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================================================ Project 138 - by Crystalline ================================================ -------------------------------- Chapter 1: What A Man Will Do... -------------------------------- I walked into our apartment after a day of dealing with insensitive assholes at my work. I got denied a raise for the third time in 4 months since I learned I was going to be a father. So, naturally, I wasn't in the mood for what I saw. Beer bottles all over the living room and Danielle, my girlfriend and the mother-to-be of my child... passed out on the couch, soaked in her own vomit, with a lit cigarette laying on the floor. When she told me she was pregnant, at first, I was naturally floored. I'm only 24 and she's only a month younger than me, and we're going to be parents? It was unreal... but I decided to do my best for the sake of my child, like any good father would do. If only Danielle would take care of her body, though... when we met, she was a party girl, and she is still that way, it seems. She drinks a 12-pack a day and chain-smokes like there's no tomorrow. I work 12 to 14 hours a day sometimes doing roofing work. It's tearing up my body, but the pay is enough to keep us from having to go too far in debt. Work is a foreign concept to Danielle, though. She doesn't even work around the house, much less contribute in any way, and still... I love her so, but this is getting to be too much for me. "Wake up, damnit." Ugh. I'm stupid. I see the open pill bottle in her hand as well. Painkillers. Nothing short of an explosion would wake her up right now. I decided to drag her to the tub and wash the stink of hours-old booze and stomach juices from her. "wha... what?" The cold shower hit Danielle in the face and she slowly woke up. It was a miracle. "You were drinking again," I explained. "I've told you so many times that you need to quit doing this for the sake of our child! Do you have the slightest clue what you could be doing to him or her?" "Yer too fuckin' uptight, Alan, or should I call you MOM, 'cuz yer talkin' like my fuckin' mother here. I'm jus' tryin' to catch a buzz here," she slurred. "You're too drunk to even know what's going on!" I yelled. "What if you were to miscarry, or if the baby ended up being born with some disorder because of your drinking?!" "Relax," she continued slurring, "tha's jus' propawhatsits by the government to try ta' keep me from havin' a good time, MOM." She got out of the tub and stumbled off to the bedroom, and I could hear her mutter "and he wonners why I won't marry him." If I were any less of a man, I would have followed her and knocked out a few of her teeth, but as it was, I was running out of ideas. There was no way I could get through to her without force, and I'd never hit a woman, even a hardheaded bitch like her. It's no wonder her mother seemed almost ecstatic that I got her pregnant and moved her into my apartment... "Wait a minute," I said to myself. "Ok, Alan, you know you don't believe in that kind of stuff, but maybe her mother can help you in all of this. She's into witchcraft and all that type of stuff. Maybe she would know a way to get through to her." I left her to her nightcap and took a drive to New Orleans to go see 'Mom'. It was a long and torturous 2 hour drive. I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that she would do something stupid and lose the baby. Every time the cell phone rang, I was scared it would be the cops telling me she was dead or something. I just wanted to get there and hope that my last option was at least in the realm of possibility. As I got off of the Causeway, the phone rang. I almost ran off the road, and after I realized it was just Cole calling to tell me where tomorrow's job was, I wiped a bucket or five of sweat off of me. Finally, I pulled up to her building. I climbed the stairs to her loft, and just as I was about to knock, she opened the door. I looked down. "I was expecting you. Come in," she said. Danielle's mother, Doris, was rather short in stature, being less than 5 feet tall, but despite that, she had the appearance of a woman 25 years her junior. Maybe this magic thing had a basis in reality... I was hoping so, anyway. "That junkie daughter of mine is still feeding her addictions, I gather?" she asked me point-blankedly, as though she were reading my every thought. "You're hoping I have some sort of way to fix her and make her see the error in her ways." "I... er... uhm... yes? How did you know?" I asked curiously. "It's written all over your face, son. You're worried to death about your unborn daughter," she said. "Please don't make assumptions, ok, Doris? She hasn't even had a sonogram yet, so I have no way of knowing the sex of my child," I asked. She wanted a granddaughter so bad, someone she could teach her gifts to one day before she passed away, but it was kind of insensitive of her to just assume like