“My chances of having kids as well,” she whimpers.
Fuck.
I straighten up, then I shake my head again. “There has to be something we can do.”
Danny weakly lifts a shoulder. “Like?”
Right then, Sarah comes in. My gaze snaps to her. “Isn’t there a way we can preserve Danny’s eggs?”
“Oh yeah. Hasn’t Dr. Friedman spoken to you about preserving your eggs?” Sarah asks. Both Danny and I shake our heads, and it has Sarah saying. “Let me page him.”
My lips curve slightly as I turn my eyes back to Danny. “See, there is something we can do. Okay?” I lean over her and press a tender kiss to her mouth. “I fucked up, but at least it led to this conversation so we can plan for the future.”
Danny gives me a weak smile. “Yeah.”
We have to wait an hour before Dr. Friedman comes to see us. After we explain everything, he says, “It’s something we offer all our patients when they’re facing radiation and chemo. We can extract your eggs and keep them frozen until you’re ready to have children.”
“But will I be able to carry a child?” Danny asks, her voice tight with tension.
“Yes. The radiation and chemo only affect your fertility, not your womb,” Dr. Friedman explains.
Danny lets out a relieved sigh. “When can we do the procedure?”
“I’ll have it scheduled with an OB/Gyn for the day before you start with radiation.” Dr. Friedman gives Danny a warm smile. “Any other questions.” When she shakes her head, he moves closer. “Let me check everything while I’m here.”
I stand back and cross my arms over my chest as I watch Dr. Friedman do his checks. Once he’s done, I smile and murmur, “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When he leaves the room, I move back to Danny’s side. Her eyes meet mine, and I’m relieved to see the fear has retreated. Still, I ask, “Feeling better?”
She nods.
I sit down again and take her left hand in both of mine. “Have you ever thought of baby names?”
Danny shakes her head. “Not really.”
I pull my phone out and search baby names, and then I hold the screen so Danny can see. Starting with boys, I murmur, “Peter. Definitely not Noah.”
It draws a smile from Danny. “I like Elijah.”
My eyes dart to hers. “Yeah?”
She begins to get into it. “Or Ryder. Like a combination of our names. Kind of.”
Smiling, I nod. “Well, that sorts out the name if we have a boy.”
When Danny chuckles, I let out a breath of relief, then I say, “Now for girls. We’ve got Olivia, Ava, Isabella, Amelia, Harper…”
Danny pulls a face. “I don’t like any of those. Do you?”
Shaking my head, I search for more names. “How about Ella, Grace, Leah?”
She shakes her head again, and then she thinks for a moment. “Ryelle? Does that sound weird?”
“It’s unique,” I murmur, then test the name, “Ryelle.” Tightening my hold on Danny’s hand, I smile. “A little bit of me and a little bit of you.”
Danny lowers her gaze before looking at me again. “I really want to have a child.”
“As soon as you’re better, we’ll make it happen,” I grin.
Danny’s smile grows a little more, and then we just stare at each other until her eyes drift shut.
Chapter 26
DANNY
The past week has been busy. Yesterday my eggs were harvested, so at least there’s that.
I’m scheduled for an MRI and then my first radiation session. Dr. Friedman said I should be able to go home afterward.
I’m nervous, but I’ll just have to get used to it. I’ll be receiving radiation Monday through Friday for the next six weeks. At least I get weekends off.
“What are you thinking about?” Ryker asks.
“Radiation. Going home,” I murmur. My gaze lifts to his. “You should go back to work. I can get a chauffeur to bring me for the treatments.
“That’s not open for discussion,” Ryker disagrees. “I’ll bring you.”
“Yeah, but work –”
He shakes his head. “Work’s not going anywhere. My dad’s filling in for me. Stop worrying about Indie Ink. Just focus on yourself. Okay?”
Tilting my head, I ask, “What are you going to do at home all day?”
His lips instantly curve up. “Look after you… love you.”
“I’ll probably sleep most of the time,” I mutter.
“Then I’ll just stare at you,” he jokes. Ryker takes a deep breath. “There’s a couple of things I want to do around the house. I have plenty to keep myself busy with.”
“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?” I ask. When he shakes his head, I lift my hand and brush my fingers over his jaw. “I need to apologize in advance.”
“For?” he asks.
“Any throwing up and hair shedding I might do.” I try to play it off as a joke, but in reality, it’s embarrassing.
Ryker immediately picks up on it, and locking his eyes on mine, he says, “Don’t worry about that, Danny. I’ve read up about the side-effects. I know what to expect.” He turns his face, pressing a kiss to my palm. “You getting better is all that matters.”