Chapter 6: Positive
Vincent Valentine:
I woke early on the morning of the next day. Tonight would be the forty-eight hour mark from the time of the intercourse. Hojo's high tech test were said to be able to determine a pregnancy forty eight hours after conception. I unfolded the small paper with the instructions written on it. Of course being one of Hojo's creations, it was much more complicated than to just urinate on the device. I hated the thought of violating Aubre any further but I had to make sure this was done right. How did I know I could truly trust her anyhow? She could easily take the test privately and report it as a negative just so that I would uphold my promise and get her out of here. In all honesty, as much as I do want to change the way I live, I'm not quite sure I have enough courage at the moment to give my life for anyone even if it doesn't mean anything to me. Who knows what insane method Hojo has for killing.
I waited around for Aubre to awake before ordering breakfast. She finally emerged from the bedroom around nine-thirty.
"French toast again?" I asked her with a light smile. She gave a nod and brushed past me into the kitchen for a glass of orange juice.
Surprisingly when the food arrived she moved over towards the kitchen table showing me she intended to sit down with me to eat. I was glad we could act civil around one another, but I knew I didn't deserve any of her cooperation.
Aubre Nalluri:
Vincent sat my plate down in front of me and took a seat across from me. He looked a bit uneasy again this morning. Not once did his eyes rest on mine. He didn't make any efforts of conversation or information on our current situation at all so I spoke first.
"Is Hojo going to test me for pregnancy soon?" I asked softly. For a few seconds Vincent didn't act like he had heard me then he cleared his throat and took a drink of his water before answering.
"No..I have the tests. Tonight I'm supposed to.." I thought I saw a slight blush cross his pale cheeks under the ebony, jagged locks that rested on them.
I tilted my head to the side, completely confused at what he could be so flustered about. All I have to do is pee on a stick. "I'm pretty sure I can handle testing myself."
Vincent didn't say anything for a while. "Hojo's tests are much different."
I almost spit out my orange juice. "Like how?"
"You'll see." He said before quickly collecting his half eaten breakfast and emptying in the trash. He hurried out of the room leaving me to finish my food alone.
After I ate, I returned to the bedroom and rested on the bed while listening to the new radio I had Vincent get me. I was surprised at how much better my favorite station came in up here than it did at home. Hearing the familiar tunes reminded me of home and my friends. Cloud was surely in Midgar now training for SOLDIER. I wondered if he had ever thought about me since that night I was kidnapped. Before long it was lunch time, and finally it was dinner.
I chose to eat with Vincent again, once more making him very uncomfortable. I wondered if the test was going to hurt me or something. After the terribly silent dinner, Vincent summoned me into the bathroom. His eyes were on the small sheet of paper as he spoke to me. "Could you remove your.."
My face heated very quickly as I pulled down my grey pants and underwear and sat down on the cold lip of the toilet. Vincent knelt down in front of me holding the nearly five inch green stick. The very end was metal and looked a bit sharp. The top part near Vincent's hand had a little screen on it. I looked down at Vincent.
"Is it going to hurt?" I asked shielding my private area with my hand as he looked up at me, making eye contact for the first time today.
"If it's too much, tell me and I'll stop." He said softly before fully sitting down on the floor, cross legged. He gently grabbed my knee with his free hand and pushed my leg back. I took the hint and spread both my legs further for him, removing my hand. He kept his hand on my upper thigh as he inserted the test with his other hand. I closed my eyes and bit my lip as I felt him push the device deeper inside me and began scraping at my insides. It did hurt, but it wasn't severe. He continued this for about a minute then removed the test once he saw the screen light up with its answer.
Vincent sighed loudly and fell back against the side of the bathtub. I couldn't tell from this reaction whether the test was positive or not so I bent forward to look. All I needed to see was the first letter and there it was..P. I shuddered.
Vincent shoved his face into his hands, digging his fingers into his scalp. I quickly pulled my underwear and pants back up while his face was hidden. I then sat down on the floor next to him and took the test out of his hand reading the full word. I let the light instrument fall from my hands and hit the floor.
"It's ok, Vincent." I said stammering slightly. "This is the desired result, right? Your job is done."
He sniffed and I looked over to see a tear rolling down his pale cheek. "What have I done?" he whispered.
