Thanks for reading folks. This chapter contains talk of reproduction so be
warned if there are any young eyes around.
Alli and MM
Chapter 2
After a couple of more days of rest per Claire's orders, Ed was able to return to the lab. Claire had removed the stitches from the various wounds Ed collected on his adventure into the world of Darien Fawkes. Claire had commented that not even Darien had required as many stitches as Ed did in one week. Claire had smiled and given Ed the green light to return to work.
Tom, Darien, Hobbes and Sloan were off in a secluded area so Tom could instruct Darien. Sloan wanted to document the training to get a better understanding of Dominant behavior. Hobbes was there to make sure that Darien didn't harm anybody if things got out of hand.
Tom needed Darien to release his dominant side and the only way to do that was to make Darien feel threatened. Tom looked at Hobbes and Sloan, "Get ready."
Sloan nodded and started her video camera. Hobbes got the tranquilizer gun ready, "There's enough juice in here to take down an elephant."
Darien rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Hobbes."
Tom looked at Darien, "Don't hold back."
"Okay, lets rock."
Tom grabbed Darien and flipped him on his back. Hobbes shuddered at the sound that Darien's body made on the floor, "Ouch."
Sloan watched through the viewer. She had already documented a few of the training sessions while they were in San Diego. Tom and Darien could out last any WWF wrestler and their matches were better, not to mention this was not for entertainment.
Tom wrapped his hands around Darien's neck and squeezed. Darien grabbed Tom's hands and tried to break the grip. Tom tightened his grip and Darien started gasping for air.
The first time Hobbes and Sloan had seen this they almost interfered and Tom yelled at them to stay back. Hobbes had nearly clobbered Tom with the butt of his gun. But Darien had broken the grip and slammed Tom up against the wall. This is the routine for them. Hobbes hated it; it was like playing Russian Roulette.
Tom's expression changed to rage when he thought back to when Darien had kissed Sloan. Darien sensed it and sent a message to Tom, 'Oh yeah, she tasted good too.'
Tom started to pound Darien's head on the floor, "You stay away from her."
Darien smiled, "Don't think so." His voice was raspy under the grip. Darien's dominant survival instincts came to the surface and he broke the grip. Tom's arms were stretched out and Darien smiled malevolently and he sat up quickly using his head as a battering ram. Tom fell to the ground. Darien slowly got up and grabbed Tom by his shirt and threw him across the room.
Hobbes shook his head, "Kid's getting better."
Tom got up and the two collided in the center of the room. They both fell to the ground and rolled around a couple of times. Darien ended up on top of Tom and now he had his hands wrapped around Tom's throat. Tom grabbed Darien's hands, "You don't need to kill to survive. It's not the way it has to be. We can coexist. We can learn from them. We won't survive without them."
"It's the order of things and you know it, Tom." Darien hissed. "The strong must kill the weak."
"No, that's a lie. We're not animals, we're just like them.we evolved from them. Killing is senseless. You don't have to kill, you can love, Sloan taught me that." Tom said as he felt Darien's grip loosen but he dared not break it yet. Darien was almost there.
"Love is a human feeling, it shows weakness."
"No.it's not a weakness, it's a strength.to love is not a weakness."
"They fear us, they kill what they fear, and we should kill them first." Darien said.
"We do the same, Darien. We fear them and we kill them, when does it end? You can ignore the instinct to kill. Just look inside you." Tom felt Darien release his grip.
"I can control this," Darien slumped to the ground and then rolled onto his back. He covered his eyes with his arm. "I.can.control.this," he panted.
Hobbes walked over to Darien and knelt down next to him, "You okay there, partner?"
"Yeah, how'd I do this time?" Darien moved his arm and let it flop down at his side.
"No bloody noses this time," Hobbes smiled.
Sloan put her camera down and ran over to Tom. He sat up and looked at Darien, "Very good, you're learning."
Darien sat up, "It's like learning right from wrong all over again and I flunked that the first time around."
"We'll make sure you don't flunk again," Sloan said with a smile. She had been far enough away where she didn't hear the exchange between Darien and Tom. But she knew something was wrong, she could still feel the tension.
Both Darien and Tom looked at each other. Sloan recognized the look, "Who is it Tom?"
"Spidey sense tingling there, Fawkesy?"
Darien merely shook his head in agreement, "Someone's coming."
Hobbes reached for his gun. Darien stopped him, "No..it's okay, Hobbes.he's.he's like Tom."
Sloan stared at Tom, "Do you know who it is?"
Tom raised a brow, "Yes, I do."
"He's a bald, black dude." Darien looked at Hobbes, "What?" Darien asked quickly as he glanced at everyone, "I can see him."
Sloan smiled, "Mark Ward!" She ran for the door and opened it up for her friend.
"Hello, Sloan." Mark said. He reached out and hugged her.
**** Ed worked on the gene therapy and a way to reinforce the gland. He had worked long hours and Claire had spent most of her time with him. He had shown her more of his research, hoping that she would be able to help with the serum.
