Where Loyalties Lie.

It didn't take James long to reach the room where Elisabeth's ultrasound was taking place, but to his surprise he found that the scan was already complete when he arrived. "I came as quickly as I could. " He said with as smile as he embraced his friend before turning to Elisabeth and, with a smile, said "so you're the young lady who has so captivated my dear friend. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Doctor James Burstar."

"The pleasure is all mine." Elisabeth responded with a coy smile as she sat up to greet the new doctor.

"Please just relax." James said. "I'm going to recheck the ultrasound results now before we go any further." Elisabeth inhaled sharply as her nerves rose to the surface, before concealing them once again and nodding in compliance. James checked over the results finding everything in order until he reached the gender of the twins. His eyes widened with shock as he noticed the clear difference between the recorded results and what was evident in front of him, yet in a moment's panic he simply duplicated the previous results. He wasn't at all sure why he chose to do this, but once it was done he knew all to well that what he had done, what Bill had done was nothing short of commiting treason. If anyone were to find out about this they would both risk their lives. Still, he hoped that his friend had good reason, and acted in faith of this. "I hope you know what you're doing." James said coldly as he posted the results.

Not waiting for Bill's response, Elisabeth's eyes filled with tears and she choked back a sob. "Thank you." She said. "My child has a future because of this."

James let out an awkward cough, not knowing how to respond to the young woman. He had never considered a woman's life to be so pitiful that a mother would be thankful to have her daughter's gender denied, yet the beautiful young woman before him was so overcome by the thought that it literally brought tears to her eyes. While he didn't quite understand it, it did make him feel glad that he had chosen to send the fake results. He glanced at Bill, who's face was much more somber. As he suspected Bill was just as aware that they were far from being out of danger as he was. Once the appointment was over the two of them found a private place to talk about what had just occurred and how they could move further.

Once they were alone James's was the first to speak. "What did you do Bill?" He questioned. "What did you have me do?"

"I'm sorry." Bill replied, mournfully. "I wasn't thinking. I just couldn't bare telling her that the nightmares that keep her awake at night are soon to be her reality. I couldn't bare to see it unfold. I just wanted to give my child a chance."

"A chance!" James spat. "A chance at what? This child would have been born into the lap of luxury, but now they are doomed to a life of sacrifice and secrets. Is that what you wanted?"

"Of course not." Bill assured. "I simple want to give her a choice. A woman's life is nothing but sacrifice. They have no choice in how they live or what they do. They give birth over and over, yet never become mothers. How could I give my child up knowing that no matter how beautiful or perfect they may be all they can ever be is something to be bred in service of a world they will never experience."

James was shocked by the selfishness of his friend and shot back. "Giving up his daughter is is every man's duty, just as giving birth is every woman's duty. You are not above the law."

"The law is wrong!" Bill declared. "A woman's duty isn't to give birth, but to sacrifice their very lives in service of men. My position allows me the chance to spare my daughter from that. What kind of father would not do exactly as I have done in such a situation!"

While James couldn't fully agree with his friend, he also knew that there was no use in arguing the point. The fact of the matter was that whether he agreed or not he was already in his with Bill. He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a deep, troubled sigh as he asked, "So, what do we do now."

Bill looked down pensively for a moment before responding. "Baby A is a boy. If we can pass them off as identical twins then no one will question why their test results are so similar."

James grew visibly frustrated as he enquired. "And after they're born? What then?"

Bill knew he'd have to think about this. After all, he couldn't rely on James to help him with their childhood examinations as he, like Bill himself was a specialist in obstetrics not pediatric care. If he was going to pull this off he'd need to find a way to fool their future physicians.

"See, you don't have an answer!" James declared angrily. "I could lose everything because of this."

"No." Bill responded, cooly. "If we're caught pin it all on me. I preformed the necessary procedures while you were out of the room. You had no idea, because you trusted a veteran doctor at his word. I don't want you to take the fall for my choice." This was the truth and Bill hoped that his honesty came through to his friend.

After a long pause James took a deep breathe and replied. "Fine. So long as you handle it you have my support. As far as their pediatrician goes, you should schedule their appointments separate always. Use Baby A in lew of Baby B always and follow up by performing Baby B's check ups yourself. That should at least buy you a few years. It's the best I can come up with."

Bill placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and with a greatful smile said. "Thank you James. You have no idea how much this means to me."

James gave a shrug accompanied by a half hearted smile and said "don't thank me, just make sure we don't get caught."

Bill simply nodded in response, and the two of them went on to iron out the details of their plan. By the time they finished their chat they were certain that they had come up with a foolproof plan.