********
TITLE: Family Confidential
AUTHOR: Laragh
CHAPTER RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other characters from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise belong to Joss Whedon, FOX, ME and a whole host of other entities, none of which are me.
SUMMARY: The promised sequel to
Hacker Confidential. How are Willow, Tara, JJ and all their family getting on 4 years into the future?
SPOILERS: Perhaps minor references to the show or stealage of dialogue, but mostly just spoilers for all of Hacker Confidential. If you haven’t read that...well, you really will have no idea what’s going on lol.
FEEDBACK: Yes please
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay so there's a lot of medical jargon in this that I really hope I got right, so sorry if it's boring but I want to show the process of their pregnancy as much as the family stuff. And look out for the cabin trip next week!
Chapter 5 ********
“JJ, come on, we’re gonna be late!”
“I can’t find my red socks!”
“Well wear some other ones!”
“I want my red ones!”
Willow sighed and dropped her head against the banister of the stairs she was standing at the end of until she felt a hand at the end of her back and heard Tara’s voice in her ear.
“I’ll sort him out. Go on to work, you’re stressing.”
“It’s my day to take him to school,” Willow replied, exhaling and straightening up.
They took turns to take him to school each day on the off-chance that it would make them late themselves for work, so that neither would be late
every day, though it rarely posed a problem since the school was close to where they both worked and was more just a habit they’d gotten used to.
“Well we’ll swap days,” Tara replied a laugh and a roll of her eyes, “I want you nice and chilled this afternoon.”
Willow’s eyes lit up as her face shot towards her wife.
“You made the appointment?”
“Just got off the phone. 2pm,” Tara grinned, “You, me and one doctor who can hopefully enlighten us on the ways of baby-making.”
Willow squealed and threw her hands around her wife’s neck.
“I’ll collect you, okay? I'll take a late lunch.”
“Okay,” Tara smiled in agreement, before a thought occured to her, “Why don't you drop me into work today too? I'll walk JJ home after school.”
“Great idea,” Willow smiled and nodded, “Reducing our carbon footprint, even for a day.”
She giggled and gave another the blonde another quick kiss before glancing at her watch, her demeanour changing instantly, groaning as she dropped her arms and turned towards the stairs again.
“JJ, come on!”
JJ appeared at the top of the stairs with a smile on his face.
“Found them!”
“Thank god,” Willow muttered as the boy bounded down the stairs and sat on the end step, putting his shoes on, “Okay, everyone got their bags and lunches?”
Tara held up her purse with a smile and JJ finished tying his laces and pulled his backpack over his shoulders.
“Okay, then, Rosenberg-Maclay family,” Willow continued, clapping her hands together, “Go, go, go!”
JJ ran out of the house, going straight over to the black Mercedes, the second car that had been bought when JJ started school to facilitate the car journeys.
Though it was a family car, Willow had ‘claimed’ it to an extent in that it was always the car she took when she was driving. Tara didn’t care about which car she drove so the system worked perfectly.
JJ was confused, however, to see Tara climb into the front seat as he got into the back and sat on his booster seat.
“This is Momma’s car.”
Tara laughed and looked at her son through the rear-view mirror.
“Momma’s driving me today too.”
JJ shrugged in acceptance and fastened his seatbelt as Willow jumped in on the driver’s side.
“We all ready?”
“Ready!” JJ shouted as Willow turned on the engine.
“Ready,” Tara smiled and moved to rest her hand over her wife’s on the steering wheel.
Willow pulled out of the driveway and started driving towards the school while Tara started applying lipstick in the mirror.
“Mommy's gonna walk you home from school today, okay Jakey?” Willow asked as she drove.
“Really?” JJ asked excitedly, “Can we stop by the park?”
“Yep,” Tara answered, smiling back at her son through the rearview mirror, “You bet.”
JJ clapped his hands together as they pulled up outside the school and Tara unfastened her seatbelt and opened the car door. JJ did the same.
“Bye Momma!”
“Hey,” Willow replied, holding her arms out, “Come here and give me a hug kiddo.”
JJ climbed into the front seat and wrapped his arms around his mother. Willow squeezed back tightly.
