Chapter 43 - Jace
JACE
When Bonnie told us last night that she wanted to get the IUD removed as soon as possible, we immediately planned today’s trip. No one wanted to be left behind, we all wanted to be there for her, so after dropping Charlotte off at school we headed straight out of town in Mitchell’s car.
Pulling up to the clinic, Mitchell immediately drives around back, and knocks on the staff entrance door. Within a few seconds, an older gentleman with kind eyes and grey hair opens the door to greets us.
“Mitchell, Marissa, it’s good to see you again. You’re looking well.” He smiles and gestures us inside. “I’m not normally open Mondays so it’s just us today,” he explains when we go further into the empty clinic.
We gather around inside the small patient room, and the doctor sits down, turning to Bonnie. “So, it’s my understanding that you’ve recently discovered that you have an IUD that was inserted without your knowledge, and you want it removed.” It’s not quite a question, but Bonnie nods anyway.
He looks around the crowded room at each of us, a slight frown on his face and clears his throat. “Before we proceed, are you comfortable with everyone in here or would you prefer they leave?”
I hold my breath at his question, but Bonnie’s eyes immediately widen, and she shakes her head. “No. I want them here. I don’t want them to leave.”
“That’s okay. If having them here is what you need to feel comfortable, we’ll make it work. You’re in control here Marissa.”
She immediately relaxes back into her seat and my hands curl into fists, the urge to pull her into my arms strong, but I manage to hold myself back for now.
“So, the procedure is pretty straightforward, it’ll be over before you know it. However, before we go ahead I do need to ask, have you had sex within the last seven days?” Bonnie’s cheeks darken an adorable shade of pink, and she glances at Charlie.
“Yes.” I knock my shoulder playfully against Charlie’s at her answer, wagging my brows at him. He rolls his eyes, but a massive smile stretches across his face.
“Did you use a condom?” Charlie’s smile slips and he winces, cursing quietly under his breath.
“No. Why? Does that mean you can't take it out?” Her breathing picks up and all three of us automatically move around the room. Charlie and Mitchell each take one of her hands and I stretch my leg out, entwining my ankle with hers.
“I can still remove it if that’s what you want. However, before you decide you should know that if it’s removed now, there is a chance you could fall pregnant, even if you don’t have unprotected sex in the next few days.”
“I can get pregnant?”
“It’s possible. Once the IUD is removed, fertility would return immediately and because sperm can survive up to five days in the reproductive tract, the egg can be fertilised at any time. This could mean even if you aren’t pregnant now, you could still fall pregnant.”
Bonnie places a hand over her stomach, tears filling her eyes. “I thought…after everything he did that I couldn’t…You’re telling me I can get pregnant? I can have more kids?”
“We would need to run a few tests and get a few scans done to get a better understanding of whether there is any scarring or physical trauma to your uterus that could result in any fertility issues, but…it’s a possibility, yes.”
We’re all quiet, processing the news and after several beats, he offers to give us some privacy to decide whether she wants to proceed with having the IUD removed.
He’s barely out of his seat before Bonnie stops him. “I want it out.”
“Are you sure?”
“Kinda getting sick of that question,” she mumbles under her breath, and I notice both Charlie and Mitchell react, scratching the backs of their necks and sharing a look.
I tilt my head, giving Charlie a questionable look and he just smiles, shakes his head and tells me without words that he’ll explain later.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Okay, well first I’ll need to get a urine sample to perform a pregnancy test. Again, even if it’s negative now, that does not mean you can’t still fall pregnant,” he reaffirms and Bonnie nods her head, telling him she understands before taking the sample cup from him.
“How are you feeling?” I check in with Bonnie as we get closer to town.
“Relieved,” she answers, resting her head against my shoulder and I lift my arm to wrap it around her.
The doctor hadn’t lied; it really was a straightforward procedure that was over in just a few minutes. We stayed a little longer after, while he went over her overall health and did a few tests and whatnot given the last time she’d seen a doctor was when she saw him years ago.
“Have you given any thoughts to whether you want to do the other tests and scans he was talking about?” Charlie hedges, referring to the ones about her fertility concerns.
“I think I do want to do it. I want to know, I need to know. Just…not yet. I can’t think about any of that until-” she closes her eyes, not finishing what she was going to say, but I don’t need her to.
“I promise, I’ll find whoever did this to you,” Mitchell swears, reaching back to give her thigh a squeeze while keeping his eyes on the road.
