Chapter 17

Jax watched Bart Silverman as he walked across the main grounds to the cabin he shared with his wife, Meredith. He quietly made his way near a window once Dr. Silverman had entered.

"I talked to Genevive," Meredith announced.

"Honey, I told you I didn't touch her. I would never do that to you."

There was a moment of silence before Meredith spoke, "I know...but still."

"No, there's no but. You're my wife. I love you. I'm not some dumb kid like I was when I was younger. I'm wiser. More mature...and I have better taste." He leaned down and kissed his wife.

Meredith pushed him away, "Stop Bart. You know we can't-"

"Yes we can. We both know sex won't harm the baby."

Meredith shook her head, "We've had three miscarriages. Abstinence has kept this baby alive in me for so long. I told you as soon as I found out we were expecting, I don't even want to risk it. Today I had stomach pains. No Bart. We have to do this for our son."

He pressed his forehead against hers and exhaled, "I'm doing this for our child but as soon as he's born and you're cleared, we're going to have to make up for all this celibacy."

Meredith kissed her husband, "That's a promise."

Outside, Jax wondered how far along Meredith was in her pregnancy. He wondered if Bart was lying about cheating on his wife. He sounded sincere but the doctor did have a dubious past. A few minutes later, Jax saw the couple exit their lodge. He stepped back so they wouldn't see him.

"I'm going to take Mrs. Morgan to the lake. She'll feel more relaxed once she thinks the water is blessing her."

"Okay. I'll get her medical paperwork ready for her. It shouldn't take too long to prep her for tomorrow. Then I'll meet you back in our cabin and we can continue where we left off," Bart tickled his wife who squirmed in his arms.

"Okay. Just go over her chart and the pregnancy pamphlet. Send her back to her husband. Try not to let her ask too many questions or you'll be there for hours."

Bart laughed, "They always have a ton of questions. Remember one of the main reasons these women finally get pregnant is because we get them relaxed. If you want, we can switch and I can go with her to the lake and you can do the briefing."

"No thanks. I don't have the patience for that. If we didn't charge so much, I'd say we should skip the pre-pregnancy briefing completely," Meredith said, her hands on her belly.

"Well it's part of the show. We have to play up the magical lake."

"Magical?" Meredith laughed. "Well it is magical if someone believes it is."

"Shhh before someone hears you," her husband warned.

Jax watched them kiss again before walking in different directions. He was going to follow Bart when he saw Dani Deleon walking cautiously towards the lake.

Without thinking, Jax followed her. The sun was setting and she was trying to stay hidden. Jax wondered what she was up to. She was hiding behind some shrubbery, watching Meredith and Mrs. Morgan. He tapped her shoulder and she jumped.

"Jax, you scared me!"

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Spying. You're not going to believe what I saw. First let's see what the big deal is with this lake."

Jax and Dani watched as Meredith and Mrs. Morgan both walked towards the lake. Mrs. Morgan was in a swimsuit. She slowly walked ahead of Meredith until she was waist-deep in water.

"Stay there for a few minutes. Let the water bless you with its fertility," Meredith instructed.

"This has got to be total BS," Dani whispered to Jax who nodded.

After they watched Meredith give a strange chant, she wrapped Mrs. Morgan in a large towel and the two walked away. Dani and Jax waited until they were out of sight before talking freely.

"You know...I'm not going to lie. I'm slightly disappointed about the whole lake thing," Dani admitted. "I mean, everyone kept talking about it like it's so miraculous. I thought the water would glow or the Lochness monster would come out of nowhere. Maybe some mermaids would jump in the air or something. I don't know but that was a let down."

"The lake is just a scam," Jax said. "I overheard the two doctors talking about it. They're using it as some kind of mental placebo. These women believe the lake is really blessed and become releaxed which makes it easier to conceive."

"So the meeting that she's going to now is also to relax her?"

"Probably," Jax answered. "I'm not too sure."

"Is it still considered a scam if it works?" Dani asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well we're still in stage one but those stage three couples are all pregnant. There were a lot too. So maybe there is something in that water. Or maybe the good doctors do know what they're doing to help these women get pregnant," Dani said.