“Love you, JJ.”
“Love you too, Momma,” JJ replied before jumping back out of the car and taking Tara’s hand as they walked towards the red-brick school building, “We’re learning more dittion today, Mommy! No...uh...
addition!
“Well good luck,” Tara replied, crouching down as they arrived at the large oak doors, other children and parents streaming past them, “Have a good day, okay? I'll be right here waiting when you’re done.”
“Okay,” JJ responded, throwing his arms over Tara’s neck, “Bye Mommy.”
Tara kissed the side of her son’s head and watched him run through the doors before straightening up and going back to the car.
“Work, driver,” she said jokingly as she fastened her seatbelt again.
“Whatever you wish, Mademoiselle,” Willow replied with a laugh as she began driving again.
“Madame,” Tara corrected with a smile.
Willow’s brow crinkled.
“I thought it was Mademoiselle for young women and Madame for older ones?”
“Yes, but it’s Madame for married women,” Tara replied, idly playing with her wedding ring, “And I’m very much a married woman.”
Willow nodded with a grin as she indicated onto a new street.
“Managed to tie someone down, huh?”
“Eventually,” Tara replied with an exaggerated sigh, “It took a lot of work and an awful lot of sexual favours but – oh hey, wait no, she proposed to me!”
Willow stuck out her tongue and laughed.
“We proposed to each other.”
“You proposed first,” Tara countered and Willow smiled.
“Best thing I ever did,” she replied as she pulled up on the street outside Tara’s work building, “Your chariot will meet you here at 2pm sharp.”
“Your lady will be waiting,” Tara replied sweetly and leaned over to kiss the redhead on the cheek.
“I better be getting a proper smooch,” Willow responded when Tara pulled away and looked like she was about to exit.
Tara grinned and shook her head.
“Nah, not in the mood.”
Willow chuckled and grabbed two fistfuls of the blonde’s shirt.
“I’ll show you not in the mood,” she murmured before crushing their lips together.
She felt her wife smile against her lips as they kissed quietly for a few moments before naturally pulling apart.
“Is my lipstick smudged?” Tara asked, checking herself in the mirror.
Willow frowned and sighed.
“It used to be ‘Wow, Willow, you kiss me and my insides melt into a big pile of mush’. Now it’s ‘Is my lipstick smudged?’”
Tara smiled as she quickly reapplied her lipstick before turning back to her wife.
“It still is, ‘Wow, Willow, you kiss me and my insides melt into a big pile of mush’. But I know I don’t have to say it ‘cause you feel it too.”
Tara put a hand over the redhead’s heart through her shirt and Willow smiled back but gave a small shrug.
“It’s still nice to hear it.”
Tara leant forwards and placed her lips against her wife’s ear.
“I love you,” she breathed in a way that sent shivers down the smaller girl’s spine before popping back and opening the door, speaking in a cheery voice, “Bye sweetie!”
Willow could only watch as Tara sauntered out of the car and walked, with a noticeable skip in her step, out of the car and into the building. She watched her until she was out of sight completely and dropped her head against the steering wheel.
“Damn, I’m lucky.”
She exhaled slowly as light shivers continued down her spine until a loud beeping from her left made her jump in her seat. She looked out to see some angry looking man gesturing that he was ‘waiting’ for her spot.
“Yea, yea, whatever buddy,” she muttered as she drove off again, “Just jealous you don’t have a smokin’ hot wife who makes you feel all tingly.”
She smiled and tapped her fingers against the wheel as she drove the two blocks to the FBI building and parked in the carpark, locking the car and taking the elevator to her floor, whistling as she walked through the department towards her office.
“Someone got lucky last night,” Jesse commented as he flicked through a file and leant against a desk.
“I get lucky every night,” Willow retorted as she grabbed the file, “This for me?”
“Uh huh,” Jesse nodded, straightening up and following the redhead, motioning for Xander to follow as well, “You know the drill. Receipts, accounts, whatever you can find.”
“Not a problem,” Willow replied, dropping her purse on the floor as she entered her office – the ‘robot room’ – and sat in her swivelling chair, before looking up at her two colleagues, “Oh guys, uh, is it cool if I take a late lunch today? Like 2ish? I should have everything on this guy found by then.”
