[RL with Maraich]

[screwloose]

Stein's laboratory was...impressive, and rather creepy. It was an oddly-shaped building, like several huge stone boxes all jumbled together with small windows. The largest part was shaped like an arrow, thrusting upwards towards the sky. Lines of what looked like stitching crawled across the face of the building, each 'stitch' at least a foot long.

The building was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence, the top a forest of points, and there were several scraggly trees planted around the grounds. The trees were devoid of leaves, and each branch ended in an arrowpoint.

It didn't look much like a medical clinic, but after all it was a laboratory. A whirring sound might have been heard by Maraich's foot and he might have looked down to see a mouse scuttling by, but the mouse looked and sounded mechanical, its skin formed of random patches of fabric all stitched together roughly.

Welcome to Dr. Franken Stein's Laboratory.

Comments

[maraich]

The environment looked cold enough as it was without there being straps on the table. He did like the look of the straps. Even if he was raised to endure torture it didn't mean he liked pain, and he had plenty of bad memories involving being tied down.

"I don't want to be strapped down," he paused at the entrance way, "Not during the surgery, either."

That was one thing he didn't want to deal with.

[screwloose]

Stein laughed as if it were unthinkable, though there was a bit too much dark amusement in the tone. "It won't be necessary," he said. "The straps aren't for you. They're for less willing test subjects."

[maraich]

Maraich was seriously questioning Dr. Stein's ethics. Now he was rather glad he had come armed, as he tended to do when he went anywhere. Pregnant or not he still knew how to throw a knife.

He took a seat on the bed and kept a very close eye on everything Stein did.

[screwloose]

Stein turned away and fiddled with the ultrasound machine. "Lie down, please," he said idly. He was well-aware of Maraich's nervousness, but rather than being concerned and trying to reassure him, it only triggered and satisfied that sadistic part of him.

He was a good and trustworthy doctor, but he also enjoyed making people nervous, for whatever reason. It just added a bit of spice, to him - satisfied that part of himself without tempting him to do more.

[maraich]

He lied back, still keeping a very close eye on the doctor. He had always been extremely perceptive and felt confident that he could catch it if Stein did anything suspicious. The ultrasound machine looked fairly normal at least.

None of it was giving Maraich any urge to come back. It was one thing when he could be awake to react himself, but it'd be entirely different when he was unconscious.
"The ultrasound will give you enough information, right?" he wanted to reaffirm that point.

[screwloose]

"As far as I know," Stein said with a shrug. He couldn't say definitively what he'd find out until he'd tried it, so he wasn't going to commit to anything more.

Maraich could be an alien with a cast-iron uterus, for all he knew. He hadn't even had a chance to touch him yet!

He pulled the machine closer and reached for Maraich, to pull his shirt up and bare his stomach. "The gel will be cold, sorry."

[maraich]

"That's fine."

He braced himself for the cold. He'd been to hospitals many times before so the usual stuff didn't bother him much.

He wished the answers wouldn't be so vague. He wanted to get some positive answers; which hopefully he'd get with the ultrasound.

[screwloose]

Stein wasn't going to lie and sound certain when he hadn't even had a chance to examine Maraich. Making assumptions at this stage - especially since he knew Maraich was an alien - seemed incredibly stupid to him.

He pulled Maraich's shirt up and spread the gel over his stomach, then began moving the probe. The fully-developed fetus was clearly visible in the screen, little hands and feet shifting, and the head dominating most of the grainy picture.

"Ectopic, of course," Stein muttered to himself. "No uterus." He scribbled notes on a clipboard as he moved the probe about, looking at the child at all angles.

[maraich]

He shuddered slightly at the cold but didn't make a move.

As much as Maraich tried to keep his eyes on Stein, he found them wandering over to the screen. It was a bit fuzzy but there was clearly something there. He looked for every body part the doctor mentioned.

"Does he look healthy?" he asked forcefully. It was really his most important question.

[screwloose]

Stein turned away from his notes and beamed at Maraich at the question. "He looks very well, yes," he said. "Nothing at all wrong with him that I can see from here."

He switched off the machine and offered Maraich a towel to wipe the remaining gel off. "Well, it looks like everything is even better than I hoped," he said. "It should be a very routine procedure, though what I said about lifting him for the first six weeks will stand. I believe you can even stay awake for the surgery, after all."

[maraich]

That was a relief. He now had two doctors saying the baby was healthy. As long as he took care for another few weeks everything should be fine.

"I could be awake?" he was surprised by that. Although it would be strange he wasn't the queasy type, "What about the date?"

[screwloose]

Stein nodded. He had gone with the more pessimistic response first, not having seen how the baby was doing, but now it seemed that the usual spinal block would be enough. There would be a curtain stopping Maraich from seeing what he was doing, but he would be conscious and wouldn't feel a thing.

"Yes, which means I can put him into your arms right away," he said brightly.

"And what day is convenient for you? Anytime within a week of your due date would be fine."

[maraich]

Maraich didn't know how the typical procedure went, but he was sure he'd probably been cut up worse anyway.

"It would help if I knew my due date," he blinked at him. He wasn't really sure what date to pick other than wanting to get this done with as soon as he could, "It shouldn't be too far away."
He was looking forward to holding the baby. With Matthias it had been so clunky and awkward.
He wiped off the gel, not worrying too much about remnants - he would wash off later - and sat up.

[screwloose]

"Now you said the baby was conceived on July 17th," Stein said, counting quickly in his head to confirm. "So as a round estimate, that makes April 17th your due date."

He shrugged. "Anytime after the tenth of April would be fine, unless you go into labour sooner or something happens, in which case we should do it right away."

[maraich]

It seemed so soon, but that made it more exciting. It'd be here before he knew it. He smiled slightly at the thought.

"Maybe the 11nth, I think that's a Saturday. Or the 12th. I'll have to talk to everyone and find out what the best time would be," he answered brightly, gently sliding off the bed onto his feet, "So I guess that's about it for now."

[screwloose]

"Sure," Stein said agreeably. "Either of those days would be fine with me. Let me know when you'd like to come in, and keep me posted. Assuming you're planning on using me, that is."

He led Maraich out into the hallway, back towards the front lobby as he spoke.

[maraich]

Maraich was reminded how creepy the place was back on the way out. The doctor was strange and had some questionable quirks. He kept it to himself, though.

"I'll let you know," he agreed. He was planning on getting a worldhop back from where he first came.

[screwloose]

Stein definitely enjoyed being a little strange, and didn't apologize for it. He opened the heavy metal door leading out of his building and held it open for Maraich to go through.

"I'll be waiting," he said.

[maraich]

"See you, then," he headed back out. He did plan on at least getting him a message, but he wasn't sure he planned on coming back. A few thing he had said and his odd personality made Maraich feel uncomfortable about trusting his child's life with him.

He went out and waited patiently for his ride back.