Covid 19 and at last past 21.

©Copyright to Beverly Guinevere Taff.

List of Characters.

Terry Harrington. Fugitive boy marked for compulsory transitioning.

Samantha, (Sam) First transitioned kid Terry meets on the streets.

Theodora (Dora) leader of the transitioned kid gang.

Jessica. (Jessie) The only neo-natal girl in Dora’s gang.

Charlie Member of the transitioned gang.

Jan Another member of the transitioned gang.

Ron Café owner who lost his daughter to egg- snatchers.

Part 5

As they sat savouring their coffees the girls debated whether to try and pay a visit to Charlie and Jan, the two gang members who were most severely affected by the virus.

“Where did they take them after you guys were separated?” Jessie asked.

“They were taken to the Nightingale hospital. It’s a permanent building now built where the original tent was erected. It’s the clinical centre of excellence now, but they still only accept positive cases and visitors have to prove they’re immune.”

“How?”

“There’s a test centre at the gates.” Dora explained. “You get a result in minutes, while you wait.”

“Well I know I’m immune, they’ve checked the antigens in my blood,” Jessie declared, “how about you two?”

“We’re okay, Dora and I checked out when they caught us.” Jan replied. “We were ill but nothing like Jan and Charlie. We only spent a fortnight.”

“When did you last visit?”

“Bout a month ago. They were still not right. It’s been nearly a year now but they seem to be just stuck betwixt and between. There’s about a hundred patients like that in there.”

“So we can see them?”

“Oh yeah, if your immune and not a carrier, you can go in and out any time you like during the daylight hours. Bit of a fuss with stripping off your clothes and wearing PPE but that’s all. It’s to stop you bringing the virus out on your clothes. They’re really keen about that, you get sprayed like a shower when your remove the PPE upon leaving. You have to pay for the PPE though.”

“Well we’re all pregnant moms now. We can afford that and the bus fare, come on. I haven’t seen them since they were taken.”

“What about Terry?” Dora checked. “Is he immune? You don’t want to be giving him anything if he’s your partner.”

Jessie let out a snort of derision.

“What? Terry immune! Fuck me is he ever. I’ll tell you about it on the bus.”

They took the back seats upstairs to avoid anybody overhearing their conversation and Jessie described her infection and how Terry dealt with it..

“Yes, it damn-near killed me and girly boy just sailed over it. When they tested me for my antigens at the pregnancy clinic, they told me I’d had a really vicious strain. The most lethal one there is.

They wanted to know who treated me but I played dumb. Just saying I was really sick for a week and nearly starved to death but a couple of kids kept bringing water and I got over it. It was a pack of lies and I’m sure they didn’t believe me but what could they do. I don’t know the names of all the kids living rough in Bristol!”

“So what did Terry have to do with this?”

“He nursed me. Him and Trixie.”

“Trixie!! What did she have to do with it?”

“Terry had given me up for dead apparently but Trixie wouldn’t leave it alone. She made such a fuss that Terry came back. He was frightened but Trixie kept licking my face so Terry tried artificial resuscitation, you know, mouth to mouth.”

“Jeeze that was brave, they tell you never to do that cos of the lung to lung infection thing.”

“Well he did and do you know what; he got me breathing again, Then I suddenly coughed a huge gobbet of phlegm straight from my lungs into his. It set him to coughing and he coughed up a bit of it but he reckons the bulk somehow got lodged in his lungs. We kept the sample in a jar and when they asked me about corona at the pregnancy testing place I went back and got the sample. It was disgustingly dried out but their labs checked it out and that’s how we knew it was the bad version.

Now here’s the strange part and virologist confirmed this. If anybody had come in contact with that sample they would definitely have caught Covid 21 stroke seven and probably died. About eight out of ten die and everybody is seriously ill, I mean seriously.

“Well Terry had a fucking great lump of it directly from my coughing it into his lungs and d’ you know what?”

“Go on.” Sam pressed.

“He never once had a cough or a sniffle or a wheeze or any symptoms of Corona and we’ve been together for months. I’ve slept with him every night and if he had any symptoms, I’d have noticed!

But no! Nothing! Nada! Nary a sneeze. I’m too afraid to tell the clinic in case they turn him into a lab rat. In fact I’ve never mentioned him to any of the authorities and you must not either! Promise me!”

