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Thirteen.

Several more weeks went by following the official announcement of the Mis’l’s successful surrogacies. Congratulations from friends and family began to pour in. Daphne was a curly-haired, brunette bundle of energy, busy making all sorts of plans for the future day in and day out. And Justin didn’t have the heart to tell her to stop.

Meanwhile, Justin had mulled over matters so many times his head hurt and he still hadn’t come up with any viable solution to their predicament. He just didn’t see a way around Craig’s dictatorial ruling. Unfortunately, time was quickly running out; Hobbs had informed Justin only the day before that he’d scheduled the appointment with the medic for a date about four weeks out. Which meant he was going to have to tell Daphne soon. It was going to suck to be the one to dash everyone’s happiness, though.

“Fuck you, Craig,” Justin mumbled and pushed his chair away from the desk, giving up on even the pretense of working.

Instead, he began pacing around and around his office, hoping that some exercise might jog loose an idea or two. As he stomped around his opulent workspace, Justin looked at the elegant and expensive furnishings, seeing everything with a newly-jaded eye. All this - the highly polished woods, leather upholstered furniture, and the shiny brass fittings - it used to make him feel proud and important. Now it all felt empty. None of these regal trappings meant anything to him anymore. Justin felt like he was trapped in here, in this life, like a well-trained monkey in a very elaborate cage. None of THIS made him happy or helped him get what he really wanted out of life.

Because what he really wanted was to run away from here and all of these indicia of his vaunted Dominion status. He wished he could just take Brian with him somewhere and hide. Maybe they’d bring Daphne and the other two Surrogates along for company, but leave all the rest of the world behind. And then Brian could keep his baby and Craig could go pound sand for his precious heir.

Of course, that wasn’t going to happen. There was nowhere for Justin to go. Nowhere they could hide. Tch’fl Craig’s reach was ridiculously long and his influence was almost immeasurable. Even if Justin were to try to run away, there was probably nowhere he could go that Craig wouldn’t find him. Besides, running away would mean leaving behind the security and comfort of the Dominion lifestyle Justin had been raised in from birth. Justin didn’t think he’d be much use outside the Estate’s walls. The real world, or at least what little Justin knew of it, was harsh and dangerous. After all the stories he’d heard, including Brian’s own story, Justin didn’t relish leaving the Taylor Domain merely to subject himself and those he cared about to utter poverty. How would that help anyone?

Which just led him back to the same conclusion he’d been trying to escape from the hundred previous times he’d thought about it; he was trapped. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. Craig could do whatever he wanted within the bounds of this Domain and Justin couldn’t stop him. But that still didn’t help him figure out how he was going to tell Daphne, let alone Brian.

He didn’t think he could keep silent for much longer though. This secret was eating at him. He wasn’t sleeping well and could hardly concentrate on his work. Even worse, he was so worried that he hadn’t been able to truly enjoy the time he still had left with Brian and the other Surrogates. Apparently he wasn’t very good at hiding his distress either, since he’d been asked at least a half dozen times that week what was wrong.

Take the night before, for example. The five of them had been in Justin’s chambers, up to their usual sexy antics. Daphne had handed off her strap-on contraption to Rose, who had happily taken on the task of servicing her Mis’la with the thing, much to Daphne’s very vocal delight. Next to them on the big bed, Brian had been enthusiastically fucking Troiyes - something that Daphne had talked Justin into allowing by arguing that the boys were already breeding so it didn’t matter who else fucked them now. Brian had been thrilled by the prospect of topping someone else for a change, and Troiyes had been agreeable to accommodating his companion. But even though Justin found the sight of Brian taking the other Surrogate from behind quite stimulating, he just really didn’t share the raucous spirit of the others. Instead of joining in, he’d just lain there and watched, letting the rest have their fun while it lasted.

As soon as she’d finished with Daph, little Rosie had climbed across the mattress towards Justin, snuggling up next to him and insinuating her small, plump body under his arm with familiar affection, saying, “poor, Mis’l. You look so stressed out. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Justin had smiled wistfully at the sweet, young girl, not knowing what to say.

