"Do you want to start looking at IVF options?"
"Sure, Bree," Chloe was curled up on the couch reading a book and absentmindedly stroking Rei.
Aubrey leaned over the couch and kissed Chloe on the forehead. "We should make an appointment with a fertility clinic so they can run all the needed tests."
It had been over seven months since they had first brought Rei home, and while Chloe wouldn't admit that she liked the cat, Aubrey could tell that a begrudging bond had been made between the two of them. Chloe looked up at her wife and smiled, "Okay, Bree. Now come here and keep me warm." Chloe tugged at Aubrey's hand until she moved to the other side of the couch with Rei and Chloe.
Aubrey sat down next to Chloe and took the book from her hands, marking her place and setting it down on the coffee table. She picked up Rei, who growled slightly, and moved her to the floor, "Hush, little one, I just want to cuddle with my wife."
Chloe stuck her tongue out at the ball of fur and wrapped her arms around Aubrey, "Are we really doing this, Bree? Are we going to have a baby?"
"If you still want to, Chlo," Aubrey watched her wife's face closely. "I won't force you to do anything that you don't want to."
"I want to, Bree. I really do." Chloe leaned close and kissed her softly, "I love you, so much."
"I love you more."
"I love you best."
"But, what does that mean?" Chloe's knuckles were white as she gripped hard onto Aubrey's hand.
"It means, Mrs. Posen," the doctor paused for a moment, her face a picture of calm, Aubrey supposed she was used to giving news like this in her line of work, "That you are not a viable candidate for in vitro. I am very sorry to have to tell you this."
"But," Chloe didn't know what to say, "I'm healthy. I exercise. I don't drink too much, I don't smoke. What's wrong?"
"Sometimes, it would just be too difficult or too expensive to go through with IVF when there is little chance of success." The doctor handed the two of them some tissues, "Sometimes, for whatever reason, the eggs just aren't viable or there is little chance that fertilization would be possible."
"What next?" Aubrey croaked out, her arm wrapped tightly around her wife. "What is our next step then?"
"Well, we did also test you, and it appears as if in vitro would be successful with you, should you find the right donor." She stood up, "But I'll leave you two here to discuss your options, I'll be outside if you have any more questions."
"Thank you," Aubrey said, dismissing her and bringing her full attention to Chloe. Aubrey waited for the doctor to leave the room before turning Chloe toward her, "Chloe? Can you talk to me?"
"Bree," Chloe crumpled against her suddenly, tears streaming down her face, "I wanted it so bad."
"I know, babe, I did too." Aubrey rocked Chloe slowly, rubbing her back. Pulling back slightly she cupped Chloe's face in her hands, "This isn't the end of things, Chloe. We have other options."
Chloe sniffled loudly and Aubrey's heart ached, "You could have the baby." Chloe said, her eyes brightening slightly, never one to stay down for long.
Aubrey flinched, "Chlo, can we talk about this later? Let's just focus on you and what you're going through, alright?"
Chloe sucked air in and pursed her lips, sitting up from Aubrey's embrace, "Fine."
"Chloe, please don't be like this," Aubrey pleaded.
"I can be however I want to be, Aubrey, I just found out I can't have children! And my beloved wife can and she doesn't want to!" Chloe clapped her hand over her mouth and gasped. "Aubrey, I'm so sorry."
"Let's just go, Chloe. We can talk about it later." Aubrey stood up and extended her hand for Chloe's, sighing softly when Chloe slipped her hand against Aubrey's, tightening her grasp.
"I'm sorry," Chloe tried again.
"I know."
The two of them were lounging on the couch, Aubrey with her back against Chloe's front, as was becoming a common position. Chloe's arms were under Aubrey's and wrapped around Aubrey's waist, her fingers tickled against Aubrey's flat stomach. "Will you think about it, Bree?" Chloe's hand moved to push Aubrey's shirt up, "Just think about how amazing it would feel to have a life inside of you. Both of us mothers."
