"I'm so excited Master," Sonia said with a yawn. "I just wish I wasn't so tired. How do you manage to look alive after the night we had last night?"
I glanced around at my pets as we pulled in to the clinic parking area and laughed. They had all wanted to come with me to my nine o'clock appointment, and were regretting staying out until one in the morning dancing now. We had been in Los Angeles for a couple days now, and I thought my pets might enjoy a night of dancing. I had booked at the Sofitel because they have a nightclub and we were only going to be here for a couple days.
"I recall going to bed around eleven, but I also seem to recall several pets begging me to let them stay and dance," I reminded her. "I gave you permission to stay as late as you wished, but reminded you we had an appointment this morning."
"Sorry Master, we kind of lost track of the time," she replied with a blush. "We were having too much fun dancing and shooting down the men who tried to take us home. The only reason we came back as early as we did was I saw some guy try to slip something in Kiera's drink and decide it was time to go. I did point out the guy to the doorman on our way out though, because I didn't want some poor girl getting raped."
I nodded in approval as the driver opened the door for us, "You did good." I had told them to watch out for each other and not to let anyone buy them drinks. Anyone trying to drug one of them would be in for a rude awakening when the other three descended on him, but it was still better to avoid the problem all togeather.
Entering the clinic was a bit of a shock. It looked more like a well-appointed living room than any medical office I had ever seen. If not for the young lady at the desk who greeted us, I would have thought I was in the wrong place. I had barely sat down after filling out the paperwork when the nurse called my name.
"Mister Frame, the doctor is ready for you. If you wish your partner to join you, it's highly encouraged." Her eyebrows shot up when all my pets jumped up to join me. "I suppose there is enough space in the consultation room if you wish for all of them to join you."
When I looked back and nodded, their quiet 'thank you Master' got a curious look from the nurse and made them blush. Her chuckle as she led us into the back cleared the air. "We are in the middle of Los Angeles, so you are not the first alternative lifestyle I have seen here. I am just curious how you manage to keep up with all four of them."
I couldn't help but laugh. "I get a little help from modern pharmacology, but mostly I let them take care of each other when I get worn out. It seems to work out well enough."
She reviewed the girls as they filed into the room and took their seats. "They certainly seem happy enough with the arrangement, whatever it is. I will let the doctor know you are ready for him. He should be in in just a few minutes."
Once again, the lack of waiting caught me by surprise, as the doctor walked in less than five minutes later. "Mister Frame, I'm Dr. Turek. I've already been over your records and test results, but I would like to hear your view of what brought you here."
We discussed my previous attempts to have children and went over most of my medical history before he got down to the point of our visit. "We have a good news, bad news scenario here. The good news is that Dr. Bazzoli is an expert in female reproductive problems and knows how to properly test a semen sample. He did a full pellet analysis on both samples and they showed no sperm. With your blood tests showing normal hormone levels, and your physical showing none of the issues that I would look for, that is a good thing for us."
"The bad news is that he didn't even recommend you have a testis biopsy to see if you are producing sperm. With you having had a corrective surgery for an inguinal hernia, there is a chance the vas deferens was damaged or blocked and you are still producing sperm, it's just not getting through to your ejaculate. A testis biopsy would have been helpful, but thankfully we don't need it," he said as he flipped through my paperwork.
"As I am sure my staff told you, we put our international clients on a rush processing so you don't have to wait around for test results. You have been through the checklist and signed off on the FNA mapping procedure. It's similar to a testis biopsy, but less invasive and has a much faster recover time. I have been developing a new test though, that is entirely noninvasive, called metabolic mapping. It is basically an MRI scan that measures the cellular activity of the testis that is associated with sperm production. If it's inconclusive we can still do the FNA mapping, but it could save you recovery time and a significant amount of soreness."
I had to admit that it sounded far better than having a needle, even a tiny one, jammed into my testicles. "That sounds like a plan. When can we schedule the scan?"
Dr. Turek chuckled as he checked his watch, "How about now? We just got our own scanner since the one at Cedars Sinai is scheduled at least a week out for non-emergency purposes. The scan will only take half an hour and will let us know if we can skip the FNA mapping."
I was all for a chance to skip the needles. Before we left he popped open a cabinet, exposing the television inside and handed the girls the remote so they could keep themselves entertained while we were gone. Forty-five minutes later the nurse was leading me back into the room, telling me the doctor would be back as soon as he finished reading the results.
We watched half an hour of The Price Is Right before the doctor came in with a smile on his face. "We have another good news, bad news situation, but I guarantee the good news will make the bad news irrelevant. The good news is you have the sperm production of a man half your age, so the problem is an obstruction and something we can fix with a high chance of success. I have a surgical appointment open on Friday afternoon if you are available."
I could see the bright smiles on my pet's faces when I nodded. "Friday will be perfect, but I have a couple questions. What is the bad news, and how long should I wait before flying? We delayed an extended vacation and I need to arrange for the flights so we can get back to relaxing on a tropical beach."
"It is a microsurgery, so I would wait until Monday to depart unless you have excessive pain or swelling. You should also try to walk around a bit every half hour or so during the flight if possible," he told me. "As for the bad news, the first day after the procedure should be as much rest as possible, but you will need to refrain from any strenuous activity, including sex, for at least five days. After that, you can let your body be the determining factor. If there is any pain or discomfort, wait a couple more days."