Treading Softly
By Purple Lacey
Part Three
July 13, 2003 - Sunday
The evening news was just coming on and Ezra just starting to prepare some dinner for himself when the door bell of his condo chimed. The agent quietly made his way to the slim window fronting his living room and peeked out. He was not expecting company and in his line of work unexpected visitors were something to be approached cautiously. The man relaxed on seeing it was only one of his teammates. He unlocked the door and stepped back to let the man enter.
"Good evening, Buck," he greeted his teammate. "I was not expecting you. Is something wrong? Have I forgotten an appointment, perhaps?"
"Nah, Ez," Buck replied, seeming to be a bit nervous. "I…uh…I just wanted to talk with you…if that's alright."
Puzzled by the big man's unease, Ezra assured him he was welcome and invited him in. He closed the door and led Buck into his living room then invited him to be seated.
"What was so important that it couldn't have waited until work tomorrow?" The green eyed agent asked curiously.
"Well…uh…see…the thing is…" Buck fumbled.
"You seem rather troubled, Buck," Ezra interrupted. "Is everything alright? Is there something wrong with you or one of our colleagues?"
"No, no," Buck hastened to reassure him. "They're all fine as far as I know."
"Then what has you so discomposed?"
Wilmington took a deep breath and seemed to gather his courage then answered, "I got something for you and I don't know if you're gonna be mad at me or not. I hope not. I just wanted to… well, you really needed… ah, hell!" Buck ran an agitated hand through his dark hair.
More curious than ever, Ezra told him, "Buck. Whatever it is, just say it."
The other man looked at him closely then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a rolled up manila folder like they used for cases. "Okay," he began nervously. "I know you wanted to drop the whole thing you told us about wanting children and not being able to have them." He hurried ahead when he saw Ezra's posture stiffen. "I didn't tell nobody about it, honest! Swear to God! I just got to thinking about how unfair it was that you wanted a kid of you own so bad and couldn't have one. I mean, you're so good with kids. If ever anybody was a natural born father it'd have to be you. It just didn't seem right that you shouldn't be able to adopt one. I just kept thinking there had to be way."
"I appreciate your good opinion of me, but I assure you, I've gone over all the adoption rules many times. There is no chance of me being allowed to adopt a child, even an older one," Ezra tried to keep the pain of that from his voice.
"I know," Buck said sadly. "I checked it out too. I had an informal conversation with a lady I know in Family Services."
"Then you see it is hopeless," Ezra murmured. "I must simply learn to live with it."
"Now don't be so hasty," Buck rushed in to say. "I told you I talked with my friend in family services. Well something she said in passing caught my interest, so I did a little research."
"Go on. I'm listening," Ezra said cautiously, desperately trying not to get his hopes up.
"Well you wouldn't have to pass any tests or jump through any hoops if the kid was your own flesh and blood," Buck said with a smile.
Ezra's face fell as did the tiny balloon of hope that had begun growing in spite of his best efforts to quell it.
"I have already informed you of exactly how impossible that is," Ezra said stiffly.
"Just hear me out first, okay," the other man jumped in quickly. "I know what you said, and I understand. Sex is out. I got that. But what if you could have a child without the sex part?"
Ezra raised a skeptical eyebrow and said sarcastically, "If memory serves from my high school health classes, sex is a requisite for procreation"
Buck grinned and answered, "Well yes…and no. You got to remember we're living in the Twenty First century here."
"If you expect me to participate in some genetic experiment straight out of a science fiction movie, you are definitely out of your mind!" Ezra asserted emphatically as he jumped up to stand over the other man.
"Settle down, Ez and let me explain," Buck rose and grabbed onto his teammate's arm and held him in one place until he had calmed a bit. "Okay. Here's my idea. Artificial insemination,' Buck almost shot the words at the other man.
Ezra looked back at him in shock. "What!"
"You heard me. Artificial insemination. Ranchers have been doing it for decades, and fertility doctors have been doing it to people almost as long. You wouldn't have to be with a woman that way. Simple," the ends of his dark mustache almost touched his ears as Buck smiled.
The undercover agent rubbed his head wearily as he said, "It would still require a woman to gestate the child and give birth. If you will look around, you will find I'm fresh out of those."
