Chapter One: Hope for the Future
It was a quiet morning, as it usually started out for Millie Crescent once she had turned off her alarm and laid in her warm bed, contemplating on getting a little more sleep before ultimately deciding against it and dragging herself out of the comfort of her blankets and pillows. She slipped her feet into her soft, fuzzy pink slippers and dragged her slippered feet across the wooden floor towards the stairs, her one bathroom situated beneath the staircase, to get her morning routine started—so that she can get her day started. Relieve her bladder, brush her teeth, wash her face, gargle mouthwash, spit into the sink, apply her face lotion and sunscreen, brush out her messy dark hair, fight a few knots in her hair with a comb, then return upstairs to her "bedroom" to change into her work clothes.
After putting on a pair of well-loved jeans and a faded green t-shirt that will probably disintegrate in the next wash, Millie made her way to her small kitchenette where she pulled down the foldable table from the wall before grabbing her single cup coffee maker to brew herself the dark liquid of life. While her coffee was percolating she place two slices of bread into the toaster to heat. She let out a wide yawn while she got jelly out of the fridge to spread on her toast once it's done and checked her phone while she waited. An alert from her calendar reminded her that she had an appointment today with her gynecologist for a routine exam. She yawned again, cursing herself for another late night of binging a new romance series that had been recommended to her by her friends. She was a sucker for soapy romance dramas. She heard the popping of her toaster and immediately grabbed the crispy warm slices of bread and dropped them onto a plate before spreading blackberry jelly on them both and then sandwiching them together to scarf down. While she ate she messaged Patrick, her business partner and loyal friend since high school to open the bistro while she went to her morning doctor's appointment.
She poured her coffee to-go in a travel cup and as she was leaving her loft apartment she received a text from Patrick, an emoji hand signaling that he got it. With a smile she pocketed her phone and stepped out through the front door, locking it behind her and making her way down the creaky wooden stairs (which was in dire needs of repair and a fresh coat of paint again) of a narrow stairway that led out into the street right next to her small bistro.
Millie had originally worked at this small bistro when she was just fifteen, having recently ran away from her foster parents. Penniless, homeless, and determined to never go back into the foster system, Millie would wander the streets begging for money. Eventually she was found sleeping on a bus bench by Noelle and Roger Gimbly, the owners of the bistro that was presently Millie's. They were a loving married couple and had started their little business together after getting married over sixty years ago. They had seen Millie begging on street corners and knew that she needed help and offered her room and board in the loft apartment above their bistro, free of rent, in exchange for employment. They even paid her for working for them.
Millie should have been suspicious because they were strangers to her, she should have questioned their motives like any teenager who had gone through her hell. But she didn't. She didn't suspect them of anything malicious because deep down she held onto the belief that there were still good people in the world, that being in the foster system would not change her faith in humanity. The Gimbly's were an example of that belief and it had touched Millie so much that she sobbed in front of them. They had been so kind and generous to her and treated her like the daughter they never had; making sure that she was clean, clothed, and fed, and even enrolled her into the high school where she would meet two of her life-long friends.
The elderly couple never had children of their own and Millie saw them as the parents she always wanted. The Gimbly's had done so much for her they had even become her foster parents. Millie spent nearly everyday after school working at the bistro, learning everything about running the small business; from grunt work of bussing tables and washing dishes, to managing the cash register, then to learning how to prep and cook. It was then that Millie discovered her passion for cooking and began experimenting on her own in her loft, learning new recipes and watching videos of cooking shows to recreate dishes.
Mr. Gimbly had suggested to Millie to go to culinary school after graduating high school and that he would pay for her tuition if she promised once she graduates that she would return to take over the bistro's menu. Millie promised and she enrolled for culinary school located in the northern district of Dale during the day and would work the dinner shift and weekends at the bistro and study at night in her loft. Then, after four years, Millie graduated and as promised she took over the kitchen in the bistro, revamping the menu and using social media to bring in more customers. After another two years the Gimbly's decided to retire and Millie applied for a loan and bought the bistro from them, taking over as the new owner and welcoming them back as her special customers.
