Through the Vortex

Bane's Desire
Part 18 - Out Of the Pan And Into The Fire.

I'd always loved taking a bath, deeming it such a luxury, but rarely in my life had I appreciated it as much as I did after returning to my resting space after having been dragged through the sewers not once, but twice. The sweet, musky scent of the cleanser Mueller used on my skin and hair was a soothing balm to my abused nostrils and worn out stomach.

After I'd been thoroughly scrubbed, dried and dressed in my wonderfully soft and clean purple nightshirt, I was tucked into bed and fed a delicious meal by my caretaker. Enforcer Otta was brought into my room later that evening, and he questioned me about where I had been taken and what I'd seen. I told him that I'd been taken down into the sewer line and held there until the men holding me said it was time to go. He asked further questions about how I had been treated and the socks I had been wearing, where I got them and so forth. I fudged a bit, but gave him no useful information. Although I knew what they'd done was wrong, I really didn't want the people who lived in the sewers to suffer any more than they already were.

"What happens to Whites who abduct a Purple?" I asked the man.

He looked at me in a way that could only be described as patronizing and said, "It is not for a Purple to ponder such things."

"They were not unkind to me," I told him.

His eyes moved to my arms, to the visible bruises made by the muscle man's grip on them. "The evidence of bruises clearly shows that you were not treated as a Purple is entitled to be."

All I could think at the moment was that the grip on my arms had been much less painful than the punishment I'd received from Mistra Hildah when she'd activated my collar. I supposed in this society that what the Reds and Blues did to the lesser colors was deemed acceptable. I had bruises on my arms caused by a White and it was considered a serious offense. Hildah actions, on the other hand, nearly shocking the bejesus out of me, was considered acceptable. Go figure.

The man dressed in red left after getting no further information from me, and just as I settled into my warm blankets and pillow the door to my room opened and in stepped Herron. I'd forgotten all about our scheduled evening. To be honest, I really wasn't in the mood to have sex, but I desperately wanted to be held. I watched him as he walked to my bedside and noted an unusual expression of distress marring his handsome face. Without a word I opened up the blankets, inviting him to join me. Herron wasted no time. He climbed under them and pressed his body next to mine, then gently pulled me into his arms and held me close.

"I was told of the events that transpired this cycle," he whispered into my ear. "My relief that you are unhurt is overwhelming."

"I'm fine, Herron. Really."

He didn't seem to know what to say, so instead he ease me onto my back, turned down the blankets covering me and began examining my body. I was touched when his eyes actually welled up with tears as he spied the bruises on my arm. He didn't stop his inspection until I was completely undressed and he'd seen every part of my body, front and back. After turning over to lay on my back once again, his mouth descended on mine in a kiss that was both gentle and needy. My obvious lack of enthusiasm soon stopped him and he pulled back in order to look at me, curiosity and worry filling his eyes.

"Sorry, I'm just kind of tired this eventide," I explained

"Then I should leave," he said, looking reluctant to do so.

Grasping hold of his arms, I said, almost desperately, "No, don't. I'd like you to stay, Herron. Could you please just hold me tonight?"

A smile replaced the worried look, and Herron lowered himself once more to rest by my side. He pulled me into his arms and held me against his chest all night long.

For the first time since I'd had sex with him, I woke up with Herron still holding me. I nuzzled into his neck and moved my hand under the blankets and down his chest. I intended to show him how much his presence pleased me while hoping my morning sickness would hold off for just a little while longer.

""""""""""""

Mueller stood by my side as Sallah examined my stomach and studied the results of whatever her scanner came up with.

"Everything is progressing very well," the doctor said with a smile aimed in my direction. "It appears you have suffered no ill effects from last cycle's unfortunate incident. Both embries are developing as they should and you show no signs of rejecting the artificial uterus."

My smile matched hers. I was genuinely happy that my pregnancy was on track. I'd developed an attachment to the unborn boy and girl that I affectionately called Ying and Yang - not that those where the names they were going to be called after their emergence.

Wudon came into the room carrying a familiar looking case with enough heramones to last another couple of months just as Sallah asked Mueller to come and speak with her out in the hallway. Wudon followed them and I took that as my cue to get up and dress, something I didn't get to do for myself very often.