Though neither of the men ever held their job status over Willow’s head or made her feel like anything other than a colleague and not a subordinate, they were technically her bosses so she still needed their permission to change her schedule.
“No problems here,” Jesse shrugged, “Everything okay?”
“Yea, just a doctor’s appointment with Tara,” Willow replied casually before realising what she’d said and looking up. They hadn’t discussed telling people about their impending baby plans but the redhead was certain they weren’t going to until they knew more at the very least, so tried to think of something to say on the spot, “Um, she has to give blood. And she’s like super afraid of needles. I know it’s silly...”
Xander just smiled and shook his head.
“Hey, after Anya’s bunny freak out on Saturday, I definitely can’t talk about silly phobias.”
“Alice is afraid of lava lamps,” Jesse added, eliciting a strange look off the other two, “What, I thought we were sharing?”
Willow laughed and snapped the file shut in her hand.
“Thanks, guys. I’ll have this stuff for you asap.”
Jesse patted Willow on the back and pushed Xander out the door. Willow turned on the computer screens in front of her and pulled the keyboard to her as she opened the file and scanned it to get the details she needed. Her fingers went to work and scanning the servers and systems of the company she was looking into until she’d gathered what she could and sent it all off to her colleagues.
She checked her watch and saw it was 1.30 pm so she shut down her computers and grabbed her purse before leaving the small room, saying a quick goodbye to Jesse and Xander before taking the elevator to the bottom floor and leaving the FBI building to go into the coffee shop next door.
She ordered a Mocha for herself and a Latte for Tara and took the Styrofoam cups back to the car, putting them in the holders as she drove to her wife’s office building, where Tara was waiting, like she said she would be.
“Hello there, gorgeous girl,” Tara greeted as she slid into the passenger seat and leant over for a quick kiss, “Right on time.”
“Got you a Latte,” Willow smiled as she quickly drove out of the space again, not wanting to deal with any grumpy business men like she had that morning, “The front one.”
Tara picked up the cup.
“With–”
“An extra double shot of espresso and vanilla syrup,” Willow cut the blonde off with a grin, “I
have been ordering your coffee for more than 10 years.”
“Just checking,” Tara murmured, sinking down in the seat before taking a long sip, “Mmhh, yummy. How's work?”
“Nothing exciting,” Willow replied, taking a quick sip from her Mocha as well, “You?”
Tara sighed.
“Same. Although that’s a good thing in my line of work.”
Willow took Tara’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze before returning it to the wheel.
“Hey, I forgot to tell you, I booked the cabin! This Friday to Sunday, a whole little oak wood paradise with just you and me and a big ole’ bed.”
“That’s great,” Tara grinned, “I can’t wait.”
Willow shot her wife a winning smile across the car before she remembered something.
“Oh, by the way, if anyone asks, you have a massive fear of needles.”
Tara turned her head towards her wife, one eyebrow quirked.
“Why?”
“Because,” Willow replied with an exasperated sigh, “I told Jess and Xand that we were going to a doctor’s appointment but we hadn’t discussed the telling of people so I had to make up a reason why I needed a late lunch. And an out-of-office one at that. Not that it's against the rules, but I don't normally take one.”
“Oh right,” Tara responded, straightening up in the seat, “Um, I really don’t want to tell people until we’re sure. I mean, really sure. Like ‘you’ve had your three month scan and we’ve been told mom and baby are completely healthy’ sure.”
Willow turned the engine off as they parked outside of the doctor’s offices and took her wife’s hand.
“Hey, that’s fine. I agree completely.”
Tara exhaled with a smile and looked over the redhead’s shoulder.
“You ready to go in there?”
Willow bit her lip and jumped up and down in her seat slightly.
“I know I shouldn’t be getting so excited, we’re only going in today to find stuff out and we’re not even starting thin–”
Tara cut the redhead off by bringing her hand up to her mouth and kissing her knuckles.
“We’re starting on the whole journey of making our baby. This is it, honey. You can be excited.”
Willow took a deep breath before letting out a loud squeal.
“We’re making a baby.”
