The (Unusual) Surrogate Mother

The (Unusual) Surrogate Mother

© JoeMo1619 - November 2026 ff.

It really was a beautiful summer evening, warm but not too hot, with a gentle breeze blowing across Hamburg's Outer Alster Lake. Dr. Harald Tamm, 37, a senior physician at Barmbek General Hospital (AK Barmbek) and Dr. Rainer Falck, 36, a specialist lawyer in tax criminal law and partner at a prestigious Hamburg law firm, were sitting in the small garden area of their favourite restaurant, "Karlotta". Rainer's iPad was lying on the little table between them as Natascha brought them two glasses of wonderfully chilled Pinot Grigio and two bottles of sparkling mineral water.

Harald and Rainer had met three years earlier at "Karlotta", a discreet but well-known meeting place in the city for gay men, lesbian women and people moving between the worlds of homosexuality and heterosexuality. It was, so to speak, love at first sight between Harald and Rainer, and eighteen months later their relationship culminated in a formal marriage ceremony and a huge party at "Karlotta".

Natascha Kilmashenkov was practically part of the furniture at "Karlotta". Having fled Eastern Ukraine with her mother and her older sister in 2014she had worked extremely hard to complete her 'Abitur' (German university entrance qualification) in Hamburg and was now reading psychology at Hamburg University. Unfortunately, she was progressing more slowly than she would have liked because she had to finance both her living expenses and her studies herself. As a result, she worked six days a week at "Karlotta", even though she personally had nothing to do with that particular lifestyle. Quite simply, she had no time for a sex life of her own.

"I did some extensive research on the internet yesterday and today", Natascha overheard Rainer's remarks as he pointed at the screen with his index finger and then tapped on a saved link- "In certain US states, even gay couples have no legal or organisational problem finding a surrogate mother. There are professional agencies that match you with a suitable surrogate based on your desired profile."

Natascha had a cheeky remark on the tip of her tongue, but she kept it to herself. She liked Harald and Rainer, who were regular customers and always left a decent tip, and she didn't want to upset them. Still, she found it curious that the two married gay men apparently wanted to expand their family with a child of their own rather than, for example, adopting one. In her home country, a horrifying number of children had lost both parents in the war with Russia and were logging for a stable home. When Natascha noticed the empty glasses half an hour later, she approached their table again. Harald and Rainer were still deeply in conversation.

"Another round of the same?" Natascha asked professionally, having just overheard another remark from Rainer.

"Surrogacy in the United States is also perfectly legal under German law. But the whole thing is extremely expensive. You have to budget at least 100,000 to 150,000 USD in total."

"What? That expensive?" Natascha blurted out, making a comment that was certainly not entirely appropriate.

Harald and Rainer looked up at her in surprise and astonishment. Rainer was the first to respond. "Yes, dear Natascha. It is cheaper in India or Southeast Asia, but then you would inevitably end up with a mixed-race child."

"And what about my home country?"

"Certainly considerably cheaper, but there is hardly any legal protection. Afterwards you might have major problems getting the German authorities to recognise your paternity, even if you can genetically prove that you are the father."

"That's crazy," Natascha said, shaking her head. Then she nodded. "Sorry for butting in like that. It really is none of my business, but the price of a surrogate child was simply staggering." She shook her head again. "You could almost turn it into a profession and earn your living by getting pregnant."

With that remark, she turned around and went back to her evening duties. Consequently, she didn't notice that both Rainer and Harald continued watching her for quite some time.

Four week later, Harald and Rainer were sitting at the same table in the garden area of "Karlotta". Harald had the hospital's on-call phone lying on the table, so he ordered only a non-alcoholic apple spritzer.

"Any success with your search for a surrogate mother?" Natascha asked quite casually as she served their drinks. "I found it really interesting what you told me last time."

"Not really," Rainer replied somewhat hesitantly, almost embarrassed. This was quite unlike his normally cheerful and dynamic self. "It's a difficult decision. We know our own DNA, which we could pass on through the sperm donation. But the surrogate mother is essentially just a computer-generated profile that you choose from skin colour, hair colour and other such trivial details. Yet the surrogate mother's character and intelligence are passed on through her DNA just as strongly as the father's. And all you have to go on is a profile, a photograph or perhaps a video clip. It's all very abstract."

