The Rabbit's Den

The Slow Descent

Over the next several weeks Trixie's belly hadn't grown at the rate it was before the loss of one of the twins. When she looked down, she could still see her toes, but her belly was starting to protrude more than ever. She had to roll the waist of her pants below her hips now, otherwise they wouldn't fit. Dr. Mullens had calmed down slightly; he wasn't as manic as he had been the night Cyrus had struck her. Trixie was still certain that he had begun to lose his mind.

It was late afternoon when the doctor came into her room, "I need you down at the lab, and we're running another test for the virus." Trixie looked at him confused, "But you just ran one last week." He raised his eyebrows at her, "Yes and now I'm running another, on all of you." "But you just did it last week." She protested. "Trixie, Yana's case might not be isolated. And you insisted on seeing her days after delivery, you will be tested again, and again if I choose." "Okay." She said softly as she walked out of the room. He hadn't let any of them see Yana after her diagnosis.

Petra was already in the lab, currently getting her blood drawn. The last round of in vetro had worked, and poor Petra was sickly looking. Her morning sickness had led to her being bedridden with weekly injections of vitamins to try and keep it at bay, her once shiny red hair now hung dull and heavy, her face was sunken, and she looked ghostly. "Hey Trixie, how are you feeling?" Trixie smiled at her, "I feel fine, still on moderate bed rest. How are you holding up?" She sighed, "I'm so tired." As Trixie looked at her concern flooded in, "Are you still throwing up?" Petra nodded, it looked like it took extreme effort, "Not as much now." Cyrus grabbed her by the arm and helped her up, "I'm going to take you back to your room now." When they were walking out Petra turned and looked at Trixie, but she didn't make an effort to wave or say anything.

Dr. Mullens stood by while the replacement for Ivy carefully and gently drew Trixie's blood. "Seems like you got the hang of it." Trixie commented. He laughed, "Well I hope so, I was on the WOLF first response team for years. I've had my practice." Trixie shivered on the inside. This man was quick too, he was done before she realized it. Dr. Mullens began to usher her out, "Sit tight Lee, I've got around twenty more girls coming in." Trixie walked slowly beside the doctor, hoping he would become distracted by anything and she could continue on by herself. "Did you ever think to test the men?" Dr. Mullens had a little sneer, "Trixie men aren't affected by the virus. They've never tested positive since the beginning." She looked up at him, "It's a virus, right?" "Yeah." She scoffed, "Then it can mutate." He opened her door, "It hasn't shown any mutations since the beginning Trixie."

She turned and stood cross armed at him, "I need bigger pants." "I'll let Cyrus know." He paused for a moment then stepped in shutting the door behind him. "I think we should get married." This is one of those situations where Trixie couldn't control herself. "What? Hell no!" She blurted. He raised his eyebrows at her, "You want out of the hospital, that's how you get out Trixie. "Slamming her hands onto her hip she snapped, "Not if my system is wrecked after this!" Now she was just being hardheaded. "And if it's not you get to spend a lot of time here." He stated calmly. Trixie shook her head, "No way. I'd still be your personal Guinea pig either way. Even citizens don't get the opt out of baby farming."

"You have literally nothing to go back to Trixie, why don't you just think on it for a couple days?" Levelheaded doctor had switched back to the snotty tone. Married what did that even mean anymore? Most of the couples she knew called each other husband and wife, it's not like it was legal on paper anywhere. She was pretty sure Milly and Jacque weren't even technically married. Dr. Mullens turned and left, he had twenty more patients to get tested. Then he was going to talk to Dr. Peterson then the board.

"Have you completely lost your mind Jacob?" Gregory asked, feeling a bit wary of his counterpart. Jacob wrinkled his face, "Absolutely not, I'm dead serious." "How did this even come about? How are you going to explain it to the board anyway? She's a subject." Gregory asked with a stern tone. Jacob threw his hands in the air, "She wasn't while I was a captive in the Den. The clinic was destroyed, and I had no idea I was ever going to be back in the city. Hell, she was pregnant with my child at the Den! That's why I pushed for her to be brought here. It's perfect." "It's plausible." Gregory huffed, then continued, "The board will never okay it." Jacob smiled, "They might consider it, if you were a witness for me."