that. "My apologies, Alan, I should have held my tongue. She hasn't gotten any prenatal care of any sort, has she?" "She hasn't even bothered to look," I said. "I'm scared to death here. I just want a healthy child, and she's neglecting that wish like she does everything else. She won't even acknowledge my feelings in this." I sat in the chair she motioned me towards and began to cry. I wasn't a believer in the whole "Men should never show any emotion, ever" school of thought that was the norm for my gender. I was crying, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. "Well," she said as she offered me a Kleenex, "I can help you, but I cannot help you in exactly the way you had hoped. Changing a person's way of thinking and doing in a direct way is beyond my capabilities, but I do have a way to protect the life of your child, if you are willing to do this." "Anything." "Would you say that you think you could do better?" she asked me. "At this point," I said, "anyone could, so of course, the answer would be 'yes'." I wondered why she had asked that question... I'm not an egotist by any stretch. I sure as hell wouldn't know what it would be like to be carrying a life within me... but anyone could have been doing far better at this stage. I doubt anyone could do worse. She smiled at me. "I'm glad my daughter has a man like you in her life. She has no idea what she has in you. You are not abusive, and you try to be honest with her. You work hard with no recognition, just to make sure she is provided for. You make innumerable sacrifices in her name and in the name of a child not even yet born. You get nothing for it... until now." She handed me a pink vial. "Make sure she drinks half of the contents, and that you drink the other half, Alan. You must each drink it in the same day, preferably the second within 30 minutes of the first. I would advise you to drink yours second. Anyway, when you each awaken, she will know what plagues you and you will get the chance to prove to me, to the world, and to your child what you have said here tonight." I looked at her with tears welling up in my eyes. "Thank you," I said. "I won't fail at whatever comes... for the sake of my child." I turned to leave, but she stopped me. "Alan..." she said, "Never forget this. You are a dying breed in this world... a true man. I know in my heart that you will succeed in this journey." She then allowed me to leave. I was doing nothing but crying during the entire drive back to the Northshore. The drive seemed shorter this time, as before I knew it, I had pulled back up to my apartment complex. I walked in the door, and I noticed a familiar aroma fill the air. Sour booze. She was sitting in the living room watching some Spanish-language soap opera, drinking a Screwdriver and smoking a long, slim cigarette. She set the glass down and wasn't looking my way. If there was one thing she didn't do, it was waste booze. The glass was half-full, so I poured half of the liquid from the vial into it. No sooner did I set the glass back on the table that she chugged the rest of it down. "Wow," I thought to myself, "That was easy. I hope this works..." I said as I downed the remainder of the pink liquid. I didn't feel any different, so I went to bed. Odds were that within 15 minutes after that, she was passed out from her binge. The last thing I remember noticing before I fell asleep was the weight of her body beside me in the bed and the smell of cheap vodka. ------------------ Chapter 2: Gravity ------------------ I woke up to the sound of a man screaming in the bathroom. "ALAN?!?!?!?!" "Holy shit!" I thought. "That's my voice!" I tried to get up out of bed, and was immediately greeted with a feeling of intense vertigo and nausea. My balance was completely off, my center of gravity had shifted. Was this silk I was feeling on my skin? I wandered over to the bathroom, leaned over the toilet and promptly puked my guts out. I saw long black hair hanging from either side of my head. It was just like... I turned around and stood as quick as I could, which wasn't the smartest idea, as I felt yet another wave of nausea and vertigo strike me. Still, I fought to get a glimpse of myself in the mirror. What I saw surprised me. I saw Danielle looking back at me, and her face looked so torn up, like after a night of heavy drinking. I soon turned around and puked up another 12-pack. This was insane. What the hell was I doing in... could it even be possible? The sobbing I heard from the tub quickly broke that train of thought. I got up, SLOWLY... and walked towards the tub, throwing the curtain out of the way. I saw my naked body in there, clutching a bottle of beer. "Danielle?" I asked, weakly. My new voice threw me. It was much softer, much more filled with concern than it had been since Danielle found out she was pregnant. "Alan? Wha... what happened to you? What happened to me? I... I'm scared, Alan..." she said, and began to cry. "I woke up, and I wasn't hung over or morning sick or anything, so I got up to get dressed, and... *sniffle* I saw your face look back at me, and I... I..." I did the only thing I could think to do at that moment: I hugged her and started to cry alongside her. "This happened for a reason, Dani... We'll work through this. The best thing you can do to start is to put the bottle down. You don't need it." "Don't start that shit, Alan. I need it now more than ever." I was pissed off now. It was sudden, like flipping a switch. I did the only thing I could think to do... I grabbed the bottle out of her hand and threw it against the wall with all the force I could muster. