(Author's Note - Hey there! Its the second chapter! Thanks to everyone out there in tv land for your views and comments. This story means a lot to me and I have a great time writing it, I've even got a few other ideas in the works! A portion of this chapter was inspired by a dream I had, hope you like it even if the subject matter gets a little awkward. This sort of thing always is. Media referenced in my stories tends to be a mix of real and fictional. One of my OCs, Alex, is introduced here and I hope he's okay. I like the lil fella. He was inspired by a janky looking knock off of the Uncute Max plush I saw on AliExpress. Someday I'll post a reference drawing of him. Before I forget, its important to note that Geek was raised by a single mother in this universe, until she wasn't. That will be explored more in the future. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to give my humble fanfic a look. Have a great one!)

Chapter 2

Arriving home at last, it was quickly realized there wasn't anywhere to put away the things they'd bought. Years of accumulating knick nacks, souvenirs from cases, and straight up garbage had taken its toll. They'd move some of it to the office, if they weren't running out of room there too. The decision was made to 'put things wherever and sort it out later'. A highlight of the ride home had been a stop at the dollar scoop Chinese place so the mood was merry. It was amazing how some noodles, rice and those sugared rounds of fried biscuit dough could cheer a guy up. Now that it was past three, it was time to go collect the third member of their family, so they could begin enjoying a well earned weekend together.

Late March in New York was unusually warm this year. The Geek couldn't help wonder how many so people still denied climate change. She was no Greta Thunberg, so she'd have to continue her pursuit of a scientific solution. Today she waited outside the office building for her ride despite the heat. Having her two pseudo fathers in the lab, unless absolutely necessary, was a bad idea. This had been further cemented after that happy little accident almost a year ago, the results of which sat on his haunches near her feet. He was...clearly a member of the order Leporidae, a little under two feet in length and quadrupedal. His pale fur was very short, patchy in some places, with a coarse texture but he was overall very familiar looking. The ears were pointier, the eyes unfocused and the mouth a drooling maw of oversized teeth, but the resemblance was uncanny. He was what happened when you played with things specifically labeled 'Do Not Touch', things that were never meant to replicate organic matter in the first place. She'd named him Alex, you know, like a cheap knock off of Max from ALi EXpress. Now he was her new pet that required, somehow, both more and less care than a normal rabbit. It wasn't his fault he existed and he was kind of cute in his own, grotesque way.

The DeSoto was heard before it was seen. All the Geek could do was sigh, she'd tried to explain that turning the radio up really loud so you couldn't hear the clanging, didn't fix the problem. This was shaping up to a busy weekend, but they were all happy to see each other. Alex decided to be difficult and resist getting into the car so he had to be coaxed in with a sippy cup full of chocolate milk. With his strange biology, he didn't actually need to eat or drink much, but that one particular liquid was like mana from heaven to him. He happily hopped in with this bribing and was buckled in with his leash to seatbelt adaptor. Alex was just too interested in the windows and they weren't having a repeat of that last incident.

"How's my wittle genetic oopsie.", Max said to Alex who replied by making a gurgling sound with his throat. This was surmised to indicate he was happy.

"Glad to see the lil fella is doing so well.", Sam added, "You guys hungry?".

"Nah we had pizza.", the Geek told him while trying to arrange she and Alex's things. He was surprisingly needy, maybe a little spoiled. Its not like he needed all these toys. Though if this...rabbit adjacent creature was that much work she questioned her appetite for future parenthood.

"We should have done pizza.", Max said, "I could still go for some, I AM eating for two.".

"You've had plenty for now buddy. Don't want you sick again.", Sam replied, "Still, its good to see you coming back to life. Wasn't sure what I'd do with you there for a minute."

"Your such a good baby daddy.", Max beamed, "I knew you'd be Sam, I shouldn't have hesitated.". The joy in his voice was undeniable, he wanted this so badly.

If Sam could blush he would have, I mean he'd be a good father of course. Geek seemed happy enough, she'd never called him dad but that was okay. Were he and Max actually able to have a child together, they would. It was just, they couldn't, it was biologically impossible.

"You guys are both great but can we jet?", the Geek piped up from the back seat, "Big Al is getting antsy."

Alex had dropped his spill proof cup after a few slurps and was attempting to lavish slobbery affection on his owner.

"Oh! Yeah, s..sure.", Sam sputtered. Max being so, outwardly lovey dovey lately was making him feel, some kind of way. He put the car into gear and they sped off towards blissful suburbia.

Home and settled, dinner preparations had begun. Max had decided to cuddle with Alex who had fallen into a calm, affectionate mood. It was unclear if the maldeveloped clone thought of him as a brother or father, maybe something else entirely, either way he was fond of him. He was happy to receive attention and clicked his teeth with contentment. The slightly grating sound was mostly drowned out by some random cartoon they had put on. Meanwhile in the kitchen, ingredients were being fussily chopped and arranged. With the dish assembled and baking, some cleaning progress was made in the kitchen. Having done all they could for now, it was time to discuss matters from that morning.