Millie had made many connections over the years working at the bistro, and those connections proved useful when she needed to renovate the interior; having kept the business cards of customers she had collected. She kept the photos and old knickknacks the Gimbly's had collected over the years but replaced the dated, flowery wallpaper and scuffed furnishing to make it more modern but still have the homey touch that made it so special in the first place. Patrick, one of her two best friends from high school, who had graduated from college with a business degree offered Millie a deal for a percent of the restaurant (because honestly Millie didn't really know much about running a business and knew that she had financially sunk everything into buying out her foster parents for the bistro and was afraid of going bankrupt and ending up in a homeless shelter).
Patrick was not only a graduated business major but he had minored in communications and was savvy with a computer and gave the bistro a social media presence. He organized Millie's collection of business cards into a "Contact List" and helped Millie set up a website for the bistro with photos of every dish with a brief description. After their first year as business partners (Patrick owned 10% of the bistro) they started to see money coming back in on the regular. It also didn't hurt that just across the street was a pub where during their first year as business partners they would drown their regrets and stress together after hours.
Millie and Patrick knew the owner of the Lonely Mountain Pub quite well since they were both in high school. A nice man who looked meaner than he actually was; who went by the name of Thorin Oakenshield. Muscular arms covered in tattoos and a full beard that he kept neatly trimmed, and the kindest pair of grey eyes beneath his thick, dark eyebrows. Thorin managed the front while his husband, Bilbo, managed the finances in the back, making sure they stayed on track with their money. They were both supportive of Millie and Patrick, giving them tips about running a business and how to stabilize their revenue and were not afraid to voice their opinions (Thorin wasn't, Bilbo was much to reserved and polite to say anything negative).
Bilbo was the opposite of Thorin, he was quiet and shy, and always wore a button-down shirt with a vest even on the hottest days in summer, and his sandy hair was always neatly combed to one side. They balanced each other out and they were Millie's second favorite couple right after the Gimbly's. Plus they gave Millie permission to use Thorin's branded beer to make bread for her soups and used Thorin's label to promote his brand in exchange.
Their business relationship was good, and their personal relationship was good. Millie felt like it was fate that had brought her to the Gimbly's at fifteen, that it was her destiny to take over the little bistro on the corner. She honestly couldn't have been happier. Her life was on track, her business was successful, and her customers were happy. There was nothing more she could possibly want.
Well, maybe get a feature in Food & Wine.
A girl can dream.
xxxxx
At her appointment, while waiting for her doctor to arrive and start the exam, Millie had removed her bottoms and had a drape covering her lower half, her feet resting on the stirrups. While she waited on the exam table she had dozed off, just so tired from her late night binging. She was startled out of her sleep when the sound of a door closing and she heard her doctor say something that she did not quite catch but assumed it was to verify that she was the right patient.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, that's me. Sorry, I dosed off for a bit." Millie said before she felt the doctor insert something that made her jump a bit.
"Okay, all done." her doctor said, standing up and removing her gloves.
"Wow, really? That was fast." Millie said, still waking up from her nap and feeling a little disoriented. Did she sleep through her exam? Is that why it felt like it had been so fast?
"Yup, normally it is. All right, you take care." the doctor said before leaving the room. Millie noticed how oddly her doctor had been behaving but didn't dwell on it, thinking her doctor just had a busy schedule or something. After she redressed, she left the exam room, going back out to the lobby where there were a few waiting patients, two of which were in different stages of pregnancy, and then left the clinic.
Millie sent a quick message to Patrick, letting him know that she was on her way back. She debated between waiting for the bus or calling for a car, ultimately her cheap butt decided to wait for the bus. She noticed the elevator door beginning to close and she scuttled forward, slipping through the metal doors.
"Woo! Made it!" she cheered, though her small victory was dampened when she saw who else was in the elevator with her. The most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes upon. Tall, sexy, clean cut, with icy blue eyes. Her greatest wet dream come to life.
The man cleared his throat and Millie quickly looked away, knowing she was staring and was immediately embarrassed. She felt like such an idiot and her morning had been going so well without a hitch until now. She couldn't have gotten off the elevator fast enough once the doors slid open.
xxxxx
One of the best parts about the bistro's location was that it was on the edge of the city limits and close to residential communities of apartment buildings and a neighborhood of small businesses. Everything was either walking distance or a short bus ride away. It wasn't necessarily a quiet neighborhood, considering it was also near the city's university district where frats and sorority houses would often through loud and wild parties. Regardless, it was an ideal location for business and Millie loved it.