"You've only done your job." I said resting a hand on his shoulder. Seeing him cry like this earned him a great deal of respect from me. As we sat in silence a little longer I began to shed a few of my own tears thinking of what was to come.
Vincent Valentine:
After taking a few minutes to compose myself, I stood and extended my hand out to her. She took it and I gently pulled her to her feet as well. We stood facing each other for a while. I didn't know what was appropriate to say or what I was allowed to do.
"We must report to Hojo first thing in the morning." I said dropping my eyes to the floor. I heard her sigh softly. I brushed past her and headed back to the couch I'd grown so used to sulking on. I heard the door to the bedroom close and sighed with relief knowing I wouldn't have to face her the rest of the night. I was also relieved that my empty promise wasn't exposed.
Morning came quickly. After breakfast Aubre and I cleaned up and headed down to Hojo's secret lab. As we past by the windows in the hall of the mansion I watched Aubre's face light up. It had indeed been a while since she'd seen the light of day. I paused briefly by the window with her. "We might also ask him if it'd be alright for us to go out sometime."
"Please do." She said. "It would make time past faster."
"Hm." I nodded. "And we can get you back to your family safely. I'm sure your father's very worried." We continued towards the lab when I happened to glance into the open doors of the dining area. Lucrecia sat there dining with another female assistant. If anyone could make me feel better at a time like this, it would be her.
"Will you wait here one moment, please?" I turned to Aubre. She nodded and took a seat in a wooden chair that was sitting outside the door.
I cleared my throat quietly after entering the room to get Lucrecia's attention.
"Oh! Vincent! How is everything?" She brushed her hands off on the cloth in her lap before standing and placing the cloth on the table.
The assistant looked up at me with a smile and turned away giggling. Lucrecia turned and shot her a dirty look then looked back at me with a warm smile.
"Everything's fine. The girl is…pregnant." I forced the word from my mouth. I sent a look back at the doorway.
"That's great. Hojo will be pleased. I'll let him know when he gets back." She said.
"Back?" I asked.
"Oh yes, he went to Midgar today and won't return until tomorrow." I thought I saw a glint of mischief in her eyes as she spoke. I swallowed hard and felt my hands turn clammy.
"I…I see." I said as she took a step towards me and stared at me.
"You know, you look just like your father." She smiled and made me jump as she suddenly moved a lock of hair out of my face. Wait…my father?
"You know him?" I asked.
"Mm hm. Outside of Hojo's project I have a little research of my own going on. Your father's a very wise man! The next time he comes by I'll send for you. I'm sure he'd like to see you." I nodded while staring into her eyes. I don't know what it was about her that mesmerized me so. It was almost as if I'd forgotten the guilt I had previously been suffering all night.
Aubre Nalluri:
I sighed loudly wondering how long it'd been since I'd been sitting out here. I leaned over taking a peek inside the room to see Hojo's wife brushing hair out of Vincent's face in a lovingly manner. I couldn't understand why, but it pissed me off. Maybe it was because here I am pregnant with his child while he flirts around with other women. But we weren't involved.. We don't even know anything about each other. After a while another female assistant left the dinning area smirking and giggling. The first person she ran into, which was a maid, she started gossiping to. I listened closely.
"Ms Crescent is falling for one of the Turks!" she whispered loudly.
"No way, which one?!" The maid squealed.
"The tall, dark mysterious one with the blood colored eyes." The assistant said excitedly. I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly. About ten minutes later Vincent finally emerged from the dining room. He had a wide foolish smile plastered on his face.
"Would you like to go for a walk outside? Hojo's not here." He leaned up against the wall next to my chair.
I stood quickly. "No." I snapped walking back down the hallway towards the suite. Vincent was quickly at my heels.
"What's wrong?" he asked attempting to take my wrist. I slung it away from him. If he couldn't see what was wrong with this situation then maybe he didn't have good heart I thought he did. He didn't even lock our suite so I walked right in. He did lock it behind us, though. "Aubre." He said firmly.
"Don't speak to me in that tone. You aren't my father. You're nothing to me." I said harshly hurrying towards the bedroom. I slammed the door right in his face once I got inside. I threw myself on the bed and buried my face into a pillow.