"I don't know how they manage to help these couples conceive. This entire camp has been odd from the beginning."

"Agreed," Dani said. "I swear all these people are straight-up wackadoos. Speaking of which, I saw the craziest thing, Jax. That Genevive woman isn't really pregnant."

"What are you talking about?"

"Not to sound like a pervert, but I peeked into her cabin and saw her take off a fake stomach."

Jax took that in for a few moments, "I guess the doctor wasn't lying when he said he didn't touch her."

"Plus Meredith told me Genevive's accused several men of being the father of her baby. So maybe Dr. Silverman isn't as bad as we thought."

"The good doctor is off the hook for her pregnancy," Jax agreed. "That Genevive woman must really want to nab a rich man. "

"According to Meredith, she does have a shady past."

"I'm going to go to the cabin where he and that Mrs. Morgan are at. You go back to our cabin," Jax said.

"No way! I'm staying with you," Dani argued.

"Dammit, I can't do my job if I'm too worried about you. Go to the cabin where I know you'll be out of trouble."

"Then I'll be worried about you. No, we need to stick together."

Jax groaned, "And what am I supposed to say if we both get caught spying? One person is easy to lie for. Two people gets complicated."

Dani laughed, "I've already been caught eavesdropping twice. I'll just say it's a couple thing."

Jax just shook his head and continued walking towards the cabin that Mrs. Morgan and Dr. Silverman were in.

"Speaking of couples...can I ask you something? "

"You just did."

Dani frowned, "I hate it when people say that lame joke. I have another question. "

Jax grinned, "Just ask."

"That kiss...that kiss from earlier...was it just for show? Like you only did it because Molly and Simon were there?"

At the time Jax had just wanted to show Simon he didn't have a chance with Dani. Jax remembered Roberto's words to handle Dani with kid gloves. He also thought about Dani losing her memories of his confession to her. Maybe that was a sign that he had moved too fast. He didn't want to scare Dani away or make her feel uncomfortable. So he lied, "Of course it was. Why else would I do that?"

Dani looked away, "Right. That's what I thought."

Jax frowned. Did she sound disappointed? He didn't have too much time to think about it as they arrived at the cabin.

"Window...again?" Dani asked.

Jax nodded. The cabins at Majestic Waters didn't have any kind of air conditioning so the windows were usually kept open in all of the cabins.
They crouched near the window.

"I've looked over your records and your husband's medical records," Dr. Bart Silverman told Mrs. Morgan. "Even the Majestic Lake might not help."

"What do you mean? Why would you say that? This is our last hope. I have to have an heir or my husband will end up divorcing me."

"I'm sure that's not true," Dr. Silverman said.

"Yes it is. You don't know how ruthless his family is. It's why we don't adopt. They only want someone with the Morgan blood to inherit the family fortune. I have to get pregnant. I have to!"

"There, there," Dr. Silverman patted her shoulder. "The good news is that there's nothing wrong with your ability to conceive. It's your husband."

"He can't have children?"

"I'm afraid not."

Mrs. Morgan began crying, "What am I going to do?"

"You'll figure something out. You're a beautiful woman. Most men would kill to father your child. There's more than one way to skin a chicken."

Mrs. Morgan stared at her hands, "I have to have a baby. I don't want to get a divorce. Dr. Silverman, please help me."

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

"Please," she grabbed the lapels of his collar and pulled him forward. "I'll do anything."

"Mrs. Morgan I'm afraid I...wait. I have an idea. You said you'd do anything?"

Mrs. Morgan let go of Dr. Silverman, "Anything."

"If you really want a baby, there is one way," he leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. She gasped and he took a step back before asking, "How badly do you want this baby?"

Mrs. Morgan slowly undid the robe she was wearing while Dr. Silverman quickly moved in front of her naked body.

Outside Dani covered Jax's eyes with her hand and the two turned around and leaned against the outside of the cabin. They could hear the couple inside grunting and groaning. Dani turned to Jax, "I guess the good doctor Silverman isn't so good after all."

Jax nodded, "At least we now have an idea how all those women became pregnant."

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