Paulo drove down the old dirt road through the woods. David was in the passenger seat, head out the window, tongue out his mouth, and ears flapping in the wind. "C'mon, dude." Paulo said, not taking his eyes off the road. He didn't need to look to know what David was up to, they'd driven around together a lot. "Stick your head back in before a tree takes it off." It was a very real concern, as the trees on either side were getting closer and thicker the further down the road they went.
"Aww, that's no fun, babe." David said, but he did as his partner asked. Today was a very important day, and there was no need for any extra risk taking. "You should try it sometime! It's a lot of fun!"
"How? I need to keep my eyes on the road, and you don't have a license, Davie." Paulo said.
"That's 'cause I like it when my man drives me everywhere." David stuck his tongue out playfully at Paulo.
"And I like it when you have a head." Paulo frowned, hunching behind the steering wheel.
David leaned over to him. "Oh, I know how much you like my head." He said with some eyebrow wiggles.
"Sh-shut up…" Was all the orange cat could muster to say behind all his flustering.
The road became more and more unkempt as they drove down, with it gradually turning into grass with some tire treads leading down from its numerous uses. However, this was not a place known to many. In fact, outside of Paulo and David, the only people who knew were the two who worked there. Today would be something new for them, for everyone they knew, for the world. Yet, they would never know.
At the end of the path sat an unassuming log cabin with two cars parked out front. On top were several solar panels, and around it were various flowers and bushes. Although, there was no mailbox. Paulo pulled up alongside them and put his car in park. The two guys sat in silence for a moment, looking at the building before them. It was now that the car was parked and the engine was off that they noticed how quiet it was. Not a dreadful, eerie silence, but one that evoked privacy. They were definitely off the grid now. There was a reason they'd come so far, and they'd need all the privacy in the world. It was hard enough being a same sex couple, but an interspecies one at that - it defied all social norms. Not that they ever cared about such things.
Paulo looked at the building with concern. The closer they got to why they were there, the more options for backing out diminished. He loved David, but was this too… extreme? "Are you sure about this, David?"
David took Paulo's cheeks in both his hands so he could turn his eye to his. With all the seriousness he had ever seen David muster in all his life, the dog replied. "Babe, I have never been more sure in all my life. Let's do this." And for added effect, he leaned in and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Now let's go make us a baby."
They got out and made their way to the front door. The storm that had been chasing them since they left their house was now arriving. David rang the doorbell, and then nothing happened. He rang it again. Still, nothing. He furrowed his brow and rapidly hit the button, setting off a cacophony of rings that overlapped each other. Paulo grabbed his hand. "David, I think they get the-"
He was cut off as the ground beneath them gave way. The world around them moved up, and they went from seeing a wooden door to a gray metal wall. Paulo yelped in terror while David yelled in delight. Their fall slowed as they fell onto a gradual slide that brought them down, down, down, until that too ended. Both guys slipped off into a foam pit in a dark room, with David landing on top of Paulo.
"Gah, get off me!" Paulo said, struggling to pull himself up out of the foam.
David scrambled off the somali and pulled him up into a hug. "That's not what you were saying last night."
Paulo groaned but hugged him back. There was a moment of peace between the two, where they gathered themselves while enjoying each other's embrace. It was moments like this, despite David's teasing, that Paulo remembered why he loved him so much. He was warm, and strong, and though goofy, he knew he would have his back no matter what. This moment of peace was broken when some lights came on.
"Ohhhh, isn't this so sweet!" Came a sing-songy voice from across the room. Paulo and David broke apart.
"Sure." Said another. "It'd be a lot sweeter if they weren't late."
"Sorry we couldn't find your creepy serial killer cabin deep in the woods on time, Susan." Paulo said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "We'll be sure to teleport next time."
"Hey Susie-baby! And hey Daisy-baby!" David chirped, running over to give them both a hug. "It's been soooo long!"
"We saw you last week." Sue stated flatly.
"I know!" David frowned. "It's still too long!"
Paulo frowned too. Any time away from Sue wasn't long enough for him. Daisy, though, he missed. She was granted a hug from him. "Good to see ya, Daze."
The ragamuffin hugged back. "Good to see you too, Paulo!"
Sue cleared her throat. "Now that all of that is out of the way…" She looked at Daisy and tapped her wrist.
"Ah, right! We're on a tight schedule." Daisy gasped.
"Even tighter since they're late." Sue grumbled.
"Alright, we get it!" Paulo said back, annoyed.
Sue and Daisy led their friends to the next room, which was much larger than the foam pit room. Unlike the foam pit room, there was a mess of equipment spread across the floor. Instead of bare walls there were computers with lights all over them, emitting various beeps and boops. They were almost dancing across the floor in an effort to avoid tripping over the wires that criss-crossed between the machines.
The lighting was dim as well, and the air was filled with a sanitized smell. In the center of the room was a machine with two spots for test tubes in the center. On top protruded a metal rod. Next to the little machine were two small vials and needles. Next to the platform was a large metal lever sticking up from the ground. The two women moved to the other side of this platform, with Paulo and David standing in front of it.
"All of this is under the radar, understood?" Sue said sternly. "No one can know about this. Not Mike, not Lucy, not family, no one else. If anyone asks, you adopted your child."
"Yes ma'am!" David said, saluting. "Not even Santa Clause will know!"
"This is serious, Davie!" Daisy said. "This isn't accepted by the medical community, we can get in trouble for this!"
