This Isn't Personal
It seemed to take ages for the doctor to finally enter his room, but really it was probably just a few minutes. Barry heard a soft click from the door as it was unlocked and Dr. Norstad entered the room.
"Good morning, Barry," Dr. Norstad said cheerfully.
"Morning," Barry said stiffly without smiling.
He really wished these people would stop being so god damned cheerful. The situation was bad enough without them all being so falsely smiley about it.
"Alright," Dr. Norstad said, clapping his hands together, "Well, I'm going to walk you through all of this step by step as we go, rather than overwhelm you by telling you everything at once."
"I'd rather know everything ahead of time," Barry responded instantly.
"Okay," the beta doctor said, giving Barry a somewhat uneasy look, "Well, basically there are three main stages to this type of assistive breeding. The first stage is the heat stimulation stage or what we call your preheat treatments. It is going to consist of hormonal treatments, sexual stimulation, aromatherapy, and detoxification from all those nasty suppressants you've been taking over the years. We're also going to monitor your diet and encourage you to exercise to ensure that your body is healthy and ready to carry your baby."
Barry took a deep breath, taking all of this in.
"And the other two stages?" he asked nervously.
"I won't go into full detail of the other two stages yet, but next would be the breeding or heat stage, and lastly your post-heat period. You will be going through daily physical exams and other tests throughout the entire process."
"What kinds of tests?" Barry asked, wanting to know everything they were going to be doing to him.
"Let's just start with the physical," the doctor said gently, "And we'll see where we go from there. Come with me, Mr. Allen."
He led Barry out of the room and down the hallway to the examination room that the receptionist had pointed out earlier. Really, it didn't look much different than the exam room that Barry normally went to in the wellness center part of the building. The room was just slightly larger and seemed to be better stocked.
"Have a seat, Barry," Dr. Norstad said kindly.
Barry did as he was told, sitting on the edge of the examination table. Dr. Norstad started with the usual basic vital assessments. He took Barry's pulse and blood pressure, listened to his heart and lung sounds, and took his temperature and oxygen level readings.
"Your blood pressure and pulse are a little higher than usual," the doctor said, furrowing his eyebrows as he wrote down his readings, "Are you nervous, Barry?"
"Only a little bit," Barry said somewhat sarcastically.
Of course he was fucking nervous! He was completely at their mercy now, and they were going to put him through whatever tests and whatever procedures they wanted. They were going to breed him against his will. They were going to rape him.
"You don't have to be afraid, Barry," Dr. Norstad said kindly, "We won't let any harm come to you here."
Barry nodded, but really he didn't feel any better upon hearing these words. The OHF claimed they cared about his wellbeing, but Barry knew that wasn't true. They didn't care about the omegas themselves, but rather the children they would be bearing. They didn't care about him. They just wanted to use him as an incubation vessel. To them, he was just a bitch to be bred and nothing more.
"Lay back for me please, Mr. Allen," the doctor directed.
Barry complied, scooting back on the examination table and laying back on it. The doctor lifted up his shirt to expose his stomach.
"When was the last time you ate, Barry?" Dr. Norstad asked, pulling out his stethoscope.
"Not since last night," Barry said truthfully, "I didn't have much of an appetite."
The doctor gave him a reproachful look but thankfully he didn't say anything as he placed his stethoscope to Barry's stomach. After listening for about a minute, he hung his stethoscope back around his neck and then placed two hands on Barry's stomach.
"Let me know if anything hurts," the doctor instructed as he started to palpate Barry's abdomen.
When he was finished with his abdominal assessment, he told Barry he could sit up as he wrote down his findings.
"Barry, do you want to tell me why your scent is different?" the doctor asked after he had finished writing.
"My scent?"
"I'm a beta, and even I can sense the change," the doctor said seriously, "It's a lot more potent now. Why did it change, Barry?"
Barry stared at him for a moment. He knew his scent was a lot stronger now, but he was surprised that a beta was able to notice it so easily, especially a beta whom he only ever saw once a month.
