Orphans Beloved: "Attack of the Fifty-foot Clones…"

Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved and Sheldon Swifties bits in my Buffyverse and Sheldonverse, these are fragments and short bits, some longer…Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later.

Disclaimer: No copy write infringement intended…

Note-There are always these minor consequences to any great advances in Science.

Part III…

Scarborough General ER…

"There's nothing like a dame…" the chorus of actors playing sailors led by veteran character actor Ray Walston, sang on the large TV… "Nothing in the world…"

"Donnie…?"

"Yo…" Donnie looked at Alison as they sat where they'd been sitting for the past three hours since they'd been led into a station in the ER exam area.

"I appreciate your willingness to pass up sports for 'South Pacific' to please me…"

"Oh, no…Actually this is great." He noted. "And there wasn't anything special on the sports channels."

"But…You did say you'd try sending out your resume." She noted.

"I would but no internet connection except out in the reception room and there wasn't time after I got it set up…" he pointed out. "I don't want to leave you alone in here. I can get to it tomorrow."

"Donnie."

"There is nothing you can name that is anything like a dame…" the chorus sang.

"You want me to go?" he eyed her.

"Just do one…Send one out so I don't feel like we wasting every minute. Now you have it set you could do it in a couple of minutes. Just try one, for me…And the kids? Pleaseee..?"

"Ok." He sighed. "Don't die on me." Rising.

"I promise…But wait till after 'Some Enchanted Evening'…" she pulled at him. "I just wanted you to say you'd do it later." Smile.

"I'm sure you'd sing it better, but sure…" he beamed, sitting down and pulling chair to her bedside.

"Might even be fun if we get to stay tonight…" she noted. "Like that other time when we slept together after I had that little accident with my mothers' helpers."

"I don't like to remember that…" he noted. "I mean the sex was great but…I thought I might lose you. That was the first time I got nervous about the drugs and realized how much you'd started to drink."

"It was when Beth told me about the whole 'clone' thing. And the killings in Europe…And I was so scared and afraid you might leave me cause…I…Was…A…Freak…" she wept.

"Ally…Never…" he stood and embraced her on the bed. "I'd never have thought you were a freak…A freakin' pain in the ass sometimes…" grin at her teary smile. "But never a freak. Heck, you being a clone is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me outside of you saying 'yes' to me."

"Oh, please…" she mock-pouted, pleased. "I practically had to ask you."

"Well…I never thought you'd take me on. A girl like you, who, but for her mother, could have had anyone."

"I was…Rather the high school princess…" she archly noted.

"Queen of the campus, high school and college. And the wildest, coolest girl there…"

"Sarah and Cosima would never believe that… 'Oi, was it a nunnery or a bible college?' Sarah would say."

"Well…Much as you love them, they don't know you like Donald H. knows you, Mrs. H." he beamed.

"So you do…Oooh, Hendrix…" she raised up to kiss him.

"You.. Know, Donnie. So the day won't be a total loss. If we did get to stay overnight again, even though this is nothing serious…At the most expensive suite we've ever had, like you called it before…" coy smile.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't leave…And I'm not overly fond of the couch." He noted.

"…that is anything…Anything…Like a dame…" the chorus concluded on screen.

"I do wish…" he began, carefully…She eyeing him… "You'd be a little more honest with me."

She stared at him…

"You didn't exaggerate that last cramping to get us in here faster like you claimed." He eyed her sternly. "You were really hurting…"

"I exaggerated a little…" she tried. "It was kinda bad, but not terribly bad…"

"Just don't try to protect me, Ally. I want to help…I know I'm likely to stumble around but I can help if you'll just keep me informed."

"That sounds like monitor speak…" she frowned.

"Well, I am, in a way, your monitor…I mean…" he put a hand up… "And you're mine. But just to extent we can use Dyad if it can help you."

"You haven't called Dyad…" she looked at him.

"No, absolutely not. I wouldn't do that…Unless, with your permission…If this got serious and these slow-moving idiots…" he glared out of the station. "Can't help you."

"Ok." She nodded.

"Really?" he stared. "You mean it?"

"If I'm getting bad and you think there's no option, you can call Dyad. You have my permission." She eyed him.

"Now you're scaring me…" he admitted, worried look.

"I don't mean I'm feeling that way now. But I owe it to you and the kids not to let any chance be overlooked. But only if I say or I'm really bad, Donnie. And check with Sarah or Cosima first. Make sure they think it's safe."

"Ok." He gave careful stare…

"Delphine Cormier is in Dr. Leekie's place there now, Rachel's injured…It's reasonably safe."

Apart from them trying to kill us all the other night…She thought. Startled as Donnie rose, calling loudly to a passing nurse… "Hey! Could we possibly see a doctor here before midnight, my wife's very ill?!"

"We get to you as soon as we can sir…There are more critical patients." the nurse noted to his frown, continuing on.

"Donnie, really…I'm feeling ok now, except my joints hurt a bit…" Ally hissed.

"And your feet are swollen…" he eyed her. "Look, I think you must be retaining fluid or something?"

She stared down to see that her feet had indeed swelled to nearly twice their normal size. Blinking at him, a frightened look…

"Ok, that's it!" Donnie hurried into the exam rooms hallway. "Hey, we have a potentially fatal allergic reaction here! You wanna get someone in here or should I call my lawyer?! Hey!"

