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Dr. Kentha Horawi leaned back in his chair and stretched, loosening up a bit after his latest clients had stepped out of his office. The monitor lizard was a bit stiff from sitting around all day…normally he’d have spent a bit more time up and about, but the day had been rather stuffed with appointments. And he had one more to go for the day as well…

Well, perhaps it was a good thing - it meant that the efforts to populate the next generation were alive and well, despite the squawking of the nuts who claimed that a birthrate apocalypse was upon them. He doubted they’d be coming to see a family planning specialist if that wasn’t the case.

Those who came to see Dr. Horawi had pretty clear desires. Some of them were seeking advice over whether it was a good time to start thinking about kids - to which the answer was quite often ‘do you want to?’, plus discussions of finances and logistics. Others were seeking help for fertility issues, either real or imagined, to which Dr. Horawi had a wide variety of potential approaches; the most common request along these lines was facilitating cross-pheno births, something he was highly inclined to encourage. A smaller number came to him after a pregnancy had already happened, who were now second-guessing their readiness or had other issues which gave them pause and were seeking potential termination; Dr. Horawi had the numbers to several clinics on hand for those events. Still others were already pregnant and intending to keep the child but concerned about the finances and logistics that they probably should have been thinking about before the pregnancy (though he didn’t say this to their faces - accidents happened, after all), or looking for referrals to gynecologists. The range of subjects he could cover meant that it wasn’t difficult to find folks needing his expertise, meaning generally fuller schedules.

Yes, being busy was good, he was paid rather well to do what he did, and they probably wouldn’t appreciate if he was skiving off on the computer for hours on end. Not that he didn’t occasionally do that on the rare days when the schedule was barren…though he at least tried to put in some research at the same time, to try to mollify the administrators. But better to be needed than superfluous, and Dr. Horawi did pretty well for himself. And after his last appointment for the day, he could head on home, kick back, and relax until tomorrow came around. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a complicated consult, and he could take off a bit early…

“Dr. Horawi, Mr. And Mrs. Calverson are here.” The receptionist’s voice crackled a bit over the loudspeaker on his desk - one of these days he was going to have to see about getting that replaced.

“Send them on in.”

No response, but he knew that he’d been heard - the receptionist would have buzzed back if he hadn’t heard anything. Less than a minute later, his door opened again, and in walked two humans, in a manner that immediately had Dr. Horawi a little tense. The male, Ethan Calverson, had very clean-cut black hair trimmed to a modest length, a somewhat tall and lean frame for a human, and a stiffness about him that seemed like he was trying to be imperious, which was usually not a good sign; he was dressed very nicely, like he’d just come from a church outing that he took very seriously. The female, Lacy Calverson, was shorter and slimmer and held herself very differently, reserved and deferential, light-brown shoulder-length hair brushed very neatly, a rather pretty dress that seemed also too nice for the casual setting Dr. Horawi tried to encourage. If the monitor had to guess, Ethan was probably in his late twenties, Lacy in her early to mid 20s - relatively common ages for his clients, but he always had a touch of concern with age differences more than a couple years, there was a higher risk of a power dynamic imbalance. And in this case, there were other warning signs of that as well.

Yet, he wasn’t going to assume - he was just going to scrutinize a bit more. “Mr. And Mrs. Calverson. Please have a seat.” Dr. Horawi motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hm. I would have hoped for something more than that.” Ethan sounded a bit miffed as he took his seat, Lacy sitting quietly on the next chair over. “Is a handshake too much to ask for these days?”

“I’m afraid we’re rather discouraged from handshakes here at the clinic. Especially for myself, since I do get a fair number of pregnant individuals seeking my counsel and anything I can do to reduce the risk of spreading illness is even more vital.”

“I suppose I will have to accept that.” No, this was not off to a good start, Ethan Calverson was leaving a lackluster first impression to say the least. It had Dr. Horawi looking over at Lacy surreptitiously, trying to see if there were any signs of physical abuse…nothing stood out to him, and she wasn’t giving him that vibe at the moment, but he wasn’t going to be too quick to dismiss it. “You’re going to help us with our problem?”

Dr. Horawi nodded. “I aim to, as best I can. I understand you believe you’re having issues with conception?”

“It’s not merely a belief, it’s a certainty!” It was pretty clear that Ethan was going to be the one doing most, if not all the talking. “At this point Lacy should already have been giving birth! I’m not sure what she’s doing wrong, but if your expertise can help rectify this, then all will be set right.”

“Mr. Calverson, the problem is not necessarily anyone’s fault. Conception is often more challenging than couples expect, and for some it can take years before they reach success. I’m here to help try to identify if there ARE any problems, but it very frequently comes down to more of an issue of the prospective parents being somewhat impatient. And I do understand that you may not love the idea of waiting, but it’s not always medically necessary to do interventions to try to speed things up, and that carries risks of its own.”

“…Well, I suppose it’s true that it takes time for some people. But surely there must be something we can do to speed the process along! We’ve been trying for ten months, and I was led to expect it to be dealt with on our honeymoon!”

Patience clearly wasn’t Ethan’s strong suit…still, Dr. Horawi was doing his best to keep an even keel, impatience wasn’t a crime. “I’m sure that honeymoons do result in that a lot, but it’s certainly far from a guarantee. But let’s step back a bit and see if we can identify any simple issues. When you’re attempting to conceive, can you take me through the process?”

Ethan huffed. “Well, I don’t see how THAT has anything to do with it. We’re doing exactly what we should be doing! A nightly hour-long prayer session beseeching the Lord Almighty to bless us with child, calling upon his infinite power to bring life to Lacy’s womb! If she hasn’t been receptive yet, it can only mean that there is something wrong with her that we haven’t discovered yet!”

Dr. Horawi sat blinking in stunned silence for several seconds. Never in his life had he hoped so fervently that ‘hour-long prayer session’ was a euphemism…but somehow, he was getting the awful idea that Ethan had meant that entirely literally. “I…see. And…what else do you do after these, uh, prayer sessions?”

“We of course sleep and hope that the Good Lord will provide us with our desires overnight. Nothing else should be necessary, God is powerful enough to provide anything we ask for!”