"Kelly and her friend Darcy, we believe may, have been the first test subjects. We never did find Darcy. I can only speculate that Lewis had her and had the same outcome I did with Kelly. I've tried to use gene therapy and genome mapping to alter their message RNA like they did to Darien. But I've had no success, even after all these years. I tried it on Tom and well, it didn't work." Ed said. He looked down at his notes.
"You liked her didn't you?" Claire asked.
"Kelly, yeah, I did," Ed paused and then smiled, "She was a lot younger than me." He looked at Claire, knowing what she was thinking, "But I didn't cross that doctor/patient line. I wanted to, but.I really wanted to save her and I couldn't." His tone switched to sadness.
"Not your fault, Ed. We can't save everybody and you know that." Claire put her hand on his shoulder. She knew that he was beating himself up over what happened with Kelly.
"I know, Claire. I thought I had gotten over it, but I guess with what happened to Darien sort of brought it back out into the open again." Ed sighed, "Okay, I guess we should perfect the gene therapy. Walter injected another monkey with the dominant serum yesterday. I'll check Jonesy's DNA."
Claire laughed, "Jonesy.you have a monkey named Jonsey?"
"Yeah, why.didn't you have a rat named Darien?"
"Of course, but you chose a name of an FBI agent that Bobby hates. He'll appreciate this." Claire smiled.
Ed smiled back, "Come on, I'll introduce you to him."
**** Hobbes stared suspiciously at the guest. He leaned towards Sloan to whisper in her ear, "Can this mook really be trusted?"
"He's not a 'mook' Hobbes. He risks his life for co-existence. Walter trusts him and so do Tom and I. He and Walter set up a meeting with the leader of the co-existence faction about four years. It was all a set up by Walter's boss; she had no intentions on pursuing co-existence. Walter and Mark were nearly killed, including Ray who went along as backup, but unfortunately, the leader of the co-existence faction was killed. Since then, Mark has taken over." Sloan said as she watched intently the three dominant males in deep conversation.
"I'll still keep my eyes on him. Even though Fawkes can snap my neck like a twig, he's still my partner."
"How'd you know that's how they kill," Sloan asked curiously.
"Just by way these two work out their aggression, they always go for the throat." Hobbes said.
"You're very observant, Hobbes."
"Always." Hobbes shot Sloan a look that showed he trusted no one.
Sloan studied him for a moment and then spoke softly, "You can trust us, Hobbes."
"Sorry sister, but Bobby Hobbes trusts no one but his partner." Hobbes leaned away from Sloan to hear what the other three men were talking about.
Tom left Darien and Mark to talk to each other. He approached Sloan and Hobbes. "Well, what up with the brooder there?" Hobbes asked.
Tom raised a brow at the teasing name, "His name is Mark Ward. He's the new leader of the co-existence faction."
"Yeah, yeah, I got that already. But what is he doing here and how did he know we would be here?" Hobbes rapid fired off his double question.
"They know about Darien, that he was human and that Lewis converted him into a dominant." Tom said.
"They? You mean this co-existence group?" Hobbes asked wanting to make sure his facts were straight.
"Yes, that's right, Hobbes." Tom said in cool tone.
"What do they want with Darien?" Sloan asked.
"They want him to join the faction, as a sort of liaison between the humans and dominants." Tom turned to look at the two men who were still talking.
"We also may have another problem," Tom announced calmly.
"How come I'm not surprised?" Hobbes added.
"Lewis is looking for Darien. The High Council has ordered him to bring Darien before them." Tom said.
Hobbes noted the look of fear on Sloan's face, "High Council.what is that? Like a dominant version to a City Council?" Hobbes asked.
"You're not too far off, Hobbes. The High Council is the dominant version of your federal government. But they have different ambitions." Tom said.
"Like, wiping us out?" Hobbes asked.
Tom merely nodded his head to answer Hobbes question. Sloan grabbed Tom's arm, "We can't let them have Darien or let Lewis get his hands on him again." Sloan stared wide eyed at the Darien. She knew that if Lewis had Darien again, it would mean trouble.
"Okay, but you still haven't answered my other question. How did he know that we were here?" Hobbes demanded. "If he knows, then I'd say this Lewis person does too."
Tom and Sloan look at each other. Tom spoke first, "I suggest we find a new place."
****
Ed opened up the cage and the monkey leaped out and landed on Ed's shoulder. Claire laughed. "Jonesy, meet Claire."
Claire reached her hand out and shook Jonesy's hand, "Well, hello there Jonesy, nice to meet you."
The monkey let out a squeal as if it was saying hi to Claire. "He's so cute; all I have are rats, a snake, a tarantula to keep Darien in line and a tank full of piranhas."
"You may want to use a monkey in your research instead of rats. They are our closest relative." Ed walked back to the lab with Jonesy perched on his shoulder.
"I might do that, besides, he looks like Darien." Claire's eyes went wide at what she said.
Ed slowly turned his head to look at her, "Some how, I fit that remark."
"I'm sorry," Claire chuckled.
Ed did the DNA test on Jonesy and his differential was 1.6%. Claire looked at Ed, "Amazing, but Darien suffered greatly during his conversion, does that happen with the monkeys?"
