Archive of Our Own

Work Text

"Philomena... Philomena?""Hmmm?""Don't you think you need to take a break and head home?""...Why do you ask?""W-well, its just that you have been hard at work since 5:30 this morning... Plus, you've haven't taken any breaks in awhile...""... Perhaps. But, I'm so close Jessibelle... Once it's done, then I'll take a break."The scientist Jessibelle, sighed as she watched her colleague Philomena Burkov, work away at her own experiment. The time on the clock read 11:56 P.M., a time in which everyone working was either at home with their families or getting ready to pack up from the night shift, though the same couldn't really be said for those who worked at the NewDugWood Valley Lab. While that would have been the case for anyone else, Philomena wasn't one of those people: she didn't have anyone to go home to and thus was allowed more free reign to work on whatever available projects she had leftover for as long as she wanted, but to spend nearly all day on just one experiment was a bit too much. Jessibelle was just one of the few who not only showed concern but actually decided to check up on her once she realized the clacking of an old keyboard was still going on."Mena... Its 11:56 P.M.""...Yes, it is... so?""So? Its almost midnight... It's been nearly 7 hours. That is not healthy!" Jessibelle answered, nearly shouting."I know... but I'll be done soon, so don't worry about me..." Philomena answered, trying her best to word her response carefully. Jessibelle groaned again, her bag resting on the floor as her coat draped against her body like a cape."Mena...""Jessibelle, I'll be alright. Besides, I'm not the only one who's still here late... You also need to head home as well...""Sigh... Why can't we both head out?""I don't want to keep you waiting... You have your own home to get to and I have mine, so don't worry... I'll call you when I go, ok?""...Fine, fine. I'll go home, but please don't forget to call me when you do..." Jessibelle pleaded with her, to which she received a small smile from Philomena as she returned to her work."I won't... I swear.""Ok... but before I go, I have just one question..."Philomena soon looked up once more. "What's the question?""...What exactly are you working on? You say you're so close to being done, but what exactly is the experiment that you have been working that you declare is "so important"? I'm not trying to be mean or rude, I just want to know...""...Well, its a bit hard to explain, but remember that news article about how the number of infertile women had been going up in NewDugWood?""Oh yes, I've had!""Well, that's what the experiment is about: I'm hoping to create a serum which can not only help a woman carry the child to full-term but also protect the unborn kid from any complications that often follow, well at least I hope so... I have yet to make sure it is perfect. But hopefully, either the next time I come into work or in about one more day...""Ah, I see. Well, that sounds like a wonderful idea Mena, and if anyone can figure it out, its most definitely you!" Jessibelle said, smiling proudly at Philomena as she started to get ready to leave."Heh... thanks, Jessibelle. Take care.""I will. See you later."Philomena waved goodbye back as Jessibelle finally exited, the door slowly closing behind her. Once she was gone, Philomena got serious and got back to work. Her hands moved from the keyboard to several test tubes laid out in front, each containing a few liquids and samples needed. She poured each of the mixtures together with one another, stirring them as different colors emerged before pouring the results into a large beaker. Once the beaker was placed, she walked over to a drawer and fished out a Pasteur pipette before reaching for the last ingredient needed: a small sample of Metformin. Squeezing the bulb of the pipette, the liquid bubbled up inside and made its temporary home within as Philomena slowly walked over to the beaker, anticipation building up inside her."Phew, alright Mena... just add a drop of the sample, and get ready to stir for results..." Philomena mumbled to herself, both her right arm and right hand shaking as she slowly moved it towards the opening, a bit of sweat dripping down her forehead."You've gone through every color imaginable, all not carrying the result you are looking for, but perhaps... this one might be the one."Soon, the small drop made its way as Philomena slowly swished the beaker around with the palm of her hand before settling it down once more, waiting for the results to pop up as she wiped away the accumulating sweat, pleading slightly in a near whisper."Please... please work... Please, give me blue... Please, let this one be blue..."Fingers were crossed as well as toes, as it settled down, the color quickly changed as the mixture turned from bright orange to... a simple blue. Philomena looked, seeing if it would change as a means of trolling her even further... but it didn't."It...worked? It, it worked! It worked!!"Philomena cried out as she ran around the lab, a sense of celebration rushing through her suddenly. After all this time, all the failed results that either blew up in her face or did nothing were worth the effort as she had finally achieved her formula. She soon stopped to catch her breath as she smiled wide, taking the formula in order to place it in a safe place. Now there was only one thing left to do as she cleaned up her work, fixed herself up, and started to get ready to leave so that she can get rested up and ready to get started on the next part."Now... All I have to do is some experiments and then present this to the board... Shouldn't be too hard. After all, I can convince them... Hopefully," she said, the last part leaving her mouth, a sense of uncertainty mixing up with the already tired hope building up inside her brain. Gathering up what papers were available and delicately putting her succeeded results in a suitable carrier, she made her way to her car so that she can head home and prepare herself to stand in front and convince them, and the first step was getting some proper sleep. Driving away, her thoughts pounded in her head, some saying how she could potentially fail and would probably have to start over somewhere new, while the others were trying to convince her and give her the well-needed hope that everything will turn around ok and that she'll have the funding necessary to continue and help others who were also suffering from infertility. And the rest... the rest were quiet. Philomena sighed, late-night lights shining from outside her car windows as she drove on, mumbling to herself over and over "I can convince them... I can convince them... I can convince them", trying her hardest to make sure that the part of her left unsure and unexplainable fear would be on board just so she can wipe the nerves away and get ready for the chance to persuade them.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

January 1st, A Year After The Results

It was the same dream as before.

He was floating in a color-changing space with every part of his body(except for his head) covered in a glowing light. And just like before, it was quiet with the only sounds being his breathing as the scenery changed from purple to red, to green, to yellow, and so on... All while he floated there. He couldn't understand why he was here every time he dreamed, nor why he couldn't move around to explore the strange surroundings, but he wasn't complaining nor frightened... It seemed for every night that found himself there, an eerie sense of calmness would just flowing through him. It was unexplainable, but he didn't mind, if anything it just helped him sleep better than he ever did before as he felt his eyes started to close and he just allowed himself to float there, arms at his sides and legs close together. Sure, there were sometimes the constant disturbances that often or not predicted something that would happen in his day, but for the most part, it was completely and utterly normal as it always was...

Until in the few seconds of his eyes closing, something different happened.

Something bright was trying to shine through his eyelids, to which he groaned and tried squinting his eyes tighter to block it out. It didn't work, so with a groan(the second sound he made in this normally quiet dream) he opened his eyes and saw a small, blue orb floating just above his face, which contorted in confusion. This was... new, given the fact that nothing like this has happened before and he wasn't sure what to do(not like he could move any of his limbs anyway) as the orb suddenly moved from his face and made a slow and short float over his stomach. While he couldn't see the orb(his head couldn't move), he could the warmth from the orb as it hovered over him... And a slight burning as he felt it slowly make its way into his flesh. It was a mixed feeling: on the one hand, it burned... but on the other hand, it was like being in front of a fireplace on a cold winter day. It was peaceful, burning, warm, and comforting all the same. As the orb kept going in, he could feel his body temperature rise higher and higher, and from his ears, he could hear a soft beeping grow louder and louder, a nuisance and assault upon his ears as he started to plead silently for the noise to stop until...

'BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!'

A phone alarm ranged out in the small, almost cramped bedroom as the person sleeping awoke with a jolt. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he tried catching his breath, his own heart erratically beating against his chest as his eyes frantically looked around and his hands gripped the front of his shirt, before he managed to calm down, his breathing returning to normal as he wiped away the sweat and released his shirt. His phone got his attention and he moved his hand over to shut it off, the time reading 9:15 AM, as silence once filling his room again as he sat upright in his bed, hands running through his slightly damp black and blonde messy hair as a fluff of dark grey fur started moving next to him, revealing a fluffy-haired cat who began purring as she looked at her owner.

"...Ah. f-fuck... What the hell was that dream? ...I mean, I've had plenty of bizarre interactions in that dream, but..." He started to say to himself as his phone buzzed again, though this time, it was just a text message notification. Looking over to it, he noticed several more being buzzed in, all from a name titled "T-Coon". Sighing, he grabbed the phone and unlocked it as a total of 12 text messages greeted him, all appearing just a second from each other.

Morning Dylan!

Wanna come with me to see Philomena?

She said she wanted to show us something at her lab!!

Hey Dyl, you sleepyhead?

Are you up and ready?

Dylllll Dyllllllllllll Dyllllllllllllllllllllllan

Are you still sleeping?

Jeez, you’re really out of it huh?

Phbtphbtphbtphbt

Boredboredboredyboredybored

Oh shit... Did I just send that???

Ah! I did it again!! I hope Dylan disregards those last two messages ^^;

Dylan couldn't help but chuckle, both at his friend's rapid, and often randomly thought out text messages as his cat began to cuddle up to him happily. Forgetting about the dream, he started to reply to the last one sent to him, fingers moving at a moderate speed over the keyboard.

Morning Terry

Was still sleeping so I couldn't see your other messages^^;

Sure, I'll go with you to see Philomena

I'll be ready in about a few minutes

I'll see you outside

Placing his phone down, Dylan removed the covers from his legs to stretch them out. Once that was done he repeated the same thing with his arms as he lifted himself from his bed and headed towards the bathroom to shower up, brush his teeth, and get dressed. Hearing some light mewling, he turned to his cat and smiled, petting her gently.

"Sorry Clover girl, I'm afraid you can't come with me," Dylan said apologetically as Clover gave a small meow, giving him her big old sad kitty eyes as he said, "But I promise I'm going to spend some extra time with you when I get back."

He gave her one last pet as he made his way to the bathroom and closed the door behind him to start the day right.

Outside

An orange beat-up car was just pulling up in front, several rattling noises coming out as it came to a complete stop with a slight thrust. As it did, the loud music playing inside was toned down to a moderate volume by someone inside. The person in question was a 25-year-old male with both brown and light brown wavy hair and bangs that covered his right eye, wearing an outfit consisting of a black and white raglan tee with the sleeves bunched up, a light orange long sleeve jacket, capri pants, and no lace blue and white sneakers that tapped the floor of the car as he reached for his phone in the cup holder to text Dylan once more. But before he did the front door opened and out stepped Dylan, now dressed in a navy blue and black with rolled sleeves unzipped parka jacket, a dark gray scarf, a dark grey v-neck short sleeve t-shirt underneath, a pair of loose fit cuffed black ripped jeans, and red and white loosely tied converse sneakers. Carrying a tightly wrapped handmade pork bacon on a sloppily cut croissant in one hand and a small blue and black tattered travel coffee mug, he rushed towards the car, placed the mug on the roof, and opened the door before grabbing both the mug and door with his right hand before settling into the car seat and putting the travel mug in the cupholder. Leaning his head back with a sigh, he turned his head slightly to look at the driver and offered a bit of a small smile to him.

"Heh, hey Terry."

"Ah hey, Dylan! I was getting a little worried, I nearly texted for the 6th time... Or was it the 5th? Well regardless, I was a bit worried", Terry said, smiling as he started moving the gear lever into reverse before getting into the drive gear.

"Heh yeah, I could tell. Those various text messages you sent me when I just woke up pretty much told me," Dylan said, chuckling as he buckled his seatbelt. Terry blushed and sheepishly smiled as he steered the car onto the road leading towards Philomena's lab, before stopping at a stoplight.

"So Terry, why exactly are we going to see Philomena? You mentioned that she wanted to show us something, so what exactly is it?" Dylan asked before biting into his sandwich.

"Hmmm, well, all I know is that Philomena wanted to show us a new experiment of hers, and why I tried to get her to tell me more, she hung up," Terry answered before driving again, taking a left turn.

"Ugh, please don't tell me it's another one of her "surprise" experiments again," Dylan said groaning as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Huh? What do you mean, what's wrong with her surprise experiments?"

"I didn't say anything was wrong... But if I have to, I still have flashbacks to the time you turned into a cat," Dylan responded, taking another bite out of his sandwich as Terry chuckled, a bit embarrassed before making a right turn, passing by a sign grounded into a small snow-covered grassy area surrounding by pavement and a small walking area between the two roads that promoted both the lab name and the location where one could find it. As they passed by it, Dylan took another couple of sips of his coffee before presenting another question now starting to weigh in on his mind, if only for a bit.

"So Terry, if the experiment in question isn't one of her quick surprise ones then what exactly is it about?"

"Mmmm, I'm not sure. But who knows, maybe it's something akin to a resurrection ray gun, or even a time machine!"

"I doubt the whole time machine or resurrection thing Terry," Dylan said, slightly chuckling as his friend rolled his eyes and gave a mock pout, the lab finally coming into view for them. Terry slowed the car down to find a parking space close enough for them to reach the door as Dylan finished his sandwich quickly.

