And Again

Chapter nine

One Saturday night in June, Nicky and Allie drove to Hartford to have a movie night with Rory, Logan, Grace, Alex, and Kate. Sammy was now in his second year at Harvard and hadn't come home yet for the summer.

"Don't say that" Alex said and signed.

"It's true, though" Grace signed. "Medical school sucks"

"It'll be worth it" Logan signed.

"I know that" Grace signed. "But in the meantime, school still sucks"

"At least you're out for the summer now" Nicky signed.

"Yeah, I guess so" Grace signed. "Kate, are you excited for your last year of elementary school?"

"Definitely"

The next day, Allie was sitting in her office when someone knocked on the door. "Come in!"

The door opened and one of Allie's coworkers, Owen, walked in. "You know sign language, right?"

"Um...yeah. Why?"

"I just had a kid come in and apparently he's deaf. No hearing aids. Doesn't talk. Just sign language" Owen told her. "Any chance you're not busy and can come help me out"

"Yeah, I'm coming" Allie said. "And you can transfer the case to me if you want"

"Not a bad idea. Probably better for this kid to be dealing with someone he can actually communicate with" 

——

That day, Nicky had an MRI scan. Since finishing his cancer treatment, he had one every six months.

"Alright, you know the drill, right?" The technician asked. "Change into the gown and take off anything else that's metal. That includes your wedding ring"

"Ok" Nicky said.

"We'll do your head first, then move to your chest"

"Alright"

"Any questions?"

"No"

"Alright, then let's get started"

After his scans, Nicky headed to the office to take care of a few things before going home.

That night, Nicky and Allie were curled up together on the couch, watching a movie. 

"Nicky?" Allie said and paused the movie.

"What's up?" Nicky asked

"I want a baby" 

"Are you serious" Nicky asked.

Allie nodded.

"Um...ok" Nicky nodded. "Yeah"

"Yeah?"

"Let's have a baby"

A few weeks later, Allie found herself sitting in her OB/GYN's office.

"And just to make sure we're on the same page here, we're talking about using the frozen sperm, right?" Dr Chase asked.

"Yes" Allie said.

"Ok. That's from before he started cancer treatment?"

"Yeah"

"Alright, so essentially you have two options. You could do IVF. You would take a medication to suppress your natural cycle, then we would collect eggs, fertilize them, and implant them. That option does have a higher success rate but it's more invasive so given your personal history, I'd recommend trying IUI first. It's much less invasive and would likely be less traumatic for you. You would take an injectable fertility drug for at least a week. Then you would take an ovulation test. Once that test is positive, you'd come in and we'd do the actual procedure"