Marion Dreyford was a controversial scientist, to say the least. Tall, skinny and with her raven black locks of hair she looked like she was one of the Addams' family's lost daughters. She was in the middle of her forties, thin lines round her mouth and eyes indicating a life filled with much work. The scientist was as stubborn as she was brilliant, and Philip Watters, the Hospital Manager was starting to regret he ever hired the woman to Chicago Hope.
He was doctor by heart, but had recently been bumped upwards in the system and made Head of the Hospital, due to his experience and many years as a trusted member of the Chicago Hope family. He was the prime example of a kid originating from the slum, making it in a world that was growing more and more hostile against those with lesser means. Philip was proud of his Puerto Rican heritage, and he also helped run a boxing-club for children in the slum. In the midst of his fifties he was still a vivid man, and with his heart wrapped around the church he had become the very heart of Chicago Hope Hospital. But Ms. Dreyford was the big thorn in Philip's great jigsaw- puzzle of organising a smooth running hospital nowadays. The woman even caused him more headaches than the trouble-child Jeffrey Geiger who was his top heart-surgeon. And now she'd scheduled to meet him so she could lay forth some new plans of hers… Philip smelled trouble.
Chicago Hope was the best hospital money could buy, and often the doctors and scientists pushed borders to develop and improve health care. Philip just happened to be the lucky one trying to keep it all together. It's tricky business trying to run a hospital, and there was a reason for having a lawyer amongst the staff. Unluckily for Philip, Alan Birch, the lawyer, was stuck in court fighting against some lawsuit, and that meant Philip would have to face Ms. Dreyford, or The Dragon, as some preferred to call her- alone..
*-*
Ms. Dreyford didn't bother to knock on Philip's door, something that didn't surprise him much.. He watched her stroll into his office, with her hair tied in a bun on the top of her head and wearing Dame Edna glasses and a messy labcoat. Charming indeed.
"Philip!" she greeted as she slammed some papers down on his desk: "Finally the day has arrived!"
"For what?!" Philip barked, somewhat annoyed by the woman's dramatic entrance. A triumphant grin appeared on lips too red with lipstick.
"The time has come for me to start a program that's been in the works the last ten years!"
Philip denied himself the relief of rolling his eyes. Ms. Dreyford was certainly an eccentric caricature and she showed signs of all her years in a lab.
"Can you please cut to the chase, Ms. Dreyford? I have a busy schedule today!" he told her sternly.
She gave him a glare of loath, as if he was destroying some great performance by rushing her.
"Alright, Philip I'll make it short so that you'll be able to remember it! During my research I've discovered a way to make men pregnant! I've tried it out with male rats and monkeys and that worked out just fine- now it's time to test it out on a human subject!"
Philip stared at her for about five seconds in disbelief before he bursted into laughter. Bonebag Ms. Dreyford gave him a look of contempt.
"Stop laughing! I'm serious! I've found a way to make it work! This would mean plenty of publicity for Chicago Hope!"
"Oh, it'll mean publicity alright!!!" Philip chuckled as he brushed away some tears of joy with his finger. "And the day you'll be granted permission to do this in Chicago Hope is the day I'm Riverdancing down in the cafeteria! Now, good day, Ms Dreyford!" Philip pointed towards the door. Dreyford's face went from pale to steaming red in an instant.
"You can't blow me off just like that, Philip!!!" she snarled as she started picking up her papers in a menacing pace.
"I can and I just did!" Philip answered her grimly: "You could of course try your case with the hospital board, but I'll guarantee you they'll have the same answer! I could name ten state laws that forbid you to go forth with your plans, and I'm certain no other hospital with respect for humanity will grant you permission either. Don't slam the door on you way out!"
*-*
Alan popped his head into Philip's office just as his boss was leaving for the day. Philip couldn't help but smile as the tiny man entered the room. Alan was the lawyer of this hospital and he was as vital for the continued existence of the hospital as Philip, and probably more even. You only needed one look at him to realize that this man wouldn't intentionally hurt even the smallest fly. His big and kind blue eyes were a dead giveaway for his kindness. It was a miracle that Alan was as successful a lawyer as he was, given the fact that he looked as intimidating as a wet kitten. But he reeked of integrity, and honesty. When you looked into Alan's eyes you couldn't believe he was even able to conduct a lie, and *that* was what made Alan a brilliant lawyer. Not his skill to find the right paragraphs and dirty counter strikes, but his honest eyes. And what was worse, he was as honest and kind as he looked..
