Just a little bit more before you have to get back to your daily routine… '
ILL
Chapter 9
Nia didn't realize that she had fallen asleep until she woke up. Her bladder felt very full, so she guessed that she had been asleep for quite a while. Groggily she rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, barely noticing that no one else was in the room. After lifting her skirt, she plopped down on the toilet and relieved herself.
Realizing that she couldn't remember the last time she took a bath, Nia turned on the shower, shed her clothes, and stepped into the stall. She washed her hair, lathered her skin, then stood under the spray until all of the soap and shampoo had run off her and down the drain. She was hesitant to turn off the water as it felt so refreshing running over her body, but she finally did and got out.
Now that she was fully awake, she noticed the subtle differences in her body as she dried off. Her breasts were heavier, but tender and she could see prominent veins underneath the skin. There was also a distinct firmness and plumpness in her lower abdomen. She stood sideways in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom and gasped. She was considerably more pregnant than when she went to sleep.
Nia shook her head in denial of her own reflection. To go from barren, to conception, to showing all in a matter of days was too surreal to deal with for now. Finding a large towel, she draped it under her arms, wrapped her dripping hair into another one, and then left the bathroom to look for something to put on.
She searched what seemed like the entire main room but came up empty-handed in the outfit department. She was about to search the kitchen cabinets, no matter how odd that idea seemed, but her body suddenly felt weak, and she sat down on the foot of the bed instead, wondering where all of her strength went. Just as she was beginning to think that her body had been invaded by an energy-sapping virus, the doors to her room slid open and Jax and Zen trailed into the room, followed by the towering Prae'tor. It didn't surprise Nia in the least that Jax and Zen were having yet another tiff.
"Why do you insist upon following me back here?" Jax was fussing at Zen, but didn't wait for a reply. He turned to Prae'tor and barked a different reprimand at him. "And you should have told me about the computer links!"
"Get over it." Zen replied casually. "I had my orders, just as you have yours."
"What is your excuse for not returning to the gardens this time?" Jax demanded going back to his original question.
"Because Nia seemed very upset when we left her last. I just wanted to see for myself if she was okay." Zen answered.
"Where are my clothes?" Nia jumped in, anger heavy in her voice. Jax and Zen stopped shooting daggers at each other and regarded her. Prae'tor, not wanting to get in the "line of fire", hobbled off to his favorite chair.
"How are you feeling?" Jax asked her.
"Terrible!" Nia shouted. "My breasts hurt, my back is killing me. I can't find anything to put on and this pregnancy is NOT normal."
"Why do you say that?"
"I was not this big yesterday." she replied standing up and turning around with her hands stretched out.
"I cannot detect any differences while you are wearing that bulky towel. Take it off." Jax instructed.
"I don't have any clothes on!" Nia reminded him tartly.
"Your nudity will not embarrass us. Zen and I are incapable of embarrassment."
"I don't care what you are incapable of, I'm not getting undressed in front of him." Nia snapped, nodding at Prae'tor who was watching the entire scene from the comfort of his chair. The two robots glanced at the Yaut'ja in unison then turned back to Nia.
"Maybe I should pick you something out from among the offerings still outside the door." Zen suggested. "Then you could change and Jax could examine you."
"Whatever." Nia mumbled and plopped back down on the edge of the bed. Zen turned on his heel and walked out of the room.
"Are you hungry?" Jax asked her next.
"I'm always hungry!" Nia yelled, then for no apparent reason, she dropped her head into her hands and began to cry. Jax moved closer, knelt down and placed a hand on her knee.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," she sobbed. "I just woke up, but I'm so tired. I was feeling just fine yesterday when we came back from the theater, but today I feel like something has taken over me."
"Everything will be all right," he said gently. "Your body is going through major changes, but you are young and strong. You will get through this."
"I don't mean to yell at you and Zen. I couldn't stop myself."
"Do not concern yourself with the pitch of your voice. Zen and I have been programmed with some emotions, but we cannot be hurt by words."
