Ace in The Hole **TRIGGER WARNING/CONTENT WARNING**

Posted on Tue Sep 13th, 2022 @ 3:10pm by Vice-Consul Josephine Carlyle-Cragen & Michael Bishop

Mission: Season 5: Time Warp
Location: King's Gambit starship
Timeline: 01 July 2397
2636 words - 5.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Bishop moved down the corridor to the master suite. He keyed in his own personal code and the door unlocked and slip open, not that any but he would enter not even the doctor or nurse would dare enter without first getting his permission. As he entered he made his way through the quarters to the master bedroom. Entering he saw Josie was just as he had left her, naked and chained to the bed. "Hello Josie, how are we today?"

At 5 months pregnant and now back to her normal self, after Bishop and the doctor had broken the conditioning Kyle had used on her, Josephine was not in a good place mentally or Physically. And she knew that Michael Bishop knew it.

Her Blue eyes, tracked him. "You ask that every day." she said coldly. She didn't resist, being tied down. She hated it, it was clear, but she also knew she was leverage.

He smiled at her answer, he so enjoyed bantering with Josie even as his eyes took in her nude and restrained body. Her head slightly raised by the pillow it rested on. He secretly marveled at her ability to handle the constant humiliation as he knew she hated it. "Yes, I do and what is your answer today?" As he waited for what he was sure was going to be a sarcastic reply. He wished he had the time to work on her make her into another masterpiece. But no, that was out of the question. They were on the run and Josie was leverage.

"Gee Bishop what do you think my answer will be?" she said sarcastically "I am tied up, pregnant and only allowed to use the bathroom twice a day. I am just peachy thank you."

He chuckled softly at her answer. "The wonderful and biting wit of Josie." He said as he sat in the chair next to the bed. Where they could carry on their conversation as they did every day. His eyes going to her, her arms and legs were spread wide and chained securely in place to the four corners of the bed. Josie would not be going anywhere. "It is for your own good Josie." He replied insincerely.

She snorted as she had done since he had undone Sephine from her. "oh please spin me another fairy tale Bishop. We both know why you keep me here. Why you could have dropped me off at the nearest Starbase but you are too chickenshit."

"A fairy tale? Josie you wound me. However why do I keep you here chained and naked to the bed? Please enlighten me."

"Arri is coming for me isn't she. She won't let you keep me here forever" And Josie knew that eventually the child would be born and then her as leverage was gone. He only needed to keep her alive until the baby was born.

"I would imagine she is." Bishop admitted. "She is quite the determined woman and by here you mean as an honored guest." He got up and walked over to the replicator to get a drink. He looked back at her, "Would you like something?"

"No thank you. The nurse already fed me this morning." Which rankled a lot. Sephine had been well treated, until Bishop had removed her from Josie's mind. The doctor, Jo knew was not happy about her imprisonment, and was concerned about premature birth. Josie wasn't stupid, her father was a doctor, she knew risks around pregnancy even now in the 2390's.

He got his drink and moved back to the chair and sat down. "Yes, so I have been informed. I hear you were fairly cooperative in your feeding. You know you must keep your strength up Josie and resisting being fed isn't being smart."

"Neither is keeping a pregnant woman bound on a bed. If my child dies, Bishop, You won't have to worry about Arri killing you. Kyle will."

"True enough Josie but It is a chance I am willing to take. Keeping you bound allows me to keep an eye on you and not allow you to get into any mischief. So you will remain as you are, naked and bound. Besides you get to look forward to the doctor's visits every day. As well as your twice daily trips to the bathroom." He added in a mocking tone.

"And one day, Kyle will escape and come back and kill you." She said with certainty.

"He undoubtedly would but that day is in the future and I prefer to deal with the here and now and in the here and now, you stay as you are and you and the doctor can just get use to it or not. Besides you are no longer Sephine, Mr. Cragen should mean nothing to you."

"That's the thing, you don't know the whole story" she smirked at him. "Temporal displacement and such affected history but I know the truth. And had things turned out differently, you would not be in charge now."

"But they didn't and here we are. So since you aren't going anywhere, share the whole story."

She smirked. "Nope" She shifted as the child kicked lightly.

