Have You Considered Adoption? Chapter One

This one is a commission. As a result, it's slightly darker in tone than some of the other stuff, but I'm sure some of you guys will enjoy that. I'm hoping to get a second chapter of this out before the end of the year, as well as carrying on an existing story and hopefully a little Christmas bonus as well. Enjoy.

Phyllis was not unsympathetic to the couple sat across the desk from her. While many people might look at them and assume that they had everything they could ever possibly want, money, beauty, influence, there was one thing which was not afforded to them. It was something that many people take for granted; the ability to have children. However, being a fertility doctor meant that Phyllis had been in this situation more times than she cared to count, sat across from an unhappy couple who had tried all possible methods of conceiving their own children, no matter the financial cost, having to tell them that they were at the end of the road. Her manner was calm, but in their distress, it came across to the couple as cold.

‘Have you considered adoption?’ asked Phyllis.

The muscular man stared at her intently. His facial expression conveyed his distaste at the suggestion. His wife, a tall, beautiful woman, was less discreet with her displeasure.

‘Are you serious?’ she asked in a very clearly displeased tone.

‘I know it’s not what you set out to do at the start, but many people who have turned to it in the past have found it incredibly rewarding,’ said Phyllis.

‘We have paid you thousands and thousands of pounds,’ said the woman, her voice increasing in volume ‘so that we could have the simple pleasure, the basic human right, of having our own child. You have strung us along for almost two years, with absolutely no success, and then you suggest that we take in somebody else’s child?’

‘I know how badly you wanted this to work out,’ said Phyllis, ‘but the simple fact is, there isn’t a single fertility treatment that we haven’t tried. We’re out of options on that front.’

‘Come on, Vicki,’ said the man, standing up to reveal his formidable height, ‘let’s go and see if we can find a doctor who knows what they are doing.’

With that, the couple left the room. Phyllis understood their frustration. She had learned a long time ago to compartmentalize so that she didn’t get too upset on their behalf. Little did she know that she would soon be helping them with their problem in a way which she couldn’t, at this moment, anticipate.

***

Life continued as it always had for Phyllis. She threw herself into her work, not feeling the need to address the fact that she was single, despite her mother constantly telling her that she needed to settle down with a nice man. Phyllis had no problem with men, but just didn’t feel the need for one herself. She earned more than enough to be self-sufficient, and her few forays into the world of dating had left her with men that didn’t want a partner, somebody of equal status and intelligence, but a subordinate that they expected to behave however they saw fit. Some girls, thought Phyllis, might be into that, but she was certainly not one of them.

All this meant that she lived alone. Her generous salary afforded her the luxury of a detached house in a large plot of land. She liked the feeling of isolation that it provided. However, that also made it much earlier for those who were plotting against her to execute their plan. The wall which surrounded the property was an easily surmountable obstacle for the tall, muscular Michael. Phyllis, feeling cut off from the rest of the world when she was in her home, didn’t always remember to lock her doors. This meant that the crowbar which Michael had brought with him ended up being completely unnecessary.

Phyllis was still in her scrubs and sat at the breakfast bar, a glass of red wine on the counter and a novel in her hand, when she caught sight of Michael’s reflection in one of the windows. She turned to face, shocked to see anybody, let alone this familiar face, in her home. He appeared to be holding some kind of weapon. He pointed it her as she reached for her phone. Two wires shot out of his contraption and lodged themselves in her abdomen. Phyllis felt pain all over her body, which flopped onto the ground and began to writhe uncontrollably. Before she lost consciousness, she had time for two realisations. The first was that the weapon Michael had brought with him was a taser. The second was that she had wet her pants.

***

When Phyllis came to, she quickly realised that her wrists and ankles were bound with cable ties. Remembering the humiliation of her final act before losing consciousness, she was surprised to see that she was no longer wearing her wet scrubs, but a pink dress with white tights on her legs. These weren’t her clothes. Phyllis owned very few dresses and even less items of pink clothing. She realised with horror, that Michael must have seen her naked when he changed her clothes. She gazed around her living room, looking for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. However, she had become aware of voices murmuring in the hall.

‘Hello?’ she said, trying not to let the fear seep into her voice.

‘Sounds like she’s awake,’ came Michaels voice as he walked into the room.

‘You…undressed me!’ she said, accusingly.

‘Actually, darling, that was me,’ said Michael’s wife, Vicki, as she entered the room behind her husband. ‘And it was entirely necessary. You had a wickle accident in your knickers.’

‘Oh yeah,’ said Phyllis, ‘well let’s use the taser on you and see if you keep your pants dry, you psycho bitch!’

‘That’s some very big talk from such a little girl,’ retorted Vicki.

‘Just tell me what you want. Why are you doing this to me?’

‘What do you mean? We’re simply taking your advice?’ said Vicki.

‘I’m pretty sure I didn’t advise you to break into my home and attack me.’

‘You advised us to adopt, and that’s exactly what we’ve come to do. You’re coming with us, because we’ve decided that we want to adopt you.’