40. Alana #3
“Yeah, I think I am.”
Macie shifts her weight from side to side, and I instantly tense back up. Shit. She’s about to drop another bomb. “Good, because Doctor Cooper is here.”
Son of a bitch.
Dr Cooper is a middle-aged woman who’s been working for the Olympians for years.
She’s a generalist with a specialty in women’s health, and I’ve been avoiding her for months now.
She comes in, her white lab coat like armor, and she’s dragging a big square machine with a screen and a keyboard behind her.
Her lips are thin and tight against her face.
“Alana King, you have exactly thirty seconds to get into the next room, or I’m calling Penny and Hadeon right now and telling them you haven’t been to any of your appointments.”
Oh, I don’t like this.
“What about HIPAA?”
“What about it? My lawyers are better than yours.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re the same lawyers.” I frown, but the doctor pulls a plastic cup off the keyboard and tosses it to Grae.
“I need a sperm sample.”
“Like right now?” He blinks at the cup.
The doctor rolls her eyes. “Not this very second, but soon. None of the test cases of the nanobots had a vasectomy, so we don’t know what the effects are.
You’ll need to provide a sample once a week until we have solid data.
” She pulls a long wand with a bulb at the end and waves it around.
“Meanwhile, your girlfriend will be violated by Richard Dawson’s microphone. ”
“Holy shit,” Grae grips my hip and his voice cracks. “That doesn’t seem fair at all.”
“It’s not.” The doctor frowns. “So you’re going to buy her something pretty every time you need to fill the cup.”
“Fill it!?” His voice cracks again.
She self-corrects. “Provide a sample.” Then she trains her glare at me. “Are you ready?”
“No,” I say. Not knowing at least gave me a sliver of hope.
But as soon as she starts poking around in there, we’re going to know the truth.
If the nanobots didn’t work, then my future is child-free, which has its pluses and minuses.
If they did work, then I’m with a partner who doesn’t want kids to begin with. There’s no winning with this knowledge.
“Come on.” Waverly opens and closes her hands.
“We’ll go with you and stay near your head, so we don’t get a free show.
” I huff a laugh. I guess knowledge means I can start planning better, so there's that.
But I look at Grae, and his eyes are dilated.
There's a quiver in his hands as he grips my hips tighter.
Oh I know these signs, but no one else in the room seems phased.
“Fine, I’ll go.” I say, and Waverly lifts me from the bed.
Grae gives me a forced smile. “Babe, I’m really proud of you that you’re not doing this alone. Do you want me to come with you?” I pat his chest and feel his heart pounding.
“No, that’s ok. We both know you are in the middle of a panic attack.” As I stand, I call out to Dr Cooper, “He’s gonna need a heavy sedative.”
She gives me a side-eye but hooks one of his EKG nodes back up to the machine and his heart sounds faster than an EDM rave. Her eyes widen. “How are you not dead?”
“Lifetime of practice,” he says with a sigh, no hint of pride.
Twenty minutes later, I’m back in his room. He’s staring at his hands, wiggling his fingers and giggling slightly. “Hiiiii.” He drags out the one syllable word into three. I guess the meds kicked in.
“Hi.”
He pats the side of his bed with a dramatic thump. “How did it go?”
“Do you want the technical answer?”
“I want little words… my brain is furry right now.”
“Furry?” I repeat, and he dips his head like it weighs six hundred pounds. I’m nervous as I whisper, “I’m going on birth control and I need monthly checkups to see the status of my reproductive organs. The stupid little nanobots are doing their thing a little too well.”
I wait for his response. Each second feels like a lifetime. “Those weren’t little words.” A slow smile crosses his lips. “My worst nightmare was to get you pregnant when we were teenagers. It’s different now.”
“And the vasectomy?"
“I didn’t want someone to use me for my money.
I was a cynical bastard because my heart was broken, that’s not the case anymore.
” He touches his index finger to his thumb.
“Lance came in and told me I’m very pretty.
” He moves on to tapping his middle finger to his thumb.
“I think he’s trying to be nice.” Next comes his ring finger. “I think he knows I love you.”
My frown is fighting hard to suppress a smile. “I think that would mean more if you weren’t stoned.”
“I won't be offended if you don't say it right now." He flashes me a shit-eating grin because he knows he’s right. “I’ll tell you every day for the rest of our lives once I’m back to normal...ish.”
I lie down next to him and rest my head on his chest. His arm flops down on my side like he has no control of his body. I have no control either, and for once, I don’t completely hate it. “I look forward to hearing that.”