A Simple Procedure II - Chapter 2

Disclaimer - This work contains rapid male pregnancy.  If that's not your thing, please hit the back button.  Thanks.

-PREVIOUSLY-

He couldn’t, and yet he knew he had no choice.  If even one of them refused to comply with the Organization’s request, he knew retribution would rain down swiftly upon all of them.  He couldn’t… he wouldn’t do that to Sylvester or Marisa.  They were the only family he had.

Richard stared at the manila folder one last time before tossing it into the trash.  He knew what he had to do.

--

He was staring up at bland white walls when the aged face of the surgeon, Dr. Gupta, came into his field of vision.  Concern entered the older man’s dark brown eyes.

“Are you certain you wish to carry out this course, Peterson?” he asked.  “There is still time to change your mind.”

“No there isn’t,” Richard answered quietly. “They’ll soon come checking around to see if the experiment’s been started.  We don’t have any time to waste.”

Dr. Gupta frowned thoughtfully, knowing for certain that he would be getting a confirmation request the moment he exited the operating room.  It had happened twice within the last week when Doctors Grant and Olivier had come in with their subjects.  He turned his attention back to the younger doctor, confusion touching his features.  “Your colleagues are aware of your decision then?”

“No,” Richard answered.  “And I would appreciate it if it stayed that way.”

“I have done a great many things at the behest of the DEMS,” the older man said in a decidedly cool tone.  “But violating doctor-patient confidentiality has not been one of them.”

“I’m glad to hear that, sir.” Richard said earnestly.  “I appreciate your assistance in this.”

“And I commend your bravery, young man.” Dr. Gupta replied in kind.  “I cannot think of anyone else who would choose to do things this way.”

Richard shrugged.  “They gave us list of criteria they wanted their test subject to possess,” he said.  He paused, placing a hand over his hospital-gown covered torso.  As he shifted, the stiff material of his hospital gown crinkling loudly in the open space. “Doesn’t mean I can’t choose my own subject.”

“True enough,” Dr. Gupta agreed, once again marveling over the fact that this young doctor was willing to go through with this.  Choosing a different test subject was one thing, but making yourself the subject?  He raised the oxygen mask, placing it carefully over the young man’s mouth.  “Before we begin,” he said.  “I would just like to wish you good luck.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Richard replied softly, “I’m sure I’m gonna need it.”  Then, at the older Doctor’s instructions, he began counting back in his head.  Before long, darkness sunk in.

--

Although rain was pouring heavily making visibility difficult, Sam couldn’t care less.  There was only one hour left to her shift for the night, and after that she was free for an entire three weeks.  It had taken her quite a bit of work to earn that vacation time – she’d worked a lot of double-shifts and called in quite a few favors.  Although she had no plans to travel – all her money went to school and basic expenses – Sam was more than satisfied with some time to just kick back and relax.

‘God, I can’t wait,’ she thought to herself as she peered out the front window of her cab.  If she’d known that when she moved to the city she’d be paying her way through school as a hack… Granted, driving a cab was easy; dealing with all the craziness that came with it was not.  She couldn’t recall the number of times she’d been stiffed a fare or hit on by her fares simply because she was a woman.

That last one was ironic, considering that her biggest fear when signing up for the job was getting mugged.  Ferrying around old sleazy business men who liked to pretend she couldn’t spot the wedding rings on their fingers when they solicited her for sexual favors was not what she’d had in mind either.  So to solve that problem, Sam dressed in baggy clothing and hid her hair under an old beat-up cap.  She kept conversation to a minimum and simply dropped people off where they wanted to go.

It was a boring existence really, but it paid fairly well – when she didn’t get mugged, of course – and that was what counted.  With only a year left of study left towards her degree, Sam could see the end in sight.  She just had to hold on a little bit longer.

‘Just a little bit longer, Sammy…’ her father, God rest his soul, would say.  He’d worked hard to put her through her first two years of under-grad, but his heart had eventually cut out on him.  Fortunately, he’d been a wise money-saver, and had made it so his final expenses had already been seen to before his death.  Having not graduated from college himself, he wanted nothing to stop his baby girl from doing so.  ‘You keep going, Sammy-baby… I know you can do it.’

“I’m gonna do it,” she told herself aloud.  “I got my under-grad down, so I’m almost there.”

There was no questioning her resolve and dedication, but sometimes she tired of her life revolving solely around work and school.  She had friends and acquaintances, but she rarely saw them outside of class.  She had no romantic prospects to speak of either, although that came as no surprise considering she spent most of her day disguised as a man, driving around the city in a cab.

