A / N : Thanks cartoonlover27, LadyBender, Guest, Guest again, and Humanmetronome for the feedback!

Humanmetronome : It's possible for Fry and Lars to be alive at the same time. But Lars was supposed to die two years ago. Nibbler was right - he's doomed, he just doesn't know it yet. I can't give too much away about Fry, but I can tell you the universe isn't trying to kill him off. Getting hit by a hovercar is just his usual bad luck. (That and him not being entirely sober.)

101.

Leela peeled a second thermo-strip from her forehead and looked at the reading.

101.

She shook it, but the temperature stayed a stubborn 101.

She was running a fever. Low-grade, but still . . . it was worrying. When had it started? Was it normal? For a pregnant human? A pregnant mutant? She didn't know, and there was no-one she could ask.

The clock ticked in the empty kitchen, sounding much louder than it ever had before. The cyclops debated it, then pulled on her boots and jacket.

It was raining outside. The rain washed the dirt off the sidewalk and turned the steam from the air vents into thick gray fog. Leela walked quickly, keeping her head down until she reached the alley she normally used to access the sewers. She pried up the manhole cover with ease but found herself progressing more carefully than normal on the ladder. The rungs were slippery and the darkness yawned below her. For the first time she felt nervous. When the rusty rungs flaked beneath her boots, her heart jumped to her throat. Sewage residue squelched underfoot as she stepped off the ladder, and she wondered - for the first time - if it was healthy. Maybe coming down here hadn't been the smartest idea.

Leela was still wondering when her mother opened the door. The greenish glow of the toxic lake spilled into the doorway, softening Munda's worried face and smoothing away the years. Even the moldy, dilapidated mutant hovel looked homely in that light.

"Mom," Leela said hoarsely.

"Leela!"

Her mother pulled her into an immediate embrace. Leela sank into it gladly, letting herself be vulnerable for an instant. She usually tried to avoid that around her parents, not wanting them to think she couldn't cope. But for now it felt nice to be a child, and to be comforted by someone she didn't have to feel guilty around.

"You look tired," her mother fussed. "Are you tired? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you running a temperature?" She frowned. "Are you sick, sweetie? You look sick."

Leela sighed.

"No, Mom. But I have some news. Good news, I think. But . . . unexpected." She took a deep breath. "I know it may not be what you always imagined for me, and it's not what I imagined either, but I want you to know I'm happy with my decision, and I hope you'll support it."

Morris stuck his head around the door.

"Decision? Is this one of those 'sexual identity' decisions? Because if it is, you needn't look so worried. We're all God's creatures, that's what I say." He paused. "Although it would be a surprise. I thought you and Fry were knocking boots? Some version of Fry, anyway. I lose track."

Morris patted his daughter reassuringly on the hand, but Munda must have been frowning behind Leela's head, because his face suddenly clouded.

"Uh-oh. Did that sound judgmental, honey? I didn't mean it to sound judgmental."

Leela sighed.

"It didn't, Dad. I understand."

"Oh, good. You screw as many people as you like."

Leela coughed.

"To answer your question : no, I'm not coming out, and yes, Fry and I were . . . well, we were . . . how do I put this? I . . ."

I loved him, she thought.

"I'm pregnant," she said instead.

There was a sudden, deafening silence. Her parents stared at her. They didn't look disappointed, as far she could tell – it was more like they were shocked, or they didn't understand. Still, the longer the silence went on, the more uncomfortable Leela felt.

A tap dripped in the kitchen. In the distance, out by the West Side Pipeway, a horn blared to signal end of shift.

"Don't get too excited," Leela said awkwardly.

Her parents finally stopped staring and exchanged a look.

"I always thought you were going to adopt," her mother said carefully.

Leela reddened.

"I was. I still want to adopt someday. It'll be harder on my own, but it's something that's important to me, and I -"

"Wait a second - on your own?" Morris exploded. "Oh, no! If he's not standing by you, I'll wring his skinny surface neck. You see if I don't!"

"No!" Leela interrupted. "He doesn't even know yet, Dad. And it's not up to him." She took a deep breath. "I'm doing this on my own. If Fry wants to help, that would be nice - but I don't expect anything from him, or from Lars, and I'd appreciate it if you could respect that."

Munda's face crumpled. She extended a tentacle and touched Leela's cheek.

"We support you, Leela. Whatever you decide to do."

"Support?" Morris shook his head, his mouth working angrily. "Bah! No. I'm sorry, honey, but I don't support this. No-one should have to go through this alone. No-one! Do you know how worried your mother was the entire time she was pregnant with you? Sick with worry, and I was even more scared!"

"Morris, that's enough," Munda said sternly.

"And you hear things. See things. Crando was never the same when his wife died. And Malli and Toad . . . I wouldn't wish that choice on my worst enemy. Dead behind the eyes, both of them, like a light went out-"

"Enough, I said!"

Munda was furious. Even her normally soft tentacles had gone rigid, coiled tightly around Leela's arms. She was glaring at Morris.

"Don't you scare her like that! She's perfect, isn't she? Look at her! Flawless! And Fry, he's human. No mutant DNA in there, no matter how far back you go." She smoothed back Leela's hair. "She's our baby," she said fiercely. "And she's going to be just fine, Morris. There! Now I'm upset. You'll make me cry. Get out of here, and don't come back until you're ashamed of yourself!"

She let Leela go and pushed her husband bodily out of the room.

"I'm sorry, Leela. Don't listen to your father. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You know men – they fuss so much."

She laughed nervously and resumed her compulsive stroking of Leela's hair. She was worried, Leela realized.

"Mom. . . what are you not telling me?"

"Nothing, sweetie. Nothing at all."

"Mom!"

Munda sighed. "Oh, alright . . . it's probably best if you sit down."

Leela sat, nervousness churning up her insides.

"What is it? Tell me."

Munda sat down beside her on the couch, her tentacles writhing in her lap.

"I forgot," she said softly. "We sent you to live on the surface, and now you think like . . . well, like surface people."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Munda sighed again.

"Surface people think passing on their DNA is a good thing." She shook her head at this alien concept. "Down here it's not so simple."

There was a long silence.

"Why not?" Leela asked at last. It felt like her voice was coming from a long way off.

Munda looked up from her lap and met her daughter's gaze at last.

"Because," she said slowly. "We're mutants, Leela. And not all mutations are good. Some of them, they're . . ." She swallowed, struggling for the right words. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "We don't talk about this. It's not . . ."

Leela had gone cold.

"You're telling me the baby might be too mutated to survive." She thought of her father, talking about horrible choices. "You're telling me it might hurt me."

She felt sick with fear, but her voice was strangely calm. Matter-of-fact, really. Maybe her panic reserves had run dry, or maybe she'd lost the ability to be surprised at anything after the last couple of weeks. Whatever the reason, Leela found she was strangely not hysterical about such horrible news.

"Is that what you're trying to tell me?" she asked.

Munda nodded.

"Yes," she whispered.

Leela braced herself.

"Mom," she said evenly. "I'm going to be fine. You said it yourself – I'm the least mutated mutant ever born, and Fry is human. Besides, I feel fine."

"You do?"

"Oh, sure. A little tired, a little sick, but that's normal."

Leela forced herself to smile. The action felt mechanical and stiff, but she thought she pulled it off okay. She squeezed her mother's shoulder.

"But just to be safe," she continued, "I think I should see a doctor. A mutant doctor."

"I'll come with you," Munda said immediately.

Leela winced.

"No, no. Mom, there's no need for that. Just tell me where to go."