Just as I finished putting on my clothing, ending with slipping on my soft-soled shoes, a loud, startling sound, like a clap of thunder, came from above me, followed by an ear-aching pop caused by a change in air pressure. A cold wash of air dropped down on me from out of nowhere and swirled furiously around the room. I instantly dropped to ground, an instinct from the wars, and looked up through squinting eyes to see the opening maw of a vortex in the ripped ceiling, just like the one I'd been sucked into before.

"Oh shit!" was all I could manage with the wind making breathing more difficult. My clothing and hair were being whipped furiously around me and I felt my body beginning rise from my current position. I realized that in a moment or two I was going to be sucked up from the floor and into that unnatural vortex. I saw the slim metal box that held my heramones beginning to shake, also succumbing to the gravitational well above me. Seeing it as a source of protection, I grabbed the handle, brought the flat side to my chest and quickly placed it over my belly as a protective covering for whatever was going to happen next. Not more than a few seconds later my feet left the floor. I curled up into as much of a ball I could manage as my body rose upward. In that panicked moment I didn't have time to worry about what was happening or where I might be going, I only wanted to protect my babies.

As I was pulled into the swirling maw, I caught a last glimpse of the door to the exam room bursting open and the wide-eyed and horrified expressions of Mueller, Wudon and Sallah as they clung to the doorframe to stop from being sucked up with me. Then suddenly they were gone and I was moving up through the wind tunnel, bent over and clinging desperately to the metal case that covered the front of my swollen belly even as my back was pressed against that invisible wall I remembered from my first journey through the vortex.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of color and turned my head slightly to see what it was. My twin, dressed in a purple jogging suit, was pressed against the invisible wall opposite me. I hoped with all my heart that it was Duwan I was seeing, and if it was, that he and I were once again switching places. He looked as terrified as he had been the first time we'd passed through the vortex. In contrast, I was oddly calm.

Hunched over, I closed my eyes tightly to try and ease the building nausea caused by spinning inside the well even as I felt myself drawing nearer to unconsciousness. Throwing up in that place was the last thing I wanted to do. Though there seemed to be fewer objects flying around with me than there had the first time I'd made the journey, I couldn't avoid being hit by what was there. Even with the pain they caused, I knew it wasn't going to be enough to keep me from blacking out soon. Curled up as I was, I didn't think about where I was going or what I would face once the vortex spit me out. Strangely enough, my thoughts were of the two lovers I'd left behind on Erith. The memory of their faces, smiles and expressions of deep caring and tenderness were images I wouldn't forget anytime soon, that is if I survived my second trip through the vortex.

Something hit my hip hard, and a moment later there was another sharp blow to the back of my bowed head. Warm blood streamed across my chilled face but I stayed stubbornly curled up around the metal case, instinctively protecting the life inside me. Then just as I began to slip into a dark void of my own, I experienced the sensation of falling. I suddenly hit something very hard, and became dimly aware that I was laying on my right side on a cold, unrelenting surface. I thought I heard the sound of excited voices and of rapid footsteps approaching, then chilled hands were touching me, trying to straighten out my curled body. My fingers were pried away from the case I'd held onto for dear life as one voice in particular, a very familiar one, called to me. I fought my way from being completely sucked into the darkness of unconsciousness to identify that voice.

"Duo, open your eyes. Are you all right? Dammit, tell me it's you and not another nut case!"

Heero. His demand brought a slight smile to my mind if not my face. I could only imagine how the pampered and privileged Duwan would have behaved in my world. The more I thought about it the more I had an urge to laugh, but didn't, couldn't. Despite being barely conscious, my head hurt something fierce as did other parts of my body.

"Get back, let me look him over." I thought for a moment that it was Sallah's voice, but I knew it wasn't. It was her double from my world that I'd heard. I was back, really physically back in my own universe where my friends and lover lived, where everything was familiar. There were flashes in my mind of the Preventer building, of people I'd arrested, sent to prison or killed in the line of duty. I glimpsed a picture of Quatre's sad eyes as he spoke of his fears regarding Trowa and Heero. Yes I was back, to Earth and all that was familiar, the good and the bad, and with that chilly realization came both elation and abject fear; I had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"Duo, can you hear me?"

