Chapter 12:
Tony and Angela found the family near the exit of the carnival. They all said their goodbyes to Mrs. Rossini, with promises to come back to Brooklyn for dinner and to keep her posted regarding Angela's health. Samantha and Jonathan fell asleep in the backseat; Tony and Angela were too hyped up to think about anything other than counting the minutes until they were alone again in their bedroom.
Sunday morning was quiet in the house. Samantha and Jonathan slept in until almost noon; the emotional wear and tear on them finally catching up. Tony and Angela also slept in but were up and downstairs by eleven. Tony made brunch for the family, with everything from bacon, eggs, pancakes and toast to a quiche and finger sandwiches. Mona joined them right before the kids came down.
Angela spent most of the afternoon catching up on work, while Tony cleaned the house. Tony had neglected a lot of his chores over the past couple of weeks but was able to get in some deep cleaning, followed by some schoolwork. Still full from brunch, they opted to have a light dinner before turning in early.
"I am hoping tomorrow's appointment doesn't take too long" said Angela as she cuddled into Tony's side. He pulled the comforter over them both as he settled into the pillows.
"It's gonna take as long as it takes! I don't have to be at school until the early afternoon" he said as his hand found her hair, gently running his fingers through the waves and curls.
"The chances of this actually producing a baby are slim, but in the off chance this actually works, what would you want?" she asked.
"Eh oh, oh eh! It's going to work! Honestly as long as you and whatever baby that comes along are healthy, I really don't care. We've already got one and one… well an extra girl if you count Mona…" he said with a chuckle.
"She's the child we never wanted… the one that takes up the most energy! I think we could have two or three more kids and it would feel like a breeze compared to raising Mother!" she laughed.
"Have I mentioned how much I love your laugh?" he said as his other hand stroked her cheek.
"Have I mentioned how much I love you making me laugh?" she said as her hand started rubbing slow circles over his chest.
"Alright… I think we should get some rest… it's going to be a busy week ahead of us…" he said as his hand moved from her cheek down her arm, resting on her hip.
"Yes… resting is good…" she said as her hand roamed from his chest down around to his lower back, dipping into the elastic of his underwear. They made eye contact for a few brief moments before capturing their lips in a passionate kiss. All thoughts of sleeping went right out the window as they expressed their love together.
Monday morning came early; both Tony and Angela were tired but content as they started getting ready for the day. Tony made them both a light breakfast before getting ready and heading into Tony's jeep. Mona was taking the later train so it was just Tony and Angela in the car.
They arrived at the clinic a few minutes before their appointment. Angela was able to sign in and Tony began filling out his paperwork. While Tony was busy with his paperwork, Angela found a magazine about pregnancy and baby care. She flipped through it to try and kill sometime. She was halfway through the magazine when she found an article about surrogacy that peaked her attention. She was so engrossed in the article that she missed the nurse calling her name.
"Angela! We can go in now… you okay?" asked Tony as he waved his hand in front of her face.
"Oh yes I'm sorry! I was just engrossed in this article. Do you think I could get a copy?" she asked the nurse.
"Take it honey! We have a whole bunch to replace them!" chuckled the nurse as she led them down the hallway. Soon, the doctor and nurse joined them in the office.
"Hello Angela, it is nice to see you again" said Dr. Greene.
"Hi Dr. Greene. This is my fiancé Tony Micelli" she said as the two men shook hands.
"So I have been in contact with your doctor and we'd like to begin the process as soon as possible. We will get your bloodwork today to review your hormone levels. Assuming everything is okay, we will get you in this week for some basic tests so we can begin the medication to stimulate the maturation of the eggs. Your fiancé will need to be tested as well, which we can do right here along with your bloodwork. We can schedule a time for him to come in for his sperm analysis" said the doctor. Tony absentmindedly crossed his legs at the doctor's last part. Angela had to stifle a laugh as she reached over and grabbed his hand.
"How long will this process take?" she asked.
"Depending on how quickly we can start the medications, I am hopeful it should take about a month or so, maybe less. You will need to come back in for monitoring every few days. Once we feel that everything looks good, you will be given the injection shot to take at a specific time as well as a day and time to come back into the office. You will need to be driven to and from the appointment as you will be under anesthesia. I'd like to schedule your first tests this week" he said.
"That's fine. I can come in before work any day this week. I am still waiting to hear back from my oncologist about my test results" she said.
"I can come back whenever is necessary too. I plan on coming to as many of these appointments as possible" said Tony as he squeezed her hand.