This was turning south very quickly. Dr. Horawi had of course come across levels of ignorance about sex and procreation before - there were, unfortunately, quite a few people who harbored rather incredible misconceptions about conception. People who believed that semen was no different from urine and that peeing was how one made a baby. People who believed all sorts of nonsense about what could avoid a pregnancy, like having sex standing up or using any number of casual products that allegedly had miraculous spermatocidal properties. People who didn’t have the first clue how to use condoms or other barrier devices - including one woman who wore a diaphragm on her head and was confused about why it didn’t stop her from getting pregnant. It was a constant battle between being horrified and being amused for the lizard, but he tried his hardest to keep an even expression through it all - neither shock nor laughter would help these people through trying times. But without fail, the excessively religious were the most ignorant…when you treated sex as something abhorrent and sinful, you almost always avoided teaching anything about it, and whatever WAS taught was often wildly inaccurate. And Ethan and Lacy, quite clearly, were deeply into whatever religious nonsense had been fed to them…although Lacy hadn’t said anything, Dr. Horawi didn’t get the impression that any of this was a surprise to her. Though there was a chance she simply didn’t say anything to avoid setting Ethan off…

Regardless, he needed to persist with his job. “So you engage in nothing other than ritual prayer? Have you sought…advice from anyone before on this matter?”

“Of course not! I couldn’t ask our parents about such things, to make them think we were incapable somehow! I’ve sought the council of God, but I haven’t been able to pick up anything from Him. And the pastor only said that if we keep trying surely we will meet with success. But I don’t want to wait longer than I already have, I don’t want to be an old man by the time my child has grown!”

“…I see. Okay, well then, it seems I’ll have to provide better support.” Dr. Horawi took a deep breath and hoped he was wrong about what he thought might happen next. “Mr. Calverson…have you considered attempting sexual relations with your wife?”

“How DARE you!” burst out Ethan fiercely, and Lacy shrank back while Dr. Horawi grimaced a bit. “I would NEVER stoop to such depraved, sinful behavior! I have a gloriously clean record and I have ensured that Lacy is the same, we would not taint ourselves and thus put our piety at risk and offend God so that he would deny us! I should lodge a complaint about you for daring to accuse us of such filth!”

“…Mr. Calverson. I cannot presume to know the depth of your education, but I have to make sure you understand that coitus is the…predominant method of conceiving a child.”

“Savagery! Nothing but rank, sinful savagery! That’s a thing for animals and the unclean, those who soiled themselves and cannot call to God’s graces for such a blessing! Pure, clean souls such as ours have no need for such nonsense, the glory of God will deliver all things to us!”

Ye gods…it’s even worse than I thought. It was bad enough when it was pure ignorance, but this was next-level crazy. Ethan was actually aware of the correlation between sex and conception - he just also seemed stubbornly insistent that he was an exception. And THAT was going to be a hard wall to pierce, it was ignorance and idiocy reinforced with self-aggrandizement and entitlement, an adamantine combination if Dr. Horawi had ever seen one. “I cannot speak to the glory of your god, Mr. Calverson, but it seems to me that if you have not experienced success with that method, the much more reliable one would be your next best option-”

“Speak no more of this! You will not tempt us unto sin, lizard! I know your kind, you speak with the tongue of the devil, chanting lies to break our devotion to God! But the devil always knows the truth, and the power of God will compel you to expel it from your mouth, to bear to us the secret methods of bringing life without sin! I demand you fulfill your duties and reveal the secrets of fostering her body to produce a child for us!”

Dr. Horawi clenched his hands into fists behind his desk, then unclenched them, trying to keep himself collected. “You mistake me for a magician, Mr. Calverson. Or a miracle worker. I am neither. I cannot help you if you refuse to help yourself. If you are insisting that no sex is involved, then we can go over the risks and costs of artificial insemination or in-vitro fertilization-”

“Never! The taint of sin lingers over all of those!” Ethan’s barging in was leaving Dr. Horawi just about ready to throw him out - this seemed like a person who shouldn’t have a child in the first place to him, and he rarely scoured anyone with that label. “Bedevil us no more with your lies! You are here to create families, and you WILL create one! I demand of you to make Lacy bear a child!”

Silence for a bit. Dr. Horawi and Ethan were staring each other down, neither one speaking but the human was clearly trying to push the lizard…and Lacy was off to the side, looking anxious, unwilling to engage. But it seemed that the stand-off was broken when Dr. Horawi leaned back. “…Is that what you want, Ethan?”

“Of course it is! I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t!”

“…All right, then. I suppose you’ve caught me out. I can make that happen, without you ‘debasing yourself in sin.’ But…not here, and not today. It will have to be…three days from now. In the evening. I will need time to prepare things.”

Ethan smiled smugly at Dr. Horawi. “I knew you would surrender eventually. God’s power trumps all things.”

“Yes, yes, it certainly does. However, before this can happen, I need you both to sign something. Give me just a couple minutes here, so that I can make sure that this is all properly documented, so that you can be assured I won’t back out.” Dr. Horawi started typing on his computer, while Ethan and Lacy were made to wait; the male didn’t seem to like having to wait, but satisfaction in his apparent victory was keeping him docile. Lacy, as usual, was avoiding saying anything or making herself too noticeable; whether it was abuse or conditioning during growth, she seemed to have a determination to stay ‘in her place’, which Dr. Horawi didn’t exactly approve of but that wasn’t his business as long as he had no obvious sign that she wasn’t a victim of anything legally actionable. And while he couldn’t say definitively that this WASN’T the case, he couldn’t say it WAS, either.

What he could say was that he was doing something. His printer whirred to life, churning out a sheet of paper which Dr. Horawi set in front of Ethan and Lacy, along with a pen for each. “Please read this, and if you find them to be acceptable, sign them. Very simple terms - you agree that I will ensure personally that Lacy bears a child, and that you have attested that this is what you want and ask of me.”

“Simplicity itself,” declared Ethan, signing without even reading the more formal declaration printed on the paper. “I’m not even sure why you’re asking Lacy to sign, my assent should be satisfactory for all matters.”

“Simply ensuring that everyone has been a part of the agreement. If she isn’t as certain about this, then it would be a violation to force it on her.” He saw Ethan start to look darkly at Lacy and cut in again quickly. “Mr. Calverson, I am going to insist that you do not apply pressure to her. If you are unconvinced that she wants a child as badly as you do, then you should not be here in the first place. If you believe that she IS as committed to this as you are, then your words are hardly necessary. But coercion will void ANY contract, and I don’t care how powerful your god is, he’s not going to change the laws of this land.”

Ethan huffed petulantly, but sat back and folded his arms in silence. Lacy was much less hasty to sign, reading the words and looking up and Dr. Horawi here and there, like she wanted to ask questions…but she once again didn’t say anything, and eventually, with hesitation, placed her signature on the contract as well. With a nod, Dr. Horawi took it back and made his own mark on it. “That should be everything necessary for now. When we meet again in three days, I will make sure you get what you’ve asked for.”