"No, not to that extent, they normally run high fevers like Darien did. Kelly had bad headaches and stomach cramps also. Maybe the serum affects our Central Nervous System differently." Ed drew some more blood from Jonesy and put him back in his cage. He didn't want to test the gene therapy on Jonesy yet.
Sloan walked in with a package in her hand. Hobbes, Darien and Tom were right her behind her. They found Claire and Ed peering into microscopes.
"Hey, what's up?" Darien said looking at some lab equipment. He picked up two beakers filled with chemicals.
Claire looked up and jumped from her seat, "We've talked about this, Darien." She took the two beakers away from him.
"I wasn't going to mix them up," Darien said innocently. Ed smiled.
"Ed, I have a present for you," Sloan said handing Ed the package.
"Sloan," Ed said in surprise, "you didn't have too." Ed opened the box and a huge smile appeared across his face.
"Think of it as a 'welcome back to normal' gift." Sloan kissed Ed on his cheek.
Ed pulled out a puka shell necklace. "Sloan, it's just like my other one." Ed put it on with enthusiasm. He was like a kid getting the gift he always wanted.
Hobbes, Claire and Darien stared at each other.
"Arnaud cut off the other one. He thought there was a tracking device in it," Ed said. He noticed the confused looks in the room.
"Arnaud thought that I would wear something like that?" Darien asked.
"Well, your tastes in clothing are rather odd, my friend. Besides, I wouldn't criticize the good Doc's fashion sense, my orange shirt wearing partner." Hobbes commented.
"Word," Darien low-fived Hobbes.
Ed, Claire and Sloan started laughing. Tom was totally confused. Sloan reached behind her and gave something to Darien.
Darien eyed the cup suspiciously, "Okay, so, what do I do with this?"
"I need a sample," Sloan smiled.
"A sample.like a urine sample?" Darien was hopeful.
"Ahh.no," Sloan pulled out a Playboy magazine and handed it to Darien, "Happy reading."
Darien looked beaten, and then shook his head side to side, "Nah, I don't think so."
"Darien, we need to know if your spermatozoa carry the dominant DNA and to see how fertile you are." Sloan said.
"What? How fertile I am? What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that she wants to know the volume of the spermatozoa.you know, see how many you have in one ejaculation." Ed said. He started to chuckle, "Don't worry, she did this to Tom too."
"You're supposed to be helping me here," Darien sneered at Ed. He grudgingly grabbed the cup and magazine, grumbling as he walked out the door.
Everyone looked at each other and started laughing. Claire slapped Ed on his back lightly, "You shouldn't laugh, if Darien hadn't been mistaken for you, you would be in there instead of him."
Ed grabbed Claire by her waist and pulled her down to sit on her lap, "Yeah, I guess your right. Poor guy, we've put him through hell haven't we?"
Hobbes eyed the situation. He didn't like what he just witnessed. The look that Claire was giving Ed was making matters worse. He needed to leave and fast, "Anyone want some coffee? I'm.ahhh.going to step outside for some fresh air."
Everyone raised their hands. Tom decided to go and help Hobbes. He sensed some anger and figured that it had to do with Ed and Claire. The two had been getting closer and it was showing.
A few moments later, Darien came back and noticed less people, "Here is my deposit."
"Wow.that was fast," Sloan realized what she said, "Well, you know.I.uhmm."
"Forget it, Sloan, damage has been done." Ed smirked.
"Thank you very much," Darien said sarcastically. "Where are Hobbes and Tom?"
"They went to get some coffee, I told them to bring you something or would you prefer a cigarette?" Claire couldn't resist the comment. Sloan and Ed started laughing.
"Okay.very funny.I'm just going to go over here and mix up some labels." Darien went to the back of the lab.
Ed went back to work and typed some information into the computer to run some tests. Claire walked over to Sloan to help her with the specimen that Darien provided, much to Darien's dismay.
Sloan measured the amount. She gave a sample to Claire and prepared it to go under a microscope. Darien rolled his eyes, "Is nothing sacred anymore?"
Ed looked at Darien and smiled. He went back to the computer and started to type.
"Ed, come here and have a look at this," Claire called out to Ed.
Darien banged his head on the desk, "Ah crap, she's gonna get him involved in this too."
Ed laughed and peered into the microscope, "Whoa.just like Tom."
Darien rolled his eyes again, "Now what is that supposed to mean?"
"We'll have to run some more tests but I would say that you're highly fertile, more than 70% percent of the spermatozoa are motile." Ed said.
"And you're definitely in the hyperspermia category," Sloan added.
"Okay, I really hate it when you science types talk like that. What does it all mean?" Darien was irritated.
"Like Ed said, you're highly fertile. We'll just have to run the tests on the DNA part, but I would." Claire was interrupted.
"I know.I know.safe sex." Darien waved his hand in the air.
"Okay, I read that the bio part of the gland is chromosomally female.just because it's female.but, without ovaries I doubt there are female hormones to interfere with Darien's reproductive system." Ed rubbed his chin with his hand as he thought out loud.
"Ovaries? What would that have to do with anything?" Darien asked.
Claire and Sloan smiled at each other, "Well, Darien, the ovaries produce female hormones like estrogen. What Ed is saying is that even though the gland is chromosomally female, without ovaries it has no effect on your spermatozoa. No ovaries, no estrogen." Claire looked at Darien. "Besides, if the gland did produce estrogen, you have...uhmmm.breasts."
