Chapter 4

I'd be lying if I said the conventional way of conceiving a child with Robert did not sound appealing. The guy was pretty much my exact type: Tall, handsome and probably a huge asshole. Still, I didn't choose it.

Instead, I found myself in the familiar waiting room of the doctor. The last time I was here I was still waiting to hear if I was chosen. This time, I was trying to get pregnant.

The receptionist buzzed someone new in. To my surprise it was Robert. He glanced around the waiting room until his eyes landed on me. The other people here were all couples. Most of them were already pregnant and looking at each other lovingly. The ones that weren't yet looked more anxious.

"Good morning." I greeted Robert with a handshake, he sat down beside me.

"Good morning." He answered. "How are you feeling?"

I was terribly nervous, but I wasn't going to admit that to him. This was a business relationship, and those thrive on lies to make each other feel better.

"I'm fine." I just answered. I noticed how some of the nearby couples looked at us a little bit oddly. I guess it makes sense that they think we're weird. Doctor Ward handles fertility treatments. We did not look like an overly loving couple trying to make babies.

We were quiet while we waited. He was on his phone answering what looked like emails while I just looked at the people that were in the waiting room with us. The people around us were pretty boring though, the women all looked like they were ready to throw up, the men just looked uncomfortable. In fact, I think the only comfortable person here was Robert.

He had on a grey and black suit today, though he had left the blazer at home. It was a rather nice day, so I didn't blame him. I noticed how he had a slight stubble, like he had forgotten to shave this morning, and the grey hairs at his temples had definitely gotten worse. I couldn't make any more observations however, because we were called in.

"Ms Adler." The doctor greeted me with a kind smile and shook my hand. I noticed how he seemed slightly tenser when he shook Robert's hand. But he smiled nonetheless.

"You can sit over here." He tapped on the examination chair. It had the stirrups and everything detached to the chair, but it was still upright, so I could just sit comfortably on it. I flattened out my skirt and sat down. I had gone back to my only fancy dress, but I was starting to get slightly worried. I didn't have any nice clothes, though I did feel that I needed to dress accordingly when I met up with him.

Robert sat down on the other chair, while Doctor Ward sat down at his desk. He quickly paged through my file, while I noticed Robert studying me from the corner of my eye. I kept my eyes on the doctor however, and waited.

"So, Mr King informed me that you two are looking at IVF." Doctor Ward started, to which I nodded. "First of all, I would like to state that usually couples need to apply and be selected to start IVF treatment. So, this is already an exception." There was an underlying tension in the room, one that I did not get just yet.

"I will run you through the steps of IVF." Doctor Ward said once he realized that Robert wasn't going to answer. "The first step is Ovary stimulation. For 8 to 14 days near the beginning of your menstrual cycle you will take a type of fertility drug that stimulates your ovaries to develop multiple mature eggs for fertilization, instead of just one. You also need to take a synthetic hormone like leuprolide or cetrorelix to keep your body from releasing the eggs too early." 

Once Doctor Ward started talking, he did not stop. He told us about the next step, which involved me coming to his office every two days to make sure my hormone levels are okay. After that, I would get something called a 'trigger shot'. That would cause my eggs to become fully mature and 'ready'. 

"Then, we gather the eggs." He said. "You will be given an anaesthetic. We will be using an internal ultrasound probe to look at the ovaries and identify the follicles. Then we use a thin needle that will go through the vaginal wall and remove the eggs from the follicle."

I started to feel slightly light headed.

"There are some middle steps, but to break it down easily, your eggs will be combined with Mr King's sperm and an embryologist will select the best out of the bunch. Then we will put them back in by inserting a thin tube through your cervix."

I glanced over at Robert, he was studying me, I could tell. I was trying to keep a straight face, but when I informed him of my decision I thought I was doing the easiest thing. My stupid self had not thought about a needle and a probe in a place where I would prefer not to be needled nor probed. 

"How about I give you two some time to talk?" Doctor Ward read the room perfectly. Robert nodded, and the doctor hurried out of the room.

"Please don't tell me you're backing out." He didn't sound very caring when he said it, he sounded more like he was bored. But I could tell by the tension in his face that he was genuinely concerned that I would. 

"No, I'm not." I said to him. "I'm just realizing what it all means."

He didn't say anything to that, he just stared at me. I never got to go to the doctors much. I hardly had the money to feed myself, I could never afford health care. It was usually cheaper to just die.

My heartbeat was still up, I cursed myself for it. I glanced over at Robert, why was I being an idiot about this? He's attractive and an asshole, of course he would be good in bed. He read my face perfectly.

"Fine then."