"Well, whatever it is, I bet Philomena is just so happy to show it to us! She's probably sitting in her seat wriggling with anticipation and happiness!" Terry exclaimed as the two of them walked out the parking lot and towards the stairs.
 
In the Main Building
Philomena was not wriggling with anticipation/happiness, nor was she happily waiting for her friends to come into the lab. Philomena was, in a way, beyond pissed off, angrily staring down at the floor as her hands gripped the wood of the bench she was currently sitting on. No matter how hard she tried to calm down, her brain wouldn't stop replaying one simple word, the source of her current woes: Rejected. She just couldn't believe, years of studying, of countless results blowing up in her face before the true results finally appeared before her, was just rejected like that. Even though a part of her knew that it probably wouldn't work out, a small part of her still believed that the board would at least say yes, but sadly, the conversation that occurred just a little bit beforehand said otherwise...
Flashback

"...I'm sorry, I think I may have incorrectly heard you... did you say that the proposal was... rejected?" Philomena said quietly, staring at one of the older chair members with a look of utter disbelief.

"I'm afraid so Miss Burkov. I do apologize for the inconvenience, but sadly the rest of the members feel that the world might not possibly be ready for such things just yet. And I know that you have been working hard, but I'm afraid that is the final decision... I am really sorry." The man said as he gave Philomena an apologetic look.

"N-No, I understand... I get it... Well then, t-thank you for delivering the news. Now if you'll excuse me, I n-need to get back to work..."