She sighed heavily.  While there was no doubt that she would achieve her goals, she often found herself wondering what would happen when she did.  Like her father, she saved her money wisely, putting aside for a future with a beautiful house and a white picket fence.  But who would be there in that picket house with her?  Who would she be able to share her triumphs, her accomplishments with?  Would she be destined to live out the rest of her life alone?

Coming to a stop at a red light, Sam pursed her lips in irritation.  “Jeez, lighten up, Sam... that mopey attitude is no way to start a vacation!” After all, she had two weeks with which to do whatever she wanted.  Perhaps she could meet up with some of her friends for lunch or a drink?  Maybe she could go out and get a make-over to make herself feel girly for a change?

‘Or better yet,’ she grinned faintly.  ‘Maybe I can ask one of the guys in my Psych class out on date… You never know, maybe I might get lucky…’ Her grin widened at the possibility.  Academics were important, but having fun was, too.  She was a grown woman for crying out loud!

Sam chuckled lightly to herself, glancing at the radio on her dash board.  The time read 8:25pm; if she could just make it another 35 minutes without a fare popping up, she could get home and start off her vacation with a good long soak in the tub.  ‘With the weather as nasty as it is, I’m gonna need it!’

The traffic light finally turned green and Sam drove on, keeping an eye out for any potential fares.  With the rain pouring down as heavily as it was, it didn’t look as though there was anyone out on the street.  Sam grinned in triumph.

When another 15 minutes yielded no results, Sam was just about to call it quits and head back to the hub early when a tall figure in a trench coat waved out to her.  She cursed under her breath, briefly contemplating ignoring him; after all, anyone out in this mess had to be up to no good and she definitely didn’t want any trouble 20 minutes before the start of her vacation.

‘C’mon, Sam… have a heart…’ a little voice in her head niggled.  ‘You wouldn’t wanna be stuck out in that mess if you were him…’

She closed her eyes briefly with a sigh, gently tapping her breaks as she pulled up to the curve.  As she came to a stop, she reached into her glove compartment, palming her pepper spray and stuffing it into her jacket pocket.  Better to be safe than sorry, right?

The back door opened and her fare slid in; he had dark brown hair plastered to his face from the rain and dark green eyes.  Leaning his head back against the seat, he closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.  His whole body seemed to scream exhaustion.

‘Boy, do I know the feeling,’ Sam thought to herself, longing even more for the end of her shift.  “Where to, friend?” she asked gruffly.

One tired eye opened briefly before closing shut again.  “Tudor Heights, 115th Street and Pine.”

Sam knew the area; driving a cab had definitely helped her learn the layout of the city and surrounding suburbs.  Tudor Heights was a condominium complex on the eastern side of the city; not ritzy like the penthouses downtown, but nice enough to suggest that her fare was a bit better off than his bedraggled appearance suggested.

‘Must be some businessman working late hours instead of going home to the wife,’ she thought to herself.  Her father had been no stranger to long hours at work, but somehow he’d always managed to find ways to spend time with her.  If he wasn’t there to greet her at breakfast, he’d made doubly sure he was there to tuck her in at night.  

At another stoplight, Sam took the opportunity to get a better look at her fare through the rearview mirror.  He still looked fairly young – probably in his early to mid-thirties.  He had a pretty handsome face, and although she’d only gotten a brief look at them, she was fairly certain she could get lost in those green eyes of his if she tried.

‘Too bad he’s probably already married…’ she thought sourly to herself.  She hadn’t seen a ring, but knowing her luck he was probably taken anyway.  And besides, why would a probably successful guy like him be remotely interested in a cross-dressing cabby anyhow?

‘There you go being depressing again, Sammy…’ that little voice in her head cautioned.  ‘Knock it off!’

‘Yes, ma’am!’ She thought back, smirking ruefully at the thought of being duly chastised by her inner-voice.  ‘Which means I definitely gotta get out more if I’m resorting to arguing with myself…’

On a whim, she considered striking up a conversation with her fare when he suddenly let out a quiet hiss, his face scrunching up in pain.  She glanced briefly over her shoulder in concern.  “Hey, you alright?” she called out.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he murmured quietly, the pained expression melting back into fatigue.  “Just tired…”

She turned her attention back to the road, nodding in sympathy.  “Long night?” she asked.

He let out a quiet breath that may have been a laugh if he’d devoted more energy to it.  Sam guessed he didn’t have it to spare.  “Long week…” he murmured.

