AN: Here we are, another chapter here.
I hope that you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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"Can I get some communication?" Alice asked. "Carol—you're the interpreter."
"How can I interpret, Alice, if she's not saying anything?" Carol asked. "There's nothing to interpret if she doesn't try to communicate. I'm sorry," Carol added, speaking to Sadie that time. "You're right here and...we're talking about you like you're not."
Sadie shook her head at Carol.
"I don't care," she said. "Is she done?"
"I'm done," Alice said.
"She's done," Carol clarified for Sadie since Alice was behind the woman.
Sadie nodded her head and quickly readjusted her clothing to cover herself once more. She turned around and crossed her arms across her chest.
"How long?" Sadie asked.
"Do we keep the treatments up?" Alice asked. She didn't wait for Sadie to let her know if she'd guessed her question correctly before she answered it. "One shot a day until you're ready to ovulate again. Then we'll do the insemination."
"No," Sadie said. "How long before—before I'm not a prisoner?"
"You're all still prisoners," Alice said. She glanced at Carol and shrugged her shoulders. "If we're being honest? Everyone is still a prisoner. You don't cleared of that until the project is over and the government declares that everyone here is free to go. But—tonight you'll sleep in your new home."
Sadie smiled to herself, clearly pleased with this piece of information.
"Tonight?" She asked.
Alice nodded her head.
"I presented the stress of the maximum security zone as being a probable cause in your infertility," Alice said. "It looks good for you that you've done this so many times before. It's clear you can have a child. Merle's swimmers check out. So the only reason you're not pregnant is either a simple case of timing or—something else that's getting in the way. I'm suggesting the something else is an incredibly high stress level. A little roughing up by the guards may or may not have played a role too."
"Merle is coming too?" Sadie asked. "With me?"
"Unless you don't want him to come with you," Alice said. "We could arrange for separate housing, perhaps, as long as you're willing to—well, to procreate together."
Sadie shook her head quickly.
"No," she said. "I want him to come. But he's coming today? With me?"
"The guards will take you back to max security for the time being," Alice said. "Merle should be there and waiting for you. They're securing a house for you now and...when it's ready? I'll come with them to get you."
Sadie unfolded her arms and pointed a finger at Carol.
"You did this?" Sadie asked.
Carol raised her eyebrows at the woman.
"I wasn't ever a maximum security prisoner," Carol said.
Sadie rolled her eyes at Carol and shook her head. It wasn't an uncommon reaction from the woman when she was misunderstood.
"The shots?" Sadie asked.
Carol nodded her head.
"Yeah," she said. "I don't know if it was timing or...stress...or what, but Daryl and I weren't getting anywhere. At least, not as quickly as they wanted us to."
"But it worked?" Sadie asked.
Carol laughed to herself and nodded her head.
"I'm pregnant," Carol said. "So either it worked or...maybe it took the stress away for me enough for nature to take its course. Maybe it was just the right time. But the result is the same."
Alice tapped Sadie on the shoulder to draw her attention.
"I'm not a fertility expert. I'm not an OBGYN. I'm just trying to figure all of this out as I go along," Alice said. "They asked for specialists, but everyone else said hell no to taking on this project, so you're stuck with me. I'd like to be able to swear that I can help any woman who wants to get pregnant, but I can't say my personal research is there yet. Carol was my first guinea pig. You're my second."
Sadie sucked in a breath, held it, and let out slowly. She nodded her head.
"OK," she said. "OK. Will I have twins too?"
"I have no fucking idea whatsoever," Alice said with a laugh. "None. You could have one or two or like...six, for all I know. Whatever happens? I'm going to be just as surprised as you are."
Sadie nodded her head again and mumbled some acceptance of what Alice was saying. Alice affectionately rested a hand on the woman's shoulder before she squeezed her arm.
"Are you ready to go back?" Alice asked.
Sadie shrugged her shoulders and nodded. Ready or not, sooner or later she'd have to leave with the guards.
Alice called the guard in and Carol watched him. She heard Alice's repeated reminders to the man to be gentle and considerate with Sadie. She watched, too, as the guard basically ignored Alice's requests. He manhandled the woman in a way that was entirely unnecessary. Now that Carol had a chance to get to know Sadie a little better, she realized just how unnecessary all of the excess force really was. Given her stature, a man the size of the guard could have simply put Sadie over his shoulder if he wanted to relocate her and she wasn't going along willingly.
When she was bound, finally spared the indignity of the collar she'd been forced to wear before and the blindfold that they'd somehow believed would keep her calm when it only served to disorient and frighten her, Sadie went willingly enough with the guard and left Carol alone with Alice.
