Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 105 ( Chapter 105 )

Please see previous parts for notes, disclaimers etc.

 

"Chimaera"

 

October. 2003 ShenLong

 

Chapter 105

 

Heero did as Duo had requested and stopped off to speak with Sally the next day at work. Sally was quite happy to call in and speak with Duo further and told Heero to let the pregnant man know she would be at the mansion around five that evening. Heero made the 'phone call, informing Duo that Sally would be around later to see him and then went back to work. Time flew by as Heero went through the reports and before he knew it, it was almost knock off time. Just as Heero began to go through the motions of shutting down the computer, the 'phone rang. With a sigh he pushed the receive button and the vid screen flickered then cleared to show a smiling, blonde face.

 

"Heero! It's good to see you again."

 

"Quatre. How are you and Trowa?"

 

"We're fine, Heero. How is Duo? And yourself? Married life treating you okay?"

 

"I'm fine and Duo is as well as can be expected. Married life is good," replied Heero in his usual monotone.

 

"The pregnancy going okay? No problems?"

 

"Sally gave Duo a check up yesterday and all is well with both the child and Duo." Heero was wondering when the blonde was going to get around to telling him the real reason for the impromptu call. He didn't have to wait long.

 

"Duo wouldn't be far off his due date now, would he?"

 

"No, Quatre. Sally expects to schedule him for the C-section in about three to four weeks. Why?" Heero was never one to beat around the bush. It was getting late and past his usual knock off time now and he really wanted to get home to Duo and find out what the discussion with Sally had gone like, not to mention what Duo's decision had been.

 

"I thought so. Heero; Trowa and I will be back on Earth in a week's time. I have some business meetings to attend so we thought, if you two don't mind that is, that we could come and visit you whilst we're on Earth."

 

Heero couldn't help the small smile and shook his head slightly. "How long will you be here for?"

 

"We arrive next Tuesday, the meetings are scheduled for that week starting Wednesday and should be all wrapped up by the Friday. We were going to stay for a couple more days and head back on the Monday evening."

 

Heero did some quick calculations in his head before voicing his next words. "If you're only going to be staying a week then there is no point in you booking into a hotel, there's plenty of room at the mansion and it is your place anyway, so please, stay with us while you're here."

 

Quatre's face was positively beaming. "Are you sure, Heero? We wouldn't want to impose, not with Duo being so close and all."

 

Heero knew that Quatre had been secretly hoping that Heero would offer to have them to stay, not that the blonde couldn't afford a hotel, he could buy one several times over; but Quatre was too polite and considerate to simply invite himself. "It's fine, Quatre, in fact it will probably be good for Duo to have some different company other than the same faces all the time. You will be able to arrange transport? I'd pick you up myself but it depends on what time your shuttle comes in."

 

"Don't worry about picking us up, I'll have a car waiting at the shuttle port, as I'll need it to get to the business meetings. Thanks for the thought though."

 

"No problem, you're welcome any time."

 

"I'll call you again in a couple of days to let you know what time the shuttle comes in and when we should arrive at the mansion."

 

"Arigato. Take care, Quatre and give my best to Trowa."

 

"You too, Heero. Give Duo a hug from us both and tell him we will see him soon."

 

"I will. Goodbye."

 

"Bye, Heero."

 

The connection was cut and Heero stared at the blank screen for a few moments, a small smile playing over his face before gathering up his things and heading to the elevator and home.

 

***

 

Duo was sitting in the lounge awaiting Sally's arrival. Heero had called and said to expect the doctor around five and it was now five past. His ears picked up on the sound of a vehicle moments before the car pulled up out the front. Duo eased himself from the chair and waddled to open it, admitting Sally to the mansion. "Hey Sal, thanks for coming," he greeted the doctor.

 

"Hello, Duo. How are you feeling?" asked Sally as she approached the front door and entered the mansion.

 

"I'm fine, although I'll be glad once Sunshine is born. My back aches and it's getting harder and harder to get out of chairs and walk around. Honestly, I don't know how you women do it," Duo grumbled, but there was a smile on his handsome face.

 

"Ahh, that's all part of being a woman, Duo. We do have the advantage though of actually being built for this. Now, Heero said you wanted to talk to me a little more about your female parts?"