"So, what was it Ms. Dreyford wanted? Has she found a cure for cancer or warts?" he asked as he dropped his briefcase down to the floor.
"Yeah, well.. thanks for not being here, Alan!" Philip sighed as he rubbed his temples: "The Dragon or "Ms. Dreyford" had some revolutionary ideas to say the least, which she wanted to test out on human subjects."
"And that was…?" A childlike smile appeared on the lawyer's face, who himself also had been granted a nickname, "The Eel".
"Nothing much, making men pregnant I believe it was…" Philip told him as he fetched his coat.
"Are you SERIOUS?! Is that even possible??" Alan gaped and dropped his briefcase for the second time. He'd spent ten straight hours in the courtroom today and was exhausted.
"I mean, there must be at least twenty state laws forbidding it!"
"Well, she claims she can make it happen. She's even tried it out on male rats.. and monkeys I believe it was."
"Wow," Alan scratched his chin with an amazed look on his face.
"But you told her NO, right?" he added with huge eyes: "I won't be the one defending *that* in court!!!!"
Philip smiled as he ushered the tiny man out of his office and followed his trail.
"Don't you worry, there'll be no pregnant men in this hospital as long as I'm here to stop it!"
*-*
She was furious on Philip Watters and his lack of integrity and will to look beyond tomorrow. Her work was important and no one should stand in the way of evolvement! Of course the hospital board was agreeing with the old goat, no surprise given the fact that Watters also was a member of it. She would have to find a way round all the laws and boards if her precious work would bear fruits. And what Philip Watters didn't know wouldn't hurt him!
She was hurrying down the hallway with some lab reports when the hospital's lawyer bumped into her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Ms Dreyford! I didn't see you there!" he excused himself as he picked up nothing less than four briefcases he'd been carrying.
"Well, maybe it's time you start using your eyes then!!" she snarled down to the much shorter man. He looked like he was about to say something, but instead he swallowed his words, tilted his head to the side and continued down the hallway like a frightened rat.
she thought to herself as she continued in the opposite direction.
Back down in her lab her mind started wandering, though. Alan Birch, thirty-four years old, no wife, no girlfriend.. Apparently he had no friends or family.. Hadn't she overheard him nagging to a nurse once that he was very lonely? A devious smile grew on The Dragon's lips as she decided to check out some details on this man. Maybe, just maybe he was stupid enough to get caught in her trap?
She did some checking about, and discovered her guesses to be true. Alan Birch was indeed single and very lonely. He spent more time at the hospital than anywhere else, and even here he wasn't well liked. He was in fact perfect!!! He would thank her for what she had to offer him, a chance to defeat his loneliness!
*-*
Alan had stopped trying to get a life outside Chicago Hope a long time ago. All his skills and time was spent keeping the hospital afloat, and he no longer had the energy dream any more, except on late, sleepless nights. He wondered how it would feel like to be embraced, to be loved by someone, he wondered how it would feel like to be appreciated for the person he was, instead of being dependant of his skills as a lawyer to receive some appreciation. He worked hard, and sacrificed his soul to defend the doctors that had become his only family. But did the hotshot doctors show their gratitude? Not once. Why should they? This was his job. The Eel was paid so that the doctors of Chicago Hope could mess up in the OR and still go home happy and satisfied with a safe job by the end of the shift.
He was used to being the invisible one, the one no one noticed. The one you could blame if something went wrong, the one you could accuse of greed if it granted the hospital. Never the less, Alan Birch did his job, and he was even proud of it. As he never fulfilled his dream to become a doctor himself he did the next best thing, he became their protector. So what if he came home to an empty apartment at night, feeling even emptier inside? Maybe it was his destiny to be alone. He never showed his loneliness to anybody, or not intentionally at least. He tried his best to act as if he was as happy and socially engaged as the other employees of the hospital, but some things shines through, and Alan was a bad actor. Still he had a good friend in Philip, the hospital manager, and some of the doctor's showed him their friendly sides from time to time. He reckoned he had nothing to complain about, but still this... black hole in his heart slowly kept growing bigger. Alan didn't know it, but it had a name, Longing.
*-*
He was diving into a pile of papers when she strode into the room with utter most matter of cause, a smug smile pasted on her red lips.
"Ms. Dreyford," he greeted her in a friendly tone and gestured for her to sit down, as he tried to hide some of the worst mess occupying his desk.