After getting off the bus, Millie walked the short distance to her bistro, waving at Mrs. Danver who was setting up her chalkboard sign with the daily deal of fresh cut flowers for her shop. Next to the flower shop was the second-hand store, the little placard on the window showing that it was still closed, which wasn't surprising, Mr. DuPoise was an eccentric man who enjoyed taking his time. Then finally around the corner of the street was her bistro, known to everyone as The Corner Bistro. She pushed through the front door; the little bell at the top was barely heard through the morning rush. Since Millie took over the bistro she not only renovated the place but she also added an espresso bar to sell strong, bold coffee to customers. And with the university so close by she knew that even a broke student will pay for a good cup of strong coffee.
It had definitely been worth the money Millie and Patrick had to fork over to have the espresso machine installed; it practically paid itself off within the first month (though they both had a frustrating time learning how to operate it the first week).
"Morning," Millie greeted as she moved behind the bar and grabbed her apron from where it hung by the kitchen door and slipped it on.
"Morning, lady. Just in time, I was just about ready to grab Big Bertha." Patrick said over his shoulder as he and another employee were taking orders and making drinks. Big Bertha was the name of Mr. Gimbly's shotgun that he used to keep beneath the register counter because the neighborhood used to be a lot rougher with petty thieves and gangs. Mr. Gimbly insisted that they keep Big Bertha just in case.
Millie shook her head as she ducked into the kitchen, seeing Beorn, her kitchen aid, already meal prepping for lunch and dinner. He was a giant of a man and looked like a convicted felon with his skin inked with so many tattoos that the only spot with normal skin was his face. Despite his appearance Beorn was a quiet man of few words, and a hard worker; showing up to work before Millie's alarm clock would even go off. Ironically Patrick was the one who hired him (though he did talk to Millie first about him).She greeted him good morning before returning to the front and assisting with the coffee orders. Within an hour the morning rush was over.
"A part of me just wants to go back upstairs and fall asleep in my bed." Millie said as she stretched her arms over her head.
"Don't you dare," Patrick snapped as he made coffee for everyone, including Beorn who had come out just to get his cup and then headed back into the kitchen. "I'm just glad we don't serve breakfast. Ooh that would be a nightmare."
"I did give it thought, but that's just a waste of money. Serving coffee and selling some pastries is enough." Millie said.
"Well, I'm off to class." Teryn said as she untied her apron from the back and hung it up by the kitchen door. She was a new hire at the bistro and had been a big help in the morning, especially since she attended the nearby college and helped put up fliers on student boards to boost business.
"Thanks for the help this morning." Millie said, accepting the mug of her freshly made coffee with extra creamer from Patrick.
"I'll see you later for the dinner shift." Teryn said, taking her coffee on the go as she grabbed her backpack from under the counter and left.
Both Millie and Patrick were leaning against the counter together in comfortable silence, sipping their coffees and enjoying the peace.
"So it's almost summer, any ideas about the menu?" Patrick asked. It was part of the appeal of their little restaurant to serve seasonal dishes and promoted it on their website and social media page.
"I was thinking about this one dish I had when I visited the port city in Linden last year. It was cold and sweet, almost like ice cream. It was called sour cherry soup and it was served as a starter course before the main meal."
Patrick made a pinched face, showing his dislike of the idea. "A sour cherry soup?"
Millie just smiled at him. "Yes, Pat, that's what I said. Then there's the classic cucumber soup with mint. That's always popular with our older customers."
"Mills," Patrick said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You gotta think younger. Think our age group and younger. What do we like to eat?"
"Well, I like—"
"—Let me rephrase that, what does our age group like to eat and not be put off by?"
Millie gave it some thought. "Pizza?"
Patrick shook his head. "Raise the standards, girl."
Millie fell silent as she gave it more thought. "When I think of summer I think of fresh, colorful vegetables that have been lightly season paired with a well cooked fish and fresh, toasted bread. The dessert should also be light and fruity with a cool tang, like sorbet." Millie said with a far-off look on her face as she described what she thought of summer dishes.
Patrick hummed his approval, "That's making me hungry."
"I'll get started on the menu."
"You're still gonna make your beer rolls, though, right? 'Cause that's our best seller."
"Of course it'll stay on the menu. The staple will always be there but I think I'll add a cheesy one for the summer menu."
"By the way, how far into our show are you?"
"I'm at the part where it's revealed that the house maid was his mother the whole time."
