Monday, June. 4, 2001
********
The unidentified body had been found behind a dumpster four blocks from Community General Hospital. Dr. Amanda Bentley spoke into her recorder as she performed the autopsy. "Female, Caucasian, age approximately twenty three, five feet one, a hundred pounds, multiple contusions to the pelvic area, evidence of a recent miscarriage or abortion." Her latex glove touched the right ankle. "Strap marks on both legs, indicating she was restrained, which means the child was probably aborted. If I'm right, I'll find a needle mark on her lower back..." Rolling the body on its side, she found the mark. "There it is. She had a spinal block, which is why the ankles were strapped. A spinal block causes temporary paralysis to the lower body. Knowing others would listen to the tape, she explained, "A spinal leaves the pelvis and legs completely numb for several hours, which would eliminate the need for an anesthesiologist. This is indicative of an illegal abortion, like the ones that were performed in underground clinics when abortions were against the law. But they're not any more, so this doesn't make sense.
The laboratory results were still pending. Whether it was murder or accidental death was a mystery, but this was the second young woman in the past week who had been brought to her with the same symptoms. Both women were white, blonde, fair-skinned, very pretty, petite and had recently undergone abortion procedures. It was puzzling. As her lovely brow drew in thought, the phone took her away from the victim. She went to answer it, happy to hear her young son's voice. "Hi, Mom! Can I go to the park with Josh and his mom? I won't be bad, I promise!"
"Sure, CJ, just let me talk to Josh's mom first, okay? Is she there?"
Her son was the bright spot in her life--in fact, she couldn't imagine life without him. In her work as chief medical examiner at Community General Hospital, she had found herself caught up in more than a few horrifying murder cases and countless needless deaths. She shielded her son from as much of the gore as possible, and took comfort in his company when she finally made it home each day.
********
"He's a brilliant doctor." Dr. Mark Sloan was saying as Steve entered the office. "His work with invitro fertilization is incredible. He's helped a lot of childless couples conceive and deliver normal, healthy babies."
"So, what do you think? Should I go through with it? Dr. Jesse Travis asked. The younger doctor looked up to Mark as a mentor, even as a father figure.
"That's up to you, Jesse. It's your body."
Steve glanced curiously at his father, then his best friend. "What's up?" he asked. "What about his body? You thinking about giving someone a kidney, Jess?"
Jesse looked down, then met his eyes a little shyly. Steve mused that it was an engaging flaw in his character to be occasionally reticent. Although Jesse Travis was gifted with an impressive IQ and an insatiable curiosity, he was laden with personal insecurities, which, to Steve, made him even more adorable. "Dr. Homer Penrose. He asked me to be a guinea pig for an experiment."
"Well, tell me about it." Steve said. "Judging by the looks on both your faces, if you asked me right now, I'd say the answer is not just 'no', but *hell*, no! What does he want to do to you?"
There was a long pause, then Jesse said, "Make me pregnant."
Steve stared at him, trying to keep a straight face. "Jesse, I don't know how to break this to you, but..."
"No, really, he can do it! You remember that movie back in the early nineties, 'Junior', with Arnold-what's-his-name, you know, the big guy? Well, the script for that movie was inspired by Penrose's studies! According to Dr. Penrose, it really is possible for a man to carry a child to term. He's been studying this for twenty years and he picked me to be his very first actual human experiment!"
Steve sat down on the corner of the desk, frowning. "Why did he pick you, Jesse?"
Jesse shrugged one shoulder in humiliation. "I dunno."
"Maybe you should ask."
"He used the term 'pioneer in science'."
"You're doing it for the glory? So you'll get your name in a textbook?"
Mark intervened before feelings got hurt. "I think he's doing it because, like everyone else who has ever studied science, it's a revolutionary learning experience."
Steve scowled at his father. "Would you have allowed *your* body to be used for this?"
"Well, no. Steve, I'm in my seventies!"
"Would you have done it forty years ago?"
Mark was subdued. "No." he answered. "I had a wife and children."
Steve reached to pat his back. "I'm glad we were more important to you than science." His eyes moved to the young doctor. "Are you sure about this, Jess?"
"I want to do it." Jesse's voice trembled.
"Penrose swears it can be done safely and he's willing to prove it with Jesse's cooperation." Mark confirmed.
"Okay, I'll take your word for it." Steve was a Los Angeles police detective who had been assured a July promotion from lieutenant to captain. Very good at his job, he had a natural inclination for not believing everything he heard. "But then what? You carry a child nine months, then how does it get born? You don't have the right organs...the right *birthing orifice* to..."
"Cesarean section, of course." Mark supplied. "One out of ten women can't give birth naturally. It's not an uncommon surgery. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be successful."
"So you're encouraging him."
"I'm not *discouraging* him. It's his choice." Mark's tone bordered on indignant.
Steve knew not to provoke his father's sense of morality. "So Jesse's going to be the mother."
"Yes, in a manner of speaking. He seems willing to contribute nine months of his life to science."
"Nine months." Steve drummed his fingers on the desktop. "What about the kid?"
Jesse looked down at his trembling hands. "I take it you don't approve of me doing this."
"Jesse! If you have a baby, what about *it*? Diapers, bottles, two-AM feedings, terrible twos, school, school and more school, teen-age years..."
