Nature or Nurture Ch. 60-61

And with a very soft expression he kisses Vincent straight on the mouth, the first time since he has joined up with Mina that he has shown Vincent any intimacy.

Vincent accepts the kiss with eagerness, which surprises Victor, but does not seem to put him out. He relishes their intimacy, and when they have finished that kiss he says, 'Let me fetch my notes, we can check right away. You go ahead and get a sample, I suppose you're in the right mood. Then meet me upstairs.'

And Victor is off to his attic, they have moved the filing cabinet with medical notes up one set of stairs to the library, not a big deal with Mina and Vincent to carry it, of course Victor is happy to have his most prized possession closer to his work-space.

'He does know how to put me in the right mood, did you see that? He kissed me!'

Vincent is very pleased. Adison takes his hand and pulls him along to the practice, where she retrieves one of the glass jars they use for urine samples and pushes Vincent on the bed meant to examine patients.

'Catherine is reading in the bedroom, I hope you don't mind your doctor doing the honours in her practice.'

And before Vincent has recovered from the effects of Victor's sudden affection, Adison bends over him and says, exaggerating the quiet and decided tone she uses for her patients, 'Let me help you remove your clothes, Mr Heathcliff, we cannot get our sample with you entirely dressed, now can we?'

And she unbuttons his trousers slowly with one hand, as her other hand moves up his shirt and fondles his stomach and his chest. Lying back against the bed, Vincent does not protest, he actually seems to find it rather hot to be spoken to like a patient. Of course he has been treated by Adison before, but that usually was rather painful, cleaning severe wounds, removing bullets, stitching up cuts and gashes. There will be no pain this time..

With the glass jar within reach, and Catherine safely immersed in a novel, Adison uses both hands to remove her beloved's trousers, and then she proceeds to collect the sample expertly, enveloping Vincent's erection with her mouth and stimulating it gently with her tongue. Soon, he cannot help moving along, and an elegant white hand clutches her arm in the throes of excitement.

He groans, 'I've never had a sample collected before, it doesn't hurt at all!'

Taking over the action with her hand for a second, Adison replies, 'I'm afraid I've never treated you without hurting you before, beloved. Maybe this will make up for all those times.'

And then she lets her mouth take it over once more, and it truly seems as if it does.

Minutes later, the jar contains a nice sample, Vincent has pulled up and re-buttoned his trousers, and they are en route to the attic. As they pass the door of their bedroom, Vincent knocks on the door and opens it, Catherine looking up from her book, a bit disturbed actually. It must be a good read.

'Wanna see whether there's any chance of a brother or sister?'

The girl nods, and puts away the book with a bookmarker inside.

'We're going to Victor's microscope, he's going to see whether I have any chance to be fertile.'

As they reach the stairs and go up the second stairs, they can see Victor's laboratory, as they have come to call the attic, but it's empty.

The large space with the wooden beams has been painted a light grey, and there is a work-bench under the largest window. The highest point of the ceiling has several light-weight creations hanging from it, almost like bats' wings but made out of strong, thin fabric.

The machines Victor created with parts he designed and commissioned Paul to make out of bronze and iron, stand motionless and silent, but they can generate large sparks that Victor uses to test his theories on electricity.

As soon as they have all reached the top of the last stairs, Catherine is not very fast, she is still so small but she insists on climbing the stairs by herself, to train her little body she says, Victor comes in from the bedroom, followed by Mina. Victor looks a bit flushed.

'When I showed Mina the notes, she suggested I provide a default sample, to show all of you what it's supposed to look like.'

Handing the notes to Adison he has already moved himself towards the work-bench, where he takes several tiny glass slides from a jar and puts them on the table. Mina hands him a similar glass jar to the one Adison is holding, and with two separate wooden instruments Victor collects samples from both Mina's jar and Adison's jar and transfers them to the glass slides, then covers them with an even smaller sliver of glass. After that he lights a lamp that burns unnaturally bright, and places the first sample, his own, under the lens.

