SURROGATE : Conception (+18) BOOK 1 (COMPLETE)

| 2 | Inquiring Minds ||

 Penelope sat in the waiting room with her knee bouncing up and down. It'd already been a full day and she was feeling the weight of it. She worked her normal hours. At her lunch break, she took her grandma's jewelry and sold it and got a couple grand. It wasn't close to the thousands she still needed, but it was enough to keep her brother hole free for long enough.

"When they take your blood it's going to hurt if you don't relax."

Penelope frowned and looked a couple chairs over at a woman with a pretty face and full belly resting on her lap. Penelope swallowed as her mind wandered down to what she was guessing would be her future.

"Just a little nervous."

"Hmm." The woman said thoughtfully looking her over. "Follow-up appointment?"

She frowned. "No. Well, maybe, yes. I uh... my application was declined right away and I wanted to know why."

"Hmm," the woman said again. "There are only a couple reasons that you'd get rejected before testing. History of birth complications in your past or no birth history at all."

Penelope frowned. "No birth history? Why does that matter? I'm perfectly healthy."

The woman smiled rubbing her belly. "Pregnancy is unpredictable. I've known many women who live their lives really well and when it comes to pregnancy complications crop up you didn't know you could have."

Damn. She thought. She was really hoping this could be an option for her.

"I know that look." The woman looked down at her stomach and rubbed the ball tenderly.

"What look?"

"The same one I had ten years ago."

She frowned and took a closer look at the woman. Her fair skin seemed to be glowing even in the horrible fluorescent lights. "Ten years? You've been doing this for ten years?"

She nodded with a smile. "I love being pregnant actually. It's easy now. I've been able to ask for two or three times the compensation because of the success rate. But I didn't start off that way." She adjusted in her chair. "I knew I never wanted to have children of my own. When I came to a clinic like this they declined me because I didn't have a history. That's when I found this place." She dug around in her purse. "The woman running it, Grace, we're friends now. The families that go through her usually have some unique requirements which is why they don't go the traditional route. The pay, depending on the job, is about the same and in some cases better."

"I-I don't know." Sounded like a black market deal to her, but things surrounding this stuff was murky sometimes anyway so it could have been perfectly legal.

"Well, if you change your mind, tell Grace Nancy Spear sent you. Either way, it's another option. A girl can never have too many options."

Penelope reached over and took the card with a silent thank you. Who the hell was she to turn down an opportunity.

She stared at the card's simple lettering and slight pink and blue accents. What the hell was she doing? Wasn't having a baby supposed to be personal? This was all so transactional. She frowned with a look of determination. Maybe there was a chance the woman was wrong.

"Ms. Georgia? Doctor Raiser will see you now."

Do not cry. No tears. You will figure it out. You will figure this out. There were plenty of things. Penelope struggled to temper her thoughts several minutes later after her brief meeting with the doctor.

She took a deep breath. She could become a driver, do deliveries. She could braid hair on the weekends. That would give her a couple hundred extra a week. It might be enough to keep--

She paused for a moment when she saw John leaning on her car.

"It's tomorrow, Pretty P." The man said, pushing off the door.

With shaking hands she pulled out the stack of hundred dollar bills. "It's all I could get in such short notice."

He quickly counted the cash then held it out for his goon to take and pocket. "I'm impressed. Should have my twenty-seven thousand in a week."

"Twenty-seven thousand?" Her mouth nearly fell to the concrete.

"That's about half?" He presented a gold gleaming smile.

She frowned. "The total was only thirty-five."

He shrugged. "Interest."

She grumbled. "Where the hell am I going to get that much money in seven days?"

"You know you can always work it out in trade."

She shivered and stifled a gag. "Never." She'd rather jump in front of a bus.

The man laughed. "It's going to cost you twice what you gave me today to keep your brother's ass off the chopping block."

"I'll give you my car. That should be about what I gave you."

"That piece of shit?"

She pulled out her keys.

"You have a note on it?"

She shook her head. "No. Bought it cash ten years ago. She runs well and is reliable."

"For parts maybe." He grabbed the keys and tossed them to the goon. "I'll take it and give you an extra week to come up with half. Because I like you."

He turned and headed to his car while the other man went to hers.

There was a sense of relief that washed over her when they were gone, but then she realized she didn't know how the hell she was getting home.

An hour later she pushed open her apartment door, locked it behind her, and exhaled kicking off her shoes. She stripped out of her clothes as she made her way to her bedroom then flopped face first on the mattress in only a bra and undies. She rolled on her back and looked up to the plain white ceiling.

Twenty-seven thousand dollars? It took her almost nine months to come up with that with what she had going on now and that didn't include living expenses.

She got up and went to her purse pulling out the card she got from the woman at the clinic. She shrugged before checking her watch. It wasn't too late. At this point she had so much to gain and so little to lose if it panned out she could clear this whole mess up.

"Ferdilic Solutions, how may I help you." The woman's voice was upbeat and energetic.

"Uh, hi. I'm uh... my name is Penelope. May I speak to Grace Hemsley please?" She asked, reading the woman's name off the card.

"This is Grace."

"Oh hi. Um, sorry if I caught you too late. I, um, was referred to you by Nancy Spear." She ripped the nail off that was in her mouth getting gnawed on.

"Ah, yes, Nancy. Great to hear she connected us! What can I do for you, Penelope?"

"Well," she took a deep breath. "I was hoping you could help me become a surrogate."

|:| A/N |:|

That moment when you pray someone will forget they knew you! Okay, so Penelope has another option. Let's see if this pans out for her!

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-Alex