"What have you done now?" barked a voice behind Jax, who then spun around to find an angry Zen glaring down at him. He had been so preoccupied with Nia that he hadn't even heard his counterpart coming back into the room.
"What are you talking about now?" he fired at Zen.
"The shao'uta was not crying when I walked out of here," the later accused. Nia noticed that he had picked out a forest-green, two-piece outfit and was holding it delicately over both arms.
"What thoughtless, inconsiderate nonsense came spewing out of your mouth now?" Zen continued. Jax stood up so fast that Nia felt a slight breeze.
"She is pregnant, you useless sack of machine parts!" he yelled. "A spontaneous outburst of tears is to be expected. Go back to the gardens where you belong!"
Unexpectedly, Nia started to laugh. Jax and Zen tore their heated gazes from each other and glanced down at her in bewilderment.
"I will never be bored here as long as you two are around." she giggled, rising from her bed and taking the garment from Zen.
"Why, thank-you, Nia." he replied gaily then turned a smug smile to his counterpart.
"That was not a compliment, you idiot." Jax informed him, which melted the smile from Zen's lips. But before he could respond, Prae'tor growled from across the room. All three set their eyes on the Yaut'ja.
"What did he say?" Nia asked.
"He said he wishes Zen would go back to his assigned duties." Jax spoke up first. Zen shook his head in disappointment.
"Lying does not become a robot of your caliber," he scolded, then looked at Nia seriously. "Prae'tor said he wishes we would stop arguing and concentrate on your needs." he translated. Nia glanced at the Yaut'ja again, then back to Zen.
"I think I'll go get dressed now" she said, then scampered off to the bathroom.
"See what you have done?" Jax hissed quietly at Zen once the door to the bathroom had slid shut behind Nia. "Now you have irritated Prae'tor as well. Why do you not just leave?"
"I will leave when the shao'uta asks me to." Zen whispered back. Jax narrowed his eyes at the stubborn artificial intelligence, swallowed the retort he was about to utter, then sighed heavily.
"Well, if you are going to stay, then you are going to work." he relented. "Go and brew some tea for Nia."
Zen didn't appreciate being told what to do. Still he stifled a scoff of his own and trotted off to the kitchen. About fifteen minutes later, Nia emerged from the bathroom completely dressed with her hair balled up into a different towel on top of her head.
"Is that tea I smell?" she asked, taking her hair out of the towel and draping it around her shoulders. Her wet hair fell about her face and shoulders in long, wet strands.
"Yes, it is." Zen replied from the little kitchenette.
"Then why does it smell funny?"
"It is green tea. It is very good for you."
"It's not really green, is it?" she asked reluctantly. Zen and Jax tossed her bewildered looks.
"What would you like to eat?" Jax inquired, changing the subject. Nia didn't hesitate.
"A stack of buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese mixed in, some bacon and sausage, a side of grits smothered in butter and a side of scattered hashbrowns with diced tomatoes, ham and onions mixed in."
There was a brief period of silence, then Zen commented to Jax,
"Sounds like you have got your work cut out for you."
"But you are already in the kitchen." Jax reminded and gestured toward the cabinets and stove. Zen ignored him and brought a cup of tea to the table for Nia.
"By the way, you left this in the theater." he said to her and placed both the cup and mini-laptop on the tabletop.
"Oh, thank-you, Zen." Nia said happily. She took a seat at the table, pulled mini-comp in front of her and snapped it on.
"What are you going to do?" Zen wondered, taking a seat to her right instead of going back to the kitchen to cook. Jax noticed him, held back a harsh remark and went into the kitchen himself.
"I'm just want to surf the web for a bit." Nia replied casually, then sipped at her tea. "Mmm, not bad."
"Thank-you." Zen said, accepting the compliment with a small smile on his lips.
For a long while the only sounds in the room came from Jax as he shuffled about the kitchen, mixed with Prae'tor's occasional snoring. Nia clacked away at her mini-comp drinking her tea while Zen watched, waiting for the moment when he could be helpful to her again.
All of a sudden, Nia exclaimed, "They're looking for me!"
Jax immediately stopped whatever he had been doing and turned to face her.
