Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters belong to Stephenie. Only this little plotline is mine.

Edward and his wife Tanya are having trouble conceiving. Bella is in desperate need for money so she can finish her degree.

The Surrogate

Chapter 16

EPOV

Carlisle looked at me as if I were out of my mind despite having just apologized for his brusque comments.

"Why in the world are you considering adoption or surrogacy? Why would you go that route? Is Tanya that desperate for a child Edward?" He paced back and forth as if trying to find the answer to a great puzzle.

"I don't know anymore Dad. I just hate seeing her so miserable." I couldn't think straight under the heavy gloom that had invaded our lives. Was I as crazy as my Dad thought?

"Okay, I concede defeat although I hope one day soon you'll put yourself first and get over all this self sacrifice for Tanya's benefit." Carlisle patted my shoulder lightly and sat heavily in one of the front row seats of the lecture hall.

"Thanks Dad, I really do need you and Mom to support us through this." I sat beside him and we both drifted off in silent contemplation.

My schoolwork suffered as of late due to my preoccupation with Tanya's inability to carry a child. Fortunately we were on winter break and I wasn't needed as much in the teaching lab where I worked as a TA. I truly enjoyed teaching. Physics was my specialty but honestly, I was looking forward to the rigors of medical school. Would our marriage hold up under the stress? Was bringing a baby into the equation a wise move?

I reflected on Carlisle's words. Why was I so determined to see this marriage through to the end? I could leave at any time with no strings. We both had agreed to an ironclad pre-nup Carlisle had insisted upon given the circumstances. We would each leave the marriage evenly splitting assets acquired during our marriage of which there wasn't much since I was still in school plus a generous lump sum payment to Tanya. Other than that assets we came into the marriage with were our own. That was Dad's way of protecting my future access to a very large trust. If we had children at that point we agreed to joint custody with a generous allowance for the kids. All in all it seemed a fair arrangement.

Given all that, why did I keep beating my head against a wall trying to make the marriage work? Maybe it's because I thought she was the best I would ever find so I held on to her.

Tanya and I ended up together is a result of drunken sex after we'd been dating a few weeks. I was known as a bit of a geek, a good-looking one I suppose. Women often came on to me but I just didn't know how to handle them. She was definitely the aggressor. We kept running into each other in odd places until I suspected she planned to bump into me. Finally I gave in and asked her out.

I thought I did the right thing in marrying Tanya when we discovered she was pregnant even though in my heart I didn't love her. Up until then I'd had very little experience with women; enough so that I wasn't a virgin when we met. We were both hit hard when she lost the baby. Since that our marriage fell victim to the baby obsession.

After a few moments Carlisle cleared his throat.

"As it happens, a good friend of mine is big proponent of surrogacy and runs her own center, carefully matching prospective parents with a surrogate who carries their baby to term. I can give you her number. Her name is Dr. Maggie Peters and the two of you really should talk with her as there is a lot involved in the process. It's a very expensive proposition."

"Money is not an issue, you know that." I sighed, standing. "I need to get going and pick up Tanya. Thanks for everything Dad." I pocketed the piece of paper with the doctor's phone number and left to catch up with my wife.