“Finally. This had better be worth the wait.” Ethan stood up sharply. “I have things to do. Don’t be tardy.” He bade Lacy rise with a motion, and she did and followed behind as Ethan strode out of the office, leaving the room empty except for Dr. Horawi once again. The lizard let out a long sigh as he rubbed his head; so much for an uncomplicated consult - it wasn’t the longest he’d had by a long shot, but it was one of the most insane. But at least there had been a resolution…or, rather, there would be one, as he pulled the contract off the desk and filed it in one of the drawers.

Legal will probably have a few fits over this. But if these two are part of the sect I’m thinking of, it probably won’t even matter - all that banging on about ‘god’ this and that, I think they’re one of those that tries to solve all their legal conflicts with prayer as well. Can’t imagine praying that incessantly, any god would have to get annoyed with that eventually…not my problem, though. My problem is just getting done what I promised to do…

———

Some professionals liked titles off the clock. Kentha wasn’t one of them; when he was out of the clinic, ‘Dr. Horawi’ just felt too cold and impersonal to him. Shedding the white coat he normally wore was like shedding that side of him, and leaving the causal side of the monitor lizard to have its time in the forefront.

In this case, he definitely didn’t want to have the title front and center.

The location: a motel on the outskirts of the city. The time: late enough to be dark out. The preparation: a bag with all the necessities, and a few luxuries. Kentha didn’t need much more than that, he knew what he was doing and that was more than what his clients knew. He parked his car in the lot, away from the building, and made little fanfare as he stepped out, to try to keep it from looking like a target; anyone who knew he had money might have decided they wanted to see if there was anything of value in there to swipe. He didn’t, but that didn’t stop people from trying…he’d learned an expensive lesson after his ‘splurge’ for an expensive car had resulted in a dozen broken windows in a year, now he had something relatively nondescript.

A quick visit into the motel lobby make sure everything was settle. The fennec behind the counter gave him a cheeky grin as he handed Kentha the key to the room he’d pre-arranged…he knew what was going to happen, this wasn’t the lizard’s first time here. And with any luck it wouldn’t be the last, either. All that was left was for Kentha to walk all the way across to the far end of the motel, to the room on the very corner of the first floor…the farthest ones away were always the slowest to fill up, and there were empty rooms three down from there on both floors. Perfect, it meant a little bit more privacy…always ideal for something like this.

Although he had a key, he gave a quick knock on the door, since he saw lights on through the window. Sure enough, the door opened and Ethan greeted him in his familiar stuck-up manner; Lacy was sitting on a chair inside, looking nervous. “About time you showed up! We’ve been waiting for far too long!”

Kentha kept his keel even, even if he would have preferred to bite back a bit - though he did rather impose his way inside, getting a bit of satisfaction out of using his size to force Ethan to back off. “If you’ve been waiting, that was your choice to make. I told you when I would be here.”

“Hmph, I would have hoped you would have considered a little more promptness knowing how urgent a matter this is. And I still don’t see why we had to come to this deplorable spot, surely the secret can’t be so complicated that we couldn’t have done this at your clinic!”

“It’s a grand conspiracy to make sure they can sell fertility cures to couples.”

“Hmph. I suppose I should have expected that.” In a complete non-surprise, Ethan seemed to buy that fully. It was bullshit, of course, but Kentha wasn’t going to try to fight their own bullshit with reason when he had a better weapon. “Well, out with it, then! What’s the secret?”

“You need to settle down, Ethan.”

“That’s MISTER Calverson to you!”

“We’re not doing titles here. You’re Ethan, I’m Kentha. And YOU need to have some patience. Your insistence on rushing is not helping you - one who applies too much pressure crushes what they cling to. Settling down and relaxing are integral parts of the process.”

“Well! It’s certainly not MY fault, I’m not the one who’s supposed to be carrying the child! You need to direct that to Lacy!”

Kentha did no such thing, glowering at Ethan. “I’m directing it to you because you’re applying the pressure, Ethan. Trying to push Lacy to get a child in her puts an enormous amount of stress on her. It is unquestionable that childbearing is a challenging process, and the more strain you put on her, the more likely that something will go wrong - from trouble conceiving to hazards in the gestational process. If you want to have a child at all, you need to stop being so pushy.”

Ethan scoffed a bit, but backed off finally, sitting down on a chair in a huff. Kentha took that as a win, and pulled off his backpack and opened it up. He gave a quick furtive look over to Lacy, who still seemed nervous but had calmed slightly, perhaps almost grateful that someone had pushed back against Ethan. He had to imagine that she was the sole outlet for his pressure these days…that certainly wasn’t doing her any favors. Neither was much else Ethan was doing, or wasn’t doing for that matter. Perhaps things would change tonight…they’d just have to see.

Out of the backpack came a bottle and some plastic cups. Kentha poured from the bottle and handed one cup to each of the two of them. “First step of the process: drink this.”

“Alcohol?” Ethan was immediately hostile. “I object! It is sinful to imbibe alcohol!”

Kentha gave the human a tired look. “Your OWN GOD drank wine. It’s my understanding that wine is part of your regular ritual.” Ethan snorted again, but sat back once more, a bit petulantly. “Anyway, this isn’t even wine. It’s a special blend I personally prepared, it’s non-alcoholic but has a selection of juices, herbs, and spices. It has a relaxant effect, as alcohol does, but without the alcohol.”

Ethan looked rather dubiously at it, but Lacy was drinking it already. “…It’s good.” The first words Kentha had heard her speak, and they were expectedly timid and quiet, like she was trying to tread carefully to avoid setting Ethan off. Perhaps a bit emboldened by Kentha’s presence, though…the look Ethan was giving her suggested he wasn’t used to her speaking up in even thin defiance.

It at least seemed to be enough to get Ethan begrudgingly drinking his own drink, slugging it down rather fast as if he wanted to get it over with. “Aren’t you going to drink any, lizard?”

“I’m not the one who needs relaxing here. Now, I understand that prayer is part of your regular routine. I would ask that each of you pray - quietly, please - while I prepare the next steps.”

“Finally, something that makes sense.” Mercifully, that was the last thing Ethan spoke out loud as he began to mutter to himself, in what Kentha assumed was some kind of prayer. Lacy was also bowing her head dutifully, even quieter; she was probably used to being much more silent, and probably more used to Ethan being louder. The only distinct sounds now were of Kentha taking things out of his bag and setting them on the table, including several small black silk bags without any defining labels, and putting away the bottle and glasses.