"What?" Darien blurted out.
"Darien, its simple human biology 101. Look estrogen is the female sex hormone. That's what the ovaries release and only the ovaries can release that hormone. Estrogen is what causes breasts to grow, hips and thighs to widen, get that hour glass shape, puffy lips, softer hair and the skin becomes oily. If the gland had been releasing estrogen into your system for the past two years, you would look like one of the gals. Your muscle tone would have decreased, you would have had penile dysfunction even six months after Kevin inserted the gland and your testicles would have atrophied by now." Claire said looking at Darien.
"Penile dys.okay, you're saying that I couldn't you know." Darien paused.
"Get an erection." Ed stated loudly.
"Thank you.I got that part, but what about the testicles.what did you say?"
"Atrophy.that means waste away."
Ed and Darien both have a look of discomfort on their faces. Both men turn away to grab at themselves in reassurance that everything was still in working order. Claire and Sloan giggle. "Everything okay there guys?" Sloan asked.
Ed and Darien flash Sloan a 'laugh all you want to' look.
Sloan looked at Claire, "I used to wonder how those cross dressers could look so good."
"Estrogen.that's what they take to look more feminine. And of course the women take androgens to look more masculine." Claire said.
"Hmm." Sloan responded to Claire's statement, and then turned her gaze back to the men who were still giving themselves a self exam. "Boys?"
Ed and Darien turned around and Ed awkwardly smiled, "Sorry."
"Yeah, sorry. Just checking to make sure plumbing was still intact." Darien looked at Ed, "I don't know why you were so concerned, you don't have a gland in your head that could have been pumping estrogen into your system."
"Sympathy." Ed said.
Darien smiled back at Ed and then tried to look away but he managed a quick look to his chest, "Well, at least Kevin did something right." Darien looked up at the three scientists, "Sooo...besides the fact that I can still you know what we just discussed.what you're telling me is that my." Darien moved his hand in a zig-zag pattern to simulate a swimming motion, "Are pretty strong swimmers?"
Ed looked down at the floor and smiled, "In Dominant terms.yes.very."
"Terrific.this can't be good. But it's better than the estrogen alternative. Why does everything have to be so complicated in my life?" Darien had a disheartened look on his face.
"When was the last time you had intercourse or mas.?" Sloan asked.
"Why is that important?" Darien asked quickly interrupting Sloan's question.
"Cause I.need to know if your levels are high because you haven't ejaculated in a while. There are at least anywhere from 120 to 600 million sperm in one human ejaculation. Tom's sperm count went way over that number." Sloan said. She knew Tom wouldn't be embarrassed but Darien still showed some human tendencies and this was of interest to her. Darien was 1.6 but still acted more human than dominant, most of the time.
Darien looked at Ed, "Okay, now that was too much information." Darien grabbed his jacket.
"Where are you going, Darien?" Claire asked.
"I'm gettin' outta here," Darien left the lab. The tests had gotten to him and he needed to get away from it all. Things had become different for him and he had a hard time adjusting to his new way of life.
"I'll go talk to him," Sloan said and ran out after him.
Ed and Claire looked at each other. "Ed, what is it?" Claire asked. She noticed his expression. He looked as if he remembered something.
"That's why his levels are higher," Ed said looking at Claire, she looked a little confused, "Okay, dominant women have four uteruses that we know of anyway."
"Four!?!" Claire was surprised. "And here I thought one was bad enough."
Ed smiled. "Well, think of it like a dog, their uteri are shaped like a "Y" with the two horns being a uterus. Dominant women uteruses are shaped in a similar manner except they have two extra horns. There is also an ovary for each uterus."
"That's evolution alright." Claire sat down.
"Yeah, instead of an egg from an alternate ovary each month, they have an egg from each ovary to insure a quad conception. At least that's our theory; we haven't really had a chance to study a lot of dominant women. The ones that we have studied though, it fits the profile."
"So the males would need more sperm to reach each of the four fallopian tubes. I wonder if dominant men have two to four times the amount of volume than human men. More eggs, more sperm." Claire looked at Ed.
"Or it could be the same but they have stronger sperm, which would fit the whole dominant DNA..." Ed stopped his train of thought; he had noticed the way Claire stared at him. "Ahhh.no.you just stop right there." Ed protested.
"Ah come on, Ed. I need a comparison and you two are practically twins as it is." Claire walked over to him and put her arms around him. "Please.this is for science after all. There's still a chance that our theory is wrong, but we won't know for sure." She held up a cup and a magazine, "You do want to know for sure don't you?"
Ed stared at the cup and let out a huge sigh. He took the cup in his hand and stared at it, "Just don't mix up the samples okay."
Claire kissed Ed on his cheek, "Thank you, Ed. You're such a good sport."
"Yeah, yeah." Ed dragged his feet to the double glass doors.
"Oh Ed, don't forget this." Claire tossed him the magazine. It flew across the room and Ed caught it in his arms.
"Just wonderful," Ed leered, walked out of the lab with a sterile receptacle in one hand, the magazine folded and tucked under his other arm.
