As the sun came up, Angel rolled over on his pallet, and winced as a sharp cramp made him put a hand to his back. He was not due to deliver for another two weeks, but he had been experiencing false contractions for the last two days, the prison physician had assured him that everything was normal, and the baby would come out when it was ready.

Hours later Angel panted through yet another contraction, they were coming much closer together now, and lasting longer. He had been pacing in his cell, for the past hour trying to walk off the restlessness he felt. Suddenly he gasped as he felt a sharp pain, and fluid came dribbling out from between his legs. His water had broken. He struggled out of his wet breeches, then paused to moan as a much stronger contraction gripped him, without the buffer of the birth fluid the pain was excruciating. Almost immediately an even stronger contraction had him doubling over in pain. "Please" he called to the guard, "Please get the physician, the baby is coming." the guard looked at him, then pointedly ignored him.

He groaned as a feeling of pressure increased in his lower back and hips, pain radiated through his back. Angel felt the pain coming in continuous waves and sank down to his hands and knees on the cold stone floor.

Nothing in his life had prepared him for the pain of labor, he felt as though someone was stabbing him in the back with a knife, arching his back, he tried to get away from the pain. Panic gripped Angel as he realized that he was going to have to deliver this baby on his own. A small sob escaped his lips as the reality of the situation crash down upon him, he was in labor, and there would be no help coming.

Slowly Angel crawled over to the small corner of the room where his pallet was and lay down, curling into a fetal position, trying to ride out the contractions as they washed over him. He thought back to the circumstances that had led to this moment.

He had not wanted this pregnancy, but now that the moment of birth was upon him, he found himself hoping that the child would live.

Ten months ago, Angel had been arrested for prostitution. In reality, he had scorned the advances of a high ranking member of the planetary government. That man had been furious at Angel's rejection, and had pulled strings to get him arrested, and sentenced to twenty one months in the Central Prison, where rumor had it that they experimented on prisoners.

The day of his arrival at the prison Angel had found out just how true the rumors were. Upon arrival he had been unloaded from the prison transporter, and taken to a processing room, where they verified all of his information. Then he had been forced to submit to a strip search, the prison Doctor had overseen the process, and performed a physical as well as the cavity searches. Angel had cried out and flushed painfully as the Doctor had placed two fingers into his anus, stretching it apart, and using a small light looked into the cavity. The doctor had made noises of appreciation to himself, only adding to Angel's humiliation.

"He'll do nicely." The doctor had said, and led the way back to the prison infirmary/laboratory.

In the infirmary, the doctor motioned for the still naked Angel to lay down on a table. Then the doctor had had him scoot his backside to the end of the table, placing his legs in stirrups, thick leather straps were placed across his chest, arms, and legs. "I am sorry." the doctor apologized as he readied a table of instruments that made Angel cringe to see. "Unfortunately, as you probably know, there have been recent cutbacks in funding for prisons such as this one, which means that we can no longer afford things like anesthetic, so please just bear with me, and we will get this over with a quickly as possible. Angel had tensed all over at the doctor's words, laying shaking and exposed, wondering what was going to happen to him.

First the doctor had used several soapy enemas to cleanse Angel on the inside. Though this was not exactly painful, only uncomfortable, it was extremely embarrassing, as Angel was forced to defecate into a pan, held under him by the doctor. After the doctor was sure that Angel was clean, he had inserted an object whose purpose seemed to be to stretch Angel open as far as his body would allow. The object started small, then the doctor used a screw on the side, to lever it, and Angel, open leaving an opening through which the doctor could work in the middle of the instrument. Then the pain came, as the doctor took a small scalpel from the tray beside him, and through the opening, made an incision into the bowel wall. Angel had screamed, and thrashed against his restraints, but the doctor seemed to simply take this as a matter of course, and continued on with his procedure. Angel had remained conscious throughout the rest of the extremely painful procedure, as the doctor pushed and pulled a strange mass, which he later learned was the womb of a dead woman, into Angel's body. When it was over, the doctor had given Angel an injection in his hip, then unstrapped him, and allowed the guards to transport him to his cell. One month later he had experienced his first and only menstrual period, and two weeks after that, he had been brought back to the clinic, to undergo fertilization which had resulted in a successful conception.