He kept himself busy until the sounds of Ethan’s voice trailed off…he looked over at the human to see him slumped forward, out like a light. A quick glance over to Lacy, and Kentha could see that she was out as well. A slightly devious smile graced his mouth…everything was going exactly as planned up to this point. His ‘special concoction’ had that effect - that blend of herbs and spices nicely masked the flavor of knockout drug. Not something he pulled out very often, but this was probably the best use he’d put it to yet. And there was really only one potential hitch left, but he was reasonably confident that he’d bypass that one. He opened up one of the black silk bags and pulled out some cord, twirling the cord around his finger as he turned towards Ethan.

Rarely is this part of the fun…but all things considered, this is going to be a LOT of fun.

———

It took a bit for Ethan to stir again. For someone who had been so impatient to get to things, he’d certainly taken his time waking back up. But Kentha was as patient as Ethan was impatient…and it was worth the wait to see the look on his face as he registered what was going on. Arms tied behind his back and to the chair. Legs tied to the chair legs. A gag in his mouth, arresting his ability to do more than moan incoherently. And, to top it all off, completely disrobed and something strapped to his dick, which he probably couldn’t have figured out but which Kentha knew plenty well.

He gave a wild-eyed look towards Kentha as he started to register his plight - but whatever he wanted to start saying seemed to die in his throat as he registered Kentha. The monitor lizard was standing tall, completely bare in front of him, and fully exposed - his cock was pushed all the way out of his slit, at full mast for action - and it was hardly boasting to state that it made Ethan’s look pitifully small, no matter what dimension you were looking at. There were small bumps dotting the shaft most of the way down, getting smoother at the base, and denser towards the blunt end of Kentha’s tool, which bulged out a bit along the sides at it reached the terminus, spreading wider and letting the slit protrude a bit. Ethan seemed to blue screen a bit as he realized that he was looking at another man’s penis, particularly an inhuman man’s penis, his body stiffening in shock and horror at the carnal transgression.

“Not surprised you’d react like that - you seem like the type. Not sure whether you’re a homophobe on top of being a sexphobe, but it wouldn’t surprise me.” Kentha’s imperious look was particularly impactful now - the fact that he had almost a foot and a half and a hundred pounds of muscle on Ethan certainly didn’t hurt, but having literally every advantage over him simply made it more effective. “Hope you’re comfy, because you’re not going anywhere for a bit. Oh, and if you’re wondering about Lacy, don’t worry - she’s right here.” Kentha motioned towards the bed, and Ethan’s eyes widened further as he saw his wife laid out, also completely bare; unlike him, she wasn’t tied down or gagged, but she wasn’t making any obvious motion to escape, and her eyes were wide and anxious.

Ethan tried to say something, but nothing more than indistinct sounds were coming out. Kentha smirked. “Can’t hear you, bitch. And thank goodness for that. You must really love the sound of your own voice, but I’m guessing just about everyone else you meet gets tired of it really fuckin’ quickly. Probably none more so than your wife. So I think we’re just going to have you NOT talking tonight, do us all a few favors. The rest of this…well, that’s not gonna be a favor to you, but it’ll be a favor to SOMEone.”

Kentha turned towards Lacy, stepping towards the bed; this got a clear reaction out of Ethan, who was trying to shout through the gag, but couldn’t make that much noise. The monitor couldn’t have cared less about what he was trying to say - he had more important things to focus on. The young lady on the bed in front of him was quite fine in many ways, he had to admit, even if she bore many hallmarks of an overly-sheltered upbringing…it was a shame she was saddled with someone who didn’t appreciate her in the slightest, desired her as a possession but scorned her as a person. Her expression was appropriately apprehensive, clearly daunted by the sight of Kentha standing over her…yet, he was picking up on something else, as well - a scent of arousal, and a hint of wetness between her legs. Conflicted emotions were only to be expected, with everything that was happening - but Kentha had a pretty good idea she knew what he intended to do. And her responding like that was a very good sign…whether she had really expected him to follow through like this, he didn’t know, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that the opening was there - Kentha just had to walk in.

Simply put: it was his thing. It was a dangerous thing to have, even more so to take advantage of, but it was his thing nonetheless. There was a reason he was in the field of family planning: he had a pregnancy kink. Nothing turned him on more than the idea of breeding, or even attempting to breed - raw cumshots in a fertile partner, regardless of whether it took or not, fueled more of his fantasies than anything else, and when they DID take it was even better. Some might have questioned whether it was appropriate for him to have such a position when he had such fantasies, but Kentha was VERY good about making sure he stayed professional when in a professional setting - business was business, and pleasure was pleasure, and the two needed to have their own spheres. That didn’t mean he didn’t indulge in fantasies off the clock about things happening on the clock, but he kept those very strictly to himself, never sharing them with other kinksters of his ilk - his work was extremely important to him, he WAS helping a lot of people and he didn’t want to jeopardize that.

But there was a truth, that his job also gave him access to something that wouldn’t be nearly as easy to arrange without. It wasn’t a common event, but it was there - the couple who found out that the male partner couldn’t perform; the couple with no sperm-havers, leery about an anonymous sperm donor being used, or not finding much to like about the insemination process they used; solo folks uninterested in a long-term partner but desiring the idea of parenthood, looking for an arrangement. In those cases, Kentha made sure their options were clearly laid on the table - but he also had an extra one to offer.

Himself, knocking them up the old-fashioned way.

One could reasonably debate whether it was totally above board, and for what it was worth, Kentha probably would have called some of the arguments against it fair. Even if he tended to avoid coercion, there were still valid ethical qualms. But he was smarter than most were - he didn’t just propose it, he formalized it. Nothing happened without a contract, signed and agreed upon by all involved parties. He always answered questions and even adjusted the contracts if needed to ensure satisfaction. A no was a no, and he would drop it and never propose such a thing again to the same folks. Even once he was involved, he would make sure there were opportunities to back out. All to ensure that the satiation of his kink was as desirable an outcome from the dalliance for the others as possible…he justified it by saying it was about as ethical as unethical could get. Which didn’t stop it from being necessarily unethical, but as long as everyone was satisfied, he wasn’t bothered by it.