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and a visage of pure terror on her face as it shattered and beer sprayed all over the place. "Dani... there are going to be some changes around here. First off, you are now me, so you will have to live my life. No getting drunk for you, you have work in 2 hours. You might want to get dressed and get a shower and a shave. You know my boss hates it when his workers show stubble. You know where my clothes are. Get ready. As for me... I'm going to make a doctor's appointment so I can get checked up concerning the baby growing inside of ME. Then I'm going to clean up all of the trash in this house. One more thing - there is NEVER to be ANY alcohol in this house AGAIN." She was wailing and crying like never before. "Alan... you did this? Why... why do you hate me so much? I never did anything to you!" "You were harming my child. As such, you pretty much forfeited the right to carry it. My only hope is that he or she is not damaged thanks to your irresponsible drinking and drug binges." I sounded so cold now... but it was the only way to get through to her. Was this the way I was truly feeling, or was it the hormones? "Oh, and I didn't do this alone. Your mother helped me make this change possible. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find something decent to wear to the doctor." I turned and walked out. As soon as I got to the bed, I started crying. I was too harsh to her. Did I really explode like that to her? God, I was a bitch back there! "What have I done?" At the moment I asked that, Dani came wandering out of the bathroom, and the phone rang as well. It was Doris. I put the call on speakerphone. "Ah, I'm glad you two are awake. How are you today?" she asked, as though nothing had happened. "'How are you?' How the fuck do you think we are, Mom?" Dani yelled. I'd never put that much force behind my voice in my life. "Dani! Calm down!" I said frantically. I didn't want to alienate the one woman who could reverse this. "What happened to us?" I asked toward the phone. "Ah, still level-headed, despite the immense amounts of hormones that must be flowing through you right now. I'm sure you exploded earlier, though. That is unimportant, though. You see, Alan, the vial I gave you last night was just a catalyst for the spell I performed last night. You both drank the mixture, so your minds were switched between your bodies. The spell will last until Alan gives birth." Dani's jaw hit the floor and I started to whimper. Giving BIRTH? "I'm stuck like this for 4 more months?!" I asked. "You will make it through, Alan," she said calmly, acting as though she didn't quite grasp the tragic nature of the situation. "I have faith in you. You may be a true man, but you also have the heart of a woman. Don't resist what your body is telling you now, it's natural for you. Danielle, you dumb girl," she continued, "If it wasn't for your addictions, poor Alan wouldn't have been driven to seek my help. As it is, you now will know his misery. He supports you and for what? You piss away the money almost as fast as he can earn it. It's not happening anymore. If you want to keep going, you will have to work for it. Don't even bother to ask Alan to find a job in his current state, nobody would hire him, and even if they would hire a 4 month pregnant woman, he has no skills other than that of a laborer. There is no way he would have the skills necessary to do a job that his body could handle. On top of that, YOU have no job experience of any kind whatsoever. As it is, your body is in pathetic condition from the years of alcohol and drug abuse." Danielle was about to scream at the phone when Doris said one last thing. "I am sorry that I had to teach you this lesson in this way, but you really left me with no other options." *click* She hung up on us. "Dani... I..." I started to say, when she held a finger to my lips and hugged me. That was completely unexpected... she had never been this affectionate before. I leaned into her chest and cried. "I know you didn't want to hurt me, ok? I know first-hand what pregnancy can do to a girl," she said as she smiled at me. "You're going to be a lot to put up with for anyone for quite a while. I guess I was like that... before..." We both sobbed in the bed for hours. This day was a loss. *** I woke