Aubrey rested her hands on top of Chloe's, lacing their fingers together, "I don't know, Chloe. We were just so set on you carrying the baby, I guess I didn't even think about it being me. Can you even see me pregnant? I mean really."
Chloe kissed the side of Aubrey's head, "Yes. And if I can't-" her grip tightened on Aubrey's hands, still upset over the news, "If I can't, then I want you to. I think you'd be gorgeous pregnant."
Aubrey laughed slightly at how earnest Chloe sounded, "Only you could say something like that and make me believe it. But I'm not sure, Chlo, what about my job? I have to do so much travel, and you know what happens when women take time off to have a baby, I mean when they aren't their own boss, I might lose us all that security." Aubrey sat up and pulled Chloe with her, wanting to have this conversation face to face. "Talk to me."
"Why won't you consider having the baby, Bree?" Chloe sounded hurt.
"It's not that I don't want to, Chlo, it's that there are other things to consider here." Aubrey twisted her fingers, staring at the ring glittering on her left hand, "Traveling is a huge part of my job, Chloe. I don't have time to be pregnant. We're working on a big merger and I can't be grounded."
Chloe hesitated for a moment before grabbing hold of Aubrey's hands, stopping the twisting motion, "What about Europe, Bree? You could probably get a work visa or something and I could come over as your spouse," Aubrey blushed at that term, still not quite used to it. "And I could take a plane down to wherever it is that they need to send me in Africa. The non-profit could expand anywhere! We can figure it out there!"
"What about Beca, Chloe?" Aubrey rested her hand on Chloe's bare leg, trying to bring her back to the present. "What about your parents, or my parents, for that matter? Our lives are here."
"But that doesn't mean our future is here, Bree. I love you. I want to start a family with you. Wherever that has to be, as long as you're with me, I don't care."
Aubrey was silent for a while, "We could adopt?"
"Yeah," Chloe seemed less than thrilled. "I don't know. It feels like we would have even more issues trying to adopt than having children of our own." Chloe gasped, "Does that make me a horrible person? If I don't want to adopt because I want something that is part of you to hold and to love."
"Chlo, you have me, we don't need a baby that's biologically ours, that's only part of the equation anyway. I know that you and I will love it no matter what. No matter who is the biological parent."
"You're right," Chloe sighed, "You always seem to be right about these things."
"Not always," Aubrey leaned close to Chloe, hugging her tightly, "You were right about my feelings for you back at Barden."
"Well," Chloe breathed in, Aubrey's perfume caressing her senses, "You always were a bit hard headed sometimes."
Aubrey laughed, "Takes one to know one."
"That doesn't make any sense, Bree!" Chloe tickled her for a moment before kissing Aubrey deeply, "I love you. And I will love our family, no matter how it happens."
"Are you ready?" Aubrey asked Chloe once more before entering the line to go through security at the airport.
"Will you stop asking me that, Bree? I'm here, aren't I? And we've rented out our house and said our goodbyes to our family and friends. I'm ready. I love you."
"I would understand if you were having cold feet, that's all I'm saying, Chloe. This is a big change, a big move."
It had been over a year since that day in the fertility clinic where Chloe received that bad news that altered their future considerably, "I didn't get cold feet when I asked you to be my girlfriend. Or when we got married. I'm not going to get cold feet now. I promised you a long time ago that I would follow you to Mars and back, Bree. Thick and thin. Remember?"
"I love you so much."
"I love you too, now let's go, I'm pretty sure that security guard hates us for holding up the line."
Aubrey snickered, "He'll get over it."
"But I won't get over it if we miss our flight. You're stuck with me, Bree. Now let's get on that flight and then work on getting us a baby to love."
"As you wish."
A/N: Check out "Stumbling for a Foothold": It's in the same universe as this story and is Beca/Jesse at the same time as this chapter.