This was straining those boundaries a bit. This was the first time that he knew what had been agreed to was not what they were actually expecting…he was, without a doubt, exploiting some ignorance and arrogance. But if ever there was an ignorance and arrogance that needed to be put in its place, it was Ethan Calverson. He was everything Kentha despised - haughty, self-important, denigrating of those he should have cared about most, and worst of all, disparaging of the wonderful act of conception. Now the human was going to pay for his sins, as it should have been…

Lacy, though…if there was one thing that could make him hesitate, it was her. She didn’t deserve punishment for her husband’s issues, it wasn’t her fault that he was an obtuse zealot. But, he had watched her carefully when she’d read over the contract…he had a feeling that she was reading between the lines a lot more than her husband was. And yet, she had still signed in the end. Perhaps it was mutual ignorance, she had grown up in a similar climate…or, perhaps it was an invitation. After all, she had given no indication that she didn’t want a child…even subtle ones Kentha would have picked up on before, he’d gotten good at reading those signs over the years and had made sure to address those cases whenever they crossed his desk. Still, he was going to make sure he covered his bases…if he was misinterpreting everything, he was have to axe it, and leave disappointed but still within the bounds of his personal moral code. But if it was as he thought it was? Well, this was going to be a supremely satisfying night for two of them.

He was glad Lacy had woken up first, she was probably clearer-headed than Ethan was at the moment. Drugs didn’t usually come into play…he’d only done it twice before, and both had been consensual fantasy enactments, one a simulated rape impregnation roleplay and the other a cuckolding scenario that the ‘victim’ had proposed when they agreed to Kentha being the breeder. This was the first time he’d used them on unsuspecting folks…but he hadn’t done anything more than strip them both and bind Ethan, he preferred partners who were awake and aware when doing the deed. Which apparently wasn’t the norm for the sect the two were from…he’d done a bit of research, and the whole idea of ‘god will provide the child without sex’ was of course nonsense - but it turned out, was largely cover for how they ACTUALLY did it, which was the husband raping the wife while she slept so that he could pretend that their purity was intact. Disgusting, but apparently Ethan hadn’t gotten the memo - perhaps he hadn’t been introduced to that part of things yet, and his unwillingness to speak to anyone about it probably kept him in the dark about their real methods. Even more reason for Kentha to make sure she was wide awake and aware for this.

“So, Lacy…you know what’s about to happen, don’t you?” His voice was quieter, gentler than one might have expected for someone in his situation…Lacy certainly seemed to be a little thrown by it, blinking a few times at him before she nodded her head yes, seemingly unwilling to speak even though her mouth was free. Perhaps not surprising, the way she’d been taught to be probably all her life. “I thought so…you seem like you’ve got a touch more sense than the bitch over there. You know why you haven’t been able to get pregnant, don’t you?”

Another hesitation, Kentha could see her eyes flick over towards Ethan. “Ah-ah. He’s irrelevant right now. Answer for yourself, not him.” That would, of course, be easier said than done, but it did draw her attention back to Kentha, and hesitantly she nodded. “Good. I figured you were smarter than the bitch would ever let you show willingly. Now, have you been WANTING to get pregnant?” A vital question, even if Kentha had his suspicions he needed to confirm them…and while Lacy wasn’t exactly the most vigorous or rapid to provide the answer, provide it she eventually did, in the affirmative once more. It perhaps wasn’t as emphatic as some might have liked, but Kentha didn’t question it - this was a situation where she was in over her head, it was only natural she wanted to be cautious in her answers. “Just what I hoped to see. You read that contract…I think you have a good idea of what my intentions are. When you leave this room, you’ll be well on your way to getting what you want. So now, the most important question…do you want it to stop?”

No response immediately…Kentha could see her features tense up, and another quick look Ethan’s way; the male seemed in a state of shock, not overly responsive to anything, but it was going to be obvious what his position in the matter was. Kentha didn’t push - he’d given her an out, left the decision ultimately in her hands. Did she trust him to stick to a decision? To let her go after everything he’d gone through to get them in this position? Impossible to say, but whether she did or didn’t, she had the chance to advocate for herself. He’d even phrased the question to make it easier for her to end it, it was often easier for people to say yes than no, especially people who had been conditioned that their no didn’t carry much weight and could get them in trouble. But the fact that she was letting seconds tick by without a clear answer gave Kentha the idea of the answer she really wanted to give…and finally, after what might have been nearly a full minute of wavering, she closed her eyes and tilted her head side to side. Only once, but once was enough - and Kentha’s grin couldn’t have been wider. “I think you’re going to enjoy that decision, Lacy.”

Of course, he was going to as well. And he was going to enjoy rubbing it in Ethan’s face as he made it happen. The male made an impotent scream of rejection and invective that was barely audible through his gag as Kentha got onto the bed, his hand moving to a small bag that was laying next to Lacy, carrying a few more useful odds and ends for getting everything done. Now he opened it and tilted out the contents onto the bed - an unmarked pill bottle, a jar of some kind of substance, and a small remote. Only the first of these was addressed, as Kentha picked it up and opened it, and popped out one green pill which he held out to Lacy. “Swallow this. You shouldn’t notice anything, but it will…help the process along.” Vague, but there was nothing overly sinister about it - it was merely a tablet that would allow their union to be fruitful. Cross-pheno compatibility could be an issue for most folks, but there were ways around that these days that would ensure it worked; these pills were among the most potent, virtually guaranteed to result in a successful fertilization thanks to a little magical induction. They were called The Dragon’s Gift, and Kentha had never had one fail yet.

Lacy was still slow to take the pill from him, probably still wary despite her agreement to the proceedings. That was only natural - this couldn’t have been how she’d ever have imagined things happening. But there was a reason Kentha hadn’t tied her up - he wanted her to not feel trapped, not feel coerced as much as was possible with this kind of setup. The monitor had a lot of power here, with a woman who historically did not have much say in anything she did…and what he was intending to do required her to make herself as vulnerable to him as was possible to get. Really, this was new territory for Kentha as well, every other time he’d made an arrangement everyone was an enthusiastic participant. He was trying to be particularly cautious, leave her openings to withdraw her agreement, to avoid making her feel like she had to choice but to partake in this…and even then, he couldn’t guarantee that she didn’t feel coerced to some degree. But he saw her eyes flick over to Ethan again, who was clearly trying to give her the evil eye…and her movements were just the slightest bit more deliberate as she took the pill in her mouth. And that was the turning point that was helping to put his own reservations at ease - turning that one thing into an act of defiance made Lacy’s feelings clearer to him. She wanted this, and he was going to make sure she got her satisfaction, too.

