Paparino's Piccolo Gattino

Two days later, Jinxx was at the house with Ash, Jake and CC having been forced to go to school to keep down their number of absences, while Andy ran down to RDU to pick up his parents. His sweetheart was still too sick to be left alone, although it wasn’t quite as bad since he’d been able to give him small doses of Pepto to help with the nausea.

As he waited for his parents’ flight to land, he couldn’t help but worry about how his little kitten was doing. He knew that Jinxx would do everything he could for him while still allowing him to do as much as possible on his own, therefore giving him a slight air of independence. He also knew that the other submissive teen would just as soon call Jake and CC home from school—or an ambulance, if he thought it necessary—in his absence if he needed help. His sweetheart’s health—and their baby’s—was of the utmost importance to all of them, but especially him since he was his lover and the…other father.

It wasn’t long before their flight landed, nor before Amy and Chris came running into the airport as if their asses were on fire and had the Hounds of Hell on them. Andy greeted them with as much warmth and excitement as he could muster through his anxiety, but they still knew something was wrong. They’d known him the best all his life and still did; it was hard to pull anything over on them, as well as they knew him. Still, he refused to explain until they were home, but promised he would then.

The drive back home to Hillsboro was a quiet one, both because his parents were taking in the scenery change and because he was too stressed to talk much. Andy’s mind was already back home with his little kitten, praying that he wouldn’t see an ambulance in the driveway when he pulled up. He released a sigh of relief when he pulled up and saw that there was no ambulance or any other EMS vehicle, but hoped that he and Jinxx were still in the house. For all he knew, considering how long it’d taken for the Biersacks’ flight to land and to retrieve them and their luggage, he could’ve already had to call an ambulance, meaning that they’d be long gone by now if that were the case.

“Jinxx?” he called out after opening the front door.

“In the master bedroom,” their friend responded, his voice softer than he could’ve made it.

“Who?” Chris asked quietly, realizing that Ash must be asleep.

“One of Ash’s friends that I’ve also befriended,” Andy answered, smiling as he hung all their coats up. “He’s very submissive like Ash, so they understand each other.”

“Ahhh,” Amy said, nodding. “I’m guessing Ash has been so sick that he needed someone to stay with him while you came to get us?”

Their son could do nothing more than nod as he choked up, motioning for them to follow him.

“He’s been asleep the entire time you’ve been gone,” Jinxx told him as they entered.

“Good…he’s been so sick that he hasn’t really been sleeping much,” he said softly, gently brushing his hair back. “Jinxx, these are my parents, Chris and Amy. Mom, Dad, this is our friend, Jinxx.”

The other submissive teen clammed up, but was still nice enough to wave at them.

“Nice to meet you, Jinxx,” Amy said. “You don’t have to talk right off the bat, if you don’t wanna. We understand that it takes time to warm up to new people.”

“Yeah, Jinxx. They got used to me being really quiet when I was younger,” Andy agreed. “I used to be as submissive as you, but I changed my ways.”

Jinxx already knew what caused him to change his ways, so he merely nodded. “I’ll give you guys some space. I’ll be in the living room or kitchen, so holler if ya need anything.”

“I will,” the slightly older man agreed. “Make sure Jake and CC keep quiet when they get here, will ya?”

“You know I will, Andy,” he answered, nodding.

Chris and Amy stood to the side as he gently sat down on the edge of their bed next to his sweetheart’s hip, trying not to jostle him too much. Even in his sleep, he looked absolutely miserable still, so he didn’t wanna set off his morning sickness again if he didn’t have to. He gently stroked his cheek, using the tender caress to brush his hair back and tuck it behind his ear, hoping he didn’t wake him. As he’d told their friend and his parents, he really hadn’t been sleeping well since the morning sickness kicked in and started giving him Hell.

With a soft sigh, Ash turned his head into the touch, his eyes soon opening halfway and appearing to be glazed over. Since he knew he didn’t do drugs, he figured it was probably from just waking up from the best sleep he’d had in days, on top of the remnants of whatever dream he’d been having. The sleepy smile he gave him as he nuzzled his hand strengthened that already strong assumption.

“Buongiorno, mio piccolo gattino,” he murmured, gently kissing his forehead. “Feeling any better?”

“Mmm hmm…” Ash hummed, stretching slightly. “My tummy feels better, Daddy…”

The older man chuckled and kissed his forehead again, knowing he wouldn’t have called him that if he’d noticed his parents standing across from the foot of the bed.