“I understand,” she replied.  “I’ll have you home in a few minutes.”

The man opened his eyes, meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror with a small smile that had her stomach jumping. “Thank you, miss…”

This time it was Sam who jumped.  He knew she was a woman?  She waited for him to speak again, fearing a jeering remark of some kind, but he remained silent. He closed his eyes again, leaning his head gingerly against the window.

‘Wow, this guy must’ve really had a rough night.’ Sam thought to herself.  Hesitant to interrupt him again, she focused her attention at arriving to his desired destination.  After another 10 minutes of silence broken only by the soft hum of her engine and the rain falling outside, Sam finally arrived in front of Tudor Heights.  

Pulling up to the front entrance, Sam stopped her meter and turned her attention to the man in her backseat.  “Here we are, sir… Tudor Heights, 115th Street and Pine.”  There was no response.  “Sir?”

The man slowly opened his eyes, sitting up with a look of disorientation on his face.  “Oh, I’m sorry… I must have…” He paused, shaking his head as if to clear it.  “Thank you.  How much do I owe you?”

“$25.72,” she answered.  “You should hurry on inside.  You look like you’ve had a rough night; I’m sure a cold is the last thing you need right now.”

He smiled, although it looked a bit like a grimace.  Fishing his wallet out of his pocket, he pulled a bill out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Sam accepted it, realizing he’d given her a fifty.  “Hang on, lemme get you your change…”

The man shook his head, reaching for the door handle.  “You keep it,” he said.  “Sorry for falling asleep back here… I’m sure you wanna get home to your family.”

It was Sam’s turn to grimace.  “Nope, not really.  It’s just me.”

He paused, his green eyes somber.  “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

She shrugged casually.  “Don’t let me keep you,” she said instead.  “I’m sure your family’s waiting for you.”

He shook his head.  “Nope,” he said back, smiling ruefully.  “Just me.”

She blinked in surprise; a handsome man like him was living alone?  “Oh…”

Opening the door, he began to step out of the cab and back into the rain.  “Thanks for the ride, miss…” he said.  “Have a good night.”

“You, too…” she said absently, as he shut the door.  Instead of immediately pulling off like she did with most of her fares, Sam continued to watch him as he trudged towards the front entrance to his building.  There was no questioning the guy had had a rough week; he all but dragged his briefcase alongside him, walking slowly as if it were an effort simply to put one foot in front of the other.  Irrationally, she thought about calling out to him to see if he needed help, but then the man’s legs suddenly buckled and he collapsed to the ground.

“Holy shit!” Sam was out of the cab before she realized it, rushing over to his side.  Dragging his upper body out of the puddle he’d collapsed in and into her arms, she shook his shoulders in order to rouse him.  “Hey!  Hey, sir! Are you alright?!"

Green eyes hazed with pain opened, focusing on hers.  He opened his mouth to speak, but instead let out a low groan, wrapping an arm tightly around his middle.

“Sir, what’s wrong?” she asked.  “Are you hurt?  Do you need me to call an ambulance for you?”

He tensed, his eyes widening in alarm.  Pushing himself forward, he hunched forward as he tried to push himself to his feet.  “No ambulance…” he gasped out.  “I’m… I’m fine…”

“You don’t look fine,” Sam countered.  “You look sick…”

“It’s okay…” he groaned, staggering slightly.  Sam rose quickly to steady him.  “I just need to lie down.”

“Can you even make it to the building?” she asked, eyeing the entrance that was still a good 20 yards away.  “You barely made it a step out of my cab without collapsing in a puddle of rainwater.”

“I’ll be alright, miss…” he insisted.  “You can go now…”

Rankled at being dismissed when the good Samaritan in her insisted on her staying to help, Sam merely huffed indignantly.  “I’m not leaving ‘til I make sure you get inside in one peace,” she scowled.  “The last thing I need is for the doorman to find you dead in a bush and it be me that’s the last person to see you alive.  I am not going to flush my school career down the toilet just ‘cuz you’re too stubborn to accept assistance.” The man was staring at her, confusion evident on his face.  “So are you going to accept my help or not?”

He blinked, a small smirk spreading across his face.  “Far be it from me to jeopardize your school career…” he said finally.  “What are you studying…?”

“Right now?” she huffed.  “Psychology.”

“You’re going to be a psychiatrist?”

She shook her head.  “Social worker.”