“We’re making a baby,” Tara confirmed with a warm smile, leaning over and embracing her wife as best she could within the confines of the car, before pulling back, “Come on, we’re going to be late.”
Both women stepped out of the car and clasped hands as they walked into the building and into the right offices, the waiting room filled it women, which was expected seeing as it was an OB/GYN’s office. Lucky for them, their doctor also ran a fertility clinic.
“Um, we have an appointment,” Willow said as they went up to the receptionist, “Rosenberg-Maclay.”
The brunette woman behind the counter typed something into the computer before smiling at the couple.
“Take a seat. Dr. Wells will be right with you.”
Dr. Wells had been both girls OB/GYN for almost all the time they’d been in Buffalo, separate from their family doctor, and had figured she was the first port of call for extending their family.
They both sat in two of the seats beside each other, their conjoined hands quietly resting on Tara’s lap as they waited until a blonde woman’s head popped out through the door nearest.
“Willow, Tara, come in.”
The couple stood and walked into the room where the doctor gestured for them to sit opposite her desk, which they did.
“How’s JJ?”
“He’s good,” Willow replied as she settled in her seat, her hand still firmly encased in Tara’s, “You know, normal 5 year old.”
“Good. So, I don’t normally see you two together in here,” Dr. Wells said with a joking smile before looking down pointedly, “Is there an...issue? People don’t realise that infections can be passed very easily between women–”
“Whoa, no,” Willow cut the doctor off with a vigorous shaking of her head, “That’s not why we’re here!”
Dr. Wells held a hand up.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to offend. I’m just used to seeing you as separate patients. How can I be of service to you today?”
Willow bit her lip again, obviously excited.
“We wanna have a baby.”
Dr. Wells smiled warmly.
“That’s wonderful. I presume since you’ve come to me you’re not looking at the adoption route this time?”
“That’s right,” Tara answered, squeezing the redhead’s hand, “We want to get Willow pregnant.”
Dr. Wells nodded and leant forwards in her seat curiously.
“Can I ask why you decided which one of you...?”
Willow looked to Tara, then back at the doctor.
“I want to carry our baby,” she answered simply and Tara nodded in agreement.
“I just want to add to our family, I don’t have an... ’aching womb’,” she added with a grin at her wife who had used that term.
“And, uh, I kinda do,” Willow continued with a shy laugh, “I really want to experience being pregnant.”
“Well, okay,” Dr. Wells replied with an easy smile, “So if you’re looking to be inseminated–”
“Oh, oh!” Willow cut the doctor off, “Um, we decided we want to use Tara’s eggs. I, you know... I wanna carry her baby.”
Dr. Wells nodded her understanding.
“So you’re looking at IVF. Well that makes things a little more complicated. But definitely manageable. Tara, you’ll have to go through hormone therapy. Basically we need to stimulate your ovaries so that they produce more than your normal one-egg-a-month. I won’t lie, it’s intensive – emotionally and physically. It’s a series of pills and injections that you’ll have to take daily. You’ll also have to come here for regular check-ups to make sure your ovaries are responding to the treatment okay.”
“Sure,” Tara nodded, “I’ll do whatever I need to.”
Dr. Wells smiled and continued.
“Good. Well once I’ve determined that your eggs are mature enough, I’ll retrieve them from your uterus. You’ll be given anaesthesia so you’re out for the procedure, but a needle is passed through the top of your vagina and we use ultrasound guidance to get to the ovary and then basically we suck the eggs out. You’ll be here for about 3 hours overall.”
“Right,” Tara replied with a nervous chuckle, “And, um, I’ll be unconscious for that, right?”
Dr. Wells nodded and Tara visibly exhaled.
“Can I be unconscious for the labour, too?” Willow asked, more to make her wife laugh, which she succeeded in doing.
“I’m afraid not, Willow,” Dr. Wells laughed too, “But that is where your part comes in. Well, almost. We mix the eggs with the sperm – oh, I didn’t ask, do you have a donor? Or are you looking to do it anonymously?”
“Anonymously.”
Both Willow and Tara said the word at the same time and smiled at each other.