Patrick let out an excited squeal. "Just wait for the following episode then, you're gonna drop your jaw when you get to the plot twist."
"Good grief, how many plot twists are there? This series is gonna give me an ulcer from anxiety."
"Speaking of getting an ulcer can you believe slutty Crystal was caught fucking behind a dumpster over on 8th?"
Millie's jaw dropped at the scandalous news. "Again? She hasn't changed since high school. She's slept with every guy in our class."
"Except for me."
Millie shook her head, "She even fucked my boyfriend on the football field and had it filmed."
"Girl, I know. I was there when you cried all over your fries during lunch period."
"Hey! It was a very emotional time for me and I will never forgive her."
"Why don't you direct that simmering rage towards the summer menu and make it hot hot HOT!"
xxxxx
Sunday was the one day a week that the bistro was closed, and Millie used that day to make every dish for the new summer menu. She had arranged for her staff to come in that afternoon to taste each dish so that they knew how to describe it to their customers what each dish was like. Millie did this for every season; she even had special holiday menus. It was how she kept the customers interested with new flavors to experience. The only constant on the menu was the Gimbly stew with Millie's beer bread combo, it was the most popular item on the menu and it was Millie's way of honoring the Gimbly's for everything they had done for her.
Millie's staff would be considered insufficient in numbers, with her as the Head Chef and co-owner, Beorn as her Sous Chef, Patrick who was the multi-tasker (co-owner/host/waiter/barista/cashier/social media updater), Teryn who is a part-timer, and Fili and Kili, Thorin and Bilbo's twin boys who also worked part-time after school as they were still in high school. Millie's staff was few in numbers but luckily her bistro was small, with the max capacity of seating twenty people. Most of the time people would order food to-go and with the bistro set up on several food app platforms, her business doubled and foot traffic mostly came from delivery people picking up the ordered meals. If the Gimbly's had simply closed the bistro down Millie figured she would have ended up working in a restaurant where she had no say in the menu options and would be miserable.
She thanked them every single day for the life she was living now.
A year ago, Mr. Gimbly had passed away and not wanting Mrs. Gimbly to be alone, Millie often visited Mrs. Gimbly for Sunday brunch and would go out shopping. She mostly helped her foster mother with carrying groceries. Today, however, Millie had spent the day in the kitchen preparing for the monthly gathering.
"Oh my, these dishes look so beautiful and vibrant! And the smell—oh it's so aromatic!" Mrs. Gimbly said as she entered the bistro with Beorn. She set her clunky blue purse on an empty table and walked over to Millie, giving her a warm hug in greeting. Millie had to bend down to hug the elderly woman. "I'm so excited to taste everything! Your food is always a source of pride for me when I talk about you to my friends on Bridge night."
Millie smiled, showing teeth at the older woman. "I'm happy to be the hot topic on Bridge night."
The front door opened again as Patrick and Teryn entered, followed by the twins and their fathers. Millie had started the tradition of a monthly brunch for her staff and for her friends who would join in. It was her way of showing her appreciation to her makeshift family, to show how much she loved them all. Today she was debuting the new summer menu and was doubling it as their monthly brunch.
"OMG! This looks amazing!" Teryn gasped, immediately whipping out her phone and taking a picture of the spread. "Millie, you gotta be in the shot! I'm gonna post this to my Instapage!"
Millie moved to stand behind the buffet of food, bringing Mrs. Gimbly to stand next to her as she wrapped an arm around the older woman's shoulders and smiled for the camera. Patrick began taking individual shots of the dishes on his phone to post onto their social media page before snapping one of Millie and Mrs. Gimbly.
"You kids and your smart gadgets." Mrs. Gimbly said as she shook her head.
The front door opened again as Isabella, the owner of the hair salon a few blocks away, waltzed in. Isabella was Millie's other best friend since high school, and Patrick's one-time girlfriend in high school before figuring out that he preferred men.
"I'm here and I've brought booze!" Isabella announced as she lifted a bottle of cheap champaign in the air.
"I'll get the orange juice from the kitchen." Beorn said, ducking into the back.
"Hello, beautiful." Isabella said, greeting Mrs. Gimbly with a hug and a kiss to the cheek. "When can I expect you at my salon again?"
Mrs. Gimbly smiled warmly as she chuckled. "I will have to check my schedule; I'm a very busy old lady after all."
"Of course, and when you come back I want to hear all of the latest gossip. Especially about Tilly, is she still a sneaky cheat?"