“You really have seemed distracted lately, Jus,” Daphne had chimed in. “I think you’re working too hard. And you know that all work and not enough play make Justin a dull boy, right? Stop brooding and come join us already.”

“I don’t know, Daphne. I don’t think I’m really in the mood tonight.”

“Well, get in the mood then,” Daphne had ordered. But when Justin had started to decline again, she got that mischievous glint in her eye that always foretold trouble and suggested, “I know! Why don’t we spice things up a bit and let Rosie do you for a change. She’s damn good with that strap-on. And who knows; you might decide you like being on the receiving end sometimes, Jus.”

Justin ignored the snort of laughter Brian was unable to hold back at this unprecedented suggestion. Brian wisely refocused his attention on Troiyes’ ass without further comment, allowing the Mis’l to politely decline Rose’s kind services. Justin really had not been in the right mind frame to deal with that much innovation. He did, however, consent to join in by walking to a spot behind where Brian was kneeling and beginning to fuck the tall, brunet Surrogate while he finished off Troiyes. But even then, Justin felt like a lot of the joy was missing from the experience.

“Oh, fuck it! I just have to tell Daph. Today. There’s no sense in putting it off any longer and I’m tired of pretending to be happy,” Justin declared to his empty office before collapsing back into his chair dejectedly.

He wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or a bad sign when, twenty seconds after he made that decision, there was a knock at his office door and the face that poked around the jamb turned out to be Daphne’s.

“Hey, Jus . . . Um . . . Have you got a second? I . . . Uh . . . I kinda need to talk to you about something,” The normally confident and assured Mis’la stammered through a greeting.

“Sure, Daph. I need to talk to you too, actually, so I guess your timing is perfect. What’s up?”

Justin waved his wife over to the sofa in the corner and sat down next to her. Daphne was fidgety, playing with her hands, and looking everywhere but directly at Justin. There was obviously something wrong. He wondered briefly if she’d found out about Craig’s orders as to the Surrogates and was angry or something, but then decided it was unlikely since, if that were the case, she’d be enraged not nervous.

“So, um . . . I’m not really sure how to say this . . . Hellation, this is hard.” She faltered again and Justin reached out to gather her flailing hands in his own for reassurance. It seemed to work, and she continued, “I missed my monthly courses last week, and you know I’m always as regular as rain, so I took a test this morning . . . It was positive. I’m pregnant,” she declared.

“Really?” Justin was so surprised he almost couldn’t think what to say at first. “Wow, Daph. That’s great! Congratulations. I can’t believe, after all this time, it finally worked. This is wonderful news.”

“Yeah, um, I couldn’t believe it either,” she responded in a hushed voice, clearly not as joyful as Justin would have expected.

“What’s wrong, Daph? Why do you not seem as happy about this as I am? What am I missing here?”

“You see, we’d been trying for so long - two whole years - and nothing. So, I thought there must be something wrong with me, you know? That I probably couldn’t get pregnant at all. I mean, it’s obviously not you, since you got all three Surrogates breeding in less than three months, so it HAD to be me . . .”

Justin didn't know where this was going so he sat there quietly, without interrupting, while Daphne struggled to collect her thoughts for a minute. Eventually she sighed, squared her shoulders and finally looked up at him directly for the first time. He could see that she was on the verge of tears, but she nonetheless proceeded with that tiny spark of defiance he’d grow to love seeing from his wife.

“There’s a good chance it’s not your baby, Justin,” Daphne announced without further evasion, leaving Justin stunned and speechless. “See, while you were off visiting that Southerly factory, I let Troiyes fuck me again. I didn’t think you’d mind - we’d done it before and all, no problem - and he’s really good at it, you know . . . But anyway, I only had those couple of condoms I’d showed you before, and those didn’t last long. Plus, you were gone more than a week and I was bored. So even after we ran out of condoms, I didn’t stop . . . I just didn’t think I COULD get pregnant, so I didn’t think it would matter. But, well, I guess I was wrong . . .” Her words fumbled to a stop and Daphne looked at him plaintively, one tear finally escaping. “I’m sorry, Justin. I really didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“Okay, that’s . . . That’s . . . Wow . . .” Justin literally couldn’t find any words amid the multitude of thoughts and emotions swirling around inside his brain like a tornado. “Wow.”