"Of course Miss Burkov, have a nice day." He said, walking away as Philomena looked down before sitting, putting her head through her hands as she felt her body shook with slight sorrow...
Present"...Mena? Philomena? Philomena!" A voice ranged out, bringing her back to reality. She looked around for the source of the voice before seeing Jessibelle at her side, looking at her with concern."Oh. Hey Jessibelle. How are you doing?" "I'm fine... Though, I am more concerned about you. You're quieter than usual and you look... well, you looked angry. Did something happen? Did you get any news about the proposal? Are they going through with it?" Jessibelle asked."...O-oh... I-well... I'll tell you later Jessibelle. I need to get back to work...""A-are you sure? Cause if not, I can tell someone to take over for you so you can head home and...""No. I'm fine," Philomena said, a bit sharp and harsh before composing herself as she noticed the slightly shocked look on her face. "I-I'm fine Jessibelle, really. I'm just... tired. I didn't get enough sleep last night and the meeting ran me dry. I'm fine, honest...""Oh, o-ok. Well, if you're not feeling too tired, Dylan and Terry are here to see you," Jessibelle said, trying to shake off the bit of harshness that was directed at her."Oh. I'll go greet them... Thank you for notifying me, Jessibelle..." Philomena said as she got up, walking slowly out of the building with her bag over her shoulder. 'Maybe they can cheer me up...' she thought quietly to herself, as Jessibelle looked back at her one more time before walking in the other direction.
With Dylan and Terry
"Terry, I don't think you should be playing around with those," Dylan said, hands in his pocket as Terry fiddled around with one of the open test tubes on a small desk."Ah, it's fine Dylan. I'm sure Philomena won't mind if I just touch and maybe look, into the tube," Terry replied as he still fiddled with the tube as Dylan shook his head and settled back against the desk, tapping his foot. "I mean, let's be honest here... when has an experiment ever screwed me over?" Terry asked and before Dylan could give a sarcastic response..."Oh, I can count the number of times, Terry. In fact, would you like me to list them, or will you stop fiddling around with the tube?" Philomena called out, hands on her hips as she looked at him. Dylan straightened up as Terry stumbled, the tubes' contents sloshing around erratically before he slowly turned around and looked at Philomena with a sheepish smile on his face."Oh! H-hey Philomena! How's it going? I'm definitely not playing around with the test tubes here if that's w-what you're thinking! I mean I hope Not! I mean..." Terry stammered out, rubbing the back of his head and shaking a bit as Dylan smirked behind his hand. Philomena rolled her eyes as she walked over before gently putting her finger down on the tube, stopping it at once as she turned to look at the two of them."Mmm right... Anyway, I'm surprised that you two are here early," Philomena softly said, giving off a small smile."Well as Terry put it, apparently you have a cool new invention you want to show us," Dylan said, smiling back at her as Terry nodded excitedly at her."Yeah! Like a time machine! Or a resurrection gun!" Terry said, jumping up and down. Philomena couldn't help but give off a small smile, feeling a bit better as some of Terry's positive energy started to rub off on her."Or you know, just something normal..." Dylan muttered out before Terry calmed down a bit, though he was still excited. "Heh, well... While it's not a ray gun or a convoluted machine, it is something... ok to talk about. If you guys want to see it, just follow me." Philomena said before turning around and leading the two males into the more open part of the lab where everyone else that she knew were at. Passing by them with a nod of her forehead and a slight wave, they soon made it over to where Philomena's own desk was as she placed her bag on it. Rummaging through her bag, she soon took out a small white box and placed it down before turning to face her friends."Alright, gentlemen... Before I show you, let me just ask you guys a simple question: Are you two aware of the recent increase of infertile women in our town of NewDugWood," she asked. The two males both nodded, remembering seeing the headlines and reading bits of it in the newspapers about a few months ago. "Good", Philomena said, smiling. "Well, I managed to find a way that I can guarantee will fix that problem up..." she said, a bit excited as she took out a small test tube containing a blue liquid. "This little concoction here is the key to guaranteeing a safe and smooth pregnancy. When injected, the liquid shifts and turns into a temporary uterus. Once that happens and the uterus is settled in, I would combine the sperm with the hosts' egg and inject that as well into the host and...""That would be the start of the smooth pregnancy right?" Dylan asked, to which Philomena nodded and smiled slightly."Yep. That's the plan," she said as she placed the concoction back into its case."Wow Philomena, that's so cool! So I take it that you discussed this with everyone on that board to get it into pharmacies? I bet they agreed, right Philomena?" Terry asked, smiling at her. Philomena's heart pained a bit as she heard that question, her small smile slightly fading away. Instantly, both males felt concern rise in them, Terry'd enthusiasm faded away as Dylan's casualness disappeared completely. "Mena? Mena, are you ok? I-I'm sorry if the question wasn't right to say..." Terry started saying, quickly apologizing as Philomena shook her head."N-No... It's fine. Technically, I did speak to them... Had the discussion and everything was handled with ease..." She started saying and explaining quietly."Then what happened?" Dylan asked carefully, but before Philomena could provide an answer, an arrogant and smug sounding voice ranged out from behind them. "What happened was Philomena failed as usual and got soundly rejected by our reasonable and well-respected board," the voice said as the two males turned and groaned while Philomena scowled. The person in question was a 36-year-old male with white-colored hair gel back and grey eyes wearing a lab coat similar to the one Philomena had on, but underneath it was a white button-up shirt with tie, black pants, and shoes as he strolled over, looking as smug as ever."I didn't fail Harrison... I may have reached a setback-" Philomena growled out before she was rudely interrupted by Harrison raising his hand and smugly smiling at her."A setback to which the answer was spelled N-O, which basically means you can't conduct this silly little experiment of yours... Especially considering your other failures for experiments," Harrison said, smirking as he spotted Philomena's hands shake and her teeth grit in aggravation."Hey! Philomena's experiments are NOT failures! They're practical and amazing a-and you're just jealous because you can't invent something good like that!" Terry exclaimed, shaking his fists as Harrison eyed him, seemly bored."Ha! Yeah right! First of all, you weren't here when I have presented my own personal and well-received inventions. And secondly, how on earth could you see anything out of the working eye on you," he asked, sneering."Well for starters, he can actually see when an invention 'Cough'Yours'Cough' is about to go to all hell cause he's an engineer. And, its funny, for someone who brags about how well he invents, wasn't your little spray the indirect cause that released a noxious smelling gas into the air and caused the lab to get quarantined," Dylan pointed out as Harrison blushed and stammered, eyebrows furrowing in anger as he sought out to find the words necessary to say."W-Well...! I-I... Ummm... W-Whatever! You don't even invent Akiyama so what do you know?!" "Mmm, well I know not to be an asshole about it and admit my own fuck-ups, but I guess would be too much for your arrogant carrying ass," Dylan said, rather nonchalantly as both Terry and Philomena suppressed the urge to chuckle while Harrison's face turned an even brighter shade of red."Ugh! Whatever! I shouldn't be wasting my time talking with you. If you'll excuse me, I need to go invent something that won't blow up... Something you wouldn't know, right Philomena?" He sneered out at her as he turned his body to which caused Philomena to speak up and snap at him."I know more than you do Harrison and you know what? At least I didn't get fired from my previous job for going against supervisor orders and nearly blowing up the laboratory..." Philomena snapped at him quietly, to which Harrison snapped his head up, glaring at her as he stomped over to her. "How. Dare. You. I did not get fired, I was merely let go due to false accusations and evidence.""Oh, so video evidence is false evidence huh? God, you make up such shitty excuses it's amazing you haven't gotten fired from this job," she said with a bit of edge in her voice. "What?!""Ummm, h-hey Philomena! Why don't we talk about something else?! L-like..." Terry started saying, tapping his foot as he quickly looked around the lab. Dylan was also looking around as well before his ears caught the sound of something not akin to the argument, what sounded like..."Like the screaming carrying through the hallway?" Dylan asked as both Philomena and Harrison(once they stopped arguing and heard the screams as well), along with Terry and several others, heard a faint scream echoing followed by the sounds of... wheels?What on earth-," one of the researchers said before the sounds of the wide doors flew open and the once far away screaming carried itself into the lab."OH GOD!! AHHHH! PLEASE HELP!!!" the voice in question cried out as the researchers all scattered out of the way, letting out small yelps and screams as the item the person was on(a large cart) steered itself in a desperate bid to stop. "Hold on!" Philomena said, getting in front of the runaway cart and holding back, asserting all of her force and strength into making sure that it stopped safe and sound. The Good News: It did stop, small squeaks emanating from the cart's wheels as it stopped, allowing Philomena to let out a small breath of relief.The Not So Good News: The person on top found themselves thrown off from the sudden stop, tumbling a bit in the air before finding themselves landed on something... or rather someone, and that someone was Dylan, who grunted in pain before falling backward as he looked up to see a pair of baby blue eyes carrying an apologetic expression in them and across the face."O-Oh, dear! S-sorry!"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Just a Few Minutes Ago
A truck was just pulling up, the sun shining bright as it was carefully brought to a stop with its doors facing the lab's back entrance. Once that was taken care of, the truck's driver, a scruffy-type of a man turned towards his passenger: a young woman with golden-brown skin and burnt orange hair all tied up in a low, slightly poofy ponytail. She was wearing a navy blue nurse uniform with the ID tag reading 'Kristina A. Māhoe' on the front as her head remained slouched to the side, her eyes closed as she was muttering to herself in a sleepy state as the driver gently took his hand and shook her."Miss Māhoe? Miss? We're here," he said gently as the girl moaned and yawned. She mumbled again, something about an ice castle and... red pandas before she rubbed her eyes and looked around."Mmm... Wha? Reding Baron? Wait, are we not at the Blizzard Castle in NorthMain County?" she asked sleepily as the driver looked at her, a bit confused as he shook his head."N-No Miss Soyer, we're at NewDugWood Valley Lab for the delivery," the man explained as Kris stretched and yawned a few more times before looking at the man with a pair of hazel eyes."O-Oh we are?! Heh, s-sorry... Guess I'm still a little tired from the night shift I worked," Kris said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head as she took off her seatbelt."Mmm, really," the truck driver asked, not really interested but still being polite as Kris opened the passenger door and hopped out, heading to the doors as he followed her."Oh yes! Heh, it was so late that by the time my time to go home came, it was about 8:45 am I believe... Or was it 9:00 when I came out? I'm not sure," she said, not paying attention to the bored look on the truckers' face as he opened the back doors of his truck and unhinged the delivery ramp. In the back of the truck was a large silver-colored container with wheels to make pushing it much easier with the sides decorated with "NewDugWood City Hospital" as Kris went to go pushing it, rambling a bit."Uh, Miss? Are you sure you should be pushing that? It seems a bit heavy for you..." The driver said, stopping Kris's rambling as she turned to look at him and gave a polite smile, hands placed on the cart."Oh no no, it's ok! It's just a simple little push down the ramp! I'll be fine, but thank you," she said cheerfully as she went to go push it, grunting slightly as the cart slowly moved down towards the ramp. Creaking could be heard as the cart moved down before abruptly stopping as it snagged a bit, making Kris grunt a little bit louder than expected as she stumbled, to which the driver quickly rushed towards her."Heh, o-oops! How on earth did I stumble like that? Well, best to try again," she said with enthusiasm, trying to lift the cart as it tugged against the snag."Miss, are you sure you don't need help? If you're not careful, the cart might..." the guy said as Kris struggled."N-No it's ok! All I got to do is lift it and push it again down the ramp a bit more carefully," she said, trying to reassure him as she felt the cart lift just a few inches."Yes, but if you're not careful when lifting the container from the snag, the sudden weight of the container might..." but before he could finish, Kris finally lifted the cart, only to have it suddenly fall and roll right off the ramp with surprising ease, causing her to let out a yelp and finding herself on top, holding on for dear life as the driver barely had time to help her."OH, DEAR! O-O-OH NO! HELP! HELP!" she yelled out as the cart traveled fast through the halls, eventually making its way to where the lab was, to which the doors flew open from the sudden force of the cart."OH GOD!! AHHHH! PLEASE HELP!!!" she cried out, feeling herself slipping from the cart more and more."Hold on!" A quiet voice called out as she suddenly felt the cart stop as the person who called to her exerting their force to stopping the cart, which worked though not without making Kris fly from the cart, feeling her body tumble before hitting something hard. Letting out a small groan she lifted her upper body and head... Only to find herself face to face with a wide pair of ruby red eyes belonging to a male with a bit of a shocked look on his face.
Now
"O-Oh, dear! S-sorry!" was all Kris could stammer out as she looked at him, her face started to darken from embarrassment as Dylan looked at her, unable to say anything as his blush was starting to form all the while Kris was stammering, her words become muffled as he looked at her with his heart beating rapidly in his head and chest."...lan? D...ylan... DYLAN!" Terry's voice ranged out, snapping Dylan out of his love trance as he found he was still on the ground while Kris was still rambling. "Dylan? You ok man," Terry asked, getting into his vision, Philomena meanwhile was still holding the cart from moving and thus wasn't able to check on him at the moment."Uh y-yeah... I'm f-fine... Just met an angel... I mean, just... Uhhhh, what did I mean?" Dylan stammered out as Kris stopped and looked at him, a bit anxious while he tried looking around."A-Are you sure?" she asked"Uh, y-yeah I'm finnnnnnnnn..." he trailed off, noticing that Kris was now closer to him as she examined him for any bumps or potential cuts before looking at him. "Let's see, I don't see any wounds or scratches... I think you're fine, but yet your face is all red..." Kris said as she looked closer, to which Terry took notice and smirked at his friend. "Heh oh really?" Terry said, almost in a teasing manner as he leans in, hands behind his back as Dylan struggled to find both his voice and his words, Kris still confused as she turned her attention to him."I-I-I-I'm fine! Just... Just n-n-need to get u-u-up!" Dylan finally stammered out, his heart racing as Kris looked back at him, a bit confused before she realized she was directly on him still, a blush spreading over her face as she realized before starting to get up, Dylan the following suit rather quickly."O-Oh, dear! I'm so sorry! I wasn't-""N-No, it's... I'm sorry. I didn't mean-""N-No... Oh, I...""Uhhh...""S-Sorry!" The two of them finally said out loud, blushing madly as Terry snickered behind them. Everyone who rushed to get out of the way filed cautiously back into the lab once Philomena had assessed that nothing was damaged and her attention turned back. Harrison, who fleed first and was making his way back in, straightened himself up as he sauntered over with a sneer on his face."What on earth is in that cart Philomena? Another assortment of useless junk for your inventions," he asked in a disgusted voice, to which Philomena turned and looked at him in slight anger, but before she could answer Kris, who overheard him, turned to him still blushing deeply."O-Oh! Well, that's the ovum donation from the cryogenics office, w-wait no department, that Philomena requested from the geneticist May Ruth about a few months ago! For her experiment," she explained softly, smiling as she remained completely unaware of the tension between the two scientists, and of the smug smile ever-growing on Harrisons' face."Oh really? Aw, I guess Philomena didn't tell you huh?" he asked smugly as Philomena gripped her hands tightly as she bit her lip angrily while Kris tilted her head confused."N-no... not tell me what?" she asked almost innocently as Harrison walked over and slung an arm around her shoulders(which caused Dylan to glare and snarl at him from behind as Terry restrained him to avoid a fight)."Well... Philomena, sadly, won't be able to conduct her little experiment due to our respectable board denying her such an "expensive" request.""Oh really? Oh... I guess I have to return the cart then..." "No!" Philomena said a bit loudly, startling everyone before she fixed herself up and straightened herself out. "I-I mean... no, you don't have to return the cart. I definitely will need them... sometime in the future," saying the last part quietly."Oh ok... Are you sure though? Cause I can take it off your hands if you wish," Kris explained, playing with a piece of her hair as she was a bit nervous about Harrison and the way he was scowling at Philomena."Yes. I'm sure, positive in fact," Philomena said, scowling back at him. "Besides, I can keep the ovum in here since I'm technically not using them for the planned experiment right now."Harrison gave one last glare at her as he removed his arm from Kris(to which Dylan managed to calm down, though he still glared at him), walking up to Philomena as he stared her down, her doing the same."...Fine. Fine, fine, fine Philomena. You wanna break the rules? You wanna ignore the board's decision? Fine. By. Me. But just so you know," Harrison said as he started to walk away from the group before turning to glare at her over his shoulder."When this inevitably fails for you, I will watch you crumble like the useless rock tower that you are," he said coldly as he stormed out, the door swinging behind him as an uncomfortable silence loomed over for just a bit until Kris cleared her throat."W-Well umm... T-that was... oh my... That was a bit t-tense..." Kris said rather timidly as she nervously twirled a piece of her hair while the three members both let out small breaths as Terry released Dylan. Philomena breathed in and out before turning to face Kris with a strained smile on her face."I apologize for... that little altercation you had the unfortunate pleasure to see Miss Māhoe and I thank you once again for bringing the eggs needed," Philomena said as politely as she could, clasping her hands in front of her as Kris turned to her and smiled a bit shakily."O-Oh no, it's fine. It k-kinda reminds me of those disagreements in the hospital hallways! Heh heh heh hoo..." She said, her laughter fading away as she awkwardly looked away."A-anyway, I should be h-heading out right now. The t-truck driver I was traveling with must be worried," Kris said, rubbing the back of her head as Terry elbowed Dylan."Ow! What was that for Terry?!" Dylan whispered shouted as he glared at him."Talk to her," Terry whispered back to him."