…..

Dyad Institute, Medical High-Level Containment…

Just outside Rachel's rather large new room…A wall between two having hastily removed but for support columns.

Chad Norris now with Drs. Nealon, Leekie, and Cormier, being careful not to be too cocky about having been more or less proven right in his hypotheses.

At Dyad, no one likes a smart ass and no one has better ways to deal with one…

"All right…We have extremely rapid spurts of accelerated general growth, that do not as yet seem to focus on any one area or type of tissue." Leekie noted. "Bone, hair, skin, organs all seem to be growing at the same rate, suggesting this is a genetic affect of the clone genome. However we have noted the spurts appear to be preceded by severe joint pain and we've see elevated levels of adrenalin, estrogen, neurotransmitter including serotonin, various other hormones, even above what would be expected with the increase in size, particularly adrenalin."

"It can't be strictly regenerative, or the damaged eye would be showing signs of repair…" Delphine noted.

"I concur…" Nealon nodded. "I will point out though that we need a full genetic analysis."

"Which is being done as we speak." Delphine noted. "Dr. Norris, you first noted the possible implications of this some time ago? Why has it taken so long and what might be triggering it?"

"Well…" Chad pondered. "I'd thought initially it might be related to some life event…We don't really know how fast the clones…Our subjects…Will age. Despite their appearance their cellular age could be much greater."

"There's no evidence in the early reports of telomerase degeneration…" Nealon stated, eyeing the young punk ex-and now restored pet of Leekie's he'd thought had had his head handed to him by Rachel a few years ago. Now cock of the walk, everyone hanging on his words.

"No, I believe this is strictly caused by a problem with the Duncan synthetics." Chad noted. "My work confirmed that there had been substantial activity of the two sequences I located using my random hunting."

"And the growth spurts in Rachel…These are the only recorded?"

"So far…" Norris nodded.

"Uh…" Aldous, hand raised.

"You've seen this?" Delphine eyed him. "And you didn't mention it?"

"Not really…But there were some very early signs in Jennifer when she died." Leekie sighed.

"If only Ethan were here…" Delphine sighed. "He might be able to give us an insight."

"Sadly, he is not. We must proceed on our own…" Leekie pointed out. "Perhaps you should alert Cosima to this. She could have some good insights of her own here."

"A bit of a violation of protocols here, isn't it, Aldous?" Nealon eyed him.

"Ten security guards, four nurses have seen her and the entire staff have heard her. I doubt bringing in one more brilliant scientist with a detailed knowledge of the genome and an excellent sample source would create any serious additional breeches, Nealon."

"Cosima's still quite ill…Maybe over the net or in a day or two?" Delphine suggested.

"We may not have a day…With Rachel." Aldous noted. "She's grown an additional five feet in general following what seemed to be a joint event."

"But at some point the size increases have to stop, it's unsustainable." Delphine argued.

"So far there's been no sign of a limit being reached." Aldous shrugged.

"Are you suggesting she'll just keep growing?" Nealon eyed him.

"There's a likely stopping point, but I've no idea where that might be." Aldous replied. "If you do, enlighten us and win that Nobel, you've been lusting after. Though Topside would of course have you either fired and discredited or shot, for violating your confidentiality agreement."

"I think…" Chad cut in.

"Yes, Dr. Norris? What else…Enlighten us." Nealon, a bit sneering…

"I think we'd better evacuate…" Chad noted, pointing to the huge hand now nearly blocking the doorway to Rachel's room.

"Mon…Dieu…" Delphine. "She must be over forty feet now."

"Fifty, I'd say." Aldous noted.

"ALDOUS! I WANT ALDOUS!" Loud shriek…

Nealon a bit downcast…

True, I did abandon her immediately in my deal with Cormier but, that was just business…Survival business. I thought she and I really had something going there working together on the Manning thing.

Hmmn…I see no one's told Nealon about Rachel's latest boyfriend, Ferdinand, yet…Delphine eyed him.

"ALLLLDDDDOUUUSS! HELP ME!" Slight pathos on the end…

The others eyeing Leekie…Who grinned slightly and started for the room door.

"Aldous, maybe we'd better try another injection first…" Delphine urged. "Her state is quite emotional."

"It's fine…You can't kill a man who's already dead, Delphine." He noted. "Rachel? Sweetheart, could you move your hand just a bit?" he called into the room. "Thanks, dear." As the hand moved back.

"And thanks for the concern, Dr. Cormier…" he smiled at her briefly, then went in. "Rachel? How are we feeling…?" his voice from inside.

He was the bravest of bold pioneers…Nealon began composing his remarks for the reporters…

All straining to hear the conversation, which for some reason had become a rather low one, especially given Rachel's new vocal ability. She was…Whispering…? Unable to keep her voice truly to a whisper of course but definitely incoherent out in the hall.

Leekie emerging a moment later… "We've a bit of a problem…" he noted.

"Is she enraged and meaning to kill us all?" Norris eyed him.

Nealon eyeing and calculating the time needed to reach the elevat…No, stairs…Always take the stairs in an emergency…

"Uh, no…She needs to pee." Aldous explained.