Isadora: Day 3 (Screen Time)

It’s been a day. All year you’ve been stressing about how much College Spread has challenged your worldview, let alone how to achieve sexual challenge with strangers on a weekly basis, but it’s nothing compared to one day with Rebekah at the campus health center for a pregnancy confirmation visit. Your first surprise was when they got her in for a visit within a couple of days of her calling. Apparently, pregnancy is considered one of their priorities and something that the center is well-equipped to handle.

It started with the two of you sitting in reception, waiting for the nurse to run the intake process with Rebekah. You were already nervous, feeling out of your depth as you tried to reassure her that everything would be okay. Her response bordered on annoyance at having to be here in the first place, although she did acknowledge it was necessary. After that you shut up and just held her hand, assuming that was how she showed her own anxiety.

When the nurse called her in, you stood to go with her. The nurse stopped you.

“It’s okay,” she said. “We need to ask her some private questions anyhow.”

“Umm…” you weren’t sure what to say.

Surely it was reasonable, if not desirable, for a baby’s father to support its mother throughout the process. But that was being prevented. With a sigh, Rebekah turned to comfort you.

“It’s okay, baby, this won’t take long I’m sure. They’re just checking my details, taking blood pressure and stuff.”

Reluctantly you took a seat and waited, trying to ignore the other students in the waiting area. There weren’t actually that many and thankfully neither you nor they seemed to recognize each other. As the minutes passed you decided to buy a candy bar to take your mind off things. The vending machine was tucked in a corner a short walk down the hallway. Grabbing some notes from your wallet you headed there.

“Oh hey, you!” said a familiar voice.

It was Kailani Mahelona. If anyone was going to recognize you, the woman who went from your first challenge to a trusted friend was probably the best.

“What you doing here?” she asked.

“Pregnancy visit,” you responded. “They’re checking her in right now. How about you?”

“Just an STI test,” she said.

You didn’t realize your mouth was open for several seconds. It made her laugh.

“I’m a sex worker,” she said. “I don’t often have others on cam with me, but sometimes. So it’s good to make sure you’re safe.”

“I… guess,” you said quietly as your mind spun once more with thoughts of all the risks you’ve taken in College Spread.

“You’re getting checked regularly too, right?” she asked. “What with the game and everything.”

You didn’t want to lie to her. You really didn’t. But between fear and shock and embarrassment the words just came out. Not that they convinced her.

“Yeah… er… sure.”

Kailani nodded. “You’ve never been tested have you? If you’re having sex with strangers you really should do. It’s just good sense. Anyhow, I have to get to class. See you around.”

With that she left. You returned to your seat without any candy, struggling to keep your emotions under control. You were here for Rebekah and suddenly you had a whole new set of worries. How could you be so thoughtless? You tried to stop the spiralling thought before it took too strong a hold. It wasn’t easy, but STI tests were something you’d have to do later. Today was about your girlfriend and her pregnancy.

When she finally came out she gave you a mischievous chuckle. Given what was going on it seemed completely out of place.

“They wanted to make sure you weren’t abusing me,” she said.

Another shock. What had you done to make them think that? That’s the first thought on your mind. The next is more rational. You hadn’t done anything, but it was probably something they had to ask anyone who came in. It made sense.

“I told them you only hit me when I’ve been a REALLY bad girl!”

“REBEKAH!” you cry out.

Thoughts of the cops showing up, of you being arrested and kicked out of the university flooded your mind. That was her sense of humor all right, but surely even she should have known to keep it in check in a situation like that.

“Relax,” she said, still chuckling. “I told them it’s me who hits you and you love it.”

“Not funny, Rebekah,” you said.

She raised her hand. “Okay, okay. I told the truth. You’d never do that. Let’s face it they wouldn’t send me back out here to you if they thought you were an abuser.”

That’s true at least. Security hadn’t shown up. She’d obviously just been teasing you. It still didn’t make you feel much better. You shook your head and glared at her. The look on her face broke through your upset though and you couldn’t help a small laugh yourself.

“You got me. But PLEASE don’t do that again!”

You’re not sure what you were expecting the appointment to be like, but when they found out Rebekah hadn’t so much as had a physical since joining the university, it ended up being everything. Blood work, urine test, more vitals. Two people talked to her about medications despite her not being on them.

And then she was led into a private room where she had to remove her jeans and underwear and lie on a table with her feet up in some kind of stirrups. They’d made sure she was okay with you being there, and that you wanted to be there too, but they had not prepared you for this. Sure, they covered her upper thighs and waist with a sheet for privacy, but when the doctor shoved her hand under there with some kind of device covered in gel and Rebekah shifted uncomfortably you had to block some very inappropriate thoughts. It didn’t help that the doctor was fairly young, probably her early thirties at a guess, and attractive too. Silently you cursed College Spread for screwing up your brain, refusing to accept that maybe your mind might have gone there anyway.

Once she is done she excuses herself and leaves the room for a moment. As you wait for her to return, Rebekah looks at you and grins.

“Let me get this right,” she says. “I’m lying here with someone shoving a metal lump up my pussy and you’re getting turned on?”

“No!” you snap, too fast and too sharp to be believable.

She looks down at the slight tent in your pants. “Really? The little guy says you’re lying.”

You blush, fiercely. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she says. “Actually, seeing you squirm distracted me a bit from what she was doing. Which, believe me, was a good thing.”

A shrill chime fills the air.

“You’re meant to have turned your phone off,” she says.

You look down at where she dropped her clothes on a chair and pull the phone out of her jeans pocket. “Not mine,” you reply.

Rebekah takes her phone and glances at the number on the front. “Oh, it’s Deborah from Impulse Group. Most of my contacts have a specific ring, but I forgot to give her one.”

She puts the phone to her ear, but before she can speak the message notification on yours sounds loudly.