The day before, the clinic had been bustling while people enjoyed the novelty of coming and going as they pleased. Today, the novelty had worn off some. They had appointments, but they weren't seeing nearly as many walk-ins as before. They actually had time to kill.
Alice patted the exam table.
"Saddle up," Alice said.
Carol raised her eyebrows at the woman.
"Something wrong?" Carol asked.
"No," Alice said. "But that doesn't mean I can't feel out the babies a little and listen to a couple of heartbeats to pass the time. Besides—you know you want to hear them too. And it lets me practice. I'm in pretty desperate need of all the practice that I can get."
Carol accepted Alice's explanation and got comfortable on the table. She lie back and let Alice do her poking and prodding—something she really was doing for the sheer ability to practice at finding exactly what she was looking for without making any facial expressions that might concern any would-be mothers. The prodding wasn't unusual, but as of yet, Alice hadn't been able to locate the twins with her fingers.
"Can you find anything?" Carol asked.
"Eh, not yet," Alice said. "I think it's too early for me to find much of anything. But we can listen. Practice at that is good for me too. If it takes me too long to find the heartbeat, I can certainly hear the mamas' heartbeats getting faster."
Carol laughed to herself.
"Except mine?" Carol asked.
"I haven't tried with the Doppler on you, yet," Alice said. "But it should be fine. You've accepted that we're stumbling through this together," She fumbled around finding the machine for listening to the heartbeats, and Carol stared at the ceiling tiles, counting them for herself like she'd done every other time she'd submitted herself to Alice's will.
"Alice—why are my babies so important?" Carol asked. "Or so impressive?"
"You mean to me?" Alice asked.
"I mean to the government," Carol said. "Why does Samirah care about it?"
"Sami cares about everything that goes on in this project," Alice said. "She's never liked the way the prison system has been run. I mean the whole idea was rehabilitation and release, essentially. We got stuck at...well...I don't know if we ever really reached rehabilitation."
"So you're telling me there's no other reason other than the fact that she likes that it advances the project?" Carol asked.
"As far as I'm aware, that's pretty much it, if not entirely," Alice said. "I think it's too early to use the Doppler. I can't find the heartbeats with this thing." Carol's stomach turned and she pushed herself up on her elbow. Alice was already shaking her head at her. "It's early," Alice said. "It was a longshot anyway to think I'd find them right now. I was just playing around. Please don't look at me like that."
Carol didn't realize she was looking at Alice in any particular manner, but she could feel her own heart pounding. Focusing on her feelings, she realized it worried her way more than she had even realized it might.
"You gotta find them now," Carol said. "I can't breathe." She gasped in air to illustrate her point.
"I didn't want to do another scan so soon," Alice said.
Carol sat up.
"So you can't feel anything and there's no heartbeat and...I'm supposed to just go to lunch?" Carol asked.
Alice frowned at her.
"It's just too early," she insisted again. "Another week? Two? It'll almost definitely work."
"Alice!" Carol insisted.
"You're serious?" Alice asked. "You're really worried?"
"Alice!" Carol repeated. Whatever concern she felt was growing exponentially with the time that was lapsing. Alice sighed.
"Fine," Alice said. "But take off your pants. We're taking no chances on getting an accurate read."
"Fine with me," Carol said, dropping off the table to take off her pants while Alice washed her hands and prepared things.
"I wasn't going to do this, you know," Alice said.
"I know," Carol said.
"You're doing great," Alice said. "I don't need to check anything. I was just screwing around."
"I know that too," Carol said. "But I'm going to pass out or throw up if you don't do something. I just haven't exactly settled on which one yet."
Alice laughed to herself.
"Well, if you're going to throw up, just don't do it on me, preferably," Alice said.
Carol waited anxiously while Alice got everything ready. She waved Alice through all her usual introductory and seemingly mandatory doctor language and she held her breath until there was finally the sound of a heartbeat. She let her breath out then and sunk into the table some.
"All's well," Alice said. Even without looking at her, Carol could hear the smile in her voice. "Just like I knew it would be."
"That's just one," Carol said.
Alice chuckled. A moment later, either the same sound repeated itself a little louder or a new one entered the scene altogether.
"And there's the other," Alice said. "Everyone's safe and sound. You're the only one in your weird little trio that's having a rough time of it."
"No more experimenting on me," Carol said. "Not until you're sure that you can avoid scaring me half to death."
