Nurse Alex walked through the medical ward. A clone of Ariel Winter, without the breast reduction, she was one of the very few Clones to have survived secondary education and the other hurdles to end up with a real job. Clones were technically allowed to become second class citizens if they met certain requirements, but very few did. Alex had survived 12 years of standard school, the aptitude test to qualify for higher education, and 2 more years of intensive medical school. Even of the Clones who GOT into medical school, maybe 5% survived. To still be alive after a full year as a nurse as Alex currently had was a minor miracle. Aside from the academic requirements being FAR more intensive than what a Noble was subjected to, nurses of any status were subjected to beauty and fitness requirements.


Alex worked out several hours a day, kept a carefully engineered diet, and was gifted with the kind of figure that would make an nun in the World That Was break her vows. And she STILL accepted the fact that any given day on the job could very easily be her last. Complaints about performance were counted as strikes, three strikes meant retirement. Any malpractice meant retirement. Any property damage she could pay out of her modest salary meant retirement. Any slip below the standards of fitness, or failure to obey any order from ANY free Noble meant retirement. That didn’t sound terrible, but ‘retirement’ for a Clone in this hospital meant a live gutting at a staff picnic.


The facility Alex worked in was for ‘Beta Noble Dependants’. The medical technology existed for no Noble to actually have to die. This obviously wasn’t sustainable even with the near godlike advances in technology and resource production, so a solution had been found. The children of Nobles were already considered reasonably expendable. The government offered various levels of insurance for Noble students of the various schools. For parents who would live hundreds or thousands of years and could have as many children as they pleased, it often wasn’t worth it to them to buy good insurance, especially since many Nobles didn’t bother with in-utero medical care and disabilities and chronic issues were not unheard of. Good insurance and such in-utero care were available and very affordable for all Nobles, but usually only preferred by those who had lived a few centuries already and wanted to actually be parents and have a family, instead of just having a child, which most regarded as little more than a novelty.


The low end insurance only covered a certain expenditure of money or other resources, after which point the insured COULD be released from the plan to move on and make a choice from there, but the more standard plans specified that they were to be euthanized at that point. Alex worked at a lower-end hospital, and that was one of her duties. She would tend to the youngsters who were still covered, in whatever way she could, and she would terminate the ones who were no longer covered. Alex loved her job. Her contact lenses showed the wristbands of each patient in either red or green. Green meant they were covered, red meant that Alex or any other staff member was free to terminate the wearer as they saw fit. Loss of insurance didn’t mean that they had to be terminated immediately, it just meant that in the absence of a ‘release clause’ in their policy, they were to be given no further treatment, they were property of the facility, and they could not leave the hospital alive. The patients were not aware when their armbands changed.


Today Alex was targeting one she had waited to go red for a while. The girl was 11 years old, skinny as anything, although not anorexic, she just had a host of issues that kept her from having much appetite or putting on any weight. She had migraines and seizures and nightmares and aches and pains and fevers. Alex loved her job, but sometimes she hated these policies. The girl had gone red because her treatment had exceeded the budget. But she had been a lost cause from the first day, the tech existed to fix her, but without hefty premiums, it was only available to free and full Citizens. She had been destined to die here since before she arrived, but the insurance company insisted on running out the clock to avoid parents suing for wrongful termination. If Alex had her way, the girl would have been euthanized weeks ago, saving her what Alex calculated had been hundreds of hours of JUST crying because she hurt too much to sleep. Now her armband was red, and Alex could help her find peace.


Alex put together a cart of things for this particular visit and pushed it down the hall. She stopped at the door and knocked before walking in. Little Jill appeared to be having a rare painless moment, lying on her bed, reading a picture book on her Low-VR headset. She hadn’t been able to play much with her peers over the years, which left her somewhat emotionally stunted. She was a friendly enough girl, but her hobbies and interests were largely those of someone a few years younger, not at the very cusp of puberty. She heard Alex come in, and shut off the headset.


