I awoke the next morning with sunlight pouring into the room. I glanced around dazed slightly then managed to swing my legs over the edge of the bed and move towards the bathroom. I smiled as the urine flowed out of me, it was a good morning pee. I sighed, wiped, flushed, washed my hands and looked at the clock behind me. It was elven in the morning.
"Fuck." I whispered to myself. My shift had started two hours ago. I fled out of the bathroom and grasped at my phone by my bed. "Oh no." That was when I noticed that all the sounds on my phone were off, even alarms. I also saw the atrocious amount of messages and calls I had received. I hit voice mail and listened to my messages while trying to pull on my uniform.
"Jennifer? This is Rickie, your boss. Listen, if you're not down here in twenty minutes, don't bother coming back." he growled before hanging up. That call happened an hour ago. I stopped trying to get my uniform on and sat on the bed, defeated and half dressed. Oh well, I thought to myself. I knew I wouldn't get the time off needed for being pregnant anyways but I still wished I hadn't been fired. Then I saw I had two other messages so I played them as I feel back into the still warm sheets.
"Jennifer this is Nadia, Dan and Phil have agreed to meet at one o'clock so if you could just call me back to confirm you are coming, that would be great. Goodbye." I nodded then made a metal note to call her back as my next message began to play.
"Hey Jennifer it's Phil, I just wondered if you wanted to hang out before or after we go to the clinic. I have off today but Dan had to work. Ya know, to earn time off later for the baby and stuff. Right, so call me back, Bye!" I internally geeked out that Amazing Phil had called me of all people to hang out today. I looked at the clock again, only ten fifteen. I called Nadia back and confirmed the time for the procedure before calling Phil.
"Hello?" He asked like anyone would.
"Hi, it's Jennifer." I responded back.
"Hi Jennifer!" I grinned at his enthusiasm. "So do you still want to hang out? I'm still free." He sounded so hopeful, even if I did have prior engagements, I would have said yes.
"There is nothing I'd rather do." I promised. We agreed to meet up at the Cat Cafe.
I entered the cafe and was greeted by a cheerful young woman that instructed me to not pick up the cats but if they came to my table I was allowed to pet them. I thought that was a little odd but ignored it as Phil waved me to come over.
"Hey, sorry I'm late." I smiled, setting my bag on the table and sitting down myself.
"Don't be, I'm just always early." He smiled then let the smile fall growing serious. "Jennifer, I know we haven't known each other very long, but I just wanted to say how much I appreciate and admire you for doing what you're doing for Dan and me." I felt the tears building up behind my eyes at the sweetness and truth behind Phil's own eyes.
"Phil, you don't have to-" He held up his hand and I shut up.
"I have been trying hard to think of some way to thank you in the right way." I shook my head, tears beginning to spill over. "Then I remembered you were a fan so," He turned and picked up a bag then slid it over to me. "I hope this is means as much to you as this act of kindness means to me- and Dan." He added as an after thought. I placed my shaking hands into the bag felt something soft then pulled it out shakily. I began sobbing as the little stuffed lion poked its head out of the bag. Phil smiled softly as I managed a 'thank you'. "That's not all." He grinned, reaching into the bag with his own hand, and pulling out a worn lama hat. I shot up and hugged Phil, who more or less held me up as the strength left me.
"Thank you so much Phil. I will do anything and everything in my power to give you your child, I promise." I sobbed into Phil's abdomen and looked up at him with snot dribbling down my face, feeling like a child myself. His arms encircled me and held me like I had wanted so badly, so long ago. I'm sure we looked crazy to the crazy cat people and insane to the cats lying around the cafe. We both chuckled at the awkwardness then ordered our tea and cookies. We laughed and talked about what had been happening in our lives worth telling about. For me, I explained why I had spent my life savings on moving to Britain because I was so certain that I would find out who I really was a continent away from my family's drama. For him, he talked about his new married life and how they had incorporated it into their new videos.
"I honestly don't know if we'll continue making these videos after the baby is born though." Phil confessed finishing up his cooled tea. I placed my cup in its saucer and stopped petting the cat that had befriended me.
