Not much time had passed between Harry's earth shattering announcement and the present situation, just a few minutes, just enough for Lise to get her thoughts back in place.

In the meantime she and Harry had left the place they were in, it was clear that the boy the later had brought back needed medical assistance and it was preferable for him if it was provided in an appropriate place, which a hallway definitely wasn't.

For this reason, all three of them were now in a treatment room that didn't really look like one at first glance.

It was about 400 square feet, and the lack of equipment in it made it seem like it didn't need to be that large, in fact, there was only one thing in here that seemed to have a medical purpose, and it wasn't even taking up a tenth of the room's space.

The device in question was a rectangular tank of uncanny appearance, which could be described as an incoherent amalgamation of machinery and vegetation, filled with a transparent blue liquid. Harry was approaching it with 3109 in his arms carried in a princess fashion.

When they reached a distance of about five feet from the tank, tentacles of vegetation emerged from the bottom of it and slowly made their way towards 3109; the lack of reaction Harry and Lise showed to this phenomenon seemed to mean that it wasn't something unexpected. Similarly, there was no reaction from them when the aforementioned tentacles grabbed 3109's four limbs, pulled him gently out of Harry's arms and plunged him into the blue liquid of the tank.

"Now that that part is out of the way, let's talk seriously about this madness." Lise said with a calm face, despite the venom in her voice.

"Madness?" Harry repeated in a flat tone, his eyes fixed on what was happening in the tank, suspecting that Lise's gaze was boring into his back right now, "I've seen you not batting an eye at things you and I did that are on a global consensus, much more fucked up than wanting to raise a child."

These words had the effect of plunging Lise into an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, during that time Harry approached her and made two cigarettes appear in the gap between the middle and index finger of his right hand, "I will explain myself, but while I do, I want you not to interrupt me and to keep an open mind." He demanded as he held out his right hand to Lise.

She snatched one of the two cigarettes from Harry's hand, put it between her lips and then showed him her two middle fingers.

"Great." He said with an exaggerated grin, concluding that it was Lise's way of saying he could carry on, while still having to go fuck himself.

"First of all, this may come as a surprise to you as we never really talked about that subject, but the thing is that I have always wanted to have a child." Harry confessed out of the blue, causing such a shock in Lise that she stood gaping, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Come on. Stop overdramatising." He told her while rolling his eyes, before moving towards her to pick up the cigarette at her feet that had just fallen out of the corner of her mouth.

Harry placed the cigarette back in its place with a gentle gesture, "Lise. This is not a joke, this is real. I've always wanted to be a father and I know that deep down you more than anyone else know that despite the man I am, there is enough love in me for a child." He stated with a passionate gaze that left no doubt as to his true intentions, before placing his own cigarette between his lips.

In an instant, Lise's face lost all signs of shock, now she knew for a fact that Harry was telling the truth and she was almost surprised that such a pure desire could still exist in his heart. During a barely noticable frame of time there was even a discreet smile on her face, but it faded as soon as it appeared, "Yes, it's true, I can conceive it, but loving a child is not the only condition needed to be a good parent, and knowing you, this boy will grow up to be either the best version of you, or the worst. Is this really a bet you are willing to take?" She retorted to him in a soft and understanding voice slightly muffled by the obstruction of her mouth by her cigarette, trying to appeal to Harry's reason.

Unfortunately for her, he was dead set on what he was going to do, "Maybe you are right, maybe not, most probably not, but I have already made up my mind, and I have already promised the boy that I will look after him. I won't go back on my word, and I don't want to. The way I see it, you can either stay out of it and let me raise him on my own, or you can bring your influence to this child's development either as a mentor, or as a moth..." As Harry was about to finish his sentence, he heard splashing noises coming from the tank.

"Great, it's already done." He told himself aloud while turning back to the tank with an eager look.

Lise held Harry's left arm before he could set his eyes on the device, her expression was that of a person reluctant to say what was on her mind, yet, she still opened her mouth, "I agree to try, and I stress the word 'try', if, and only if you never ever tease me for having given in." She said with defeated eyes before deeply frowning when she saw the smug smile on the face of the twat in front of her.

---

When 3109 regained consciousness, his first impulse wasn't to take a look at what was arround him but to savor the lack of sensation of pain that was ordinarily everpresent throughout his body.

Eventually the feeling of wellness subsided, leading 3109 to start paying attention to his surroundings, and what a shock it was when he did.

He freaked out as soon as he opened his eyes, realizing that the reason he didn't feel pain was the same he didn't realize that his body was currently completely immersed in a liquid and that he could barely move; his body was heavily anesthetized and paralyzed.

3109's eyes were shaking wildly, his lips were twitching slightly expressing his desire to scream while memories of a guard holding his head in a cauldron full of water came flooding back.

His traumatism was too great for him to realise that the liquid surrounding him was not preventing him from breathing at all, however, he became instantly calmer when he saw two hands that he recognized reaching for him at the other end of the surface of the liquid.