is conceived."
"But having Freddie do it himself? Isn't that just, I don't know, wrong on multiple levels? Talk about ick factor. I mean, she's your sister for one. And they were married, they have a kid together already."
"Precisely. We know it'll work. They've done it before."
"Well what about emotions and all that junk? This is the most intimate thing in the world. Do you think he'll even be able to, um, perform? Like for Melanie."
"Psh, he can just pretend it's me." Sam cracked. "We're identical for God's sake and he can leave the lights off. He has a pretty good imagination anyway. Honestly, they're civil around each other and they do fine with the joint parenting thing but I don't have to worry about him having an affair with her or anything."
"Isn't that exactly what you're basically giving him a free pass to do?"
"No. Not when there's no emotion involved. It's a business transaction. And I'm going to be there."
"Sam!" Carly scolded. "What are you going to do sit and watch or something? Tat's gross and wrong on so many levels."
"Of course not! I just mean I'm going to be in the house, not necessarily in the same room. Him and her could go off and do their thing and at the end of the evening, she goes home and he goes and gets a shower. Then we wait a couple of weeks, she wazzes on a test to make sure it took, nine months later, she squeezes out the kid, bingo-bango, all done."
"And what if it takes more than once?"
"We can make sure they do it on her most fertile day. Besides, it seems it didn't take too many tries when they conceived Alex. They've both told me they only fooled around for a few days before she left for college that summer."
A few days later, Sam decided to approach her sister with the idea she had. She had decided to meet up with Melanie for a smoothie after work. The girls took a seat after getting their drinks and made small talk before Sam brought up the obvious.
"So, um, Freddie and I got to talking and we wanted to run something by you." Sam began.
Melanie immediately thought that the price tag had caused them to reconsider. "I think I know what you're going to say. I don't blame you, honestly. You've already paid that lawyer to draw up the agreement, not to mention the fertility treatments you've been on for over a year. You've told me how expensive all that is. And after the kind of numbers I heard being thrown around the other day, I know it overwhelmed me and it's not my money."
"Yeah." Sam agreed. "It's like, we've already spent a lot and sure, Freddie makes a good salary but you're right, what this deal costs is kind of shocking. Which is why Freddie and I kind of wanted to let you know we had an idea. But we need to talk to you about it."
We'll have to see how Melanie reacts to Sam's idea.