“I’m just really, really hungry now…” his sweetheart pouted, his chocolate eyes sparkling.

“I don’t doubt it, sweetheart,” Andy agreed. “You’ve been so sick you haven’t been able to keep anything down for days.” He gently helped him sit up, chuckling when he gasped and blushed upon seeing his parents.

“Hey there, Ash,” Amy said softly, slowly moving toward the bed. “Andy called us and said you weren’t feeling very good.”

Having turned shy since they’d heard him call his lover Daddy, he merely nodded.

“We’ll explain everything in a little bit, but first, I really need to think of something to see if he can keep down,” he told them. “When I said he hasn’t been able to keep anything down in days, I’m serious.”

“The BRAT diet, son,” his mother said. “Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast are what most doctors suggest when really bad nausea is involved.”

“Thanks, Mom. I think toast might be the way to go,” Andy agreed, nodding his head. “I doubt, even with the Pepto he’s been guzzling, bananas, rice, or applesauce will stay down long, if at all.”

Even if she hadn’t been worried about him before, Amy really was now that he’d told her that. She watched as he struggled to sit up enough for her son to pick him up, obviously very weak after not being able to eat for several days on end. Chris was just as worried, the only thing coming to mind being his memories of when she was pregnant with Andy and suffering horrible morning sickness. But the young boy his son had obviously fallen in love with couldn’t possibly be pregnant…could he?

They both did everything that they could to help the two of them, Amy heading on to the kitchen to throw some bread in the toaster oven to brown. Andy cradled his nearly limp form to his chest, worried at how his arms were shaking with just the small effort he put into holding on to him. Still, he knew that it was part of his pregnancy, and unless it got worse than it was, he wasn’t going to worry too much.

When he got to the living room, Andy started to gently lay him on the couch, but stopped when the teen tightened his arms as much as he could. He had the cutest, yet most miserable pout he’d ever seen on his face, and he knew as well as he knew his own name that he wanted him to cuddle him. Chuckling softly, the band director sat down on the couch, letting his rear rest between his thighs while his legs were draped over one, rather than merely laying him down. His sweetheart seemed happier with that decision, seemingly purring softly as he nuzzled his face into his throat. He couldn’t resist the urge to bow his head so he could gently kiss his forehead, a tender sign of love that he knew he enjoyed.

It wasn’t long before his mother came into the room, the two slices of unbuttered toast resting on a small plate. She encouraged Ash to eat slowly, knowing that there was no guarantee that even this would stay down. Looking a bit wary of trying to eat anything, he nodded as he picked up a piece, slowly taking small bites until it was gone. He did the same with the second piece, sighing happily as he leaned against his lover after he’d finished. Even though it appeared to be staying down, they were still going to give it a little bit to see if it really would, or if it’d just come right back up again like everything else had.

“Looks like this, if nothing else, is staying down,” Andy said a short while later, heaving a sigh of relief as he closed his mouth.

“Well, that’s a good thing, if he’s been as sick as you say he has,” his mother told them with a smile.

“He really has been, Mom,” he agreed, nodding. “This is the first thing he’s held down for more than five minutes in about…three days.”

“Have you taken him to a doctor?” she asked.

“Yesterday morning, actually,” the band director answered. “I left him be for about two days just to see if whatever he had would go away on its own, but he kept getting worse.”

“Even I can vouch for that, ma’am,” Jinxx piped up as he came inside from the back deck.

“So can we,” Jake and CC agreed in unison.

“Guys, these are my parents, Chris and Amy,” Andy said, introducing those who still needed to be. “Mom, Dad, these are a couple more of our friends, Jake and CC. Jake is actually Jinxx’s boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you, boys,” Amy said, smiling at them as Jinxx snuggled against Jake’s side.

“Likewise, ma’am,” CC answered for them.

“So what’d you guys find out at that doctor’s appointment?” Chris asked curiously.

“Well…you’re gonna wanna sit down for this, Dad,” he answered nervously, gently rubbing his sweetheart’s back.

His parents shot each other curiously nervous looks, but took seats on the remaining love seat while Jake, Jinxx, and CC sat Indian-style on the floor.

“First of all, do you two know what a hermaphrodite is?” Andy asked, biting his lip slightly.

“That’s a male who’s actually more than meets the eye, right?” his mother countered.

