Chapter Text
Punctuality was very important in her line of work. That's why Hope got used to arriving at least 15 minutes earlier and it gives her the opportunity to use that time to review her notes. Of course that means that whenever the person she's supposed to interview runs late it gets real annoying fast.
Harvey had given her the assignment of interviewing a YA novelist that made a name for herself thanks to the way she wrote disabled children. However the woman was running 20 minutes late and Hope’s patience was running out. After memorizing her notes Hope alternated her time by looking at her watch and glaring at the doors of the cafe, willing the woman to hurry up.
Just when she was texting Laura to find out how much longer she had to wait someone called her name.
Hope looked up and recognized the YA novelist she was supposed to write a profile on.
"Sorry I'm late but my babysitter is sick so I had to bring my daughter along and it's not easy leaving the house with a seven months baby."
The woman was in fact pushing a stroller with a dozing baby in it. At least the baby looked cute with her little pink onesie.
"Don't worry about it. If you're ready we can start." Hope was more than willing to cut the mother some slack but she still had a job to do.
The writer offered insightful answers and while she listened Hope could see what the article would be like.
They were almost done when the baby that had been sitting contentedly half awake started to cry.
"Shh what's wrong sweetie? Are you hungry?" The woman was quick to bring the baby to her arms. With her free hand she checked the diaper bag that was hanging on the stroller. "I left the food in the car, do you mind holding her for a minute?"
"Sure," Hope blinked and hesitantly took the baby. The baby was letting out soft whimpers but when she found herself up close with a stranger she put her fist in her mouth and stared curiously at Hope. Hope smiled and relaxed, holding the baby much more naturally.
True to her word it didn’t take long for the writer to come back.
"Thank you, there's never a dull moment when you have kids you know?”
Hope offered the woman a tight-lipped smile. The rest of the interview went by quickly but from time to time Hope would look over to the the baby busy with her bottle.
**
Later on, whenever someone asked she'll say that was the moment the idea came to her mind. And after some research she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
**
It was a no brainer who she was going to tell first. Hope and Carli did their best to see each other at least once a month, lately Hope's schedule had been crazy so when Hope called Carli to meet up for lunch her best friend agreed immediately. Her plan was to wait to drop the bomb after they were done eating but she didn’t last that long, right after the waiter takes their order she just blurted it out.
"I want to have a baby. I'm going to have a baby." She amended.
"You're pregnant?" Carli screeched in a very unusual way. In any other circumstance it would’ve been hilarious.
"Not yet. But I’ve been going to a fertility doctor and I already have an appointment for the procedure."
"So you're going to be a single mother?" There's no judgment in Carli's voice but she's obviously having trouble understanding. Until now Hope had only vaguely mentioned wanting to have a family.
"Yes, I want to be a mother and my love life is a mess. I don't want to wait to meet "the one" to start a family. A marriage doesn't guarantee a happy ending." Hope always tried to think about her ideal partner but each day the picture seemed more blurry.
"You're crazy."
"But you already knew that." Hope smirked and that at least earned her a smile from her best friend.
"Are you sure about this? You're 33, you still have time." Even as she asked Carli knew Hope was too driven for this to just be a fleeting desire.
"I know I'm not that old but I just feel it in my heart that this is the right thing to do."
Carli took a long moment to just take in her best friend. She could tell how much this meant for Hope and knew that she would always support her.
"You're going to be a great mom."
Hope smiled relieved. It meant a lot to her to know that she has the support of her best friend, and by proxy Brian. There were still a lot of people she needed to tell like her mom and probably Laura but those were going to be easier, now that she knew she had people in her corner.
After that Carli offered to accompany her to the doctor’s appointment, including the day of the intrauterine insemination, or day 0 as Hope called it. Funnily enough she had met Doctor Dawn Scott a few months ago when she was working on an article about the options to have children of the LGBT community so when Hope decided she wanted to have a baby she already knew who she wanted as her doctor.
"Ok Hope we're good to go. Now, I know you're excited but I have to remind you that the percent of woman that becomes pregnant after one cycle of IUI ranges from 10 to 20 percent." Dawn gently reminded her.
There was no need for it though, Hope had done more than enough research and she was trying to keep her expectations in check. She knew that despite the fact that every single exam she has gone through indicated that there was no reason to think this wouldn’t work for her it didn’t mean much.
Hope nodded in recognition all the same. "Let's do this," she said determinedly.