TBC..
Alli and MM
Chapter 2
After a couple of more days of rest per Claire's orders, Ed was able to return to the lab. Claire had removed the stitches from the various wounds Ed collected on his adventure into the world of Darien Fawkes. Claire had commented that not even Darien had required as many stitches as Ed did in one week. Claire had smiled and given Ed the green light to return to work.
Tom, Darien, Hobbes and Sloan were off in a secluded area so Tom could instruct Darien. Sloan wanted to document the training to get a better understanding of Dominant behavior. Hobbes was there to make sure that Darien didn't harm anybody if things got out of hand.
Tom needed Darien to release his dominant side and the only way to do that was to make Darien feel threatened. Tom looked at Hobbes and Sloan, "Get ready."
Sloan nodded and started her video camera. Hobbes got the tranquilizer gun ready, "There's enough juice in here to take down an elephant."
Darien rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Hobbes."
Tom looked at Darien, "Don't hold back."
"Okay, lets rock."
Tom grabbed Darien and flipped him on his back. Hobbes shuddered at the sound that Darien's body made on the floor, "Ouch."
Sloan watched through the viewer. She had already documented a few of the training sessions while they were in San Diego. Tom and Darien could out last any WWF wrestler and their matches were better, not to mention this was not for entertainment.
Tom wrapped his hands around Darien's neck and squeezed. Darien grabbed Tom's hands and tried to break the grip. Tom tightened his grip and Darien started gasping for air.
The first time Hobbes and Sloan had seen this they almost interfered and Tom yelled at them to stay back. Hobbes had nearly clobbered Tom with the butt of his gun. But Darien had broken the grip and slammed Tom up against the wall. This is the routine for them. Hobbes hated it; it was like playing Russian Roulette.
Tom's expression changed to rage when he thought back to when Darien had kissed Sloan. Darien sensed it and sent a message to Tom, 'Oh yeah, she tasted good too.'
Tom started to pound Darien's head on the floor, "You stay away from her."
Darien smiled, "Don't think so." His voice was raspy under the grip. Darien's dominant survival instincts came to the surface and he broke the grip. Tom's arms were stretched out and Darien smiled malevolently and he sat up quickly using his head as a battering ram. Tom fell to the ground. Darien slowly got up and grabbed Tom by his shirt and threw him across the room.
Hobbes shook his head, "Kid's getting better."
Tom got up and the two collided in the center of the room. They both fell to the ground and rolled around a couple of times. Darien ended up on top of Tom and now he had his hands wrapped around Tom's throat. Tom grabbed Darien's hands, "You don't need to kill to survive. It's not the way it has to be. We can coexist. We can learn from them. We won't survive without them."
"It's the order of things and you know it, Tom." Darien hissed. "The strong must kill the weak."
"No, that's a lie. We're not animals, we're just like them.we evolved from them. Killing is senseless. You don't have to kill, you can love, Sloan taught me that." Tom said as he felt Darien's grip loosen but he dared not break it yet. Darien was almost there.
"Love is a human feeling, it shows weakness."
"No.it's not a weakness, it's a strength.to love is not a weakness."
"They fear us, they kill what they fear, and we should kill them first." Darien said.
"We do the same, Darien. We fear them and we kill them, when does it end? You can ignore the instinct to kill. Just look inside you." Tom felt Darien release his grip.
"I can control this," Darien slumped to the ground and then rolled onto his back. He covered his eyes with his arm. "I.can.control.this," he panted.
Hobbes walked over to Darien and knelt down next to him, "You okay there, partner?"
"Yeah, how'd I do this time?" Darien moved his arm and let it flop down at his side.
"No bloody noses this time," Hobbes smiled.
Sloan put her camera down and ran over to Tom. He sat up and looked at Darien, "Very good, you're learning."
Darien sat up, "It's like learning right from wrong all over again and I flunked that the first time around."
"We'll make sure you don't flunk again," Sloan said with a smile. She had been far enough away where she didn't hear the exchange between Darien and Tom. But she knew something was wrong, she could still feel the tension.
Both Darien and Tom looked at each other. Sloan recognized the look, "Who is it Tom?"
"Spidey sense tingling there, Fawkesy?"
Darien merely shook his head in agreement, "Someone's coming."
Hobbes reached for his gun. Darien stopped him, "No..it's okay, Hobbes.he's.he's like Tom."
Sloan stared at Tom, "Do you know who it is?"
Tom raised a brow, "Yes, I do."
"He's a bald, black dude." Darien looked at Hobbes, "What?" Darien asked quickly as he glanced at everyone, "I can see him."
Sloan smiled, "Mark Ward!" She ran for the door and opened it up for her friend.
"Hello, Sloan." Mark said. He reached out and hugged her.
**** Ed worked on the gene therapy and a way to reinforce the gland. He had worked long hours and Claire had spent most of her time with him. He had shown her more of his research, hoping that she would be able to help with the serum.
"Kelly and her friend Darcy, we believe may, have been the first test subjects. We never did find Darcy. I can only speculate that Lewis had her and had the same outcome I did with Kelly. I've tried to use gene therapy and genome mapping to alter their message RNA like they did to Darien. But I've had no success, even after all these years. I tried it on Tom and well, it didn't work." Ed said. He looked down at his notes.
