Some of this chapter is condensed because (sadly) we can't spend too long the moment. Hopefully it's easy to follow.

Chapter 11 - The Ambiguous

Logan

I stood in front of the surveillance screen again, focused the huddle of blankets where I knew she was buried, crying. Again. Because of what I'd done.

She pushed and pulled me all over that white line in the dirt, telling me she wanted me, telling me to touch her. Making me believe in things that could never be. I had to keep telling myself that this was purely transactional. Although I wanted it to be more, more than my one-week-of-the-month of visitation rights. How could I show her it wasn't like that? That she meant way more to me than some conquest.

With Marie in my arms, lying beneath me, cheeks flushed sweet pink and lust-hazed eyes connected with mine, everything felt so right. I hoped that image stayed with me for as long as I lived.

We'd made love for the seventh day running and I was just as confused as ever. At the end of the fertile period of her ovulation cycle, I was directed to other menial tasks while we awaited results. The time apart would do us some good, maybe allow us both to heal a little before we went back to tearing each other apart.

So when Striker informed me implantation had been successful, I didn't know whether I was upset or relived. Obviously, I was going to miss her, crave her. But my official duties had come to an end and I was no longer obligated to pay her visits.

Not even a few hours later, I was at her door.

"Are you seriously knocking?" Came her exasperated voice from the other side. Not like she could let me in.

When the door slid open she raised her tear-stained face a few inches off the pillow to glare at me before turning the other way.

"Marie?" I whispered, stepping behind her, "How you doing?"

"Awful." She managed to croak. I reached out a hand and placed it on her quivering shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

Her reply was a sob.

"I was just coming to let you know…"

"I already know! I've been puking my guts up all morning!"

The suppression serum they had been using had been modified with my genetics and it seemed it sped the all of the natural processes along. With my healing ability, the foetus would be extremely resilient and fast-growing, which unfortunately meant more trouble for Marie. Growing a baby at more than double the normal rate would be draining for her even with the right nutrients.

"Sweetheart, If there's anything…"

She suddenly bolted upright, whipping around to face me.

"You know what I'd love? For you to just leave me the fuck alone! And stop with the endearments, I am not your 'sweetheart'!", she wiped tears of anger from the corners of her eyes. "And I really really want a fucking cheeseburger, okay!"

Backing out of the room and leaving a clearly hormonal Marie to her own devices, I tried to push down the overwhelming guilt that threatened to flood over and consume me. Although I understood I only been fulfilling my task, only following orders, what I'd done was morally wrong on so many levels. Kidnap, imprisonment, coercion, sexual abuse and forced impregnation. Each one of those offenses would have earned me life.

No amount of apologizing could make up for that. Nothing would erase what had happened, what I'd done. It made me sick to my stomach. There was no justification. Not even that I loved her.

I drove twenty-five miles to the nearest town and returned with a cheeseburger, depositing it through the flap specifically designed for meal transfers.

From then on, I'd bring her one each day at noon. And though out the afternoons, when I could risk sneaking a glance, I'd watch her eat them little by little.

Weeks rolled by like this with seemly no change, until Striker instructed me to collect the subject and escort her to the medical bay for a few check-ups.

I had to fight the urge to take Marie into my arms and kiss her. Pale and tired-looking, she shot me a resigned look before stepping out and muttering, "Lead the way." The over-large scrubs she wore, rolled up at the waist and hanging loosely over her midsection, hid any physical changes but her scent was distinctly different. Enough for any feral to realize she'd been claimed.

"How'd you feel?" I asked as she followed.

"Lousy." She countered.

The rest of the way was taken in silence.

Impersonal doctors took blood samples, performed physicals and did and internal inspection of a humiliated Marie while Striker and other relevant team members viewed the theatrics from a glass-fronted unit. I sent Victor a snarl while he looked on with lecherous intent.

Then a portable unit was whipped out of a nearby cupboard and Marie's naked belly was exposed, covered in clear jelly and smooshed with a probe. The attached screen flickered to life with a black-and-white grainy image. The technician rolled the probe around for a few moments, and there on the screen, encased in a dark bubble, was what looked like the imprint of a tiny alien growing inside Marie's belly. Fully formed, its head was larger than that of what I expected, but it had legs and arms, even fingers that seemed to wiggle.

I glanced at Marie in alarm, to see her expression was soft, almost smiling as she viewed the miniature human she was carrying within her.

"Hi, baby." She whispered, so imperceptibly I knew I was the only one to have heard it.

I placed a hand on Marie's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, reassuring her. From being the glass, my eyes connected with Striker's.

As they performed a few other tests on Marie, Striker pulled me into a bay down the end and pulled the gauze curtain across for some privacy.

"Howlett… I'm concerned you're getting too close to the subject."

My gaze fixed on the wall behind him, I replied "No, Sir."

He surveyed me for a few seconds before continuing.

"I'd appreciate if you could limit your interactions with her. It'll only complicate matters when it gets to stage two."

"Stage two?" Involuntarily, I turned to look at him. We hadn't discussed what would happen after this ordeal was over. I assumed, if the experiment went well, they would want to repeat it. If not, then maybe she would be allowed to leave. I should have known Striker would have an ulterior motive.

"We'd want a diverse army; skilled in many areas. Breed out the less-desirable traits; insubordination, stubbornness, emotion…" he paused, probably to take in how those words affected me. "Intellect." I tried to keep my face passive.

"Stage two will involve different pairings, mixing the gene pool. I'm sure we can find a lot more suitable young women. They'll be plenty to go around, if that's your concern."

My jaw flexed instinctively.

"I know there's been a lot of bad feeling amongst the men. Jealously, perhaps? I chose you because between your track record and your abilities, your eugenics were the strongest. The most virile. And I was sure you wouldn't let me down."

"And I haven't."

He smiled at me in a knowing way that really got my back up.

"Not yet, solider. Not yet."