"Oh, the sneakiest!" Mrs. Gimbly replied.
"Let's eat!" the twins said together.
Millie went over each new dish with everyone and as they filled their plates and sat down together after pushing the tables together, it was a sight to see and it filled Millie's heart with warmth. As per usual, nothing was left after everyone had finished eating. Beorn and the twins cleared the tables, carrying the dirty dishes to the kitchen to load into the washer while everyone else wiped down the tables and moved them back to their usual spots on the floor. Millie accepted everyone's thanks for the meal as they left and Millie thanked them all for coming before heading upstairs to her loft with Patrick to update their website with the new menu.
"Girl, when are you gonna move out of this small apartment? I know you make enough to move into a bigger, and quite frankly, better place." Patrick said.
Millie looked around her at her apartment and shrugged. She saw nothing wrong with it. It was a quaint loft that had a large window upstairs that let in a lot of natural light where her bedroom was situated with the bathroom right below the stairs. The living room also doubled as her dining room with one wall dedicated as her kitchen space with a tiny kitchenette. Millie hadn't thought her home as small, having lived in it alone since she was fifteen. Plus it was right over the bistro which made it convenient.
"I don't need a lot when it's just me living here." Millie said.
Patrick let out a woeful groan. "You should want more from life instead of making the bistro your life. I wanna see you get all gussied up and go out on dates with hot guys and then bring me back all the gossip."
Millie snorted at that. She had dated a few men in the past, with only one relationship that lasted two years before they got into a huge fight because Millie put her work ahead of her relationship. Since then she simply decided to dedicate her time and energy on the bistro while quietly pining away for a sweeping romance like the heroines in the romance series she enjoyed. Any personal romance was just not in the cards for her and she had made her peace with that.
"I don't need to be told that my priorities shouldn't be about my job." Millie said.
"Look, I'm just saying, as your friend, I personally want to see you happy with someone. The bistro can't be your number one forever."
Millie rolled her eyes, "Anyways, I'll have the new menu design finished by tonight and have them printed by the end of the week."
Patrick bit his tongue to keep himself from calling Millie out on avoiding their conversation. Patrick and Isabella had thought that Gil-galad was the guy for Millie; he was sweet and supportive of her and he was also a chef. They ended things on a sour note, however, when Gil-galad had accepted a job as Head Chef at a high-end restaurant in Osgiliath and wanted Millie to leave with him. Millie had just taken over as the new owner of the bistro and even though she never made it a secret that she loved Gil-galad, she made it clear that she was more than just financially invested to the bistro and leaving it behind on the hopes that the two of them would last was too much of a gamble for her.
Gil-galad broke up with her and told her that her ambitions were too small which was why it was holding her back from being truly successful. When he left, Millie didn't fall apart. Their fight had only made her more determined to turn the bistro around and prove him wrong. Gil-galad had gone on to become a celebrity chef after guest starring on a few cooking shows and even competed in a televised cooking competition and won. Patrick and Isabella had both watched the competition, both of them cheering for the other cooks and had screamed and thrown popcorn at the screen when Gil-galad won. The two of them knew Millie would have crushed the competition if she had participated (as good friends would say and support their girl). In time Millie had moved on, focusing all her attention and energy into the bistro, and now that it was not drowning in debt and was moderately successful, Patrick felt it was time that Millie took care of her own self-interest.
Primarily getting her back into the dating pool.
xxxxx
Thranduil Greenleaf set his phone down onto his pristine marble desk, having just received disappointing news from the woman he had hired to be a surrogate that her pregnancy test came back negative. He will have to wait another month before trying again with the artificial insemination.
Thranduil's father had been breathing down his neck for an heir to secure their family's legacy, the tradition being that the first born inherits the family business as it has for generations. However, Thranduil wasn't interested in marriage and disliked every woman his father introduced him to in hopes of him finding one he could tolerate. Every single woman turned out to be a plain gold digger who had no value in much beyond material things and had no brains for business. They were just looking for the easy way out of having to work hard; which was why he opted to go through a surrogate. He had carefully selected the woman who would bear his child, doing background checks for any criminal history, their level of education, health, job, and so on. He even went as far as to check her family history, going back at least three generations for any sort of illnesses or genetic short-comings.