"You liked her didn't you?" Claire asked.
"Kelly, yeah, I did," Ed paused and then smiled, "She was a lot younger than me." He looked at Claire, knowing what she was thinking, "But I didn't cross that doctor/patient line. I wanted to, but.I really wanted to save her and I couldn't." His tone switched to sadness.
"Not your fault, Ed. We can't save everybody and you know that." Claire put her hand on his shoulder. She knew that he was beating himself up over what happened with Kelly.
"I know, Claire. I thought I had gotten over it, but I guess with what happened to Darien sort of brought it back out into the open again." Ed sighed, "Okay, I guess we should perfect the gene therapy. Walter injected another monkey with the dominant serum yesterday. I'll check Jonesy's DNA."
Claire laughed, "Jonesy.you have a monkey named Jonsey?"
"Yeah, why.didn't you have a rat named Darien?"
"Of course, but you chose a name of an FBI agent that Bobby hates. He'll appreciate this." Claire smiled.
Ed smiled back, "Come on, I'll introduce you to him."
**** Hobbes stared suspiciously at the guest. He leaned towards Sloan to whisper in her ear, "Can this mook really be trusted?"
"He's not a 'mook' Hobbes. He risks his life for co-existence. Walter trusts him and so do Tom and I. He and Walter set up a meeting with the leader of the co-existence faction about four years. It was all a set up by Walter's boss; she had no intentions on pursuing co-existence. Walter and Mark were nearly killed, including Ray who went along as backup, but unfortunately, the leader of the co-existence faction was killed. Since then, Mark has taken over." Sloan said as she watched intently the three dominant males in deep conversation.
"I'll still keep my eyes on him. Even though Fawkes can snap my neck like a twig, he's still my partner."
"How'd you know that's how they kill," Sloan asked curiously.
"Just by way these two work out their aggression, they always go for the throat." Hobbes said.
"You're very observant, Hobbes."
"Always." Hobbes shot Sloan a look that showed he trusted no one.
Sloan studied him for a moment and then spoke softly, "You can trust us, Hobbes."
"Sorry sister, but Bobby Hobbes trusts no one but his partner." Hobbes leaned away from Sloan to hear what the other three men were talking about.
Tom left Darien and Mark to talk to each other. He approached Sloan and Hobbes. "Well, what up with the brooder there?" Hobbes asked.
Tom raised a brow at the teasing name, "His name is Mark Ward. He's the new leader of the co-existence faction."
"Yeah, yeah, I got that already. But what is he doing here and how did he know we would be here?" Hobbes rapid fired off his double question.
"They know about Darien, that he was human and that Lewis converted him into a dominant." Tom said.
"They? You mean this co-existence group?" Hobbes asked wanting to make sure his facts were straight.
"Yes, that's right, Hobbes." Tom said in cool tone.
"What do they want with Darien?" Sloan asked.
"They want him to join the faction, as a sort of liaison between the humans and dominants." Tom turned to look at the two men who were still talking.
"We also may have another problem," Tom announced calmly.
"How come I'm not surprised?" Hobbes added.
"Lewis is looking for Darien. The High Council has ordered him to bring Darien before them." Tom said.
Hobbes noted the look of fear on Sloan's face, "High Council.what is that? Like a dominant version to a City Council?" Hobbes asked.
"You're not too far off, Hobbes. The High Council is the dominant version of your federal government. But they have different ambitions." Tom said.
"Like, wiping us out?" Hobbes asked.
Tom merely nodded his head to answer Hobbes question. Sloan grabbed Tom's arm, "We can't let them have Darien or let Lewis get his hands on him again." Sloan stared wide eyed at the Darien. She knew that if Lewis had Darien again, it would mean trouble.
"Okay, but you still haven't answered my other question. How did he know that we were here?" Hobbes demanded. "If he knows, then I'd say this Lewis person does too."
Tom and Sloan look at each other. Tom spoke first, "I suggest we find a new place."
****
Ed opened up the cage and the monkey leaped out and landed on Ed's shoulder. Claire laughed. "Jonesy, meet Claire."
Claire reached her hand out and shook Jonesy's hand, "Well, hello there Jonesy, nice to meet you."
The monkey let out a squeal as if it was saying hi to Claire. "He's so cute; all I have are rats, a snake, a tarantula to keep Darien in line and a tank full of piranhas."
"You may want to use a monkey in your research instead of rats. They are our closest relative." Ed walked back to the lab with Jonesy perched on his shoulder.
"I might do that, besides, he looks like Darien." Claire's eyes went wide at what she said.
Ed slowly turned his head to look at her, "Some how, I fit that remark."
"I'm sorry," Claire chuckled.
Ed did the DNA test on Jonesy and his differential was 1.6%. Claire looked at Ed, "Amazing, but Darien suffered greatly during his conversion, does that happen with the monkeys?"
"No, not to that extent, they normally run high fevers like Darien did. Kelly had bad headaches and stomach cramps also. Maybe the serum affects our Central Nervous System differently." Ed drew some more blood from Jonesy and put him back in his cage. He didn't want to test the gene therapy on Jonesy yet.
