Grace's POV
I filled out my personal details on the forms from the seat in the empty doctor's waiting room. Chester sat by my side, one hand on mine and the other nervously fiddling with a loose string from his jeans. I could barely clutch the pen, because my hands were shaking and as a result of this, my handwriting was almost unreadable.
I got up and handed the clipboard with all the necessary documents attached to the nurse. She gave me a polite smile and I went back down to sit with Chester. He could tell I was nervous, and I could tell he was equally as nervous. For different reasons though. Chester was nervous because he couldn't bear the possibility of not being a dad and I was nervous because doctor's scared me, especially when someone's happiness was at stake.
A short, kind looking lady entered the room with a piece of paper.
"Helbig, Grace?" She called, and looked right at us, seeing as we were the only ones in the room. "The doctor will see you now." She gave a polite smile and waited for us.
My heart was leaping out of it's skin and my breathing became abnormal. Chester reached out and held my hand, sensing my state of panic. We followed the lady, who was clearly a nurse, judging by her scrubs, and she lead us to a bleak, grey office. She motioned for us to go in.
Chester walked in and I reluctantly followed. The nurse shut the door behind us. I finally got a chance to look at the doctor. He was a tall, very neat and clean elderly man, confined behind a desk. We sat in the two chairs at his desk.
"Good morning, Miss uh-" He briefly looked at his notes. "Helbig." He smiled. "And you might be?"
"Chester. Chester See." Chester gave an anxious smile. "I'm Grace's boyfriend." He clasped my hand, as if to show how proud he was.
"Ah, I see." The doctor looked at us from down his nose. "How may I help you today?"
"Um. I've been having some fertility problems." I awkwardly shuffle in my seat. "Chester and I have been trying to have a baby for about 4 months, and we've had no positive results so far. We just wanted to know if it might be linked to any health problems."
"Well then," The doctor briefly paused as he slid his reading glasses onto his face and readied a pen. "So you've been having regular, unprotected sex with no pregnancies?"
Chester nodded as the doctor scribbled things down.
"Miss Helbig, do you have a history of birth control use?"
I looked up from my hands, where I was trying to avoid the awkward eye contact.
"Yes, I've been using birth control for about 9-10 years, but I stopped a while before we started trying for a baby" Anxious butterflies swarmed in my stomach as I glanced at Chester, who was surprisingly calm and brave about the whole situation, but kept quiet.
"You see, the use of birth control for such long periods of time can affect a woman's fertility rate dramatically. I suggest we have you take a quick urine test, so that I can assess the results, alright?"
I nodded and gripped onto Chester's hand, almost digging my nails into his soft skin. The doctor stood and produced a small plastic jar with a plane label, which he then sprawled my name on. If you'll follow me to my office bathroom and just use this cup for me to take a urine sample."
I followed him to the bathroom and motioned for Chester to follow. I allowed him to come into the bathroom with me as I shut the door.
"I'm scared." I whispered.
"Don't worry, Gracie." He whispered back, but he was obviously worried too. He turned around, giving me some privacy.
Within a few minutes, we were back out of the bathroom, alone in the consultation room whilst the doctor assessed my pee. That was never a sentence that I had ever considered being in my brain. Someone was assessing my pee.
I glanced over at Chester and looked back at me. I gave him a weary smile and he gave me a proper smile.
"I just want you to know, that I love you no matter what happens. I'd rather have you than kids." He looked deeply into my eyes and I blushed slightly. How did he always know how to lift my spirits?
"I love you more." I properly smiled for the first time in quite some time. Just at that moment, the doctor entered the room with a grave face. He sat down and drummed his fingers on the desk before looking at us.
"I'm sorry to inform you that the chances of Miss Helbig becoming pregnant are very slim. "She is about as fertile as a woman about to go through menopause."
"Thank you for your time today." Chester was so confident and brave. I could hardly believe that it was him. "We'll be on our way." He stood and pushed his chair in. I nodded thankfully at the doctor and followed after Chester, who was walking very briskly. He walked right past the counter and out the door to the car, which he unlocked and got into.
I was slightly confused, but stalled and spoke to the secretary at the front desk and paid for our consultation. I then quickly walked to the car. I looked in from the outside and saw Chester resting his head on the dashboard at the passenger's side. Quietly, I opened the door and slid in. He was obviously crying. I placed my hand on his back and stroked his hair with the other hand.
We remained silent for what seemed like the longest time in the world.
Chester's POV
"I'm sorry." I mumbled as I sniffed my nose, trying to prevent more tears from rolling down my face.
"Don't be sorry. This isn't your fault." Grace continued stroking my hair as if she was trying to soothe a young child. "This isn't anyone's fault. It's just a small obstacle in the road."
This statement made me furious. "This isn't a 'small obstacle', Grace." I fumed "This is our future. Maybe it's not as much of a big deal to you, but I really care about it."
This silenced Grace. She didn't say anything, but she stuck the key in the ignition and began driving us home. The tension could've been cut with a knife. I was filled with sadness, anger and confusion.
When we arrived home, I got out of the car and went to our room and slammed the door.
I could hear faint noises of Grace tapping away on her keyboard in the living room and Goose's nails click-clacking on the floor as she restlessly stirred around the house, confused by all the conflict.
I lay on the bed and allowed myself to be consumed by sadness. I didn't often let myself do this, because I tried to be optimistic, but that day, it felt like someone had slapped me right across the face.
What did I do wrong to deserve this? I only had one wish, and that was to be a dad, but now that seemed just as impossible as little 8 year old me, growing up to be an astronaut.
