What's In A Dream?

Part 11: Coexisting

Another beautiful day outside the MIB living quarters building. Elle sighed and fell back onto the king sized bed she'd just finished making. Lately all her energy seemed to have been drained away. Unless she was making a beeline for the bathroom. She'd made an appointment with Zeeltor the day before, her test results should be in any time now.

"Elle!" X's voice called from the living room, "Your communicator's beeping!"

'Perfect timing,' Elle chuckled inwardly as she got up from the bed. Three months of marriage to X hadn't killed her, but it hadn't been a walk in the park either. "And I suppose it's beneath you to answer it?"

X stuck his head inside the doorway to their bedroom, "Wouldn't want to get yelled at for prying into my moody little human's business."

Elle groaned and got up off the bed. X had a point, she had been a little emotional lately. She blamed it on his incessant ranting over how doing things according to JeeDangian standards was so much better than following tacky Earth procedures. This included the way Elle and X lived their daily lives together. He hated the fact that while on his home planet it was typical for chores to be divided up Elle insisted that it was Earth's tradition to allow the wife to choose all of the chores that the male was responsible for. He'd even made a mental note to inquire about that to Kay. Elle had snickered when Kay pretended that it was considered manly to allow the female to go first in everything even if it meant that the husband was stuck doing most of the scrubbing and cooking.

"Zeeltor?" Elle asked as she opened the communicator, grinning while X grumbled about how hard it was to clean a frying pan.

The cheery blue alien's face appeared on the screen, "Hello there Agent Elle! How are you this morning?"

"Fine," Elle chuckled, X was furiously scrubbing the pan in the sink, sending suds flying everywhere, "do you have the test results?"

'Test results?' X's ears perked up. He spun around and listened intently as Zeeltor replied.

"Yes indeedy, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! I know I was. Is X there with you?"

Elle turned around and nearly smacked her face into his stomach, "AHHH!!! X!"

"What test results?" X asked Elle suspiciously, "What's he talking about?"

"I wasn't feeling well so I went to the lab for some tests," Elle explained, tilting her head to avoid bumping it into him as he leaned further over. You'd think Zeeltor was going to hold up the test results instead of just calling them out. "Would you like to hold this?"

X sat down beside of her on the couch, "What were the results?"

"Well," Zeeltor began, "when Elle dropped by and explained her symptoms I decided that it was wise to administer a pregnancy test. And I'm happy to inform you that the results came back positive."

Zeeltor chuckled as Elle and X's eyes grew huge. "C-could you say that again?" they gasped.

"Agent Elle is pregnant." Zeeltor put it bluntly.

In unison, Elle and X's eyes rolled back into their heads. There was a loud THUD! as both agents fell over onto the floor.

"Agents?" Zeeltor's image asked. "Hello?"

******

Screaming echoed through the makeshift delivery room set up inside one of the rooms that branched off from the lab.

"How much longer is she gonna do this?!" X yelled to Zeeltor with his hands over his ears.

"It's only been six hours Agent X!" Zeeltor yelled back. "Human labor can last MUCH LONGER!"

"HOW MUCH LONGER?!" X asked, he was afraid of the reply.

"Around the time it takes for a centuarian day to pass!" Zeeltor shouted over Elle's wailing. It was obvious that she was in pain, but she had refused to use any pain relievers. Something about a completely natural birth being the safest way to go.

"X I SWEAR THAT IF I HAD SEEN THIS COMING," Elle began threatening her husband again, "I WOULD NEVER HAVE LET YOU TOUCH ME!!!!"

X sighed, he reluctantly pulled a hand away from his ear and placed it over Elle's. "It will be alright Little Ears, I'm here."

Elle glared up at him, did he realize how close he was to LOSING that hand?!?

"Uh---Agent X---I wouldn't get that close if I were you." Zeeltor advised, moving down to the other end of the hospital bed and checking beneath the sheets, "Hmm…we've got a few more hours to go I think."

"I HAVEN'T GOT A FEW MORE HOURS!" X cried out in pain as Elle dug her nails into his hand.

"Just be glad Elle isn't of the Ewyprif species Agent X," Zeeltor chuckled, "or else you'd have to contend with labor that lasted up to fifty seven hours."

X cringed at the thought of Elle being in labor that long. Six hours! It had only been SIX HOURS! He'd survived the nine months but now he wasn't so sure he could take another thirty-one hours, maybe he'd get lucky, maybe Elle wouldn't suffer that long. That would mean HE wouldn't suffer that long. His hand was turning purple as he tried to pry it out of Elle's clutches.

Nineteen hours later…

"OOOWWWW!!!! That's it! Gimme the drugs!" Elle shrieked. X had managed to get his hand away from her only to have her cling to his other hand in the process.

"I'm afraid it's a little late for that Agent Elle." Zeeltor smiled, rolling the sheets back over the tops of her knees. He motioned for X to move to the end of the bed where he was standing, "Now remember, deep breaths."

Zeeltor turned to a small tub of hot water, making sure everything was in place. X stood at the other end of his wife, looking to Zeeltor for instructions, and maybe a barf bag.

"I'm going to need you to push when I tell you to," Zeeltor continued to chatter.

Elle nodded, X looked at the walls, the ceiling, the floor, anything but the part of his wife's body that was now facing him.

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it when we were on our honeymoon!" Elle sneered between breaths.

"It looks a little different now," X absently replied, without taking his eyes off the ceiling.

"Or when we were spending our first night in our new quarters!" Elle went on.

"Okay," X muttered, "you proved your point."

"OR when you found out that I was expecting!!!"

"ALRIGHT ELLE!" X shouted, not thinking and staring down, "AHH!" he shut his eyes, tight!

Zeeltor started humming some odd little tune and handed X a pair of gloves. X stared down at the gloves and then at Elle's---"OH NO! NO WAY! NOT THIS ALIEN!"

Elle glared at him, "You did this! You help!"

That left no room for argument, "Fine," X winced.

"Now these are quite a nifty tool for pulling out the little tikes." Zeeltor chuckled as he held up a large metallic instrument.

"W-What's that for?" X murmured, beginning to feel his knees give way.

"These are called forceps!" Zeeltor responded, holding them up to the light.

X felt weak, he'd never make it through this!

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