"I stopped taking my suppressants a few weeks ago," Barry told him.
His doctor's lips went from a subtle frown to a wide smile within seconds.
"That's fantastic news, Mr. Allen!" he said happily, "I've been telling you for years to get off that garbage. I'm so happy you decided to go clean!"
"Yeah, well," Barry muttered, "I figured I'd have to be off them eventually anyways."
"Very true," Dr. Norstad said, still smiling as he wrote in Barry's chart, "You're ahead of the game now, Barry. Getting you off of those nasty suppressants and contraceptives was one of the first steps. Naturally, you're still going through detox and withdrawal then?"
Barry nodded with a grimace.
"The headaches have been the worst," he told him, "And I can't seem to concentrate on anything anymore."
"The side effects of suppressant withdrawal should wear off within a few weeks," Dr. Norstad said dismissively, "Your body is just readjusting to going back into its natural heat cycle after years of suppressant abuse. How long has it been since you stopped your suppressant regimen?"
Barry hated the way how Dr. Norstad acted as if he was some sort of junkie. Using suppressants was completely normal, and it didn't make him a drug addict or anything. The OHF acted like it wasn't normal, but really, most unbonded omegas were on the stuff, and Barry refused to let the OHF make him feel guilty about using it.
"I stopped taking them about two weeks ago," Barry answered stiffly.
"That's great, Barry," his doctor said happily, "We'll monitor your blood levels, and once it's all completely out of your system, we'll be able to properly prepare you for your heat cycle."
Barry took a deep, shaky breath. He was nervous about going into heat. He hadn't allowed his body to go through a true heat cycle in almost five years. He hardly even remembered what they were like. All he remembered about them was the feeling of desperation, the maddening need to feel satisfied, to be touched, to be knotted. He wasn't looking forward to feeling that kind of desperation again.
"I'm just going to ask you a few questions now, Barry," Dr. Norstad said, "I need you to be completely honest with me. That is extremely important."
He fixed Barry with a serious, knowing gaze. Barry blushed and looked down. Barry and his doctor both knew that Barry often lied during his regular health screenings, usually about his diet and his lifestyle. That sort of thing. Neither of them ever really said anything out loud about it, but they both knew that Barry had been lying to him for years.
"Have you ever been pregnant before, Barry?" his doctor asked.
"No."
"Is there a chance that you are pregnant now?"
"No," Barry said, swallowing, "I…I just took a pregnancy test a few days ago. I'm not pregnant."
His doctor stared at him, surveying Barry with a slightly confused, serious look on his face.
"When was the last time you had sexual intercourse, Mr. Allen?" he asked, "Have you mated within the last two months?"
"Yes," Barry said, looking at the floor.
Dr. Norstad gave Barry a stern look but thankfully didn't pass any judgement on him.
"Did you use contact precautions?" he asked, "Or just your oral contraceptives?"
"Neither," Barry answered quietly.
His doctor blinked at him.
"Were you attempting an unbonded conception on your own, Mr. Allen?" he asked after a moment.
"Yes," Barry answered, unabashed, his jaw set in defiance.
His doctor shook his head at him.
"Barry," he said seriously, "Have I not educated you on the dangers of an omega engaging in unprotected sex with an unbonded partner?"
"Well, you people wanted me to get pregnant!" Barry said defensively, "So that's what I tried to do."
"Mr. Allen, the OHF would never encourage an omega to engage in reckless behavior such as mating with an alpha without bonding first. At least, not without being under the supervision of medical professionals. Assisted knotting should only be done in a medical setting, Barry, and omegas should never try to take it upon themselves to—"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it!" Barry said angrily, "Sorry if I didn't exactly want to be strapped down and raped with a bunch of doctors watching!"
Barry breathed heavily as the doctor stared at him, shocked by his outburst.