up a few hours later to the phone ringing. I was about to pick it up when I felt my arm graze my breast. Right. Check the Caller ID first. "Oh shit." Dani woke up in a haze. "Wha... who is it, Alan?" "It's Cole," I said. My boss-from-hell who tries to be his workers' best friend one second and stabs them in the back the next. "Don't make a noise." I picked up. "Hello?" "Who is this? Danielle?" asked Cole. "Yeah." I could feel the bile rising... or maybe it was morning sickness. "What's going on?" "Where was Ryan today?" he asked in a 'you had better give me the right answer or I'm going to fire his ass' type of tone. (Ryan is... was my last name.) I had to come up with something fast or we were going to have problems. "I went into false labor at about one thirty in the morning and he had to rush me to the hospital. By the time we got home, it was too late for him to show up to work and he would have been falling asleep all day if he would have tried to go." Hopefully Cole didn't know shit about pregnancy and would buy it. "...Oh. Well, I'll just forget about today, then. He'd better show up to work tomorrow, though, or kid on the way or not, I'll have to can the lazy bum." "I'll let him know," I said in a grating tone, and promptly hung the phone up. I knew that asshole wanted a good reason to fire me more than he wanted anything else in the world. "God damn it. If I lose my job... you lose yours... whatever, we're sunk!" "What the hell am I supposed to do, then? I don't even know how to DO your fucking job!" Dani yelled. That was something I hadn't thought of. "Not much in the way of options for you, though. I've got a lot of experience, but only as a laborer. Even if you had job experience, it would not help you to get a job in my body. Hold that thought." I ran off to worship the porcelain god. This isn't fun at all, I figured. "I guess I could try your job, I mean, your body is acclimated to it and really, we don't have much choice," Dani said from bed. "At the least, *ack!* my experience is good enough by now where I could have gotten better pay, you know... and less hours at that." "So why didn't you?" Dani asked as I wandered back into the bedroom. "I guess," I said, "I didn't want to ever take the chance of not being able to provide for you. I stuck with a job I hated that paid less because I had the job, at least. But now..." I got back into bed and started crying again. "You mean you've been putting up with that hell for 10 months and didn't have to because you wanted to... to make sure that I'd be provided for? Despite the fact that I'm a drunken junkie?" she asked. "You... you're either pure idiocy personified or you really do care a lot for me." "Well, none of that will matter if you can't do the job. We'll be on the street or worse..." I started to say, but Dani interrupted me. "Who said I couldn't? At the least, I can give it a try. What harm is there in trying and failing compared to not trying at all? We have 4 months to try to get through this. We might as well make the best of it," Dani pointed out. She was right. We at least had to try something. Why was I so pessimistic lately? ----------------------------------- Chapter 3: Dani's First Day at Work ----------------------------------- The alarm clock went off at 5:30 in the morning, and a song started to play. "Forgive me my mistakes I'm only human I bleed just like you From time to time So why can't I convince you? I'll be fine..." Maybe I should have tried another way and I wouldn't be in this situation. Oh well. I turned the CD player off and woke Dani. She shifted around a bit and moaned. When she stretched her arms, she almost knocked me out of the bed. "Uhnnn.... morning, Alan," she groggily said. "Yeah, morning. You need to get ready for work, young lady," I said, mockingly. "....work? Oh... yeah, work," Dani sighed. "I guess I need to shave and find some clothes, then." "Don't forget to call Cole. You need to know where to drive to for today's job. I've got to get ready to go to your doctor." "Uhmm... don't. Call my friend from back home, Tina, and make an appointment with her. She knows about what Mom does and wouldn't give you such a hard time. Don't worry, she does OB-GYN work on the side, so she's well-qualified. Better get Mom to go with you," Dani said as she picked up the phone. She dialed Cole's number and got to waiting for him to pick up. I wandered into the bathroom to pay my daily tribute. At this point, I gained even more respect for women than I had before. They go through all this shit just to bring a life into the world. I turned around and looked at the mirror. I was a mess. My hair was all ratty and tangled up and flying all over the place. I couldn't go like this, I figured. "Uhmm, where's this place at... 