"I certainly don't want to be the one that's stressing you out," Alice said. "But as long as I'm here? Look—see? There's one and...there's the other. Everyone's accounted for. Everything looks just like it's supposed to. Can you take a couple of deep breaths for me now? Just to let me know everything's still working for you like it should?"
"I'm sorry," Carol said. "I really am. But—it's just that this pregnancy? Alice—I have absolutely nothing to tell me I'm pregnant. I don't feel like I did before. Before? I was dragging myself through the days with Sophia. I was sick all the time. I couldn't stand to smell meat. Now? I'm not really that tired. I don't feel sick. I have cravings, but...that could just be because I can finally eat things I want instead of whatever they're serving."
"And you should rejoice," Alice said. "So you're lucky. You're getting an easy pregnancy. Because that's what it is. It's an easy pregnancy. They're in there and they're doing great. Just relax and enjoy that. You have no idea when that luck might turn around and you're in here complaining about a thousand and one symptoms. You've got two healthy babies growing in there and we all couldn't be more thrilled about it."
Free to go, as it were, Carol went about getting herself back into her pants. Her heart was slowing down. She could feel herself relaxing under the knowledge that there was nothing to worry about.
But, honestly, she was always at least a little bit worried.
"Tell me the truth," Carol said. "Why are my babies...my twins...so fascinating to everyone? I don't want any of your bullshit answers, Alice. I just want to know the truth. If there's something I need to prepare for? At least give me the chance to prepare for it."
Carol watched Alice as she cleaned up and put everything back in order the way that she liked it. After lunch, they had another "hopeful" mother-to-be coming in and, if everything checked out, Alice might very well be putting the equipment to use again.
"I promise you that there's nothing you need to be prepared for," Alice said. "Not as far as I know. The twins are exciting because—we weren't even sure that twins were a thing anymore. Yours are the first ones reported since the turn. Anywhere. To any mother."
"Every baby born has just been one?" Carol asked. Alice looked at Carol and then turned her attention to fumbling with something else. "Alice—every baby born has just been one baby?"
"As far as we know," Alice said with a sigh. "Listen—the truth of the matter is that there haven't been a lot of babies born since the turn. Not to non-Wilds. Most of the babies that we've even seen have either come in with captures or they've come out of the prisons."
Carol's stomach tightened.
"Why?" She asked.
Alice shrugged her shoulders.
"Could be medical? Could be psychological. I don't know either way. It would require a study to be launched. More than likely it's just that people haven't been too willing to procreate since the turn," Alice said. "They'd rather just adopt the babies that come from elsewhere—but that leads to its own set of problems."
"Because they're Wilds?" Carol asked.
"I'm not even supposed to be talking about this with you," Alice said. "You know that."
"I know," Carol said. "But you're talking. And I'm not telling anyone that'll care. I won't tell Maggie when she finally comes to talk to me and Daryl. I won't even tell your partner. Nobody that matters has to know you told me anything. I'm already your partner in crime, and I've kept your secrets. I can play stupid, Alice, if that's what you need me to do. I just want to know..."
"Non-Wilds will adopt the Wild babies," Alice said. "But there's always an element of nature versus nurture. They're afraid that they won't be able to raise them to be non-Wild. And...if they aren't babies? They just go out to a family and back into the system again as soon as they can be traded in for an infant. They're always reported as non-desirable or trouble. They're reported as being Wild. And as of right now? Nobody's willing to admit that might just be them living up to the expectations that are set for them."
"Are you planning on taking our babies?" Carol asked. "Adopting them out?"
"No," Alice said. She shook her head definitively. Carol trusted the gesture. She wasn't lying. If that was the plan, Alice had no knowledge of it.
"But there's a push for us to have them," Carol said.
"Population," Alice said. "There's no future if there are no children. You know the drill—we are the world, we are the children. It's simple. That's all it is. Population. You're not living a life where you can say—I just won't have children. So you'll have children. The population will grow. That's why there's the push. Someone to inherit the Earth." Alice sighed. "You need to go to lunch. Andrea will be waiting for you. Melodye will be waiting for me. We've got a busy afternoon when you get back and I've got to get Merle and Sadie moved."
"There's no other reason, Alice?" Carol asked. "Just—repopulating the Earth one prison community at a time?" She knew that pushing Alice, once the woman had hit the invisible "off" switch that she seemed to have, would never work, but she still tried, regardless, to get everything out of her that she could when Alice had slipping into sharing.
"One rehabilitated prison community at a time," Alice said. She started to walk toward the back exam room of the clinic—a room they were barely using at the moment because it backed up directly to the area where the expansion was being built—to fully and completely end their conversation. "Go to lunch. I'll see you in an hour."
