April 1, 2013
"Oof," Spencer huffed as he lowered Desmond onto a cot in the infirmary. "Is he going to-"
"Okay, thanks for bringing him, you can go now." Cutting off the man's question, Stacey quickly shooed him out and locked the door.
She turned the patient on his side to take the weight off his back, and had just cut off his boxers to see where the bleeding originated when she heard his drowsy voice.
"Aaaagh... my balls..." Desmond twitched, crossing his legs instinctively.
"Don't do that! Hold still, I need to get some gauze down there."
"Auuh... the blood... what happened?"
"That's what I'm trying to find... oh my god. What is this?"
"Don't ask me! Does it sound like I know?! You're the fucking doctor!" There was a fresh stabbing stinging in his crotch. "Aagh, what the hell are you doing down there?!" he demanded.
"Shh! You want to wake up the whole Compound? Sorry if it stings, I'm just cleaning you up a little, okay? Now calm down and let me try to figure this out."
Suddenly remembering that he was trying to keep this shit a secret, he bit back his words. Figure this out, figure what out, what happened, what was all that blood, am I going to die, is it killing me, great, that would be just great, super savior Assassin Desmond Miles fucking killed by a stupid fetus that made his balls explode or something-
"What's all this blood?! Stacey? Why is the door locked?" The shocked voice of Rebecca rang out.
"I'm busy in here!" the medic yelled back.
Then Spencer could be heard. "Just found Desmond passed out on the floor down there. It looks like someone stabbed him or something."
"What?! An intruder? But none of the security systems went off-"
"Hello! I am trying to concentrate on my patient! Go talk somewhere else!" Stacey roared, thumping on the wall to emphasize her command. The discussion abated.
Aw hell it's not trying to be born, is it? How many months has it been, hah, I don't even have a point of reference there was no fucking conception date that I know of, just the stupid puking in november december january february march it's only been like five or six months but who the hell knows maybe those who came before have shorter pregnancies
"Um... Desmond?"
Or maybe the thing is just dead, oh that would be hella awesome if only it didn't hurt so much, no what am I thinking, I'd gladly endure this pain to get rid of it, wait she's saying something- "Urgh, what."
"You, uh..." He couldn't make out the rest of her sentence.
"You gonna mumble, or you gonna tell me what's going on with my junk?!"
"It looks like you have, uh..."
Now there was another uncomfortable sensation. It sort of felt like a gloved finger going inside him. Wait, what, going inside where, what the fuck?!
"... a vagina."
No goddamn way. "You got to be kidding me!"
"Okay, a 'birth canal', if you prefer."
Desmond shot her an angry look, though his line of sight was partially blocked. "I would prefer not to have any of it! The parasite or any extra parts!" A sudden thought occurred to him. "It is extra, right?"
"...You still have your penis and scrotum, if that's what you mean."
Small comfort.
"This is good, I guess."
"Good? How the hell is this 'good'? I just lost a shit ton of blood and now I'm even more of a mutated freak!"
"I won't have to do a cesarean after all."
Fucking hell you know what that means, shit, shit, shit, I'll have to squeeze the fucker out myself, out this stupid fucking birth canal, that'll be tons of fun, yeah sounds really 'good', what's next am I gonna grow boobs too? Desmond made a long low groaning sound.
"Does it still hurt?"
"I hate my life. And yes, it still fucking hurts."
Heavy footfalls thudded towards them, then someone was banging on the door. "Ms. Russ! What's happened to Desmond?"
She made to get up and let William in, but Desmond grabbed her lab coat, holding her back.
"Don't... I don't want him to see me like this." He sounded about to cry again.
"Okay, uh, let me get you something to wear." She got out a hospital gown and helped him sit up so he could put it on. "Do you feel okay?"
The shift in position put unexpected pressure on the sore spot between Desmond's legs. "Ow! Aaaow. This is definitely not how I would define 'okay'. Agh."
"I mean, are you feeling dizzy or weak at all? You lost a lot of blood. I don't want you fainting again."
"I think I'll manage... to stay conscious..." He winced, then took a deep breath. "I still don't want him in here though."
The banging continued. "Ms. Russ!"
"We have to tell them what happened, Desmond. Right now they think some Templar busted in and tried to kill you!"
"Fine," he relented. "But can we just... keep it to my dad right now? Since he already knows... the other thing..."
"I suppose so. For now."
"Thanks," Desmond said wearily, as he laid back down and faced the wall. "And...can I have a blanket?"
She wasn't sure if he wanted it more because he was cold or because he wanted to hide his body, but she brought him one nevertheless, then finally unlocked the door and let William into the infirmary.
The man nearly fell over himself rushing to Desmond's side. "Desmond, son, are you okay? What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
Stacey took the man's arm and led him into her office so they could talk. "He should be fine. The bleeding's stopped and his pain's subsiding."
"Why was he bleeding? Did he lose the-" William stopped abruptly, thinking better of using the word 'baby'.
"No. I thought it was a miscarriage too, but..." Stacey sighed again. She'd been doing a lot of sighing since this whole pregnancy thing started, she realized.
"But what?" It was strange for her to see the great Mentor, who always appeared so confident and decisive, in such a confused and worried state.
"He's grown... a birth canal."
Disturbed by the concept, William's body tensed up slightly.
"Well, I don't know if 'grown' is the best word for it," Stacey thought aloud. "More like, it just opened up in his perineum. There's a lot of nerve endings and blood vessels in that area, so it's no wonder he had so much pain and hemorrhaging." She noticed the old man had collapsed into a chair and was clutching his head. "Are you all right?"
"How could this... he hasn't been near the Apple in months..."
"I'm going on the assumption that Juno manipulated his DNA while she had control of his body. There must be some genetic sequence that activates... this process... at a certain point in the gestation period."
William ran a hand through his silver hair. "Speaking of... How long do you think... When is..."
"You're asking about the due date."
A halfhearted nod was the only reply.
"Well, normally, it's calculated from the last menstrual period. Desmond never had any of those, of course. But he came into contact with the Apple on October tenth, and if we treat that as date of conception, which would match his report of vomiting in November... Then I'd say sometime mid-July. That is, if we're assuming a human gestation length. Don't suppose you have any info on Precursor pregnancy?"
"The thought had occurred to me as well. This could easily be Juno's plan to acquire a physical body again."
"I wouldn't mention that possibility to Desmond. He's freaked out enough as it is."
William was silent for a moment and then changed the subject slightly. "I suppose we have to tell everyone else about his condition now."
"Do we have to? Eventually, yes, they'll have to know, but-"
"Did you not see what it looks like out there? The hall, his room? Like a goddamn crime scene! How else are we going to explain it than by telling the truth, outlandish as it is?"
"Fine. But I think Desmond should be the one to tell them," she asserted. "He needs to be able to have some small amount of control oversomething about this whole situation."