"Barry, we do our best here to make our assisted knotting services as painless and easy as possible, both for the breeders and for the omegas under our care," Dr. Norstad said carefully, "Also, the doctors do not watch during that particular part of the process, unless we suspect some sort of sexual dysfunction is occurring that would require our observation and assessment."
"I know," Barry said, his voice laced with anger, "I've been told that already. Instead of watching, you guys just leave the room and let the alpha do whatever he wants."
The doctor sighed.
"I assure you, Mr. Allen, our breeding staff have been trained and are highly aware of how to take care of our omega clients. I know that you aren't being given much of a choice here, but I promise you that the whole thing goes a lot smoother if you do your best to cooperate with us."
With that, the doctor moved on from the subject, returning to asking Barry all of his personal questions. After they had gone through Barry's medical history, which really wasn't all that different from when he went in for a normal checkup, the doctor asked Barry to lie back again.
"Can you unbutton your pants, Barry?" the doctor asked him.
Barry did as he was told, and, because he knew it was what he was going to be asked to do next, he lifted his hips and pulled his pants completely off, boxers and all. As awkward as it was to be naked from the waist down in front of someone, Barry was somewhat used to this. He went through perineal exams all the time during his usual checkups.
"Please put your legs up on these," Dr. Norstad instructed as he lifted up the stirrups that were attached to the examination table.
Barry lifted his legs into the stirrups. He always hated this. He felt so degraded and exposed.
He tensed when the doctor touched him, inspecting his most private and intimate parts. He supposed he would have to get used to it though. There were going to be a lot more moments like this one.
"Relax, Barry," the doctor said as he gently inserted a gloved finger into Barry's entrance.
Barry did his best to relax so the whole thing could go smoother, but he was a tightly wound ball of nerves.
"You feel surprisingly tight, Mr. Allen, compared to most male omegas I've examined," Dr. Norstad said after a moment, removing his gloves and stepping away to write something down on his clipboard, "Tell me, how often do you self-pleasure?"
Barry blushed as he sat up from the table.
"Not very often," he said, "I mean, I do every once in a while but not regularly or anything."
Dr. Norstad raised an eyebrow.
"Even with all of the sexuality counseling I prescribed for you?"
Barry looked down at the floor.
"I don't know," he said, "I guess it's not really for me."
"You know, if you had allowed your body to actually go through a heat cycle every now and again, your libido probably would have been a lot stronger."
Barry didn't say anything in reply. He wasn't going to humor the doctor by defending himself, and he certainly wasn't going to apologize for using suppressants. He couldn't believe how fucked up this whole thing was. They were going to breed him against his will, and they were trying to make him feel guilty? They could all go to hell.
The doctor ran several more tests and scans, drawing blood and performing abdominal ultrasounds and MRIs, doing a full fertility assessment.
"Well, Mr. Allen," Dr. Norstad said when he was done, "You seem to be in good health, and as far as I can tell, you're incredibly fertile. Once you go into your heat, I think it's safe to say your chances of conception are strong."
"Good," Barry said flatly, "When can we get started?"
He wanted to get this all over with as soon as possible. The sooner he went into heat, the sooner he would be bred and on his way home.
"We can start right now," the doctor said happily, mistaking Barry's impatience for enthusiasm, "I'm going to give you a couple injections that should help speed up your cycle."
"What are you giving me?" Barry asked nervously, watching the doctor draw up a clear substance from the vial.
"Just some hormone supplements," he said, "They should help with your cycle and your libido."
So basically they were going to turn him into a hormonal, emotional, horny omega, Barry thought bitterly. That's just perfect. He didn't object, though, as the doctor gave him the hormone injections. He could put up with being turned into a stereotypical omega for a few days. He would deal with it if it meant it got him pregnant faster.
"Okay, Mr. Allen," the doctor said, "We're going to be starting with some mild sexual stimulation then to help stimulate your cycle."
"Already?" Barry asked.
It was only the first day, and they were diving right in.
"It will be mild," the doctor promised, "We have a great alpha who specializes in this for the early stage. I'll be handing you off to your counselor now. She'll be going over the details with you."