Kwenthrith Parr had passed all of his meticulous requirements. She was well educated, had an impressive family tree of healthy family members, lived modestly well, took excellent care in herself, and was rather beautiful with straight blond hair and green eyes. On top of that, she understood that this was a contractual arrangement where he paid for the medical expenses on top of paying her a sizeable amount for being his surrogate that will not only pay off her sizeable student loan but enough to sustain her modest living for awhile. Then once the baby is born is when they part ways. She will never reach out or ask to be a part of the baby's life or his. That was what was agreed upon and Kwenthrith signed the legal documents in front of his lawyers that she agreed to the terms.
He had been well aware that the treatment might not work the first time but he had hoped it would so that he could get the countdown started. On top of that he wouldn't have to jerk off into a cup again. His father has no idea that he was going down this path, but he hoped that once the baby was born, his father will finally back off and let him go about doing his job in peace.
He was not looking forward to visiting the fertility clinic again.
xxxxx
Millie was sitting in Isabella's hair salon while her best friend was trimming her hair. Isbella never charged Millie or Mrs. Gimbly full price in her hair salon, giving them huge discounts (practically cutting their hair for free).
"…And then that stupid cow had the nerve to accuse me for stealing her boyfriend! Can you believe that?" Isabella asked as she skillfully snipped away at Millie's dark hair.
"You do dress provocatively." Millie said, "From wearing low-cut shirts and tight pants, not to mention your makeup and hair is always perfect. It's no surprise some women think you're just trying to make them look bad in comparison."
Isabella stepped to the side to model off her figure in the mirror, making Millie giggle lightly. "How can I not flaunt what I got?" she asked while returning back to her spot behind Millie as she continued to trim. "It's not my fault that I like too good for everybody. Besides, I think her husband is a disgusting pig who doesn't know what deodorant is. Now, the Mayor however, he can pork me whenever and however he wants."
Millie laughed, agreeing with her friend. Mayor Bard Bowman was a very roguishly handsome man with a humble charisma that led to his election into office. Not to mention an old classmate from high school. "By the way, stop by the bistro after you close up today; I got a shipment of that coffee roast you like. I saved you a bag."
Isabella's eyes widened with excitement. "Really? I can't wait! Coffee beans from Rhun are just so delicious but so hard to come by."
"Not to mention it's expensive as sin."
"Well, you have my thanks for the coffee." Isabella said as she removed the nylon cape from around Millie's neck. "All right! All done!"
"Thanks again for the service." Millie said, standing up from the chair and taking a step before suddenly feeling lightheaded and then collapsing to the floor. Isabella gasped and rushed over to Millie, shaking her shoulders and calling her name.
"Mills? Mills! Wake up, Mills! This isn't funny!"
xxxxx
A nurse came back to the clinic bay where Millie and Isabella waited. After Millie had fainted Isabella had panicked and called Thorin since he owned a car. When the bar owner arrived, rushing into the salon and looking like a wild man, Millie had already woken up and said she was fine but both Isabella and Thorin insisted for their peace of mind that she go to the hospital to be checked. Thus, one blood test and basic vital checks including a urine test later…
"Well, we found out why you suddenly fainted; you're pregnant." the nurse said.
Both Millie and Isabella gave the nurse dumbfounded looks. Millie more so than Isabella.
"I'm sorry, I'm what?" Millie asked.
"You're pregnant." the nurse said.
Millie shook her head with a disbelieving smirk. "I'm sorry, I think I hit my head when I fainted and it messed with my hearing. Say that one more time?"
"You. Are. Pregnant." the nurse repeated. "You will need to schedule an ultrasound to check how far along you are."
"No. No, that's impossible. That's impossible!" Millie said, her voice getting higher. "Being pregnant would mean that I had sex with someone and I haven't had sex in ages! I mean, I even saw my gynecologist a few weeks ago for my exam and I sure as hell wasn't pregnant then!"
The nurse looked at a loss for what else to say as he cleared his throat, feeling awkward with the two women staring intently at him. "Wait here while I go get the doctor for you." he said with a tight smile before turning away and leaving.
"Geez…can you believe that?" Millie asked, looking at Isabella who just shrugged, looking equally as lost.
"You wanna tell me something? You had a one-night stand and didn't tell me?" Isabella asked.
Millie huffed in frustration. "No! I swear to you! I have no way of knowing how this had happened!"
"We both know how a pregnancy happens, Mills! I paid attention in sex ed, I know how a baby gets made!"