“Just...” Willow continued, squeezing the blonde’s hand, “Our baby, you know?”
“Of course,” the doctor smiled, “Well we have a sperm bank that we work in tandem which you can utilise if you’d like.”
“Oh,” Willow replied with a smile, “I didn’t know that. Um, yea, I think...I mean, baby, what do you think?”
“Definitely,” Tara smiled back, “If you’re okay?”
Willow nodded and they turned back to the doctor.
“We also have a matching service,” Dr. Wells continued, “It’s normally used to match infertile men with the closest possible match but I can, of course, just input Willow’s details in this case and find what her closest male counterpart might be. Or you can read through the profiles yourselves. You don’t have to decide that now, though, there’s time.”
Both girls nodded and the doctor continued.
“So back to what I was saying, once we’ve retrieved the eggs, we monitor them and inject the sperm. Then we watch for fertilization and monitor them for a few more days before we implant them in your uterus, Willow. It’s Mother Nature from then on really, we’ll know after 14 days whether the implantation was successful.”
“That’s it?” Willow asked, a beaming smile on her face.
Dr. Wells laughed.
“Well it’s certainly quite the process, but yes, that’s it.”
Willow closed her eyes and took a deep breath, making Tara smile widely.
“When can we start?”
Dr. Wells turned towards her computer.
“Okay, what days are you on in your menstrual cycle? I have a calendar here you can use.”
She handed a calendar over the desk and Willow stared at it for a few moments.
“Okay, finished not yesterday but the Sunday before that and started the Wednesday before that.”
Dr. Wells nodded as she typed on the keyboard and then turned to Tara.
“And you?”
“Oh, the same,” Tara replied, handing the calendar back.
Dr. Wells raised an eyebrow.
“The exact same days?”
Tara just nodded.
“Has that always been the case?” the doctor asked curiously, “I personally always thought the ‘women having their period together’ without medically making it that way was a bit of a myth.”
“Um, since college?” Willow replied, looking to Tara for confirmation, who nodded, “Yea, since we moved in with each other in college. I thought it was really annoying the first few months ‘cause we were both moody at the same time but then I realised it was actually good ‘cause we didn’t have to deal with going without sex two times a month. Not that that became an issue after a while ‘cause now we just have sex any–”
Willow was cut off as Tara clamped a hand over her mouth and shook her head at the smaller girl. Willow blushed and apologised with her eyes so Tara lowered her hand and conjoined it with her wife’s again. The doctor, kindly, pretended to have only heard the answer to the question she had asked.
“It’s definitely an interesting phenomenon,” she said before looking away from the screen and back at the couple, “It also makes things easier for us. If your cycles are synched, we can forgo any oestrogen treatment to synch them and just start with the others. Which means, Tara, we can start you on your hormone treatments next Tuesday.”
“Tuesday?” Tara asked, “That’s...quick.”
“Is that too soon, baby?” Willow asked gently, “We can wait a month or two if you want.”
“Are you kidding?” Tara replied with a beaming smile, “The quicker we have our little bundle in our arms the better. Tuesday is great.”
Dr. Wells leant forwards in her seat.
“You should know, it normally takes an average of three attempts before a pregnancy is successful. Now your chances do increase as you’re not looking to do this for infertility reasons but it’s important you know that even if things don’t work first time round, we can try again. Okay?”
Willow looked saddened but felt Tara squeeze her hand and realised she was jumping the gun way too much and getting upset over something that might not happen.
“Okay. We’ll be prepared,” she responded.
“Excellent,” Dr. Wells replied, typing at the computer again, “Well you both had full work-ups done recently when you came in for check-ups so we know you’re all healthy. Would you like me to talk you through the hormone treatment process?”
Both girls nodded so the doctor continued.
“Okay, so you’ll start off with daily injections of a drug called Lupron. It’s a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist,” she explained and gave an apologetic smile at the lost look on the other two women, “I’m sorry. I’ve been hanging around too many doctors and not enough patients. Let me start again. Tara, you’ll need to take a daily injection, that either yourself or Willow can administer, called Lupron, which prevents premature ovulation. You’ll need to take that for 8 days before we add another injection with something called FSH or Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, which basically makes your eggs develop. We’ll monitor the growth and development of your eggs – which means you’ll have to come in here for blood tests and ultrasounds I’m afraid, between 3 and 5 times and then I’ll determine the best time for ovulation, typically another 8 days after you’ve started the FSH treatment. Then I’ll administer a shot of something called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, or HCG, which will trigger ovulation. Two days after that the retrieval can take place and your bit will be over.”