"What can I do for you?" His smile revealed his nerves, he always felt uneasy with this woman. She was a tad too eccentric and seemed willing to take risks a bit too easily. And now she leaned forward, with a look of pure innocence in her face that scared the living daylights out of him.
"Nothing much, really. I just wanted to see how you were doing, and perhaps give you the chance of a lifetime..?" Alan leaned back in his chair and didn't know if he should feel touched about her concern or if he should feel suspicious.
"Well, thank you for the concern, I'm doing just fine Marion! And what's this offer of a life time you're considering offering me?" he asked, not able to hide his curiosity after all. She rose from her seat and wandered over to the window in Alan's office. While she looked out to the city underneath her she asked him one devastating question.
"Have you never wanted to start a family, Alan? I mean, you look like a sensible guy, I just think it's strange you don't have a Mrs. Birch to come home to late at night, a little Alan Jr. to tuck in and read bedtime stories for. Don't you want this?" Alan didn't know what to answer. He wished for that above anything, and this was the one thing he couldn't win with his sharp mind and gifts as a lawyer.
"Of course I wish for those things," he answered after a while: "but I don't work in a profession allowing me much time off to search for a wife, and I don't seem to be what women in general are looking for." Dreyford turned and walked towards him where he was sitting behind his desk, a devious glint in her eye.
"It's too bad you can't have what your heart desires Alan. You're a good guy, you deserve to become a father!"
Alan felt uneasy discussing this with a woman he hardly knew.
"Well, there's not much I can do about that I'm afraid." He rubbed his neck and smiled awkwardly: "Not as long as I'm single."
Marion leaned over the desk and stared him in the eye.
"It's not fair Alan! It's not fair that you should have to spend all those lonely nights, while all the doctors can go home after ended shift and bask in the love of their loved ones. There should be some pleasure for you too in this world, shouldn't it Alan?" Alan slowly backed away from the scientist who was lisping small drops of spit as she spoke upon his face.
"I'm not the only guy on this hospital without a family to go home to when the shift ends," Alan defended himself: "Jeffrey Geiger for example."
"Jeffrey Geiger is nuts, honey, we both know it!" Dreyford shot back: Come on, you can't try to convince me that you're contempt with your life?!" That one stung, and Alan was unable to hide it as so many times before when he had been hurt.
"I accept my life," he answered her, but was no longer able to meet her eye. A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes as she drew even closer to the withdrawing lawyer, and she pursed her lips and whispered him what could very well be the end to his miserable life one way or another.
"I might know a way for you to have that life, to be loved for the one you are, not for what you do, I can make it so you will never have to feel lonely ever again!" Alan's eyes darted upwards as hope was ignited against his will.
"How?" his lips betrayed him, already knowing what suggestion she had in mind. It was ludicrous, less than a week ago he'd laughed when Phillip told him about Dreyford's experiment. And now it was offered to him as a gift, and his heart was already starting to accept the ludicrous idea, not minding the screaming protests from his common senses. She was in need of a guinea pig, and he was the chosen one. He was the weak link, the one with something to gain if he went along with this, even if he should end up ruining his career in the process.
"I'm a `man', it's unnatural!" Alan mumbled, eyes crying for an escape. He had to get rid of this woman, before his defences got too weak. He would loose what little family he had left if he went through with this, he would loose Philip, and he would loose Chicago Hope.
"It's a beautiful thing, carrying a child to the world!" Ms. Dreyford told him: "You can feel it growing inside you, living inside you, and when it's born … the feeling is indescribable. I'm offering you the greatest feeling, Alan. You'll be able to experience something no man has done before you! And you'll have a daughter or son, your own flesh, your own family."
She patted his shivering arm, knowing he was biting the hook.
"Think about it, Alan," she whispered and left the office with easy steps. Like taking candy from a baby!
*-*
Alan went around in a fog the following day. His mind was racing, considering back and forth. His greatest wish in the whole damn world was to become a father. He was thirty four years old, not an old man. But he was starting to feel the stress none the less. He'd been on the search for a soulmate since he was eighteen, and hadn't found one yet. What were the odds he would find her during the next couple of years, given his work rate?? Unless one of the single nurses put aside their prejudges against him and was willing to give the workaholic a try, Alan was screwed. Maybe when he was sixty five he could start finding a wife. But that would mean no children…
*-*
It was around midnight. Marion Dreyford was busily working in her lab, preparing the next nine months down to the last detail. If this was to be a success the hospital board and that sneak Philip Banks had to be fooled as long as humanly possible. She stood with her back against the door when the knock came. A satisfied smile brushed over the thin woman's face as she continued her work, undisturbed.