Sam waited for the skepticism or mild derision that normally came when she voiced her goals, but it never came.  The poor man looked too exhausted to manage anything more than polite curiosity. “Oh…”

Given that she felt no desire to explain her motives to a complete stranger – and he too tired to question her – silence eventually fell between them, broken only by the sound of rain.  Sam permitted this for all of fifteen seconds before breaking it with, “So, are you going to let me help you or not?”

The man tensed again, as if forgetting himself.  “If you must…” he began, stooping down to reach for his briefcase.

Sam quickly batted his hand away, scooping the case up with her free hand. “No, no, I’ve got that.” She said, drawing his arm across her shoulders.  “You just hang on to me and tell me which way to go, ‘kay?”

Too tired to argue with her, he let out another sigh-like laugh.  “Whatever you say, miss…”

“It’s Sam.”

“Hm?”

“My name’s Sam,” she repeated, taking slow careful steps towards the building.  “Short for Samantha.”

“Oh…” He paused, concentrating on his footing lest he slip again and take her down with him.  “I’m Richard…” he said finally.  “Short for…”

She chuckled.  “Richard?” she finished.

He let out a snort.  “I never liked shortened version of it…” he said.  “Saying ‘I’m Rich’ just makes me sound like a jerk, and the other one is even worse…”

“You mean Dick?” she chuckled when he looked away with a flustered sort of expression.  She grinned at that.  “What are you, twelve?”

Richard huffed.  “I didn’t want to be vulgar…”

A small smile crept across Sam’s face.  “That’s sweet,” she murmured softly.  “But I drive a cab for a living; I’ve heard my fair share of coarse language.”

He snorted again.  “Doesn’t make it right,” he muttered.  “I was always taught it wasn’t right to swear in front of a lady.”

Where was this guy from?  A light blush settled on Sam’s cheeks; it was rare that any man had treated her with such civility.  ‘Don’t go getting all flustered and school-girly now,’ she cautioned herself. ‘Just get him to the door and get out of here! You don’t even know this man!’

Nodding resolutely to herself, Sam refocused her attention on walking them towards the awning sheltering the front doors to the building.  They were barely five feet away, when the man she was supporting froze again, a hand wrapping tightly around his middle.

Sam studied him carefully, worried at the pain and exhaustion visible on his pale face.  The guy looked really sick!  “Hey,” she called out carefully. “Are you sure you’re okay?  I can take you to a hospital if you’d like…’

Richard tensed, his face paling even further.  Sam swore she glimpsed a flash of fear flickering in his dark gaze.  “No,” he rasped out, straightening his spine to limp the rest of the way to the door, Sam following closely at his heels.  “No hospitals…”

She bit her lip, frowning uncertainly.  “If it’s a question of the fare,” she began cautiously. “I’ll do it free of charge.  My shifted ended five minutes ago, so I’m off the clock.”

Stopping at the door, Richard turned to face her with a small smile, gripping the door handle for support.  “No, it’s fine really,” he breathed, trying to look reassuring and failing.  “Thank you again for your help, Sam, but I’ll be alright.”

She didn’t buy it for a minute, but who was she to judge?  They were virtual strangers after all; he didn’t owe her any explanations whatsoever.  “Okay,” she relented quietly.  Straightening her back, she folded her arms and fixed him with a look that brooked no-nonsense.  “Well, go on in there and get some rest!  And change into some dry clothes – you look like you’re about to keel over.”

He nodded dutifully, his smile widening at her rather blustery show of concern.  “I will,” he promised.  “Thank you again.”

Blushing at the genuine gratitude she could hear in his tone, Sam glanced away with a sheepish smile.  “You’re welcome.  Just take care of yourself, alright?”

Pushing the door open, Richard slowly shuffled inside.  “Good night, Sam.”

“G’night…” She waited under the shelter of the awning a few moments – to make sure he didn’t collapse again, of course – before turning and jogging quickly back to her cab.  After settling herself back in the driver’s seat, she watched him vanish further into the building.  Worry continued to gnaw at her; he really didn’t look all that well at all… Was it right of her to leave him alone like that?

‘It’s none of my business…’ she eventually told herself, starting the ignition.  ‘He looks like a smart enough man; if it gets worse, he’ll go and get help.’  Throwing the cab into reverse, Sam glanced over her shoulder to make sure her way was clear when she spotted something resting in the back seat.  After brief scrutiny, she realized it was a small leather wallet.  

Sam quickly put the cab back in parking gear, closing her eyes in frustration.  “Damn!”

End Chapter 2