...What?""Talk. To.Her." Terry repeated as Dylan looked back between him and Kris."I... I don't understand-""Oh don't play dumb with me Akiyama. I noticed the way you were stammering and acting around her like you just saw a maiden riding on a dragon. If you ask me, that spells A-T-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N and you can't disprove me otherwise," Terry explained as Dylan's blush returned in spades."W-What?! No! You... You don't know what you're talking about Terry! I do not have an attraction to her! Hell, I don't even know much about her anyway," Dylan said, sputtering with bits of laughter mixed in. Terry raised his eyebrow at his friend, crossing his arms before a smirk came over his face."Really? So you don't have one bit of an attraction towards? Not even a flutter in your chest?""N-Nope! None at all so if you can drop it please, that would be swell," Dylan said through gritted teeth."Well in that case, if you don't have an attraction to her then you won't mind if I call her over so that you two can talk right? That way you can get to 'know about her' " Terry said with air quotes as Dylan reared back, almost letting out a squeaky noise in response before composing himself."N-No! I wouldn't mind at all!" He stammered, mentally smacking himself as Terry smirked."Well, in that case... Miss Soyer-Māhoe~ My friend Dylan would like to talk to you!~" Terry yelled out in a singsong voice as Dylan squawked. Kris stopped and turned her head with a look of confusion on her face as she started to walk over to them, with Terry taking this as a cue to begin walking away."Oh my, what is THAT over there? Let me go see!!" Terry yelled out as Dylan tried to grab his arm, missing as Terry rushed over to the other side."Terry! Terry, I swear to God don't you dare leave me you-""Did you need to talk to me?" A soft voice called out from near him as Dylan stopped yelling, his face bright red as he turned to face those same baby blue eyes that were just staring at him from the ground where he laid not too long ago. At once, his heart started beating once more as he felt his words get stuck in his throat with several attempts at speaking properly failing."Uhhh... w-I-mhhhh... Ahhhh... F-F-F- Pffft..." was all he could say as Kris watched him, eyes filled with confusion and a bit of concern. Off to the side, Terry watched the exchange, shaking his head and scowling slightly as Dylan continued stammering before turning in the other direction."Ah man, he's seizing up again... Mmm, maybe you have a solution or an invention to help him M...Mena?" Terry asked, trailing off as he noticed that Philomena had seemly vanished. Looking around, Terry called out for her as Dylan stiffly walked back, his hands clenched to his sides."...Welp, I made a fool of myself just now. It was probably only a miracle that she had to use the bathroom so that I couldn't say anything else more stupid..." Dylan said in an almost vacant manner as Terry faced him, worry all over his face, which caused Dylan to loosen up as he looked at him with creased eyebrows."Terry, What's wrong? Why are you looking worried? And wheres' Philomena?" Dylan asked, now joining Terry in looking around for their friend."I don't know! She was standing here not too long, but when I walked over her, it's like she just vanished!" Terry exclaimed, holding his hands close to him as Dylan walked around in hopes of catching sight of maroon short hair."Crap... Where did she go?" Dylan muttered under his breath before running into Jessibelle who was walking back into the lab from the main hallway."Oh! Jessibelle, have you seen Philomena?""Philomena? Oh yeah... she headed out just now, saying something about going home cause she was too tired... or at least that what she wants me to hear... She just packed up all her stuff and ran out..." Jessibelle said softly before walking away as Dylan, confused but thankful for an answer, headed back to Terry."Hey, Terry! Jessibelle just told me that Philomena headed home just now, so at least we know that she headed towards somewhere recognizable." "Really? Well, at least we know she's safe... but that still doesn't explain why she just walked out..." Terry said, still worried."Well, maybe we can stop by her house so that we can check on her, and hopefully, it isn't anything too serious," Dylan explained as Terry nodded, a smile of relief on his face."Yeah... yeah you're right! Come on, I'll drive! Well, I mean I will since it is my car," Terry rambled as he rushed out with Dylan chuckling as he followed behind him.
On GlassEye Street
Terry's car stopped in front of a small house situated towards the end of the block as both he and Dylan unbuckled their seatbelts and opened their car doors. Stepping outside, they were surprised to notice cardboard boxes stacked and piled up outside and near the garbage can as Terry walked over to investigate as he opened the box to find..."Hey, isn't this Philomena's microscope?" He asked as he picked up the box. Dylan walked up behind him, noticing another box laying next to the first on its side, which he picked up."Yeah... just like these are her advanced chemicals research books? What the hell are they doing out here?" As the two further investigate the boxes, the door to her house creaked open as Philomena herself walked out with several boxes stacked on one another. A sigh left her mouth as she made her way to the curb downtrodden, stopping only once she spotted the two males examing the contents of the previously placed boxes."Dylan? Terry? What are you two doing here?" Philomena asked softly as she placed the boxes down, getting their attention as they turned to face her."We could be asking you the same thing too. Like, why did you just run out and not tell us? Leave a note? Anything?" Terry asked, a bit of hurt seeping through his voice as Philomena looked away."Terry has a point, Mena. You can't just run off and not tell your friends you know. It was only because of Jessibelle that we were able to find out where you were." "I know, I know... I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys," Philomena said quietly as she looked out towards the streets, holding herself close. "I just... I just needed to head home and be alone so I can... I can bask in failure," she said as she turned around and headed back inside.Both Dylan and Terry felt their shoulders loosen up, concern on their faces as they followed her in. They gasped quietly as they noticed a multitude of boxes stacked up in the hallway from the front entrance as Philomena grabbed an empty box and proceeded to put in several racks of test tubes with bubble wrap surrounding it."B-bask in failur- Philomena what are you doing? Why are you packing all your stuff," Dylan asked as both he and Terry moved towards her as she stopped, a small shudder coming over her back as she barely looked back at them."As I explained, I'm trying to bask in failure... and I don't need all this scientific junk surrounding and reminding me so if you can just leave me alone, that would be great...""Wha- No! Philomena, we are your friends and we are here to cheer you up and make you happy no matter what! So, you best just tell us what is on your mind so we can do whatever in our power to cheer you up," Terry exclaimed as Dylan nodded, though this only caused Philomena to sigh again as she closed the box and picked it up."It wouldn't matter... I appreciate the thought but I doubt you can help me even if you wanted to..." She said softly as she headed towards the front door."W-well... maybe if you can tell us what we need to do, we can still help! Right, Dylan?" Terry said, looking at him."Yeah, of course! As Terry said if there is anything you need us to do we'll do it." Dylan replied as Philomena stopped, hand ready to turn the knob."...Anything?... No, no, no, no. I c-can't... I'll think of something for the expe- err, disaster as Harrison calls it..." She grumbled the last part out as she put the box down on the floor and leaned back against the wall."...This about the fertility experiment and the board, isn't it?" Dylan asked as both he and Terry walked up to her and stood side by side as she twiddled her fingers together and looked back and forth before beginning to speak again."...Maybe? I mean, yeah, it is about both of them though just a small mixture... Ugh, forget it. It's not your problem and it shouldn't be your problem you two, so just let me handle this and I'll think of...something. I don't know, maybe I can move to Australia or Scotland and start anew as a teacher at a local university or college... At least I'll be getting my mind off of everything else..." Philomena stated."Philomena, no. No moving to anywhere or getting rid of your science equipment just because HariASS wants to act like a jerk and talk down on you cause he can't invent or do half of the amazing stuff that you can come up with. Just sit here and explain to us in the best way possible what we can do," Dylan proposed as Terry nodded along with him. Philomena groaned quietly as she scratched the back of her head before moving on to her nose, feet tapping against the floor before she loosened up her shoulders and nodded, apparently reaching a mental agreement as she opened her mouth to explain."Well... I have been processing a bit of an alternate solution for this whole problem... There is this company, what was the name? Buy? Byu? Byusi, I believe... Anyway, if I can calculate, it was a few months ago when I heard the name being thrown around in conversation from one of my colleagues. At the time, I didn't think much about them..." She said, trailing off."...But?" Terry asked as Philomena played with a strand of her hair."But... from what I heard, they can provide adequate funding for the experiment. If I accept their deal, I can experiment and get the concoction out there in the world. First, it would be in NewDugWood but who knows, it could be out there in the world," she exclaimed as best as she could, earning a bit of a small smile from the two males."Well, that's great Mena! When will they be able to provide the funding?" Terry asked, which cause Philomena to stop, and sheepishly looked back at them."Welll... that's where a minor problem comes. To get the funding, I need to provide them with the results... and the only way I can get the results is by getting a volunteer..." She explained as she rubbed her arm and sat down on one of the filled up boxes."And you fear that no one will want to volunteer?" Dylan questioned, which caused Philomena to nod slightly in agreement."That... and well, the fact that I doubt anyone will want to volunteer due to the experiment being unknown. People are not going to put their trust with me if they never heard of the drug, even with the written down results from various tests conducted on lab animals like rats, hamsters, and bunnies," Philomena confirmed as she got up and started walking around in a circle before heading to her dining room area, with Dylan and Terry getting up to follow her."I was thinking of experimenting on myself... But once I countered in Harrison and the chance he might do something extreme, it's too much of a risk..." she expounded as she paused, looking over at the table at a small metallic box containing the drug with her hands running through her hair. Dylan and Terry looked at the box and back at her with Terry mostly in thought and quiet."What about the animal subjects you were mentioning? Can't you use one of them," Dylan asked as Philomena shook her head quickly."Nope... too risky. Harrison could kidnap the poor creature while it's in its cage and take it to god knows where taking the credit for himself. No matter what I do, Harrison is always going to be a variable cause he will be expecting the unexpecting... " she argued as she flopped down in a chair and looked down."Ah, Mena..." Dylan started to speak until Terry shot up with a wide smile on his face."AH HA! I GOT IT!" He shouted, much to the jumping of Dylan and Philomena who stared at him with worry. Noticing them, he blushed as he sheepishly smiled and relaxed, sitting back down while rubbing the back of his head."Ah... s-sorry, sorry, sorry for the outburst... But I think I have a possible solution to your problem Philomena... If you're willing to listen," Terry exclaimed as he looked towards Philomena, bouncing on the heels of his shoes."At this point, I'm willing to take anything if it means making this experiment work... Please, Terry, tell me," Philomena asked gently as both she and Dylan listened intently with Terry squealing happily as he cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips."Well, if you want to know, I call it... Operation Seahorse!"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Operation... Seahorse?" Both Dylan and Philomena asked, tilting their heads as Terry nodded his head."Yep! Pretty cool name don't you think!" Terry said, puffing his chest out as his two friends looked at him in confusion."Ok... But why the name 'Operation Seahorse'? Where exactly did you get a name like that," Philomena questioned, repeating the name as Dylan scratched his head."Because of seahorses! Specifically the male seahorses and how they are always carrying the females' eggs and give birth to them in the same way," Terry explained as he jumped up and down before he calmed down just a little bit."I was thinking Philomena... What if you were to do the human equivalent of a seahorse for this experiment? All that needs to be done is to have a male volunteer to help carry the fetus in question and then write down the results! Once you have what you need, you can just give it to Byusi and they will be able to help bring your fertility drug out to the public!" Terry said, beginning to bounce with a bit more subdued pace."I don't know Terry... even though the experiment when it was being performed on animals was safe and relatively easy for the female animals... I never conducted it on any male animals... There could be some risk factors going around... I don't want to harm anyone..." She said softly,  a bit worried as Terry scooted close up to her, a smile still on his face."And you won't! It would only have to last at least 5 weeks! I was able to think it out and if you can just keep it at that length, you would get your results and the experiment would end with no harm done!" Terry exclaimed, jumping up a bit more rapidly as Philomena contemplated what he said."Mmm... it does sound like it can work... If a male volunteer was to carry the child, at least for those few weeks, I can still get the results and give it to Byusi, I can end the experiment beforehand and the volunteer in question will be safe..." Philomena contemplated with a small smile growing on her face."Yeah, but there's just one problem, will the man in question want to volunteer? And would we be able to trust them completely?" Dylan asked as Terry stopped bouncing and Philomena felt the smile leave her face."Oh, man... Dylan's right. There's no way a volunteer will come up and agree to do this, and I don't mean to be rude... But I don't exactly trust any of the male scientists working there, mostly due to the fear of what might happen if Harrison noticed. He's always observing the others and criticizing them, reducing their self-esteem to an all-time low every day... With just one word or even a full lecture, he can have them reduced to telling the whole truth..." Philomena quietly said, shivering as images and sounds played out in her mind."Ah, nuts. Well maybe... No, that wouldn't work... Or maybe... No, even that wouldn't work... Damn it you're right," Terry muttered, scratching his chin before letting it hang down as Philomena looked worried, almost ready to give up.Dylan looked back and forth between the two before looking at the box again as it still sat on the table before a look of realization came over him and his mind began running.'Oh I know I'm going to regret this... But if it's to help Philomena, then so be it...' his inner thoughts began saying as he breathed in and out before clearing his throat, getting Terry's and Philomena's attention."Ummm, Philomena... I-I think I know who can be your volunteer for the experiment..." He started to say as he felt his heart skip a beat."Really? That's great Dylan," Philomena said, smiling slightly. "Who is it?""...M-Me..." Dylan said under his breath.Both Terry and Philomena strained to hear his voice before Terry asked: "What did you say, Dylan?""I said... M-Me..." He said, a bit louder. Philomena and Terry moved closer to him, confusion on their faces."What?" Terry asked one more time before Dylan groaned in frustration and shot up out of his chair."ME! ME! I WILL DO IT!" Dylan shouted, biting his lip as a bright blush formed on his face. His eyes darted between both his friends as they both looked at him in shock, blinking rapidly before Philomena spoke up."Y-You? You'll do the e-experiment?" She whispered questioned as Terry sat, mouth agape at his best friend, to which Dylan nodded rather quickly with sweat dripping down his forehead and his words caught in his throat."Dang Dylan... That's so cool of you to help Philomena!" Terry finally said, exclaiming as Dylan let out a nervous, throaty laugh while Philomena sat and processed before she started to speak up."R-really? Even with the risk factors?" She questioned with an unsure look on her face as Dylan turned to look at her, nodding a bit more slowly."Like you said, Philomena... If we just take it to only three months, I should be fine. And besides," Dylan said, smiling softly "I trust you completely. I know you would never let anything bad happen to me because we're friends," he finished as Philomena's eyes sparkle and she gave a soft smile in return. "Awwwwwwww! That's so sweet of you Dylan," Terry nearly squealed out, watching the scene intently as Dylan blushed a bit harder with Philomena nodding in agreement."He's right Dylan... That is very sweet of you. And I promise that I'm going to make sure that everything runs smoothly and safely as possible for you," Philomena said, holding his hands in hers as he nodded, smiling gratefully."I know you will Mena," he said gently. Philomena nodded as she let go and got up, heading towards the front door in a rush as both males looked confusedly at her."Mena?! Mena, where are you going?!" Terry both yelled and asked her as both he and Dylan got up to look out, noticing Philomena quickly grabbing the boxes that were still laid out on the street."Just getting my science equipment back! If I'm going to conduct this experiment, I'm going to need the proper equipment and more! Dylan, stay here until we have everything together! And Terry, you're going to help me get the stuff I need! Once 7:00 rolls around," Philomena exclaimed as Terry smiled gleefully and Dylan nodded."Alright! Just one question... What exactly do we need and why do we need to wait until 7:00?" Terry asked with a tilt of his head. 
Outside the Lab, Time: 7:00 PM
