Condensed, Evaporated, and Whole

Dose

[A/N: Going back to a real-life story about Lana and Manuel... But I gotta say a few things first about this chapter.

Initially I was really excited to write this because I felt that it was something that hasn't been done before, or at least not often, and especially not by me, so I was curious to experiment with it and see where it might lead. But the more I wrote and the longer it got, the less confident I felt about it. I wasn't sure whether I even wanted to post it, but then I thought, I've been working on it for weeks, and if I'm not even posting the result, I'll have nothing to show for it.

So yeah... I'm going ahead and post it, but I might delete it later, not quite sure yet. Maybe I'm being weird, but I was just not feeling this one this time. Hope some of you will still enjoy!]

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„Miss Parrilla?"

He could feel her hand jerk inside his, and her head shot up when her name was called.

„The doctor will see you now."

She took one more deep breath and turned to look at him, soaking up the warm, encouraging smile and the nod he was giving her.

„Let's do this...", he whispered.

„Lana!", said Dr. Miglani, a friendly looking woman in her fifties with her long black hair with grey streaks tied back into a bun and a pair of low cut reading glasses, greeting her patient with a warm smile while looking at her over the rim.

As one of LA's most estimated fertility specialists, she knew how to make her patients feel completely at ease and instantly trust her with their most intimate struggles, which was such a crucial part of making each and every fertility story as successful as possible.

„It's so great to see you again! And under much happier circumstances this time?", she smiled, changing focus to the tall, handsome man her client had brought along who was so stoically holding her hand.

„Yeah, well... I hope so!", Lana chuckled, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, „This is my partner..."

„Manuel", he chimed in, „Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Miglani."

„Likewise! Can't say I don't know who you are, I'm quite the sucker for a good courtroom drama, so... you can imagine, it's an honor to have the Lincoln Lawyer himself sitting here in front of me today. I absolutely adored the second season, especially the two of you together! And let's just say, I'm not surprised the sparks weren't just flying in front of the camera, but apparently also backstage. You two are an amazing couple, if you allow me that bit of fangirling."

„Oh", Lana blushed, „Thank you! That's really sweet..."

„But, enough of me! I know we briefly talked on the phone, but..."

„Yeah, so... we've been together for about a year now, and for about half a year we've been trying to conceive naturally, we've tried everything from trying to find the right timing to different positions, to resting on my back for about thirty minutes with elevated hips... which is a lot of fun, but, obviously hasn't worked yet. Now, I know that six months isn't long at all, but we also want to be realistic. I'm 46 now, going on 47, and our chances aren't exactly growing, so...", she took a deep breath and realized that she was already close to tears, that's how close to her heart the dream of finally becoming a mother and having a child of her own still was, „I mean, what else did I freeze those eggs for, right?"

„You're absolutely right! Even though it may seem counterintuitive, but those eggs that we harvested when you were 41 and that have been frozen for five years are still much more likely to give you a healthy baby at the end of the day than the eggs you have right now."