Nurse Susan Whittaker had just finished her shift and was stopping by the front desk on her way out when her pager went off. There was just a short message asking her to report to operating room 3 in the maternity ward. She sighed, and turned to the secretary at the desk. "What's this about, Cathy? I was about to go home."
"I know, but Dr. Connors is requesting that you assist him with a cesarean delivery in room 3. He's specifically asked for you."
"Oh, all right - tell him that I'll be there just as soon as I've scrubbed." With a sigh, she went off to change into sterile clothes for the operation. When she finished, she walked to the operating room. Dr. Connors was waiting for her in front of the door. "Why do you need me here, Jim?" she asked. "I thought that the surgery robotics made assistants unnecessary."
"Usually that's true, Susan, but I need someone to help reassure the patient this time, and I thought you'd be best for the job. You'll understand what I mean when you see her. Come on." With that, he led the way into the operating room.
Susan gasped as she saw the woman on the operating table. She was enormously pregnant, her belly looking to be nearly two feet in diameter. "My god, you could almost fit a full-grown adult in there!" Susan exclaimed.
"I'm using an experimental fertility treatment, and this is the result." The woman said, turning to smiling at Susan.
"Well, it's certainly effective."
Jim broke in, "Susan Whittaker, meet Carol Lawson. Susan's going to make sure that everything goes properly. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get everything ready." With that, he walked over to the control booth for the surgery.
The two women exchanged nods, and Susan said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Dr. Connors is an excellent surgeon."
"I know he is." Carol smiled, "Still, it's nice to have some female company." "I have to ask, how do you manage, being so big? It's got to be uncomfortable."
"Not really. I actually rather like it. Counter-grav maternity wear helps a lot though."
"I'll bet it does. Still, I hope I never get that big."
The woman gave Carol a knowing smile. "I'm sure that you won't have to worry about that for a long time to come."
Susan was going to ask what she meant, but just then Jim's voice came over the speakers, "Ok, ladies, I'm about to begin the operation." Susan smiled, pushing away the question and held Carol's hand reassuringly as the machinery overhead whirred to life. An arm with a needle extended and injected something into Carol's arm. She blinked a few times, then yawned.
"Goodnight, Carol." Susan said, smiling as the woman drifted off to unconsciousness. She then bent over the monitors beside the operating table, watching to make sure that Carol was fully unconscious and ready for Jim to begin the surgery. One of the displays puzzled her, and after a few moments, she raised her voice, "Jim, I think there's something wrong with the sonogram - I can't see any babies on the monitor."
Just then, she felt something sharp at the back of her neck, and felt a tingling as Jim's voice came from a speaker overhead. "No, it's working fine - she's not pregnant yet. As she said, she's undergoing an experimental fertility treatment. One that you're going to help complete."
Susan tried to speak, to ask what he meant, but she couldn't move. Whatever he had injected her with kept her paralyzed as robotic arms came from the ceiling and cut away her clothes. When she was naked, Susan felt a fine mist spray down from the ceiling, covering her entire body. It smelled of disinfectant and tingled against her skin. Several robot arms grabbed her and lifted her onto a second operating gurney that had rolled to the center of the room. She watched helplessly as the machinery carefully made an incision in Carol's belly, then reached deep inside. The arm emerged, holding the end of an umbilical cord, which was carried over towards Susan. She felt something press against her belly button, removing the scar tissue and reactivating a long-unused portion of her anatomy. When the probe withdrew, the arm holding the umbilical cord descended in its place, and Susan felt the cord being secured to her body. She heard a buzzing noise as clippers sheared off her long blond hair, and felt a smaller pair remove her pubic hair as well. Then, her legs were folded up against her chest, and her arms crossed over her knees. Curled in this foetal position, Susan was lifted up over the incision in Carol's belly, then lowered inside. She felt the warm water envelop her, and watched in growing horror as the machines carefully closed the incision over her head. The last rays of light from the outside disappeared as the machines fused Carol's flesh back together, and Susan felt the woman's reproductive system gear up, preparing her for her stay in the womb. As she felt Carol begin to stir, coming out from under the influence of the anaesthesia, Susan felt herself dragged down into sleep.
Carol awoke slowly as the anaesthetic fog lifted from her brain. She looked up at Jim, who was smiling down at her. "So, what's the verdict, doc?"
"Everything's going as predicted so far. The operation went fine, and Susan is integrating wonderfully. Conception should take place sometime this week. Just remember to talk to her, reassure her that you'll take care of her. That's the most important part of the process now."
"Don't worry, I'll remember." Carol smiled, and sat up on the edge of the table. Jim helped her dress again, and she stood up, turning slowly to face him, her massive belly now obscuring the view of everything between her breasts and her ankles. "Ooof, I forgot how much extra mass she would add. It's a shame counter-grav doesn't do anything about inertia."
Jim grinned, "At least you can stand. You can go now; you're almost healed from the operation already. Just don't forget to come back in a month for your checkup. If everything goes well, you should be ready to give birth in 9 months or so - and you should be able to birth her naturally."