Having quickly adjusted the settings, he lets the others check it out, first Vincent, then Mina, then Catherine, standing on a chair, and Adison goes last. She can see shapes that actually resemble tadpoles a lot, including the movement of the long tails. There are quite a few of them, and most of them are moving, wriggling around. Some are deformed, lacking tails or having several, or their little bodies not oblong but squashed or irregular. Some of these are lifeless, none of them move really well, they are clearly not healthy.

'All right,' Victor says, 'they still look the same as they did some two years ago, and I suppose this is what they should look like, literature describes them exactly like this. Now for yours, Vincent. Just look, Catherine, and we'll explain later. This needs to be done quickly, for they lose a lot of their liveliness after some time.'

And he removes his own sample and places Vincent's under the microscope. As he gets them into focus, his expression changes from neutral to astonishment, whatever he can see, it is not what he expected.

'Can I take a minute longer?' he asks, 'I want to check several places to see if it's uniform, maybe the glass wasn't entirely clean or dry here.'

And he moves the glass a tiny bit, then focusses again. And once again.

'You all take a look at that, and I'll prepare a new slide, maybe I did something wrong. Adison, you watch what I'm doing first.'

Adison can see nothing strange in the way Victor prepares this slide, and when it is done he immediately puts it under the microscope, displacing Vincent from looking at his own semen without so much as an apology. This is the old Dr Frankenstein, obnoxious, bossy, all because of his total commitment to science.

Focussing this new slide, his face is even more amazed, and he looks up and says, 'Still the same, this must be it, then. You sure that jar was clean, Adison?'

Adison merely looks at him.

'All right, all right, don't look at me like that, better have a look yourself, and you'll see why I have the presumption to doubt your professionalism.'

Of course she doesn't hesitate, it must be something to get Victor so, upset isn't the right term, but she cannot think of the right one since she can now see what he has seen: instead of a lot of active tadpoles, Adison can see a lot of dead shapes, about one half of the total. They are not misshapen, most of them have oblong bodies and long, straight tails, they're just immobile, dead. There are some misshapen ones among the dead, but not more than Victor's semen contained, except in this sample they are all dead.

Then there is about one quarter, maybe a bit more, that is well-shaped but moving sluggishly, or is it the normal speed for the little critters? She cannot be sure, for the last almost quarter keeps distracting her. A little less than one quarter of Vincent's semen is moving absurdly quickly, so quickly the others seem to be sluggish, or even dying. The shape is exactly the same as Victor's semen's, but they are lighting fast. What does it mean? Adison leaves the microscope to the others, and looks at Victor for an explanation.

He looks back at her with at least some understanding.

'I'll explain what I know, Adison, but I have no idea what this means for your chances to get with child, and for the child if one were to result.

The tadpole-like things are individual sperm, you may have noticed they have no faces for they are actually not alive. They have no heart or organs, they are meant to deliver a man's traits to the woman and to mingle them in a new life. Look at Catherine here, she's clearly Vincent's daughter with her raven hair and black eyes. I mean, Heathcliff's daughter.

Can you see her natural mother's traits in her, Vincent?'

'Most certainly,' Vincent replies, he has taken a look at the semen but he understands even less of it, he prefers to hear Victor and Adison's explanation.

'She has her mother's features, her pretty heart-shaped face, the large eyes, the fine bones, a lighter skin than Heathcliff had. And her temper of course.'

This last is said with a wink, and Catherine sticks out her tongue at him.

Victor continues.

'The theory is that they all run a race toward the woman's half of a child, that is hidden inside her body. The fastest and most durable individual wins, and gets to be half a new human being.

My semen were more or less the same, one couldn't predict which one would win the race, except the misshapen ones wouldn't make it of course, nor would the slow ones.

But Vincent's, many more were dead, all the misshapen ones were dead, and only one quarter seemed at all strong and fast enough to start a race. That might be the magic killing off the weak.

But the last quarter is so incredibly fast, one of them would certainly win the race, the others wouldn't stand a chance.

That raises a new question, though, what kind of child would result? Would it be a super human? Would it take magic from the environment like Vincent does? Would he sire a half-god, a new race of super humans? And would they all have white skin? How would the child's magic combine with yours, would such a child damage you inside with its quickness? So many unanswered questions, guys.'

