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 Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 5:53 pm
Ellington had never been fond of the clinical setting. There was something cold about the air, something unnerving. The gentle scent of the stale walls wreaked of pine and lemon; its sour sweetness burnt the lungs with every breath inhaled. Within such a plain little room, it was the most noticeable thing of all, and it was troublesome for him to imagine it. The stink of a medical institution and of the awkward nature of doctors, who he had always been distinctly intimidated by. Perhaps it was that thought which left him cringing outside of the clinic's entryway. He had stood feet-apart near the door, one hand clutching the handle as if he intended to whip it open and hurry in. Yet he made no motion. He stood still like a statue, dwelling over his experience and disdain for medical professionals and their tight, tiny, stiff little offices. He could remember the numerous times he had walked through a set of doors only to be greeted with that air-freshener and lysol smell; he could remember the numerous times he had sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs - awaiting the sound of his name, which had somehow always been confused as El-lain-tone Borrow-low-chi. To make the matter worse, he had not been capable of deciphering his own name for several visits simply for the fact that he had been incapable of hearing it clearly unless it were shouted or spoken on the proper side. True, he had been a young child, and the nature of a clinic was mundane in such a circumstance, but that fact did nothing. He hated them all the same - and he had always connected it to the memories of his adventures within the ear clinic for one reason or another.
It drove him wild to think of how frustrated he had been. Occasionally he still became frustrated with the matter of his left ear, but the dilemma over it had long faded to a casual annoyance. Regardless, he was reminded of the ludicrousy and the anger. It was the first time - after a long while - that he had began entering a building of such nature for ... personal matters. He had walked into hospital after hospital for reason after reason, but not a single one had been intended for his involvement. Perhaps it was that? The horrific, infuriating experiences of his childhood, toppled with the fact that entering the building involved him directly.
His chest had heaved in silence as his hand tightened around the door handle. His knuckles had seemed to grow white as his shoulders grew tense beneath his black jacket. Without a thought or care, he had taken his hand away to fidget. His eyes had cast a glance over his shoulder, as if looking for something, just before he had fixed the knot of his vibrant tie. Meticulously, he had tightened it, only to loosen it once more in a habitual manner. Then he had stopped. The tip of his toe had ground into the ground before he had seethed. Counting beneath his breath, he had sounded out the syllables of numbers before grasping the handle once more and opening the door. His apprehensiveness had not vanished as he stepped inside, his slick shoes clanking lightly with each motion until he had stopped. Ellington had set his back against the doorway - holding it open as his eyes shifted from the inside to the outside of the building. Finally, his nervous habits had led him to observe the dulling shine of his shoes and the texture of his business jacket. His hands had rolled through his dark hair, ruffling it as he breathed and as he thought. Somewhere within the mess, he had murmured a brief mantra to himself: "It's alright, Ellington. It's nothing."
Nothing like the ear clinic, and nothing like a hospital. It was a fertility clinic, and his reasoning for being there was far more ... special and jubilant than his reasoning for having been at any other clinic. As if having realized such a thing, it had become a motivation. A new form of antsy anxiousness had overtaken him - and he had smiled briefly before his face had once again contorted with the anxiety. Ellington had stiffened once more, and he had not dared shift again after fixating his eyes on the ground. A big day called for large feelings. Everything within him simply resonated of conflicting emotions. Distaste over the atmosphere, excitement over the cause, fear over the cause. It all rang clearly within his expression. If it were not so, it certainly rang clearly in his quiet murmurings and reassurances.
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:34 pm
"You're either going to work yourself into a fit, or give yourself pneumonia. If you're going to freak out, let's at least go inside the place. It's freezing out here."
After a good five minutes of watching Ellington have some sort of inner fight with himself, Anik had finally decided it would be a good time to step in. Not waiting for Ellington's response, he swiftly opened the door and steered him inside, arm around his shoulder in a way that he hoped was comforting. Not meaning to sound unkind, Anik too was facing nervousness. He, however, preferred to be warm at least, and if possible seated somewhere comfortable.
Hospitals and the like had never left much of an impression on Anik, mostly because he barely spent time in them. Growing up, he had never had any health issues which required him to be there, so his memories were mostly filled with waiting in asylum-like waiting areas with crying children. While not exactly the fondest of memories, they certainly didn't keep him up at night either. The smell of dysinfectant which hit the couple like a tidal wave upon entering the building left much to be desired, but at least it was reassuring that the place was clean.
Anik's knowledge of Fertility clinics consisted of medical dramas on television, so he was completely unsure of what to expect. For instance, Ellington's sudden anxiety attack. Whether the man had a deep seated fear of men in labcoats or was just suffering from some butterflies in his stomach (apparently large enough to take on Godzilla), Anik wasn't going to let him continue dwelling on it. Short and sweet, that's how it was going to be.
