I race through the corridors back to Beth.

On my way back, I stopped over to grab a few things from an old storage room I was once tasked to clean out as as a med student. It was filled with all kinds of outdated equipment that was collecting dust.

I cough as I stir up the dust rummaging through a box in the back corner labelled C.P.. At the bottom of the box I found what I was looking for.

A smaller box, faded and yellow with bright pink and purple lettering, glared back at me. I open the box and pull out one of the two sticks inside.

"Just in case," I whisper, slipping the stick into my pocket and closing up both boxes.

Checking the hallway was clear, I exit the storage room and race back to room 203.

At her door, I knock and she lets me in.

I smile at her, slipping into the room.

The door closes behind me with a snap and I set myself up on the floor of her tiny unit. I open an aging yellow textbook I found in the same storeroom as the stick and open it to the section about pregnancy that I've ear tagged.

"I thought we were looking at other options first," Beth says, unapproving of where I wanted to start my examination.

"I wanted to start with this."

I wait for her to say something but she's silent.

"Okay," I continue. "Answer these questions yes or no. Any aches or pains lately?"

"Yes. Everywhere is sore," she says.

"Okay, do you feel ill in the morning?"

"Lately, yes."

"Have you been craving random food?"

"Yes. The other day I actually liked the damned porridge on porridge day."

No doubt I was feeling giddy at the prospect. This was a big deal. If she was pregnant, and it was looking like she might be, then humanity had a small chance to survive.

"Do you feel bloated or have you been having cramps?"

She looks down at her stomach, touching it slightly. She nods.

"Are your ankles swollen?"

"No."

Shucks! That would have sealed the deal.

"Hmmm okay. Well I went through the old medical equipment in the storage area and found this," I hold up a yellowed stick with an aging pink end.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" she asks.

"Pee on it," I say matter of factly.

"I am not doing that!"

"Wouldn't you rather know?"

She scowls at me. "Fine!" she snaps, snatching the stick from my hand.

She goes into the the bathroom and slams the door. After a moment, I hear a trickle of water fall into the toilet bowl.

The water stops after another minute and she flushes. She then reenters the room and hands me the stick.

"Now what?" she asks.

"We wait."

For an agonizing five minutes we both stare at the stick.

It sounds stupid, but I'm praying to the topside that she is pregnant. For the sake of humanity of course. Not because I wanted to be the father or anything so I could shove Hamilton aside.

I watch the clock on the wall tick slowly by. It's agonising and we're both getting restless waiting for the little lines to appear.

"It's time," I finally say.

"Thank god! What does it say!?"

I pick up the stick. There's two lines creating a plus.

"A plus," I whisper in disbelief.

It worked!

"Which means?"

"You're pregnant."

"You're lying! It's faulty," Beth exclaims, grabbing the stick off me.

Her face falls as she looks at it and reads that it indeed says she is pregnant.

"What am I going to do, Tom? What if the Council finds out?"

"I won't let that happen."

"How can you be so sure of that!? Your book says I'm going to get fat very quickly! How can I hide that when everyone around me is so skinny from the diet we all have to eat?"

I look at her. "We'll figure this out."

She looks at me like she's suddenly remembered something. "Hamilton can't know. You hear me!? He can't know!"

"I agree."

"He can't find out!" she repeats, beginning to stand up.

"Okay, okay," I say, as she begins to pace the room, the stick still in her hand. "I won't tell him, but we do need to figure out how to hide this."

"Can't we get rid of it somehow?" she asks.

I shake my head. "No. You're carrying the Colony's first natural conceived child in a hundred years and that's too much of a miracle for anyone but the topside heaven to touch."

"Well then, I'll walk into the radiation up there!" she states defiantly.

"I won't let you do that if it's not safe," I say. "We'll figure this out. Just give me a few days."

"I can't wait a few days! I don't want this child! I don't want to be taken away and I don't want to become some test subject for the Council to play around with."

"There's nothing we can do about it now, Beth. It's a wonderful thing you know. You're going to be a Mom and I'm going to be a Dad."

"Screw you! It's probably not even yours!" she snaps. "I slept with Hamilton too!"

"Yeah but where's Hamilton now? He's not in here like I am. Helping you."

She sinks to the floor, burrying her head in her arms.

Shucks! I'm worried now. Did I go too far? Have I upset her too much? Does she hate me like she hates Hamilton? I can't lose her again, not after I just got her back!

"I don't want to die, Tom," she eventually sobs.

I sigh, relieved she's not spewing out how much she hates me.

"I won't let you die," I whisper back, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"Do you promise that?"

I begin to rub her back soothingly. "I promise. No one's going to take you away. No one's going to kill you. No one is going to touch that baby. I'm a doctor. I won't let it happen. I can handle this."

She looks at me. "I hope you're right."

As long as Hamilton stayed out of the way and she made the occasional appearance all should be well. 

"And for the record," she adds, forcing me to look down at her reddened face. "I really wouldn't bank on you being the father."

I scowl. We're going to need a paternity test as soon as possible.


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