"The monitoring appointments won't take very long once the medications have started. You will need to be around to give her the injection and some of the other medications. For approximately eight to twelve days, you will have daily injections of the LH and FSH hormones. Thirty six hours before the retrieval, you will be given the trigger shot of hCG or human chorionic gonadotropin to stimulate ovulation. That is when you will know the date and time of the procedure. We will give you more information as it gets closer. Any questions?" asked Dr. Greene.
"You will give us some instructions about how to give the shots right?" asked Tony, his voice wavering.
"A nurse will review everything with you both. There is a video tape we can give you as well that will walk you through the steps" he said.
"Other than bloodwork, is there anything else we can do today? I want to get this started as soon as possible" she said.
"No, that's it. We will take your blood sample and then schedule your appointments. I will make sure we give you plenty of paperwork on the egg retrieval process, freezing the eggs and what we have on surrogacy. After your surgery, we can perform the standard battery of fertility tests on you to determine if we can implant the embryos but as I said before, the chances are slim with all the scar tissue. That, however, is down the road. First we need to harvest and fertilize the eggs. The nurse will take you both to get your blood drawn and schedule your appointments. I really am optimistic that this will result in a positive outcome for you both" said the doctor as he shook their hands.
The nurse led them into a small room where she took both of their blood samples. They were then led back to the front of the office to schedule their next appointments. They were both able to get appointments for first thing Thursday morning. They walked out to the car as Tony opened the door for Angela.
"Thanks Tony…" she said when they were both settled in the car.
"No thanks needed! As my soon to be wife, you will never have to open another car door again while I'm around!" he laughed.
"That's not what I meant…" she said as she looked over at Tony, a serious look crossing her face.
"I didn't think so… but it doesn't mean it's not true! Look Angela… you and I are in this together… forever. If this works out and we end up with a baby of our own, it's going to be the icing on the cake… but if it doesn't, you and I plus frick, frack and frisbee at home are all I need" he said as he grabbed a hold of her hand.
"Frick, frack and frisbee? That's a new one!" she chucked as she wiped away tears from her eyes.
"I figure if this works and we add a fourth child into the mix, we can think of new nicknames! You know Mona is our eldest child… the hardest to parent, the one who breaks curfew and is the most defiant!" he laughed.
"That she is! I'm going to try and not get my hopes up over this but it's going to be so hard. Besides our relationship, this is the only bright light I have right now. I'm just hoping this doesn't end in complete heartache" she said.
"Once you are better and this is all in the rearview mirror, if this doesn't pan out, we can look to adopt. I'm sure there are plenty of kids in need of homes… we can find the perfect one to add to our family. Heck, we can get a classroom full of kids if you want, as long as I have you by my side" he said as he kissed her hand.
"I know I have said this before but I don't know what I ever did to deserve you…" she said as she leaned over to kiss him.
"C'mon… let's get you to work…" he said as he gave her one last kiss.
Angela was able to focus enough to get a good deal of work done all through the morning and early afternoon. By 3:00pm, she decided to take a break and call her lawyer back. She was able to speak to Cliff and got more information about fighting Michael. She hoped that Michael would come to his senses or at least allow Jonathan to make up his mind, but she wasn't holding her breath.
By 5:00pm, she was ready to head home; Mona was already packed up and halfway out the door when Angela poked her head out of her office to see if she was ready to go. Angela and Mona walked the few blocks to Grand Central Station and caught the train just before it left the station. When they walked through the front door, Tony was sitting on the sofa, library books sprawled out on every nearby surface.
"The library close? They start giving away books?" asked Mona as she walked over to the side chair.
"Very funny! Just some light reading…" he said as he started closing the books and stacking them back on the coffee table.
"Light reading… you consider child custody practices of Connecticut and fertility procedures light reading?" asked Angela as she flipped through some of the books.
"Would you believe I have an upcoming term paper on child reproductive rights and adoption?" he asked half heartedly.
"No…" she said with an eye roll followed by a chuckle.
"Well I just wanted to get some more information on everything! I want to be as much of a support to you as I possibly can!" he said as he closed the remaining books.
"You're turning into Angela… and Jonathan for that matter!" chuckled Mona as she headed into the kitchen.
"That's not a bad thing!" Tony yelled at the swinging door, Mona already in the other room.
"Tony… I can't tell you how much it means to me that you would do this for me… for us. I just love you so much!" she said as she started to tear up.
"Eh oh, oh eh! You're doing all the hard work here! This is the least I can do!" he said as he wrapped his arms around her. They stayed like that for a few minutes until they were interrupted by Jonathan coming out of Angela's office.
"Jonathan! I thought you were upstairs!" said Tony.
