Chapter Text
Sasha chewed on the inside of his lip, flipping through the folder as the plastic chair holding him up groaned. The agent he and Ike spoke to on the phone left them alone five minutes ago to get them bottles of water. It felt like the longest five minutes of Sasha’s life.
He took in a breath, shifting in his seat and making the chair creak. His head snapped to the side as Ike grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back, tasting a bit of blood in his mouth from chewing on his lip.
Right, he wasn’t alone. Ike was with him and sat right beside him during the four months it took for them to have this appointment.
Ike shut the file he picked up, placing it back on the table. “Did you find someone?” he asked, his voice quiet even in the silent room.
Sasha scrunched up his nose, looking at the name and picture attached to the file he picked up. Cornelia Goodall seemed like a good candidate, she was the same type of bear as Ike, but Sasha couldn’t tell much from the easy, frozen smile on her face. “Maybe,” he said as their agent came back into the room with two cold bottles of water.
“Sorry it took me so long.” she said, smiling at them as she slid the bottles toward them. “Have you had a chance to look at the candidates yet?” Maggie asked, glancing at the folder still in Sasha’s hands.
“Oh, yeah, yeah we have,” Sasha replied, shutting Cornelia’s folder and setting it back beside the others.
“I’m glad,” Maggie hummed. “We can look through them again together if you two haven’t made a choice yet.” the gray squirrel continued.
Sasha risked a glance at his husband, watching Ike nod. The bunny swallowed, twisting his wedding ring around his finger as Maggie slid the file he just had toward herself.
“Oh, Cornelia’s been with us for five years now,” Maggie said, looking at Sasha. “Would you like me to schedule a meeting with her? Or would you rather someone else?” she asked as Ike reached for the folder.
“Would it be better to have someone experienced?” Ike asked, earning a nod from Maggie.
Sasha opened the bottle of water, taking a few sips before setting it back on the table. He let Ike and Maggie talk, fiddling with the cap of his water bottle.
“–already took paternity leave, so has Sasha.” Ike said as the bunny tuned back into the conversation. “But we’ve, we’re pretty nervous about this,” Ike chuckled, slipping his hand into Sasha’s.
Maggie’s smile came back. “That’s perfectly fine, most people are,” she replied. “It’s great you two seem so prepared already.”
Sasha nodded, looking down at Cornelia’s file. Being prepared was only half the battle. What if this woman wasn’t as experienced as Maggie said was? What if something went wrong during the donation and IVF?
Sasha’s leg jiggled, the bunny taking another sip of water to calm himself down.
“So, if we meet with her and everything works out,” Sasha started. “What happens next?”
“Well, you’ll have a happy baby on your hands,” Maggie chirped. “The agency and hospital take extra care during the prenatal section so you and the surrogate are happy.”
Sasha nodded. Their medical records were spotless and there was no way Harmony Hospital would set them up with someone who wasn’t prepared for this.
Sasha and Ike left the agency as the sun shone brightly, warmth hitting the pair as they made their way to the car. They had a meeting scheduled with Cornelia next Thursday.