"You know Philomena... If you were to tell me that we would be sneaking into the laboratory late at night to do a seahorse experiment, I don't think I would believe you..." Terry whispered to Philomena as they both sat quietly in his car, to which Philomena rolled her eyes slightly before looking back at him."And yet... here we are so you better believe it," she said quietly as she waited for the last employee working there to leave, eyes trained on the doors. After a few minutes, a pair of male scientists opened the door and walked out, turning a corner towards a nearby bus stop to which Philomena nodded and got Terry's attention."Ok, Terry. Let's go," was all Philomena said before she and Terry got out and headed inside, walking quietly as they traveled through the hallways before stopping in front of the lab doors. Peeking inside, they looked back and forth before stepping inside with Philomena going ahead and searching around for the cart while Terry stood guard, head poking out to spot anyone who was still roaming around."Ah-ha!" Philomena said as she managed to locate the item in question, surprisingly placed near her desk as she opened it up, examining the tubes containing the donated ovum in question with a hand raised to select one of them as Terry walked closer to her."Now let's see... Eeny Meeny Miny... Moe," she said quietly as she grabbed one, a label on it reading "Annomynous, Date: 05/07/16"."Ok... you have the sample. Do we head back-" Terry started to ask before a loud "BANG" echoed throughout the lab, causing the two to jump up, with Philomena stumbling to keep the tube safe as they both calmed down for a second. A bit of silence followed before another "BANG" came through, a bit louder than the previous one as both Terry and Philomena looked around for the source. It wasn't until a third "BANG" came that Terry had found that the persistent sound came from the bathroom area of the lab. Opening the door and looking inside, Terry began calling out for whoever was still inside."Hello? Hello? Is anyone in here?" Terry asked as a sudden repeat of knocks came from one of the stalls inside as a feminine voice called out."H-Hello?! Is someone out there?! Please, help me out of here!" The voice called out as the door rattle. Terry rushed over as he tried pulling the door open to help them, stomping his feet into the ground. With a hard tug, the door flung open and someone came tumbling out."WHOA! Hey, a-are you o-" Terry started to ask as the person got up, only to find himself staring into a pair of familiar hazel eyes. "Miss Māhoe?" was all Terry asked as Kris brushed off the dust from her uniform and looked up at him, a bit embarrassed."O-Oh! Hello again uh... I'm sorry, but could you please tell me what your name is?" She asked, rubbing the back of her head as she gave a sheepish smile."Oh! Well, I'm Terry Pelletier, friend to Dylan Akiyama," he explained as Kris tilted her head, which he took notice of. "You know, that guy who was stammering... like a lot?" Terry asked as a look of recognition came over Kris."Oh! Oh, now I know who you are talking about! You mean that guy with the black and blonde hair and the... the... the most beautiful pair of brown eyes," she recalled, mumbling the last part out."Yep that's him," Terry said with a smile, missing the last part being said, "I know he was a bit... awkward, I would say, though with no ill will against him, but he was trying to talk to you...""Oh, I know!" Kris said, still smiling as Terry stopped talking and turned to look at her."Huh? You did?" Terry asked as both he and Kris walked out of the bathroom and into the main lab area while Philomena had disappeared off to somewhere else while they stood."Yeah I did," Kris said, smiling softly as she looked to the side with a small blush on her face, "To be honest, I was also feeling a bit nervous trying to talk to him too so I ended up saying something about going to the bathroom. I did mean to get out and talk to him again... but then I accidentally fell asleep in the stall and before I knew it, I-I got locked in. Oh god, and I told the truck driver that he can just leave cause I'll be taking the bus so now I have to wait for the late-night rides," she finished, embarrassed as she rubbed her head and chuckled lightly before letting out a groan."Ah... that explains it," Terry said before a smile came on his face and he began once more by saying, "Well, Dylan is always here every morning until the evening. Depending on how long you can stay, I think there's a chance to get to know him.""What?! Really?! Ah, Terry, that would be the bee's knees!" Kris exclaimed as Terry smiled before noticing Philomena poking her head through the lab doors. Terry froze up when he noticed her, only for Philomena to mouth out "Get her out of here", which caused Terry to quickly turn to Kris with a nervous smile on his face."H-Hey! Ummm, speaking of locking and all that, how about... Uhhhh, how about I walk you to the bus station? S-So you don't miss your ride," Terry asked, keeping Kris into his vision as Philomena snuck in. "O-Oh! Well, that would be very nice of you-""Great! How about we head outside right now?! And make sure that we don't stop for anything, no matter what," Terry quickly said as he led Kris, much to her confusion, out the doors and into the hallway, leaving Philomena to her own devices."Uhhhhh T-Terry! Can you... Can you please slow down?!" Kris said, stammering as she tried to keep up with him, all the while Terry kept running. Eventually, they made it to the bus stop, all the while Kris was trying to catch her breath as Terry released his grip on her wrist."H-Heh... sorry about the rush. I just didn't want you to miss the bus ride home," Terry explained as he turned to her as she looked at him, sweat leaving her brow as she gave a small smile to him."I-Its ok... I mean, at least you were considerate," she said almost breathlessly, wiping her forehead, "And at least I'll be able to get home quickly and safely. It was very nice to be able to talk to you Terry, and maybe hopefully I might be able to talk with Dylan next time.""Yeah, and don't worry. I'll make sure to talk to Dylan, and as I said, he will be able to talk to you without stammering," Terry said with a smile as Kris giggled."Heh, thanks, Terry. Here's to keeping our fingers crossed," she said, just as she heard the bus pull up."Welp, best get on there before it pulls off! You know how the bus drivers are here," Terry said rather quickly, though Kris didn't notice as she waved goodbye to him and stepped onto the platform and up the stairs as the door closed and the bus drove off. Terry waved back before stopping quickly, rushing back to the lab as he pushed through the front doors just as Philomena was just getting finished with what she needed to do."Ok... I think... We're good..." He said breathlessly, "Kris... got on... the bus... Sorry... out... of breath," he finished saying, taking in big gulps of air as he straightened himself up."Cool. Thank you for buying me some time Terry," Philomena said, holding the donation as well as a syringe filled with a bright pink liquid inside."No... Problem. So, why did you need me to get Kris out of here so quickly," Terry asked as he walked over to her, while Philomena had a small smile on her face."Oh, it was for a little something to help make sure that this whole process goes easy. Now, let's head back and pick up Dylan," Philomena said as both she and Terry quickly made their way back to the car."Pick him up? Wait, are we not doing the procedure at your house," Terry asked, a bit confused as he looked at Philomena, who shook her head in response."Nope, it's too risky. We need a place with the equipment necessary to observe him just in case something happens and we may need to end the experiment," Philomena explained as they both got into the car and buckled up."And fortunately, I just so happen to know the perfect place for us to do such a thing." She said as Terry turned the key. 
The NewDugWood Obstetrics and Gynecology Office: 7:55 PM
"And you're sure that May Ruth is ok with us being here," Terry asked, standing opposite from Philomena, who was near the door of a collection room."Positive. She and I have a bit of a history with one another, plus I managed to explain the situation to her while you were driving back," Philomena finished saying just as the door opened and Dylan stepped out, holding a small jar as he handed it over to Philomena."Here you go, Philomena. And needless to say, I don't think I want to go back in there ever again," Dylan said with a slight grimace on his face and a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Philomena just smiled as she examined the cup."Thank you, Dylan. This is perfect," Philomena said as she made her way to the lab, the two of them followed her."So what exactly is my sperm for?" Dylan asked as they stepped into a small dressing room filled with lab coats with hoods, shoe coverings, and goggles hanged up as they each grabbed a coat, covering, and pair of goggles and started getting dressed."For fertilization, or rather a form of in vitro fertilization. Using your sperm, I will be able to combine it with the ovum outside the body itself, and with a little bit of a formula mixed into the hormones, which May Ruth made and even gave a sample of to yours truly, the process will go much faster but still be perfectly safe for you," Philomena explained as she put on her goggles before the three of them stepped into the lab. Heading towards a microscope, Philomena placed the jar down onto the desk, alongside the ovum as she went to gather a syringe with a needle and a Petri dish."Ok, but what about the ovum? Is it from someone that you know," Dylan asked as Philomena took the syringe, using it to suck the ovum inside and injecting it onto the dish before going towards his sperm to repeat the process once more."Oh, the ovum came from an anonymous donor. I read the label," Philomena answered simply as she injected the sperm onto the dish as well, before putting away the syringe and looking through the eyepiece."Anonymous? So you don't know who donated them?""No. And, at least to me, it's probably for the best. Wouldn't be right to use the ovum of someone that we may potentially know," she said almost nonchalantly as a smile grew on her face. "Now come here you two, I want you guys to take a look at this."Both Dylan and Terry stepped up to the microscope and peered into the eyepiece as well, taking in the sight of the sperm wiggling and moving quickly towards the ovum, both in awe as Philomena walked up to Dylan."Now Dylan, before I add the zygote, I need to inject you with this," Philomena said, holding another syringe and needle filled with a pink substance as Dylan looked at it, sweating a bit from the size of the needle."W-Whats that," Dylan asked nervously."This here contains an artificial womb. I need to inject it right into your abdominal wall in the proper spot so that it will make the experiment go smoothly for you. I'll also need to give you some hormones, like progesterone and estrogen, for example, to help keep the pregnancy in check. That way, no damage will happen to you internally and so the zygote doesn't get absorbed," Philomena explained."Oh, I-I see. I-Its not going to hurt, is it? Cause I-I'm not good with needles and all that.""Nope. Don't worry, it's just like getting a flu shot, you'll only feel a slight pinch. The same will apply to the zygote after we wait a few seconds for the womb to form inside you," Philomena explained before heading back to the petri dish and sucking up the zygote into a smaller needle. "I think we're ready," was all she said with a small smile as she picked up both needles. 
Examination Room B
The interior of the small examination room was decorated with pink and blue striped walls and a white tile floor, as well as having an instrument tray situated on a desk and an ultrasound machine sitting next to an exam chair, where Dylan was currently sitting and laying slightly back, his shirt off as well as having his pants unbuckled and unbuttoned. He was holding a small vial filled with the hormones necessary as Terry sat in a small chair opposite of him, all the while Philomena was checking the needles before picking up the one containing the womb formula before walking over to Dylan."Ok, Dylan. Just remember, this is only for a few weeks at best. Once the said weeks are done, we'll end the experiment, you'll be back to normal, and I'll send the results to Byusi. So let me ask just one more time, are you ready," Philomena explained before asking as Dylan nodded, looking at her with a small, nervous smile on his face."Y-yeah, I'm ready. Let's get this over with," Dylan said, stammering as he put the vial to his lips and took it in one sip. Philomena nodded, rubbing some gel on his stomach before grabbing the wand of the ultrasound and placing it right where she wanted it to be. She soon positioned the tip of the needle right above where his abdominal wall was located and gently pushed it in. Dylan winced a bit as Philomena pushed the plunger, the pink fluid moving down inside him as Philomena gently removed the needle from his stomach. Applying a bit of pressure to the mark, Philomena soon prepped up the second needle containing the zygote and positioned it where the womb was implanted, counting from 3 to herself."Ok," was all she said as she did the same thing, gently pushing the needle into the womb and pushed the plunger. She soon removed it and applied pressure once more, smiling softly as she removed her finger."So... how long until the zygote is confirmed," Dylan asked looking up at the ultrasound screen as Philomena moved the wand."I'm going to give until tomorrow for the zygote to properly implant itself into the womb. I'll do an HCG urine test and the results will come in," Philomena explained as Dylan felt his eyes grow heavy."Mmm... And what will the results say," Dylan asked almost sleepily as a small yawn escaped his mouth."Well, I would be using test strips to help along. I would just have your urine sample and then..." Whatever Philomena was saying was lost to Dylan as her voice got muffled and Dylan's vision was getting blurrier and his eyelids got heavier. Before Dylan could even try to shake himself awake, he fell into a deep sleep, the last thing he saw was the ultrasound screen positioned to where the womb was implanted. 
???
It was black this time. No colors, no bright light enveloping his body, and the once quiet space were now filled with low whispering going in and out his ears. Dylan tried moving his head to see if there was anything else, but couldn't as a sense of anxiety started to build in his stomach...Wait, anxious?Why was he so anxious?The feeling wouldn't go away as he looked up, trying to open his mouth to speak out and call out for something/someone to come to him, but to no avail.Suddenly, he could feel something pulsating inside him as he could barely spot a glow shining through the dark space. It felt almost similar to that of his heart beating, throbbing at the same pace as the glow grew brighter and brighter. Dylan closed his eyes tightly, trying to avoid the blinding light, a chill running down his back and over his body as he began shivering. He tried moving his arms and legs around, the pulsating continuing as the whispering began picking up, getting louder and louder before he could feel his body fall into the abyss..."Oof!"Dylan let out a groan as he felt his but hit against a wooden floor, wincing just a bit as he slowly got up, rubbing his butt as well. Stretching for a bit, Dylan rubbed his eyes before looking around his ro-"Wait a minute... this isn't my bedroom. Matter of fact, this isn't even my apartment," Dylan said to himself, still rubbing as he took in the dark purple walls, a small dresser off to the side of the bed with a glass of water placed on it, and a picture frame situated next to it, and a bookshelf containing books dedicated to fantasy and horror novels. Dylan looked around as he stood up slowly, walking towards the picture frame which held a small picture of a young woman with long maroon hair and emerald green eyes gathered underneath a white graduation cap and wearing a matching gown. In her hands was a small diploma and on her face was a shy smile as a camera flash went off in the background."Mmmm... I guess I must be in Mena's room, though I can't remember how," Dylan mumbled to himself, scratching his head before the memories of last night came flooding back in."Oh yeah... the experiment. I guess after I fell asleep, Philomena and Terry must have brought me back here," was all Dylan could say as he sat down on the bed before the bedroom door opened, and in walked Philomena with Terry behind her."Ah Dylan, glad to see you're awake," Philomena said softly as she brought over another small black case, Terry walking past her before sitting on the edge of the bed."Yeah man, you were out for quite some time, I went over to your house to pick up Clover just to watch her. Hell, you were even snoring... It was kinda funny," Terry said, giggling just a bit before getting a bit of a pointed look from Philomena, causing his giggles to fade away slightly and made him make an embarrassed look as he cleared his throat."Yeah, why did I fall asleep so quickly? I wasn't tired beforehand...""That's just a small side effect from the implantation, a bit of drowsiness. Thankfully, it was nothing too serious. And now that you're awake, I'm going to check your heart rate, your blood pressure, and your temperature just to make sure everything is in tip-top shape," Philomena explained as she brought out the equipment."Why would things not be in tip-top shape," Dylan asked, almost nervously as Philomena placed the thermometer in his mouth and began pumping the blood pressure monitor."Not like that, I mean... Think of it like a routine checkup you know," Philomena said, finishing as she examined the monitor, pleased that it was normal before checking Dylan's temperature."98.6, perfect," Philomena said, smiling softly as she turned to Dylan." Now that all that is out of the way, I need you to do two small things for me," Philomena explained as she brought out a small cup from her pocket and handed it to Dylan, as well as opening the case revealing several small tubes inside with a dark and light blue mixture and handing one of them to him as well."What's all that for," Dylan asked as he took the cup, looking it over."These are the pregnancy hormones I mentioned beforehand. You take them once a day to help maintain the womb and zygote, and once the experiment is over, you'll stop taking them and both of them will be absorbed into your body as if they were never there in the first place.""And the cup?""...Well, how else am I supposed to determine if the experiment was a success," Philomena said, blushing just a bit as Dylan realized what she was saying, a blush traveling over his face as he just uttered a small "O-Oh." It certainly didn't help that Terry was trying to stifle his laughter, looking between the two."J-just go into the bathroom. Take the hormones and... w-well once your done, I'll check," Philomena said, stammering just a bit as Dylan nodded quickly, rushing a bit inside the bathroom and closing the door behind him. A few minutes later, Dylan walked out holding a nearly full container as he handed it to Philomena."You know, I almost didn't want to admit, but the hormones kinda tasted sweet and bitter at the same time, which is something I never thought I would be saying about pregnancy hormones," Dylan said as Philomena took the pee and placed it down."Yeah, that's a message I never thought I hear you say either," Terry added as Dylan rolled his eyes. Philomena, however, paid no mind as she simply took a strip and gently inserted it into the urine sample before laying it flat. It was only a few seconds later when the results came on and Philomena felt her eyes sparkle and a smile stretch on her face as a small squeal left her mouth."Uh, Philomena, are you o-," was all Dylan could say before Philomena jumped for joy and skipped towards him, holding the strip as she waved it around."P-Philomena?! Wha- Can you- Please-," Dylan tried to say as Philomena managed to calm down before handing the strip to him, still smiling as she clenched her hands."Looklooklooklooklooklooklooklook," Philomena said, squealing as Dylan examined the strip, taking note of the two bright lines traveling."I see two lines... Don't know what that means exactly...""Positive! Its P-P-Positive," Philomena squeaked out."Positive? And what does that mean... Wait. D-Does that mean," Dylan trailed off as Philomena nodded."I-I-I... I'm pregnant," was all Dylan could muster out as Philomena nodded quickly as silence overcame them."...So, does that mean I can plan a baby shower for him?" Terry asked after a few minutes before grunting as a pillow was thrown at his head.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