Gentle fingers began lifting my eyelid and I shied away from the light that was shone into my eye. I moaned my discomfort, not only from the bright light, but for the fact that my whole body ached and my head felt like it was about to explode. It wasn't helped when Sally's fingers began a search of my scalp and probed the place where I'd been hit by a flying object within the vortex.

"Let's get him out of here and to the hospital," she ordered, and soon after that I felt myself being lifted and set on a padded surface and straps were fastened over my body to secure me in place. I felt confused and figured I was in some sort of shock. I was vaguely aware of what was happening around me, but when I tried to talk, to ask about the condition of my babies, the words just wouldn't come out.

"I'm here, Duo." Heero's voice was close, soft and filled with worry. "You're home now and everything is going to be all right."

I knew that was the closest thing to an endearment that Heero would say to me while we were in the presence of others. He's always been very private about his feelings for me, speaking and demonstrating his true emotions only when we were alone. He's forever conscious of his surroundings and to not let others, especially strangers, know of our personal involvement. Some other lover might have been offended by his lack of open affection, but I'd always agreed with him, thinking that our life wasn't anyone else's business. Yet now, after having experienced a different kind of life on Erith, I didn't know if I felt that way any longer. I'd changed.

In my half-in and half-out-of-it state, it was easy to shut out everything around me: the faint sunlight through my eyelids, Sally's fussing and Heero's encouraging words. Instead of being distracted by outside stimuli, my unfocused mind reflected briefly on the world I'd just left behind. Without a doubt I knew I would miss the men I'd left behind in Sangor. Even though I didn't love them like I love Heero, I came to care deeply for them. One of the many things I'd come to appreciate about Herron and Tradell was that they never hid their feelings for me, not from me or from anyone else. They didn't often overtly touch or act overly demonstrative out of our resting spaces, but it was in their eyes and behavior that showed everyone that I was their center.

But that was another time and place, I told myself. I felt oddly sad for a moment that I was back in my own world now, and what a complicated mess my return to Earth was going to be. Funny, after all the time I wished for the familiar, for Heero, Quatre and the others, I now felt like my return was more of a punishment than the miracle it truly was. I had returned to my crime-filled world, so different from the place that had found peace and had given me a role in their society along with the many privileges accorded a person of my color. I had none of that now. I was back to my uncertain life, with a job I hated, a cheating lover and a blurry future.

My mind drifted, and I wondered why had it taken a freak journey to an alternate universe for me to finally find peace? All the fighting I'd done in my life, before and during the wars, and all the assignments at Preventers that I'd carried out to keep the peace had never given me the sense of inner peace that my visit to Erith eventually had. With a sinking heart I knew I had to accept the fact that I was back in my imperfect world. There was little doubt in my mind that Heero was not going be happy if or when he learned about the two lovers I'd had while I was away - though why it should matter to me I didn't know. I still wasn't over the hurt caused by believing he'd cheated on me with his best friend. What happened while I was gone? Did Heero hook up with Trowa? Damn, I didn't think that I was ready to face my life once again. Above everything else, I knew that the biggest difficulty facing me was that I was in a world where a man being pregnant was unheard of. My breath hitched as I fought back a sob as a feeling of despair overwhelmed me.

"He's in pain, Sally." It was Heero's concerned voice again, and I was pretty sure it was his fingers that gently wiped the moisture that was leaking from my eyes.

Vaguely realizing I was being lifted again and then settled, I heard the sound of a door slamming shut and the wailing of a siren in the air. I was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. As my emotions rose, so did the pain in my head, and despite the reassuring voices coming from both Heero and Sally, everything began to slowly fade away. This time I welcomed the darkness as it shut out the reality of being back in my own world, with my old problems and two new complications.

I awoke again to the same throbbing headache and hands prodding my aching body. With a moan I opened my eyes and immediately squinted against the bright light above me.

"Hold on, Duo. We're going to do a CAT scan to check for internal injuries."