Sloan walked in with a package in her hand. Hobbes, Darien and Tom were right her behind her. They found Claire and Ed peering into microscopes.
"Hey, what's up?" Darien said looking at some lab equipment. He picked up two beakers filled with chemicals.
Claire looked up and jumped from her seat, "We've talked about this, Darien." She took the two beakers away from him.
"I wasn't going to mix them up," Darien said innocently. Ed smiled.
"Ed, I have a present for you," Sloan said handing Ed the package.
"Sloan," Ed said in surprise, "you didn't have too." Ed opened the box and a huge smile appeared across his face.
"Think of it as a 'welcome back to normal' gift." Sloan kissed Ed on his cheek.
Ed pulled out a puka shell necklace. "Sloan, it's just like my other one." Ed put it on with enthusiasm. He was like a kid getting the gift he always wanted.
Hobbes, Claire and Darien stared at each other.
"Arnaud cut off the other one. He thought there was a tracking device in it," Ed said. He noticed the confused looks in the room.
"Arnaud thought that I would wear something like that?" Darien asked.
"Well, your tastes in clothing are rather odd, my friend. Besides, I wouldn't criticize the good Doc's fashion sense, my orange shirt wearing partner." Hobbes commented.
"Word," Darien low-fived Hobbes.
Ed, Claire and Sloan started laughing. Tom was totally confused. Sloan reached behind her and gave something to Darien.
Darien eyed the cup suspiciously, "Okay, so, what do I do with this?"
"I need a sample," Sloan smiled.
"A sample.like a urine sample?" Darien was hopeful.
"Ahh.no," Sloan pulled out a Playboy magazine and handed it to Darien, "Happy reading."
Darien looked beaten, and then shook his head side to side, "Nah, I don't think so."
"Darien, we need to know if your spermatozoa carry the dominant DNA and to see how fertile you are." Sloan said.
"What? How fertile I am? What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that she wants to know the volume of the spermatozoa.you know, see how many you have in one ejaculation." Ed said. He started to chuckle, "Don't worry, she did this to Tom too."
"You're supposed to be helping me here," Darien sneered at Ed. He grudgingly grabbed the cup and magazine, grumbling as he walked out the door.
Everyone looked at each other and started laughing. Claire slapped Ed on his back lightly, "You shouldn't laugh, if Darien hadn't been mistaken for you, you would be in there instead of him."
Ed grabbed Claire by her waist and pulled her down to sit on her lap, "Yeah, I guess your right. Poor guy, we've put him through hell haven't we?"
Hobbes eyed the situation. He didn't like what he just witnessed. The look that Claire was giving Ed was making matters worse. He needed to leave and fast, "Anyone want some coffee? I'm.ahhh.going to step outside for some fresh air."
Everyone raised their hands. Tom decided to go and help Hobbes. He sensed some anger and figured that it had to do with Ed and Claire. The two had been getting closer and it was showing.
A few moments later, Darien came back and noticed less people, "Here is my deposit."
"Wow.that was fast," Sloan realized what she said, "Well, you know.I.uhmm."
"Forget it, Sloan, damage has been done." Ed smirked.
"Thank you very much," Darien said sarcastically. "Where are Hobbes and Tom?"
"They went to get some coffee, I told them to bring you something or would you prefer a cigarette?" Claire couldn't resist the comment. Sloan and Ed started laughing.
"Okay.very funny.I'm just going to go over here and mix up some labels." Darien went to the back of the lab.
Ed went back to work and typed some information into the computer to run some tests. Claire walked over to Sloan to help her with the specimen that Darien provided, much to Darien's dismay.
Sloan measured the amount. She gave a sample to Claire and prepared it to go under a microscope. Darien rolled his eyes, "Is nothing sacred anymore?"
Ed looked at Darien and smiled. He went back to the computer and started to type.
"Ed, come here and have a look at this," Claire called out to Ed.
Darien banged his head on the desk, "Ah crap, she's gonna get him involved in this too."
Ed laughed and peered into the microscope, "Whoa.just like Tom."
Darien rolled his eyes again, "Now what is that supposed to mean?"
"We'll have to run some more tests but I would say that you're highly fertile, more than 70% percent of the spermatozoa are motile." Ed said.
"And you're definitely in the hyperspermia category," Sloan added.
"Okay, I really hate it when you science types talk like that. What does it all mean?" Darien was irritated.
"Like Ed said, you're highly fertile. We'll just have to run the tests on the DNA part, but I would." Claire was interrupted.
"I know.I know.safe sex." Darien waved his hand in the air.
"Okay, I read that the bio part of the gland is chromosomally female.just because it's female.but, without ovaries I doubt there are female hormones to interfere with Darien's reproductive system." Ed rubbed his chin with his hand as he thought out loud.
"Ovaries? What would that have to do with anything?" Darien asked.
Claire and Sloan smiled at each other, "Well, Darien, the ovaries produce female hormones like estrogen. What Ed is saying is that even though the gland is chromosomally female, without ovaries it has no effect on your spermatozoa. No ovaries, no estrogen." Claire looked at Darien. "Besides, if the gland did produce estrogen, you have...uhmmm.breasts."