January 15th, 4th Week Into Experiment
The sun shined through the drapes of Dylan's bedroom, several small rays landing on his dresser, his phone, and finally on his blankets which were currently wrapped around his body. A soft groan exited from them as his eyes peeked through a small slit, squinting as he slowly got up with a soft moan leaving his mouth as his stomach let out a small rumble, causing him to close his eyes tightly as a few curses left his mouth, alerting Clover who looked in worried at her owner."Mmmm," was all he could groan out as the taste of vomit came into his throat, causing him to launch himself from the bed and scramble to his bathroom, more throw up building up as he flew in front of the toilet and began vomiting, heaving as he gripped the rim tightly with groans mixing in. Once he felt his stomach empty, Dylan slowly raised his head as he looked down into the bowl, still heaving heavily as he slowly moved his hand towards the handle and flushed."Welp... there goes the remainder of my choked down dinner..." Dylan mumbled, groaning as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He breathed in and out as he slowly got up and tried making his way back to his bed, all the while Clover was trying to give him a lick. Suppressing a groan, he gave a small smile as he rubbed her side gently, causing her to give a small meow in return as she followed him, Just before he could drag himself under the covers, his phone began buzzing against the dresser which caused Dylan to suppressed a groan as he turned to it, sitting down on the covers as he lifted it and looked at the screen, which contained a text message from Terry.
Hey Dylan! How are you feeling today?
The message was innocent enough, though Dylan couldn't help but scowl, feeling annoyed as his stomach grumbled a bit more. His fingers moved over the keyboard as he typed out a response.
Like shit. My stomach's upset, or hungry. Fuck, I don't even fucking know. Right now, I just want to curl up under the covers and sleep away this nausea
Hitting send, Dylan placed the phone back down and laid against the sheets, closing his eyes for a small second before his phone buzzed again. Letting out a growl, Dylan grabbed his phone rather roughly and looked at the screen again.
Ah, well... It might be a bad time to ask if you wanted to go to the lab today ^^; If not, that's cool... but you might miss the surprise I have in mind...