The adorable munchkin, who was not a Clone, but still bore a very strong resemblance to Miley Cyrus at that age, propped herself more upright against her pillows and her face split in a wide smile “Alex!” she squealed happily. The two had formed a special bond, with Jill viewing Alex as very close to a big sister, and Alex having a similar affection for the girl she referred to as her ‘sidekick’. Alex wasn’t able to get in every day, sometimes a week or more would go by waiting for the stars to align for Alex to have a free moment and Jill to not be in serious pain. Alex had been at her side for a lot of the worst days, but her being there for a light pain day was a rare and special thing that never failed to delight her little buddy.


Alex closed the door, all smiles “Hey! How’s my big girl doing?” Jill blushed, Alex could never figure it out, but she seemed to like that opening “Better now” she replied happily. Her shirt was soaked in sweat, clinging to her scrawny frame. Alex felt a moment of sadness, but pushed it aside. Jill loved her, she loved Jill, and the pain stopped today. The time for sadness was over “Wasn’t all an easy day, huh?” The munchkin shook her head “They think it was a little heart attack, and I got some aftershocks. Those are the little ones after, right? It’s what the doctor said, but it’s fine now”. If Alex hadn’t resolved to make the pain stop, her heart would have broken again.


“ You’re right, it’s okay now. Everything is going to be okay now. Hey, what do you say we get that sweaty thing off of you?” Jill giggled “only if you do it too!” This was a part of their special little bond. The day they met, the doctor had been looking to hear Jills heartbeat. Medically there was no reason, but to amuse the doctors, hospital policy was that any procedure or checkup involving the torso be conducted with the patient being topless. Jill was not a very confident girl, she had been hesitant. Alex had been bringing medicine and noticed, so she whipped off her own shirt and teased the loli that nobody was going to be paying enough attention to judge her body now. It had eventually become routine, Jill thought almost nothing of her nakedness around the doctors, but they still kept up the game. If Alex was around and Jill had to take her shirt off, Alex did the same. Alex didn’t care, she was a Clone, she didn’t mind as long as her tits stayed attached to her body. And Jill saw Alex as more of a sister than a romantic interest, but she was still open about liking the view. She did have a pulse after all….for the time being.


Alex laughed and tousled her hair “You know it!”. The little girl grinned mischievously, she knew Alex would be happy to display her boobs at any time for any reason or none, but Jill never asked without her own shirt needing to be off. Keeping it a little special and a little bit of a game many it feel like a tiny coup every time. Jill pulled off her shirt, exposing her flat chest. Alex touched her chest gently, circling her little ant bite nipple on the left with one finger, coaxing a smile and shiver out of her patient, then felt the heartbeat slightly to the other side. It was erratic, and Jill visibly winced, she was still sore from the multiple heart attacks. Her insurance had run out as they stabilized her, but before she had been given proper painkillers. Alex had expected this, and took an ice pack from her cart “Lay down cutie, put this on your chest, It will help….no I haven’t forgotten, little punk” Alex laughed and booped Jill on the nose, then unbuttoned her own shirt. Jill’s heart sped up painfully, but she didn’t care. Those 32F tits made her forget her problems, every single time.


Alex had brought candy, Jill had a real weakness for chocolate, but the hospital staff hadn’t been allowed to give her anything sugary since she came here, over concerns about what it would do to her fragile system. They were lying in bed, spooning when Alex reached to her cart and produced the wonderful treats. Jill squealed in delight, then paused “So I guess this means oday is the day I get snuffed?” Alex nodded, never having it cross her mind to deny it. “Yeah, I’m sorry kiddo”. Jill shrugged and popped a fun-sized Andromeda bar in her mouth, chewing with relish “So boobies, candy, and now you tell me no more pain? Why would you be sorry? This is the best day I’ve had in months!!” Her smile was completely genuine. Jill had never told Alex because she didn’t want to upset her buddy any more, but she had spent many sleepless nights contemplating suicide. She was in the arms of her beautiful best friend, she was eating candy, and she was going to be free. She wasn’t putting on a brave face, she was actually happy.