At midnight, Angel was brought back to the present by the sound of the changing of the guard, and became aware of a new sensation in his body, an urge to push. Struggling to his knees Angel leaned against the hard stone wall. Gingerly he pulled his tunic over his head, and laid it carefully at the head of the bed. Not wanting to make a mess of his sleeping area, Angel slowly made his way over to an unused corner of his cell where he squatted leaning his sweaty forehead against the cool stone he gently placed one hand on his swollen stomach, and the other hand on the wall for balance.

The urgent sensation of needing to push came again, and Angel bore down. He could feel his body stretching, trying to accommodate the baby's head. The knife like pains in his lower back continued, and now a fiery burning sensation was added around his opening. Sweat dripped off Angel's body, and his legs trembled with exhaustion. He had not been fed all day, and the labor had been long and hard.

On the next contraction Angel screamed, not even noticing the attention he drew from the new guard, consumed as he was in the fiery pain. Angel spread his legs as far as he could still crouching. The cycle of pushing then resting seemed to go on forever. Sobbing he cried out begging for someone, anyone to just please make it stop. The cold agony of loneliness and despair covered him as still he labored on alone. Finally just when Angel thought he couldn't continue any longer he gathered his strength and gave one final push, feeling himself tear as the baby made its way into the world with a gush of bloody fluid. Reaching between his legs he caught the child before it could fall to the stone floor. With tears in his eyes he cradled the child to his chest examining it carefully as a lusty cry filled the air. It was a boy, ten fingers, and ten toes, a tiny, yet perfect, miracle. Drained of strength Angel slumped against the wall. He had a son.

Slowly darkness crowded the edge of his vision. Feeling a sticky wetness beneath his legs he glanced down, and saw a puddle of bright red blood. His last thought before the darkness overtook him was a fear for his son.

When Angel awoke, he was surrounded by the bright white of the infirmary. "Ah, finally decided to come around I see." Angel recognized the gruff voice of the prison physician.

"What happened?" he asked

"Well you delivered that baby just as you should, but you lost a lot of blood doing so, between your being exhausted, and malnourished, the combination caused you to pass out. Your guard summoned me when he saw what had happened."

"My son!" Angel struggled weakly to sit up, but was jerked back by the manacles on both wrists chaining him to the bed frame.

"Calm down." The physician laid a steadying hand on Angel's shoulder. "Your son is fine, I gave him to a wet nurse from the women's ward, as soon as you are recovered enough to care for him, you can have him back. I never really cared about the child, only the pregnancy itself, and that it was a healthy baby. Which it is." Angel allowed himself a sigh of relief, he had been unsure what would happen to the baby after the birth. His relief was brought up short at the doctors next words though.

"Yes, a very successful pregnancy and birth, now the key, is to be able to repeat the experiment." He looked at Angel "You have 10 more months left in your sentence correct?" dumfounded Angel nodded, surely the doctor wasn't suggesting what it sounded like.

"I will try for another conception in about six weeks I think, and if needed we can induce labor before you leave the facility." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten Months Later

Angel lay on a table in the infirmary, he bit back a scream as pain gripped his abdomen. Sleeping peacefully in a small basinet beside the infirmary table, was his ten month old son Ayo.

"That's it, just like that, the doctor encouraged from his vantage point between Angel's legs. This pregnancy, Angel had been well fed, and the doctor called immediately when he had gone into labor. Angel was unsure which he disliked more, giving birth alone, or giving birth with this man constantly examining him, and taking notes on his progression. Angel hissed in pain, as the doctor once more stuck his fingers inside Angel's opening, stretching him, and trying to coax the baby into the world. Soon it would all be over. Angel had been informed that as soon as the child had been delivered, the womb would be taken out, and given to another prisoner. The doctor had muttered something about the next recipient being a lifer, so he wouldn't have to keep transferring the womb to different recipients. Angel gritted his teeth, and with one final push, his second born, entered the world. "Well done." the doctor praised, handing him the child. "You have a healthy baby girl." Angel smiled tiredly, and accepted his daughter. He reveled in the wonder of the small life in his arms. All too soon the doctor took the child from his arms, and placed her in the bed next to her brother. Angel was strapped down, and placed in position for the surgery.

The next morning dawned bright and clear as Angel gingerly walked out the gate of the prison a free man. He was exhausted, aching, and in pain. In his tunic pocket, a ticket for the transporter that would take him home. A small smile touched his lips as he looked at the children in his arms. It had been a long twenty one months, full of pain, humiliation, and sorrow, but unbeknownst to the politician Angel had rejected, he had given Angel not one but two incredible gifts.