He watched as Josie shifted or attempted to shift her position on the bed but chained as she was, the shift was slight. "Have it your way Josie. However I do wish to return to something you said earlier. You said i was chickenshit for not dropping you off at the nearest Starbase. I think it shows good sense keeping you here."

"Yeah as a shield. And when I am no longer useful, you will kill me."

"You really think that Josie, that I would kill you that callously." Bishop asked curious to hear her answer.

As he waited for Josie's answer, Bishops's mind reflected on when she and her companion Arri had first been captured and brought aboard the King's Gambit. Both women had been stripped naked, bound and gagged. Josie in fact was still naked and bound. While Bishop had broken Arri, Cragen had remade Josie into Sephine. Only after many hours and failures had Bishop been finally able to break Cragen's conditioning and restore Josie to Josie by ridding her of Sephine.

"You will have to." She replied. "Because you are not going to be able to make me into another 'fluffy'"

Bishop smiled at Josie's reply. She did have spirit! "Now, Josie never say never and you'll forgive me, from my point of view, you aren't exactly in a position to refuse or stop me if I decided a 'makeover' was called for." As he looked at her bound position.

She merely raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead then. If you want me to be a vegetable."

Another smile crossed his face, though didn't quite reach his eyes. "I want nothing of the sort Josie, I much prefer your snappy and witty comebacks and if you were a vegetable our witty conversations would be over and I would so miss those, wouldn't you?" He teased. "I suppose you becoming a vegetable if I tried to make you over is another secret you are unwilling to share."

"My father is a doctor. If you reprogram someone too many times, it can cause irreversible brain damage"

"Well, I certainly don't want that. Witty, bound Josie is much better than vegetable, drooling Joise. Besides I don't believe Arri would be pleased having a vegetable girlfriend. If she ever catches up to us."

"You changed your tune a lot" She snarked at him. "Was a time when you wanted me to shut up."

He ignored the snarkiness and answered, "I enjoy our conversations Josie, you are intelligent and witty. It is even more evident due to your present situation. However if you wish to be gagged. I can certainly comply with that request."

She rolled her eyes. "I never said that and you know it." she retorted back at him.

"You didn't? Silly me, I thought you had." He chuckled at both her verbal and physical reactions.

Josie gave him a look that spoke volumes. "Are we done? I am feeling tired so I would like to try and sleep."

He was about to reply when the door slid open and the nurse came in carrying Josie's lunch in a covered plate. "I'll take that thank you. You are dismissed." The nurse nodded and scampered out the door. When she was gone Bishop turned back to Josie, holding her plate. "Lunch time!"

Josie wanted to groan instead she merely shrugged as best she could. This was getting ridiculous. The lunch would be the same as it was every day. grilled chicken and salad with a *puke* pot of green tea.

Bishop made a show of lifting the cover off her plate. "Let's see, grilled chicken, salad some tea it looks green and a bowl of jello and other of apple sauce."

"Its green tea." Josephine replied. "Its meant to be good for the blood pressure."

Green tea it is." Bishope replied filling a covered cup with the pukish looking liquid. "Does it work?" He asked bringing the cup to her lips.

She sipped but gagged. "No amount of good health could be worth that crap" she grumbled. "You drink it and tell me if you like it."

He took a sip and made a face. "Oh, that's awful. No one should have to drink that. Would you prefer some apple or orange juice?" As he put the teacup down.

"Doctors Orders Bishop" She replied.

He scowled, "Maybe or maybe I can get it changed." He suggested. "Put up with it for now and I'll see about getting you something different. Even though Josie was a prisoner and couldn't feed herself, he wasn't going to be cruel to her over her meals.

"Good Luck. Doctors are exceedingly stubborn. Take it from one who knows"

"We'll see how stubborn he is." Bishop retorted but went no farther. "Okay, moving on from the tea, what would you like next?"

She studied him. The nurse never asked. She just fed her. "Which ever you want to start with. Don't you have a business to run?"

"At the moment I am attending to business which is feeding you." He commented as he looked over her tray, "Let's go with some salad." He announced as he began to cut it into manageable bites for Josie to eat.