"Who is looking for you?" he asked fearfully.
"The police." she replied never taking her honey-brown eyes from the computer screen. "I ran across this article from my hometown newspaper. I've been reported missing."
"Nia-" Jax began but she had started to read aloud.
" 'No new information has come to light in the disappearance of 22 year old college student Nia Fulton who was reported missing by a co-worker three weeks ago.' " She paused and looked up at Jax. "Three weeks ago? I've been here for three weeks? I thought it was closer to three days or so."
"Nia-" Jax tried again, but she only waved him off and went back to the screen. Zen scooted his chair closer to follow along.
" 'The co-worker informed authorities that Ms. Fulton went out the back door of the nightclub to take her fifteen minute break and when she never came back, the co-worker '- they must be talking about Meagan- 'reported Ms. Fulton missing to the manager, who then alerted the police. Once on the scene, law enforcement officers conducted a thorough search of the back alley, but no sign of the young woman was found. Officers did discover, however, the decapitated body of an African-American male who was later identified as 44 year old Donnell Goodman. Blood splatter also found in the alley were later determined to belong to Mr. Goodman.' "
Nia stopped, flicked a knowing look to Prae'tor, who had woken up sometime since she had began and was looking in her direction. Nia looked back at the screen and started reading again:
" 'Blood of another type has been found, analyzed and discovered to belong to a female, but not enough of the second blood type has been recovered to neither confirm nor deny foul play in the disappearance of Ms. Fulton. "This is a very bizarre case," states lead detective Andrew Covington. "A decapitated body found in the same back alley where a young college student took her last break and is now missing is very odd indeed. We need to find this young lady and soon so that the police department can get some answers. This type of unusual situation is very upsetting to the community and to everyone who knows and is related to Ms. Fulton, so finding her is vital.' "
"Nia, wait-"
"Just a minute, Jax, there's more!" she scolded then continued. " 'The detectives in charge of this case have both made further statements to this newspaper insisting that they are using all of their resources to find the missing college student. No word yet on whether or not the police consider Ms. Fulton a suspect in the murder of Donnell Goodman.'
"A suspect? How could they think I could chop off somebody's head?" Nia retorted. "What did I do it with? A nail file?"
Zen looked at Jax, unsure of what to say or do. Jax flung a worried glance to Prae'tor, then back to Nia, but she had already begun to read aloud again.
" 'The manager of the nightclub, as well as the friends and family of Ms. Fulton have collected over $5,000 as a reward for any information that will lead to her reappearance. If you have any information- ' blah, blah, blah." Nia finished. "The article didn't mention the gun. The police must have told the newspaper to withhold that information." She rambled aloud.
"I wish I could send Meagan, or Kayla, or one of my professors a message telling them that I'm okay, but I don't remember their email addresses." She stared off into space for a second, rapping her fingertips on the table. "I know! I could post a letter on my university's message board."
"That may not be such a good idea." Jax finally managed to say before she could carry out her idea. Nia stopped and looked at him oddly.
"They think I killed a man, Jax!"
"The article did not say that. Besides, if you send an e-mail, whatever that is, to anybody you know and tell them you are alive and well-"
"Well?" Nia interrupted, rising from her chair and smoothing her clothes flat over her plump belly. "You call this well?"
"…will only raise the authorities' suspicion toward you when you finally do resurface." Jax finished as though she hadn't said a word. Nia stood in front of her chair shooting daggers at him across the table. Zen stayed quiet, glancing from one to the other as each spoke in turn. On the other side of the room, Prae'tor had moved to the edge of his chair.
"I seriously hate to admit this," Zen finally piped up, "but Jax is right."
Ready to defend himself against Zen as always, Jax opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it when the words of his counterpart sunk in. Instead he stared at the robot-gardener in shock.
"Telling people you are okay will only make you appear guilty when we take you home. And I am sure that is not what you want, right?" Zen pressed and for the first time since they met, Nia directed an angry look on him. When he didn't glance away, however, she plopped back down in her chair in defeat. But if any of them thought that was the end of it, they were seriously mistaken.