"What are you doing in my office?" she asked as she looked over at him. He wouldn't make any eye contact, rather opting to concentrate on a scuff mark on the floor.
"Jonathan… you mind letting us know what you are up to?" she asked again, this time more firmly.
"Well… well I called my dad. He's actually still on the line and wants to talk to you. I'm sorry Mom but I wasn't going to let him go through with this! I'm not leaving you!" he practically yelled, tears threatening to fall.
"Michael is on the phone? Oh Jonathan! You need to let me handle this!" she said as she stood up and came over to give him a hug.
"Come here pal. Let's let your mom go talk to your dad and we can hang out here" he said as he motioned for Jonathan to join him on the sofa. Angela gave him a smile and mouthed the words 'thank you' before heading into the office.
"Jonathan you are just like your mother… smart, funny, kind, generous… and way too stubborn and independent for your own good!" he chuckled as he put his arm around him.
"Kinda like you too!" he laughed as he leaned into Tony's embrace.
Angela sat down at her desk and took a few deep breaths. She opted to use the speaker phone option so she could have both hands free to snap as many pencils as possible if needed.
"Hi Michael…" she said through gritted teeth.
"So I guess you heard about our conversation…" said Michael.
"Michael, I just got home not ten minutes ago. I didn't even realize he was in my office on the phone. I have no idea what was said, although I had a pretty good idea…" she said.
"He's threatening to petition to terminate my parental rights! Did you set him up and put this idiotic idea in his head or was it Tony?" he shouted.
"This was not my idea Michael! I told him what you had said the other day. I gave him the choice to decide if he wanted to go stay with you and that I would support him with whatever decision he wanted to make. This is his idea Michael, no one is forcing his hand here except you!" Pencil number one snapped in two.
"You think I believe that Angela? This has you written all over it!" he shouted.
"Listen Michael and listen good… our son doesn't want this! He wants to stay with his family, the people that are there for him and have been for the past six years or more. He is serious about this Michael and has already taken steps to make it a reality if you pursue this! In that manner, yes Jonathan really is my son! If you care about him at all, if you want to remain in his life, drop this legal battle. Let him stay here and keep some sort of normalcy. I'm telling you Michael, no judge will grant you custody when Jonathan voices that he doesn't want to live with you. You are risking losing him forever if you keep this up!" Pencil number two gone.
"I… I just want to do what is best for him…" he said, his voice sounded softer and almost defeated.
"Well that's a first! Well, actually make that the second. The first real good thing you ever did for him was to ask Tony to come back to be there for us. You saw how we were already a family even back then and how much of a positive influence he had on Jonathan… on me. You trusted your son to be raised in this family because it was what you couldn't give him. I beg of you, don't do this Michael" she said.
"Let me talk to my lawyer and I will get back to you" said Michael as the line went dead. Thoughts of why she ever found her ex-husband remotely attractive followed by ways to get away with murder ran through her head until a soft knock at the door interrupted her.
"Angela? Are you off the phone?" asked Tony, followed closely by Jonathan.
"Yes I am. You both can come in" she said as she started to rub her temples, willing her headache to go away. From past experience, a Michael induced headache took hours to resolve even with medication.
"Did… did dad agree to let me stay?" he asked in almost a whisper.
"Not yet sweetheart. He will be speaking to his lawyer and then will get back to us. I know it's not in your blood to wait patiently for things to happen, but you need to leave this to your dad and I. I won't let anything happen that you aren't okay with" she said as she pulled him into a hug.
"She's right Jonathan. Neither of us will let anything happen to you or to Samantha. We will always be there for you, no matter what" he said as he came next to them.
"Okay… hopefully he comes around and makes the right decision" he said as he gave them both a hug and headed back into the living room.
"So I see you only broke two pencils… I was thinking I'd need to buy at least another pack or two after that conversation…" he said with a chuckle.
"The conversation was shorter than I thought otherwise you could have taken out stock in number two pencils!" she said with a laugh.
"There's that smile I love… c'mon let's head into the kitchen for dinner, assuming Mona hasn't eaten it all!" he laughed. Just as they were heading out of the office, the phone rang again. They both stopped and looked at one another, looks of concern on their faces. Angela snapped out of it first and went back to her desk to answer the phone.
"Hello Bower/Micelli residence, this is Angela" she said. "Oh hi yes… I see… okay… tomorrow at 8:00am… thank you…" she said as she hung up the phone.
"Who was that Angela?" he asked as he walked over to where she was still standing, staring at the phone. She didn't come out of it until Tony placed his hand on her back.
"That… that was my doctor's office. The… the test results are in and he wants me to come in first thing tomorrow" she said as she broke down crying.