Jesse's lower lip quavered. "I *hope* I'll get to keep it."
"If you're serious about this, I hope so, too. I hope you wouldn't carry a baby nine months and then give it away." Steve said.
"No, I couldn't."
"So, if you're the mother, who's the father gonna be?"
Jesse blushed. "The embryo will be from donors, I suppose."
"*You* can't have a sperm cell in there somewhere? You *are* going to be the mother, right? Doesn't Penrose realize how smart you are? That Jesse Travis genius wouldn't be a bad gene to hand down if you're really going to go through with this."
Jesse nodded, thinking.
"We're just on our way to see him now." Mark said, looking at his watch. "Do you want to go with us, son?"
Steve nodded. "I think that might be a good idea. I've got a question or two for him."
"Steve, Dr. Penrose is an absolutely brilliant scientist. He's figured out things about fertility that most doctors are still drawing sketches of as vague possibilities. A lot of his patients swear he's got a 'magic' touch."
"Well, his touch had *better* be magic if he's going to lay one hand on Jesse." Steve muttered.
The quiet statement got Jesse's attention. Studying his tall friend as they walked together along the hospital halls, he said, "Thanks for caring, Steve."
*****
Dr. Penrose looked to be in his mid-forties, very tall and handsome. His eyes were piercing blue, his body was muscular. Steve had heard unfavorable gossip about him on countless occasions, but knew him only well enough to know he was contemptuous and far too vain. In his opinion, the man may well have been a genius who had made remarkable scientific discoveries, but his eccentricities and hostile attitude seemed somehow to cancel out the good points.
Steve sat down to listen as the doctor began explaining his experimental procedure to his potential subject. Jesse and Mark sat listening, raptly attentive.
"The zygote will be introduced into a synthetic womb and implanted into your body." Penrose said, showing them an illustration on a chart. He pointed to the drawing and went on as if giving a lecture. "The womb is made of flexible, expandable plastic and will produce ambient, oxygenated fluid exactly as if natural reproduction had occurred. A few minor alterations will be made inside your body during the implantation so the baby will be supplied the proper nutrients from you. Essentially, your plastic womb will function as if you were born with one. The baby can grow to full term inside you. We'll keep a very close watch on you during the gestation period, examinations every two weeks, and when it's ready, I'll perform the surgery to take out the womb complete with baby and restore your body to its present form."
"What kind of alterations are you talking about?" Jesse asked.
"Very minor ones."
"He would like an answer to the question, Penrose." Steve said, not so nicely.
Penrose was irked by the policeman's presence. "He will be unable to perform sexually with a woman during the pregnancy." he directed the statement at Steve. "It's necessary for the sake of the baby."
Steve waited for Jesse's reaction and was annoyed that it was nothing more than a brief twitch of the lips.
Jesse glanced at Steve and remembered his most important question. "What happens after the baby's born?"
"I'll reattach your male elements and you'll heal. I can't foresee any problems. You will have proven to science that a man can carry a child to term and you won't be any worse for wear."
"But...do I get to keep the baby?"
Penrose shrugged as if it were an insignificant detail. "We'll figure out what to do with the baby when it's born."
Jesse fidgeted in discomfort. "No."
Stern eyes turned on him. "You've changed your mind about doing this for me?"
"No, I just want to keep the baby. Otherwise, I don't want to do it."
"I see." Penrose gave him an icy glare. "Any other stipulations, Jesse?"
Steve hated the way the man vocalized his friend's name. He gritted his teeth to hold his tongue.
"I just want to know who is going to donate the egg and sperm." Jesse said.
"I've taken the liberty of preparing zygotes. They're already at twelve weeks in an artificial womb in my laboratory."
Jesse was aghast. "Three months along already without a human host? How many do you have?"
"Four at this time, but we'll only need one in this project. The others can be used in surrogate females. The eggs were donated by two of my most beautiful, intelligent medical students. Blue eyes, blonde hair, all the choicest Caucasian traits. I'm the sperm donor."
"I'm not responding to the 'Hitler' ideals there," Steve said coldly, unable to contain his criticism any longer. "But what this boils down to is that you plan to make Jesse have *your* baby."
"My offspring will have superior genes. The child will be intelligent, talented and good looking, and even if you think it's 'Hitlerish', Lieutenant, yes, it will be born with blonde hair, blue eyes, emotionally, mentally and physically superior."
"Well, one thing about him." Steve said, rolling his eyes toward Mark. "He's not lacking in self-confidence."
Ignoring him, Penrose turned to Jesse. "If you intend to keep the child, you'll be taking on a huge responsibility. You're single, aren't you? Do you realize how much trouble children can be, especially children of superior intelligence?"
"Oh, yes. I've taken care of kids before." Jesse said, unfazed by the man's arrogance.
"And you believe you're ready for that kind of commitment?"
"If I have the baby, I want to keep it. Yes."
"Well, it'll be your choice, but I do not recommend it." Penrose turned away from him. "So, are you still interested in the experiment?"
Jesse took a long breath, searched Mark's pensive face, then Steve's forbidding eyes for an answer. He sighed and spoke to the tall doctor's back. "Yes. I want to do it."
Steve groaned, got up and walked out the door.
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Story Notes:
The author's final story.