"....." the man was silent as he looked at the test results printed on the paper in his hands. He brought his fingers to his chin, studying it very carefully.

"There's no question." he said. "These tests can be wrong, but... not this many times over." he muttered. He then shook his head slightly, and sighed heavily, setting the paper down.

He looked out the window of his office, staring at the sky with its darkening clouds, little droplets of rain falling to the ground, as thunder could be heard, and people were scampering about to try and get somewhere dry before the storm picked up.

"Ominous weather." he commented.

'Wonder if it's coincidence...' he then thought, looking at the paper once more and running a hand through his green hair, taking off his glasses and laying them down on the desk he was sitting at.

He knew he couldn't hide it. He had to tell her. She had a right to know. She HAD to know. So he picked up the phone on his desk, and dialled her number.

-The next day-

Her bubblegum hair caused her to stand out a little amongst the people waiting, but it was nothing too unusual for the staff. She was a familiar face, but only because she was here to talk to her family doctor... and while the staff might not have been on a casual basis with her, they knew her hair when they saw it, and it was only ever new hires that batted an eye at it.

Or it was because she was a bit of a celebrity, and they were rather starstruck. That was also a distinct possibility.

She was scrolling through her social media feed absently, when she heard the receptionist speak to her.

"Mrs Sherwood?" he addressed her.

"Doctor Calder will speak with you now." he told her further, before gesturing for her to head to the office of the person in question. He knew she knew the way, so he knew he didn't need to ask if she needed any help.

He then gave her a small smile, and went back to tapping away on the computer that was in front of him.

Rene looked over towards her, and smiled softly.

"Hey." he greeted her.

"So. I found out the reason you've been feeling... off." he told her.

"Now... I'm sure you already have your suspicions... and the obvious answer is not so obvious because of your unique circumstances." he continued, before bringing out the file and handing it towards her.

"However, sometimes the obvious answer is obvious for a reason." he continued.

"Take a look." he said.

"And I triple-tested. Those results ARE accurate."

"It most certainly was." Rene agreed.

"You still have a few scars." he went on.

"...but tell me..." he then said.

"Desiree, are you prepared for this?" he asked.

"Is this what you want?" he asked further.

"Because you DO have options." he reminded her, some concern in his tone.

Rene nodded in response.

"I understand." he said.

"Go home and discuss this with Jaden." he told her.

"It's not too far along, so you DO have some time." he continued.

"And as your doctor, I will do everything in my power to make sure you stay healthy through this." he went on. "As your friend, I'll do everything in my power to make sure you make it through this, regardless of your choice." he then added.

"But that's all I had to tell you." he then said further.

"Beyond that, all other results were negative."

Rene just smirked a little.

"Yep." he said.

"Quite frankly, if it HAD have been a virus... specifically, the one we were suspecting... then things would have gotten... nasty." he told her.

"And I mean BAD." he muttered.

"But, pointless to pontificate on it any longer." he reasoned.

"Let's be grateful it wasn't a virus or anything of the sort."

Rene looked over to the side for a moment, back to her, and sighed heavily.

"I will." he said.

"She... there's going to be a minor roller coaster of reactions, though." he told her.

"Especially now that we know first-hand what this does to you." he continued.

"So don't be surprised if you get a call from her... eh... within the next few days." he then said.

"I will keep her from doing so immediately, because you deserve time to tell Jaden first." he reasoned with a shrug.

After an hour or so of playing around on the laptop, she heard a familiar voice.

"Moooom!" Darrell called out.

"We're home!" he yelled further.

"Darrell, don't shout." Jaden said.

"We don't know how long your mother's appointment is, so she might not be home yet." he told him.

"Go and get a drink, all right?" he asked, as Darrell made his way to where the fridge was to do just that.

Darrell had been about to grab something, when Desiree scooped him up.

He let out a small yelp, but then made happy noises, squealing a little, before giving her a hug as best he could.

"Hi, Mom!" he exclaimed.

"SO much fun! You should have been there!" he told her.

Jaden just sighed and shook his head with a smirk.

"Hey." he greeted her.

"...how'd it go?" he then asked, nervousness in his tone.

Jaden sighed in relief.

"Good!" he said.

"That is SUCH a relief!" he exclaimed.

"Would have been a real mess if it were..." he mumbled further, before pausing.

"...wait." he said.

"Then... what IS it?" he asked her.

Jaden was silent, practically stunned for a moment.

"A... another?" he asked.

"...wait..." he said.

"You're... you're...?" he stammered, before shaking his head.

"Wow..." he muttered.

"I... I didn't think that... could happen again." he chuckled.

"Do YOU want another?" he asked her.

"Do you want to go through THAT again?"