Without warning Nia shoved the mini-comp across the smooth, metal tabletop with all of her might.
"I hate this!" she screamed only seconds before the computer flew off the table and crashed onto the floor, breaking apart. The robots stared at the busted mini-comp in disbelief, but Nia's tantrum was far from over.
She jumped out of her chair again and in that same motion completely flipped the small, but heavy table over screaming at the top of her lungs in the process. Utilizing his quick reflexes, Jax jumped backwards out of the way. Zen pushed his heels against the floor as hard as he could which propelled his chair backwards before the table could crush his feet. On the other side of the room, Prae'tor was on his feet in less than a second.
"What is wrong with her?" Zen asked confused, as this was his first full-blown Nia-tantrum.
"From past experience, I believe it is safe to assume that it is the Yaut'ja testosterone in her bloodstream."
"What?" Zen watched helplessly as Nia began to kick at the upturned table legs. She had to be hurting her toes, he assumed.
"Everytime the fetus has a growth spurt, more Yaut'ja hormone is released into Nia's system. It is making her crazy." Jax explained.
"So what do we…uh, oh." Zen gasped when he realized what Nia's next target was.
"This is all your fault!" she screamed at Prae'tor as she barreled down on him. "You killed Donnell, you kidnapped me and you got me pregnant. This is all your fault!" She punched him square in the center of his abdomen. "You did this to me! I hate you! I hate you!"
Nia struck the Yaut'ja over and over again on his exposed belly, too high on adrenaline to notice that she was cutting her knuckles on his wire-mesh covering. Jax jumped completely over the upside-down table and made a beeline straight for Nia, grabbing her shoulders once he reached her and yanking her back.
"Nia, restrain yourself!" he pleaded, shaking her a little in the process, but she was too far out of control. She somehow managed to shake out of even Jax's firm grip and charged at Prae'tor again, punching him in his belly over and over again, screaming her disgust at him all the while. Jax and Zen together moved to stop her, but Prae'tor gestured for them to hold off. The robots obeyed, however reluctantly, and watched in apprehensive fear as Nia hammered away at the male Yaut'ja that was three times her size.
To their surprise and relief, though, in less than a minute it was obvious to all that she was beginning to wane down. Her punches were not as intense and she was crying more than yelling obscenities. As she sunk to her knees in exhaustion, Prae'tor effortlessly swept her up into his solid arms and carried her to the bed. She continued to protest, but only verbally and soon she wasn't even doing that anymore, but drifting off.
"This pregnancy is taking its toll on her." Zen remarked as he watched Prae'tor cart her to the bed.
"She is strong." Jax assured him. "We would not have done this to her if we believed that her body was not capable of handling it."
"I hope you are right." Zen replied before he and Jax headed to the bed.
Prae'tor was leaning over a half-sleeping Nia, one hand smoothing her wet hair back off her forehead. When he realized that Jax was at his side, he stepped out of the way to let robot take over.
"What now?" Zen asked his counterpart who knelt beside the bed.
"I will give her a comprehensive examination to find out if I'm correct about the growth of the baby and the release of hormones in her bloodstream." Jax replied as he transformed his right hand into a scanning device.
"Her hair is still wet," Zen noted off-handedly.
"Well, maybe you can take care of that when I'm done." Jax suggested. When Zen did not respond right away, he stole a glance over his shoulder to find him staring down at him with an odd expression on his face. After a few more seconds of silence, Zen's mouth curled into a half-grin.
"I knew you would get used to having me around." he teased.
Jax scoffed, but it didn't come out as harsh as he wanted it to.
"I presume there is no harm for me in allowing you to believe that." he replied, then returned to examining his patient.
This is soooo not the end. Well, maybe for now it is. Hey, guys, I was thinking about adding a Xenomorph (is that the right name for aliens?) into the story. What do you guys think about that? If you think that is too corny, I won't do it. I'm open to any suggestions. If I use them, I'll give you either credit or a shout-out.
Thanks for your patience with me and for being such great reviewers…now go review! (kisses)