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Chapter 5 – The Switch

I was pleased that the procedure took less than an hour to complete. After walking out of the clinic, I was given a set of pills and other supplements. I was told I'd have to come back in two weeks for another appointment, a follow-up check to see if the procedure was successful. However, they mentioned they'd call me to confirm the date and time of that week. Talk about a hectic and full schedule.

It was supposed to be a consultation, just like Dana said. Still, as soon as the doctor realized that I was at the peak of my ovulation period, he quickly suggested we perform the procedure and not wait any longer than necessary. Dr. Mathers, who insisted I call him Nate, also happily told me I have one of the healthiest ovaries and uterus the doctor had the rare opportunity to examine in his lifetime "for a human," whatever that means, and getting pregnant shouldn't be a problem. He's expecting all my pregnancies after that to be as easy as a breeze and a walk in the park. I laughed at his antics. I don't even know that I would have another child after this, considering that I do not have a husband to speak of or a plausible prospect for marriage.

I was determined to do this on my own and have my child, so I signed a consent form, and a kind nurse named Betty assisted me in choosing my donor profile. I liked her the instant I saw her. She didn't give me a look that made me feel crazy and delusional for wanting a child and raising my child alone.

I checked some boxes, and they got everything else ready. I'm pretty confident with my choices, and because the sperm donor is supposed to be anonymous, I didn't have to worry about telling the father I was pregnant with his baby.

I thought about my baby, and I fully expect him or her to ask about their father one day when they are old enough. I decided early that I would only tell them the truth. It doesn't make my child any less because he was born out of artificial insemination. I will make sure he or she doesn't ask for anything and pour every ounce of love I have into him or her. The gender of my child, whether the baby is going to be a girl or a boy, doesn't matter. All I want is for my child to be born strong and healthy.

I thought of my parents, Joe and Lidia, and how they loved and cared for me all through these years, as I am their one and only child. They hoped they could have more, but fate wasn't in their favor. My parents tried to conceive a few years after I was born. They wanted me to have siblings to play with and grow up with, but given that they both were in their late thirties when they met and had me when my mother, Lidia, was already in her early forties, their chances of conceiving again were slim to none. In fact, they told me once that I was their miracle baby. It was also something that I considered, being in my early thirties already, and my chances of meeting or dating another man I love or at least like and starting a new relationship before deciding to get married may take a while or never again. Having no prospects of marriage or even a man open enough to have children with me solidified my decision to have a child alone.

I know it may sound absurd to some, but being a mother has always been a dream of mine that I just can't let go of. I'm taking the shortcut, and I know I will never have regrets. I've made sure I can take care of my child with or without the support of a man. Why else did I work so hard and intensely all these years if I couldn't provide my child with a roof over her head, food on our table, and clothes on his or her back?

Back at the fertility clinic, everyone was happy for yet another operation procedure that was completed successfully without a hitch. Given the clinic's reputation for having a 100% success rate, there is no doubt that the lady they just implanted will return in two weeks with life already forming in her womb.

Everything was in order, and as they started the strict standard procedure of cleaning up and sanitizing their equipment in the operation room, Dr. Mathers decided he now deserved to take a break and work on some paperwork that had been piling up on his desk before the day ended.

He was walking casually in one of the clinic's corridors on the way to his office when the nurse who assisted him with the procedure came bustling from the adjacent intersection leading to the storage rooms and bumped into Dr. Mathers. She was not alone; right behind her was the man Mr. Mathers was quite familiar with. Barry is the clinic's head andrologist and supervises the entire storage of the samples in the facility. An andrologist takes care of placing prepared sperm into a unique freezing solution in small vials for their operations. They take care of the harvested sperm or egg specimens they get from the donors or their clients who wish to store their specimens and place them in specifically labeled vials that go into storage freezers containing liquid nitrogen.

Nate immediately noticed how nervous the two were; given his heightened senses, he could almost taste their fear and trepidation. Somethings wrong.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Doctor," the nurse named Betty started, "I'm sorry for bumping at you like that. We were actually on our way to see you." She said her breath was in a hitch, like she was just running. She continued, "About the procedure earlier...

Nate looked at both of them while they exchanged nervous glances with each other. He had known both of them for quite some time now, and they were one of the few people whom he trusted. Betty is in her mid-fifties and has over thirty years of experience as a nurse. She is thoroughly trained for all the procedures they offer at the clinic. Barry joined them a few years later after being extensively trained to store their specimens securely.

"Out with it," Nate said as they rounded the corner to this office. He proceeded to open his office door with his nameplate and close the door. He only had a few seconds before Barry started speaking.

"Were you not quite sure..." Barry started to talk in a stutter as he looked at Betty and then back to Dr. Mathers. "But the specimen you used earlier for the procedure..." he visibly gulped, his tone off, "might be the wrong sperm donor specimen."

"What do you mean by the 'wrong donor specimen'?" Nate asked, confused. "I used the vials you placed right here in the operation room. That was supposed to be checked by you and Betty before it was delivered there."

Barry gulped once more, with perspiration visibly running from his forehead to his sideburns despite the cold air conditioning of the room. "D-Dr. Mathers, I'm sorry." He started, "I was supposed to pull the specimen from the designated green-labeled specimen vials, and I did."

"The common sperm donor specimens," added Betty, glaring at Barry.

"Yes, yes, I know." Barry huffed in frustration. "But I was also busy filling and arranging the vials from the blue-labeled section that..."

"You what??" Nate exclaimed. Now they both have his full attention.

Betty covered her face in evident disappointment. "He asked the intern to prepare the specimens," Betty continued, "And the intern got confused and completely disregarded the colored labels and gave us the wrong sperm donor specimen from what we requested from the file."

Betty placed a piece of paper on Dr. Mathers's desk; written on it was a set of alphanumeric codes that simplify the tracking, labeling, and storage of all specimens. The code also ensured that their donors stayed anonymous unless they had the clearance to check the donor profiles in the clinics' database.

Dr. Mathers quickly fired up the laptop on his desk and logged in to the clinic's portal to check who the donor was.

"It was too late when I realized he switched the vials." He said it in defeat. "You were already in the operation room in the middle of the procedure," Barry said, looking down at his shoes, almost like a rowdy kid called to the principal's office after he had made some mischief in the playground. "I messed up, and I'm sorry."

Dr. Mathers was staring at his laptop screen, where the donor profile should be, completely horrified. "Holy fuck." He said this, looking at both Barry and Betty.

Betty grimaced. Barry is sweating like it's the middle of summer in the Sahara desert. Betty knew exactly why Dr. Mathers cursed. In all her years working with him, Dr. Nate Mathers never cursed.

"We're completely fucked." Nate said, both hands up in his face. On his screen was the profile of the sperm owner he had just inseminated, Ms. Clara Beaufort. He definitely was not a typical donor, or even a sperm donor. The sperm specimen, according to the file, was held at the clinic for their top-tier technology and advanced storage units for a study about genetics under the research supervision of Dr. Dana Cortez.

On top of the profile document was a label in big, bold, red capital letters that he hoped he didn't see: – RESTRICTED AND CONFIDENTIAL PROFILE ACCESS—LYCAN ALPHA CATEGORY.

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