Jordan propped himself against the yellow cinderblock wall in the holding cell and glanced around at the other protestors in the cell with him. He wouldn’t usually relax this much in jail, not even in a holding cell, but the people in his cell were literally all just other protestors. He was as safe as he could be.

Devon made a face at him. “Man, if I don’t get out of here soon I’m going to miss time at work, and I cannot afford that.” He rubbed at his face. “I get that we have to sacrifice for the cause and everything, but I can’t afford to work for the cause if I can’t afford to live.”

“True enough.” Jordan yawned. They might all be in one holding cell, and safe enough from people accused of serious crimes, but those other suspects were still around. They were able to be heard, and they wanted the protestors to hear them all night long. Jordan hadn’t slept much, and he was feeling it. “Why do you think they painted the cinder blocks yellow?”

“To hide the piss stains.” Devon wasn’t a subtle guy. “A hundred guys to a cell, and one very public commode? Gross, man. Gross.”

“Valid.” Jordan had been trying not to think about that. The stink was overwhelming. He kept waiting to go nose-blind, and it hadn’t happened yet.

“All right. Inmate Davenport to the front. The rest of you maggots stay to the back, or you’ll regret it.” Two guards walked up to the walls of their cage and barked at them. One had his hands on his taser, the other his nightstick.

Jordan knew the drill. It was hardly his first time being arrested. He stepped forward with his arms out, through the slit in the door. They cuffed him through the slit, and then they opened the door to let him through.

The two guards flanked him on either side as they walked him, not toward the processing area, but toward the infirmary.

This was not part of the routine.

He kept his mouth shut. He could ask the guards where they were going, but they wouldn’t tell him, and they’d probably smack him around for good measure.

He’d find out what was going on when they were good and ready to tell him, but he didn’t think he had much to worry about. He’d already called George and Cindy, and his parents would already have let their pro-bono lawyer know what was happening.

All Jordan had to do was wait it out.

He let himself be ushered into the infirmary, where the guards unshackled him and left him alone with the nurse. This, too, fell well outside of protocol.

The nurse was an older woman, with huge brown eyes and dark lips. She was also tiny, but everyone knew better than to mess with her. She wasn’t going to let anyone get away with any shenanigans. “Inmate. Good morning. How are you feeling today?”

Jordan bit back a snarky comment. The nurse was just there doing a job, and her job was to help inmates and take care of their medical needs. She probably didn’t get paid enough for the job she did. “I’m a little tired,” he told her frankly. “Our neighbors serenaded us last night. It was lovely, but not restful.”

“You probably wouldn’t have gotten much sleep anyway,” she told him with a shrug. “There aren’t enough bunks in there for everyone.”

“No, there are not.”

She folded her hands on his file. “Do you know why you’ve been brought back to see me today?”

“No, ma’am.” Jordan shook his head. “I just know it’s a little bit outside the standard procedure.”

“Well, you’re all being fined and released. So after you’re done with me, you’ll be meeting up with your parents and processed out of here. But you no doubt recall the exam you received during processing in.”

Jordan did remember the exam he’d been given. It had been cursory at best, a CYA procedure to make sure any injuries were documented upon arrival. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, we do screen for certain conditions, so we’re prepared in case of a detox or contagious disease event. But we also do a pregnancy test as part of that testing panel, just in case. And you, Mr. Davenport, tested positive. Did you know you were pregnant?”

Jordan laughed. He couldn’t help it. “No. No, that’s ridiculous. My boyfriend is pregnant. For me to be pregnant at the same time would be silly.”

The nurse raised one eyebrow. “Silly? Well, maybe. It’s certainly unusual.

“We don’t know a lot about pregnancy in males, because it is rare, and for a long time it was considered shameful. But what we do know is that it’s pretty unusual for two men who are also carriers to be together long enough for their eggs to release at the same time.

“Nevertheless, you are certainly pregnant; congratulations. State regulations prohibit the shackling of pregnant persons, so I’m going to have to trust you to go with these gentlemen. Do you have any questions for me?”

Jordan’s head was spinning. He had a thousand questions, and none of them were appropriate for a nurse whose job mostly involved violence of one kind or another. “Thanks, but I think I’ve got it from here.”

Somehow, he didn’t think the nurse would be up for deep inquiries about how to break the news to a boyfriend who’d already come close to a panic attack about how to pay for one baby.

The two guards escorted Jordan to the processing area, where he changed into his civilian clothes, got his wallet back, and headed back out to the waiting arms of his parents. George and Cindy gave him perfunctory hugs and then walked out of the prison, George railing about the carceral state the entire time.

“Well, son, I’m sure you’re hungry. Why don’t we take you for breakfast somewhere local?” Cindy smiled over at Jordan as George continued to rant.

Jordan wasn’t about to say no. They headed to a diner between the jail and South Boston, George changed his rant to gentrification, and Cindy chimed in with occasional “mm-hms” and sips of coffee. Once their food was delivered, George reined in his discussion and looked over at Jordan.

“Son, I’m proud of you. You took a stand for the rainforest and for the planet. You’ve done something amazing, and you deserve a pat on the back.”