Both Dora and Sam nodded solemnly just as the bus pulled up at the hospital. Within twenty minutes, the three girls were sitting in the ward recreation room just sharing some emotional moments with their friends Charlie and Jan. Jessica wasted no time on niceties and waded straight in with direct questions.

“Are you actually getting better or are you simply stuck in this ‘limbo-land’ world?”

Jan smiled wanly and half whispered/half croaked.

“I’ve been improving very slowly but Charlie’s hardly improved at all since the initial partial recovery. Some of the victims here seem to be permanently fixed in a half world of permanent poor health. It’s a nightmare wondering If Charlie or I am going to end up like that.”

“How long has it been now?” Jessica pressed though feeling guilty at seeming to rub the point in.”

“Nearly six months since they pulled us out of our cellar gaff.”

“If they hadn’t got you, you’d be dead long ago. You’re bloody lucky to be alive.”

“You call this being alive?” Jan croaked again. Just look at Charlie, she still has hardly enough breath to speak.”

Jessica swapped places with Dora to give Charlie her attention but it was hard trying not to show their distress for their friends. After staying a sufficiently appropriate time to demonstrate support and concern, the three girls made their guilty excuses and crept away. On the bus back they spoke very little and separated in town. Dora and Jan returned to the government apartment that had been provided as long as the continued allowing themselves to be made pregnant with fertilized eggs. Jessica took a bus towards the suburbs and met Ron and Terry as they were preparing supper.

“Everything okay?” Terry asked.

Jessica described her day and finished by declaring.

“I’ll probably only go back a few times between now and the birth. The twins are doing fine and I’ll only drop into the centre if I feel ill. They’re still curious as to who the father is.”

“Let them wonder. I’m not breaking cover until they’re born and My DNA proves me to be the dad.”

Jessica nodded then headed for bed. Her time with Charlie and Jan had overwhelmed her emotionally. That night she explained why she was not up for sex because of her sadness about her friends. Terry agreed and they simply curled up and savoured their naked intimacy.

In the morning Jessica woke up to find Terry gently tracing his finger over her tummy.

“Mmmm! That’s nice.

“You’ve got lovely skin,” Terry murmured. “Pregnancy is making you bloom.”

“Thanks darling,” she replied as his words compelled her to spoon closer and snuggle tighter.

ooo000ooo

In the months that followed, Jessica bloomed with her pregnancy. She felt the twins kicking and when she did attend the clinic they assured her that this was an excellent sign that the twins were healthy, During this time she only chose to have one more scan because the images showed the twins closely entangled and it was difficult to make out many details except the arms, legs and heads.
Trying to spot the genitalia was never an issue for everybody naturally assumed that the twins were male, just like every other baby born on the planet. Their tangled embrace prevented any determination anyway.

For his part, poor Terry was forced to endure a virtual ‘lock-down’ at Ron’s café and he spent his time mostly working behind the scenes with his usual tasks and a nightly walk with Trixie. For a break, usually on Sunday afternoons, Ron would take both Terry and Jessie for a spin in his van just to relieve Terry’s Cabin fever. Then, as the last month of the pregnancy came around, the doctors finally persuaded Jessie to take temporary residence in one of the pregnancy suites.

“It’s best for you to get sufficient rest Miss Jessica and your close by if there are any complications.”

“Yes I think that might be good doctor. It’s getting difficult to walk more than five miles into the city centre every day.”

“Good god girl, with a bump like that, you should not be walking those distances! Mind you if you aren’t too distressed then regular walks around the clinic grounds and local shops would be good for you. I’m impressed young lady.”

And so she settled into the residential birthing suite where, by prior agreement, Ron came to visit her each evening after the café was closed. Terry stayed well away until the babies were born and the DNA match could confirm his fatherhood and subsequent freedom from any forced reassignment surgery.

During her stay in the suite, Ron bought a mobile phone so that she could keep contact with Terry using Ron’s phone.

All too soon the time arrived when Jessica suddenly felt the contractions start and she pressed the bell for the midwife. Because she had very rarely pressed the call bell the staff appeared as if by magic precisely because Jessie had demonstrated she was not a ‘bell-basher’ The midwife happened to be Jessica’s favourite and she immediately set about preparations while all importantly staying by Jessica’s bed to reassure her. When the contractions became more frequent and her waters broke, Jessica phoned Terry and Ron.

