An Unusual Examination
by Donna, Abs and Toni

Grayson was worried. There were two other immortal women in town, and both were now pregnant. And his meal ticket, Candi, had not had a period since she had been providing nightly *entertainment* to any man willing to pay for it. So he approached Asher, who agreed to send for a doctor. He would feel better if Kim was looked at anyway, he told Candi's protector/pimp.

Bambi had also missed her period; they discovered when they mentioned it to Kagan. He, too, was worried that the women had fooled around a bit too much, and had "caught a bullet."

So, without telling the girls what they were doing, other than a client wanted to play *doctor* with them, they made arrangements for whatever physician that showed up to give them both a very thorough examination after he checked on Kim and Faia.

One of the shape shifters from Jean-Claude's home in Esperanza had come to Edan with a request for a doctor, to check out both Kim and Phoenix and make sure they were both all right. Immortal pregnancies were a new field, after all; no one knew what was normal or not concerning them.

Doc Adams was the only Immortal doctor, but he confessed that he was not particularly good with pregnancies. "I'm afraid I was more interested in why they died, not why they were born. Midwives did that."

Helm snorted. "Birth is a difficult miracle. I'll go."

The news of Kim's pregnancy had been new, and as he rode over, the doctor passed the time trying to imagine which of the shape shifters was the father. The trip was uneventful, and it was just getting dusk when he finally reached the home.

He was greeted by Stephen and showed to where the first of his patients waited for him, namely Kim. She was resting in the bedchamber she shared with Asher, and the blond vampire was sitting with her when the doctor was admitted to the room.

"Is she all right?" Helm asked, when he saw her lying down. "I understand Faia had some spotting right off."

Asher rose fluidly, and told him, "There is none of that, as far as we have seen; but she gets ill a lot, and we wanted to be sure the pregnancy was not harming her or the child. After all, it is a rather unique one." He smiled at the doctor, not showing fang.

"All the Immortals are unique," Helm said, smiling; he sat and began opening his bag. Knowing that examinations of this type were usually conducted in private, the vampire leaned down and kissed his lady tenderly, and said he'd be waiting right outside. Then he left doctor and patient alone together.

As Kim got ready for the exam, laying as the doctor told her, she smiled, "You have to excuse Asher.....he's a nervous father. That was what he meant when he said this was a unique pregnancy." 

Robert Helm looked over his shoulder at the departing vampire. "Surely you jest. Vampires can't father children! They're dead!"

"I know; we were as surprised as you are when we found out! But the weres have the ability to know when a woman is pregnant, and since I have never been with another man aside from Asher....." She blushed as she talked about it with the doctor, but she looked happy too.

"How long has it been, then? I cannot confirm it if it has only been a few days. The weres apparently are better at it than we are. None of us caught that Melissa was expecting the child of that Monster across from Sadaam."

Kim thought out loud, "Let's see.....three days for Trask, and they told me they noticed it the day of his trial....it had to have been less than a week ago. It's just that I've been sick the past few days, so they kind of added that into the 'diagnosis', and by now they say they are positive I am pregnant. Which kind of makes sense, because I was never sick before, ever since I became Immortal. I hope we didn't make you ride over here for nothing, but you did come to check Phoenix as well, didn't you?" She looked concerned that she'd been the cause of a problem.

"Yes of course. I wish we could tell sooner, but of course, when I practiced, the only way to know was missing a cycle, and if you were irregular, you usually waited two."

She nodded, then told him, "Well, I was due the day they noticed it, and I was always very regular before. I mean, even going by that, this would be unusually late. Does that help at all?" She looked hopefully at the doctor.

"We'll assume you are, and treat you as if you are. I want you to eat small meals and to keep crackers by the bed. Eat them before you stand. Sleep when you have to - you will be tired at first."

"I am that, most definitely. That was one of the reasons Asher didn't want me to travel to Edan." She tried to relax her body as instructed as the doctor examined her, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a pelvic. When she'd been mortal, they weren't really done unless a woman was thought to be pregnant or if she was ill.

Helm was a good doctor, though, and it wasn't really that bad. "I can say for sure that you haven't got any diseases. Let's hope all is well and you are in fact with child."

Her eyes sparkled with happiness again, as she smiled, "I've wanted nothing more ever since Asher and I fell in love. This really must be a miracle world, to give a vampire the chance to be a father!"

Helm started to put his things away. "I can only imagine what a certain 5,000 year old man will say about this. Fortunately Faia is already pregnant."

