Joel Robinson walked onto the bridge of the Satellite of Love with a white tissue pressed against his mouth. "Sorry, I'm late." He apologized to his robots as they stood impatiently on the bridge waiting for him to arrive.
"'Bout time." Crow replied. "The light's been blinking for six minutes now. It's getting really annoying! Good think I'm not epileptic..."
Tom Servo interjected. "Did you throw up again Joel?"
"Yeah..." Joel admitted feeling a little embarrassed and still a little queasy.
"You've been throwing up ALOT lately! You know that?"
"Have not. It's just a flu or something, in a few more days I'll be fine."
"I don't think so."
"Why's that 'Mister-I-know-everything-about-human-biology'?" Joel teased.
"Because that is the 28th morning in a row you've been sick. BY ACTUAL COUNT, mind you."
"Has it... Really?" Joel stopped to think back to the past few weeks. "I hadn't really noticed. But that is alot."
Crow laughed bluntly. "You gotta' be kidding? How could you not know you were so sick for so long?"
"Guess I got used to it." Joel shrugged it off calmly. "Just like I got used to these weekly experiments. Speaking of which..." He finally pressed the flashing button and answered the call.
"Come in Joely-poley puddin' n' pie." Dr. Forrester teased vilely. "How are we feeling today, hmmm? A little nauseous, perhaps?"
Joel arched his eyebrow at the oddly specific question. "Yeah... How'd you know? Hey!" Joel realized that the mad doctor was up to something. "What did you do to me? Did you slip something into the oxygen mixture?"
"Oh no! Nothing THAT complicated anyway..." He sneered happily. "I more or less devised a special program, a computer virus if you will, into the databanks for the satellite's food processor."
Joel and the bots panicked a little and held the robots closer to him. "COMPUTER VIRUS?!"
"Don't worry your pretty little head my space muffin." Dr. Forrester feigned sympathy. "Those little toys of yours won't be affected by my little program..."
"Phew..." Joel and the bots breathed a collective sigh of relief as Joel let them go.
Dr. Forrester continued. "Just you Joel."
"WHAT?!" Joel was obviously shaken. "What did you to me?"
"Nothing harmful, I assure you."
Frank walked into camera with a box of brightly colored vials in his hands. "Dr. F, did you want me to label these vials 'Specimen Group A' or 'Joel's Man-Baby'?"
Joel and the robots overheard Frank's question and just stared at the camera in dumbfounded silence.
Dr. Forrester glared at Frank. "Well Frank, you ruined the big revelation. Now I must kill you."
"Again?" Frank whined.
Joel interrupted the threat. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... what baby? I don't have a baby!"
"Not yet." Dr. Forrester corrected as he smashed Frank over the head with an oversized clown hammer. "Give it another seven months."
"Seven months?" Joel still didn't understand. "Did you use my DNA to make some kind of test tube baby down there in Deep 13?"
"No..." Dr. Forrester grinned at the guess. "I used my vast intellect to create a biological... Well, it'd take a scientist to explain it, so I'll just cut to the chase: You, Joel Robinson, my free floating astro-guinea pig, are now the first human male to successfully conceive."
"C-conceive?" Joel stammered. "You mean I'm... I'm..." He put his hand to his upset stomach.
"Pregnant." Dr. Forrester smirked giddily.
"Pregnant..." Joel repeated. "Oh..."
Servo spoke up. "Well, that explains the morning sickness. No, really, it DOES explain your morning sickness Joel!"
Crow looked up at Joel suspiciously. "Well, since you couldn't use protection name it after me!"
"Right..." Joel paled quickly. "I don't feel well. Again. I'm going to lay down." On that last thought Joel passed out, falling backward on the main deck of the Satellite of Love behind the desk and out of view of Cambot.
"Joel!" The bots cried out in unison.
Dr. Forrester on the other hand laughed maniacally. "Yes, yes... I'm the God, I'M THE GOD!" He laughed wickedly. "Oh, and you two tinker toys, when Joel wakes up tell him to get his buns and his bun in the oven into that theater! Or else..."
-next chapter-