He led Barry down the hall then to another new room. It was just a small office with a desk and two chairs. A woman entered the room then, closing the door softly behind her. She was younger and had a kind face, and unlike the receptionist, she didn't have a fake smile plastered to her face.
She did offer him a small smile as she sat down behind the desk across from him, but it wasn't super cheerful or anything. If anything, it was sympathetic.
"Can I call you Barry?" she asked him, "Or do you prefer Mr. Allen?"
"Barry is fine," Barry answered her.
"Okay, Barry," she said with a small smile, "I'm Jenny Harmon. I'm one of the staff psychologists."
Barry tried his best not to make a face. He had always hated psychologists. He had seen several shrinks after his dad had been put away, and then he had been seeing the OHF sexual counselor for a few years now. He still had yet to have a positive experience with any psychologist he came across.
"I'm not a sexual psychologist," Jenny said, as if reading his mind, "I'm here more for your emotional wellbeing. I know this is a difficult process to go through, and I'm here to help you through it any way that I can. Some omegas struggle with this experience more than others, and I've been informed that you've been less than enthusiastic about it."
"Why would I be at all enthusiastic about it?" Barry asked incredulously, "Why would anyone?"
"Some omegas really like the Assisted Knotting Program," she told him, "It gives them the opportunity to have children even if they're not ready to bond with anyone yet."
Barry didn't say anything. He was definitely not one of those people. He didn't want to do any of this.
"Male omegas tend to struggle with the concept more than females," she said gently, "My brother is an omega, and he felt very much the same way you do."
Barry raised his eyebrows.
"Your brother is an omega?" he asked, "And yet you work for the OHF?"
She laughed lightly.
"He always saw the OHF as a bad thing too," she said, "But really, the OHF is just here to help, and he saw that with time. He fully supports my career choice now."
She cleared her throat then.
"But we should really get back to you, though," Jenny said, "The point I'm trying to make is that although I have some firsthand experience with this and I've worked with many male omegas that have been through the same thing you're going through, I still know that every person's situation is different, and I'm not going to pretend to fully understand how you're feeling right now. I can only try to imagine what this must be like for you, and I'm going to try to help you any way I can."
"You're going to try to convince me that the OHF is good?" Barry asked.
"That's up for you to decide," she told him, "You won't see me acting like this is some great positive experience if you don't feel that way about it. There won't be any fake pretenses about this being a beautiful journey that you're going through because the truth is that it's not all beautiful. Parts of it can be, but other parts of it can be quite ugly, and I'm going to be straight with you about everything."
"Thanks," Barry said quietly.
He actually was grateful for it. She was the first OHF employee he had met that wasn't all falsely smiley about this whole process, and she seemed to really mean it when she said that she was going to be straight with him about everything. He found her honesty refreshing.
"So," she said, pulling out several papers, "It looks like you're going to be starting some light stimulation today."
"What exactly does that mean?" Barry asked wearily, "What does 'light stimulation' include?"
"It's nothing too intense," she told him quickly, "It's mostly just exposure therapy. We'll be assigning you to one of our alphas, and you two will both be getting to know each other's scents and bodies. The hormones you've been given should help, and they should make your body highly sensitive. Your file says that you're nearing heat, so this should work rather well. The orientation alpha we assigned you to isn't in rut, so the whole thing should be well controlled. There will be some touching and stimulation at first, followed by some mild penetration. The alpha will release in you, but there will be no knot. We won't have anyone knotting you until your body has adjusted."
Barry's hands clenched into fists in his lap. None of that sounded too mild to him. Even without a knot, he was still going to be having intercourse on his very first day here. If that was their definition of 'mild' then Barry dreaded to see what else they had in store for him.
"Do I get to meet my alpha first?" he asked quietly.
Jenny shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but we don't allow for much personal interaction between our alpha employees and our omega clients outside of the breeding room," she said, "This is just your orientation alpha. You'll be getting different alphas later."