 

"Yeah. I have some questions if you don't mind answering them for me."

 

"Sure, I'll do my best. Shall we sit down somewhere?"

 

"Kitchen would be best, I can make us a cup of something while we talk, plus I've got all the notes in there on the table," replied Duo.

 

"Kitchen it is then. And I'll make the tea," Sally said as she proceeded down the hall way towards the kitchen.

 

Duo followed along muttering under his breath about preferring coffee to the tea but knowing Sally probably wouldn't let him have any.

 

Minutes later they were sitting at the table, each with a cup of tea in front of them and Duo with a pile of papers.

 

"So, what are the questions you have for me?" Sally asked as she sipped her hot beverage.

 

Duo fidgeted for a moment and then spoke. "Heero and I have done some researching around the Internet, trying to get as much information as we can on my condition. There isn't a great deal and as you probably already know, most known hermaphrodites are sterile."

 

Sally nodded.

 

"Obviously I'm not," chuckled Duo as he ran a hand over the swell of the baby. "But that's the female side. I don't know if I'm fertile on the male side."

 

"Ah."

 

"Sally? You would have heard of the advances they're making in areas such as gene splicing?"

 

"I know a little of it, why?"

 

Duo sighed. "If I'm fertile in the male side, and we already know Heero is, should I remove the female parts and later on down the track decide we want another child, would it be possible to have one by gene splicing?"

 

Sally's brow furrowed in thought and she chose her words carefully. "Duo, I don't know the full story behind the gene splicing research and what the results are, but I can fine out more. I do know that they weren't having a huge amount of success but that may have changed. Science is a funny thing, it can take years before you finally get that breakthrough and at this stage I don't know if the gene splicing is working out to their expected hopes."

 

"Okay."

 

"Then of course we would need to determine your fertility from the male side, see if the process would be viable, and it would also be very expensive."

 

Duo was lost in thought for a moment. "Could you? Would you?..." Duo's tongue was beginning to tie itself in knots.

 

"You want me to do a fertility test on you? Is that what you're trying to ask?" Sally gave a warm smile of reassurance.

 

"Yeah." Duo's eyes were lowered and he was blushing to the roots of his hair.

 

"I can do that for you, Duo, no problem."

 

"Thanks."

 

"Do you have a sample for me?" Sally's face was broken by a wide smile.

 

"Uh?" Duo looked up in alarm. "You want to do one now?!"

 

"No time like the present. If you can give me a sample now I can test it for you and give you a result within a few minutes. I have my portable microscope in my bag in the car and it only takes a second to set up."

 

"Ah... Ummm... I - I guess so."

 

"Good. Finish your tea and I'll go get my stuff from the car." Sally stood up and left the kitchen to retrieve her bag.

 

"Well, shit!" muttered Duo as he remained in the kitchen, finishing his tea like Sally had said. "I didn't think it would happen this fast!"

 

Sally returned a moment later with her black bag in her hand. She placed it on the table and rummaged around inside, producing a small, plastic specimen jar and handing it to Duo. "Here. Go to the bathroom and give me a sample in there for analysis," she said in her clinical tone. "And I don't mean urine," she added with a wink.

 

"You want a specimen? Here? Sheesh, how the hell am I supposed to..." Duo promptly shut up as he realized what his mouth was saying.

 

"If you don't know how to give me the specimen I need then you're not as educated as I thought," snickered Sally. "Or shall I call Heero to come home now and give you a hand?"

 

Duo rolled his eyes. "I'll be back soon," he growled and picked up the jar.

 

Sally watched him go, the laughter in her eyes. Once he'd left she fished the microscope out of the bag and set it up on the kitchen bench where she would catch the most light and then sat down to finish her tea whilst waiting for Duo to return.

 

Duo headed out to the bathroom, jar in hand and wondering if he would be able to do this. It was one thing to be aroused and jack off because he wanted to, it was an entirely different ball game though to know he had to do this for clinical reasons. He stepped into his and Heero's bedroom and went to the bed. He slipped his sweats and boxers off then eased himself to the bed. Pushing the pillows up behind him, he leaned back into them so he was half lying, half sitting on the mattress. Getting comfortable, he tried to think about Heero, the way his lover's hands caressed his body, teased his sensitive spots and drove him mad with desire.

 

It worked.