Adison understands perfectly, but she has another observation.

'If they move so much more quickly, maybe they die more quickly, and never make it to the mother's part of the new child. Can we find out?'

That is a question Victor can actually answer.

'Sure, just keep checking the samples until they are all dead, mine and Vincent's both. I'd put my money on them being more durable, though, like their maker. They generally don't live that long, they dry out quickly, I want to study them a bit more so I'll time how many survive for how long, changing slides every minute or so.'

And since every one of them has seen the specimens by now, he claims the microscope without saying a word, he merely falls in such a deep trance, poring over his slides and making sketches and taking notes, that staying around is of no use whatsoever, so the others, including Mina, take his older notes and move to the sitting room to read and discuss them until all the little wriggly sperm have died.

First they make a cup of tea and get some chocolates, and then they settle in the sofas together, Adison with Vincent, and Catherine with Mina. Now Catherine observes triumphantly, 'I bet those few sperm are so strong, they'll be the best ever. I'm going to have a brother or a sister after all, and I bet very soon!'

Vincent replies seriously, he seems rather upset.

'But Catherine, you heard Victor, he has no idea what kind of baby would result, if indeed a baby would result. What if he were as white as I am, wouldn't he be harassed by other children? And wouldn't he hurt Adison inside if he were as strong as I am? Victor has a point, we have no idea.'

Looking only slightly disappointed, Catherine replies stubbornly, 'A baby is much smaller than you, and besides, no baby would ever hurt his mother. I'm sure everything would be fine. And no-one will ever tease my brother or sister, not Bertha, and not Lucy.

And you don't even know he would be exactly like you, Victor said the little sperm would combine with something similar from the mother, and Adison has a normal colour.'

'Well, I for one am glad you are not proven to be infertile,' Adison says. 'And I'm certain I'd love a little you as much as any other baby, and I agree with Catherine that a baby would never hurt his mother. But there were a lot of dead sperm in that sample, and I suppose that does reduce the chance of getting with child.'

'I think a baby from the two of you would be adorable,' is Mina's opinion, 'and I'm sure the speed of your little critters will totally make up for their scarcity. I agree with Catherine in this, I'm very hopeful you will become a father after all, Vincent.'

Half an hour later, Victor comes back triumphantly.

'I was right. Mine started to die off quickly, and after five minutes there were very few left. Yours, Vincent, lasted a full ten minutes. Literature states that they live much longer inside, so I guess it doesn't prove anything, but I'm inclined to believe your little racers have every chance to reach their destination. Too bad we cannot see what happens inside, well Melissa might, but it's all so small she would probably never find it, and it apparently takes days. Still, that was mighty interesting.

So, you two, will you go for it?'

'Yes,' says Adison, at the same time that Vincent says, 'I don't know.'

She looks at him inquiringly, and he pleads, 'I don't want to risk you, Adison, I love you so much. What would I do without you?'

'Raise Catherine of course, Vincent. Life is never without risk, and I personally don't see much risk in this. I'm just glad you're not like Lukas, spreading your love around. You would sire a whole new race of super humans all by yourself!'

In the face of so much opposition to his doubt, Vincent merely snuggles a little closer to his beloved, he has his answer, but it is not as clear as he had hoped. In fact, it has made everything even more complicated, but somehow he doesn't care very much right now. He had his beloved in his arms, his little daughter is the sweetest girl in the world, and he has a truest and smartest friends possible, he is going to enjoy all the love he gets, and see what comes. Maybe Lukas will have something to add.

When February starts, Vincent's duties at St James' intensify, as the premiere date approaches rapidly. He feels totally secure now in his role and his place in the company, and he will not suffer from any nerves at the premiere.

Despite the weather he still rides out with Lord Douglas once a week if he can spare the time from his duties and his family. Of course Vincent teaches the young Lord as well, he would rather ride alone than practise fencing alone, but during fencing they are concentrated on their activity, at the level they are fighting now a slip of concentration can mean serious injury.

During their rides they talk a lot, and Bosie is worried about the premiere. His father is not happy to see him with Mr Wilde, and tends to blame the older playwright for seducing his son. Vincent knows better, to him it almost seems as if Bosie is leading Mr Wilde on, he has plenty of other lovers, and seems to have a limitless influence on his older lover, who should be wiser but clearly isn't.