My mind reacted immediately to Sally's words. "No!" I blurted out. "No X-rays."

"It's alright. It doesn't hurt. All you have to do is lay still for several minutes until the scanner is finished."

"No, no X-rays of any kind," I repeated, more cognizant this time. I looked up to see Sally leaning over me with a concerned frown on her face. Her hair was shorter than she'd worn it before, cut to the shoulders with the front held back with a clip or something. I thought the style looked good on her and that Wufei finally had the longer hair of the two. I managed a slight smile despite the throbbing headache. "Hi, Sal."

The woman I'd known for years returned the gesture, her own smile was one of relief tinged with happiness. "Alright, Mr. No X-ray, but you have to work with me here so I can find out what injuries you might have sustained in the vortex."

I managed a dark chuckle, then winced at the ache it caused my pounding head. "Vortex. Funny, that's what I called it." My smile faded as I gave her a list of my aches and pains. "My head hurts, Sal, and I ache... everywhere. All in all, though, I'm in better shape than I was after my first trip through that damn wind tunnel."

While speaking, I began a visual search of room to confirm that we were alone. There was no way I wanted anyone else to hear what I had to tell Sally. I decided I really had no choice but to tell her about my condition. It was either now or later, I figured. It wasn't like I was going to be able to continue my pregnancy without my heramones and I was going to have to trust someone to take the babies out when the time came and then remove the A.U. I trusted Sally Chang to take care of me and, hopefully, to keep my secret.

"You appear to have a concussion, Duo. Can you move your legs?"

I did, and the aches from forming bruises I'd gotten from objects slamming into my left side flared with pain. "I'm pretty banged up on my left side, but no broken bones," I told her.

"Arms?"

Again, the left side ached but the bones were intact. "Same thing."

"All right," she smiled. "Now I'm going to lift up your... shirt," she motioned to the long, damaged tunic Mueller had put on me that morning in Sangor, "and examine your abdomen, ribs and chest."

I gave a nod of approval and watched as she lifted the silky purple cloth that I'd come to enjoy resting against my skin daily. I watched her face as her fingers gently prodded my stomach, her eyes narrowing at the bulge she found there. Without comment she went to my ribs and felt each one. "Do you feel any pain here?"

"No, it feels fine."

"Your abdomen is distended. You may have internal bleeding."

"I doubt it. I protected it in the vortex with the case I snatched up when it appeared above me."

"Then why is it distended? I hardly doubt that you would gain weight on only one part of your body."

"You're right," I chuckled, and my amusement soon progressed to laughter and continued on to a full-blown belly laugh as I came closer to being hysterical.

"Duo?" Sally was clearly becoming concerned and I fought to control myself.

My laughter stopped almost as abruptly as it had begun and I wiped away the tears from my eyes as I thought about the reason for my distended belly. My twins. I was now the only person responsible for the two babies growing in my body. Mistra Hildah was gone along with her posh home and assurances that she was in control of everything. Gone too was Mueller, my friend, confidant and ally. He'd cared for me like no one had ever done before or would ever do again, and I felt his loss more deeply than I would have believed. I was on my own again and responsible for the two babies that I carried in the A.U. They were mine. I was going to be their father in my world now, and I'd have to shoulder all the responsibilities that having children entailed. How was I going to do it? I was in no condition to work and it was an absolute necessity that my pregnancy be concealed and kept a secret. There was no doubt in my mind that if word ever got out that I'd been living in another world, and that I, a man, was pregnant with an artificial uterus inserted into my belly with two babies successfully incubating in it, I would become the subject of curiosity, of medical and scientific examination, maybe even experimentation. There was no way in hell I was going to let that happen, not to me and not to my kids. The two growing in my belly were wanted and highly valued in the society I'd just come from. There was no way I'd let them become freaks in my world.

But who should I tell? Who would help me and accept my condition, accept me and my babies. I looked up to Sally with my eyes watering, expressing my uncertainty and fear, only to see that Sally was becoming alarmed.

"Duo, what is it?"

"Sally, I need to tell you something. Something that happened to me in the other place I was in, but I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone else. I need your help and advice."

