Disclaimer: Dark Angel & its characters belong to Eglee & Cameron, unless they've given them away without telling us.
A/N: By default: S2. The author makes no claim of sanity. I'd thank Lisa0316 for her technical assistance, but she probably would rather her name not be associated with this piece.
It's a Man's World
The scene: office of Sam Carr, M.D.
"I don't know that this is such a good idea," Alec bounced nervously behind Logan, looking at the stern countenance of the nurse behind the window. "It's not like this is his specialty..."
"No, but how many other doctors around here have the whole story on you and ... you know, the rest of you?" Logan attempted reason, although he of all people knew that 'reason' was the last thing that would make sense at the moment. "You really need to see someone, Alec; you should have a long time ago. And if it's as been as bad as you say it's been ..."
"It's worse! No matter what else Manticore has done to me, I've never felt like this!" He watched Logan as he made his way slowly across the waiting room and eased awkwardly into a chair, vaguely considering the fact that if anyone should feel some sympathy for him at this moment, he should. " My back has been killing me," Alec followed, coming close to insist, his voice low, " and I can't get any sleep; there's no way to get comfortable..."
Logan rolled his eyes. "You're telling me." With a groan of his own, he tried, "you think you have it bad? Imagine all that after getting shot in the back."
"Yeah, but the heartburn! An X-5 with heartburn? Whose lame joke was that?" Alec settled in next to him, shifted uncomfortably, and tried to resettle.
"Probably all that junk you've been devouring –"
"Can I help it if I've been craving pizza and peanut butter?"
"Together?" Logan made a face. "It just makes me queasy to think of it. And at least you can eat..." He shuddered. "One minute, I'm starving; then suddenly anything I've eaten comes right back up, and anything else sounds awful. Five minutes later I'm famished again." Suddenly one grimace was replaced with another, and Logan again started his light but frenzied scratching of his swollen belly. "Ahg, this is making me crazy, all the itching! Sam has got to give me something to stop the itching..."
Alec just laughed. "I think I'd rather have the cravings." Still uncomfortable, he heaved himself up again, enormous belly leading the way, and as he crossed the room to get a drink of water from the cooler in the corner, stopped to preen at his reflection in the glass window to the entryway. "At least my hair looks fantastic," he offered. "Is that supposed to happen?" As Logan continued rubbing at his stomach, drawing a breath to reply, Alec looked lower at his reflection and pouted, "but how much bigger am I going to get, anyway? I'm a house now; I can barely move..."
"You're out of your mind if you think you're worse off than I am." Logan griped. "I mean -- look at these ankles! They're as big as balloons..." He shifted to rub his belly with one hand and massage his ankle with the other. "Damn Manticore, anyhow."
"Manticore?" Alec's eyebrows hiked. "Why would you blame yours on Manticore? Well, other than the obvious ..." he paused to consider. "So – you think that they caused Max to...?"
"That, or the transfusion from Joshua that got me walking again." He saw Alec give him a skeptical look and shrugged, "Well, how else would you explain it? God knows they've managed a whole lot o' weird in their day, and given that my life was fairly normal before Manticore became a part of it. Crazy-assed place," he grumbled, "who knows what they dreamed up."
Alec's eyes suddenly welled up.
Logan rolled his eyes. "What?" he demanded.
"Nothing," Alec muttered, stabbing at his misty eyes quickly to clear his vision, "nothing at all, not to you, anyway ... only the closest thing I ever had to a mother and father, that's all..."
Hormones, Logan cursed, not the first time in several months. "Oh, damn, Alec; you know I didn't mean..." Logan sighed, long-suffering. "Look. Just – take a breath, okay? Sam's done a lot for me with all this; maybe he can help you get through this, too. Any idea when you're due?"
"How would I know, if I'm not entirely sure how long an X-5 pregnancy is supposed to last?"
"...or when it started?" Alec looked emotional again, and Logan went on quickly to sooth, "I just mean you don't know if it's ... it's from the usual way, or..."
"Usual? I thought we decided that men getting pregnant was definitely unusual," Alec snapped.
"Well, yeah," Logan felt his own patience slipping, until he saw the nurse open the door to gesture him back. Thank heaven, he sighed to himself, and managed to lever himself up. "C'mon, Alec, let's have Sam see you first," Logan said, as he clapped Alec on the shoulder and gently guided him to the door. "After all," he chortled, "you're a whole lot bigger than I am..."
"Am not," Alec retorted indignantly, allowing Logan to push him along. "Besides... you're taller; you carry it better..."
They waddled into the office and moved on down the hall, voices carrying behind them as they did.
Watching the pair disappear inside, one of the women in Sam's waiting room felt a small smile break her features as she simply shook her head at the pair. Gorgeous men, both of them, she mused. And it must be true about that 'special glow'...
Seeing that another woman across the room caught her eye, she chuckled, and offered, "typical male reaction. It figures, doesn't it? A couple of 'em get pregnant, and suddenly it's all a big deal..."