Completing The List

28. Start My Own Little Crew

     There really wasn't any way to actually 'complete' this task. Lizzy knew what it meant and just thinking about it hurt her in every way possible. Hayden talked about it with her all the time and it was actually the instigator of some of their biggest fights. She sat there on the window, looking out at the street and traffic while holding a cup of coffee. Wyatt tried to jump up on her lap and share the moment with her but there was no room. He whimpered off to the green chair and huffed down in frustration. Gale was in the kitchen, back from her emergency in the city to attend the wedding of their friend Anna. She was only going to be back for a few days and then go back home, but it was nice to have her around again. Gale came into the room with a few plates. The eggs were scrambled with a side of crispy bacon just the way she knew Lizzy liked it. Lizzy came down from the window ledge and came over to the table where Gale had placed their breakfast. "Thank you." She said as she sat down and started to eat.

     "I've known you quite a while." Gale said as she sat down to join her, "and I know when you're withholding something from me. You know what this new task is and I want you to explain it for me right now."

     "You want to know what crew Hayden wanted to start." Lizzy said as she took another sip of her coffee. "It was a family."

     "He wanted to start a family with you." Gale repeated, "After all the fights, Hayden had finally picked a time to start his crew with you."

     "He wanted to do all these things first." Lizzy said as she pulled out the list from her pocket. "When speaking to the counselor, Hayden has been asked to make a list that would last a lifetime. So there's not telling when he really intended to complete this task. I'm assuming he planned to do all these things over years, not months. So by the time this one came up, I would finally be ready to have a few rug rats of our own."

     "So how do you complete this task?" Gale asked. "Have his kid?"

     Lizzy looked up at Gale with a look that gave a lot away. Gale gave her one right back, "Please tell me this is not how you plan to complete this task. How is that even possible?"

     "I was going to ask Shannon." Lizzy replied. "She had a baby with him by artificial means. I thought there might be some frozen samples left I could use."

     "That is insane!" Gale said as she threw up her arms in frustration.

     "I know it sounds weird, but he was my husband. If there is some leftover... stuff, why can't I use it to make my crew." Lizzy seemed okay with the idea at first but it didn't sound right when she said it out loud. It made her feel uneasy.

     "I know it's crazy because that's no way to start a family!" Gale roared back to her friend. "How freaked out do you think this kid would be when he/she finds out dear old Daddy was dead BEFORE they were born. Trust me baby, you do not want to have this conversation with a frustrated and out of control teenager."

      Lizzy couldn't respond but instead nodded to indicate that she understood. "It doesn't make me feel better. The reason why Hayden never had his crew is because I fought him every step of the way. I didn't want to rush into it, I wanted to take my time and not get into kids too quickly."

     "Why did you want to take your time?" Gale asked.

     "It's going to sound dumb." Lizzy said as she put down her mug. "I honest felt we had all the time in the world. We were young and there was no point rushing it. I assumed we would be together and alive for a long time to come. I'd never been so wrong!"

      Gale could tell Lizzy was upset about the subject at hand. Her assumption that they would live long into their golden years cost Lizzy a chance to start a family with the man she loved, something she likely would never forgive herself for. But even if science offered her a second chance, she knew it was never going to be the same and had to make sure Lizzy was fully aware of that before she made her decision.