Vincent never meets Mr Wilde at Lord Douglas' house, not even to watch them practise, Bosie seems to keep his lover away from them. He does treat Vincent with a respect that might make his Mr Wilde jealous if he were to observe it, though he doesn't try to take things further than a teacher pupil relationship. On their rides he is a good deal more familiar, not avoiding the occasional touch, and joking and laughing a lot.

But of course at the theatre, Vincent meets Mr Wilde at least once a week, and he does not have any suspicion that the older man doesn't like him because his lover spends so much private time with Vincent.

As the premiere approaches, the playwright's self-confidence rises, he is very pleased with how his play is represented, and Vincent is confident, too. He can see no signs of discomfort in Mr Wilde over Lord Douglas' illustrious father, but of course he is not in Mr Wilde's confidence, and frankly, it is none of his business.

And then, suddenly, the evening of the premiere has arrived. Vincent needs to be at the theatre early, and Adison helps him dress, not because he needs it, but because she wants to.

'I can't wait to see you on stage, love,' she says, and indeed she never has, for though they were invited by George Alexander to watch the rehearsals, Vincent somehow felt it wouldn't be appropriate to see the piece before it was done.

'Hmpf,' Vincent retorts, 'you do realize I play a reverend, don't you? I'm not exactly a tantalizing personality.'

'Then I'd better get my share now, big guy,' Adison replies, stroking his as yet bared chest, nuzzling his white skin and sucking his nipples lightly. He leans into her caresses, enjoying them with his eyes almost closed, he's getting rather heated, and complains, 'You're turning me on, now I'll be thinking lewd thoughts all through the premiere, making eyes at the leading lady.'

'There is still time to do something about it, isn't there? I'll make it up to you straight away, and make sure you can be as demure as you need to be.'

Doing anything important with so much heat inside him is never a good idea, and there is indeed some time to spare, so they retreat to the showers, undress, and stand under the curtain of warm water kissing, when Adison goes for his erection with one hand, and the large scar on his right temple with the other. She knows this won't bring out his dark side anymore, he's no longer keeping a wild animal caged inside himself. But he did promise to overwhelm her at times, and apparently this is to be one of them.

Without warning, he takes her in a crushing embrace, that's not hard at all, he knows exactly how much his beloved can handle, and lifts her off the ground. He can hear her gasp of surprise, she's pleased, she didn't expect a response and stares in his eyes to see who's there.

'Still me,' he says pleasantly, 'but you know he was me in the first place. Better hold on.'

And he kisses her with passion, then leans her against the wall and thrusts himself right into her with quite some force. His beloved gives a squeal of delight, then holds on to him with her legs and lets him ride her fast and rough.

As the shower continues to shroud them in steam and hot water, they both lose themselves in ecstasy, through his own lust Vincent notices he can direct his thrusts very carefully this way, and he drives Adison to total abandonment before he comes to a climax himself, so intense it's almost painful, and he can only just keep himself from buckling.

As if on cue, the hot water runs out and the shower turns lukewarm then icy-cold. Good, no danger of losing his edge because of that staggering high, he's wide awake once more.

They dry each other tenderly then dress, and Adison refills the boiler saying, 'I suppose you have to go now, I'm going to wave until you're out of sight.'

And after kissing him one last time and wishing him to break a leg, she does just that.

Chapter 61

The atmosphere at St James' is tense, and not just with excitement and anticipation. There is something else going on, and as Vincent heads for the dressing-rooms he meets Bosie, who lays a hand on his shoulder and complains dramatically, 'I knew my father was planning something, and now we know for sure. Oscar is trying to have him stopped at the door. I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with you, Vincent, I'm spoiling your premiere.'

Vincent finds he is not unsettled that easily, but he does need to let George Alexander know he has arrived and change into his costume, and they will have some last minute instructions.

'I have some things to prepare for the show, Bosie,' he tells his young friend, 'but if I have half an hour to spare I won't mind listening to you. Take heart, my friend. Try to enjoy the play.'