The stunned Mis’l slumped back into the corner of the couch as he tried to sort through this remarkable news. He supposed he should be outraged. That was the societally acceptable response to finding out your wife was pregnant with someone else’s kid, right? But somehow outrage wasn’t even in the top ten emotions that were assaulting him just then.

Daphne hadn’t been ‘cheating’ on him, per se. It’s not like Justin hadn’t known this was going on - hellation, he’d not only consented but had been right there in the room watching as Daphne let first Brian and then Troiyes fuck her that one night. He remembered being a little surprised that he hadn’t felt any jealousy back then either. And he also knew that Daphne usually continued her nightly ‘Playtime’ with the Surrogates after she left his chambers every night, which had never bothered Justin in the least. Plus, he would be the worst of hypocrites if he made a fuss about Daph continuing to mess around with Troiyes when he was basically doing the same thing with Brian every single night. So maybe it wasn’t all that odd that he didn’t feel offended by his wife’s actions.

Mostly Justin was feeling simple surprise. But the shocking news hadn’t obliterated his original happiness. He didn’t care who’s baby it was; he knew he’d love the child for Daphne’s sake just the same way she’d love the offspring of the Surrogates. Maybe Daphne being pregnant herself would even help ease the pain that would inevitably come when Justin told her what Craig had ordered about any potential female offspring.

“I’m happy for you, Daph,” Justin finally answered when he’d worked through his confusion. “For us. As far as I’m concerned, this is great news.”

Daphne frowned and shook her head at her clueless husband. “You don’t understand, Justin. It’s definitely NOT good news. It’s going to mean my ruin.”

“What? I promise you, Daph, I don’t mind. I don’t care who the father is. It’ll be fine,” Justin tried to reassure her, but his words only caused more of the tears in her eyes to fall.

“No, you dolt, it won’t be fine. Don’t you get it? This baby is Troiyes’ . . .” Justin simply stared at her without understanding so she continued. “With my mixed heritage and Troiyes’ dark coloring, it’s going to be pretty fucking obvious when the baby’s born that my pale, blond-haired, blue eyed husband is not the father. Everyone’s going to know that I had another lover and it won’t be hard to figure out who that was. I’ll be disgraced and you’ll be ridiculed as a cuckold. Tch’fl Craig will go ballistic - if you thought he was angry at the mere thought of you having male Surrogates, wait till he finds out his daughter-in-law has been sleeping with one of them. Poor Troiyes will be punished and stripped of his right to work as a Surrogate. And there’s no way the baby will be allowed to live. I’ll probably get sent back to my family without my dowry and with our marriage annulled. It’s a fucking disaster, Justin!”

“Damn . . .” Justin replied, again at a loss for words.

“Yeah. Although ‘Damn’ is putting it mildly,” Daph echoed, trying to dry her face with one of the sofa pillows. “What am I going to do, Jus?”

“Well, I guess you could just terminate the pregnancy. Then nobody would know. And we’ll be more careful going forward,” he suggested.

“I don’t want to do that,” Daphne immediately insisted. “It’s taken me more than two years to get pregnant this time, and if I get rid of this baby, I may never have another chance to be a mother. Plus, well, this baby is . . . special.” A confused Justin watched his wife as she rubbed her belly with one hand, a dreamy look coming over her elfin face. “Please don’t hate me, Jus, but I . . . I think I love Troiyes.”

Again, Justin was more surprised by the fact he didn’t feel upset over this newest disclosure than by the disclosure itself. Now that he thought about it, though, it wasn’t that hard to believe. He’d noticed how comfortable Daphne and the younger male Surrogate had seemed together. There had been intimate touches and the odd comment here and there; more than enough hints on a subliminal level to support this more conscious declaration. And it really didn’t bother Justin at all. In a way, he was happy for Daphne that she’d found something like that for herself.

Apparently Justin’s silence was confusing, though, since Daph hurried on with her explanation. “It's not that I don’t love you too, Jus - I do - but it’s more like the kind of love you feel for a friend. A best friend. You know?” Justin gave her an understanding smile. “This thing with Troi is different. I don’t think I’ve ever been more physically attracted to anyone in my life. You and I have always got along so well, and intellectually we’re so in tune, I guess I just never noticed that, well, we don’t really have that same sexual spark . . .”