A gentle, compassionate hand came to rest on my own, laying on my swollen belly. "I promise you, Duo, as your doctor I'll keep anything you tell me in complete confidence."

"This can't go on the hospital reports, on any computer or piece of paper, and... I don't want you to tell Wufei."

She looked startled by my request, confused and concerned, but she nodded anyway.

I paused to think a moment about how to best tell the woman, my doctor and friend, what had happened to me. "Duwan came here, didn't he?"

"Yes," she answered. "I was his physician when he first fell out of the vortex. He was rushed here by ambulance and when he first woke up he was confused and babbling nonsense. We couldn't tell what he was talking about and thought he had a case of selected amnesia. He seemed to recognize some of us, but he had our names all wrong and he didn't recognize anything as being familiar. Heero took him home later that day but we noted that he refused to answer to your name and his general behavior was extremely odd. It wasn't even a week before Heero called me to the apartment, telling over the phone that the person who looked exactly like you wasn't you at all. When I got there, Trowa and Wufei were there also. I looked at the person in question and wondered what was going on. Duwan, looking just like you, had been sitting on the sofa in a satin robe and eating a bag of cookies while flipping television channels when I entered the room. Upon seeing me, he suddenly jumped up, gave me an excited smile, then bowed to me from the waist. That was my first clue that something was definitely off. Duwan then started babbling something about a contract and calling for people whose names I've never heard before. Heero finally got him to settle back down onto the sofa, putting the remote and cookies back in his hands before the four of us adjourned to the kitchen to talk. We each took a seat at the kitchen table before Heero began to tell me his theory, that when the vortex sucked you up you'd been transported to another place or time and Duwan, your double, exchanged places with you. I didn't know what to think of his theory, but Heero was adamant, and said he was going to figure out how to get you back. Wufei told me that Relena showed up at the apartment the next day after Duwan had seen a picture of her and insisted she be sent for. He literally threw himself at her when she entered the front door, begging her to take him to his choice."

"His Chooser," I corrected.

"That's right," Sally said, then continued. "Anyway, Relena, with Heero's permission, took charge of your double, removing him to her home for protection and care. I had occasion to meet Duwan several times in her home. He was interesting, very polite, understandably confused and not the most intelligent young man I've ever met. He did, however, have very set ideas about how he was to be treated. He also had a penchant for purple clothing, of which Relena indulged him."

"It was a sign of his rank in their society," I told her, nervously tugging at the edge of the blanket covering me. "Just as his bands were." I let go of the blanket to point to my arm and the two tattoos, then motioned to the collar around my neck.

"Ah," Sally said. "He didn't talk too much about his world, and seemed almost deathly afraid of ours."

That made sense to me. Duwan had lead a sheltered life on Erith, this world would have been terrifying to him.

"Heero began working immediately to round up the scientists at Leavesly Laboratory and got them working on duplicating the experiment. He believed that if he could re-create the vortex and put Duwan in it, you two would switch back to your own universes."

"Seems he was right," I said, subdued.

"Thank heavens," Sally agreed with a smile, and then it softened as did her voice. "We missed you, Duo. All of us."

"I missed you, too, even though I met most of your doubles on Erith, the place I was dropped onto."

"Well I can hardly wait to hear your story. But first, what is it you needed to tell me?"

"Did Duwan tell you what his role on Erith was?"

"I recall he was in some position of privilege. He referred to himself as being a Chosen. His vocabulary was difficult to understand sometimes, his words were similar to ours but the context seemed quite different. I pieced together that he was chosen to be the mate of a woman who chose him specifically for the purpose of having children. We also found out that he had three lovers, because he tried to become physically intimate with Heero, Trowa and Zechs." She cleared her throat, seeming embarrassed as I covered my face with my hand. "He was very upset when they spurned his advances and didn't seem to understand why they didn't want to have sex with him. Did you have to deal with his lovers in his existence?"

I rubbed my hand over my aching eyes and forehead, imagining Duwan trying to put his hands down Zech Marquis's pants. It wasn't a pretty picture. "Yes," I answered. "I was shocked to learn he juggled three, but thankfully, Zechs' double was located somewhere else on Erith. I never met him."

