FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Slice of Lex: Ch. 11

By: Jenny Harlow

Call had wrapped up around midnight for Lexi, even earlier for Victoria (due to the director having to go home early). Vic came to pick Lex up, Lex being dropped off by Mat. The fox and her wolf sat in the parking lot for a moment, the wolf barely clinging onto consciousness at this point. She pulled her phone out of her purse and sent a text to James. "Hey, you still up Flufflebutt?"

"Yes, Christine is too. We've slept a lot today."

"Sweet, now about that dinner you owe us."

"Okay, Christine's alright with that if you guys wanna come over."

"Cool, I'll call the rest of the moving team, we'll converge on your location shortly." Lex leaned back in the seat, her eyes closing. "Wake me when we get to the apartment building. Mat's picking Daren up, he was excused from call today. I'm gonna take a little nap while you drive."

"Oh, is that so?" The vixen said, she leaned over and kissed the wolf on the cheek. "What if I want you to drive? What if I'm too tired?"

"Then I guess we're just stuck here, alone together in an abandoned parking lot."

Victoria giggled and shook her head. "Of all the adventures I've had in my life, sex in your school parking lot isn't one I'm hoping to have right now."

"Who said anything about sex? I just wanted to snuggle you and siphon your body heat for my own nefarious purposes." The wolf yawned and stretched, turning slightly in the seat. "You okay with me napping? I can stay awake if you need me to."

"It's fine, it's only about a half hour trip to your place anyways. I can stay awake that long. You might have to drive home though. Deal?"

"Deal." The wolf said, leaning the seat back slightly. She was breathing in slow, quiet breaths before they even left the roads of the campus. Victoria reached over at a stop sign and gently rubbed the wolf's belly, careful not to tickle her awake. She turned the stereo on quietly as she headed down the road, a small smile on her face. They approached the gray building, the torrents earlier dwindling to a drizzle. Victoria leaned on the wolf, who was now the more awake of the two. They passed Mat's and Ryan's cars on the way in. parked neatly under an awning. They rode the elevator up, walking down to Christine's. They could already hear the laughter occasionally coming from within. Lexi hesitated at the door for a moment before opening it. She was relieved to see that the blood was no longer on the floor, except faint discolored stains on the carpet. Christine was lying awake in her twin bed, a pillow placed over her stomach, hugged a little tightly. James was sitting on the couch, which had been folded in, to allow for more sitting space. Liz was sitting on the floor, next to the bed, Christine occasionally passing the vixen her phone. Daren was sitting on one side of James, Ryan the other. Mat had claimed the computer chair for the moment. Lex and Victoria sat down by the kitchen counter, sighing exhaustedly.

"Hey, so now that we're all here, what are you guys hungry for?" James said, smiling at the assembled group.

"I don't know, I'm too damn tired to even think about what's open this late." Victoria said, she started to blink and her eyes fought for a second to open again. "I don't think this is going to be a long visit for me tonight."

Christine looked a little sad. She had barely seen her friends since she had been out from the anesthesia. James's phone buzzed a moment later. "Christine says she's a little sad that you guys can't stay longer. She also wants to know how call went."

Lex smiled at the mouse. "Sorry, you'll have to wait until I get food in me. I'm a barely functional girl right now."

"She asked if you'd like anything from the Lotus Cafe." James said, as he looked from his phone to the wolf. "Sorry, I've never heard of that place before. Are they good?"

"Yeah, they're pretty good, and they deliver until like two in the morning." Daren said with a shrug.

"You're on a soup and popsicle diet though." James said, looking from the menu to the mouse. Christine winced as she got out of the bed, dressed in her black nightgown. She walked over and held her hand out. James placed his phone trustingly in her hand. She went to the restaurant's website and started an order before passing it back to him. "Two bowls of dumpling soup, mild, with extra carrot." He read. "Okay, sounds like something you should be able to swallow and keep down." He said, with a small smile.

"You having trouble swallowing?" Victoria said, looking at the mouse. Christine nodded, rubbing her throat and making a face.