'Hidden Pines?'" Dani asked. Yeah, she wouldn't know, she's not from up here. "I'll drive. I know the way," I said as I wandered back into the bedroom. I picked up the phone and called Doris. "Yes, Alan, you need my help?" Doris asked when she picked up, like she was reading my every thought. "Quit reading my mind, ok? Can you set me up an appointment with Tina? I'm.... kind of nervous about going to Dani's usual doctor about this..." I said. "All you had to do was ask. I'll call her right away..." she started to say. "Can you go with me?" I blurted out. "Oh? This I wasn't expecting, child, but I'll go with you. After all, I would love to know how my granddaughter is doing. I'll be ready at 10. Appointment will be at 11." "I told you..." *click* She hung up! Unbelievable! She knew I was going to bitch at her about assuming the sex of my child! Dani walked out of the bathroom with her face covered in scraps of toilet paper. "Shave," she said. "Yeah, I'll bet. Looks rough," I said. "No. Shave. Your legs. You might have been able to get away with hairy legs as a guy, but not in MY body, mister." She pointed at the bathroom. "MARCH, 'young lady!'" I was beaten, she was right. It was way too hot for jeans, which meant a skirt, which meant shaved legs. I was starting to hate this. I went into the bathroom and began to run a warm bath. Getting into the tub wasn't all too difficult... and damn, the water felt good. Shaving the things was more difficult than I imagined, though. My belly in the way made reaching for them almost impossible... and then I cut my leg. "Ouch!" Dani came in. "No, no, that's not how you do it, Alan... you can't do it the same way you do your face. The hairs are finer, so you really just need to run the blade along like so..." "Oh. OW! Holy shit!" I cried. "What happened?" I couldn't say a word. Did it really happen or was I imagining? I rubbed my belly and felt it again. It was real. There was no hoping this was a dream anymore. My child was in there. There was no way around it. It was depending on me now to make the right choices for its survival. I started crying. "Alan?" she asked me again, more concerned-sounding than last time. "The baby kicked." Dani was stunned. I never thought I would ever say those three words, but there they were. Dani began to cry. "Dani?" I asked. "What's wrong?" "I never felt it kick..." she said amidst a stream of tears. She ran off after she finished helping me with my legs. I toweled off and wrapped it around me, then went into the bedroom. Dani was dressed for my job, but not appearing in the best shape to do anything. "Come on," I said "I know you're sad here, but we have to get you to my job or we're sunk." I went over to the closet and picked a blouse and a skirt to wear. I grabbed some underwear from the drawer, then realized I had a problem. One: I had never put on panties before, ditto for a bra. Two: Dani was in no shape to help me. I thought of something and hooked the bra in the front, then turned it around and pulled the straps over my arms. That worked, and damn, my breasts felt better. Wait. My breasts? Mind-fuck. Still... yeah. I put the panties on next and seemed to get that right. I got the rest of the clothes on, then sat down beside Dani. "I'm sorry," I started to say, then shut up. She was mad at me... and she had reason to be. This was my fault. I absently grabbed a cigarette and started to light it. "What the fuck?!" she cried. She slapped the cigarette out of my hand. "You should have thrown them away like you did the booze! Here you are, bitching about me smoking and drinking, and now you start?" "I..." I tried to say. "I don't know what happened... I didn't even notice I was doing it..." "You were upset. That easily triggers my craving for a cigarette, because you feel you need to relax. I hate to say it, but it looks like you got the addictions as well as the body. Seems you also know how to put those clothes on as well..." "I wasn't even thinking about it. I was worried at first that I would put them on wrong... but then I just did it and it was like I had been doing it my whole life!" I said. "Maybe it's part of the spell... that we retain certain things about the other. Let's get you to my job and test that, ok? We'll take the Fairmont." The Fairmont. Old, broken-down, barely running don't even begin to describe Dani's car. It got her from Point A to Point B, provided there was a gas station along the way. Still, it was roomy, and had a decent amount of power. She loaded my tools in and I dropped her and the tools off in Hidden Pines. Cole walked up to the car. Ugh. "You brought him in this POS?" he asked, smugly. "Where's his S-10? Why didn't he come alone?" He was looking for an excuse to fire me... Dani again! Argh! "The battery died in it, from what he told me. He didn't have a spare, and I have a doctor's appointment, so I brought him. I have to be on the Westbank in an hour and a half, so, bye," I said as I drove off. I hope Danielle can handle herself... and I hope I didn't just cost myself my job! I then drove to the Causeway, but before I got there, I saw the red and blue in my rearview mirror. Lovely. Cops. I pulled