"Phil, you have no idea how nice it is to see you and Dan making videos. If you stop making them, the fans will flip out!" I was shocked at my own reaction and blushed when he looked shocked at me.
"I wasn't really thinking about the fans, I was thinking about moving on with my life." Phil said quietly.
"But the fans have supported you through everything." Then a horrifying thought occurred to me. "What about the Phandom? Phil, they have been waiting for this part of your lives for so long."
"And do you know how terrifying that is?" He flared up causing the cat to hiss before running away to a more calm table. We sat there as his blood pressure reseeded and I was able to speak again. My phone alerted me that we needed to get to the clinic in fifteen minutes to make it to our appointment on time.
"I may not know how terrifying it is," I rose to my feet and placed the right amount for a tip on the table. "But I do know what it's like to be a fan and how nice it is to see your face every week." I turned and walked out into the street. I hailed a taxi, just as I was about to get in, Phil grabbed my arm.
"May I?" He inquired. I was still angry but let him squeeze next to me and let him tell the taxi driver where we were going. "You forgot this." He added, showing me his gift bag as the cab moved forwards.
"Thanks." I muttered again grabbing it and letting it rest in my lap.
"I'm sorry I made you angry and I will talk to Dan about the videos. I was just trying to move on will my life." He concluded
"But Phil without the fans, you wouldn't be here today." I countered. He stared at me and seemed almost surprised at how true my words were.
"I will talk to Dan." He repeated as the taxi pulled up into the clinic. We paid the driver then walked in five minutes late.
"It's no big deal." Nadia smiled handing me a dressing grown and pointed to a small white like the one I had changed into the previous day. "Leave your things here, get dressed and we will get this pregnancy on its way." She smiled then left me to do my thing. I was astonished at how confident she was about this whole thing. 'My eggs and their sperm must be very healthy.' I thought in assumption getting undressed and redressed into the unfashionable dressing gown.
Dan, Phil and Nadia were all waiting in the hospital room. Nadia showed me the chair with stirrups to sit in that had a petri dish besides it. In the dish, I assumed were the fertilized eggs that were going to be placed up and into my awaiting womb. I breathed deeply and hopped up in the chair then realized Dan and Phil were still there.
"Are they going to be here when you-" I awkwardly made hand motions intimating the procedure. Dan and Phil looked horrified and shook their heads rapidly.
"No, no." Dan said frantically, laughing nervously.
"We just wanted to say good luck." Phil smiled and rubbed my shoulder in an attempt to calm me, which didn't work at all. But it was still oddly comforting.
"Are you ready?" Nadia asked. I looked at the dish.
"Could I have a minute alone?" I asked not looking away from the dish.
"Sure." Nadia smiled then motioned for Dan and Phil to exit with her.
"Thanks again." Phil smiled before leaving.
"Make sure you hold them in." Dan added awkwardly, in hopes to provide comfort but failing epically. I smiled and watched the door shut behind them then turned back to the dish. I had seen Phoebe do this on Friends, and it had worked. Sure it was a television show from the nineties, but I still had hope.
"Hi there little eggies." I whispered. "Okay that was weird, but I just wanted to ask you guys something." I took a deep breathe and leaned in before whispering. "Dan and Phil needs this more than you guys can even comprehend right now and you probably can't understand me anyways but please, please hang in tight when you get in there, okay?" I begged the nearly empty dish. "I want to bring them a happiness that the fans have only had a taste of." I was starting to cry. Why was I so freaking emotional lately? I wondered rubbing my eyes to hide the tears. Even if these things didn't understand me, I didn't want them to see me cry like the infant they would turn out to become. "Just please, please hang on and don't let go." Nadia knocked on the door softly and poked her head through the door.
"Ready?" She asked smiling. I wiped my eyes, put my legs up, eyed up the dish again, leaned back then said "I'm ready." But now that I look back, and as Nadia slipped on the gloves and began; I don't any of us we ready for what was going to become of those small eggs in that tiny dish.