“Who’s that your calling love?” The midwife asked.

“Ron, whom you know, and my partner Terry, the father.”

“Terry. I’ve never seen him here.”

“He’s never come. He’s like me, a street kid but he’s been scheduled for GRS. We’ve actually been together ever since conception but he’s had to hide until the DNA rule.”

“I see. Will he be clean; you know, street kid and all that.”

“Yes. Scrupulously clean. He lives with me and Ron and works for Ron. You’ll find him very kind; he saved my life when I had Corona virus Covid 21. He gave me mouth to mouth to save my life.

“Good god! Brave boy then.” The midwife smiled.

“I think so,” Jessica agreed. As another contraction spasmed through her belly.

“Oooh Aaah, that one hurt.”

“Okay love, lie back, lift your knees and spread them slightly.”

“Jessica did so just as Terry appeared in the doorway.”

“Oh bloody typical, just when I’m at my most lady like. You pick your moments don’t you!”

“Oops sorry love, shall I wait outside?”

“No. You may as well come in now. You helped put them in, now you can help take them out!”

“That’s the spirit girl. Let him learn the consequences of his pleasure.” The midwife grinned.

Another contraction racked Jessica’s body and she squealed with the unexpected pain. The midwife immediately lifted the sheet and felt Jessica’s tummy.

“You need to start Pushing now, are you ready?”

Jessica nodded anxiously as Terry took hold of one of her hands. They smiled briefly before Jessica felt the next contraction.

“Push darling, the head’s starting to engage.”

“Aaah, Ooohoowooh. Fuck you Terry Harrington, Damn and Blast you!”

The midwife grinned whilst invisible under the sheet; she’d heard worse. As she saw Jessica tense with the next contraction she told her to push again.. The process took it’s natural course now as Jessica pushed with each contraction and soon the midwife announced.

“I can see the head, one more big push darling, Terry, get ready with that sheet.” When the baby’s out, I’ll place it naked on Jessica’s chest but it will be slippery. Get ready to help her by wrapping the baby in the sheet.”

Reluctantly Terry released Jessica’s hand and stood next to the midwife as she lifted the sheet up and clear of Jessica’s hips> Terry got the full view as the baby’s head appeared face down and the Midwife started to work the shoulders out. Then she quickly wiped the body and grinned up to Terry as the baby let out a lusty cry. As she went to lift the rest of the baby clear and hand it to Jessica she said.

“Congratulations Jessica you’re a mother to – a .”

There was a deathly pause as both Terry and the midwife started stupidly in shock.

Jessica became frightened at the silence.

“What is it? What’s wrong.”

The nurse recovered from her shock but Terry just kept staring as the nurse declared.

“There’s nothing wrong darling! Believe me Jessica, there’s absolutely nothing wrong. Look! Just look!

As Jessica struggled to take the Baby, the nurse scolded Terry.

“Wrap her in the sheet you stupid oaf, don’t just stare at her!”

For another second or two, Terry continued staring before shaking his head and informing Jessica.

“She’s a girl Jessie! You’ve born us a daughter!”

“What!” Jessie shrieked as she almost snatched the squalling baby out of Terry’s hands.

“She’s a girl Jess. Look! Look! A girl!!”

“With an anticipated few minutes before the second delivery, the Midwife stepped outside and bellowed down the corridor.

“Doctor McTavish. In here, immediately! NOW!”

Knowing that Rachel the midwife was a long experienced midwife, Agathe Mc Tavish came quickly down the corridor and swung into the maternity room.

“What?”

“For an answer, Rachel simply stood to the side and indicated the little girl’s body with an expressive open palm. Jessica obliged by holding the baby out for inspection.”

Agathe’s expression quickly changed from annoyance, to shock and then to a huge smile. Instead of looking at the baby though, she turned to Terry.

“You’re the father?”

“Yes,” replied Terry dismissively as he kissed Jessica passionately while Jessica inspected her daughter’s genitals.

“She’s definitely a girl. Can you make certain doctor?”

“Oh you can be sure of that Miss - Harrington is it?” But first, I want to speak to your husband.”

“Not now,” Terry protested, there’s another one coming.”