"Naw. That's the easy part," Buck said enthusiastically and sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees with the folder dangling from his hand as he continued his explanation. "See, like I said, I been doing some research. I found this place that …I guess brokers is a good word…for host mothers. From what I found out there's a big market for 'em and this place acts to hook up potential parents who need one with a host mother. It's actually in Boulder. I had a couple of friends on the Boulder PD check it out for me. The place is legit. I checked out their website and printed out some stuff for you to see. I also made a few phone calls." He handed the folder he'd pulled from his jacket to Ezra who took it gingerly and started leafing through it.
"See it works like this. The broker has a list of available host mothers who have passed their screening. Apparently they do a deep background check on all their candidates including family medical history, psych evaluations and such. They weed out those with mental or physical health problems. They also check for criminal backgrounds and character. That's to help make sure the host mother doesn't try to scam anyone."
"So what would keep the host mother from deciding to keep the child for herself after it is born?" Ezra asked his curiosity aroused again.
"There's no hundred percent guarantee," Buck admitted, "But the agency has the host mother's sign legal papers relinquishing all rights to the child before it's born. And the way I understand it, they never even see the baby after it's delivered. They also sign an agreement that if they should change their mind and choose to keep the baby they are liable for all the expenses that were paid for them, plus a heavy interest penalty just to help discourage them. And the biological father would still have the right to sue for custody if that happened, with the agency's full cooperation, in the form of their legal team, behind him."
"What's to keep the mother from showing up on the parents' doorstep later either to claim the child or extort money?"
"That's the beauty of it, neither the host mother nor the other parent know any personal information about each other. Even the lab techs and doctors don't know anymore than case numbers. There's no way to connect the two. The only ones who know both the mother and father are the brokers and they're bound by a confidentiality agreement so they won't tell without a court order. Even the relinquishment of rights remains sealed in the records so you won't ever know the mother's identity unless someone contacts you with a claim on the child, then all you'd do would be contact the broker and they'd verify the validity of the claim for you.
As a final safety measure, apparently a month or so before the baby is due to be born the agency helps the mother legally change her name. That's the name that will be entered on the birth certificate and sent to the Bureau of Vital Statistics to be entered in the birth records. After the birth, the mother changes her name back. Since the women on the agency's roster come from all over the country, there isn't any easy way for the father to find the court record for the name change, thus protecting the mother's privacy. I tell you, Ez, these guys have got all the bases covered."
"Then how could you be certain the child you received was actually of your own blood?"
"They do a paternity test before the baby even leaves the hospital," Buck assured him.
"Would not this broker be hesitant to provide services to one of my vocation? The adoption agencies certainly felt justified in turning me away because of it."
"Nah. They provide services to clients who want their own children regardless. It seems a lot of their business is…ah…from gay couples and single professionals. Apparently a lot of people these days want a family but don't want the spouse that traditionally comes with it, or just don't want to take the risk of winding up in divorce court in a custody battle." Buck shrugged. "Their philosophy is everyone that wants a child of their own should be able to have one."
"It almost sounds too good to be true," Ezra whispered looking through the sheets of paper in his hands.
"I don't know if this is what's best for you or not, Ez," Buck said watching him closely. "That's up to you to decide. I just wanted to let you know you still had an option, still had a chance if you wanted to take it."
Ezra looked up at his friend with green eyes shining in gratitude. "Thank you, my friend. You have given me hope where there was none. I don't know how to express what that means to me."
Buck grinned and thumped the other man on the arm fondly, "Don't need thanks. The way I figure it, this may be the closest I'll get to being an uncle anytime soon. It'd be nice to have a young'un around to spoil rotten."
"I could not conceive of a better uncle for any child of mine," Ezra smiled back. "I was just about to make some dinner. Would you care to join me? You can tell me what else you learned in your researches."
"You wouldn't by any chance be making that casserole thing you brought out to Chris' ranch a few weeks ago would you?" Buck asked coyly, "That was sure some delicious eating."
Ezra laughed, suddenly feeling lighter and more positive than he had in a long time. "I believe I do have the necessary ingredients."
"Then I'm stayin'," Buck assured him and sat back down on the couch with an infectious grin.
"Excellent!" Ezra declared, and walked into the kitchen to begin dinner.
"I don't suppose you got any of that wine you brought to go with it?" Buck joked.
"Tonight…for you?…Certainly!" came the happy call from the kitchen.
Buck laughed and settled back on the sofa, putting his feet up on the coffee table as he murmured, "I could to get used to this."