I lowered my hand and looked into her eyes. "It was so strange there, Sally. Their social system, customs and even the colors of nature were different from ours. I learned as much as I could and, thankfully, I had a someone who believed me when I said I wasn't Duwan. He insisted I take Duwan's role, saying it would be best, especially if Duwan was ever returned. He guided me through the strangeness of that society, though he hid some important things from me until it was too late. Yet as strange as their ways were, they were a peaceful society, Sally. They hadn't had a war in hundreds of years. Their peace was something I don't think our world will ever achieve."

Taking another breath and pushing down the longing I felt for that foreign world where my cares and worries were so few, I continued. "Duwan didn't tell you the full extent of his duties, his contract. I think he probably held back on purpose. He wasn't just a sperm donor for a woman higher in rank, he was a Chosen, and his Chooser was Hilde's double, a woman of consequence, a Red. In their society, women in the higher ranks, Blue and Red, run the government and hold the greatest positions of power." I paused, readying myself to tell her my secret and looked up into the doctor's face. "It's the men in the third rank of their society, the Purples, the Chosen, who not only provided the sperm that fertilizes their Chooser's egg, but he carries the baby in an inseminated, artificial uterus."

I stopped again as Sally's eyes widened and her breath caught as she fully digested what I was telling her. It was obvious she understood when her astonished eyes became fixed on my swollen abdomen.

"I have one of those A.U.s in me, Sally. I'm carrying twins because that's what Duwan contracted with his Chooser to do."

"Oh, I... my... Oh!" Sally gasped, words not coming to her as she tried to come to terms with the evidence before her. "Damn!" she whispered at last, then a look of curiosity crossed her face. "You're really serious, aren't you? How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure about how the artificial uterus works, but I need daily injections to ensure its health and that my body doesn't reject it. The case I carried through the vortex contains a couple of month's injections. I need that, Sally. They're called heramones on Erith, which I can only assume are female hormones, though I didn't understand that until after I was told that I had the A.U. in me and what it was for."

"I'll find out what happened to the case," the doctor told me, still looking shell-shocked. "Wufei was with us at Leavesly when you were brought back. I'm sure he'll know something about it." Her eyes, still fixed on my stomach as she spoke, slowly rose to my face, studying it as well. Reaching out, she placed her hand on my cheek and rubbed the soft skin with an expression that was something other than affection. She was obviously curious as hell. "I suppose the smoothness and soft skin of your face is the result of these hormones," she guessed.

I snorted and blushed. "Sort of. After I arrived there, they took one look at the scars on my body and the stubble on my face and sent me to a place called a Correction Center. I was given some sort of drink that knocked me out, and when I woke up all my scars had miraculously disappeared as had all my body hair, except in a few selected places." I blushed at that point.

"Gone?" she questioned.

"Permanently," I clarified. "As a Purple it was required of me to meet my Chooser's standards. I no longer have a beard, arm, underarm, leg or chest hair."

"Holy shit!" Sally exclaimed, examining my face at close range. "Can you imagine what a procedure like that could get you in this world? You'd be a billionaire if you could offer that service."

"Those were my thoughts exactly," I agreed, wishing I knew how they'd done it so I could copy it and make a whopping profit from the hair removal treatment.

I shook myself from my thoughts, needing to get back to the original subject. "Sally, before we get off on another topic, I need your advice. I can't let my condition be known. Can you imagine the uproar it would cause? I'd become a curiosity, a freak and a medical wonder to be poked and prodded."

Sally's face became serious once again. "What about Heero? Surely he'll help you."

I sighed and shook my head, regretting the movement as pain shot through my skull. "Heero and I were having some... difficulties before I was taken away. These aren't his children and I don't know that he could handle the situation."

Sally looked aghast at what I'd said. "I can't disagree with you more, Duo. It's obvious to everyone that Heero's devoted to you. Once he realized what had happened to you, that Duwan was someone else from some other place, he worked tirelessly to make the scientists work to repeat the failed experiment that caused the vortex in the first place. He wanted you back, Duo. He was desperate to have you back where you belong."