“Lay back for me, Lacy, and spread your legs.” Now came the next step, as Lacy did as she was instructed, exposing her sex to Kentha in a way that was making Ethan almost thrash in his bonds. He wasn’t coming free any time soon, Kentha had made good and sure of that...still, he wanted to give Ethan another thing to focus on. Which was why he grabbed the remote and clicked the slider up one tick on it - and suddenly Ethan jerked as the thing strapped to his dick started to buzz. “Have fun with that, bitch. Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll shift it off of the Edge setting at some point.” Ethan was probably coming up with all manner of condemnation towards him at this point, but it was still all incomprehensible mumbles behind the gag, and now he was distracted as he fought against that carnal urge that so repulsed him.

Meaning that Kentha could get back to the good part, as he grabbed the jar and unscrewed the top, and coated his fingers in the clear lubricating substance. Taking hold of Lacy, he gently guided the tips of his fingers towards her labia, rubbing just inside and smearing all around, being generous with the application as he slowly worked over every part. The slick stuff made Lacy moan slightly, a slight warming and tingling being left wherever it was applied - something that Kentha knew would be very important for what was to come. Slowly he worked himself deeper, one finger and then two spreading her and slickening her up with the lube, pulling out only to collect more to work inside further. He kept this up until he couldn’t get himself any deeper without adding in more of his hand, and he didn’t want to overdo things to that degree…instead, he turned to his own length, spreading a generous amount of the lube over himself, making sure he was plenty slippery by the time he was done. His flesh wasn’t nearly as responsive to it, only a very mild tingle making itself known - but that was to be expected, he had plenty of experience, and this stuff was designed for first-timers in particular.

He remained patient as he drew himself over Lacy, his scaly body dwarfing hers by a good bit, her eyes widening a bit as she looked up at him. Kentha’s cock was poised at her folds, ready to enter, but he still held himself, waiting for any sign of second thoughts to make itself known before he committed. There was a moment of stillness between them, Lacy seemingly having a moment of doubt right at the precipice…but that moment was quickly knocked off the perch by Ethan’s muffled ranting, drawing her back into the reason she was doing this in the first place, and she settled back and spread herself wider, signaling to him to do the deed. And as much as Kentha had been prepared to pull the plug if needed, he was MUCH happier to be actually going through with it.

Lacy let out a small gasp as the end of Kentha’s cock made contact with her nethers, which quickly turned into a cry as he pushed, letting her stretch open as his bumpy head slipped in. Ethan’s muffled scream of incoherent denial registered in the monitor’s ears, but it did nothing to dissuade him, if anything it spurred him on as much as the woman’s pleasure did. He hissed a bit as he worked himself slowly further in, back and forth gently as he worked Lacy open, making sure nothing brought her any more discomfort than necessary. It was still a stretch for her, Kentha could feel how tightly she clutched onto him, but the lube he’d used was meant to ensure the size disparity wouldn’t be as much of a problem; it was hardly Kentha’s first time with a smaller partner, he knew all the tricks by this point.

His motions started to get more vigorous once he was further inside her, starting to truly thrust in and out, albeit still at a gentle pace as more of his shaft vanished into Lacy’s folds. The deeper he went, the more reactive Lacy got, blissful cries aired out into the relative silence of the room around them as the texture on his tool rubbed all along her canal, stimulating it quite effectively. As he worked further in, he was reaching past the point where his fingers had been able to get, and he was a bit more cautious and gentle going beyond that point, making sure the lube coating him got spread around nicely and helped her open up to him. Given how Lacy was pushing up into Kentha, her back arching as she cried out louder and louder, barely catching her breath between them, his caution was well-warranted, making him hold back a bit more to ensure she didn’t accidentally overdo it. After all, it would have been a travesty to rob her of that bliss just when she was feeling it for the first time.

The further Kentha took it, the more Ethan was reacting, trying very hard to get out of the chair, or to get the chair to move closer to the bed. Neither of those was going to happen - the chair was secured very firmly to a solid bar near the floor, it wasn’t going anywhere with Ethan’s fairly feeble strength. The perks of having a familiar place to come to for stunts like this…still, he decided to amp up the distraction a bit, clicking up the setting on the vibrator and getting another muted howl out of Ethan as his hips jerked, his erection leaking despite his best efforts to hold it back. That at least stopped him from trying to break free, as he became fixated on holding back the growing urge for release…he was sweating, wild-eyed, disheveled, hair a mess as he was getting more and more frenzied and agitated.

Kentha was more focused on how Lacy was doing - and pleased that she was clearly reveling in the acts. A sharper cry came from her as she clenched down on him, and the monitor felt things getting wetter inside, adding to the slickness and sloppiness of their coupling. He was starting to go at a more vigorous pace now, once it was clear that Lacy was adjusted to him and eagerly responsive to him; she was working him so fiercely, and he was giving off groans and hisses as he rut into her, adding his own fluids to the mix. He was leaning lower over her, and felt her arms reach up and wrap around him, as much as they could, her fingernails scratching against the scales of his back, an almost primal gesture that was pushing Kentha’s buttons hard.

He was getting oh-so-close to that moment he relished…Kentha started to drive in harder, all the way to the limits of Lacy’s body, working that bumpy cock in and out fiercely as he throbbed harder, his loins priming themselves for that delectable release. It was definitely more than Lacy had experienced before, and she was getting particularly breathless from the raw energy of the lizard above and inside her, though even then her voice was still rapturous in its expression even under that strain. Both of their sounds were drowning out the increasingly desperate and manic arrested protests Ethan was still trying futilely to issue, as if he somehow thought his opinion would start to matter as they got closer to the finish. Kentha spared only one more moment of thought for him, to click up that vibrator one more step, driving him towards inevitable ruin as he readied to stake his claim inside the asshole’s unfortunate wife and usurp his control over her. Now his focus was back on Lacy, trying to bring her back to that pinnacle of bliss before he couldn’t hold back any longer, his body pushing him towards that point of no return in a hurry…

He only just managed it, as Lacy started screaming out and clenching down again just a few seconds before he could hold back no longer. And that was as much a trigger for Kentha as anything, as he clenched his jaw hard and growled deeply as he drove in one last time and went off, the slight protrusion at the end of his cock pushing just past that tight lock of Lacy’s cervix, wedging into the gap like it had been sized to fit. His cock throbbed, the opening at the end of that protrusion spread wide and jetted a glut of thick reptile seed straight into the human’s womb. It was quickly followed by another, and another, that spunk flowing freely as they both rode out their orgasms, Lacy clutching tightly to Kentha and her pussy squeezing onto him, trying to milk him of his bounty - and he was providing as freely as he could, letting his virile batter go off as long as he could. And he had a lot to give, being naturally quite productive, a perfect complement to his breeding fetish that had made him QUITE effective in all of his escapades.