"Her throat's been really sore, it was really irritated by the tubes running through it." James said, patting the mouse on the shoulder. "You should get back under the covers, you look cold." Christine motioned for him to stand up. She pulled him into a hug, planting a kiss on his cheek. She then returned to her bed, pulling the covers up to her shoulder, she was shivering slightly. "So, we've got one order down. What else are we getting?"

Food arrived about an hour later, at which point most of the group was dying. Lex eagerly took her broccoli and probactro meat and some egg rolls. Victoria received a box of mimus fried rice and some cheese rangoons. Liz had ordered the same as her twin, trusting that she had good judgement. Ryan and Daren both ate spicy shrimp and rice. While James had a simple lo-mein. The group sat reserving their faces for the intake of food, and the occasional, quiet smile. Soon though, chatter began. "So rehearsals," Lex said between bites, "going alright, I'm sorry you've missed them. The front-of-house crew is serving as the volunteers from the audience. They even dragged Daren up there at grade-point."

"They made me spell cow. I had to ask them for the definition, and to use it in a sentence."

"What was that like?" Victoria said, giggling.

"The definition: it's a cow. The sentence: please spell cow." He said with a large grin. "I also got Mexican. Definition: A citizen of Mexico, or American slur/slang for anyone from Cuba, Puerto Rico, or most places of South America. Sentence: Guacamole, the Mexican pudding." Everyone laughed, except Christine, who looked on the verge of tears. James moved over beside her, rubbing her back gently.

"Hey, it's okay." He said, pulling her into a hug. She cried softly into his shirt.

"I'm really sorry Christine. I feel kind of bad now."

Christine shook her head, she pulled her phone out. "It's okay, I just miss you guys. It's just not fucking fair." Lex was taken a bit aback. Christine normally dislikes using profanity. James just held her tight, Lex moved over putting her hand on the mouse's knee. Eventually the mouse calmed down, laying back down in the bed, passing her unfinished soup to James. He kissed behind her ear, giving her one last back rub before moving again. Talk resumed quietly, Christine smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

James looked over to see her eyes closed, he looked pensive. "What's wrong?" Liz asked, seeing the look on her new friend's face.

"It's kind of odd, but every time she falls asleep recently, I panic. I just keep worrying that she might not..." James's voice broke, trapping the final words from escaping.

"That's alright, I'd be worried too if it were Lex." Victoria said, standing up from the ground and shaking her legs awake. "The important thing is, you're here with her, and for what we know, she's okay."

"I know..."

"Besides, look at her. I've known her for almost three years, and I've never seen her smile as large as she does when you're around. She's smiling now, even in her sleep. Focus on that, okay? You understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I do. Thanks Vic." The squirrel said, locking his eyes on Christine's smiling face. She was breathing softly, her hands under her pillow. She had forgotten to take her glasses off, so they were sitting slightly crooked on her face. The squirrel quietly walked over, and gently took them off, he kissed her nose. She wrinkled her nose in her sleep, shaking with a quiet giggle. James sat back down on the sofa. Ryan smiled at him, tossing him a fortune cookie. "Heh. It says, 'soon your worries will end.' I hope that's true." He said with a laugh.

As dinner cleared, energy in the room started to fade. All but James who was still quite awake. Christine had woken up again, apologizing for nodding off. "Looks like we should be heading out soon. I would love to spend more time with you Christine, and you too James." Lex said, leaning back against the counter.

"I'll drop Daren home, if you're ready, then I'll go myself." Mat said.

"I'm fine with that, see y'all later." Daren said, following the cat.

"I've got to go too, I'm getting tired and I've got work tomorrow." Ryan said, as he walked out of the apartment. "See you later Liz." He waved to his sister. She waved back, waiting until the young fox and the others were out of earshot.

"Before we go I did have something I wanted to ask James." Liz said. She rubbed her arm nervously. "James... Are you... I mean have you always been..." She looked at the squirrel, his eyes looked sad as they met hers. Internally she kicked herself. She hadn't meant to clock James at all. "Have you always been so adorable?" She blurted out, trying to think of the least awkward way to dodge out of this situation possible.

James smiled, but it wasn't the bright beam that he normally had. It was a sort of narrow, sad smile. No one else was around besides him, Christine, Lexi, Vic, and Liz. "I know what you were going to ask." He said, looking over his glasses at her, his head pointed towards the floor.