 

Duo's cock rose to the occasion, becoming hard and throbbing between his legs. He lowered a hand and began to stroke, keeping the mental movie of Heero touching him in his mind. Duo soon became lost in his fantasies, his hand speeding up as his pleasure built. His orgasm began to approach, sneaking up on him and almost bursting forth before he had a chance to remember to grab the plastic jar to catch the spurting semen in. Panting harshly, his body trembling with his release, Duo managed to get most of his ejaculate into the jar and once his body settled back to normal, he climbed off the bed, set the jar on the night stand and went through to the bathroom to clean up. Pulling his boxers and sweats back on, he capped the jar and left the room, taking the sample back to Sally for testing.

 

Sally looked up as the pregnant man entered the kitchen and thrust the specimen jar at her, his face bright red with embarrassment. "Thanks," was all she said. She knew this must be difficult for him and she didn't want to make it any harder so she took the jar and went to the microscope.

 

Feeling the heat burning his cheeks, Duo couldn't make eye contact with the doctor. He knew he didn't have anything to be embarrassed about but it didn't ease his discomfort. Simply knowing that Sally knew what he'd just been doing was enough to send his usual jester self running for cover. He sat down at the table and did his best not to drum his fingers as he waited for Sally to do her stuff.

 

Sally placed a little of the semen onto a microscope slide and slotted it into place. She peered down through the eye hole and adjusted the magnification and focus. The slide blurred, cleared, blurred again and then settled down to give up its secrets. Sally studied the slide's contents carefully, noting what she saw. Satisfied she had the information she needed, she slipped the slide out and washed it off before turning to Duo who sat expectantly at the table.

 

"Well?" asked Duo as he tried to read the doctor's face.

 

Drawing a deep breath, Sally squared her jaw and looked at the man before her. "There's good news and there's bad news."

 

"Oh?"

 

"The sample you gave me shows that you do have sperm and therefore are fertile in the male sense; but..."

 

Duo raised an eyebrow, he wasn't sure he was going to like what was about to follow the 'but' bit.

 

"But, you have a very low fertility rate. This could be due to your condition, hermaphrotisim, not pregnancy that is, or it could be due to any number of things you went through during the war. While you're capable of fathering a child, the chances of that happening are pretty low given the low sperm count."

 

"Ah." Duo was having a bit of a struggle accepting what Sally was saying. "What sort of odds?"

 

"Without doing further tests I'd say the success rate of you fathering a child is about ten percent. Duo, I'm sorry." Sally reached across the table and placed a comforting hand on the American's arm.

 

"Nah, it's okay. It's not as if I'm trying to be a father, I mean, I'm gay," he stated with a chuckle but there was a sadness in his violet eyes that told a different story. "This would obviously affect any chance of gene splicing, wouldn't it?"

 

Sally nodded. "I'm afraid so. Even with a high fertility rate gene splicing is still a very tricky procedure. With one partner having a low rate then it becomes even more difficult."

 

"Hmmm. My female parts, after the birth, the chances are I'd still be able to conceive?"

 

"I don't know that for certain, Duo. You may continue to produce eggs but on the other hand, you may not. That is something we can only find out with time."

 

"If I do keep the female bits then you would need to check and see if I'm still producing and if I am I'd obviously need to use some form of birth control, wouldn't I?"

 

"Yes, you would. We would need to monitor you to see how often you ovulate and what your cycle would be. If we can determine that then it will be much easier to manage."

 

Duo thought long and hard for a moment then raised his head to look Sally in the eye. "What would I be going through if I keep the female parts?"

 

"I can only tell you what happens with a female and her cycle, Duo. I would assume you would be similar to that, although the frequency is something that would need to be determined by monitoring."

 

"Okay."

 

"You will bleed, in a female case, roughly once a month, in your case that will need to be determined. Once we know what your cycle is then we know when you are due to ovulate and that is when you will need to put into effect some form of birth control. In your case that shouldn't be too hard."

 

"I am not taking the pill!" Duo stated vehemently.

 

Sally laughed. "I wasn't going to suggest it. It would be too difficult to work out a dosage and number of pills. I was thinking more along the lines of condoms or..." Sally began to turn her own shade of red. "You should consider swapping positions. Ummm, Heero could bottom while you're ovulating."