"The door is open Alan," she simply said. After a few hesitating seconds the lawyer slipped inside the lab. She didn't have to turn around to know he was tugging his tie nervously while looking around in her workspace.
"Sit down, Alan. I have the feeling you are nocturnal like me. We have the whole night to make your wish come true."
"I'm… I'm not entirely sure I want to do this…" he mumbled as the feet of a chair scraped against the floor. Oh, he was sure alright!! He was a rare specimen this one, with a heart as big as a whale. If he'd decided to put down this offer he would have self combusted. A man such as him needed someone to love; it was the corner stone of his life, the one thing that made sense for him. Luckily for Dreyford, she was a good judge of caricature. That was what had made this so easy.
*-*
Five hours later Alan was sick as a dog thanks to a hormonal boost set by Marion Dreyford. He was lying flat out on his back in a bed in the corner of her office, regretting the whole mess. In less than an hour he would receive the shot that was going to change his entire life, and the fear of loosing what little joy he had in life suddenly came back with full force. What if something went wrong during the experiment, what if he was caught early in the pregnancy and was forced to go through with an abortion?? What new nicknames would be granted the Eel of Chicago Hope then? And he was supposed to take hormonal shots every single day during the pregnancy… The only comfort he found in that was that they would be smaller than this one. Still he had to brace himself for some rocky months as his body adjusted to the hormones.
The scientist offered him no comfort as he was vomiting, and he'd never expected her to either. This was nothing but science for her, and he new she didn't care one bit about his welfare. Still he bit his teeth together and allowed her to put him through this ordeal. He'd allowed her to extract his sperm, and to let it impregnate an anonymous egg donor. Now all they had to do was to wait until she had confirmed fertilization of the egg and the worst waves of nausea had passed in Alan's body.
The worst part was the waiting. During these endless hours during the night Alan had a good time to consider the lunacy of what he was doing. But he no longer had any choice. His heart had decided a long time ago, and his body and wits was forced to go along with the ride.
*-*
At eight the following morning Ms. Dreyford allowed him to leave, after a crash course in how to give yourself a shot of hormones every morning. She handed him a briefcase containing shots for the entire next nine months and patted him on the shoulder in a business like manner.
"It would be too risky for the both of us if you were dependant on me to give you the shot each morning. People might get suspicious. You'll see me for counselling and tests once a week, at midnight, as we agreed. During the next session we'll find out if you got lucky the first time or if we have to extend the hormonal treatment before implanting a new fertilized egg into you abdomen."
Alan simply nodded. He hadn't caught a wink of sleep the entire night and was due back at his office in thirty minutes. The new hormone shot was already starting to work, and the only thing occupying his mind right now was to avoid puking on his suit.
Alan sat down behind his desk, surprised by the treachery of his own tears. He had no idea of why he was crying, he had no idea of what he was feeling right now. His whole mind was a mess, and Alan longed to lie down and take the load off his feet for some hours. But before he reached the hard couch cramped into a corner of his office heart surgeon Jeffrey Geiger charged into his office. Jeffrey was a man with a troubled past. Some years ago his wife had drowned their son in the bathtub, and turned the harmonic man's life upside down. Now he was a loudmouthed workaholic, striding to be nothing but the best of the best. Often he spoke first, and thought about it afterwards. He and Alan had their issues, but coexisted in Chicago Hope, knowing they both were dependant on the other to have a job to return to in the mornings.
"I thought I saw you come in early for once…" Jeffrey started, but swallowed what he was about to say when he noticed Alan's wet cheeks.
"Someone died?" he asked blatantly, but honestly as Alan crept back behind his desk and dried the tears away like a madman. He shook his head and attempted a smile while Jeffrey sat down in a chair opposite his desk. There was comfort in his eyes, and it was like balsam for Alan's soul not to get bombarded with further questions. As so many times before he shook his feelings away and returned as the clear thinking lawyer. He silently thanked Jeffrey who went along with his charade.
"What can I do for you, Geiger?" he asked pleasantly as he folded his hands and looked calm and relaxed once more. The cold sweat on his forehead and the nausea cursing through him was evident signs of his discomfort, but Alan knew Geiger would let him be if that was what Alan wanted.