Ugh, do I have to?
Dylan scowled, hating how the message sounded like whining so he quickly typed a follow-up response and leaned his head back.
Fine, I'll go, I'll go. Just give me a few minutes, ok? I can't exactly promise I'll be out quick enough
Placing his phone down without looking at the possible response and giving Clover a quick pat on her head, Dylan got up slowly and headed to the bathroom as he rubbed his stomach. "Mmm, let's hope I can get through this without vomiting... And if I don't, well that's what the shower drain is for," Dylan muttered as he closed the door and turned on the shower. 
Outside
Terry was once again sitting in his car, looking at the door before turning back to his phone. He was just about to text Dylan again when his phone started to ring, startling him before he caught it. Once he managed to look at the screen, he noticed under the number, the name read 'Cousin Hazy' to which he smiled softly before pressing the accept button."Hey, Hazel! How's my favorite cousin on this wonderful cold day?" "You mean your only cousin Terry," Hazel snarked lightly before letting out a giggle before continuing, saying, "I'm doing well, mostly because I'm so glad that you picked up," Hazel said, sounding a bit more enthusiastic than Terry ever heard beforehand."Well well well, someone sounds excited! Did something happen, and if it did please give me all the details!""Well, you are right! Something AMAZING is happening!""Well, what is it? Spill! I'm getting antsy!""Ok, ok! But I have to ask, are you sure you want me to say it now? Or would you rather I tell you when I visit you?""Now! Now! I'm too invested in what you have to say and I don't think I can wait for you to visit!""Ok ok! Heh, jeez, you always were the impatient one in the family... Kinda like Augustus.""Yeah, and you have the sarcasm of Aunt Lorita," Terry said, rolling his eyes as both he and Hazel giggled before settling down."Alright, fair point. Anyway, since you want to know so much about the news that I have... I'm pregnant!"Terry froze, a smile still on his face as blinked several times, wondering if he was hearing what was being said."...W-What?""I'm pregnant! You know, carrying a child for 9 months?""I-I know what that means... I mean, y-you're pregnant?""Well, yeah.""S-S-So how did that happen? Wait, d-d-do you have a boyfriend? Is there a secret boyfriend that you never mentioned, o-or someone that you never talked about beforehand and they knocked you up o-or-""Terry! Calm down, geez! This is why I wanted to tell you when I visited, you always freak out and make assumptions and attract attention! At least inside, you can blow up without causing a scene," Hazel explained, a bit annoyed as Terry tried calming down."Well e-e-excuse me! I-I can't help reacting this way! But you try being c-calm when your own niece just, out of the b-blue, says that she's pregnant and doesn't explain how that happened!""Terry, I was just getting to that! If you just let me explain, you'll get the answer!""... Ok, ok," Terry said, breathing in and out as he tried calming down, "I'm calm, I'm like super calm. So, will you please tell me how on earth you got... P-P-P-Pregnant," Terry managed to choke out as he heard rustling in the background."Well... it was about four weeks ago-""FOUR WEEKS?! You waited for four weeks just to tell me?!""Terry," Hazel once again said, "Trying to tell a story here, calm down.""Sorry, sorry... p-please continue.""Anyway," Hazel said as Terry could almost sense her rolling her eyes, "It was about four weeks ago, and I... well, to put it bluntly, I made the decision to get artificially inseminated.""Ok... But why?""Terry, you know I was never interested in being in a romantic relationship with somebody. Friendship, yes. Romantic and or sexual? Not a chance. But, there was always a part of me that always wanted and still wanted to have kids, you know? That's why insemination was my best option...""That's why people get pets, Hazel! To replace the feeling of loneliness cause, let's be honest, pets are like children!""...Just like Simon the Iguana was 'like a child?' A child that we ended up losing and to this day, still have not found him as he's probably presumed dead," Hazel asked pointedly as Terry straightened up."We-We did not lose him! He... he just wandered off. Besides, we had him for a few months, it was bound to happen even though we took special care of him!""Terry, it was only for a few days that we had him. And the reason he ran away was that you didn't feed him," Hazel yelled before breathing in and out, trying to calm down as she said,"...Look, Terry, I'm sorry I didn't tell you for four weeks. I had to make sure that I was pregnant and... I was kinda afraid of how you react."Terry was a bit silent as he heard Hazel speak before taking a calming breath and saying,"...Y-yeah, I can see why you would be afraid of telling me... I mean, sure, I can overreact just a bit...""A bit?""M-My point is," Terry said, stressing out the p, "I shouldn't be reacting poorly to this. T-this is good news! I-I mean, yes, I'm still a bit... out of it and I'll probably have a hard time with it for just a bit, but I can say that I am happy for you Hazel," Terry finished, smiling softly."Aww, thanks, Terry.""And, you know, if possible...""No Terry, I'm not naming my child after you, no matter how much you beg. Plus it would be way too confusing for people. I mean, seriously. The only way it could work is if I gave the baby the name 'Baby Terry' but that name is just all sorts of bad.""Oh boo you," Terry said, giggling just a bit alongside Hazel before he spotted Dylan coming outside, looking grouchy as he approached the car."Ah sis, Dylan's coming. You want to tell him the news?""Mmm, maybe. I don't know, I mean, I'm not as close to him as you are," Hazel reminded Terry."If you want, I'll tell him.""Mmm, please do. Hey, I gotta go, so I'll talk to you later ok?""Yeah, talk to you too Hazel. Love you.""Love you too," Hazel said, hanging up as Terry unlocked the car and Dylan got inside, silent as he sat in the backseat. Terry looked into the rearview mirror, a bit concerned."Hey Dylan, you feeling ok," Terry asked, as Dylan looked at him, squinting his eyes with a small scowl on his face."No, Terry, I'm not feeling ok... I'm feeling like total crap," Dylan answered as he buckled his seatbelt and Terry began pulling out and driving towards the lab."O-Oh, sorry to hear but hey, I think in about a month, the morning sickness should be over... Or at least what Philomena said," Terry said, trying to comfort his friend."It's not just the sickness I'm feeling," Dylan said, closing his eyes as he placed a hand on his stomach."What do you mean?" Terry asked before Dylan, realizing what he said, shot up and blushed brightly."O-Oh, I, uh, n-nothing! I mean," Dylan stammered before letting out a small breath of air as he turned to Terry, "Ok, I'll tell you, BUT if you laugh, I will punch you. Hard," Dylan threatened as Terry nodded quickly."Yeah yeah! I promise I promise!" "O-Ok... Well, alongside being sick... M-my... my nipples are s-sore..." Dylan whispered the last part out, looking away as Terry gave him a confused look."...I'm sorry, what was that? You just kinda mumble right there...""I said... my n-nipples are sore," Dylan said, a bit louder as Terry turned the corner."Ok Dylan, I really can't hear, so if you can speak up just a bit-""I SAID MY NIPPLES ARE SORE," Dylan shouted, bright red as Terry suddenly stopped the car off to the side of the road, startled as he turned to his friend who was now starting to have tears build up in his eyes."O-Oh w-w-wow... I, uh, I didn't think I would h-hear a sentence like that," Terry said, trailing off as Dylan sniffled, looking away."Yeah, and it's a sentence I never wanted to say either! But now it's all out there so go ahead and laugh!" Dylan exclaimed, eyes starting to get red as tears sprung to his eyes and a bit of snot left his nose."Whoa, Dylan! I'm not going to laugh at you man, honest," Terry exclaimed as he managed to park, holding his hands up as Dylan started rubbing his eyes, still sniffling, "So... there's no need to cry. Come to think of it, why are you crying?""Augh! Sorry, It's my mood," Dylan explained as he calmed down just a bit, "It's like one minute I'm feeling normal and fine, but then the next minute I'm angry or sad... It's too damn confusing at times!""Mmm, maybe we need to tell Philomena about it, it could be a symptom of the pregnancy... I think," Terry said as Dylan just nodded, looking out the window as they both got out of the car.
Inside
Kris sat on a small stool next to Philomena's desk, twiddling her thumbs as she looked around nervously while Mena herself was busy writing. After a few minutes, Kris cleared her throat as she looked to Philomena, who in turn look back."You know Philomena, I got to say, I was a bit surprised when you invited me over. I-I figured after the cart incident that you wouldn't be willing to let me back in," Kris said, nervously laughing."It wasn't much of an incident as no one got hurt Miss Māhoe," Philomena started to say, softly smiling, "Besides, I very much enjoyed your company... even if I haven't talked with you much. This was for something else after all," Philomena finished saying as Kris looked up at her, tilting her head."Mmm? What do you mean?""Well, the truth of the matter is... Terry wanted me to invite you over here, again," Philomena said, rubbing the back of her head."Again?" Kris repeated, though a bit slower as a look of realization came over her and she could feel her face get red,"Well, yeah. Have you noticed almost every time I invite you over before both he and Dylan arrive? That's because he has always asked me to invite you over here at least a couple of times and to add on to that, he's always made a big deal in telling me not to tell you because-""B-BecauseithassomethingtodowithDylan," Kris asked, nervously blurting it out all at once before covering her mouth, blushing as she looked at Philomena who looked back at her with a blank expression."...I'm sorry, could you repeat that just a bit slower?" Philomena asked after a few minutes as Kris let out a small squeak, still a bit nervous to continue."I-I s-s-said... B-B-Because it has s-s-s-something to do with D-D-D-Dylan," Kris repeated just a bit slower, still stammering as her face become a deeper shade of red."Uh y-yeah. You figured it out, it was about Dylan," Philomena said, smiling and chuckling a bit before stopping as she noticed Kris looking down."Miss Māhoe? Is something wrong?""W-w-well, not entirely... I-I mean, I'm glad that being here is giving me time to try and get to know him... B-But, well, it's not going ok... I'm very worried about him.""What do you mean, worried? What is happening that is making you worry about Dylan," Philomena asked, both her mind and heart starting to race as thoughts about the experiment and the possibility that Dylan was in possible danger were floating and dancing in her head. "I mean," Kris began, rubbing her arm as she looked up at Philomena, "In the morning, w-whenever I try to talk to him, he... well, he gets nauseous and runs to the bathroom so that he can vomit..."'Morning sickness,'  Philomena thought as Kris continued talking, trying to calm down."And then, when he comes out, it's kinda like a glazed look in his eyes... Which is what made me concerned, a-as this has been going on for almost five weeks now!""...A-And what do you believe might be the cause of it," Philomena said almost shakily, nervous as her breath shuddered while her mind tried to come up with an excuse to say to Kris."I think... I think... I think it might be a drug problem," Kris exclaimed, letting out a squeak before covering her mouth as she gave out muffled apologies.
'Wait... What???'
"I'm sorry... did you say drug problem?" Philomena found herself asking as she looked at Kris, who finished speaking as she removed her hands."Well, y-yes! I mean, the vomiting, the glazed look in his eyes when he finishes in the bathroom, that all sounds he could potentially be using drugs! I looked it up a few weeks ago but... I-I didn't want to say anything because well... I didn't want to jump to a potential conclusion or have you worried too much... I-I know you're working and I didn't want to distract you..." 'You have no idea how far you are from that conclusion'  Philomena thought, but before she could talk to Kris and try to dissuade her from this theory, the doors to the lab opened and Terry walked in, holding Dylan close to him as the older male held his stomach tightly."Hey Mena," Terry exclaimed waving as Dylan let go and sat in one of the scientist's chair, looking as if he wanted to sink into his oversized hoodie, "How's it going? Looking good, we might need to talk a bit about a possible symptom Dylan is going through," Terry said almost casually as he grabbed Mena's hand and tried pulling her up."Another symptom?! You mean, like a... drug use symptom," Kris exclaimed as she shot up, looking at the two with a shocked look on her face."Drug use? Philomena, what's Kris talking about?" Terry asked as he focused on Dylan running into the bathroom, gagging as he shut the door behind him to which Kris took noticed as well, pointing at him with a concerned look on her face."That! That's what I'm talking about!""Ummm Miss Soyer, I can assure you that the situation you think is happening is not what it seems. Dylan isn't taking any illegal substances at all, he's just... he's just..." Philomena tried to say as Dylan walked out, groaning as he made his way over to them."...Suffering from an illness!" Terry suddenly said, now understanding what was going on as all parties looked at him with different expressions: Both Kris and Philomena were staring at him in shock while Dylan stared at him in confusion."I'm sorry, WHAT," Dylan asked with a look of indignation, "Suffering from an illness?! That couldn't be any farther from the truth Terry!""Oh, Dylan! There's no need to lie, my dear friend, I know you wished to keep a secret," Terry said before bringing Dylan's head down and whispering in his ear, "Kris thinks you're on drugs, play along or else she'll know something is up," Terry said, letting him go as he turned back to Kris, with Dylan gulping as Kris looked even more concerned as a small gasp left her mouth. "An illness?! Oh no, what is it called," Kris asked as Philomena and Dylan stared in disbelief, refusing to believe that this was working, all the while Terry stammered, trying to come up with an explanation before straightened himself up and turning to Kris with a feigned nervous expression."O-Oh, well its name is... I-Its name is "V... V... Voldak Syndrome!" Yeah, that's it! "V-Voldak Syndrome!""Voldak Syndrome? I've never heard of that before," Kris said, confused."Oh w-well, that's because... it's only known in a few places around the world. It's so rare, that only a few people have heard the name!""Oh, dear! What are the symptoms?""Uhh, th-there's nausea, which you have already seen, t-there's also a bit of... sensitivity as well as a bit of..." Terry said, trailing off as he looked at Dylan, raising his eyebrows as he nudges his head at Kris in a subtle manner, right before Dylan realized what he was doing."...A-a bit of bloating! Yeah, b-bloating, that's, that's another symptom," Dylan found himself blurting out."Yep bloating and, and... Uh, possible... excessive... s-sweating? Yeah, possible excessive s-sweating! That-That's another symptom that might come along," Terry finished as Kris covered her mouth, obviously concerned as both Dylan and Philomena looked at each other."Jesus Christ, what the heck is with all the shouting here?! Some of us have just woken up and would like to get in a few minutes of sleep around here," Harrison's voice ranged out as he walked in with a glare, annoyed at all the yelling that was going."Oh s-sorry Harrison," Kris said, apologizing, "But it was a bit of an emergency! Dylan has something called Voldak Syndrome and-""Hold on hold on hold on... Dylan has what?""Voldak Syndrome," Kris explained as the others tried to get her to stop talking as discreetly as they could as she said, "I-Its this disease that causes nausea and bloating! It's very rare and, even though he didn't say, it could be very serious-""Voldak Syn- What! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH W-WHAT," Harrison asked before he started to laugh loudly, "There's no such thing as Voldak Syndrome! Hell, I don't even need to search for it online to know that it's not real!""You can't search for it because it's rare Harrison," Kris said, face getting red as she stared at him angrily, "A-and you shouldn't be laughing about such things?! What if it's deadly? Would you still be laughing if that was the case?!""Yes, I still would be laughing. Mostly because of how you can be so stupid to fall for something like that," Harrison started to say, waving his hands as he stared down at Kris, who was balling her fists up in frustration, but before she could get a word out, Harrison continued."I gotta say, Miss Māhoe, despite the degrees and all that the fact you would fall for something like that is pure idiocracy. You should have been smarter about this, and that's just the short and more mild version of what I have to say. I mean seriously, if you are falling for such lies as these, lies that are so stupid not even a toddler can fall for them, then maybe you're not suitable to be a nurse at all," Harrison said harshly as Kris began sputtering, trying to calm down with tears beginning to form in her eyes, all the while Terry and Philomena looked on in anger. But before they could do anything, Dylan got up and made his way over to Harrison and getting in between him and Kris."D-Dylan?" Kris asked as Harrison looked down at him, a look of pure disgust on his face."What do you want Dylan," Harrison asked in a bored tone as Dylan was looking down, right before he raised his head, a look of anger in his eyes amid his pale face."What do I want? I want you to stop being a fucking dick is what I want you pathetic excuse of a scientist," Dylan stated, a growl at the end of his sentence as Harrison stared back at him, mouth agape as did the others."E-Excuse me?! How dare-""No. How. Dare. You?" Dylan asked, suddenly gripping the front of Harrison's shirt, "You of all people have no right to insult or belittle someone who's job is to care about people, something you seem to have forgotten. Kris is only trying to be helpful and I like her for that, so hearing you insult her for basically giving a shit about people's health, while I'm not surprised cause you are a shitty person, just pisses me off. So, how about you do yourself and the rest of us a favor and zip it up?"Dylan finally let go of Harrison's shirt as silence rang out, the others too shocked to say anything as Harrison stammered before letting out a guttural growl as he glared at him, a look of thunderous rage on his face."HOW.DARE.YOU! I am not going to be criticized by a man whose hair looks like a washed-up sunflower and who dresses like a bum! Y-You think you're hot shit because you're acting tough in front of her?!" Harrison screeched, pointing at Kris who flinched a bit as Dylan continued glaring at him."Oh, I don't think. I KNOW, and I mean since you're acting like shit yourself, why can't I?" Dylan asked, ignoring the grumbling in his stomach as he winced subtlety."I AM NOT ACTING LIKE SHIT," Harrison suddenly screamed, failing to calm down as he balled his fists, "I AM ACTING LIKE A REASONABLE ADULT!""Ah yes because screaming like a toddler who didn't the toy they want is SO like a reasonable adult," Dylan muttered, groaning quietly as he placed a hand over his mouth."Oh yes, because I'm going to take advice from someone as miserable as you?! Your life is terrible Dylan! It sucks because you lack any real skills in life to be anything better, meanwhile, I'm living comfortably and fine like a person should be living!"As Harrison kept talking, Dylan closed his eyes tightly, letting out more groans as his stomach made more noises. Covering his mouth, Dylan found his head being moved rather roughly as he looked Harrison in his eyes, who in return gave him a nasty sneer.He could also hear Kris yell something, presumably trying to get Harrison to let him go, but it sounded far away and faint as he saw Harrison's mouth began to open and speak once more, saying, "You can never amount to anything Dylan! You will never be anything! Do you know what you are? Do you?! You are nothing more than a filthy, disgusting, no-good-"The sound of retching and wet vomit hitting clothing suddenly erupted as Harrison stood frozen, feeling wet chunks going down his shirt and pants, all the while Dylan was letting out small coughs and wiping his mouth with his sleeves. A few seconds of silence followed before Harrison let out a loud screech, dropping Dylan onto the floor as he rushed to the nearest bathroom as Kris quickly walked over to Dylan, placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention."D-Dylan? Are you-" She started to say before Dylan quickly got up and made his way to a back door and rush outside, as both Terry and Philomena followed him, leaving Kris alone. The two rushed through a small area located with benches and small tables as the sound of retching continued, leading them to find Dylan at a trashcan nearby, shaking as he tried to get up."Dylan? Dylan! Hey, are you ok buddy?" Terry asked, concerned as Dylan staggered over to him, knees slightly shaking."Y-yeah... I'm fine. Just nauseous, that's all... Well, more than nauseous. Philomena, am I supposed to feel more terrible in the first month?" Dylan asked."Well, in most cases, morning sickness is often severe...At the moment, it will probably only last for a good chunk of time before it eventually subsides completely," Philomena said, trying to think as she stared off with her fist to her mouth as Dylan pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed shut before the sound of the backdoor opening again."Dylan? Dylan?! Dylan, are you ok," Kris's voice called out as her figure searched around for him right before she spotted him, rushing over as both Philomena and Terry froze and Dylan was too busy groaning."Dylan! Oh thank god, you're ok. When you just ran off like that, I got so worried... especially since you're currently sick. I don't know what I would do if things got even worse for you," Kris said quietly as she kneeled to him. Dylan felt a twang of guilt, looking up at her worried-stricken face with tears about to gather in her eyes"A-Ah geez Kris... Y-y-you don't have to worry about me, I mean, it's just an illness...""Just an illness?!" Kris exclaimed, but before she could say anything else, Dylan waved his arms back and forth to stop her, his stomach churning as he did so."W-what I meant to say is that it's just an illness... as long as I-I keep an upbeat attitude about it! I'll be fine just as long as I keep going and stay positive," Dylan said, a crooked smile on his face as he looked into Kris's eyes, who in return looked into his eyes."W-well... that is one way... B-but still," Kris said before placing her hands gently on Dylan's shoulders and giving them a soft squeeze, "I can't help but worry about you, and I am positive that Miss Philomena and Terry here are worried as well. The least that can be done is to take you to a doctor or the hospital...""No! Don't take him to a hospital!" Both Philomena and Terry shouted, startling Kris momentarily."W-Wha? Why not," Kris asked, heart still beating."B-Because well," Philomena started to say, stammering as she tried mentally to calm down before saying, "W-we wouldn't want anyone catching this disease, you know. I mean, i-it might be infectious.""O-Oh, you do have a point there...""Y-yeah and, well, we wouldn't want anything else to infect Dylan and make the situation much worse for him right?" Terry asked, looking into her eyes as Kris shook her head violently."N-No! I wouldn't want him to get worse at all! B-But, I still can't help but worry. If we can't take him to a hospital, there at least has to be something that can help him feel better...""And there is!" Terry exclaimed, jumping up as he looked at Kris."There is? Well, what exactly is it Terry?" Kris asked, feeling a bit hopeful while Dylan gave a very wary look to his best friend."Yeah Terry, what exactly is your big idea," Dylan asked, voice a bit hoarse as Terry smirked."Well, it's quite simple. Kris, you just have to stay there and talk to Dylan. And hell, whenever and wherever you want to interact with him! I mean, after all, there are no limits! Well, maybe just one," Terry explained as he took Philomena's hand into his, causing her to look at him in confusion as she attempted to open her mouth."Okgottagoseeya!" was all Terry said as he rushed towards the front of the building, dragging Philomena behind him as she flailed her unheld arm up and down, clearly trying to get his attention as their voices became further and further away.Both Dylan and Kris watched them, Kris having a wide-eyed confused expression on her face while Dylan could only stare nervously as his eyes darted to Kris and a hint of sweat began to drip from his forehead."W-wow... well, t-that's one way to make an exit, heh..." Kris said quietly, feeling her laughter die down. Silence rang between the two, almost heavy as Dylan looked around, letting out an audible gulp as he tried clearing his throat, which got Kris's attention as she turned to look at him, eyes soft."S-so D-D-Dylan... Uhm-D-Do-Ummmm...""Um y-yeah... D-Do-umm-Ergh," Dylan stammered out as well, trying to figure out something to say as he felt his breathing hitch, face getting redder and redder by the minute before feeling a presence near him, turning his head to see Kris sitting next to him, twiddling her thumbs."S-so Dylan... Since we're um alone right now, is t-there anything that you want to talk about? Personal? Or imaginative? Anything... to fill i-in the silence right now?" Kris squeaked out as Dylan let out a small breath and scratched his head."W-well, I mean, what can I say? I don't exactly live an exciting life, l-like at all. I wake up, I eat, I work part-time, I go home and I sleep... H-heh, just a rinse and repeat cycle that I'm used to... How about you? I mean, being a nurse and all that, y-you must have a lot of stories about that.""O-oh," Kris said before straightened herself, "Well, I don't have anything excited to say about my work. I'm mostly behind the desk, and on the rare occasion I do get called, it's only for a few minutes. But, even then, I still enjoy what I do because as long as the patient is doing well, then that's enough for me," she said softly, giving a small smile to Dylan, causing him to smile back at her."Well, that's good. It's nice to have a job that you care about and enjoy," Dylan responded, earning a nod from Kris."Heh, yep. It sure does," she finished, the atmosphere getting quiet again for the two of them."T-this is very awkward right now," Dylan muttered to himself, bringing his knees up to his chest as Kris nodded."Heh yeah, i-it is. I wish it wasn't, cause I want to get to know you more Dylan.""H-Huh? W-what," Dylan asked, stammering as Kris turned to him, nodding again with a soft expression on her face."I-I always keep telling myself that I'll talk to you one day and get to know more about you, b-but I end up chickening out each time... " Kris admitted, taking a strand of hair and twirling it around her finger as she looked out at the trees."R-really?" Dylan managed to choke out."Yeah, I-I know, it sounds pretty dumb to admit-""N-no! Not at all! C-cause, w-well, I wanted to get to know you too Kris," Dylan said, clutching at the drawstrings of his hoodie as Kris whipped her head towards him."R-really?!" Kris asked, earning a hard nod from Dylan."Y-yeah. Terry has been trying to get me to talk to you, but so far, I'm was unable to build up the nerve to get to know you better. I was kinda afraid that you might not like me...""W-wow, that is ironic," Kris said, giving a small giggle as placed a hand on her face, "We were both afraid of talking to one another out of fear and nervousness...""Heh, yeah. I guess we were both nervous wrecks about the whole situation.""Were? We still are in a way," Kris said, causing both her and Dylan to laugh out loud for a bit before the two turned to face each other, eyes sparkling for a bit as a bit of pink came onto their cheeks."Well, now that we're both here, maybe we can take the chance now and get to know one another, y-you know if you want to Kris?" Dylan asked her, smiling as Kris nodded, smiling back at him."I would love that very much, Dylan. Would you like to start?""Mmm, I would rather have you start. I want to get to know more about you first Kris."Kris gave a shy smile to him, moving close as she started speaking to him, giving her introduction once more as Dylan listened intently, smiling back at her. However, the two were completely unaware of Harrison watching the two of them from inside the lab, scowling as he wiped at his shirt, watching them with a glare on his face."Damn Akiyama... Throwing up on me like some sick freak... What the hell is wrong with him," Harrison muttered to himself before stopping suddenly, hands moving from his shirt as he placed the towel down on his desk, face becoming blank."What the hell is wrong with him? What on earth did Burkov do to him?" Harrison asked to no one present as his eyes looked towards Philomena's desk, eyes narrowing with a small smirk beginning to form on his face."Whatever she did... It will be my pleasure to find out."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