"The technical term for Max's condition is pseudocyesis. Its a word that is derived from Greek meaning 'false pregnancy'.", the Geek explained and took a sip of her soda, "Cases in women are more common than you'd think, in men its not unheard of.".

"So he'll get over it?", Sam asked hopefully, he'd poured himself a cup of afternoon coffee. The two had cleared off the kitchen table to sit down at, the amount of dust and debris coating it had been incredible.

"Sure, he'll start to stabilize in a couple of days. I've taken the time to synthesize the proper medication into a potent liquid form.", the Geek said, "We'll dose him in his food starting tomorrow. I don't like doing it without consent, but its the best way to help him. I'm sure he'll understand once he's in a better frame of mind."

There was an awkward pause.

"Hey Geek, this might sound kinda dumb but can I ask you something?", Sam finally said with downcast eyes. He was clearly hesitant.

"Shoot", the girl said with a slight smile, "I'm sure I've heard dumber, I work with the government sometimes after all.".

"That's true.", Sam replied, relaxing a little, he had an almost wistful expression. "Its just, Max is really sincere about wanting a baby, I can tell.", he paused, thinking for a moment, "Geek, with all your sciencey mumbo jumbo." he continued, "Could we have one? Is there any way?".

She was taken aback by this at first, it wasn't expected. It took her a somewhat tense minute to find a reply.

"Sam...that's a complicated proposal. I won't give you false hope, at the current moment no. There is a lot I can do scientifically. Creating new life from the cells of two members of the same sex...is another thing entirely. That kind of technology is still a ways off."

His face fell, the Geek reached out and put her hand over his in an attempt to comfort her parental figure.

"I thought as much." the canine spoke, "Even if you could its not as if either of us have the right equipment to give birth. It doesn't seem like Max has even considered that part."

The scientific wunderkind's heart hurt for the couple that had provided for her all this time. There was just nothing feasible she could do. Donor ovum's could possibly allow them each to have a biological child, finding surrogate mothers would be another matter. A healthy, willing female of both species would have to be hired for the best results. Even then, as with any pregnancy there would be no guarantees, and the risk of complications was higher in cases of surrogacy. Artificial gestation was a fairly new concept, and had only been studied in non andromorphic animals with limited success. When all was said and done was this what they even wanted? All that effort and expense and then, the universe willing, they'd have at least one healthy baby. There had to be better way but what? Great now she was tearing up, "Get it together Geek.", she thought to herself, "Since when do you get emotional.".

"I'm sure I can figure something out." she half lied, "If its any comfort, you guys are great parents and I really love you. Ever since my mom..." suddenly a potential solution hit her. She'd been overthinking things, it was obvious what they could do. Spring was mating season for many species out there, which always resulted in some less than wanted births. Anthros had the intellect to know better but often couldn't resist instinct. Not that humans were much better. She'd been in the foster care system herself for a time, there were so many babies and they rarely got adopted due to overpopulation. If someone actually wanted to, especially for the more prolific species, all you really had to do was sign up. Provided you could present yourself to a social worker, in a way they didn't think you'd drop the kid, you'd be allowed to have one. Maybe she had too much confidence in them, but she believed, with some practice, even these two could appear normalish for an hour or so.

"Have you ever considered adopting again? Its the perfect time of the year for it."

Sam perked up noticeably at this suggestion.

"Do you think they'd let us?" he asked, if he had a tail he'd be wagging it. "You were kinda a special case so I never figured it was an option.".

"I'm sure they would. Once Max is better that is. I'll help you start the process and even put in a good word.", the Geek promised giving the dogs big paw a supportive squeeze, "Some kid out there will be lucky to have you, same as I am. You're both great dads."

The hound almost yelped in excitement. She'd not quite said it, but it was close enough, he was at least a fatheresque part of her life.

"Your such a good kid Geek, I don't know what we'd do without you, I..."

"Any ETA on dinner? We're starving!", a voice rang out from the doorway. Max was standing in the threshold, leaning against the frame. We? Alex was no were to found, right...he meant his 'unborn'.

"Should be about done.", the Geek said hopping down from her chair, Sam got up to help her.

Max sniffed the air, "For healthy junk that smells real promising. What's in it?".

Donning excessively cute fish shaped oven mitts, Sam removed the baking pan and put it on the counter.

"Mostly just chicken and vegetables.", the canine said peeling the foil back while resisting the urge to drool. Its not like he was a veggie kind of guy, but he was far from picky and there was rarely a time he wasn't at least sort of hungry.

