2015-08-21
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Max nodded. "Thought it might be the flu?"
"How far along do you think you are?" Aveta asked.
"What?" Max jerked her head up. "You're shittin' me!" she gasped. "I can't...it's not...well, it's not possible," she protested.
"Are you not sexually active?" Aveta prodded, somewhat amused.
Max blushed slightly. "Yeah, but...I can't get pregnant. I mean, I'm not supposed to."
"Why is that?" Aveta asked.
"Long story, but let's just say it's another hazard of being the freakin' savior of the world. A side effect courtesy of Sandeman," Max replied sarcastically.
"Max, I'm 100 percent sure you're pregnant."
Max shook her head in disbelief. "Can you run a blood test or something? Just to make sure?" she asked.
Aveta nodded, walking over to the supply cabinet to retrieve a syringe.
Max turned and lay back on the table, sticking out her arm. "Let's get this bitch over with."
EPILOGUE
Crash - that night
Max sat with Original Cindy, Sketchy, Alec, and Sky at a table. Empty glasses and a nearly empty pitcher of beer littered the table as Sketchy drained his own glass.
"People still chasin' you around?" Original Cindy asked Alec, crossing her arms and leaning them on the table.
"Yeah, it's weird. Never thought I'd think being propositioned at every turn was a bad thing." He took a sip of his own beer.
Sketchy put his now-empty glass down on the table, the glass slamming against the wood in his haste. "Hey, I was almost tempted to sneak behind Normal's back and grab that stamp pad myself."
"Ooh, Sketch, trust me – not worth it."
"You okay, sugah?" Original Cindy asked Max, nodding at the empty space on the table in front of her. "You haven't had a thing all night."
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"Yeah, I'm fine." Max smiled, reaching into her pocket and dropping a bill on the table as she stood up. "I gotta jet. Next round's on me."
"More beer," Sketchy grunted as he took the money and the empty pitcher up to the bar. Max wasn't far behind, heading for the stairs. The TV behind the bar fritzed into an Eyes Only hack, and Sketchy watched in admiration. Max paused as well.
"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a Streaming Freedom Video Bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in Seattle. Inevitably, in life, one must make the choice between withholding information and coming forward with the truth. This week, one man made the right choice. This footage shows you where your donations have gone--not to the hungry, but to the pockets of the police at our borders. John Milham has been cheating those who can least afford it. Now the truth is out. This has been a Streaming Freedom Video Bulletin from the Eyes Only informant net. Peace. Out."
"Eyes Only does it again," Sketchy grinned, handing the pitcher to the bartender to refill. At the top of the stairs, a patron entered the bar, and the sound of a revving motorcycle engine followed her inside.
Space Needle
Max stood on the roof of the observation deck, looking out over the city and smiling.
Logan talks a good game – admitting the truth and all – but it took him long enough to finally play it. Oh, well. At least he did. Now it looks like it's my turn. A city full of loonies chasin' sires out there, and I'm the one who ends up pregnant. For a while there I wasn't sure Logan and I would ever get to this point. Guess we have, though. If you'd told me about this a couple years ago, I'd have laughed. I mean, me, a mom? But hey...stranger things have happened.