"I can imagine that it's difficult. With an adoption, at least you get to see the child beforehand. But this way, you're buying an egg and taking a complete lottery."

The two men burst out laughing. Somehow, talking to a third person about their plans seemed to be a relief for them.

"I would be interested in hearing a young woman's opinion about our ideas," Harald suddenly said. "Do you have some time to sit with us for a few minutes?"

"I'll have to ask Karlotta first. It's not very busy at the moment, so I think it should be possible."

Natascha went over to the counter, when the owner had taken up her customary position and asked for permission.

"The two men are lovely regular customers," Karlotta commented with a grin. "I give you ten minutes." Then she laughed knowingly. "And don't let yourself be seduced. Harald and Raine are both damn attractive and were quite openly bisexual before they git married."

"No risk for me. They just want to hear a woman's opinion about an idea."

Natascha returned to the table, grabbed a third chair, sat down and looked challengingly from Harald to Rainer and back. "Right. What do you want to know?"

"You overheard our research about wanting to expand our family with a child of our own," Rainer started somewhat awkwardly.

"Yes. And if I understood correctly, you have to go abroad to do that because surrogacy is prohibited in Germany by law."

"Exactly. The crazy thing is that a child born through surrogacy abroad can legally be brought to Germany by the father with all the rights of a natural child. It's 'just' a bureaucratic obstacle course. But that's what I'm a lawyer for."

"Really crazy". Natascha chook her head. "But, if I'm honest, typically German. Acting all morally superior at home while accepting everything supposedly immoral abroad."

The three of them burst out laughing and took a long sip from their glasses.

"What do you think, as a young woman, about us having a child of our own this way as a married gay couple?" Rainer asked directly, getting straight to the question that interested him.

"From the child's point of view, it really doesn't matter what kind of partnership its family consists of. If it has two parents who love it and provide a safe home, then the most important requirement has been met." She paused a moment, then she continued. "Look, I grew up almost entirely with my mother. The war and our flight destroyed my original home. But my mother managed to create a new one for me here in Hamburg. That's what matters most. And that's where your responsibility lies. A child isn't a Mercedes that you can Park somewhere and then get out of. Essentially, a child needs its parents twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And it makes absolutely no difference whether it has a father and a mother, two fathers or thwo mothers."

"Beautifully put."

Just in that moment Harald's emergency phone rang. He answered the call and said only: "I'm coming immediately." Then he stood up and drained his apple spritzer in one gulp. "The medical profession is calling. I don't know yet when I'll be home tonight." Then he hurried off.

Rainer took a deep breath. "Thank God there are no emergency calls like that in my profession."

"Then you would probably be the primary caregiver for your child in the traditional sense. I know that from personal experience. Mothers are usually the first point of contact and have to be available whenever they are needed.

Rainer nodded thoughtfully. "You're probably right."

"Which one of you would be the sperm donor, the genetic father?" Natascha had become curious.

"We haven't made a final decision yet. But it will probably be me."

"How does it actually work? You choose a surrogate mother from an agency on the internet, fly to the United States, provide you sperm donation and then the child is conceived through artificial insemination?"

"Basically yes. There is an extensive set of contracts covering all rights and obligations in detail. It's organized very professionally."

"And then you wait nine months, or perhaps a few months longer, depending on how quickly everything works out. Then you get a phone call, fly back over there and collect your child?"

"Yes. In this case, 'professional' means that there are no personal relationships whatsoever between the parties."

Natascha shook her head. "I can understand that. And at the same time, I can't. Something really important is missing: those forty weeks of pregnancy, with all the anticipation but also all the worries about the unborn baby. To be honest, I would find it far too emotionless and abstract." She paused for a moment. "But I accept that this is your only way of having a child of your own. Neither Harald nor you can get pregnant yourselves." Natascha suddenly burst into loud, deep-throated laughter. "At least that's one advantage we woman have!" She stood up. "I have to get back to work. Otherwise, Karlotta will be angry with me."

Rainer remained seated at the table for some time, lost in thoughts. He ordered another glass of white wine and made a few notes on his iPad.

When Natascha served him the wine he had ordered, she stopped at the table once more. "And what if you find a surrogate mother here? I learned from you that commercial surrogacy, like in the United States, is illegal here."