Jill snuggled back, so she had her head in between Alex’s tits, and she flashed the older girl an upside down smile “So how will you do it? ……you WILL do it, right?” Alex rubbed her belly reassuringly. That was another discussion they’d had. Jill was a very affectionate, very emotional little girl. She wasn’t afraid of death, but just like with undressing for unknown doctors, she WAS very afraid of the cold and impersonal side of the hospital. She dreaded being killed by an anonymous doctor who just saw it as a job, so she had begged Alex to make every effort to at least be present for her death, if not the one to do it. Alex gave her an extra tight squeeze “Of course I’m going to do it, silly goose. I have a whole cart full of neat toys, but I will do this a bunch of times before they retire or just kill me. You only get to do it once, how would YOU like to do it? I can pick if you like, but we only ever talked about you being ready for it, not what sounded the least bad to you.”


Jill thought about it, Alex handed her another piece of candy. She spoke hesitantly “I….you know, I used to like some pain, it made me feel kind of tingly” her voice caught, tears in her eyes “but now….I’m so sore, and so tired just all the time. Even on a good day when nothing bad happens, I feel it from other days, and I’m afraid of the next one. I’m worn out….I just want it to be over Alex!” she burst into tears, and Alex tightened her hug, feeling very protective. Jill had been so happy to see her, but day in and day out suffering had taken a toll. “It’s okay, you’re okay. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. I’ve got an IV bag with some really good painkillers. You don’t mind an IV, right? No big deal. So I’ll prick you just once, then pump you full of stuff that makes you feel good, then sends you to the long sleep. Does that sound good?” Jill nodded “Will you hold me while I go?” At this point if Alex hugged the little girl any closer, Jill wouldn’t be injected because she would suffocate between pillowy tits “You know I will”.


Alex got things going quickly from there. She hooked up the IV bag of muscle relaxers and sedatives from the local zoo, meant for use in small doses on large animals, she was going to give a large dose to a small animal. She got Jill a full shipping box of chocolate bars to keep her busy, and the little one lit into them with gusto. Alex smiled fondly, if the loli lived much longer, the stomach ache alone would make her wish she hadn’t. Then she sat Jill in her lap to insert the tube. Jill squeezed her wrist a bit, but didn’t make a sound. Alex taped it down and set a short timer. “All done, you’re my good brave girl” and kissed Jill on the top of her head. “There we go, just finish up your candy bar and lay right on me, we’ll just take a nap, just go to sleep.” Jill finished her candy and did just that. Alex lay flat on the bed, and Jill lay on her, Alex’s hands resting on Jill’s belly, and Jill’s head on Alex’s left breast.


There was a quiet click as the drugs started to trickle in. Jill squeezed Alex’s hand, getting a gentle stroke back “It’s okay, I’m here. Just close your eyes”. Jill obeyed, trembling a little. She had embraced the idea of death this morning, but with the lethal drugs in her veins and no way out, it was all starting to seem very real. Alex started humming, then softly singing ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’, the older girl knew it was her favorite. Jill took another deep breath and just enjoyed the gentle melody. Her whole body felt heavy, and she was tired. The drugs were definitely kicking in. Somewhere in the midst of lemon drops and little bluebirds, Jill fell asleep, still sucking on a chocolate bar.


Alex didn’t know when it happened, but before the end of her song, she became aware that the little girl in her arms had stopped breathing. She finished singing just in case some part of Jill somewhere could still hear and take comfort…..then unhooked the IV, clutched the tiny corpse kissed her forehead, and had a good cry. Tomorrow would be work as usual. Alex knew Jill was better off now, and she still loved this job……but there were days she wished she’d never had to go through. Such was life at Beta Noble Medical.