"I'm so sorry. It was so rude of me... It's just-"

"The answer is yes. I am a t-guy..."

"Again, I'm sorry. It's just, my fiance is also transitioning. I was just wondering if you could maybe give her some support. She's kind of struggling right now."

"I mean, not to be rude, but I guess. It's not something I'm always comfortable talking about. It was extremely difficult for me during some parts. I hope you understand if I don't really feel like it, I mean I don't really know you that well." James pulled his knees up to his chest.

"No, it's fine. I know I shouldn't have mentioned it. As I said, it was rude."

"You weren't rude about it, at least not in my opinion." Christine moved over to hug James as he was speaking. He could feel her shaking against him as she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm just curious, how did you know? Was it the voice? The height? What?"

"I'm not really sure what it was. You're a guy, you act like a guy, you look like a guy, you, no offense, smell like a guy, and even though your voice is a little high, you sound like a guy. I don't know what it was, I really wish I could help."

"Oh... Okay then, that's fine." He looked over at the mouse, who was now gently stroking his tail. He smiled at her. "On a side note, I think it's time for me to set this bed up. Christine's still been getting chilled really easily, and she's subtly hinting that she's cold and wants to snuggle." He said. The mouse booped the squirrel on the nose, her way of telling him he's right.

"Okay, we'll see you both later." Victoria said, as she stood up to leave.

"Thanks for dinner James, even if we did move a couch for you." Lex said, sticking her tongue out at him. "It was good to see you somewhat up and functioning Missie Mousie. You keep getting better now, you hear?" Christine nodded.

"Goodbye, I really enjoyed meeting you both. Sorry it was under such crap circumstances. I hope we get to hang out more." Liz said, as she too started to walk out.

"I'd really enjoy that." James said, Christine again booping his nose. "Christine would too.

Lex took the keys from her lady, who surrendered them willingly. There wasn't a lot of conversation on the way home. Victoria fell asleep almost as soon as she got buckled in. Liz was staring out the window, both exhausted and lost in thought. So the wolf drove on, content to just let it be quiet right now. When they got to the vixens' house, Lex gently nudged her mate awake. Victoria leaned on her partner as they climbed the stairs. They both waved to Liz, who ducked into the bathroom to change clothes for the night. Tonight there wasn't any quiet bedtime conversation. Victoria placed herself against her mate, letting the wolf wrap her arms around her, staying towards the wall.

Lex was peacefully and blissfully asleep at about seven in the morning. Still holding the vixen loosely in her arms. She felt Victoria stirring, but only woke up enough to move her arms before drifting back under. It didn't last however. Victoria had woken up with an intense and dizzying cramp in her stomach, her entire room felt like a boat on the sea. She felt the telltale rising in the back of her throat, and she tried desperately to get off the bed and into the bathroom. The least she hoped for being the trashcan off the side of the bed. She swallowed the uprising, and shook Lex slightly. The wolf didn't wake. She opened her mouth to say something, and instead threw up on the wolf's exposed chest. She had pulled the blanket down in her frantic attempts to get out of the bed. Lex's reflex was impressive, she managed to flip on the light, shield her face, and then dodge out of the way of the second wave. She stood, covered in chunks of mimus, suspended with rice in brown goop. She looked shocked to say the least. Victoria pushed her gently out of the way as she sprinted full tilt into the bathroom. Lex felt her own stomach churning, her usual response to being thrown up on. She herself hurled into the bedside can, while Victoria hugged the toilet bowl. Victoria let Lex shower, seeing how badly she needed to clean up. The vixen remained where she could relax in the warm steam. Finally, the wolf went down stairs to retrieve a clean set of sheets for the bed.

Lex stopped at the doorway between the living room and the garage. She could hear Liz audibly vomiting in the bathroom at the foot of the stairs. She knocked on the door. "Hey are you okay in there?"

"Yeah... Just wasting James's investment. I don't know what happened. I woke up, I started throwing up."

"Victoria too," Lex put her head against the garage door. "Maybe it was the food? You both ate the exact same thing."

