Unexpected Treasure, Chapter One (OB/VM) R

[peppervl.livejournal.com]

Title: Unexpected Treasure, Chapter 1

Author: : Vanessa (vlee(at)cinci(dot)rr(dot)com)

Pairing: : OB/VM

Rating: : R

See part one for summary and disclaimer.

~*~

Orlando lay on the couch in his trailer, trying to control his breathing. If what he suspected was true, the idyllic life he had come to enjoy over the past five months would be shattered. The dream he was so close to achieving would once again be far out of reach. Everything he had worked for would be in vain.

For the past five months, Orlando had been living his dream, playing the role of Legolas in the upcoming ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies. He had made new friends, friends that didn’t know about the birthmark on his back or how he had lost the ability that it signified. He had fallen in love with the actor who played Aragorn, Viggo Mortensen, and for the past three months they had been in an exclusive relationship.

Viggo was the only one who knew about the star on the small of Orlando’s back, and why it no longer mattered. Orlando had been nervous the first time they’d had sex, knowing that Viggo would see it. That fear, along with the nervousness that came with being a virgin—he hadn’t dared have sex before as he hadn’t been ready to bear children—had left Orlando literally trembling on the bed. Viggo had been understanding, caring, and gentle, making Orlando fall even more in love with him. Orlando’s life had seemed like a dream come true.

But now, that dream was falling apart. It was supposed to be impossible, but Orlando suspected that he was pregnant. For the past few days he’d been feeling sick and dizzy. He couldn’t keep down much food, but his body craved it. He didn’t have much energy and had a hard time concentrating on his scenes. So far, he had managed to hide how he felt, but it couldn’t go on forever. Sooner or later, someone would notice. That was when the trouble would begin.

Now Orlando had to decide what to do. It was remotely possible that he could find someone willing to abort the baby for a large fee, but it would be expensive—and risky. Abortion was outlawed in every country. Anyone who attempted to do it or have one done was imprisoned if caught. This had led to a black market of people claiming to be doctors who would lay men and women who didn’t want to carry their children to term on rickety tables in abandoned warehouses and stick rusty instruments into them and kill their babies. Most of the time, the pregnant person died as well within a few days.

That wasn’t something Orlando was willing to risk, especially since he didn’t know he was pregnant. Unfortunately, finding out if he was or not would mean going to a doctor, who would immediately place restrictions on him and start spreading the news. If he wasn’t careful with his choice of doctors, he wouldn’t even get the chance to tell Viggo himself. The doctor would have him on the phone before Orlando even left the office.

Still, Orlando had to do something. He had to find out what was going on with his body. It was frightening—and confusing. People were beginning to suspect something was wrong. After all, there were only so many excuses he could make up when he had to run off and vomit. There were only so many reasons he could give Viggo for not sharing his bed at night.

He wasn’t going to be able to make a decision now, though. He had to be back on set in five minutes, and it was time to try and make himself look presentable again, time to hide any traces of the vomiting he’d done not ten minutes earlier. Right now, no one knew what Orlando suspected. Very few knew that it had been possible. Orlando planned to keep it that way until he found out for sure.

~*~

Four hours later, Orlando was sitting in the trailer that doubled as the set doctor’s office. He had failed to hide how he was feeling, failed to get far enough away when he got sick, and had been sent to see the doctor by Peter. He was absolutely terrified of what she would tell him.

Meanwhile, Dr. Megan Brown was sitting in her chair, watching him fidget, wondering why he was so nervous. It wasn’t as if Peter would be too upset if Orlando had the flu or something and had to not work for a few days. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. The young, inexperienced actor sitting morosely on her cot seemed to think it was, though.

Finally, she stood, placing her hand behind her back to help support the bulk of her stomach, and waddled over to him. “So, what brings you here today Orlando?” She already knew, of course, Peter had sent a messenger along with his actor. Or more accurately, Peter had sent an escort along with his actor, who probably would have run away had one of the runners not accompanied him to the trailer.

Orlando looked at her, his eyes focusing on her belly. She briefly wondered why, it wasn’t as if pregnant females were uncommon. Actually, it was uncommon to see a female who wasn’t pregnant or nursing. She hunched over to look into his eyes. “Orlando?”

“I got sick.” He wasn’t going to tell her more than he absolutely had to.

“Hmm.” Of course, she’d already known that, but she would take what she could get. One thing Megan could say about six pregnancies, even if there was little else good about them, was that they had taught her patience. Orlando would talk eventually, and when he did, she’d be ready to listen and figure out what was really wrong. In the meanwhile, she’d do her best to figure it out on her own.

As Megan was fiddling with the blood pressure cuff, trying to get it to work over the costume, Orlando turned his head to look at her. “Do you like it? Being pregnant, I mean.”

Megan paused, confused. Why would he want to know that? Very few people actually cared if the women and men who could have children wanted to do so. It wasn’t questioned. Wondering what game Orlando was playing, Megan slowly looked up into his eyes. All she saw there was genuine curiosity and concern. “It’s...no. I love my children—I see them sometimes, they’re happy with their families—but being pregnant is a pain. My back hurts a lot right now.”

Orlando’s reaction surprised her. Instead of the condemnation or possibly sympathy she’d expected, Megan saw fear—terror—in his eyes. She touched his shoulder. “Orlando? What’s wrong?”