over. The deputy signaled for me to get out, so I complied. He then walked up to me. "Ah, Miss Leblanc," he said, as though he knew me... err, knew Dani. "Driving again... and drinking, I take it?" "No," I calmly said. "I don't drink anymore, and I have a doctor's appointment across the lake to go to." "We'll see about that." The deputy decided to put me through the entire battery of sobriety tests, making me walk a line, touch my nose with my eyes shut, count the alphabet backwards, and even field tested my blood-alcohol level, all that stupid nonsense. He seemed pissed that he had to let me go. "OK," he said, "looks like you're sober, for once. We'll be watching you, though... you're bound to slip up." He got into his car and floored it on the way out. "Jerk," I said as I got back behind the wheel. I was worried though... f I had her addictions, would I slip up? No. I resolved to my father on his deathbed so many years ago that I would never drink and end up like him. The whole reason I did this was so that Dani could break free from the alcoholism. I wasn't about to fall victim to it myself. I drove across the Causeway and finally got to Doris's house to pick her up. By now, it was 10:15 a.m. "Detained, I take it?" she said. "Asshole pigs," I explained. "Ah. That daughter of mine never was able to avoid the police. Drinking too much and trying to drive to the next party. They probably will see to it to make your life a living hell." "Let's just get to Tina's office. I assume the appointment is made?" I asked, a little pissed off at the reality of what she had said. I was running into brick wall after brick wall since ending up in this body. "Yes, I made it, and we have 45 minutes to get to her office. I assume you know where it is?" *** "God damn it, I miss being pregnant," Dani muttered as she laid the black paper down on the roof to be nailed down. It was 93 degrees out and it wasn't even noon yet. Her legs were beginning to burn from all the heat it was absorbing from the sun. "What'd you say, Ryan?" a worker beside her asked as he cut some shingles to be laid over the paper she was nailing down. "Nothing," Dani said. "I just hate this shit. I work day in and day out, in deplorable conditions, for less than I deserve. I have a child on the way, damn it!" "Got a problem, Ryan?" Cole shouted from below. "Just what I said, Boss!" Danielle defiantly said. "I do this shit day in and day out and I'm getting what... 10 dollars an hour? I've been doing this shit since I was 17 and I haven't gotten a single raise since I was hired by you, 10 months ago!" She climbed down from the roof and grabbed a can of Coke, then continued, "I have a child on the way and a woman I want to marry and I can't support them on 10 fucking dollars an hour!" "Wow. You've grown a backbone, Ryan," Cole said, sounding mockingly confused. "Get your stuff and call your girlfriend. You're gone." "What did you say?!" "Exactly what I said. Your mind isn't on the job. How can you expect to be paid more when you do such a shitty job? I've been wanting to fire you for weeks. Today's the day. Get going." Danielle walked up to him and looked him in the face, rage burning in her eyes. "Fuck you, I was leaving anyway, asshole." She then dialed the cell phone. *** "Ok, Miss Leblanc?" "Hm?" I had dozed off in the waiting room. "The doctor'll see you now. Please use the door on the right." I got up and walked through the door. Doris walked after me. My purse started buzzing. Cell phone. I grabbed it and looked at the Call ID. It was Dani. Why would she be calling? "I have to take this, will you excuse me?" "Sure thing, Miss Leblanc," the nurse said. I flipped the phone open. "Dani here," I said. I felt weird saying that. "Alan? I'm in trouble here. Cole fired me." "He did WHAT?!" What the hell else can go wrong for us? "Look... I'm in the middle of this checkup, I can't get you from work. You'll just have to hang around there. I'll get you as soon as I can." "I can't. Your boss told me to leave," she said, almost crying. "Ugh. Ok... you've got my phone. Call Johnny, tell him you need a ride to the apartment. He should be there to get you in about 15 minutes. Whatever you do... if you talk to him, keep things to a minimum. If you talk a lot, he'll think something's up." "Fine..." I knew that tone. "And NO drinking!" "I wasn't even thinking about that!" cried Danielle. "Fine then. I gotta go so I can get out of this heat." "Ok. Love you. Call me when you get home." "Later." *click* "Are you ready now, Danielle?" asked the nurse. "Yeah... let's get the show on the road," I said. It was pretty boring for a while. The nurse took vitals and stuff, admonished me for not seeing a doctor sooner, and did the usual pre-actual seeing the doctor stuff, then left. I sat with Doris for 5 minutes, not saying a word, then Tina came in. "Y'know, I shouldn't even be treating family, but then again, I guess you're not family yet... till you marry into it, that is," Tina