In the midst of it all, they heard an agonized wail from Ethan through that gag, and Kentha spared a look over to see a satisfying sight - the inferior male’s cock gushing its own load, far more pathetic in consistency and quantity. Ethan’s face was contorted as he was forced to endure that unwanted ejaculation, his ridiculous notion of purity completely ruined by his surrender to sexual impulse - while he had been forced to watch another man do what he had refused to do. It was giving Kentha a rush, stronger even than he’d thought…sure, the consensual cucking scenario he’d run through in the past had been a whole lot of fun, but this much more hostile and real version was a thrill and a half, so supremely satisfying on so many levels. It was a good thing he was good at managing his temptations, because this could be tempting to do again at some point…well, it would have had to be someone as bad as Ethan, and thankfully there weren’t that many of those out there.

It took a fair bit for Kentha’s ejaculation to finally cease, by which point Lacy was quite thoroughly filled. The woman was slumped back on the bed, stars in her eyes as she heaved, trying to catch as much breath as she could. Kentha stroked a hand through her hair, clearing it out of her face as he slowly worked his way out of her, letting the last trickles of his cum drool out into her as he escaped her; some of his seed flowed out behind his exodus, but thanks to how deeply he’d been in her, more than enough remained inside to ensure a good thorough bathing of the egg or eggs that released, ensuring a very strong chance that something would take. It wasn’t a guarantee even with the pill, maximal compatibility didn’t necessarily mean perfect chances of pregnancy, there were plenty of other factors in play…yet, Kentha had that warm, giddy feeling in him, the one he always got when he felt like things were going to turn out just how he intended. Rarely was that feeling wrong.

Now disengaged from Lacy, Kentha helped her sit up, keeping a gentle hold on her. “How are you feeling, Lacy?”

“…Good…” She was a bit flushed, but that one word sounded more confident than any she’d said so far, to say nothing of how she’d been without being able to muster the nerve to speak. Though that ease didn’t last as she cast her gaze towards Ethan and tensed up…her husband was looking at her with a viciousness worse than any other he’d already given her, and that was clearly steep competition just from what Kentha had already seen.

“You know…I would think that a guy who was clearly tied up and helpless would be a little more reserved when he knows there’s someone who could easily do quite a bit worse to him if he was so inclined.” Kentha’s warning at least made Ethan’s eyes widen nervously, which broke the impact he was trying to have towards Lacy. Kentha wasn’t the type to go that far, violence wasn’t really something he was comfortable with…but it was only really right at that moment that he was realizing that this wasn’t going to be like any of his other flights of fancy, he wasn’t going to be able to just walk away and let them go their own ways. “Lacy…I can’t demand, only suggest, but I don’t think it would be a particularly good idea to go home with Ethan tonight.”

“…I don’t want to.” Ethan’s eyes nearly bugged out all the way as Lacy spoke, shakily but firmly.

That was more than enough for Kentha. “Then you won’t. I’ll take you somewhere where you can be safe for tonight. We can discuss the next steps in the morning, how long you want to remain away and if there’s any other places you have to go.” He grimly suspected there weren’t many options for her, but if he had to work something out himself…well, he’d figure that out. “Why don’t you go ahead and get dressed? Don’t worry about whether you’ll make a mess, that’s not a concern for now.”

Lacy nodded and stood up, turning away from Ethan. The man looked like he wanted to start shouting at her again, even as muzzled as he was, but Kentha got up in his face, and he shrank away again as he saw the lizard’s messy cock hanging out right in front of him. “Listen up, bitch. Lacy’s made her choice, and don’t think for a second I’m going to allow you to take that away from her. I don’t know whether she’s going to want to trust you enough to come back, but that’s for her to decide. So here’s how this is going to go. I’m going to leave, and take her somewhere you WON’T find, believe me. And I’m going to leave you tied up here. I’m giving the desk guy a note to come in in an hour and untie you, and then you’ll be able to limp home in disgrace. Don’t think you’ll be able to take action against me - you signed the contract, and it told you what was going to happen. Not my fault you didn’t read it. But I’m not going to let you take action against Lacy, either. So I’m warning you - mind your fucking step, or you’re going to be even more sorry than you already are.”

No response from Ethan, not even a muffled one; he seemed to be caught between mortal terror and apoplectic rage. Kentha smirked a bit, then leaned in, bringing his cock up towards Ethan’s face - now THAT got a reaction, as the man tried to squirm away violently, but he had nowhere to go as Kentha smeared his cum-stained dick all over the human’s face, marring him with the mixture of lube and jizz and nectar that was all over it. “Little parting gift, bitch. Enjoy it, might be the closest you ever get to her again.” Ethan was frantically shaking his head, trying to remove the fluids from his face, which wasn’t really working at all; Kentha couldn’t have cared less, as he turned to Lacy, who was mostly dressed and looking glad to be on the other side of the room. “You ready?”

“Yes.” It looked like she was trying hard not to look Ethan’s way, which Kentha couldn’t blame her for. He gathered up the few things that he needed to and stuck them back in his bag as Lacy opened the door, stepping outside. As Kentha moved to join her, he paused right at the entrance, looking back at Ethan…then smirked a bit, and showed the vibrator remote he had palmed, clicking it back on just as it registered with Ethan. The man’s eyes shot wide open as his cock was starting to be buzzed again, squirming as he tried to stop it ineffectually…and Kentha just tossed the remote on the bed and let the door shot behind him. Desk Guy would make sure to hold onto that for him, as well as the bondage stuff he necessarily left behind - it was good to have a buddy around to help him out with this stuff. Once the door was shut on Ethan, everything left was about making sure Lacy got taken care of - no matter how much that took. And given that this was uncharted territory for him, too, he was bracing himself for it to take quite a bit…

———

“Well, it looks like our time is up for today.” Dr. Horawi gave a quick glance at his watch just to confirm that he wasn’t jumping the gun, but he was usually pretty good about keeping track of time. “I hope that this has helped you learn a few important things about sexual health and safety.”

“I know I learned more than I wish,” sighed the young lynx female, only about 20 years old and glaring at her Dalmatian boyfriend. “I still can’t believe you thought I stored semen inside me.”

“Anyone could have made that mistake!” protested the canine, visibly of a similar age.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about sex out there, believe me, and enough gaps in education that myths like that have a way of persisting,” Dr. Horawi said gently. “It’s not even the craziest thing I’ve ever heard - there was one guy who came in thinking women had, ah, five holes.”

“WHAT?!” screeched the lynx.