We’re quiet after that until I sit up, breaking the heavy silence and start tapping Mitchell’s shoulder. “Ooh, call into the shops!”
Mitchell bats me away, shoving me back into my seat and I let out a grunt as I fall back. “Don’t hit the driver! I’m trying to concentrate,” he hisses out, shaking his head and in the rearview I see him roll his eyes, but he puts his indicator on and turns toward the shops.
Pulling into the carpark, I’m out of my seat and the car before Mitchell has the chance to remove the key out of the ignition.
I’m almost halfway to the door before I realise the others haven’t gotten out yet and I turn back. “Come on.” I wave them out excitedly.
Bonnie is the first to follow, offering me an indulgent smile as she walks straight to me and I open my arms. As soon as she’s close enough, she wraps her arms around me and I envelop her in a hug, breathing her in.
“What do you need to get that is so urgent you almost caused a wreck?”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic Mitch, it doesn’t suit you.” The wheel didn’t so much as twitch. It’s not like I shoved him or anything.
Rolling my eyes, I lock in, making my way through the shop until I find what I’m after. “Really?” Mitchell asks when we stop.
“Yep. It’s called being a responsible adult,” I tell him happily as I study the shelves in front of me.
Surprisingly, it’s Bonnie who moves first, grabbing a box and tossing it into the basket in my hands with pink cheeks.
I look inside, smiling when I find she remembered the brand we used when we were younger. Glancing at Charlie, I wag my brows at him.
He locks eyes onto the basket, flicking his eyes up to mine and I can see he’s thinking the same thing. “I mean, he’s not wrong. Better safe than sorry,” Bonnie says, shrugging her shoulder and smirking at Mitchell.
“Would you be though? Be sorry, I mean?” Charlie asks tentatively.
She doesn’t answer straight away, thinking it over before she speaks.
“I gave up on the idea of a big family a long time ago…It’s not like I can adopt.
To think that I could have been wrong. That I can-” she swallows, shaking her head before her hand comes to rest subconsciously over her abdomen.
“No, I wouldn’t be sorry…but also, if I’m not then I’m okay with that too. Now isn’t exactly the best time.”
After a beat of silence, Charlie adds a second box to the basket before turning to Mitchell. “Your turn big guy,” he teases, breaking through some of the heaviness.
Mitchell looks at each of us, rolling his eyes before he reaches passed me and grabs a box for himself, tossing it in the basket. “Can’t believe we’re condom shopping right now.”
“What? Safe sex and all that crap,” I say louder than intended and the little old lady halfway down the aisle looks our way. Smiling, I grab a bottle of lube and wink, before I toss it into the basket as well. “Can never have too much lube.”
Her eyes widen and she shakes her head with a smile before taking off out of the aisle. Charlie nudges me with his elbow, shaking his head but I can see his lips twitching. “What? Have you seen the decades she’s lived through? The sixties were wild. Trust me, she knows what I’m talking about.”
With that, we make our way down the aisle toward the checkouts, but halfway down Charlie and I both stop. Bonnie and Mitchell keep walking a few steps before they realise we’re not following and when they turn, I gesture to the shelf in question.
Bonnie’s eyes flick to the shelf and back before she visibly swallows. “Did you want to get some now, or…?” Charlie asks, his voice gentle as she nervously glances at the shelves again.
She wrings her hands together, looking down at her feet and I close the distance between us, placing a finger under her chin and lifting. “Talk to me?”
“What if he was wrong? He said it could take months for them to come back, but what if they don't? There's no guarantee." She looks back at the shelves, her eyes filled with a little fear.
Before we left, the doctor explained that it could take a few weeks or even months for her periods return. Though, without the tests and scans to find out if there is any trauma to her reproductive system, there's no way to know if they actually will return. All we can do is wait.
“It’s up to you,” I whisper, not pushing her. We stay in that moment, just breathing each other in for several long moments until finally, she takes a deep breath and pulls away.
She gives Charlie the barest of nods and he offers her a reassuring smile, grabbing a couple of boxes from the she used to use when we were younger. He throws them in the basket, then takes her hand and the two of them walk down the aisle.
I move to follow them, and as I walk passed Mitchell, he gives me what I think is an approving nod before falling into step beside me.
“You two surprise me.” Tilting my head, I’m not quite sure what he’s referring to, he doesn’t explain himself and I don’t ask him to; we just follow behind Bonnie and Charlie until we’re standing in line at the checkout.