"See, it's not so horrible in here," he murmured assuringly as he strode towards the front desk and the woman seated behind it, "Excuse me? We have an appointment."
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:10 pm
Violet hummed to herself as she walked down the hall toward the waiting room. She held the clipboard close to her chest, almost hugging it. She was quite excited. This would be the first day she would take care of an appointment by herself. They should arrive any moment, in fact.
And they had. She saw the two men standing at the front desk, being pointedly ignored by Selma. It seemed she was in a bad mood today, only somewhat worse than normal.
"Hello there," she chirped brightly. "If you'll follow me," she said and spun around. She faltered a little, because she had spun too fast, but managed to regain her balance without falling.. this time.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:32 pm
Ellington had nearly jumped when his own noise had been broken apart. His feet had shifted quickly with the motion of being steered, though it had taken his mind a moment to catch up with the situation. Somewhere within his thinking, he had managed to get himself lost - and it had not been until that moment that he had entirely become aware that he was being silly. His stomach had eased and he had inhaled a breath of air before the rushing tide of a clean smell had hit him. His formerly stiff figure had become almost lax; his hand had grasped the arm that had been flung over his shoulder, holding it loosely for a moment before giving a meek smile over the matter.
"Wait until winter comes and the snow begins to fall; then you are going to really believe it's freezing." Ellington had cleared his throat. His eyes had flickered left and right at the room, observing its walls and corners with half-hearted interest. As generic as he could imagine. The stark walls, the boring paintings. "I'm not freaking out at all." He had began, pausing in the midst of defending himself. "Are you?" His voice had piqued a moment, that clear signal that he was concerned he were the only one fidgeting uneasily.
The longer they were within the building, the more at ease Ellington became. As Nurse Violet took the place of the irritable secretary, it had even become less frantic for him. It had been simple. She had only said hello, and she had only dictated to follow - and that had been enough! No horrid waiting. Lightly nudging Anik, he had made a motion with his head to signal moving, afterwards returning the greeting to Nurse Violet, as was custom for him.
"Hello to you!" He had spoken with an awkward grin, though it had eventually dimmed to something more casual.
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:21 pm
Violet whirled back around, this time only slightly more graceful than before. Her tendency to get a little too excited really would be her downfall one day.
"There's a lot of papers to fill out," she blurted out. "But first I'll have to ask you if one of you will be carrying the children." She thought back to when other parents had come in. Ronchas hadn't shown her how he did it, but she knew he could, if he set his mind to it. Ronchas could do anything he set his mind to. She loved that about him.
Violet waited for their answer.
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:14 pm
As he noticed the nurse approaching, Anik stopped mid-breath, nodded in greeting, and waited for her to speak before resuming the conversation. As Ellington started to loosen up and become more at ease, he realized that his own anxieties had taken a sudden jump start. Walking into the building was one thing, but now they were really going forward with this. It was a big step, after all.
"Of course I'm freaking out," he admitted before continuing more playfully, "Just not so obviously."
As the nurse stopped to talk for a second time, Anik sighed. Ah, paper work. Of course there would be plenty of it, but in an odd way it was reassuring. It seemed to tether the whole affair into reality. While this wasn't the oddest thing in all of Gaia, Anik's family had been on the conservative side. Topics like test tube children were't exactly the norm for him -but if they came with paperwork, well, it just made more sense. If he was lucky he'd be able to get Ellington to do most of it anyway.
"Carry the children? Oh. Oh." For a moment he thought about teasing Ellington and telling her that his partner would be, but fearing she'd take it seriously he decided against it. He'd try to be serious for once because if any event in his life deserved it, it was surely this one. Imagining a pregnant Ellington was really not helping, but he managed to answer her with barely a laugh.
"No, no. Neither of us will be carrying them. We'll take the easy way, thank you."
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:24 pm
Ellington had failed to quell the obnoxious beast of nervousness in its entirety. Subduing it had been simple enough, but, as they moved along, he had felt the pounding drum within his chest and the dryness of his throat. He had to admit that he was a tad embarrassed in being so visibly conflicted. The springing idea of contentment combated his endless disdain for medical procedures, but that just left him all the more fluttery in the stomach. His face had seemed to turn a little red over Anik's statement; gradually the color had faded as he settled down and gave a sore look. He felt a little safer with the knowledge that he wasn't alone in the matter. In a way. He was more than certain that Anik likely wasn't as concerned over the fact that the clinic was a clinic. "Tease all you want, but keep in mind that I know where you sleep." Ellington had countered with a teasing tone of his own. In a silly manner, he had pointed to his eye with one finger, then had pointed to Anik before freezing and dropping his hand.
Violet's inquiry had caught him off guard for multiple reasons. He had needed to process the information slowly, and, when he had, he had felt the knot in his stomach tighten horribly. The further proof that he could have done with a briefing or prep over the situation. Carrying children - birth - was a terribly odd thing for his imagination. He was mortified by the idea, and he knew he would never agree to it. He would never wish it on anyone at that.
