Page 136 of As The Shifter World Turns

136

DOCTOR’S ORDERS

Nate

“Your appointment is scheduled for the 18th at 2:45pm. If you can not make this appointment, please call in to reschedule. Please note that current appointments are being scheduled three months out.” The message went on to explain all about the no-show penalty.

I could recite it by heart.

We both could.

Having to come in to get test results wasn’t something the doctor mentioned in our original visit. He just said he’d let us know. A call having us come in… it felt like a ginormous red flag. And of course, with cancer being so close to home, that’s where my mind went first.

Just thinking of the possibility of my Daire being sick had me unable to focus on anything other than this stupid visit in the week since we got the call.

That was another thing. If they were booking three months out, how did they fit us in so soon? The entire thing was a horrible mess.

“What are you hoping to hear?” I came up behind my mate, who was holding his phone listening to the message on speaker. I wrapped my arms around him and he sunk into me.

“I just want to be prepared before we go and was hoping… I don’t know… maybe there was a hint in her voice or something.” I understood what he meant completely. I’d done the very same thing.

“We’ll find out in an hour.” I kissed the top of his head. “And once we know, we can move on from there.”

Daire handed me his phone. “You keep it so I stop listening. It’s not like this will change anything. ”

“Let’s leave early and grab a coffee or something.” Getting him out of the apartment would at least give him new scenery to focus on.

“Okay.”

We drove through our favorite shop, both of us getting milk tea instead of coffee, and then drove to a small park near the doctor’s office to walk around. Our beasts would do well with the air.

“At least it’s nice out.” Daire held his tea with both hands. “This was a good idea. Thank you. I spent so much time worrying about things I can’t control instead of focusing on the things I could.”

It was difficult not to. Before we were even able to get our first appointment with the specialist, they made me leave a sample of my contribution, needing to make sure it wasn’t me who was the problem. The dread of going to that visit, thinking it was my fault we weren’t going to be able to have kids… yeah I understood what he was feeling and wished I could take it from him.

“I think that’s only natural. The good thing is, today we will get some information. We can make decisions with information. Right now we’re floundering in what if land.” And it was getting us nowhere but stressed.

“I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be doing this with, but if… if it does turn out I’m broken.” Daire stopped in his tracks, his eyes on the ground. “I’d understand if you had second thoughts about—us.”

I stepped in front of him and tilted his head up with my finger. “Never. Never think such a thing. You are not broken. We’ve talked about this. Maybe we won’t be able to have a baby in the fashion we originally assumed we would, but that has absolutely nothing to do with how much I do or don’t love you.” I pressed my forehead against his. “And for the record it’s completely—I love you completely.”

I brushed his lips with my own and before I could deepen it, my phone started to buzz in my pocket. It was time to go.

It took us no time to get to the office. Gathering the strength to go inside, that took a bit more.

We were immediately shuffled into the back as soon as we arrived, but instead of going to the doctor’s office, we were sent into another small office.

“After you take care of things here, come back out front to wait for your visit.” The nurse said and basically just shoved us in.

“Daire?” The man at the desk said and my mate nodded. “We have some things to go through before your appointment.”

We sat down like good little soldiers and it was Daire who spoke first. “I don’t want to be rude but who are you and why are you giving us our test results?”

He looked up from his computer screen. “They didn’t tell you?”

We both shook our heads.

“I’m Quinlan from billing and we need to go over some things.”

Billing. Of course it was billing. How else could they have made a stressful visit unbearably so ?

“As I’m sure you are aware, your insurance denied your claims.”

We were not aware.

“They should’ve sent you a statement of benefits.” He shuffled through some papers and handed us a copy. It hadn’t completely blindsided us. We knew this could be an issue. In fact we were shocked when the doctor thought infertility was covered. That didn’t make this any less of a kick in the gut.

I glanced at the bill. Just the tests alone were close to eight thousand dollars.

“Obviously, we have payment plans if you need them.” He whipped out a laminated chart. We were not the first nor the last who faced this dilemma.

“I will just pay it now.” Daire took out his wallet.

“Excellent.”

I wanted to tell the man it was shitty to do this, timing wise, but I had a feeling he was just doing his job and had nothing to do with any of that.

We went from there back out into the waiting room as we were directed. And the room earned its name. We waited and waited and waited. And then… we waited some more. Finally, we were called back almost two hours after our appointment. This time we went right into the exam room where the nurse didn’t even take my mate’s blood pressure.

The doctor came in only a minute later and sat on his rollie seat.

“I went over all of your test results and it is safe to say, this will be our last visit.” He tapped on his laptop. “Everything looks within the normal range, with nothing that could specifically hinder pregnancy indicated anywhere.”

“Normal. I thought—when they said we had to come in… normal?” Daire asked.

“Yes, normal. And it’s standard practice to give them in the office if it’s connected to discharging a patient.” The doctor didn’t at all seem phased by my mate's distress which had to be obvious to anyone in the office.

“Then why am I not pregnant?”

I gave my mate’s hand a squeeze.

“Like we discussed at our first consultation, it could be stress or timing or any number of things. But the good news is, there’s nothing physically impeding your journey towards becoming dads.” He closed his laptop.

“Any other questions?” he asked, already beginning to stand.

“What should we do… to help?”

“Eat well, sleep well, and you know that thing you do to get pregnant?” He winked at us and it was pretty eww, neither of us responding. “Just do that a lot.” And out he went, popping his head right back in. “Don’t forget to stop by the desk on your way out to sign your discharge paperwork.”

What they meant by discharge paperwork was paying another six hundred dollars to have our tests read and another two hundred for the doctor to tell us to do it… a lot. We paid and left and it wasn’t until we reached the car that everything just hit me.

“This is really good news.” I pulled my mate into a hug .

“I almost wished there had been something a little wrong so we could “fix it”, you know? Now we’re back at the starting gate.”

I held him a bit closer and brought my lips to his ear. “Didn’t you hear him? All we need to do is get knotty, knotty, knotty.”

He backed out of my embrace and reached for the car door. “Well? Are you coming? We have things to do. Doctor’s orders.” He opened his door at warp speed and climbed inside.

I ran around to the driver’s side. Who was I to argue with doctor’s orders?