said. She was not legally family to Doris or Dani, but she was raised with Dani so long, she may as well have been her sister. "I suggest you lie down. And hold still. I'm going to be checking places you didn't even have a week ago." She stuck her tongue out at me. I closed my eyes and winced. She was right... I definitely didn't have those places a week ago... eek! I wanted to close my legs so bad... "Oh no you don't, young lady! I'm almost done... just give me another minute or so..." she said, as though she knew that thought was in my mind. "There!" she exclaimed as she emerged. She set her instruments aside. "Ok, blood sample time, Miss Ryan..." Ugh. Lovely... *** "Ugh. Lovely," thought Danielle as she sat in the bed of Johnny's truck. "Alan, what's up?" Johnny asked when Dani called. "Man, I got fired and my truck broke down. Can you come get me? I'm totally screwed," Danielle asked. "Shit, sure... but I got my kids with me, so you'll have to sit in the back. Gimme directions..." Danielle recited what she knew of how to get to the place and then waited. When Johnny got there, true to form, his 'kids' were with him. Problem is... his 'kids' were a pair of dogs, half-Pit Bull, half-Rottweiler. The other problem was, he had a pickup truck. Meaning Danielle had to sit in the back. They soon approached the apartment, though. "Thanks man," Danielle said. "Yeah, don't mention it. Just find a new job fast so the broad doesn't drain the last penny or two you got at Don's or something!" Johnny said as he drove off. "So the broad doesn't drain... ugh! What does everyone take me for, a worthless drunk?" Dani screamed as she went inside. She turned on the television, and her soaps were on. She changed the channel to a race and called Alan. "Dani here," said Alan. In the background, Tina yelled "No sense lying... it's ALAN on the phone and you know it!" "Shut UP. Dani, you made it home?" he asked. "Yeah, I made it home, all right. Your friends are useless jerks, you know that?" Dani angrily asked. *** "Lemme guess," I said. "Johnny had the 'kids' with him, and he had the F-100?" Damnit. No wonder she was peeved, that would mean she rode all the way from Soult Road damn near to Fairway in the bed of a pickup truck. "Not just that. He called me a broad and accused me of draining all your money away," she said. At that moment I felt something very cold against my belly. "Eep," I said. I shivered a little. "Don't worry, Alan, it won't feel so bad once it warms a little," Tina said. I swear, she was delighting in making this as embarassing as possible for me. "Alan, you ok?" "Yeah, just getting the ultrasound meant for you," I cheerfully answered. "Listen, don't let Johnny get to you. He's an asshole. The guy spends all day with his dogs, all his money goes to his dogs, his two ex-wives and that girl he knocked up in high school, and the little bit he keeps goes toward fixing whatever broke on that truck of his that week. Don't pay any mind to anything he says, he's never had any room to talk. If I thought that was all you were good for, I wouldn't have..." I couldn't say any more, I was about to cry. "Yeah, I know. I wouldn't have the second chance I do." She sighed deeply. "We'll make this work out, somehow." I still couldn't say anything. "I love you, sweetie. I'll stick around here until you come back," Dani said as she hung up the cell phone. "Wow. You must feel so guilty about this... I had no idea," Tina said, suddenly sounding more serious. "I heard that Mama Doris switched you and Dani, but I had no idea that you brought on the change..." I said nothing. I was buried under a wall of guilt and had no intention of trying to free myself. "Anyway," Tina said, "do you want to see your twins?" I was jarred awake. "Tw-tw...twins?!" "Yep. The sonogram's showing twins. Looks like a girl and a boy. Congratulations, Alan... looks like you knocked her up but good." Twins. Unbelievable. I had two lives growing within me... not just one. Damnit. I wouldn't have been able to support twins if I had continued to work for Cole. Maybe this was all somehow for the best? "I'll get the bloodwork back in a week or so, but I think Dani dodged a bullet... both of the babies look to be unharmed by her excess. You should be proud of yourself, though," Tina said. "I'll call you when that happens. I also want you to come back to see me in a couple of weeks." "Uh.... sure." She could have told me that there was a nuke on the way and we all had 3 minutes to live and I would have said the same thing. I didn't care. I was still in awe. "Tina, give the child an image so he can show Dani, please?" Doris asked. "She has a right to see her children." "Sure thing, Mama Doris, you can pick it up on the way out," Tina said as she waved us out. "Remember: two weeks." "O.K.," I said. Everything was still so unreal... (Should I finish this? Please let me know by either reviewing the story, or by emailing me at crystalline AT foreverchat DOT net...)