“That’s...a lot of information,” Willow replied with a nervous chuckle.
“I’ve overwhelmed you,” Dr. Wells said, apologetically, typing something on the computer, “I’m sorry. Here, I can print you off a small calendar which shows you what needs to happen then for this first stage. Obviously it’s slightly variable, depending on the egg monitoring, but this is basically the plan you’ll be following.”
The sound of a printer whirred behind them and the doctor handed over a piece of paper across the desk a moment later.
“See, honey, nothing too hectic,” Tara said calmly as they both looked at the sample calendar, “I just take the Lupron for about a week, then the Lupron and the FSH together for about a week and get blood tests and ultrasounds during that week, then I get like a booster shot and then we can take my eggs. Then a couple of days later we can put them in you.”
Dr. Wells smiled as she saw Willow listen to Tara’s words and nod in understanding.
“Okay. We can do that. We can do that, right?”
“Me and you?” Tara asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her wife’s ear, “We can do anything.”
Willow smiled shyly before looking towards the doctor.
“I know it’s unlikely and we have to be prepared to go through this a few times and everything but in theory...I could be pregnant by this time next month?”
“It’s possible,” Dr. Wells nodded, “And there’s things you can do to help things along. Plenty of relaxation – both of you. It’s important that you’re both good to yourselves. I’d say be good to each other but I know you already are. But take it easy. Small amounts of alcohol shouldn’t adversely affect you in any way but avoid caffeine if you can.”
Willow sighed but nodded.
“No more mocha’s,” she said before giving Tara a stern look, “And definitely no more of your latte’s with your extra double shot. That’s 3 espresso shots, Tara! Do you know how much caffeine that is?!”
“Willow...” Dr. Wells called out, trying to hold back a laugh, “I said relax, remember.”
Willow looked sheepish for a moment.
“Right,” she replied before turning to Tara, “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Tara responded, unable to hold back her own grin, “No more lattes.”
“We’ll start you on some prenatal vitamins, Willow,” Dr. Wells continued after a second, “Both of you, drink plenty of water and avoid lots of high-salt foods. And, now this is very important, know that I am here every step of the way in this, so if you have any questions, no matter how big or small, just call the clinic. If I’m with a patient, I’ll call you back as soon as I can. Is that all okay?”
The couple nodded.
“We can manage all of that,” Tara replied, internally processing everything.
The doctor began typing again at the computer.
“Wonderful. Tara, if you call into our nurse here at the clinic next Monday, we can get the medications all ready for you and make your first appointment for your bloods and ultrasound the week after. Our nurse will go through all the protocols with you for the treatments. Willow, if you’re going to be administrating the injections, you should come too.”
“Of course,” Willow nodded vigorously, “Together. We’ll do everything, together.”
The doctor pulled something else from the printer and handed to the redhead.
“These are the prenatal vitamins I want you to take. Start taking those straight away, there’s a pharmacy right next door you can use. Other than that, like I said, plenty of relaxation and no stress. I know having a 5 year old might make that hard...”
The couple both laughed.
“Yea, he’s a handful,” Tara smiled, “But we wouldn’t change him for anything.”
“And we’re going away this weekend, just the two of us,” Willow added, “We, uh, didn’t realise we would be able to start things to quickly so that kind of timed out well.”
“That’s really good,” the doctor replied, “Going through the IVF procedure can be very emotionally and physically draining. It’s important that you’re both there for each other. Doctors orders, plenty of kissing and cuddling!”
Both girls blushed but gave small laughs.
“We can definitely manage that,” Willow replied, casting a momentary adoring look at her wife before holding up the prescription sheet in her hands, “Thank you for this. For everything.”
Dr. Wells just smiled.
