Dysfunctional -- Chapter 39

Disclaimer:  The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me.  No money is being made off of this fic.  I only own the original characters (X5-121, etc.).

Two weeks later…

121 lay back on the infirmary bed and closed her eyes.  I hate this shit.  I can’t believe that my stupid ass morning sickness got me another morning-long at least stay here.  I mean, this is only the…fourth, no, the fifth time that it’s been this bad.  Not that it’s a whole lot better the rest of the time.  Am I the only X-series in this stupid program that’s having this hard of a time with the morning sickness?  There’s no way.

“Want some company?”  121 opened her eyes and saw 494 lying down on the bed next to her, grinning.

“Not if it’s you,” 121 joked.  She turned her head and blinked when she saw the black eye that 494 sported.  “What the hell happened to you, 494?”

494 shrugged.  “Today happened to be the one out of five times when 511 beat me sparring.”  He gestured to his heavily wrapped right ankle.  “I’m waiting for the X-rays on my ankle to come back.  I talked the nurse on duty into letting me visit you in the mean time.”

“I should be let out soon,” 121 said.  “The nausea is easing up.  It’s not nearly as bad as it was maybe half an hour ago.”  She looked over at 494’s pants and then grinned wickedly.  “I’m glad that you changed your pants before 511 beat the shit out of you.”

“Did I thank you for throwing up all over me during lineup this morning?” 494 sighed.

“Nope,” 121 said cheerfully.  “Oh, and don’t forget to thank 511 for jumping out of the way in time so that he wouldn’t get hit by what had been yesterday’s lunch and dinner.”

“How many times have you been in here because of your pregnancy, 121?” 494 teased, grinning.

121 flipped him off.  “This is the fifth time for morning sickness, so seven counting the two times that I fainted last week.  One more trip here and then I’ll be averaging one for every week that I’ve been pregnant.  But according to the doctors, the fetus is as healthy as can be so I’ve got to suck it up and take it like the soldier that I am.  I'm just counting my lucky stars that they haven't put me on any kind of bed rest yet." She made a face. "I hope this stops soon.  I hate being sick.”

“So do I,” 494 said.  “You’ve been an even bigger bitch than normal.”

“You really do like to live on the edge, don’t you?” 121 observed.

“Hell yeah,” 494 agreed.  “It’s the only way.  Besides, you’re one to talk.”

“One stunt and you won’t let it go,” 121 complained.  “May I remind you that was the only way that the objective could have been accomplished on the mission and if that happened to be the spectacular way and if I happened to enjoy completing it, then that’s just how it goes.  Besides, I’m not a total adrenaline junkie.”

“True,” 494 conceded.  “734 told me once that at least two of her former unit mates were worse.”

121 raised an eyebrow.  “Two of the ‘09ers were even bigger thrill seekers?  As much as they could have been as children?”

“Apparently so,” 494 said.

“Hmm,” 121 mused.  She shrugged.  “If that’s true, then I’m surprised that those two idiots haven’t gotten themselves caught.  That one time when I had to pull that stunt on the mission down in Florida there was no margin of error and I barely managed to pull it off.  Can you imagine what would have happened if one of those half-trained morons tried to do it?”

“Excuse me, 494?” a doctor spoke up.  “We’ve just gotten the X-rays back and it’s only a sprain.  Come back here in two days and we’ll re-evaluate you.”

“Yes, sir,” 494 said.  He got up off of his bed and accepted the crutched that the doctor gave him.

“121, if you’re feeling up to it, you may leave as well,” the doctor added.

“Thank you, sir.  I am feeling better now,” 121 told him.  She got up off of her bed and she and 494 left the infirmary together.  “I must be getting better.  I think that I’m actually getting hungry.”

“For the crap that we eat?  Maybe I should drag your ass back to the infirmary,” 494 joked.

121 laughed.  “Yeah, right.  I’m definitely not going back there today.  You, on the other hand, might get sent back there when you’re not able to see because of the second black eye.  I might be pregnant, but I won’t hesitate to punch you if you don’t stop acting like an ass.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” 494 said.  “What’s on your schedule for the rest of today?”

“I’ve got to cover a group of X9s in the classroom from 1330 until 1530,” 121 informed him.  “I have to help the little guys learn algebra.  After those two hours, I’ve actually got a little bit of extra time before I have that special physical activities class that they set up for breeding program females from 1600 until 1800, then dinner, and then I’ve got an hour in Computer Lab C starting at 1900 and that’s it for me for the day.”  121 shrugged.  “Same old stuff that I’ve been doing since I got put into the program.  It’s boring.”

“Sounds like it,” 494 agreed.  He stopped and frowned when he saw 849 standing near a bulletin board.  “Hey, 849, is something wrong?”

849 nodded.  She looked unusually nervous for her.  “Yeah.  121, please don’t kill me.”

“Why would I want to kill you?” 121 said, confused.

“You will, trust me,” 849 promised.  She pointed to the bulletin board.

121 looked still gave 849 a puzzled look.  What the…  It suddenly hit her what 849 had been referring to.  Hell fucking no!  There’s no way that bitch Renfro did what I’m thinking that she did!  She turned to face the board and looked up at the list of new X5 breeding program pairs that was pinned to it.  Three rows down, she saw it and her jaw dropped.  She closed her eyes and clenched her fists and took a deep breath.  “I won’t kill anybody.  I will not strangle or mutilate a single fucking person.”

“What’s with her?” 494 wondered.

“I got paired up with 511 for the breeding program,” 849 told him shakily.

“Oh, shit,” 494 said.  “Does 511 know?”

“Probably not.” 849 shook her head and sighed.  “I happened to be walking by just as a lab tech was putting up the lists.”

“Oh,” 494 said.  He shook his head.  “Damn, Director Renfro must have been in a sadistic mood today.”

“Yeah, if she knew that we were friends,” 121 remarked.  “I don’t know how she could know, though.”

849 looked at 121 nervously.  “We are still friends, right, 121?”

121 took another deep breath to calm herself down.  “Yeah.  We’re still friends, but that doesn’t mean that…”

“…it doesn’t still get you?” 849 finished.  She managed a smile.  “If it makes you feel any better, if Director Renfro did want to be sadistic, then she would have paired 511 and I for the program last week when I was in heat.  I promise to do my best to get knocked up before I go into heat again.  I know how you and 511 feel about that subject.”

“Thank you,” 121 said.  “That does mean a lot.”  She managed a smile and then she and 494 walked off in one direction while 849 continued off in another.  It honestly does mean a lot to me, but the fact still stands that somebody else is going to have my boyfriend’s baby!