"You called us in, Leah?" I ask, as Drix and I walk into her office.
"Yes. I have something important for you both. I'm going to let you meet her." Leah says.
She didn't have to tell who she was talking about. Everyone around here knew what 'her' was. The 12 Week old Fetus, growing healthy. Or, I hope she has. No one has even met her, because she's always been locked away by high security. Every virus on the planet would want the honor of killing a Fetus before it's born. It's what they call 'Losing the Baby', and it's sad for everyone if that happens. From what I know, not even Thrax killed a Fetus before. Babies are usually always weak, so it would be easy for a virus to kill her. That's why, from what I've heard, this Fetus hasn't even been in the public once.
"Since you two were heroes in the past, you'll be one of the first to meet the Fetus." Leah says.
"Are we gonna keep on calling her Fetus? That really isn't that good of a name." I state.
Drix and Leah look at me.
"What?"
"You do know that the body has no power over the name given to the Fetus, right?" Drix asks.
"Doesn't Leah have any control over it?"
Leah shakes her head. "Only the mother and father name her when she's born. For now, she is the Fetus."
"But, how about a nickname? Calling her The Fetus the whole time isn't the best way to get to know her."
"A nickname? Perhaps we could use it as a placeholder. We'll talk about that later." Leah responds. "For now, we should go inside and meet her."
Leah, Drix, and I step into an elevator and go down. As the elevator drops from the mind to the belly, I look out on the town, and see the modern life. You know, I never knew if the Town of Frank ever got better after Thrax died. The officials rescheduled Drix, Leah, and I to a different body. The Town of Mary looks like a really nice place, for what I've seen of it in the week I've been here. Heck, even in that single week I heard rumor of the Fetus. Everyone in the whole town was talking about it, and I can see why. I'm starting to learn more and more that a Fetus is a big deal.
Hold on, did you think the Town of Frank was having the baby? Get real, even I know that can never happen.
Soon enough, we descend down to the stomach.
"Okay, here she is." Leah opens the door and we walk out into a room. There isn't much in here. There's a bed, a bathroom that is connected to the bedroom, and plenty of toys laying around. The room was playing Rascal Flatts as we walked in. There she was, The Fetus. I still don't like that name.
She had very light toned skin, nothing I've ever seen before for my own eyes. She had white hair that went down to her waist. It was kind of frizzy and messy. At the moment, she was lying on her bed, connected to some kind of tube from her stomach.
"What's she doing?" I ask.
"The Fetus is getting her daily nourishment from the body. It's her way of eating. The tube gives her very finely mixed food, kind of like puree." Drix explains.
She doesn't use her mouth to eat? Kind of looks weird, getting all of her food into her stomach. So, does that mean that she can't eat solids? Probably. Man, that would suck only eating liquid food like that.
She makes a mmming sound as she takes in the food from the tube, until the tube stops giving her anymore. Or, that's what I can tell as she removes the cord. She sits up in her bed, and finally opens her big, brown eyes. As she stands, I realize she doesn't have clothes. Thank goodness her privates haven't grown in yet, 'cause I probably have looked away if they have.
"Umm..." As she's about to speak, she thinks for a moment. "Hello. That's how it goes, right Leah?" She asks.
Leah nods. "That's right. You greet people by saying hello. Good job."
The Fetus smiles. "Who's your friends?"
"When you meet someone, it would be best to let them introduce themselves." Leah explains to The Fetus.
I'm the first to speak. "'Sup, Fetus? I'm Ozzy." I introduce myself.
"'Sup?" She tilts her head in confusion.
"Ozzy, please be careful about slang. She's already having a hard time understanding fundamentals." Leah turns to me and tells me. I nod.
"Hello. My name is Drixenol Koldreliff. Some people prefer Drix for short." Drex says, extending his hand.
"Hmm?" Fetus notices his stretched out arm.
"You haven't taught her handshakes yet?" Drix asks Leah.
"I've been very busy." Leah answers.
Drix turns back to the Fetus. "A handshake is a friendly way to greet another person."
She scratches her head. "I thought saying Hello was."
"Well, it's nice to do both. Let's do a handshake. Grab my hand by reaching your arm." Drix stretches his arm again.
The Fetus extends her arm to take his hand.
"Good. Now just shake it like so..." Drix demonstrates by shaking her hand normally.
She smiles again, and shakes Drix's hand vigorously, shaking up Drix and not stopping.
"That's good enough." Drix says, hoping she stops shaking his hand. She lets go of his hand, and brings her arm back again. She giggles.
"Ozzy, you were talking about a nickname, right?" Leah asks.
Once again, the Fetus becomes curious. "What's a nickname?"
Leah turns to her and smiles. "A nickname is an easier way to call someone something nice. Most of the time, they're fun versions of the name."
Her face lights up. "Can I have a nickname? Please, please?"
"Well, what should we call her?" Drix asks.
"How about Rena?" I suggest. They both turn to me.
"Rena?" Drix and Leah ask.
I nod. "I think it fits her well."
They both think about the name.
"What do you think about it, Fetus?" Leah asks her.
She smiles wider than ever. "I love it!"
"Well, Rena it is. It's not that bad of a placeholder." Drix comments.
"Okay Rena, Ozzy and Drix are gonna be seeing you a lot often, alright?" Leah tells her.
"Wait, we are?" Drix and I both ask.
Leah nods again. "This is why I wanted you to meet Rena. She needs someone protecting her for the rest of her time here, and I can't keep it up anymore. I'm counting on you both with this big responsibility."
Drix and I look at each other.
"You can count on us to take care of Rena, mam." Drix says.
I turn to Rena and smile. "We're gonna go now, but we'll be back tomorrow."