“I’ve never been more happy to help a couple extend their family. Have a think between now and next week about whether you want to use our sperm matching service or choose yourselves, our nurse can give you the catalogues if you choose that, otherwise she can let me know and I’ll start the matching procedure,” she replied before looking at the two seriously, “If at any stage during all of this you want to stop or delay things, we can do that. I’m of the school that getting things done quickly is optimum. Obviously that’s a good thing when I’m chasing up test results, but for something like this, it’s of the utmost importance that as much time as you need is taken. We’re not dealing with a yeast infection here, it’s a human life.”
“We know,” Tara answered without missing a beat, “A human life we want to bring into this world and meet as soon as we can.”
“I wanna be pregnant like, yesterday,” Willow added with a laugh, “We’re ready. We want this. And we’re more than happy to push it through quickly. Especially if it might take a few cycles.”
Dr. Wells leant back in her seat, convinced.
“Well okay then. I think that’s all we can organise for today. Do either of you have any questions?”
Willow looked to Tara for a moment before back at the doctor.
“The hormone treatment and the egg retrieval and stuff...is it gonna hurt her?”
“There can be some pain and discomfort associated with–”
The doctor was cut off as Willow inhaled sharply and Tara quickly turned to face her wife.
“Sweetheart, it’s fine.”
“But I don’t want you in pain,” Willow replied with almost childlike pleading, “I...I wanna use your eggs so badly but I can’t stand to see you in any pain.”
“Willow...” Tara responded, tucking a piece of hair behind the smaller girl’s ear, “Hold my hand and I won’t feel anything else.”
“There should be no intense pain at all,” Dr. Wells added when she saw Willow was getting slightly distressed, “The needles obviously have a small sting and there can be aches similar to period cramping while your eggs mature. The worst side effect from the retrieval is generally reaction from the anaesthesia, haziness and nausea. Nothing some rest, a cuddle and a hot water bottle won’t make feel better.”
“And nothing compared to labour,” Tara joked, getting a smile from the redhead in response, “Willow, all I care about is us making our baby. The rest is just...”
“Procedure?” the doctor suggested and Tara nodded with a smile.
“Exactly. We had to do paperwork with JJ and we have to do bodywork for this little one. That’s all.”
Willow closed her eyes and nodded before cracking a smile.
“Thank god it’s not more paperwork. We have enough of that at work.”
Tara giggled and leant forwards to place a warm kiss against her wife’s forehead. Willow turned back to the doctor with a sheepish shrug.
“Sorry. Obligatory freak-out.”
“It’s good to get any issues out early,” Dr. Wells commented, “It’s worse if they come out too late when there’s nothing we can do about them or let them fester and cause undue stress. Now, Tara, I just need to take some baseline bloods today so I know where everything is at and where it should be for when you start your medications. Could you roll up your sleeve for me?”
Tara obliged and Dr. Wells retrieved a needle and some vials to collect the blood before drawing Tara’s blood quickly and covering the pierced skin with a band-aid before smiling at the couple.
“That’s it. Are you both okay with what we’ve discussed today?”
“Yes,” Willow nodded and got an answering smile from Tara, “Okay, um, so I guess that’s it. I...uh, we can’t thank you enough, doctor.”
“My pleasure,” Dr. Wells replied, standing as the couple did as well, “I’ll see you both soon. And take it easy, remember.”
“We will,” Tara promised with a wave as they walked out of the door, “Bye.”
The couple waved at the receptionist as they left the clinic and walked back out of the car. Willow stared out of the front window in disbelief as she sat in the driver’s seat, before turning to her wife, a massively wide smile on her face.
“I can’t...I can’t believe it. I thought we’d go in there today and just get information but now we have plans and dates and appointments. We’re gonna have a baby, Tara. We really are.”
Tara could only smile back.
“We really are.”
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You kept me reading, so I thank you for that!
That cracked me up...Lava Lamp O' Phobia!
update! I thought this was very well done, the level of detail in terms of how the IVF would be handled was very realistic. 
So, I did some research and just to clear it up...that was from Milestones around chapter 5 when Willow is preggers and Sheila interrupts, lol. Anyway, doesn't really matter since it's all like one super long fic anyway.