"What?" Darien blurted out.
"Darien, its simple human biology 101. Look estrogen is the female sex hormone. That's what the ovaries release and only the ovaries can release that hormone. Estrogen is what causes breasts to grow, hips and thighs to widen, get that hour glass shape, puffy lips, softer hair and the skin becomes oily. If the gland had been releasing estrogen into your system for the past two years, you would look like one of the gals. Your muscle tone would have decreased, you would have had penile dysfunction even six months after Kevin inserted the gland and your testicles would have atrophied by now." Claire said looking at Darien.
"Penile dys.okay, you're saying that I couldn't you know." Darien paused.
"Get an erection." Ed stated loudly.
"Thank you.I got that part, but what about the testicles.what did you say?"
"Atrophy.that means waste away."
Ed and Darien both have a look of discomfort on their faces. Both men turn away to grab at themselves in reassurance that everything was still in working order. Claire and Sloan giggle. "Everything okay there guys?" Sloan asked.
Ed and Darien flash Sloan a 'laugh all you want to' look.
Sloan looked at Claire, "I used to wonder how those cross dressers could look so good."
"Estrogen.that's what they take to look more feminine. And of course the women take androgens to look more masculine." Claire said.
"Hmm." Sloan responded to Claire's statement, and then turned her gaze back to the men who were still giving themselves a self exam. "Boys?"
Ed and Darien turned around and Ed awkwardly smiled, "Sorry."
"Yeah, sorry. Just checking to make sure plumbing was still intact." Darien looked at Ed, "I don't know why you were so concerned, you don't have a gland in your head that could have been pumping estrogen into your system."
"Sympathy." Ed said.
Darien smiled back at Ed and then tried to look away but he managed a quick look to his chest, "Well, at least Kevin did something right." Darien looked up at the three scientists, "Sooo...besides the fact that I can still you know what we just discussed.what you're telling me is that my." Darien moved his hand in a zig-zag pattern to simulate a swimming motion, "Are pretty strong swimmers?"
Ed looked down at the floor and smiled, "In Dominant terms.yes.very."
"Terrific.this can't be good. But it's better than the estrogen alternative. Why does everything have to be so complicated in my life?" Darien had a disheartened look on his face.
"When was the last time you had intercourse or mas.?" Sloan asked.
"Why is that important?" Darien asked quickly interrupting Sloan's question.
"Cause I.need to know if your levels are high because you haven't ejaculated in a while. There are at least anywhere from 120 to 600 million sperm in one human ejaculation. Tom's sperm count went way over that number." Sloan said. She knew Tom wouldn't be embarrassed but Darien still showed some human tendencies and this was of interest to her. Darien was 1.6 but still acted more human than dominant, most of the time.
Darien looked at Ed, "Okay, now that was too much information." Darien grabbed his jacket.
"Where are you going, Darien?" Claire asked.
"I'm gettin' outta here," Darien left the lab. The tests had gotten to him and he needed to get away from it all. Things had become different for him and he had a hard time adjusting to his new way of life.
"I'll go talk to him," Sloan said and ran out after him.
Ed and Claire looked at each other. "Ed, what is it?" Claire asked. She noticed his expression. He looked as if he remembered something.
"That's why his levels are higher," Ed said looking at Claire, she looked a little confused, "Okay, dominant women have four uteruses that we know of anyway."
"Four!?!" Claire was surprised. "And here I thought one was bad enough."
Ed smiled. "Well, think of it like a dog, their uteri are shaped like a "Y" with the two horns being a uterus. Dominant women uteruses are shaped in a similar manner except they have two extra horns. There is also an ovary for each uterus."
"That's evolution alright." Claire sat down.
"Yeah, instead of an egg from an alternate ovary each month, they have an egg from each ovary to insure a quad conception. At least that's our theory; we haven't really had a chance to study a lot of dominant women. The ones that we have studied though, it fits the profile."
"So the males would need more sperm to reach each of the four fallopian tubes. I wonder if dominant men have two to four times the amount of volume than human men. More eggs, more sperm." Claire looked at Ed.
"Or it could be the same but they have stronger sperm, which would fit the whole dominant DNA..." Ed stopped his train of thought; he had noticed the way Claire stared at him. "Ahhh.no.you just stop right there." Ed protested.
"Ah come on, Ed. I need a comparison and you two are practically twins as it is." Claire walked over to him and put her arms around him. "Please.this is for science after all. There's still a chance that our theory is wrong, but we won't know for sure." She held up a cup and a magazine, "You do want to know for sure don't you?"
Ed stared at the cup and let out a huge sigh. He took the cup in his hand and stared at it, "Just don't mix up the samples okay."
Claire kissed Ed on his cheek, "Thank you, Ed. You're such a good sport."
"Yeah, yeah." Ed dragged his feet to the double glass doors.
"Oh Ed, don't forget this." Claire tossed him the magazine. It flew across the room and Ed caught it in his arms.
"Just wonderful," Ed leered, walked out of the lab with a sterile receptacle in one hand, the magazine folded and tucked under his other arm.
TBC..