"How much trouble?" Paulo asked, now feeling more nervous than ever.
"Like, we will go to jail for the rest of our lives for doing this, trouble." Sue said, her eyes boring into his.
"What's love without a little danger?" David clapped Paulo on the back. "David Jr will be worth it!"
"But first, we're going to need some DNA from both of you!" Daisy said. There was a moment of silence in the room, save for the whirring and beeping of the machines, that turned awkward.
"Right here? Right now? In this room?" David asked, looking around.
"Well, yeah. How else are we supposed to make a baby with you two?" Sue asked, slightly annoyed.
"Well we're gonna need a bed or something…" David looked back at the foam pit room. "But maybe we can make due with the foam. Oh, and are you two going to watch? Paulo has a hard time getting it on in front of others."
"NOOOO, not like that!" Sue pinched the bridge of her nose. Daisy giggled and Paulo looked like his head was on fire. "Blood! We just need some blood!"
"In that case, take all the blood you want!" David put his arms out. "David Jr. needs it more than me."
Daisy picked up the two small vials and two small needles. "Just a few little drops will do, David."
"Me first, me first!" Said the dog excitedly, putting his finger out. Daisy took the needle, poked his finger, and held one of the vials under it to catch a few drops of blood. Sue followed up with a small piece of cloth to clean up the excess, and placed a bandage over it. The same was done for Paulo, who jolted a little at the prick.
"Aww, want me to kiss it better, babe?" David puckered his lips.
"It's fine." He mumbled, but still let David kiss his finger after Sue cleaned it up.
Daisy placed the test tubes in the machine. The holders they were in lifted up further into the machine out of sight. Sue ran down some final checks on everything else. She swiped her pen off on the column of boxes after monitoring each machine for a few moments. Above them came the muffled sound of the pitter pattering of rain. The storm had finally come over them. Daisy and Sue scrambled to prime a few last switches in preparation. All the while, David and Paulo stood back and watched them interacting with all sorts of unimaginable machines.
A button was pressed and with a loud whirring the ceiling above them slid open to reveal the facade cabin above. The roof of the cabin also opened in sync with both the left and right sides tilting away down the middle, letting the storm into the basement they were in. Everyone put their hands above their eyes to block out the rain from them. The clouds were dark and violent, the wind howled and pelted the rain down faster.
"Okay, I think we're ready. We've got this one shot until the next storm so let's make it count!" Daisy said over the noise of the storm with excitement and anticipation in her eyes. "Susie! Throw the switch!"
Sue nodded and gripped the large lever placed next to the platform. She tugged on it a few times to no avail, but a pair of strong orange hands joined hers. "Now." Paulo said. Sue nodded, and pulling together the lever tilted back and the platform jolted to life. It slowly raised up toward the turbulent sky.
"What's with the Doctor Frankenstein approach?" David asked Daisy, also raising his voice to speak over the storm.
"This process requires a lot of power, even more than the solar panels can provide." Daisy said back. "We had to do this in total secrecy, and the surge in power it would cause on Roseville's power grid would cause suspicion."
"Lightning might be a bit overkill." Sue followed up as she and Paulo joined the others. "But it ensures that we will have more than enough power for this. Understand, creating life takes a LOT of energy!"
The platform reached the apex of its journey, stopping just above where the roof used to be. The storm raged, as though insulted they dare present it with such an odd device. Lightning thrashed and crashed, and when it hit its peak, a stray bolt found its way to the metal rod sticking up from the machine. There was a deafening crash like an explosion, and sparks flew. The four below had to cover their faces and jump back as hot fire rained down upon them and dissipated.
"That should be good!" Daisy called over the din.
Sue nodded and went back to the switch, now able to pull it back herself since it was loosened up from before. The platform jolted to life and lowered, and once it was low enough, Daisy hit the button she had hit before to close the roof and the floor. The platform still made its way down slowly, careful to not cause the machine that was on it to fall off it. It slid into its regular waist high position, and went silent.
And so did the rest of the room. It was like everyone, the machines, the building itself, was taking a deep breath. There was a small beep, a green light came on, and both Daisy and Sue relaxed with a sigh.
"Is that it?" David asked, leaning over to the machine.'
"Do you even know what 'it' is?" Sue asked, not impressed by his lack of understanding, but not surprised either.
"We just created life! I think…" Daisy said, using her pencil to scratch her chin.
"Oh, goodie!" David said, now pacing around the platform. "So where does the baby come out at..?"
"It doesn't happen like that, idiot." Sue chided. "It still has to gestate for nine months, just like normal."
"But you can come back and see it at any time!" Daisy smiled. "Speaking of… did you two want a boy or a girl?"
"We'll let them decide!" David said enthusiastically.
"That's very good, David, but we have to pick one for it to be biologically." Sue rolled her eyes. "So male or female?"
"Male." Paulo answered before David could reply. "Let's just go with male."
"Male it is!" Daisy said, writing down on the clipboard. "Well, that's it then, guys. We'll give you updates as they happen! For now, you're free to go. You can head up and out through the stairs over there." She pointed to a staircase that neither Paulo nor David had noticed before in the corner.
David took Paulo's hand and kissed his cheek. "I'm so excited, babe! I can't wait for our baby!"
"Me too, bud." Paulo smiled back. The boys waved goodbye to their friends and left hand in hand, looking forward to a bright future with their little baby boy. They buckled up in their car and drove off, talking about how life would be when it finally arrived, and all the preparations that would have to be made.