Jordan wondered if his father would be contributing to paying off the fine, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He didn’t want to get into a fight, and he didn’t have the energy to discuss it right now. He didn’t even have the energy to point out that the protest had been about immigration, not the rainforest.

“Thanks, Dad.” He smiled, accepted the praise for what it was, and took a bite of his French toast. It tasted even more delicious in his exhaustion.

“So, later on this week, we’re leading an action against that wretched bank that’s in so deep with the bribery and the pipelines and all of that.” George’s dark eyes burned into Jordan’s. “It’s going to be big.

“We’re going to chain ourselves to the doors of the bank until they agree to our demands. It’s going to be a big group of us, coordinated all over the city. Your mother and I will be part of the cadre at the main offices downtown, of course. We want you to be part of the operation at the data center in Quincy.”

Jordan’s jaw dropped. He pushed it shut with his hand. Jordan’s first thought was hell no. He hated Charles River Bank with a passion, but chaining themselves to the doors of the bank where Alex worked seemed ridiculous.

“I can’t do that, Dad.” He looked down and wrapped his hand around his coffee cup. “I’m sorry.”

George scoffed and turned his head away. Cindy leaned forward, graying red hair falling toward her omelet. “Is this because of that boy you’re dating? Because son, you can’t let your head get turned around by him.

“I know he’s probably very handsome, but he’s still a corporate drone. He’s no better than the rest of them, and you can’t be turned away from your important work by someone who only thinks about money.”

Under the table, Jordan brought his hand to his abdomen. Deep inside of him was Alex’s baby. “Mom, he’s not that boy, he’s Alex. You remember Alex; you used to give him dinner more often than not, back in Ohio.”

“That doesn’t matter.” George turned back to them. “He’s serving corporate ends now. He’s the enemy, and he has to be taken down.”

Jordan bit his tongue. “He has his reasons for the lifestyle he picked. He’s supporting his parents back in Texas. I don’t like the path he chose either, but I understand why he did it, and it’s not for me to judge. And the funds he manages don’t have anything to do with pipelines. That’s not the point.”

“You’re right, it’s not.” George pointed at him. “The point is that this boy is owned by that bank, and you can’t sit there and not fight against that bank because he’s got some kind of sob story to justify working for oligarchs trying to end the world.”

Jordan’s stomach rebelled, and he had to pause a moment before speaking. “The point, Dad, is I can’t go chaining myself to bank doors anymore. I’m pregnant. I just found out this morning.”

“Pregnant?” Cindy covered her mouth with one hand. “With a baby?”

“No, Mom, I’m pregnant with kittens. It’s still early, but we’re thinking there are probably six or seven in there, all Tuxies.”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, with a baby. Alex is actually pregnant too. We were going to hold off on saying anything, but now that we’re both pregnant, I figured I might as well spill the whole sack of beans.”

“I’m going to be a grandma!” Cindy’s whole face lit up.

George’s face had grown more speculative than joyful. “They wouldn’t attack a pregnant person. It’s too bad you’re not showing yet.”

Jordan stared his father down. “Dad, my baby is not a prop. I’m willing to do a lot for the cause, but the baby has to make their own choices in life. I’m not dragging them into battles and putting them at risk for causes they didn’t choose to support before they’re even born.”

“Nonsense.” George waved a hand, spilling his coffee. He didn’t seem to notice. “Your mother chained herself to a tree in California while she was pregnant with you, to keep them from cutting it down for condos.

“She brought you to a rally against nukes at a nuclear site while she was pregnant with your brothers. There’s no reason under God why you shouldn’t use the gifts you have to further the cause.

“People have a visceral reaction to pregnancy, Jordan. They see a pregnant person and they’re very willing to cut a deal, stop attacking protestors, whatever. And if they do keep attacking, well, the outcry is usually so great that the enemy loses the war, even if they win that battle.”

George clasped his hands together, the seriousness of his words evident in his tone and the set of his face. Jordan pulled back. He couldn’t remember the nuclear site protest. He must have still been a tiny baby at that point.

He’d think less of anyone in his circle bringing children to a nuclear site, or using their unborn babies as a weapon against law enforcement. “Look. I’m willing to make any personal sacrifice, and you know that, but I have to draw the line at taking away my kids’ free will. That’s just sketchy. I’ll raise my kids right, and hope they make the right decisions when they’re older. That’s the best I can do.”

Cindy heaved a sigh and reached across the table to take Jordan’s hand. “Look, son. I understand you want, as a parent, to keep your children safe. That feels like your number one priority, doesn’t it? Because you’re their parent.” She nodded as she spoke, eyes wide. “Think of it this way. In making the world a better place, you’re helping to ensure they’ll be safe for generations to come.”

“You have a responsibility, Jordan. You can’t shirk it just because of an accident of biology.” George looked down his nose at Jordan.

“No one’s shirking anything. I’m still organizing, and I’m still marching. I’m just being more judicious in the actions in which I participate. There are ways to fight that don’t endanger my baby, and I’m going to stick to those for now.”

Jordan bit down on his tongue. He could hold his temper in. It wouldn’t be easy, but he could do it.

At least, he could until he got home. Then he’d lose his mind as much as he wanted.