January 19th: 7:08 A.M
A brand new day was beginning as a bus made its way slowly to a small bus stop situated towards a nearby neighborhood containing small townhouses. Once it paused, the door opened and out stepped Kris, who yawned as she gave a sleepy wave to the driver, who in returned waved back."Bye Miss Jurt and thank you for picking me up," Kris said sleepily, running a hand through her hair as the driver gave her a small smile."No problem Miss Soyer-Māhoe. You just take care and make sure you get some sleep dearie, at least 8 hours," Miss Jurt said as she closed the door, before driving off and leaving Kris nodding in her direction, as she muttered an "I'll try" before heading to her house, dragging her feet as she made her way to the front door.Once she unlocked the door(after scouring for her keys and turning her bag inside out), she stepped inside and closed the door behind her, sighing as a light mew went in and out her ears. She looked over at the kitchen floor, smiling at a tri-color corgi who was currently watching her."Heh, hey Nyx. Sorry I'm a little late getting home sweetie," Kris explained to her feline as Nyx himself jumped down from the counter and rubbed against her legs, letting out a soft bark as Kris kneeled and began petting him."Mmm, first I'm going to give you your breakfast, and then after that, I'm going to take a long-overdue nap... If I don't end up spilling half of the food on to the floor," Kris said, giggling at the last part as she got up and headed towards the kitchen, putting her purse down on the counter and looking through her cabinets, feeling around for the big bag of dog food as Nyx watched."Ah, even though this week has been filled with an endless barrage of nightshifts, it hasn't been all that bad. Especially since I've been talking to Philomena, Terry, and..." Kris said, trailing off, feeling her face get slightly warm as the name was on the tip of her tongue with her gripping the bag just a bit tightly."O-Oh geez, heh... I shouldn't be getting so nervous. I-I mean, we've only been talking for about, at least, a few days now, even with his illness, but I still can't help but be nervous around him... Heh, I think the same can be applied to him as well," Kris muttered the last part out as she tipped the bag towards Nyx's food bowl, filling it up."Heh, you know it does surprisingly feel longer than that... I do enjoy hanging out with him for the short while and with Philomena and Terry. They're all so nice and such good friends! Hey, maybe I can introduce them to my friends and we can all hang out! I might even introduce you to them Nyx," Kris added jokingly as Nyx started eating as she started rolling the top of the bag closed, but before she put it away, her purse began vibrating and moving around."Hmm? I wonder who's calling me so early?" Kris muttered to herself as she grabbed her purse and took out her phone, taking note of the screen flashing bright blue as a name popped up reading "Bon-Bon". Opening it up, she put it to her ear with a wide smile on her face."Hey, good morning Bonnie! What's my rocking DJ BF2 doing up so early?" Kris asked small laughter erupted from the other side."Hey, Krissy! Just going into work and getting ready for the day as per usual, and you know I couldn't go without checking in on my favorite Nurse BF2! So, how was working the night shift? Was it as dead as it sounds?""Oh, you know, same old same old as any normal night shift. Just a bit quieter than most, but still just as hardworking as any other day," Kris explained as she headed towards the living room and the couch as she sat down."That's good. At least you're enjoying your job, that's what important. Anyway, I'm actually calling you for a second thing, which is to ask if you are excited about... 'The Snowflake Blossom Festival'?!" Bonnie exclaimed as Kris felt her friend's smile through the phone."The fes- oh! Oh yeah, right! The Snowflake Blossom Festival! Oh geez, I nearly forgot about that Bon-Bon! I've busy with work and other stuff that it kinda slipped my mind," Kris admitted, giggling sheepishly as she heard Bonnie letting out a 'tsk tsk tsk' noise."Geez Kris, I know being a nurse is hard work, but come on. It can't make you forget about something like this... especially when you have been constantly talking about the festival," Bonnie said, a bit of sarcasm dripping from her voice as Kris pouted."Hey! Cut me some slack Bonnie! I've just been busy, that's all," Kris said, cheeks puffing out as Bonnie gave a soft chuckle."Yeah yeah. I'm just teasing Krissy~ I know how much you love the festival and I know you would never miss it for the world. I mean seriously, you once dragged both me and Aliya to the festival before it was even set up," Bonnie emphasized as Kris sputtered for a bit."W-well, that's only because I wanted to see how it was set up! You can't blame me for being just a bit curious Bonnie.""I'm not blaming you at all girl! I think it's a nice little quirk of yours that makes you so lovable!~ Speaking of love, are you thinking of inviting... inviting... Damn, what was his name? Dante? Derek? Dorian?""You mean Dylan?" Kris asked, heart slightly fluttering as she tried keeping calm."Yeah! That's it, Dylan! Your little schoolboy crush~" Bonnie teased as Kris spluttered, her face turning bright red."Bonnie!""What? You know its true Krissy!~ Anyway, are you going to invite him and his friends to it or what?""W-well, I may have had some thoughts about i-inviting Terry and Philomena, but I don't have the foggiest mind of how to bring it up to Dylan personally-""Seriously," Bonnie interrupted, a bit of snark in her voice as Kris paused before she continued, "Haven't you've been going on and on about how the two of you have been talking and generally getting to know one another?""Well y-yes, I did...""And haven't you've been saying that you wanted to spend more time with not only him but the rest of his friends outside of that lab you always visit?""Yes, I have said tha-""Then what's the problem?!" Bonnie suddenly shouted, making Kris jump a bit."Bonnie??""Sorry Kris, but I just don't understand! You have been given, literally blessed with a golden opportunity to hang out with this guy, but suddenly you don't have the "foggiest mind" on how to invite him? Really?""It's not that easy Bonnie! Yes, I can talk to him with ease now, but that doesn't mean I still feel like I know him on a personal level to invite him to places!" Kris argued."And what is that personal level, Kris?" Bonnie asked as Kris could feel her friend's eyebrow raise further up her forehead."It's- W-well... Oh! Why does it matter Bonnie? I'll talk to him when I feel I can! Personal level or no personal level!" Kris finally sputtered out as Bonnie remained silent."...And will this personal level be when you're in your 80's?" Bonnie finally retorted as Kris puffed her cheeks and rolled her eyes."Bonnie...""Look, Kris, I get it. I get that you don't want to rush into this, I get that you're worried about shit going wrong... But Kris, I say this from the bottom of my heart, that you have an opportunity, to truly enjoy something you love with this guy that you are getting to know more about. You can't just let this slip by! You gotta take this by the horns before it slips by you and tramples you to death!""...That sounds dark Bonnie.""Exactly! It's supposed to be dark so that you can outrun it and beat it in the race of life! So are you going to take that chance, or are you going to get trampled? Make the right choice Krissy~" Kris sat in silence, trying to think of what to say as she could hear Bonnie shuffling. As she tapped her fingers against the armrest, Nyx jumped up on the couch and laid next to her, looking up at her as she gave him a gentle pet, her eyes staring at him and a bit of the floor with the gears in her head going round and round and round. Only a few minutes passed before Kris gave an affirmative grunt and picked up the phone."Bonnie...""Mmm yes?""In a way... you are right. I can't just make up an excuse for why I can't invite him. I might as well- no, I will- invite him to the festival and we're all going to have so much fun till our brains are aching and our limbs are nothing but jelly!" Kris exclaimed as Bonnie gave a chuckle."Atta girl! I'm proud of you Krissy~!""Yep! And I'm going to do it after I take a nap!""...Wait what?""Well yeah! I mean, I did just work an all night-shift. I need to recharge my brain before I send out a half-assed message right?" Kris explained as she got up, letting out a yawn."Righhhhht... Cause that is totally not an excuse to avoid talking to any of them...""It's not! I really am tired Bon-Bon! I promise that I'll text them about the festival and see if they'll want to come! Cross my heart!""Mmm-hmm. You better Krissy!~ Or else, Mama Bon-Bon is going to give you a scolding!" Bonnie said, a small giggle escaping from serious facade as Kris chuckled as well."I know, I know. I promise. I'll talk to you later Bonnie.""Talk to you later Krissy!~ Love ya girl!""Love you too Bon-Bon!~"A 'click' was heard from the other end as Kris let out a yawn, looking towards her bedroom door before walking towards it, Nyx following behind her as she started taking off her scrubs, leaving her only in a black tank top and dark red shorts as she placed her phone down on a small dresser."Alright... First, an overdue nap. Then, eat some late breakfast, or lunch whenever I wake up. And finally, set up a conversation and invite them...," Kris said, getting under the covers as her head hit the pillow and Nyx jumped up and positioned himself to lay down. As Kris gave one last pet to Nyx, her eyes closed shut and she drifted off to sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hey everybody! Wispy here!I hope you all are doing well!Just writing this out to let you guys know that, for this story, I decided I'm going to revise it!The reasoning is because I was looking it all over and the chapter I was planning on posting just did not mesh well ^^;So, I plan on rewriting the story from scratch! :DIf you enjoyed it so far, do not worry, I don't plan on giving this story up at any point!It will just be a while before I get to where I was, but I will make it work!Bye bye!