 

Seeing the doctor's discomfort, Duo decided it was time for a little payback. "What makes you think I bottom all the time?" he teased, enjoying the doctor's squirm at his words.

 

"I didn't, I mean, I don't, I - I - Oh shit!" Sally buried her face in her hands.

 

Duo exploded with laughter. "It's okay, Sally, I'm just having a little fun with you. Actually, Heero and I share."

 

"I didn't mean to imply that you were always the bottom, Duo. I just assumed you took that role more often seeing as how you're pregnant... I'm digging my own grave here, aren't I?"

 

"Yup."

 

"Care to fill it in for me?"

 

"No problem."

 

Sally shook her head and tried to bring her mind back online. "Shall we move on?"

 

"I think that might be best,“ snickered Duo. "I know the options for birth control so you can skip those. What I want to know is what sort of effects can I expect if I keep the female parts? You know, mental and physical."

 

"Right. This is all based on the female knowledge, okay? I don't know if you would be the same but I'm assuming things would be similar so anything I say may or may not happen."

 

"Understood. I think if I know roughly what a woman goes through each month then I will have some understanding of what I can expect to happen to me if I keep these bits."

 

"When a woman ovulates and the egg isn't fertilized it dies and is shed from the body. The uterus of course is preparing itself to support the egg should it be fertilized and once it isn't, the lining is broken down and leaves the body, this is known as a woman's period."

 

Duo nodded.

 

"The effects a woman can suffer range from raised temperature, cramping in the stomach that varies from mild to very painful. The most common side effect is PMS."

 

"PMS?" Duo asked.

 

"Premenstrual Syndrome. PMS is a disorder characterized by a set of hormonal changes that trigger disruptive symptoms in a significant number of women for up to two weeks prior to menstruation. They can vary from mild to severe and can be physical, emotional or both."

 

"I see. What sort of symptoms?" asked Duo.

 

"The physical symptoms are usually things such as headache, migraine, fluid retention, fatigue, constipation, painful joints, backache, abdominal cramping, heart palpitations and weight gain. Emotional and behavioral changes may include anxiety, depression, irritability, panic attacks, tension, lack of coordination, decreased work or social performance and altered libido. Most women only suffer from one or two but others can have a whole bunch." Sally sat back and waited for Duo to absorb all the information.

 

As Duo thought so several things fell into place from his past, mainly his inability to explain his sudden flares of irritability and times when he'd wanted to cry for no apparent reason. "I see," he said quietly.

 

"In severe cases we can prescribe medication to assist in the control of these conditions, although in your case it would depend on what symptoms you show and how bad they are. Most women can cope fine with them and having an understanding partner helps a lot."

 

"Thanks, Sally. That makes a lot of things clear to me. I have one last question."

 

"What's that, Duo?"

 

"Say I decide to keep my female bits, we determine what my cycle is and how to manage this PMS thing, should I suffer with it. How do I manage the bleeding? In the past it's only lasted two or three days and not been very thick, just watery I suppose you could say, but it's enough to stain my underwear and necessitate the wearing of some sort of padding to absorb it. In the past I used gauze or stuff like that when it happened."

 

"I would say you should get away with wearing the same sort of feminine hygiene products that women do. Tampons or napkins."

 

"Ahh." Duo could feel himself going red again.

 

"The napkins simply slip into your underwear, although you would need to wear briefs and not boxers if you choose that option. The other one is tampons. They are used internally."

 

"Gives a whole new meaning to the word 'butt plug' doesn't it?" sniggered Duo.

 

Sally couldn't help but laugh. "You never know, Duo. You could get used to wearing them and not want to stop!"

 

Duo almost choked at that thought. "Sally, you're an evil bitch at times."

 

"So Chang keeps telling me. And I love it," replied the doctor.

 

The sound of the door opening alerted them to Heero's return home and Duo called out to let his husband know where they were. Heero made his way through the mansion and into the kitchen where he stopped beside Duo's chair and dropped a kiss to his husband's head.

 

"How are you feeling, Duo? Hi Sally." Heero said as he went to put the kettle back on to boil.

 

"Hi Heero," replied Sally. "I'll have another cup if you're making one."

 

Heero reached for the two empty cups on the table. "You want one too, Duo?"