“Close. It’s a male who appears just that externally, but has a hidden female reproductive tract,” the band director told her.

“I’m guessing you guys found out that Ashley’s a hermaphrodite and never knew it?” his dad asked.

“That, and then some,” he answered, nodding.

The Biersacks gave their son a look that was a combination of curiosity and confusion.

“We found out he’s a hermaphrodite because the lab techs assumed, based on his name, that he was a woman and included a pregnancy test in his work-up yesterday.” He looked down at Ash, smiling when he realized he’d fallen back to sleep.

“Oh, my God,” Amy breathed, eyes widening as she connected the dots. “The pregnancy test was positive, wasn’t it?”

“It was. But because we didn’t know he was a hermaphrodite, we didn’t think that made any sense, and neither did the general practitioner,” the band director answered. “She asked if we’d mind her giving him an ultrasound, and that’s when the test results were confirmed.”

“So he’s definitely pregnant? With your baby?” Chris asked.

“Don’t make it sound like Ash’d cheat on me, Dad,” Andy growled, a warning note in his voice. “I know him better than to even remotely think that about him.”

“I never said you didn’t, but since your mother and I don’t know him as well…” the middle-aged man said.

“True enough, but I’d have broken up with him, not called you guys down here, if I thought for even a millisecond that the baby wasn’t mine.”

His nodded nodded his agreement, knowing his son well enough to know he spoke the truth.

“Anyway, he’s about six weeks pregnant, according to the ultrasound,” the band director continued. “His general practitioner scheduled an appointment with an OB/GYN that specializes in high-risk pregnancies, but it’s not till next week.”

“Why an OB/GYN that specializes in high-risk pregnancies, though?” CC asked curiously. It was obviously something on everyone’s mind, but only he was brazen enough to ask.

“Because, although he and the baby are currently fairly healthy, despite his morning sickness, things might not stay that way.” Andy bit his lip nervously. “Since he was born with his female reproductive tract, there’s a chance his body might adapt to the pregnancy as if he really were a woman. Then again, on the flip-side, there’s a chance that it might not, and if he doesn’t lose the baby, possibly his own life, in the process, he could end up on bed rest.”

“So going to the high-risk OB/GYN is just a precautionary measure?” Amy asked.

“Yeah, pretty much. We both agreed that it’s a better idea than him just going to his general practitioner, or some other OB/GYN who can’t handle anything really bad that could potentially crop up,” Andy answered.

“That makes sense,” Jinxx piped up, albeit softly. “I guess you could say I’m a high school biology major, so I understand what he’s saying pretty well.”

The band director watched his dad give him an undisguised curious look.

“Well, think about it. Women carry their weight more so around their hips than anywhere else on the off-chance that a pregnancy could occur. Additionally, their pelvic opening is naturally wider so that a baby can emerge rather than get stuck,” the submissive teen explained. “Mens’ pelvic openings tend to be pretty narrow since they weren’t built for child-bearing. But if he was born with that secondary reproductive tract, his pelvic opening might already be a bit wider than one would think a man’s should be.”

Both of Andy’s parents nodded their agreement, neither one able to come up with a reason that Jinxx’s theories might be false. Even Jake and CC were unable to dispute the possibilities presented to them, especially since they both knew how intelligent the younger submissive teen was. Still, all of them hoped that he and his unborn child would survive the pregnancy and, if he carried to term, the birth.

The rest of the day passed in a relatively peaceful manner. Although Ash’s morning sickness soon woke him up from his nap, it was quickly tamed with another small dose of Pepto and more ginger ale. In fact, he was even able to keep down the spaghetti his would-be mother-in-law made later that evening, which made everyone sigh with relief. It might not stay that way for long, but it was a step in the right direction and everyone, especially Amy, knew it. The more he could hold down whenever he attempted to eat, the healthier he and the baby both would be. Granted, his inablility to keep anything down for the last few days wasn’t due to his lack of trying, so no one was blaming him in the least.

Around five that evening, Jake, Jinxx, and CC decided that it was time they head home. Their parents all knew their friend was sick, but now that the young couple had the band director’s parents there to help, they felt they should give them some bonding time. Andy thanked the trio for all the help they’d given them, something they brushed off without another word. As he closed his front door, he could only hope that nothing went wrong, and his lack of knowledge to what the future held was his biggest fear.

Notes