"Oh....you mean you think Methos might be upset if she decides her next child might be with Jean-Claude?" Her inquisitive nature came to the fore again, as she straightened her nightshirt and got back under the covers.

Helm shrugged. "He makes a great show of not being in love with her, but I would worry about it if I were him. It is her body though, isn't it?" He stood. "Well, Miss . . . " He waited for her to fill in the blank.

"I'm sorry! Kim Jamison, but please call me Kim." She blushed at the way she'd forgotten to introduce herself in the beginning - she must be more tired than she thought!

"Well, Kim, I do hope it all goes well for you and the child is born healthy. Now I really should look in on Faia."

As the doctor left the room, letting Asher back in, he caught a glimpse of the new mother to be reassuring the father to be that everything was indeed all right; smiling, he closed the door behind him again, and went on to his next patient. He wished that she could look as happy as Kim about her pregnancy, but then again, Kim didn't have the man problems the Egyptian had.

***

Once Helm was finished with Faia, he found Grayson waiting for him. "We want you to give our professional girls a very thorough checkup," he said. "Our clients want only the best, after all. We want them all to remain completely healthy."

Helm eyed him coldly. Then he sighed, "Well, I am here anyway. No use making the trip back tonight." So Helm went with Grayson, back to The Raven. He'd already examined Carmelita, and Grayson didn't seem to want him to re-examine her. He wanted the doctor's opinion on the other two girls.

Bambi was first. Because she was mortal, he checked her carefully for any signs she had been overused. But she seemed well cared for and happy, given the way she clung to Kagan's hand throughout the exam, exchanging smiles with him. After the pelvic, the doctor had her sit up while he listened to her heart and lungs.

"She's quite healthy." Helm stood up and looked her over. As he reached to feel her throat, he said, "You're not being misused at all, are you?" He looked at Kagan pointedly.

Bambi shook her head. "No. It was a bit of a shock at first, but I would've been Lestat's dinner, wouldn't I? This is much better. And after I got used to it, I kinda liked it. Too bad we ran outta that chocolate, though."

Helm raised an eyebrow. He would have thought that running out of chocolate was a prostitute's least worry. But when he ran down the standard list of medical history questions, the missed period did catch his immediate attention, enough to do another check of her to make absolutely sure that she wasn't pregnant.

"You don't appear to be expecting," he said. 

Bambi wriggled a little. Turning to Kagan, she said, "Is this how he gets his jollies off? Cos he's makin' me hot. That stuff doesn't kick in until someone touches me, but when it does . . ." She whimpered.

"What stuff?" Helm said, looking up at Kagan with his hand still inside Bambi, making her squirm even more as he pressed down on her belly, feeling her uterus. "What is she talking about?"

Kagan squirmed almost as much as Bambi did. "They gave it to us in the chocolate," the girl said. "Makes it feel sooooo good." She pushed against his hand, causing him to withdraw it quickly, a look of outrage on his face.

"What did you give her?"

Kagan shrugged. "Wasn't me . . ."

Since he obviously wasn't going to get anything useful out of those two, the tight-lipped Helm washed up and then went to the room where Candi was waiting. To his surprise, the immortal girl was very nervous about having a pelvic. "Ain't never had no doc poke around inside of me," she said. She had been a street child a long time before taking up the profession, and had never been seen by a doctor in her entire lifetime.

The first thing Helm asked was when she had had her last period, and whether or not she had been given the drugged chocolate. Candi screwed up her face, trying to remember. "It's been a while, Doc," she said, holding the sheet tightly against her breasts. It was funny, she had no problem parading in front of her clients naked, but this was different somehow. "And I had some of that chocolate. It made me enjoy my work a hell of a lot better than I ever did before."

Helm turned to Grayson. "What was in the chocolate?" he asked tersely.

Figuring that honesty was best, Grayson told Helm all he knew about the compound and its effect on the girls. "It makes them happy," he said, as if drugging them for that reason made it all okay. "But given the situation with the other two immortal women here in town, I thought it best you checked my girl here out to make sure she isn't in the same condition."

"I seriously doubt it," said Helm. "The other wasn't pregnant. Did you ever think that perhaps this wonder drug might've sterilized them?"

"Given their profession, that might be an added bonus," Grayson said, clearly pleased at the thought. "But to be on the safe side, check her anyway."

