“Nothing is hard to explain. You’re choosing not to. If you can’t answer my questions fully and without reservation then there’s no reason to continue this conversation.”
Her blush deepened. “I have a history of choosing the wrong men and one of them hurt me pretty bad.” She swiped her fingers across her stomach. “I've tried over and over again. I guess I just really want a family. My own family. And right now I can't, so that's why I’m here.”
Reid steepled his fingers and stared at Clara, who twitched with nerves despite trying not to. She smelled good, she responded well, and although she was nervous he could hear the truth in her voice. Already, his need to delve deeper and provide protection slithered through him.
He needed to get Clara the hell out of his facility.
“You were stabbed,” he stated rather than questioned.
She blanched but recovered quickly.
“Yes.”
“In the abdomen?”
Clara nodded. “And below it...”
“It appears that's the reason why you can't get pregnant.”
“It would seem so,” she snapped.
“So, the real reason you're here is to get reconstructive surgery.” His voice hardened.
“Yes and no. I do need reconstructive surgery and I can't afford it, but I'm here to have a child, regardless of whether it’s human, Cyborg, or half-breed.”
“But you doneedreconstructive surgery, right?”
Clara shuffled in her seat. “Yes. I do need the surgery, but the ability to have a child is the most important thing to me.”
Reid lowered his tablet and looked her directly in the eye. “Even if that child is cybernetic? You know what that means, don't you? It means that your child would have cells unlike any other human. They won't be wholly human, but half machine. And even though they won't havemetalwithin their bodies, their cells would have technology fused within, making them nano-capable. Those nanoparticles belong to the government, which means...”
“I'd have to share parenting rights with the government,” she finished for him.
“Yes. If you were to get pregnant during your stay here, your child would be monitored for the rest of its life. Their free will they would retain, but they would always be accompanied by cybernetic scientists. You would be their mother, you would be their family, you would be free to offer your opinion on every decision, but that's all you would have. Do you understand? Your rights end there.”
Reid was being harsh. This was the point where every woman cowed and decided that they needed to think whether or not this program was for them. This is where the conversation always ended.
Clara pursed her lips and glanced up at her image on the wall beside him. Her pupils clouded and her face wavered, and her fingers twitched before she locked eyes with him again.
He was reminded of the way she had reacted to his beast. How, even though she was afraid and uncertain, she held her ground.
“I understand. When can we start?” Her countenance hardened.
I really need to get her out of here.
“That's good to know,” his voice strained. “Your file says you don't have a partner but you were recently engaged. What happened?”
“He broke it off.”
“Why?”
“He was an idiot.”
“... So you're single?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
