Page 22 of The Boss's Triplet Surprise

Dan chuckled and sat beside her. “I know you said you could do this on your own, but I saw the time blocked off in your calendar and I wanted to come and support you. If you want me to leave, though, just say the word.”

“I mean, you’re here now. So, you can stay.” Leah hoped her casual tone belied the way her heart soared at his presence. Suddenly, she felt like she was part of a team.

“Leah Adams?” A young nurse peered out into the lobby. “We’re ready for you.”

“Shall I come back with you?” Dan asked. Leah’s heart melted at the fact that he was checking to make sure she was comfortable, and she nodded.

“Come on through.” They followed the nurse to a back room, where he gestured for Dan and Leah to enter. Inside, the doctor was already waiting behind her desk.

“Good morning.” She got to her feet and circled to shake their hands. “I’m Doctor Jennings, but please call me Moira. And you must be Leah Adams?”

“Nice to meet you, Moira. Yes, I’m Leah Adams, and this is Dan Marley.”

“Nice to meet you.” Dan shook Moira’s hand as well, then they both took their seats.

“Once again, welcome to my office. We have an hour set aside here to get to know each other, go over the process, and answer any questions. Is there anything you’d like to ask me right off the bat?”

Leah shook her head. “We can get started and I’ll be sure to ask questions as we go.” Leah liked Moira’s straightforward, no-nonsense manner. It made her feel more confident in the process.

“Perfect. In that case, would you mind telling me a little about what brought you here?”

Leah felt a blush coming on. She knew she needed to tell Moira honestly — the fact that they weren’t a real couple was relevant to the fertility approach, since they weren’t sleeping together — but she felt hesitant to do so.

“We, um…”

“Do you mind if I tell it?” Dan smiled at Leah, and she nodded, relieved. “Leah and I are friends who are hoping to co-parent. I know it might be an unusual situation, but we’re really excited about this journey and hope that you can support us.”

It was a perfect way to describe what was happening without getting into the details of their agreement. Leah felt another wave of relief that Dan was here with her. That was quickly followed by a moment of self-recrimination. Yes, it was nice that Dan was here today, but she couldn’t rely on his presence or his support. At some point, she’d be more or less on her own.

“Of course.” Moira smiled at them both. “We have families coming together in all different shapes and sizes. I personally have experience supporting many different kinds of journeys. Is there anything else you’d like me to know, before we get into the details of the process?”

“Fertility issues run in my family,” Leah said before she could second-guess herself. “My parents struggled to conceive. I know there isn’t always a genetic component, but I did want to mention it.”

“Thank you. That’s good to know. Do you have any details about what the difficulty was?”

Leah shook her head. “My parents couldn’t afford much in the way of medical intervention, and they never knew exactly what was happening — only that they couldn’t have a child for a long time.”

“Understood. Anything else?”

Leah and Dan both shook their heads.

“Then I’ll tell you a little about the process before us. Today is an informational session, primarily. I want you to understand exactly what we’re going to do, and I want to understand exactly what brings you here and what kind of support you need. The next appointment we’ll schedule is a general physical and a bit of testing. Once we have that information, we’ll be able to design the best course of action. Since neither of you have any known fertility issues, and you haven’t been trying to conceive yet, that could make things a little easier on us.”

Leah and Dan both nodded again, and Moira continued. She laid out in detail what they could expect over the coming weeks, from the time commitment to the kinds of testing they would need to undergo. Finally, she asked if either of them had any more questions. Both Leah and Dan shook their heads.

As they left, though, Leah turned to Dan with wide eyes. “I actually do have a lot of questions.”

Dan chuckled. “So do I. But there was so much information coming at us at once that I couldn’t quite process what I wanted to ask.”

“Same. Moira seems great, though. I’m sure she would have answered our questions if we had asked them.”

“What are you wondering about?”

“Well, for starters, I probably should have told her that I’m taking Forenal. It totally slipped my mind, though. I also want to ask, I don’t know, about the chances. I know that she can’t just make guesses, being a medical professional, but I’d like to know if we have a real shot at me getting pregnant.”

“Hey.” Dan took Leah’s hand in his and pulled them both to a stop on the sidewalk. “I’m sure we have a great chance. Not only are we both healthy, but you’re taking Forenal, which is proven to help in this kind of situation.”

“Yeah, but with my parents’ fertility issues and the fact that IVF isn’t a hundred percent for anyone…” Leah sighed. “I’m just worried.”

---