"I don't know that I can go back to how things were, Sally," I confessed, feeling confused by what she'd said and the feelings that I'd harbored for so many months. "Everything's changed."

"How about Relena or Quatre?" she suggested out of the blue. "They both have excellent security and the resources to help you conceal your condition from the public. Relena managed to keep Duwan's background a secret. I'm sure either she or Quatre would be glad to help you."

"Quatre," I decided. Though I knew Relena would probably help out, she and I had some past issues regarding Heero and our friendship now was based on the fact that she was Heero's friend and not necessarily mine. I knew without a doubt that I could trust my blond friend implicitly, not only with my secret, but with my life as well.

"He's outside with the others and they're all anxious to see you," she said, then frowned as she asked, "Do you wish to speak with him now? I'm not sure Heero will understand if you speak to Quatre before you talk to him."

"I think I need to see if Quatre's willing to help me first because his decision will help me determine what I'll say to Heero."

"Alright," my good doctor agreed, though not looking entirely pleased. "But first I'd like to give you a thorough examination, one that I'd normally give any expectant mother who is brought though the emergency room's doors. Tell me what you know of the artificial uterus while I set up the ultra sound."

I told her all that I'd learned of the A.U., which wasn't much, and pointed to the part of my body that Tradell told me the incision would be made in order to take the babies out and then remove the A.U. after the birth.

Sally's eyes lit up with excitement. "Duo, you'll let me have the artificial uterus to study, won't you? Just imagine what we could learn from it. Medical technology from an alternative, advanced world could mean new developments to our own way of thinking about childbirth."

I nodded, then paused to look at her with a proposition in mind. "You've got a deal, Sal, but only if you promise me that whatever medical discoveries you come up with, if the A.U. is replicated and used, that I be included in the patent and get a fair share of its sale and a percentage of future sales."

"Of course," Sally excitedly agreed. "I can only imagine the monetary rewards from developing such a useful device. But more importantly, just think of how it could help women who can't have children naturally. An artificial womb that can carry fertilized eggs full term, and even twins! It opens up a world of possibilities and hope."

"I hope it does some good," I told her. "But in all honesty, I need to find a way to provide for my children. I obviously won't be going back to work at the Preventers." Putting my hand on my belly, I lifted my eyes up to meet Sally's. "Could you please check to make sure they're alright. The vortex was pretty rough going and I'm concerned about them."

Sally seemed to come to herself and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I got a bit carried away there, didn't I?" She then brought out the stethoscope that had been in the pocket of her white lab coat and put them to her ears, the other end went to my heart and after a few minutes, to my belly. Shifting the cool, flat end around, I watched a slow smile grow on her pretty face. "Other than your own, I definitely hear two separate heartbeats in here."

"A boy and a girl," I informed her, smiling with relief that the two seemed to be all right.

Sally's smile stayed in place as she moved a cart laden with equipment from a place against the wall, plugged a black cord into an outlet, then turned to place some very cold gel on my stomach. "I'm going to use the ultra sound for a visual check. The gel is a conductor." Making sure the television screen was ready, she then took a small, handheld apparatus and began a systematic search of my stomach. She spent a good five minutes going over every inch of it. Her breath caught several times and she whispered, "Unbelievable! Fantastic!" and, "Oh my God!" My eyes stayed on the screen and I struggled to make out the vague images that seemed to enthrall the doctor.

"They look good, Duo. Both of them," Sally said as she shut off the screen and reached for a cloth to wipe off my stomach. "This is utterly fantastic. This will revolutionize reproductive medicine just as cesarean section, the pill and invitro fertilization did. This is the most exciting moment in my medical career!"

"It's the most exciting and frightening experience of my life," I confessed less enthusiastically, my hand touching my stomach.

Her hand came to rest on my shoulder. "It's going to be all right, Duo. Would you like me to call Quatre in now?"

The moment had come to face my friends, and I guess my nervousness must have shown because she was looking at me with compassion. Pulling down my torn up tunic, and then bringing the blanket up to my chin, I gave her a nod of my head, then took in a shaky breath to ready myself for my first visitor.

TBC