"Yes. And neither Harald nor I can afford to get involved in anything illegal given our professions."

"And what if such a surrogacy arrangement wouldn't be commercial?"

Rainer looked at Natascha in confusion. "How would that work? I can't exactly put an advertisement in the Morgenpost saying something like: 'which woman would like to breed my child and then hand it over to me?"

Natascha laughed. "Probably not. But I can certainly imagine that two financially comfortable men could find a surrogate mother in Hamburg without having to pay her."

Rainer shook his head. "But how are you supposed to find such an extraordinary woman? I don't know of any internet forum where you could look for someone like that."

Natascha picked up the empty glass and had already turned around to head back to the counter. Then she dropped a bombshell: "You could always ask me." She caught sight of Rainer's utterly stunned expression before walking away from his table.

For the next few minutes, Rainer sat completely motionless at his table, interrupted only by the occasional sip from his wine glass. It was obvious that he was thinking intensely. Then he waved to Natascha to ask for the bill.

When she returned to his table with the card reader, he couldn't hold back any longer. "Did you mean what you saif just now?" he asked cautiously, looking directly up at her.

Natascha raised her eyebrows while the machine was printing the receipt. "Well, it doesn't cost anything to ask. But I would have a long list of questions myself." She smiled somewhat shyly, then Leaned down towards Rainer as she handed him the payment receipt and surprised him with a gentle kiss on his cheek. "But I could imagine doing it with the two of you. And without any artificial insemination." She smiled again, picked up the empty glass from the table and turned towards the counter. "We can all think about it."

Three evenings later, Harald and Rainer were back in 'Karlotta'. On this sunny Saturday evening, the restaurant was packed, and both, Natascha and her colleague were constantly busy serving customers. Apart from a friendly word, they had no time for any longer conversations.

"When is your day off?" Harald asked directly as she brought them fresh white wine.

"Mondays, when the 'Karlotta' is closed. And, by arrangement, Tuesdays too, if there's something going on at university, for example. Why do you ask?"

"Would you come to our house next week? Rainer told me about your conversation, and we'd like to explore the idea further in private."

Natascha thought for a moment. "Monday evening would suit me fine. Where would we meet?"

Rainer reached into his bag and took a business card out of a silver metal case. "This is our address. Shall we say seven o'clock? Harald should definitely be finished with work by then, unless some major catastrophe has occurred."

Natascha took the business card, which showed an elegant address on one of the tributes of the Outer Alster Lake. She nodded and smiled directly at the two men, without the slightest reservation. "I'll be there."

On Monday evening, the address turned out to be a stately, snow-white, two-storey mansion with an additional attic floor. Three company signs beside the entrance gate indicated that the villa served both as a business premises and as a private residence.

The top sign read: Dr. Rainer Falck, Specialist Lawyer for Tax Lawand Tax Criminal Law."

A second sign below it read: Dr. Markus von Ramp, Tax Consultant, while a third sign identified a fiduciary company.

Natascha gave a low whistle as she climbed the few steps to the front door and pressed the bell marked "Private". "Quite a fancy place", she murmured to herself.

At the moment, the door buzzed, and she was able to open it without difficulty.

Rainer came down the stairs from the upper floor to meet her. "Welcome to our little cottage," he laughed, greeting the young woman with a friendly hug. "Come upstairs. Harald got home half an hour ago as well. Would you like to have dinner with us?"

Natascha accepted his invitation.

In keeping with the summer temperatures, dinner consisted of a Caesar salad with grilled stripes of poultry and the obligatory chilled white wine.

Natascha immediately felt home, although she was amazed by the spacious, ultra-modern kitchen-dining area, which appeared to have absolutely everything one could wish for. "This is practically a little palace," she remarked admiringly. "I saw that your law firm is located on the ground floor. Do you own the house?"

"Yes, It has been in my family since 1901," Raimer confirmed. "I bought it from my grandparents when they had grown so old that they could no longer manage the stairs and had to move to a retirement residence."

"Then Rainer and I modernised it completely," Harald added, "and moved in. He moved in with his entire law firm," Harald laughed, "whereas I use it only as a private residence. I'm glad there's nothing hospital-like about this place. Apart from an emergency medical bag and my work mobile."