"Yep, its pretty much how my mother fed me the first eight years of my life.", the Geek reminisced, "Mom was into healthy junk." Locating her small step stool she began getting dishes down from the cupboard.

"Go wrangle Alex and we'll get this gravy train rolling.", Sam said referring to Max.

"All right.", Max responded with a shrug, "But I'll have you know he got weird and started licking inside of my ears.".

This garnered a laugh from Sam who couldn't help but imagine that situation.

"Looks like both of you knuckleheads managed to crack me up this time."

Soon enough everyone was seated and served. Alex had been placed in a second hand high chair purchased for him recently. He wasn't quite used to it yet, but behaved since he liked the company. Diet wise, the little guy was an oddity. Despite having Max of all lagomorphs as a genetic base, he ate like a typical pet rabbit with a few exceptions. On his tray was a bear shaped plate containing carrot and celery sticks with a couple of apple slices on the side. He stared off into space with his mouth slightly open, he'd only eat if and when he decided to.

The food was a hit other than a lot of, 'What's this? What's that?" in regards to ingredients.

"You know what a potato is Max." the Geek responded in a slightly exasperated tone after a dozen of such questions.

"As long as it ain't scalloped." Max decided and popped the spud chunk into his mouth.

As they ate they discussed what to do for the rest of night. The Geek remarked that she'd originally had a tabletop RPG session planned online, but most of the players had canceled last minute. Finding a good group seemed impossible.

"Back in our day we'd hang around the comic shop to find people to play with.", Sam said nostalgically.

"We?" Max scoffed, "Your the one who mowed lawns all summer to save up for that 'Shadowbone the Sorcerer' custom figurine."

They both chuckled at the memory. After some debate a movie night was settled on. That sounded better than finally finishing that 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Sam & Max were pretty disappointed to find out the local Video Castle they had once frequented closed a decade ago. They'd just have to solider on and make due with their own collection. Dishes were cleaned up and a large cardboard box brought out into the living room.

"How about Valley of the Screaming Llamas?", Max suggested proudly holding up a VHS with a very worn box, "This movie is super rare cause allegedly one of the llamas kicked its handler to death on set."

"I dunno, you know I've never been much for horror flicks.", Sam said having been digging around for a specific title. "How about E.S.P.D.? I haven't seen this one in ages", he suggested having found it. They'd watched it as a trio at least once. It was a European film about psychic detectives, a late 80s affair with a somewhat poor English dub.

"Why not watch both? The night is still young." the Geek mediated, she didn't care either way and wanted to get to the 'everyone piles up on the couch and watches bad movies' part of the experience. A miserable, achy, fatigue had been slowly building in her body throughout the day. She'd figured eating might make her feel better but it just hadn't. Come to think of it her appetite was weird lately. The last thing she needed was to come down with something, though nothing much could be done if she was. Regardless, some major vegging out in front of the tv sounded heavenly right about now. Watching both was agreed upon with minimal bickering about in what order. Alex was secured in his small, fold out play pen with a few toys and the single cucumber he'd selected after refusing what had been offered. He happily crunched it, seated on a colorful pillow and completely disinterested in his surroundings. Movies and television, unless it was colorful and geared towards toddlers he was mostly indifferent. Videos of other rabbits now, he was very attentive to but was rarely allowed to watch them. That kind of material often triggered...undesirable behaviors. The rest of the family assembled together comfortably to enjoy some mindless entertainment. After a little fiddling with the tracking adjustment , the first ancient video crackled to life.

"I heard they used real cattle entrails in this scene.", Max commented about twenty minutes into his selection.

"I hated this one when were kids and I still hate it.", Sam groaned having resorted to covering his eyes at the gruesome display. Uncomfortable as he was this took him back to their youth. The teenage clerks at the video rental shops, weren't paid enough to care if they were old enough to watch a particular selection, just that they had the dollar to check it out. This only happened when they stayed at Max's place however. After moving in with his aunt he'd been purchased a brand new, 13 inch CRT tv with built in VCR. On top of that he was allowed to keep it in his room. Sam remembered the slight pang of jealousy he'd felt, having to watch tapes in the living room at his house.

"Sick! The llama spit acid and melted that guys face right off!", Max cheered at the forty five minute mark. No one could hate his childlike glee, plus it looked ridiculously fake. Clocking in at just a little over an hour long, this cinematic experience soon finished and the second was started.

"You know this was based off a French graphic novel.", Sam educated the others, "I read all five volumes back in high school, I think I still have them around somewhere.".

"Ugh, you're such a nerd. Always have been.", Max chided him, at the same time snuggling in closer, "Your lucky I love you so much."