Almost on cue, Jessica felt another contraction and the nurse plunged between her legs again.

By now the commotion had attracted more midwifery staff and a second nurse appeared to take the baby from Jessica who refused to let her daughter be taken out of the room.

“She stays with me. You can take her for other tests later. All the usual tests can be done in here, by my side. Is that clear doctor?”

“I really do need to run tests Miss Harrington. We have to be sure she’s a girl and that will require CAT scans and MRI scans. I can ask her father to accompany me.”
“Not before the other one’s born; she might be a girl as well!”

“Of course! Dammit this is all too much; did you not scan the foetuses.?”

“We couldn’t see anything, their limbs were in an embrace, the midwife replied.”

She took the scan images out of the file and presented them to the doctor.

“I see, nothing to see there then. Okay we’ll wait for the second child.”

At those words, the new-born gave another squawk and Terry took station beside the midwife.

“I’d better stay for this one then,” Dr McTavish opined.”

And the whole maternity team agreed.

The same process ensued but this time the paediatrician took Terry’s place while Terry held tiny ‘firstborn’ in his arms.

“It’s another girl Miss Harrington,” Dr McTavish declared as Jessica slumped back exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

Despite her exhaustion, the smile on Jessica’s lips said it all as both babies were carefully placed in her arms and Terry edged onto the bed to try and extend his arms around his new family. The midwife suddenly realised the young couple would need this magical moment alone for what was coming to them would be as a hurricane to a summer breeze.

“Right!” She declared loudly. “Everybody out, - you too Doctor McTavish. They need their privacy.”

The clamour ceased and everybody crept out of the room as the Midwife turned to Terry and Jessie.

“Five minutes, okay?”

“Ten.” Terry begged.

“Okay, ten then.” She agreed as she closed the door behind her.

For fully a minute, the pair just stared at each other as they tried to compose their thoughts. Finally Jessica found her voice and whispered her question.

“What are we going to do?”

“You mean what am I going to do?” Terry replied. “You saw that doctor’s face.”

“Are you going to stay and face the music?”

“It depends what tune they want to play. I’m not going to be held hostage to my dick!”

“But you’d only have to leave a deposit say once a month. It’ d be up to them to sort out the insemination procedures.”

“What like separating every sperm and injecting it microscopically into every egg?”
“There’s millions of sperm every time you ejaculate.”

“You can’t impregnate every available egg with the same man’s sperm!” Terry cackled. That’d be like incest for all his – no -, my grandchildren.”

“No-oo”, Jessica intoned slowly. They’ve got millions of eggs frozen away going back twenty nearly thirty years. They can impregnate unrelated eggs for years to come. Your genes will be diluted through several generations of frozen eggs before you die. It’s fairly safe to marry your fifth or sixth cousins and they can preserve the eggs they’ve got stored for far, far longer than that. Consanguine conceptions are pretty safe after only three generations. A generational step of sixth or seventh cousin pretty much covers about half the population of a country like ours or France; sixty million people or so.

Did you see the look on Doctor McTavish’s’ face when she actually clapped eyes on our daughters?”

“Yeah, it was more than just shock, I could literally hear the gears whirring in her head. I’ll bet she’s already squealing down her phone. In another hour, this place’ ll be fucking surrounded. – And I’ll be bloody locked down yet again. A year of that was enough to fuck with my head; a bloody life-time will kill me.”

“Well, if you’re frightened, that window is on the ground floor. You’d just have to –“

“I can’t leave you. Not to face all the shit! I’m more than prepared to share my sperm if the girls prove to be healthy but I don’t want you or me to be put through all this security stuff again. I just want to live a normal, happy life – with you!”

“You only have to hide for a couple of weeks or so, just so we’ve got a bargaining chip while we negotiate some sort of sensible plan. So far they’ve held all the aces, now we’ve got the joker in our hand. If we play our cards sensibly we should come out pretty much un-scathed.”

Terry fell silent as he weighed things up while Jessica nursed her daughters in her arms and pondered if it were too early to try suckling them. She decided to wait until the midwife came back and ask her. As the uncertain silence endured, Jessica looked at her partner and nodded towards the window..

“If you’re doing a runner, you’d best be quick.” Jessie suggested.
.
“Okay. Lend me your phone and I’ll speak to Ron.”

