... Nearing The End Of A Directions Hearing...

... nearing the end of a directions hearing...

Judge: So, we need to set a timeframe for the parties to prepare any written submissions and their respective parts of the appeal book, as well as the first period of hearings. Are there any specific dates that cannot work for either party?

You: Your honour, I may be in a position to assist the court within the coming two weeks, however I will be taking extended leave for a period of 3 months from August.

Judge: I have a feeling I know the reasons, but for the transcript can you explain the circumstances?

You: Your honour, I don't expect it to be a surprise that I am expecting a child within the coming weeks, so will be taking some paternity leave for the first couple of months.

Judge: While that is exciting, and I am sure all parties including the Court congratulate you on your pending bundle of joy, a 3 month hold on this case is a bit of a long delay.

You: I appreciate that, your honour, and if it may assist the Court, I can look to rely on my junior counsel and instructing solicitors to prepare all relevant evidence, submissions for the case book.

Judge: Very well then... you're probably going to be too tired to be worrying about this appeal, anyway! Your worry will be whether you've fed your baby and changed their nappy!

You: Most likely, your honour!

Experimental (Part 3)

12 weeks

It was a Saturday morning, and Yazan and Randy had the day off, so they decided to go for a walk around the nature reserve. Yazan was already feeling dreadful that morning, and had similarly felt off for the past couple of mornings.

However, today marked a new challenge for Yazan: his shirt was stretching quite tightly across his body. He kept his workout routine the same. If anything, he was staying in the gym for longer and his diet was staying pretty consistent, so he was confused with the fact his chest continued to swell, and that his abs were starting to bulge outwards, almost making his belly look like a roided-out turtle shell. Regardless, he did what he could to get the shirt to fit and got out to meet Randy.

About halfway through their walk, Yazan had an overwhelming feeling of nausea.

“Are you o-” Randy started asking, but not before Yazan turned towards the lake and vomited what was his breakfast. Randy was horrified - Yazan has an iron stomach. Yazan did an eating challenge during medical school where he ate 24 hot dogs in one sitting!

Once Yazan was done, he turned around and smiled awkwardly. “I think I have a bug of some sort? It’ll pass before work on Monday.”

“I hope it does! You need to fly to San Francisco for that presentation, remember?”

“Oh shit, that’s right! Completely forgot about that!” Yazan was mortified. He knew roughly what he was going to present on, but he was so focused on whatever illness he had that he hadn’t put thoughts to paper.

“You’ve got your work cut out for you over this weekend, don’t you?”

“Yeah…” Yazan sheepishly replied.

“Aren’t you glad that I have the hospital’s presentation templates on hand? I’ll forward it to you.” Randy was like that - always prepared for the worst case scenario.

“Thanks mate… Honestly, how have you not found the right girl yet?”

“Ah, I guess I just haven’t found the right one yet…” It was Randy’s turn to act sheepish.

Monday rolled around, after Yazan’s long weekend of writing and preparing for the presentation with the help of Randy. Yazan also struggled to find a suit that fit his bloated body. He eventually found a shirt from when he was bulking that didn’t look stretched.

Getting to San Francisco on an early morning flight was fine, aside from the turbulence which made his stomach turn, which was not good when he already felt off. He did realise that eating something simple, like saltine crackers, were enough to stave off the worst of the nausea.

His presentation went off without a problem, which meant Yazan had another day or so to go and explore San Francisco. He took the chance to go on a small walk towards the Golden Gate Bridge and look out towards the harbour. He felt exhausted, but eventually made it and looked around in awe. At the top, he asked a fellow walker to take a picture of him, and did his signature pose to send back to Randy.

However, he was a bit perplexed when he saw the photo.

Am I really that bloated, he thought. His chest was swollen, and he could see his nipples starting to poke out, and that’s without talking about the belly, which was already stretching his shirt in an awkward way. Yazan was embarrassed, and asked the person to take another picture where he was simply standing and facing towards the camera. It looked much better, and with a bit of photoshop, he could take the bloat out.

***

From what Mike could tell on Yazan’s Instagram profile, Yazan appeared quite normal. In other words, the pregnancy wasn’t viable, Mike thought. He was somewhat hoping the pregnancy would actually work, but of course it wouldn’t if he only had the hormones that one night in Sydney. His body couldn’t change that quickly to not just make Yazan hormonally shift, but be in a position to have an ‘egg’ inseminated by Mike.

However, on closer inspection, Mike did notice one thing from Yazan’s pictures: his bloated chest. Mike thought Yazan’s chest was proportional to the rest of his physique on that night, but he noticed in some of his more recent photos that his chest looked perkier than before. The last two pictures appeared to show his chest swelling, and his nipples were noticeably present. 

At best, I’ve given Yazan breasts. He can get breast reduction surgery and move on with his life in that case, Mike thought.

Trent could not understand why his belly kept growing while he was in keeping his fitness levels up. What he didn't know was the answer being in the protein shakes his trainer kept giving him in each session, alongside having an incredibly horny partner at home, ready to pounce every second night.

Pete found it necessary to be at his holiday house in the wilderness for these last couple of months of pregnancy. He knew no one in the nearby town would suspect anything different when he went in to buy groceries, and it gave him the freedom to wander around the house in just underwear. He didn't want anyone to know how much of a transformation he went through, including his wife. She couldn't find out he had an affair with one of his gym buddies that triggered an unknown condition that caused him to become pregnant.

"Just one more week", he said as he looked out the window.

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Brad found it harder to comfortably walk between the two lecture theatres he taught in at university at 35 weeks. He tried to ask the Faculty of Law administration to rearrange his classes to be in either the same theatre or at least next door to each other, but the faculty wasn't able to accomodate it. He thought about taking the matter to the Anti-Discrimination Board, but knew by the time it would make it to conciliation, he would've already gone on paternity leave. It's just a lot of effort for little gain.

(Just experimenting with generative AI videos... not too sure I like it to be honest)

Dave came out in a sports bra and maternity shorts. Mick turned around and smiled while chuckling.

"Babe, I don't think you'd be able to come across to Parkrun today..."

"Who knows, it might help the ankles if I just keep moving!"