I began to question her seriously. There was little doubt in my mind after a few minutes that, if she wasn't pregnant, she was not behaving as a normal woman should. While we talked the pain returned, cramping and severe. She went white and pressed her hands to her belly in search of relief. That ruined the day. I took her home immediately.
"Take your clothes off and lie on the bed. I want to examine you," I said when we got there.
When I had finished there wasn't much doubt. She was about three months pregnant and threatening to abort. I left her in bed while I washed my hands. Then I came back and told her. For a moment she tried to be brave but then the tears came and I held her tight while her sobs shook us both.
"I've been afraid something might happen," she said finally, after I'd wiped off her wet face with a towel.
I sat on the edge of the bed. "Why?"
"You know I've been working with female ferrets, infected from the original one that aborted, trying to find out if that virus was a mutant from the S-Flu."
"Yes, I know that."
"I've passed it through quite a few females now and it's been showing definite differences. A week ago, I transferred it again and the ferrets got sick. I was working with one three days ago and it got loose and jumped on my shoulder and sneezed and clawed me as I tried to get it down and put it back in its cage."
"You had your suit on, didn't you?"