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If there was anything that Doc hated more than fixed bugs, it'd probably be unfinished projects. The kinds that lay around collecting dust and grime on them.
He hated it in a way, which sometimes made loving Ren hard but that's besides the point.
Loose ends always needed to be cut off or tied in, that was simply his opinion. Which was why he sat at the table in his home lab, his creation central, humming over something he'd abandoned more than a year before.
It'd been left to waste after several failures, something Doc grew more and more frustrated by. Each test failed for some reason or another.
Improper maintenance probably, or the code wasn't working as it should.
Maybe a chimera—
"Doc, you're still in here?" Ren asks sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he yawns.
"Only for a moment, pup. I'll be in bed soon." He reassures.
Arms are lazily slung around his neck, Ren's chin resting on the chimera's head between his horns.
"Ren, I'm working." Doc reminds him.
"You're avoiding sleep, dude." Ren responds easily. "What are you even working on?"
"Nothing of importance, it was scrapped." Doc sighs.
"That doesn't sound right." Ren hums.
The werewolf leans over him further, looking over Doc's spread out documents and notes as he hums.
"Is— is this the—"
"Yes, it's the hybrid project." He says with a nod.
Doc doesn't need to see Ren to know the frown tugging at his lips as he sighs heavily. "Dude, I thought we dropped that due to loosing them."
"I know that, but you know I don't leave things unfinished." Doc replies, unable to keep the cold frustration from his voice.
"Doc…" Ren murmurs. "We're already gonna have a kid in six months, why don't we focus on that instead?"
The creeper chimera pinches his snout, cursing under his breath as he does.
"I can't leave this. Maybe I can find a way to have it be successful? Give Apollo a sibling without anyone suffering for our desires."
"They're not even born yet." Ren says bluntly.
"So? Aren't you close in age with Renbob? Only a year younger?" Doc points out harshly.
"He's my cousin." Ren responds in a mirrored tone.
"And?" Doc shrugs.
Ren grabs his chair then, forcing it around until they're eye to eye.
"Doc, I am asking this as nicely as I can. For the sake of me, for the sake of Apollo, we need you to not be obsessed with this project." Ren says slowly, a growl hidden behind his voice. "Promise me? Just for now?"
He tries to turn to look at his mountains of paperwork again, but Ren grabs his chin and forces him to look at the werewolf.
"Please?" Ren begs.
"I can't." Doc sighs. "If I do this right, if I figure it out, then they'd only be a year or two apart in age. I'd prefer that over anything else."
"You're really set on this…" Ren whispers.
"Of course I am, Ren." Doc replies easily. "I want this to work, I haven't even met Apollo yet and already know I want another."
"I do too, but I'm scared this obsession might hurt our family." Ren says softly.
"It won't, it never does."
Ren opens his mouth to speak, but only a sigh manages to pass his lips.
"Just give me a year, alright?" Doc says quietly.
"Alright…" Ren replies softly. "I'll give you a year."
c
It isn't surprising when the first few tests fail, not even making it to the embryo stage. There's one that's lucky, gaining a heart and then…
Doc doesn't want to think about. He'd gone straight to Ren with excitement, but by the time they got back to the lab…
His husband, his beloved, wraps his arms around Doc as the creeper tries not to break something. Out of sadness, out of anger.
"We'll have Apollo soon." Ren whispered. "He's just a month away"
Doc growls in response, pulling away from Ren before slumping to the ground with a huff.
"Is it me? Are my tampered genetics too unstable?" He asks to the air.
"I don't know these things, Doc." Ren answers desperately. "I don't think it is? Apollo's gotta this far—"
"Apollo has False as a surrogate!" Doc objects. "They have everything on a silver platter, this is different."
Ren looks at him sadly before sliding to sit next to him.
"Maybe they need another host, one more willing. Maybe— maybe basing the genetics on a creeper isn't it." Doc murmurs to himself. "Maybe, hmm… their egg never formed, maybe that's it."
The werewolf beside him opens his mouth to object, but Doc continues to mutter as he thinks.
"That's it, they just need something added. Something sturdy that could survive anything…" Doc mutters as he stands, going back to his desk as he looks through files.
"Doc, what are you doing?" Ren yelps worriedly.
"You'll see, pup." Doc says as raises his head. "You'll see."
— ❁ – ❁ – ❁ —
The answer Doc came up with wasn't quick or easy, much to the chimera's annoyance.
In the time since he started, Apollo had started laughing and squealing. They were a happy little things that kept him going, kept him determined.
They'd look up at them with those cow eyes, smile and giggle up at him.
But the baby was asleep against his chest, peaceful as Doc listened out for a heartbeat.
