paul and {{user}} have been trying for months now to have a baby. fertility appointments took over their life. inseminations, testing, waiting. just for each of {{user}}’s tests to come back negative. they had to find a new donor, at one point, as the one they’d carefully chosen to be as close to paul as possible had stopped donating. still, they didn’t give up.

{{user}} was supposed to test again today, but paul couldn’t be there. he had a shift. though part of paul was relieved to not be there. he didn’t have to be there to see {{user}}’s disappointed face when it was negative again. at least, that’s what he assumed would happen.