“Dude…” the Dalmatian’s jaw dropped. “What was he smoking?”

“I didn’t ask, I merely provided some VERY vital education. And that’s the most important thing - that people learn the facts so that they know what they’re getting into. So if you come across any more things you have disagreements about, and there seems to be a knowledge gap, you know where to turn. And I’ll send along the recommendations for adult sexual education classes so that you can try to cover what you don’t know that you don’t know.”

“Thanks, doc…” the Dalmatian seemed a bit embarrassed still, but grateful as they stood to leave. “I’m gonna have to go to one of those, aren’t I?”

“We’re BOTH going, believe me,” muttered the lynx as they exited.

Dr. Horawi held back a snicker. Not the first time he’d heard that…the adult sexual education courses were eye-openers for a lot of young adults who hadn’t gotten proper sex education in their younger years. A lot of people learned important things from them, they were a vital service as far as he was concerned…and some people still couldn’t get over their existence. The fight for sanity continued…

Just as he was getting up to get ready to go, the door opened up, and in walked a by-now very familiar face. “Dr. Horawi?”

“Ah, Lacy.” Dr. Horawi smiled and stepped towards her, giving a slight bow as he did. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well…as is he.” Lacy rubbed her stomach, smiling shyly. “Just got my latest check-up, everything is coming along very well.”

“Very good to hear. And judging by what you said, they know?”

“That’s what the test results said. I guess it’s more like 95% confidence, since there’s always some question since…well, you can’t exactly see it clearly with a lizard. But they sounded pretty solid on it.”

Kentha nodded. “There’s always some room for error, but it’s usually safe to go with what they think. For the most part, it doesn’t really matter…anyone who thinks they have to go all out decorating for a boy or a girl is really just thinking about their own reactions. I can tell you right now, babies don’t have the capacity to care what their room looks like…a boy isn’t going to be any more bothered by pink than any other color.”

“I guess that’s true…and I’m not really thinking too much about elaborate decorations anyway. Just focusing on the basics is enough.” Kentha couldn’t blame her for that - she had plenty on her plate already, what trying to get used to living on her own, learning about a world that was rather unfamiliar to her, and trying to get the divorce arranged. After what had happened, things had pretty dramatically changed in her life - but Kentha had heard her attest, despite its challenges, that it was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She had rather hated her life under Ethan, but she didn’t really know any other, nor did she really have the means to escape…Kentha’s little plot had given her an out she’d never imagined possible.

It hadn’t all been smooth sailing. A lot of backlash in the immediate aftermath, from Ethan, from her parents, from other community members, giving her hell for surrendering her purity and letting herself be desecrated by a ‘filthy Satan-aligned reptile’, rather than going through the ‘proper channels’ to get pregnant with her purity supposedly intact (which Lacy had already known was a dirty lie, even if Ethan somehow had missed the memo). Ethan had taken it a step further, demanding that she terminate the pregnancy (which apparently was suddenly okay now that she had a ‘godless hellspawn’ inside of her) and submit to ghastly-sounding purification rituals. All of which left her feeling incredibly isolated, and in desperate need of support…

And Kentha had both the means to provide that support and ample reasons to. With the result being that she was currently staying in his house. How long that was going to remain the case remained to be seen, but Lacy wasn’t really set up for independent life, she had no money to her name and a troubling lack of life skills and lacking education from a cult that saw women as property rather than people. Since Kentha had played a part in getting her to this point, it was only right that he continue to support her - and their child. It was highly unlikely she’d be going anywhere before the birth, and they weren’t thinking about anything past that for the time being - that was liable to keep both of them busy enough as it was, there would be little chance to make sizable changes for a bit.

But Kentha certainly wasn’t going to push her. “It’s always best to start with what works. There’s a lot that can come after, once things are settled down. Speaking of settling down, any sign that Ethan’s cooperating?”

Lacy shook her head. “Haven’t heard anything from him. Still sounds like he’s praying for God to drag me back to him…at this point, I don’t care how almighty he claims to be, he’s going to find me immovable. But it sounds like if I show up for the divorce hearing and he doesn’t appear, the judge will grant it. And then my parents will probably disown me for a third time.”

Kentha hissed a bit in amusement. “I was under the impression that one disowning was all that was necessary.”

“They just want to think they’re making a point. Instead, they’re convincing me that cutting them out is the right thing to do. It’s…not easy realizing that no one who I’ve known all my life has my back when it comes down to it, and that a doctor who barely knew me gave me more choice in my life than I’d had in 23 years before then.”

It sounded like time for a hug, and Kentha hastened to provide, holding Lacy close and rubbing her back. “You deserve to have a lot more choice than you’ve had, and I’ll make sure you get it. Would that all the victims of those nuts could be saved, but I’m only one person with dubious tactics.”

“Even if that’s true, it got me out of there…and I’ll appreciate you forever for that.” Lacy squeezed Kentha tight, looking up at him with slightly misty eyes. “Knowing my child has a father like you, rather than like him, will give me a lot more hope for his future…and for mine, as well.”

“I think you’ll have a very bright one, and I’m looking forward to seeing as much of it as you’ll allow.”

“I hope it’s a lot of it…” Lacy turned as they walked out of the office arm in arm. “Maybe…well, I don’t want to presume too much, but…”

“I assure you, Lacy, I will be happy to talk about that future…but I want to be sure you’re truly ready for that, and know where you stand. Right now, you’re in a vulnerable position, a lot is going on and a lot more is going to go on in the coming months…you may find what you have is more a desire for stability than for the one helping to provide it. Or maybe you truly do feel that way…but until you are sure, you need not rush into anything. I will be there, at a minimum doing my duty as a father, and ready to do more as desired.”

“I suppose you’re right…I guess I fear if I don’t hurry, something might happen that upends everything. But I need to not think like that. Once I know, though…”

“I’ll know exactly what I want to say by then.” A bold promise for Kentha, who wasn’t sure he knew exactly what that was at the moment…or maybe he was more holding back on Lacy’s account, not wanting to take advantage of her or pressure her in any way. This was already new territory for him, he’d sired children before but this was the first time he was actually going to be a parent in the matter, to actually take on more responsibility than just the creation. But it was more than necessary…Lacy needed the support more than anyone else he’d done this with. And he was determined to not do a disservice to her or their child by being absent or distant…and if that turned into a very enduring scenario, he was going to make sure he was ready. It was a thing he often said: family planning didn’t always mean you planned everything ahead of time, you always had to be able to adapt to the unexpected. Now it was his turn to practice what he preached.