A hand settled on the sleeping infant's back as Ren rests into his side, forcing Doc in place and far away from his project. To be fair to Doc, he'd lulled them both to sleep with a lullaby, so this was all on him.
But the peace of the moment didn't settle his mind, everything focused on the forming outer body of something. There was a basic heart that didn't have its valves and thus didn't beat, something that made Doc more than a little nervous.
Reminders of the last try filled his every thought, every memory. So close, so close, and yet so very far away…
Ren pulled closer to him, his sleepy smile falling for a moment before he took Doc's scent in again and steadily calmed. A nightmare, he should watch his husband carefully.
He nuzzles into the top of Ren's head, taking in the warmth that is the other body as he steadily calms himself down again.
"'s gonna be alright." Ren mumbles.
"Go back to sleep, love." Doc murmurs before kissing the top of his head.
Ren makes some disgruntled noise, but falls asleep nonetheless.
— ❁ – ❁ – ❁ —
Six weeks, eight weeks, a heart beats. Ten weeks, twelve weeks, little limbs form.
Doc doesn't show Ren anything until the fetus is well within its second trimester.
The room is dark, he guides his husband in with a gently held hand. Apollo is on Ren's hip as the werewolf closes his eyes and huffs.
"What is this even for, dude? Everything smells stale." Ren says with a twitch of his ear.
"It's to keep everything clean, pup." Doc says as he leads his husband to the test tube.
They're both standing before it when Ren is finally directed to open his eyes, unsure at first before he opens them.
Pure blue stares at the tube, watching it carefully before coming up to it. He sets his free hand against the glass, blinking like he's seen a mirage.
"Doc, is it—"
"Viable? Yes." Doc says with a nod, unable to hide his hopeful smile.
"Are you sure?" Ren asks. "Its heart won't suddenly stop like last time?"
"It is already twenty weeks along, well within the bounds of safety." Doc says with a nod. "It will survive this time."
Ren spreads his fingers over the dimly lit tube, taking in every detail as he does. "What is it exactly?"
Doc hums for a moment before telling him.
"A warden chimera." He replies simply. "They're a warden chimera."
— ❁ - ❁ - ❁ —
Months pass, Apollo's birthday comes and goes, and what Doc has dubbed 'Cywren' continues to grow.
They've grown enough that Doc can make out theirs little fingers and toes. A tail stirs in the artificial, amniotic waters of the test tube. Sure, the fetus has no eyes, but Doc expects nothing more from a warden hybrid.
Furthermore, they're very warden-like in a few other ways. Olm-like shout, small but growing frills, and dark blue-green fur.
Sitting there, Doc can't help but imagine how much like himself they might end up being. That is to say how feared they will become, possible more than a standard hisskin? Perhaps…
It only makes him love them more, a hand of flesh settling onto the clear tube as he sighs.
"You will grow strong, Cywren." He purrs softly. "You will grow truly strong.
— ❁ - ❁ - ❁ —
Forty weeks, that's the longest a safe gestation for both hisskin and werewolves can be. Just below two years ago he restarted this project. Today makes it all worth it.
Ren is there by his side, a loyal and loving husband with Apollo on his hip.
"Ready?" Doc's voice is smooth, but tails on nervousness.
"Ready when you are." Ren says gently.
The creeper chimera takes a deep breath before sliding something open. It dumps out amniotic fluids before Cywren descends head first into it.
Doc is gently as he tugs her out, at first noticing how coarse the fur is before pulling the baby into his arms.
The baby doesn't cry at first, but soon enough reacts to being put down onto a warm bad.
The little girl cries and wriggles and flails as Doc rubs her down with a cloth.
"Not to happy to be alive?" Doc asks in a gentle but playful tone..
Her response is more crying and sobbing as she wriggles some more.
Once done with the gentle wash, he brings her up to his chest to where she can hear his crackling, half-mechanical purring.
"You're safe, Cywren." He says softly. "You are safe."
He turns to Ren, to where the wolf sits in a rocking chair with Apollo on his lap. He makes his way over to them, wordlessly settling Cywren in his husband's arms.
"Hey, little dude." Ren turns to Apollo. "I have someone to show you."
Apollo stares at them, then watches as Ren pulls back some of the blanket to reveal nearly black fur.
"This is your little sister, Cywren." Ren says with a happy wag to his tail. "I want you two to look after and protect each other, okay?"
"Light!" Apollo says happily, one of the few words he knows.
"Yeah!" Ren laughs as his tail wags. But then he yawns, making Doc sigh affectionately.
His little growing family has plenty of time to bond, right now rest would be nice.