With its higher production values, Sam's pick was a markedly easier to get through, despite the longer run time. Besides a little questionable looking, antiquated CGI, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it. Sam had plenty of 'fun' trivia to go along. They changed this or that character or such and such happened this way in the source material. The Geek considered asking Sam about those graphic novels. They seemed interesting enough and he loved being relatable, it would be win-win. She'd ask tomorrow, by the time the credits rolled everyone was tired and a new symptom had developed. Her stomach hurt, not her actual stomach, more like her lower abdomen. It was in the wrong place to be her appendix, a small consolation as the sensation radiated directly through her. Its not like she was a bastion of good posture, sitting at her workstation all day, that must be it. Couldn't be too serious, despite having never felt anything like it. Shooing her fathers to bed, lest they notice her discomfort, she'd decided to just sleep on the couch. Her proper bedroom was downstairs, the basement dweller she was, but it just felt like too much effort trudging to it tonight. Alex slept peacefully in his pen, Sam & Max were off with a promise of 'kickass omelets' in the morning and the Geek got herself a blanket from the linen closet. She then changed into something more comfortable from the clothes she'd brought home and lay down. Sleep didn't come easily for her, there wasn't a comfortable position to be had. The tv was turned to late night infomercials and Alex was lightly snoring. There was the odd, loud late night conversation from the nearby bedroom.

"Sam, wake up! I think the baby's kicking."

"Max that's just your stomach grumbling, go back to sleep."

"Nooo, feel"

"No"

"Come onnn, pwease."

"Fine...yep he's gonna be a soccer player, now go back to sleep."

"Love you Sam."

"Love you too."

Quiet fell once again and the Geek was still trying to situate herself into something tolerable. Curling her sore body into a tight ball provided some semblance of relief. Briefly she entertained the idea of just admitting something was wrong, but there's no way that wouldn't end in an emergency room trip. Her caregivers got a little panicky when it came to her health. Shortly after moving in she'd come down with some minor bug, and awoken to them crying at her bedside about how they'd failed as parents. She wouldn't put them through that again if they didn't have to be. At last, a little before midnight, she drifted off to sleep to an advertisement for a pay per call psychic. If only someone could have predicted what she'd wake up to the next morning.

Just as the sun rose above the housing development, a panicked shriek rang out. She hadn't meant it, some primal part of her brain had just kicked in for a moment. A few minutes ago the girl had woken in great pain, and hobbled off to the bathroom to see what could be accomplished there. No point in causing a commotion this early over something likely trivial. The moment Darla Gugenheek had yanked down her pajama pants she saw it. The inaugural tides of womanhood, crimson and almost mocking, had saturated the fabric and who knows what else. This was a waking nightmare. While she was aware of the biological process unfolding, there was no real preparing yourself for this. Blood gushing from a very private area of your body was just a new kind of disturbing. To make matters worse, the distinct sounds of guns cocking were heard from outside the door.

"Unhand our daughter criminal scum who has apparently broken in through the bathroom window!"

If there was higher power out there, the Geek silently begged it to strike her dead. Was she being 'rescued' by Elder Scrolls Oblivion town guards? What even was life anymore?

"Hold on Geek, mama's comin!"

She had to start the damage control and quick. This could escalate rapidly, she'd broken out into a cold sweat of terror.

"I'm...I'm okay. I just over reacted." she said shakily, not daring to unlock the door yet. If they actually saw this spectical...no she couldn't even imagine that.

"That didn't sound okay. Who's in there.", Sam almost growled.

"You know what crook, its a special kind of screwed up to try to kidnap someone while they're on the toilet.", Max followed up with.

They didn't believe her, she heard them begin to talk amongst themselves. Additional blood now dotted the toilet seat and floor as she surveyed the damage.

"I'll just shoot the doorknob off."

"We can't do that Max, the neighbors call the regular cops when we fire guns inside the house. This isn't any of their business, its our job to save her."

"Then I'll kick it down then. If nothing else I got some strong legs."

A pause.

"Your supposed to be pregnant Max, you can't kick a door down."

"Oh yeah...so you do it. Hurry, she's probably been mindflayed by now!"

"Okay, okay. God have mercy on my back..."

This had to be stopped. Just in case it wasn't, she yanked her bloodied pants back up to minimize the embarrassment.

"STOP!", she shouted in the most commanding tone she could muster, "Its just me in here and I'm fine.". There was no getting out of this without being blunt about it, might as well rip the preverbal band aid off, "I...I started my period, it was a little bit of a surprise."

You could hear a pin drop.

"What the hell's a period.", Max tried to whisper, getting no reply from Sam who seemed to be in shock. Seconds passed like hours and then...

"Holy pig's blood covered prom queen enacting telekinetic revenge on her tormentors!"

He audibly took a breath after that outburst and his tone turned almost sentimental.

"Our little Geek's become a woman!"