 

"Yes please, Heero. Sally and I were just discussing all the pros and cons of keeping the female bits and I think I've made my decision now."

 

"Oh?" Heero turned around and eyed his lover carefully.

 

"Finish making the drinks, Heero, and once you sit down I'll explain what I want to do and why."

 

"Hn." Heero turned back to the kettle and mugs.

 

"You sure you've made your decision, Duo?" Sally asked her eyes level.

 

"Yes, I have."

 

Heero finished making the tea and set the mugs on the table. He took a seat beside Duo and turned to face the American.

 

Duo took Heero's hand in his own and laced their fingers together before drawing in a deep breath and raising his eyes. "I've gone through all the information we found on the Internet and asked a lot of questions. With the information that Sally has given me as well I know what I want to do. Heero, Sally did a fertility test on me at my request and it appears that while I am producing sperm and therefore fertile in the male sense, it would appear that my fertility is very low. The chances of my fathering a child in that department are pretty slim. That also means that gene splicing for a future child, should we want one, could be impossible."

 

"Aa."

 

"Weighing up the advantages against the disadvantages of keeping the female parts the disadvantages are more than the advantages. Even so, given all the facts I've decided I want to keep my female parts. They may not function after Sunshine is born, that is something we will just have to wait and see, but I may want another child down the track and if all goes well with this one and given my male fertility rate I think I would be better off keeping what I have." Duo looked at Sally and then Heero to see how they reacted to his decision. Sally was smiling softly at him and nodded her head.

 

"If that is what you want, Duo, then I will do my best to ensure that everything is fine during and after the delivery. I'll also do all I can to make sure you're looked after and your condition is monitored properly."

 

"Thanks, Sal. Heero?"

 

"I'm behind you all the way, Duo. If you want to keep your female parts then I'm happy with that. I don't want you thinking you have to keep them on my account though. If you'd rather get rid of them and we want another child in the future we can always adopt. There is no need for you to retain them simply because you feel you would be letting me down by not being able to have another child through natural or gene splicing means."

 

"I know that, Heero and I'm not keeping them for those reasons. I guess you could say that they're a part of me, I've had them since birth even if I didn't know it and I'm sort of attached to them I suppose. Not making much sense, am I?" Duo chuckled and lowered his eyes.

 

Heero raised a hand and lifted Duo's chin. Cobalt searched violet and Heero leaned in to kiss his husband. "It makes perfect sense to me, little mother."

 

"Don't call me that," Duo grinned sheepishly.

 

"You're my little mother, Duo, and I love you so much. I'll be here for you always."

 

Sally gave a discreet cough and the two men turned to face her. "I hate to break up this sappy moment but I'd better be heading off. Any more questions, Duo?"

 

"No. I'm happy with what I know and the decision I've made. If I do have any other questions I'll call you."

 

"I have a question, Sally," said Heero.

 

"Yes?"

 

"The birth certificate. What do you intend to put on it? I mean for the parents. This could be a problem, especially if anyone should get wind of this."

 

"Good point, Heero. I think the best thing to do in this case would be to put H. Maxwell-Yuy for Father and D. Maxwell-Yuy for mother. Technically speaking it is still correct and in reality it could be any one of hundreds of people out there. I would also suggest that the certificate of birth, after being lodged with the registrar, be kept in the records department of Preventer. I'm sure that Une can organize that for you, that way the records will not be available to anyone other than Preventer personnel that have clearance for the archives and records. She can cite some sort of confidentiality clause, I'm sure."

 

"If she can't then I'm pretty certain we can invent one," said Heero with a smile.

 

Sally laughed. "Most likely. Right, I'm off now. Take care and I'll be back in a couple of days for your next check up, Duo."

 

"Thanks, Sally."

 

"Anytime, Duo. Look after yourself." Sally stood and gathered her things together before leaving. Heero escorted her to the door.

 

"Thank you for talking with him, Sally. I know you were a great help to him."

 

"That's what I'm here for, Heero. You take care too and I'll see you at work tomorrow." Sally hopped down the steps and got into her car.

 

Heero stood on the stoop and waved goodbye before going back inside the mansion to his pregnant husband, a soft smile of happiness playing on his lips.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc....

 

Authors Note: All the information regarding Gene splicing comes purely from my own mind and is therefore made up.