"Isn't modern technology wonderful?" Carol said, her voice turning seductive as she gave Jim a smoldering look. "I was hoping that you could come by sooner than that, though."
Jim's pulse raced as he replied, "Hmm, I think I can manage a house call. Would Friday work for you?"
"That'd be wonderful." Carol said, then leaned forward and kissed him. "I'll look forward to it." With that, she turned around and slowly walked out of the operating room. Jim watched her leave, enjoying the way her massive belly swayed as she moved. He would definitely look forward to Friday.
Susan awoke, unsure of where she was for a moment. Then she remembered the operation, and began to struggle, looking for a way out of this fleshy prison. As she struggled, she heard Carol's voice speaking soothingly to her, and found herself calming down despite her desire to escape. The voice seemed almost hypnotic, and Susan relaxed somewhat, though a part of her screamed for her to get out before it was too late. As she lay in the tranquil womb, she felt a tingling pass through her, and could feel her body beginning to change further. The urge to run turned to despair as she realized that one of Carol's ova had fused with her, beginning her final fusion with Carol's powerful reproductive system. As the tingling spread, she felt herself retreat back into the temporary escape of sleep.
Carol sat up in bed as Jim put away the examining probe. "Is everything all right? She seemed really panicked a couple of days ago, but she's calmed down since."
"Everything's fine. The readings show that you've conceived, and Susan's changes are beginning on schedule. Congratulations, you're pregnant!"
Carol smiled at Jim over her massive belly. "That's wonderful news! Now put that away and come help me celebrate." Jim did just that, to their mutual delight.
Susan awoke to the sound of Carol's voice. She was talking once again about how much Susan would enjoy her new life, urging her to relax and let herself go. Susan had heard this same thing several times; Carol seemed to delight in telling her occupant about the joys of childhood. This time, Carol's words stirred pleasant childhood memories, things that Susan had nearly forgotten. Life had been so much simpler as a child, and she found herself longing for those days. As she thought about things further, Susan found herself becoming convinced. A part of her still resisted, warning her that her physical changes were affecting her mind, but that part was rapidly fading, and Susan casually dismissed it's worries. She realized that she was almost looking forward to becoming Carol's daughter.
As she reached the decision, Susan felt a great peace fill her. Acting on an instinct, she began to let her old memories slip into the background, compartmenting them away where they would not influence her development as she began her new life. She began to file things so that she'd remember various skills at the appropriate times in her life, such as math and walking, and how to ride a bicycle. She held on to some skills to make life easier at first, bladder control, potty training, speech and a basic vocabulary, and other things that she didn't particularly want to struggle through again. Everything she was unsure of when to recall, she simply set for her 21st birthday, feeling that by then the new Susan would be able to deal with them again. Once she had finished, Susan mentally locked the compartments, and felt herself drift off to sleep once more as her memories rearranged.
Carol swung herself down from the examining table. Her belly had shrunken a great deal, now slightly smaller than before the operation. Jim smiled as he watched her, then spoke, "Well, everything seems to be proceeding fine, Susan is regressing on schedule. You haven't felt anything unusual have you?"
"You mean more unusual than having a grown woman inside you?" Carol said, laughing. "No, not at all. Everything feels fine, and Susan seems content."
"Well, in that case, I'd say that you're perfectly healthy. Susan seems to be a good match for you."
"Thanks, Doc. I'll see you tonight?" she asked.
"I'll be looking forward to it." Jim said as he gave her a brief kiss farewell.
Carol smiled at her husband, enjoying their closeness. The honeymoon had been wonderful so far, and promised to get even better. She snuggled closer to him, murmuring, "Why didn't we do this earlier, love?"
"Get married? You know quite well that we didn't dare have the wedding until your pregnancy looked natural. People would have asked awkward questions. Besides, I didn't know you were that serious until you proposed last month."
"You should have realized it, love. I hinted often enough before I got tired of waiting for you to catch on and hit you over the head with it." She looked down at the swell of her pregnancy, sighing, "It won't be long now, will it?"
"No, she's almost finished regressing, and should be ready to be born in a week or two."
"I can hardly wait. Finally, I'm going to have a baby." Her eyes shone brightly, and she held him closer. "And it's all thanks to you, love." She said, pulling Jim to her for a deep kiss.
Susan was awake; bracing against the tremors that had shaken her world, turning her upside-down. She braced herself, dimly aware of what was going to happen next. She felt Mommy's body contract around her, squeezing her through a narrow passage. It hurt for a few moments, then she felt strong hands grip her, lifting her out into the bright lights. She smiled up at Daddy, then cried out in pain as he cut the cord that bound her to Mommy. Mommy took her, holding Susan to her breasts, and Susan greedily suckled, the warm milk reassuring her and soothing away the birth trauma. Snugly nestled in her Mommy's arms, Susan Connors drifted off into a gentle slumber as her new parents welcomed her to the family.
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