Orlando blinked, clearing the fear from his eyes. He had failed to hide his fear, but the idea of what carrying a baby would do to his already damaged back was terrifying. He smiled, trying to cover for his lapse. Megan didn’t buy it. The fear had lingered too long in Orlando’s eyes.

Long seconds passed in silence. Then Orlando shook his head, his smile widening. “If your back hurts, wouldn’t it be easier to sit down?”

“Please, don’t start. This is my sixth pregnancy; I know when I need to sit.”

Orlando’s eyes widened in shock. “Sixth? You’ve been pregnant six times?”

Megan nodded, still fiddling with the cuff. Legolas’ shirt and tunic were going to have to come off. “Yes, sixth. I’m a doctor, I have to be a good girl and set an example for my patients.” She ground her teeth in frustration just thinking about it. When this baby was born, that was it. Six was enough, even if none of them could bear children of their own.

“Oh.” Orlando looked down at his hands, embarrassed that he’d asked. He hadn’t meant to remind her of what she was sacrificing for the good of society. “I’m sorry.”

Megan smiled, pulling the cuff off Orlando’s arm. “It’s okay, I’m used to it.” She laid the cuff down on the cot next to her patient. “The top of that costume is going to have to come off.”

Orlando nodded reluctantly and slowly began removing Legolas’ tunic and shirt. Now was when Megan would see the mark he had been hiding, now was when his world would come to an end. He laid the clothes on the cot next to him and sat there as Megan fastened the blood pressure cuff around his arm once more. He didn’t even notice as she painfully lowered herself onto the cot next to him.

“Well, your blood pressure seems okay, let me listen to you breathe.” Megan placed her stethoscope against Orlando’s chest. “Take deep breaths.” Orlando numbly complied. “Good. Turn around.”

Orlando shifted, twisting on the cot so his back was to Megan. He waited to feel the stethoscope against his skin, but it never came. Instead, he heard a gasp and felt a finger gently rubbing over the base of his spine. Megan had seen the birthmark.

Megan stared at the small purple mark at the base of Orlando’s spine for several seconds. “You...you can have children.” She reached for the file and flipped through it. There was nothing in the pages to indicate Orlando had that ability. “Why isn’t that in your file? How did you manage to get this role?” Men who could bear children weren’t given big rolls, it was too risky.

“I’m not supposed to be able to anymore. I fell two years ago and broke my back. I wasn’t supposed to be able to walk again. I wasn’t supposed to be able to bear children.”

Megan tore her gaze from the birthmark, and focused on the scar in the middle of Orlando’s back, wondering what miracle had enabled him to walk after such an injury. She remembered reading about the back damage in the file, she would have to check later and read more about it. Right now, there was something more pressing. “You weren’t supposed to be able to have children? Does that mean you can?”

Orlando shrugged, not knowing for sure. “I think...I think I’m pregnant.” He closed his eyes as he spoke, not wanting the doctor to see what it was costing him to admit that.

“You think you’re...” Megan nodded. That explained the fear when she had talked about the back pain involved in carrying a child and the curiosity about her pregnancy. It explained why Orlando had gone to such lengths – disappearing deep into the woods surrounding the set – when he experienced bouts of nausea. She took a deep breath. What she discovered in this trailer could drastically alter Orlando’s life. “Okay.”

Megan got up and waddled to the door of the trailer. As she approached it, Orlando’s heart almost stopped, he was so afraid she was going to tell people without even confirming it first. But all she did was lock the door.

As she waddled back, Megan stopped at a cabinet and removed a small kit, one no doctor was ever without. She then sat back on the cot next to her patient. “I’m going to need a drop of blood to tell you for certain.” She kept her voice calm, well able to imagine how frightened and upset Orlando was.

Orlando nodded, his whole body trembling. He didn’t really want this answer. He wanted to just pretend that this wasn’t happening. He just wanted it to go away. “Do...do you think I am?”

Megan’s smile faded as she took Orlando’s hand. “I can’t tell you for certain yet. But probably. I’ve known every time I was pregnant. It’s instinct, I think.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” His hand jerked as Megan pierced the skin, drawing blood. He watched as she carefully squeezed a drop into a small vial, then added a small amount of clear liquid and put it in the box she had pulled out. After about five minutes with no light, the liquid would change color, to blue if he was pregnant and yellow if he wasn’t. It was going to be a long five minutes for both of them.

They sat there, Megan doing her best to comfort the nervous Orlando, and waited for the color to change. They both tried to avoid looking at the box, but neither truly succeeded. It was too tempting, despite the fact that nothing could be seen. Both of them wanted to know, yet didn’t.

Finally, the time was up. With slightly trembling hands, Megan picked up the box and held it out. “Do you want to open it?”

“No. I don’t ever want to know. I just want this to go away.”

Megan nodded, understanding completely, and opened the box herself. Slowly, she pulled out the vial, dreading what she knew she would see. By withdrawing the tube and proving that

Orlando was pregnant, she would seal his fate, and that of the movie. Legolas would be recast. Orlando would be forced to bear this child and many more. But there was no avoiding it. Even if she left the tube in the dark, so to speak, Orlando’s secret would come to light eventually.

As Megan withdrew the tube, both of the trailer’s occupants held their breath, hoping for one color and fearing another. As soon as they were able to see that the liquid inside was now a dark blue, Orlando closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep from crying out his anguish. In that moment, all his dreams were shattered.

TBC...