“Okay, that one’s mine,” you say, pulling it out of your pants.

As Rebekah takes her call you focus on your message.

“Hey. It’s Isadora. I heard from Dr. Ravensmoor that you picked me in the Spread. You should have contacted me already, but I’m free on Saturday night. Meet me at my place and we’ll talk about what challenge we’re gonna do.”

Isadora Bloom, you think. The creative writing major TA. You hadn’t actually decided who to play your joker to score an automatic 10x multiplier on yet, but it looks like that’s been decided for you. She’s included an address and it’s a road that’s close to campus so you message her back to say you’ll be there at 7pm.

“So,” you say as Rebekah hangs up. “What did she want?”

She grins. “Photo shoot, this weekend. Sorry, babe, I’m gonna have to leave you alone with Jada. They want HexDrive in their New York office this weekend to try out toys and do some ads for their spring special.”

Another twist to the day. You begin to wonder if some malicious spirit might be preying on the two of you.

“That’s… last minute,” you say.

She nods. “Apparently they decided to make it a HexDrive issue, introducing us to their readers. That kind of thing. She says she had to argue with the board to get them to change what they were going to do but now they’re all eager to go. It’s gonna be a busy weekend. Honestly, I’m pretty sure we won’t be back until Tuesday.”

“Introduce you?” you ask. “Isn’t this just a sex toy company’s catalog?”

She shakes her head. “No, they’re more than just sex toys, though that was their start. They have a whole sex positivity magazine too. Interviews, articles on health, lgbtq+ rights, you name it. They have a clothes line and more. And now they’re featuring us so they have time to do more work with us before the Worlds competition.”

“Okaaay,” you say, realizing that this sponsorship is a lot more than you thought it was. “Are you gonna be okay?”

Rebekah gives you a puzzled look and shakes her head slowly.

“I’m a big girl, babe,” she says, then pats her belly. “Especially now. I’ll be fine. But what about you? I’m sure Jada can take care of you when you get horny but you got this week’s challenge sorted out?”

You nod. “That was my text, actually. Isadora wants me to meet her at her place on Saturday. So I’ll sort something out with her then. And I can use the joker on Kiara. That’ll cover both the Ten and Jenny of Hearts for the royal flush.”

“Cool, guess we’re both gonna be bus—”

“Sorry about that,” says the doctor as she steps back into the room. “Just had to take care of something in the office. Now, all that’s left is the ultrasound. Ready to see your baby?”

She takes a seat on a rolling stool and reaches for some long, rod-like thing from a machine with a screen next to the bed. You assume it’s a monitor, probably to show the baby as she said. She applies gel to the probe over a plastic cover and slides it beneath the sheet towards Rebekah’s sex. You wince, hoping it’s less painful than it looks. Rebekah winces slightly, which tells you the thing has been inserted, but she doesn’t seem in pain so much as surprise and mild discomfort.

“Damn, that’s cold,” she says.

The doctor nods. “Sorry, I should have warned you. Now, let’s see what we have here.”

You look from Rebekah to the screen, wondering what you’re watching. It’s black, with grey shapes of various sizes, and a bit of white here or there. Is that what she looks like inside? The doctor speaks quietly as she moves the probe around, though you only manage to understand the words “crown-rump length.” You guess that’s how big the baby is.

“Oh hey, is that him?” says Rebekah.

There’s a blob on the screen. At least, that’s what it looks like. Then you manage to pick out a body, a very oversized head, maybe some tiny little things that could be arms or legs. Though honestly it’s all guesswork to you.

“That’s your baby,” confirms the doctor. “Though we don’t know if it’s male or female at the moment. Here’s the head.”

She points to a larger part of the blob. Rebekah stares at the screen for a while before speaking.

“Babe, I don’t think it’s human.”

You laugh. “Of course it is!”

“Nah… look at that shape, that head. I dunno, baby, I can’t decide if it’s a bobblehead, a xenomorph or some kind of weird grey goo.”

The doctor grins. “That’s perfectly normal at this point. You seem to be about 11, maybe 12, weeks pregnant from everything we’ve seen. It’s a shame we didn’t get you in before. But yes, the head is disproportionately large compared to when the baby is born. Things will adjust over time.”

“Maybe,” says Rebekah. “All I’m saying is I’m not sticking that thing on the car dash and if it rips out of my chest or eats the planet I’m blaming you.”

You shake your head at her joke, the doctor allows herself a soft laugh.

“Oh, right, you’re a gamer, right? Part of HexDrive? Well, there’s no chance of that, though you may feel like the baby’s trying to eat everything at times.”

You’re surprised the doctor recognizes Rebekah, or the references to the xenomorph and grey goo as game tropes.

“Fan, huh?” asks Rebekah.

“A bit,” says the doctor. She’s mostly focusing on taking measurements, but responds to the question. “I mostly play cosy games to relax, but I do like watching the strategy of Fluorescence. Oh look, there’s the heartbeat.”

Neither one of you speaks as you stare at the screen. You struggle to see it, but there is a slight flicker on the screen. Rebekah seems to relax while her grip on your hand tightens.

“We made this, babe,” she says. “You better stick with me now!”

“Why would I want to leave you?” you respond. “You’d probably kick my ass anyhow if I tried. No, baby, you have me for life. You and our baby, baby… We really need new cute names don’t we?”

“Well,” says the doctor. “Everything’s looking good so far. It’s good to see you two so connected to each other. I think your baby might be very lucky.”

A few minutes later she withdraws the probe and starts tidying up.

“Okay, I’ll get the prints off for you and make a follow up appointment. Do you have any further questions?”

“No,” says Rebekah. “Long as everything’s okay we’re fine.”

After that it’s time to wrap things up. And at last you feel like you can take a breath.