"Alphas?" Barry asked suddenly, shocked by her plural use of the word, "You mean I'm going to be bred by more than one alpha?"
"Of course," she said, "We utilize our entire team of alpha staff when it comes to impregnating an omega. They all will be involved in your heat stimulation and breeding sessions."
Upon seeing the appalled look he was giving her, Jenny continued.
"A variety of different alpha scents and pheromones should help increase your chances of conception," she explained.
"This is sick," Barry spat, "After all the bullshit you guys have been telling me about how improper it is for an omega to mate with someone other than their mate, now you're going to have multiple alphas lining up to knot me?!"
"This isn't personal, Barry," Jenny said gently, "This is a controlled, clinical environment. It's not the same. Going through the Assisted Knotting Program doesn't make you…slutty or promiscuous or…"
"Oh, my God!" Barry said angrily, "That's not what I was saying at all! I know that I'm not a slut for being here. How can I be when I'm here against my will?! What I'm saying is that I feel as though I'm being whored out to a bunch of disgusting alphas who making a living out of raping helpless omegas."
"This isn't rape, Barry," Jenny assured him quickly, "It's not—"
"YES, IT IS!" Barry shouted, tears forming in his eyes, "Just because I'm not physically fighting back, it doesn't mean this is at all consensual! I'm still here against my will! I'm still going to be bred when I don't want to be! I'm not ready for a baby right now, and you people are forcing one onto me!"
"Barry," she said gently, "If you don't feel ready to raise a child, I'm always able to discuss with you multiple adoption options. There's a high demand for male omega-birthed babies, and I'm sure we could find a nice beta couple who would be more than happy to—"
"I'm not going to give up my child!" Barry said incredulously, "I said that I wasn't ready for a baby, not that I didn't want one. I would still keep the baby. There's no way in hell that I would let some strangers raise my kid!"
"We can discuss all of this once you've been bred," Jenny said quietly, "I will evaluate your mental health, and together, we'll decide if you're in the right state of mind to be a father to your—"
"What does that mean?!" Barry asked angrily, "Are you…are you saying that I might not have a choice in the matter?! That you people might actually take my child away from me once it's born?!"
Jenny let out a heavy sigh.
"Some omegas simply aren't fit to be parents," she said simply, "It's not common, but there have been a few cases in which the OHF felt the need to step in and—"
"I'm leaving," Barry said venomously, "I'm not doing this. I'm not going to let you people use my body as an incubation vessel just to have you take my child away. It's sick. I'm not doing this. I'm leaving right now!"
"You can't leave," Jenny said calmly.
"The hell I can't!" Barry yelled, "I checked myself in; I can check myself out. I don't care about these fucking omega laws! I'm not going to go through with this!"
Barry saw Jenny then reach under her desk for something, but she didn't grab anything. It wasn't until her shaky hand returned to the desktop again that Barry realized she had pressed a button there.
"What are you doing?" he asked her angrily.
"I'm sorry, Barry," she said in a strained voice, "But our therapy session is over for today."
Just then, the door to the small office opened, and two large beta men walked in.
"No!" Barry yelled, when they grabbed him and pulled him from his chair, "Let go of me! Let me go! Let me leave! I'm not staying here!"
"We can't let you leave, Barry," Jenny said sadly.
"I thought you said this wasn't rape," Barry spat at her as he fought against the two betas, "If it wasn't before, then it fucking is now!"
Jenny didn't say anything as the two men pulled Barry out of the room. Barry dug his heals into the floor as they pushed him down the hallway towards the stimulation room. He did everything he could. He fought, screamed, kicked and clawed, but the two larger men maintained their grasp on him easily. They seemed to be well-experienced in this sort of thing. Barry must not have been the only omega to fight back.
It wasn't until now that Barry realized just how powerless over the situation he really was. He had absolutely no control over anything right now. He never did. He had only had the illusion of control. He couldn't simply choose not to go through with this, and no matter how hard he fought, this was really going to happen to him.
He was going to be bred.