“It’s okay, Daph,” Justin finally spoke up, rushing to reassure his wife when she seemed to falter. “I get it. And I’m afraid I feel the same, about the sexual attraction thing. I . . .” Justin paused, weighing his options, but then just decided to come completely clean and give up all his secrets. “I think I feel the same way about Brian as you do about Troiyes.” Daphne didn’t look too shocked, so Justin continued. “I’m far more attracted to him than I ever have been to any woman. And, I love you too - like a best friend - but I . . . I think I’m falling in love with Brian.”

Justin looked sideways at his wife, worried about how she was going to take this disclosure. A Mis’l openly admitting he was attracted to other men was a big deal, particularly in the Taylor Domain. If word of this ever got back to Tch’fl Craig, it would mean disaster for Justin. On the other hand though, Justin felt like a fifty kilo weight had been lifted off his soul. Saying that out loud, even if it was just in a private conversation with Daphne, was the most freeing thing Justin had ever done.

“About time you fessed up, Jus,” Daphne teased him. “The way you can’t keep your eyes - or your hands for that matter - off Brian’s bod whenever you’re in the same room together, was kind of a giveaway. Does he feel the same?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t really said anything. It’s not like he’s in a position to have an opinion, and I didn’t want to impose . . . But I think, yeah . . . I think he feels the same.”

“I’m happy for you, Jus.” Daphne gave her husband’s hand a supportive squeeze. “But none of this solves my problem. What am I going to do about this baby? And how do we both find a way to keep our men after their surrogacies are over? We only have five months, tops, to figure this out, Jus. Please, help me.”

“It’s worse than you know, Daph,” Justin sighed and then finally told her the truth about Craig’s threat to abort any female offspring and immediately get rid of those Surrogates. “The medic appointments are set up already. We have less than a month.”

“I won’t let Craig do that, Justin. I won’t. I can’t. He can’t just tear our lives apart like that,” Daphne stated adamantly, her tears replaced by rage.

“I agree that it sucks, but how are we going to stop him?” Justin asked, honestly hoping she’d have some better ideas than he’d come up with so far.

Daphne fell silent, thinking things through, and Justin watched her expectantly. When she’d finally reached an apparent conclusion she nodded confidently as if her mind was already made up. When she spoke again, it was in a whisper, despite the fact they were in a private room with the door closed.

“We have to leave, Justin. There’s no other way. Unless you’re open to the idea of having Craig assassinated and taking over as Tch’fl in his place?” Justin shook his head, ‘no’. “Then we don’t have any other options. We have to leave before that medic appointment. ‘Cause I’m not giving up Troi or my babies, and you shouldn’t have to give up Brian either.”

“Don’t you think I haven’t thought about that already?” Justin asked desperately. “Where would we go? I don’t know of any Domains that would agree to hide us, not when faced with Tch’fl Craig’s wrath. He has contacts everywhere. There’s no one in all the Domains that would dare to go up against him. Craig will just track us down, have Brian and Troiyes killed, ship you off to exile somewhere, then drag me back here under guard where he’ll force me to breed him another, hopefully more compliant and less deviant, heir and then probably have me killed too.”

“We won’t go to another Domain then. We’ll go to ground in the real world. I don’t care where, just as long as we can stay together,” Daphne’s defiant streak affirmed.

“You don’t know what you're proposing, Daph. It’s not pretty outside the walls of the Domains. I’ve travelled a lot through those areas; neither of us know how to survive out there. And even if we could, I still think Craig would find us eventually.”

“What else can we do, Jus? There has to be a way. There just has to be.”

Daphne leaned forward, hugging Justin, who gratefully returned the embrace. The human comfort helped relieve his sense of desperation a little bit. It also reaffirmed the Mis’l’s determination to find a solution. If he didn’t, not only would he lose his newfound lover, Brian, and possibly Brian’s child, but he might lose Daphne as well. None of which was acceptable. If there was a way to keep them all together and safe, Justin vowed to find it.

It better come fast though.

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