Before he could respond himself, Anik had. He had only given a nod before clearing his throat. His hands had settled loosely into the pockets of his suit's jacket. "Yes. Neither will be carrying." With that idea out of his mind, it had returned to the object of paper work. Something familiar! Dreadfully familiar. After all, he worked with papers more than anything, and he was masterfully quick with the issue. A little work certainly wouldn't be the death of him (and, though he would not say it, he did enjoy his paperwork). "What exactly will we be filling out?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:56 am
"That's fine," Violet grinned. She knew how happy it made Ronchas the last time they had a text-tube baby in the clinic.
"The papers," Violet looked a moment like a deer in the headlights but then the expression faded. "Oh! Yes. They're just health information, contact information, family history," she rattled on while she shuffled through her clipboard a moment. "Yes, here they are." She handed a small stack of papers to them. "But it would be more comfortable to fill them out in the office."
She turned around again, not losing her balance this time, and led them to Doctor Ronchas's office.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:13 pm
Anik snorted briefly at Ellington's playful threat and shook his head. He could've continued, but felt that perhaps his response wouldn't be something that the nurse necessarily needed to hear. Occasionally Anik did like his privacy, and this was certainly one of those times. Not because he cared about her reaction to slightly risque verbal -or physical, for that matter -PDA, but because when Anik thought about it, this was too important for even him to not take at least partially serious.
And of course, the inevitable paperwork. Anik audibly (but softly) groaned when it was brought up. The nurse stared oddly for a moment, as if racking her mind or waiting for some magical cue card to fall down from the sky. A worried frown passed fleetingly across his features, as he wondered about the nurse's competance. She seemed rather absentminded. After a moment, she went on with it as if she had never froze like that, which was reassuring at least. Maybe she was new, or nervous around people.
Or maybe he was just freaking out and trying to come up with some ridiculous excuse to postpone this. It wasn't that he wanted it, no Anik deffinately wanted it. But when he really truly thought about it, he couldn't help the painful way his throat seemed to close up, and how distant everythign sounded. His anxiety was getting the better of him, so instead of saying anything he just clung to Ellington like the brunette was a support beam and followed Violet into the office.
"Here we go," he breathed and gave Ellington's shoulder a brief squeeze.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:02 pm
The feeling of delight shackled to his disposition had graced Ellington with a fine smile; his eyes had been cooly focused, a determined appearence of 'I win' having been directed at his partner in reference of the teasing. Remarkably, the brief bout of silliness had seemed to quell his nerves momentarily. The offered relief had been well accepted, and he had seemed generally pleased in manners afterwards. For a time, anyway.
The sight of Violet's deer-like appeal had caused his brows to quirk momentarily. He may have commented her freeze, but, before he knew it, his fingers had grasped the paperwork. A brisk nod had been given in reference to the information. "That's simple enough information to give." He had spoken crisply. His fingers had began a meticulous task of flipping through the pages of work; his eyes had taken on their analytical roles. A well practiced attorney, Ellington knew a thing or two about papers and caution. He seemed to professionally handle it, simultaneously moving quickly between each of the pages until he felt secure in the matter of filling them out. After a long while of staring at the things, his head had been tilted upward to face Violet. He had seemed to be thinking hardon something before finally asking a simple question: "You have a pen?" His pen! He'd forgotten the blasted thing within his office. When he thought about it, he had also forgotten his briefcase. Such a hurry and a frenzy. He almost felt amazed that he were not a disheveled mess!
Before he could say anything else, the woman had made the offer of venturing into the office. Ellington had blinked a moment, his stomach easing at the idea of sitting for a few moments. Writing would likely clear his head, sooth him over. It always had worked wonders for him when necessary, or when other options were not applicable. As he dwelt on the matter, a feeling of pressure had captured his attention. His shoulders had rolled somewhat as he cast a glance in the direction of the origin, finding a sight that both entertained him and left him feeling a little peculiar. "And now you're panicking." He had spoken lightly, as he gave the man a tap with the papers. A motion had been made to the inside of the office. "Sit - I'll handle the writing." The comment had escaped as more of a brusque statement. He was adamently determined to fill the things out, and one could only figure why. "'It's not so horrible in here'" He had quoted from earlier, giving a knowing smile as he took his own strides into the office, lugging along the clingling blond.
A thought had eased its way into Ellington's mind, though. He had given the office a shifty look before one lip had found a place beneath the other. His features had become all the more stiff, only growing lax once he had exhaled a great, staggering breath. The procedure! He had not bothered to ask how it went or what would be done. That was ... Particularly important information. Maybe knowing what was going to happen would make the fear vanish entirely. Clinging to that, he had opened his mouth. A series of smooth, clear words had fallen from his mouth. It was apparent. He wanted an answer. "Would you mind explaining the procedure?" He had cleared his throat as his eyes had returned to Violet.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:32 pm
Once they had made it to the office, Violet pointed to a container of pens on the desk.