Candi protested, hoping to get out of the pelvic exam, but Grayson silenced her with a stern look. But he took her hand and held it, talking to the young girl in an almost tender tone of voice while Helm was poking around inside of her. She was so nervous that he couldn't help causing her a little pain, no matter how gentle he tried to be.

"Well?" Grayson asked when Helm removed his hand from between her legs and peeled off the rubber glove. "Is she or not?"

"By all indications, she is not pregnant. Are you happy now?" Helm seethed as he got his things together. "You might permanently have sterilized these young women, and all you think about is the money they'll make!"

Grayson shrugged. As Helm went for the door, he said, "Dr. Helm. A little matter of your fee." He glanced toward Candi. Helm looked outraged, and hurried out as quickly as he could go.

***

He stomped out of the bar, breathing heavily with moral indignation. Just then he had the feeling that he was being watched, and he turned to see Bambi, dressed in a sheer nightie, leaning against the wall nearby. "Doctor Helm," she said softly, "where are you going?"

He wanted to be angry, but he did not want to direct the anger at her. She was just a victim. So were the other girls, for that matter. So he softened his voice and said, "I was just on my way back."

"It's dark. You shouldn't be out and about after dark." She shivered slightly, her eyes large in her pale face. "Take my word for it."

He stepped back toward her. "You don't need to be a whore, just because he saved you from the vampires."

She shrugged. "I don't mind. I'm protected. And it feels good." He made a face and she came forward. "Candi said you turned her down. Guess I can't blame you for seeing us as trash. But really, doctor, we perform a service, and we're well taken care of."

"You were drugged!"

"Yeah, well, maybe that was a good thing?"

"How can it possibly be a good thing?"

Bambi shrugged. "Would you mind it if it felt good?"

Helm felt his face color. The girl was right up under his nose, and she had nothing on under the sheer film of material. His body reacted and he wanted it to stop. "If someone forced me . . ."

"No one forced me. Not really. I felt obligated, but no one forced me. I'm all alone here, doctor; I can't remember who I am." She rubbed her arms and looked around. "Some of the people in this town make me feel strange. I wanted to be protected from them. I still won't let them come near me - and the guys don't make me do anyone I don't want to. When I'm not working I don't have the urge to jump on someone's gear stick -not that they have them here - but when it's time to work I get nice and horny, like I can't get enough." She shrugged. "So what's to complain about?"

"You might never have children."

"Maybe I don't want any."

"How can you tell that now? You're, how old? Not yet twenty."

"I'm seventeen."

He looked away. "That's barbaric."

"Women married young in the old days," Bambi said. "Maybe even your time."

"I thought you said you had amnesia. That your mind was wiped clean."

She smiled. "I've been refilling it."

"You're very bright, then." He said it with something akin to respect in his voice, though inside he was churning with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, he was still outraged that she was being used this way. On the other, he was sorry he had rejected Candi and made her feel cheap. Grayson was the cheap one, not the girl. Seeing Bambi made him regret that look he'd given Candi when he'd left the room. But mostly he was drawn, sexually, to this little slip of a girl. And inside he wanted very much to take his price out in trade - with her.

He moved off. "I have to go," he said, his voice choked with something more than emotion. Bambi reached out and took his arm, squeezing it gently. He felt something inside him snap, and he turned back to her, his mouth suddenly on hers.

She sighed, molding herself against him. One step and she was up against the side of the building. She gave a little cry, into his hungry mouth, and then she started to giggle. "My my, Doctor. What a big . . ."

He moved his mouth to her neck, kissing and nipping it. She didn't finish the thought; she was too busy gasping. He pulled the filmy garment off and fondled her breast.

"Not for payment," she said. "Because you want me."

He nodded. "Yes." It came out like a hiss.

"You do want me!"

"YES!"

They pulled his trousers down, just far enough. She was wetter and hotter 
than any he'd ever had; it did not bother him, now, that she was a used 
woman, as many he'd had before had been ladies of the evening and he'd never 
complained then. It was fast and furious against the wall, but he knew he'd 
satisfied her - or she was a better actress than he gave her credit for. 
Then he came, screaming into her, and went limp. She somehow managed to hold 
him up as they both collected themselves.

"You'll be back," she whispered, stroking his sweaty hair.

"Yes," he said softly, and it came out as a choked sob. He didn't know why, 
but he knew for certain that he was now bound to her and her body. Not from 
love, but from an uncontrollable lust that was as hard to fight as the drug 
she was on.