"Why are you yelling at me?!"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE YELLING AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THIS NEWS!"
"THAT'S NOT HELPFUL TO ANYONE!"
"I KNOW!"
"SO STOP YELLING!"
"YOU STOP YELLING!"
"Ladies!" Both Millie and Isabella jumped and turned to see the nurse had returned. "Please follow me."
xxxxx
Millie entered her gynecologist's office, Isabella by her side as the two women had no idea what was going on or how Millie could be pregnant. Deep down Millie hoped that this was all just a mistake and that she wasn't pregnant. Dr. Ibara was seated behind her desk and motioned for the two to take the seats in front of the desk as the door closed behind them.
"Thank you for coming," Dr. Ibara began as she clasped her hands atop the desk. She looked nervous and that did not sit well with Millie as her hope was quickly trickling away. "I just want to let you know that what has happened to you was not intentional in any way and I am deeply sorry that this has happened to you."
"What exactly has happened? I'm still confused on how I got pregnant without sex." Millie said.
Dr. Ibara's neck flexed, showing that she had swallowed a lump in her throat and looked more nervous than before. She cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses. "Well, you see…there was a mix up during your exam. I had been informed of your visit which was meant to be a routine exam and next door to your room was another patient who was there for an artificial insemination; and as you can guess, I got you both mixed up and saw you first and accidentally inseminated you."
Millie felt her heart drop to her stomach. Her surprise pregnancy was a medical mistake. A mistake caused by the woman she had put trust in. She didn't know what to say at that moment or how to feel as her mind went haywire with all sorts of questions like who the father was. Who was the intended patient? What could have caused her doctor to mess up like this? What was she herself going to do? Isabella however…
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" she squawked, making the doctor visibly flinch. "How could you have been so reckless?! My best friend is knocked up by some stranger's spunk and all you can do is apologize?! How does an apology make up for your fuck up?! This is grounds for a lawsuit lady! Get ready to lose your medical license!"
Dr. Ibara looked rattled, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "I understand that this is a cause to be upset but know that there are options. I have gotten in contact with the other party and they are interested in speaking with you, Ms. Crescent. If not then we can explore the other option of aborting the pregnancy. It's up to you."
Millie finally snapped her attention to Dr. Ibara. "You've already contacted the other party?"
"Yes," Dr. Ibara said with a nod, "And they are very hopeful that you are willing to meet them. I have the contact number written down. They ask that you reach out to them." she reached into the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a blue post-it note with a name and a phone number. Millie reached forward and took it, staring blankly at it for a moment before putting it into her pocket. "Again, it's up to you on how you want to move forward."
While Millie was still processing everything Isabella was already miles ahead of her as her friend was clearly fuming. "Just so you know, you are going to be hearing from us again." she stood and took Millie's hand, pulling her friend up to her feet and storming out of the office with Millie in tow.
Isabella didn't slow down until they were outside of Thorin's truck, where the man had been waiting and when he saw the two women he hopped out and moved around his truck to open the passenger door.
"So, what's the verdict for the fainting?" he asked, showing clear concern despite his direct question.
"Pregnancy." Isabella said and Thorin stood frozen with his jaw dropped.
"Izzy! For crying out loud!" Millie exclaimed, still flustered and at a loss of what to do.
"You're pregnant?" Thorin asked after snapping out of his shock as he looked at Millie.
"I don't want to talk about it and neither of you say a word about this to anyone until I've come to a decision on what to do. Now take me home!" Millie snapped, shoving Isabella forward to climb into the truck and sit in the middle seat so that she could have the window. No one argued, knowing better than to push the subject with their distressed friend.
xxxxx
When Thranduil had gotten the phone call about the medical mistake that Dr. Ibara had committed, he was livid, to say the least. Yet he was also curious. Somewhere out in Dale, was the woman who was carrying his child by mistake and perhaps once he finds out more about this mystery woman he could run his thorough background check on her and possibly draw up the same contract with this woman. If things went his way, and the background screening all checked out, then perhaps he wouldn't have to wait another month to try again.
He had asked for the woman's contact information but was denied due to that being a violation of the patient's privacy, so he instead gave his personal number to the doctor in hopes that the woman will reach out to him. He was eager to hear from her, hoping that she will reach out. He had never been so anxious in his life.
He needed things to go well.
The future of his lineage and legacy depended on it.