This couple is so cute, she thought to herself as she saw the one clinging to the arm of the other. She was about to leave them alone a moment to get the tools she needed, when he asked the question about the procedure.
She smiled widely. "Doctor Ronchas is really a brilliant man," she started. Violet loved to talk about the doctor, especially if it was something that made him look even more amazing, which he was. "I have to admit, I'm not really sure how it all works though, but I think he takes an empty egg and puts the DNA from one person in it, and then puts the egg and sperm in a test tube where he watches over them here at the clinic himself." She grinned at her amount of understanding, even though it wasn't that much. "Ronchas takes very good care of them while they're still here at the clinic, so you'll have absolutely nothing to worry about."
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:23 pm
Of course Ellington would be calm now, he was in his element: paperwork and offices and pens and suits and business. It was like the man was some sort of emotional leech and had taken away Anik's confidence, leaving him the one nervous and bumbling now. He scooted into the nearest chair after entering the office. Anik, while obeying the command automatically, manged to punctuate his silent compliance with a petulant gesture of sticking his tongue out at Ellington when the nurse wasn't watching. Much like Ellington earlier, the silliness was oddly calming. Perhaps taking this whole thing with a grain of salt was a better choice. It certainly made Anik feel more at ease.
He sat looking around the office interestedly for a moment before the dreaded question was asked. Ah, the procedure. Anik drummed his fingers on his leg as Violet clued them in to what she knew. He vaguely wished that shew knew more, but at the same time couldn't help but think of ignorance and its supposed bliss.
"Okay then. So you just need our DNA?" Anik asked slowly, making sure he was understanding properly. Science wasn't really his thing, but it was basic enough. "No needles, sharp objects, or invasive procedures?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:45 pm
"Yes." Violet nodded. "All we need is some DNA from each of you," to illustrate further, she grabbed two cups and set them on the desk. "If you'd like to step into the restroom across the hall for this, you're more than welcome. I'll come back in ten minutes or so and check on you. Unless you had some more questions?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:26 am
Ellington had taken to filling out the papers as the description of the procedure had taken place. He had carefully taken his seat, had gathered up a pen, and had scribbled down the bits and pieces of things he knew. Health information, contacts, family history. It all seemed a frenzy of a flurry, but it was easy enough for him to pull from his mind - as if he were his own informational bank. When he had finished his own string of data, he had paused, as if he had briefly confused himself somewhere within the mess. As comfortable as he was scribbling things down, and as much as it occupied his nerves as the counter to description, he understood one thing: he certainly didn't know everything about Anik. With that in mind, he had tapped his chin lightly with the pen before deciding he would handle it in a moment.
After all, he had inquired the procedure, and it was only due politeness that he acknowledge the fact that he had been gifted as clear of an answer as he could expect. The phrase 'nothing to worry about' had struck him for a moment, causing his lip to twitch as if he did not believe it in full. He had his reasons to suspect there was always cause to worry over something. "That's all there is to it?" He'd shifted, setting he pen down on top of the half-filled out papers. "Alright, so that's the extent of it. This DNA doesn't go into an information pile does it? Strictly for use here?"
Before his mind could garner another thought, he had found a pair of cups seated on the desk. The directions had needlessly perplexed him, and he had seemed to give the look of 'what goes in that cup?' to both Violet and Anik. As he had cleared his throat, he had grasped one of the cups, giving a nod of his head. Restroom across the hall. Avoiding the question deep within his mind, he had made a motion to the pen and paperwork for Anik. "You're not allergic to anything, are you?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:15 pm
Eyebrows raised and a horribly amused grin plastered across his face, Anik couldn't help the snicker that escaped from him. Ellington had seemed confused by the cups at first, and Anik's new sense of reserve had been completely abolished as he spoke up, "Surely you remember how babies are made Ellington. If you need some inspiration I'll be right outside the door, darling." Ellington may have thought he'd won earlier, but as far as Anik was concerned he himself was the one winning now.
"Allergies?" he paused, noting that exposing such information wasn't the greatest timing after teasing Ellington like that, and shrugged, "Um, nothing big. I get minor symptoms during spring. No food allergies that I know of."
Anik stood up and walked behind Ellington, peering over his partner's shoulder at the questions. Health information. "If they want to know family health, make sure to tell them about how dashing good looks run in mine. Admittedly, my mother has heart problems, but I don't think it's genetic."
Idly he picked up one of the cups on the desk, though waited in the room. Anik figured that he'd stick around for a few minutes in case Ellington needed anymore health information before going off to the restroom.
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