"ok." She muttered looking disgusted at the idea.

He put the fork down and looked at her, "Now, what is wrong?"

"Rabbit food." She replied with a smirk.

"Do you do this with the nurse?" He asked "I know you don't like being fed like this but really Josie? I suppose you would prefer a steak and baked potato."

"Its the same every time Bishop. Chicken, and salad and jello and green tea, for lunch. Porridge for breakfast, and white fish for dinner with limp carrots and broccoli. No variety and nothing sweet. "

"As you said Doctor's Order. However I am open to suggestions so speak up and let me hear what you would like if you were making a menu for yourself."

"Tell me Bishop, have you ever been around a pregnant woman before?"

Bishop hesitated and finally answered, "No, at least not this up close and personal." He admitted.

"Well let me tell you, eating healthy is all well and good, but there is a thing called cravings. Variety, not the same thing every flipping day. Chicken, is fine, but add beef, it gives vitamin D, White fish? Ok its the Omega vitamins but what about other fish? Salmon. And how about Chocolate? ice Cream? Nothing but diet jello. Do I look fat aside from pregnancy?" And she was right, she was not fat, the pregnancy was the only weight she was carrying. In fact she had lost weight."Pregnant women snack all the time. I don't get that chance. Your Doctor has set ideas, and cares only for the child."

Bishop looked at Josie lying chained and naked to the bed and it was clear she was not fat by any stretch of the imagination. Any fool could see that. Bishop was many things a fool was not one of them. "All good ideas." He allowed, "You will get your variety Josie."

"Thank you" She said calmly. "You should try this diet though, great for weight loss"

"No thank you." He replied shaking his head, "Put up with it for this meal and at dinner you will have you a new meal."

"Fine" Now she pouted at him. "I'll eat it."

He shook his head at her pout. "Thank you." As he held a forkful of salad to her lips.

Josie ate without further fuss, but her face showed her distaste at the food.

They had worked out a routine where there were no spills or pieces of food lying about. It was a slow process but a neat one. When they finished, Bishop put the plate to one side. "There finished." He announced, "It wasn't so bad was it?" Though he knew what Josie's answer was likely to be.

"You try it" She said sweetly.

"Nope. No thank you. I saw the faces you were making and I definitely don't want to try it."

"No one would let me tell you. The Replicators have lost any spices"

"i will check into it. See if we can't give your food some flavor to go along with variety." Bishop replied.

Josie watched him. She would wait and see. "ok"

Bishop knew that Josie didn't believe him and he couldn't blame her. If their roles were reversed, he would feel like she did. "I will also consider your request to be untied but for now consider you are still on bed rest." He finished.

"One can be on bedrest and not be chained down you know" Josie said.

"Hmmm. In that case, consider yourself on controlled and contained bedrest." Bishop answered. "By the way, how long have you been chained down? A good while I think."

"at least 3 months" She said calmly.

"Three months." Bishop repeated, "With the possibility of another four if not longer." He pointed out.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "It will be hard to give birth like this Bishop."

Bishop noticed the narrowing of Josie's eyes. She clearly wasn't pleased with his previous answer. "Hard but not impossible. I'm sure we can come up with something when the time comes and still keep you bound to the bed." He said to egg her on.

"And risk the life of the heir of Kyle Cragen?" She asked archly.

"That is a major point to be considered for sure. Perhaps a medical bed can be brought in and you transferred and chained to that, It would then be able to move your legs as needed."

Josie chose not to comment. And she bit her lip as a yawn tried to escape. She could not cover her mouth due to being tied down.

"I'll confer with the doctor, see what he thinks but I'll keep you apprised of whatever decision we come up with."

"Oh I am sure you will be in to gloat" she replied tiredly.

"Now Josie I would never gloat. Brag maybe but not gloat. It's just that you are easy to manage like this. However I see you are getting tired so I will take my leave and see you a little later."

"Sure." She replied softly and closed her eyes.

Bishop was aware the conversation had drawn to an end and that Josie wasn't going to continue to banter with him. "Rest Josie." He said as he exited the bedroom and then the quarters. Sealing the door behind him.

The sound of the door closing had her hands clenching in frustration.

TBC

 

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