"It's The Dragon, I can't stand her!!! She always creeps around in the OR looking for something she can use for her experiments. You have to tell her that she has to stay away, or else she will end up with a scalpel jammed up her ass. The scarecrow shows me no respect what so ever, so I need you to set her straight!!" Jeffrey was honest, as always. Alan dreaded the very thought of having to retaliate Ms. Dreyford, but knew he had no other choice.
"I'll have a talk with her."
"Great!" Jeffrey smiled as he got to his feet: "I owe you one, Alan! Notify me the next time you need some heart surgery! Oh, I guess you would have to have a heart first!" he added with a grin as he swept through the door.
*-*
The following week was a hellish experiment for Alan. He was constantly nauseous, and had no control what so ever over his upset stomach. He was throwing up everything that he ate and had to cancel several meetings to the favour of the toilets on his floor. The third day he wandered the hallways like a zombie Philip decided enough was enough and sent him home with the order of getting well before he came back. Alan was grateful to dive into his bed and gather some strength, knowing only too well that he might feel this sick for the entire nine months if he was unlucky. His whole body ached as it tried to settle with the changes done to it, and still he was struggling with the mental after currents of his choice. It was so weird going around wondering if he was pregnant! He might have a tiny human being growing inside of him.
He slowly started to slide into some sort of routine with the nausea. If his stomach was empty when he took the hormonal shot in the morning he would be sick as dog for about an hour, and then it would draw back making him able to function as a normal human being again as long as he took his precautions. There was certain food his stomach didn't tolerate and he had to be thorough with eating the same amount of food at all meals. This way he managed to go back to work on the seventh day, the same day he had the appointment with The Dragon.
The day went by in a fog. His entire mind was wrapped about what he would learn from the meeting later that night.
*-*
She had an impatient look on her face as when he entered her office five past twelve.
"You're late!" Her voice was annoyed: "I don't tolerate any laziness from my test subjects Mr. Birch, when I tell you a time, you show up! Now, pee in this!" she added in a more moderate tone as she handed him a jar. Alan silently obeyed; too tense about what the test result would tell him in a matter of minutes to bother with the woman's snapping.
Minutes felt like hours as he sat, watching his own pee drying on a small stick. Ms. Dreyford scurried about like a squirrel seemingly just as eager to know the result as Alan. Finally she had a look at her wristwatch and decided it was time. Alan watched with all the blood in his body rushing to his head as she raised the stick and gave it a glare through the thick glasses of her eyeglasses.
"So… what did it say???" he said when he no longer could stand the waiting. She handed him the stick as a triumphant grin ran over her lips.
"You and I, my dear boy- are making world history!!!"
*-*
Another sleepless night.. There was no way back now, he was pregnant, pregnant for real! He lay in his bed the entire night, looking down on a flat stomach that now was hiding a tiny foetus. He was a man, and he was pregnant. He was a lawyer at a hospital and he was pregnant! It suddenly dawned to him what task he'd laid upon himself. He had to hide the pregnancy from the best doctors in the world, was he nuts even hoping he would pull it off?? As the months went by he would have to start changing habits, hopefully having people believe he was gaining weight because of what he ate. Alan had just started on a journey no one knew where would end, not even the scientist that had done this to him. His only hope for saving his connections with Chicago Hope was that Philip would forgive him in the end…
*-*
Everything affected him the first couple of months of his pregnancy. The hormones made him change mood in a matter of seconds, Alan often found himself crying in the bathroom, feeling drained and disgusted with himself.
His moody behaviour played him a couple of dirty tricks in court, but thankfully Alan was professional to the fingertips when it came to his appearance in the court room. To fight his demons he usually sat in one of the stalls of the men's bathroom; singing, or crying- given whatever mood he was in before he was going to trial. Alan's nights filled with sweet dreams of fatherhood, he could see himself tossing a laughing toddler to the sky and catching him or her with his face lit up in smile. These dreams passed into daydreams when the sun conquered the dark, and slowly Alan was starting to feel joy about the tiny spark of life he carried with him wherever he went. He could have a bad day in court, being bullied in meetings or simply stand half bored to death in the line of the supermarket when the thought would strike him:
Story Notes:
No pairings. Alan Birch as the preggie one :)
Author's Chapter Notes:
This is one piece of sappy fic! Not my best work, and originally not intended "published" on the Mpreg- list at all. But I felt I had to give the list a birthday present, and since I've got my head stuck in exams for the time being I had no choice but to dig in my files. So, here you are, happy birthday everybody! :)