“Is he here?”

“Yes, he’s just in the corridor.”

“Then call him in. He can see the babies and sort something out without using the phone. You know, electronic eavesdropping and stuff.”

Terry eased the door back and invited Ron to see the girls. Once inside, Jessica alerted Ron to the situation so he simply hugged and congratulated Jessica, kissed the girls and left to meet Terry in a back-street behind the hospital. While Ron left via the door, Terry slipped out through the ground-floor window. When Doctor McTavish returned she asked.

“Where is he?”

“He’s slipped out to sort his head I think. It’s been a rough year for him what with the compulsory SRS, the twins and all the other stuff.

“Well his SRS is obviously a big no-no now. Any idea when he’ll be back?”

“I’m not sure, sometimes when he had a problem he stayed away as much as a week while he sorted his head. The GRS thing really got to him.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Yeah, you guys and your selection process. Terry’s all boy in his head and in his preference with maths and sport. But you guys just looked at his somewhat effeminate nature and decided he’s gender fodder. No real checks and no chance at all for an appeal. God knows when he’ll be back, if at all.”

“Damn! We need to find out what happened, why his sperm seems not to have been affected by Corvid 21.”

“Yeah, and now, instead, you’ll want to milk him like a dairy cow. He’s not stupid. The government haven’t exactly endeared themselves to boys like Terry. He’s been a fugitive for over a year now; that fucks with a kid’s mind!

“Yes, that’s another thing, he looks very young, how old is he?”

“Fourteen!”

Doctor McTavish’s jaw dropped.

“What-!!”

“Fourteen. Are you deaf.”

She ignored Jessica’s sarcasm as she tapped frantically into her phone.”

“Yes. It is him. The one that went missing last winter. Definitely Terry Harrington.”

“Oh. You know all about him then,” Jessica interrupted.

The paediatrician waved her hand irritably as she continued discussing things down her phone.

“Yes, you’ll have to inform them. Technically he’s still a minor.”

Jessica could not make out what was coming back down the phone to Doctor McTavish but there were a lot of ‘yesses’ and ‘no’s’ before the doctor glanced towards Jessica again. Her next words chilled her.

“No. Do not under any circumstances alert the police or put out an all persons broadcast. If other foreign powers were to find out they might possibly try and kidnap him. We’ve got to get him back at all costs, the potential for blackmail is incalculable.”

“Black mail!” Jessica snapped angrily. “Who’s doing any blackmail? He’s just gone to clear his head and sort his thoughts out.”

Doctor McTavish turned irritably.

“Do you mind not interrupting! I’m trying to phone here.”

“Of course I’ll interrupt you! You’re talking about my Terry and kidnap - and blackmail.”

Doctor McTavish suddenly realised in her excitement that she had been a bit insensitive and rash. She lowered the phone and put it on speaker so that Jessie could hear the full conversation.

“Sorry Bob. I’m in the delivery room with the mother and the twin girls, she got a bit anxious. We’re on speaker now; d’ you want to speak to her?”

“Please. If she want’s to speak to me, put her on.”

Jessie nodded and Doctor McTavish handed her the phone.

“Hello, this is Jessica, who are you?”

“I’m Robert Farland, the Cabinet chief of the Gender Reassignment bureau and main, scientific, government adviser.”

“Fuck me! Wouldn’t my Terry like to get you alone in a dark room.”

Robert Farland quickly realised he was treading on thin ice. Not for nothing was he a successful politician.

“Please Miss Jessica, I understand your concerns and your partners’. I apologise profusely for all the distress it’s caused, but my job is to somehow avoid the extinction of the human race.”

“Well you’re out of a job now!”

“I well understand that – now. But your partner’s seeming lack of co-operation raises more issues.”

“There are no more issues. He’s fathered my two beautiful daughters so he can father many more. I know my biology.”

“Yes, we all know our biology; the biology is no longer the issue, state security and more importantly, your partner Terry’s security is.”

“All Terry want’s is to be left alone.”

“Do you think that other governments are going to leave Terry alone?”

Jessica fell silent. The issue of their personal danger had already crossed her mind and she had no answer to ‘Bob’ as Doctor McTavish called him.”

Author’s note.

Oops there’s going to be a couple of more chapters SORREEEEEEE!