"Maybe." Liz said, finally getting off the floor. "It could also be that weird thing that happens between us sometimes, one of us feels sick the other feels it too, even if I'm in Virginia I still get that."

"Could be that. I'm getting her some clean sheets right now. You need anything?"

"Not really, I made it just in time."

"Vic didn't. I got a rather rude awakening."

"Ah, I'm sorry." Liz opened the door, hugging the wolf gently. "Hey, is my sister still up. I need to ask her a rather personal question."

"Sure, she's waiting for me to bring the sheets in. She's showering in the meantime." Lex said, flipping on the light to the garage. Luckily, Mrs. Adams had just finished a load of sheets for Victoria. Lex grabbed the nice warm set, carrying it up the stairs with her. Liz followed her up.

Lex had just finished making the bed when Victoria emerged from the bathroom. She still looked awful, the skin under her face's fur was pale. The vixen sat down on her bed wrapped in her towels. She looked up to notice Elizabeth, who didn't look a whole lot better. "You get hit by this too?"

"Yeah." Liz said, shifting awkwardly in Victoria's computer chair. "Listen I have a rather awkward question for you, but it could help me figure some things out."

"Shoot." Victoria said, leaning back on her pillows, pulling one to her stomach.

"Um... How do I phrase this? Tonight's just a night for really awkward and embarrassing questions."

"Spit it out please Liz, I want to go back to sleep sometime tonight." Victoria snapped a little. She then looked horrified. "Oh my god I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I was just wondering if you had recently had a monthly guest arrive." Liz said, she too held her stomach a bit, she looked nervous.

"I'm almost finished dealing with that shit. What's up, you need some supplies?" Victoria said. Lex sat on the bed, patting a spot next to her. Liz moved over gratefully.

"No, I'm just a little worried. You and I are usually struck about the same time-"

"Living with a partner has an effect on that." Victoria said, shrugging. "But seriously though, talk to me, what are you concerned about?"

"Well, it's just that I'm overdue for it and it hasn't happened. On top of that, I'm throwing up in the mornings..." Liz said, she teared up a little.

Victoria filled in the blanks, immediately she sat up flanking her sister. She rubbed her back softly. "Oh sweetie, it's okay. I hate to do this, but I think we should get mom up. But before we do, I have to ask, have you and Rebecca been safe?"

"I mean, yeah we're not dumb." Liz suddenly inhaled sharply. "Except a few weeks back, the condom broke."

"That sounds like a good enough reason to check to me. You never know what will come of a buggy rubber baby bumper." Victoria said, hugging her sister. Lex also wrapped her arm around the vixen who was now sitting wide-eyed between them.

Lex, Vic, and Liz all went down stairs. Lex and Vic talking comfortingly to the vixen, who was shaking slightly from nerves. Mrs. Adams awoke confused, seeing the three girls above her bed. "Mom, there's something I've got to ask." Liz started.

"What is it baby girl, what's wrong?"

"That's just it, I might be a BABY girl." Liz sat on the bed. Mr. Adams had been awoken by the talking. He sat up, and looked at his wife as she turned on the light.

"I've got a couple tests in the bathroom, I just bought them a couple days ago. Another child isn't exactly out of the picture for us, but it's not exactly something we're aiming for." Mrs. Adams said, walking into the bathroom. She returned with a small, pink box that she passed to her daughter. "Do you know what to do?" She asked, holding the young woman's shoulders.

"I think so, and there's an instruction book in here." She said, opening the box. Liz quietly walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She emerged a few minutes later, she moved almost like some sort of automaton. She sat on the bed, showing the test strip to her mother. Mrs. Adams hugged her daughter to her, Liz started crying into her mom's shoulder. The test strip dropped from her hand, two pink lines visible on its surface. "It's okay honey," Mrs. Adams repeated, "It'll be okay." Victoria sat on the floor, staring at the strip. Her mouth moved as if she wanted to speak, but she couldn't find the words. Instead, she just sandwiched her twin between her and her mother. Mr. Adams wrapped all of the girls in his arms. He looked up at Lex, and waved a hand inviting her over. She sat, with a hand placed on Liz's back. Of all the adventures in life, Liz wasn't quite ready to embark on this one, but she was excited none-the-less.