"Does anyone else live here? From the street, you would think the entire second upper floor had been converted into living accommodation."

"Good observation. We'd be happy to show you out apartment in detail later. The second upper floor is divided into two sections. One part is connected to our apartment by an internal spiral staircase. The other half is an independent two-and-a-half-room apartment that was rented out to an employee of our tax consultancy until three month ago. He got married and has a place of his own now. At the moment, we don't know whether we should rent it out again." Rainer shrugged. "Actually, we don't want completely unknown people living with us, especially if we really do expand our family with a child."

Which brings us straight to our main topic," Natascha remarked dryly. "I find what you two have set out to do as a couple genuinely fascinating."

"And we find your suggestion to Rainer and me, casually dropped into the conversation, at least equally fascinating. That's why we'd like to take you up on your suggestion and ask you what exactly you had in mind, and how you imagine it could work." The two men looked at Natascha with keen curiosity.

The young woman thought for a moment. "During my conversation with Rainer, I suddenly git the impression that American-style surrogacy is something very cold, a very emotionless process," she began slowly. "You choose a suitable woman's profile from an agency catalogue, pay the money and provide a sperm donation. Ine months later, the baby is delivered with all the necessary paperwork. The surrogate mother has fulfilled her delivery obligation and disappears, and the new parents are thrown into parenthood from one day to the next." She fell silent for a moment and looked from Rainer to Harald. "In my opinion, bringing children into the world should not be a business model. From my perspective, that is simply not enough. It's too abstract and too cold. Completely devoid of feeling and emotion. And as a psychology student, I know all too well how important the emotional aspect is for a family, even if the newborn child has two fathers and just one 'incubator mother' who subsequently disappears, never to be seen again."

"I can understand your point of view," Rainer replied. "That's precisely why we haven't put our surrogacy plans into practice yet. Harald and I discussed exactly the same issues several times."

"And how did you come to the conclusion that you should ask me about it?" Harald asked, his great curiosity clearly evident in his voice.

Natascha paused significantly, as though she first needed to become fully aware of the implications of what she was about to say. "I'm twenty-four now," she began slowly, explaining herself. "In the autumn, I'll be starting my seventh semester at university, and I'll certainly need at least another three years before I graduate, because I have to work my way through my studies financially and therefore have a full-time job six days a week." She glanced around and then laughed softly. "Unlike you two, I live modestly in a furnished one-room student apartment. After graduating, I want to pursue further professional training as a child psychologist. Including that additional training and subsequently starting my career, I have at Least another ten to twelve years ahead of me before I could afford to have a child of my own." She laughed again. "Even if you want to give a child a modest but good home, it's expensive."

Natascha took a deep breath. "When Rainer told me about your plans after your emergency call to the hospital, my immediate thought was: 'Why go to all that trouble? I could do that myself.' And when I continued thinking about it, the whole idea actually began to make sense. You two are financially capable of giving a child a good family and a good home. And I believe you are emotionally capable of doing so as well. So why not give my child that same opportunity?"

She gave another brief laugh. "If we arrange things properly, we could have a lot of fun together. Both during conception and throughout the pregnancy. I would carry the baby inside me, and you could follow its development in real time. Not in distant California, but right here in Hamburg." Now it's up to you to decide what we need to do to make a plan like this work."

For a moment, absolute silence reigned around the dining table. The three of them looked at one another without speaking. Then Rainer was he first to nod. "I can really imagine you becoming the mother of our child." He clapped his hands. "I'll make sure, through a proper contract, that our arrangement fully complies with German law and that you receive a fair benefit from it. After all, this way we'll save a lot of money that we would otherwise have to spend in the United States. We're not stingy, and you'll be the one benefiting from that."

"And what would such an arrangement look like?" Natascha was now curious.

"I'll work out the details over the next few days and discuss them with Harald. Then we'll come and see you and make our offer to you." Rainer beamed at Natascha. "You can be sure it will be extremely generous. I absolutely love your willingness to take part in our plan. It essentially removes all the reservations that I - or rather, we - have about commercial surrogacy."

Rainer suddenly stood up. "But first, let's show you around our house." He took Natascha by the hand and practically pulled her out of her chair. "Harald and I both started out in student apartments like yours when we went to university. That's why we're quite proud of our home today."