To Build A Home

Chapter 7- Late Night Struggles

   Steven had come home considerably later than normal. It was nearly eleven at night by the time he walked through the door. As quietly as he could , he snuck upstairs, slowly opening the door to the room he shared with Krolia.
   Assuming she was asleep, he kept the lights off. Steven hoped he would be able to, in a sense, sneak in without disturbing her.
   He was wrong.
   "You're late." Krolia said suddenly.
   "Yeah... I'm sorry about that." He replied apologetically, "I didn't think it'd take that long."
   She sighed, tiredly pushing herself into an upright position with her hands. "It got kind of lonely around here without someone to talk to."
   "I've been leaving every other day for the past year almost." He looked at her, raising an eyebrow in disbelief, "but you're only just now telling me that you're feeling lonely?"
   Krolia shrugged, "I guess... Well... I am almost five whole months into this pregnancy, so I suppose my emotions could be out of wack."
   "Is that going your excuse for everything from now on?"
   "Apparently....."
   Steven nodded, allowing her to have this one. "Alright. That can be your excuse." He kissed her forehead before laying down next to her, smiling as he did so. "Regardless of your 'excuse', it is most certainly time for you to get some rest."
   "And what happens if I'm not tired?" She asked, slowly letting herself relax into a semi-comfortable position on her side. Only semi-comfortable because she was still propping herself up with an arm beneath her side.
   "Trust me," Steven gently stroked her cheek, "you are most definitely tired."
   "You're not wrong... I stayed up until midnight waiting for you."
   "It was only eleven pm."
   "Close enough."
   It didn't take much time for the two to fall asleep, of course, they had to stop talking to do so, but once their chatter faded, both were more than ready for a good night's sleep. They were both extremely tired after all. It was late, and both were in desperate need of sleep.

***

   Krolia didn't know what time it was at this point, but judging by the position of the moon outside the window, it was closer to morning than to midnight.
   Some time ago, she had woken up to a sharp, throbbing pain in her side, one strong enough to pull even the heaviest sleepers from their dreams. Since that time, she hasn't even come close to falling asleep again.
   Instead, she has more or less so rolled from side to side, trying desperately to find a comfortable position. From the beginning of this ordeal up until now, she had tried to stay relatively quiet, not wanting to wake up her partner. That being said, staying silent when you can feel your insides being squashed, and your skin being stretched by a half developed fetus is no simple task. It was no wonder a few groans and occasional whimpers escaped her lips.
   It hurt like hell, the pain seemed to have no end. And it was clear that it would in no way be going away any time soon.
   Placing a hand on her stomach, she let out a long, exhausted sigh. The warmth from her stomach was the only calming feeling she's had since waking up. It felt nice on her hand, but did absolutely nothing to fix the rest of her problems. Krolia slowly and gently rubbed her protruding stomach in hopes that she could, in some way, get her unborn child to relax for the rest of the night.
All at once, the pain seemed to vanish. Maybe not vanish, but it at least became exponentially more bearable. Krolia smiled, pleased that her child understood it was causing her pain. in all likelihood, it didn't understand, but it was wonderful to know that she could now sleep without the upset of endless pain.
   But the peace was short lived. Once she felt herself drift off to sleep, it all came back. All of it. With a strong kick from the baby, the awful pain resumed, and so did the feeling of discomfort in her lower back. What great luck.
Krolia felt the child reposition themselves into a position that was most uncomfortable for her. This sudden change back to throbbing pain forced her to stay silent no longer. She winced in pain, biting down on her lip to muffle her noises of discomfort. "Come on...!" she whispered, somewhat angrily, "Mama is really tired, and would very much so appreciate it if you would let me sleep...!"
   "Who are you talking to...?" Krolia jumped at hearing Steven mumble his question. He sounded half asleep, but he was awake enough to hear her speaking to her unborn child.
   Krolia shut her eyes, staying dead silent. Something made her hope he would just go back to sleep. If he did, she could focus on ridding herself of the pain and not on explaining why she was still awake, and awkwardly talking to a fetus.
   "I know you're awake." Steven said. Krolia heard the soft rustle of blankets as he turned to face her. "You have been for some time. Haven't you?"
   "How long have you been up...?" She hesitantly asked, ignoring his question.
   Steven chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. "not quite sure, but you have been moaning a lot. Are you alright?"
   "Do you want the honest answer...? Or the too-tough-to-show-emotion answer?"
   "You know exactly what I want to hear. The truth."
   "No... I'm not alright..."
   Steven instantly sat up after hearing her answer, now wide awake. "What is it...?"
   "They're kicking and doing something that feels like stretching..." she whined, "I've never felt something this painful before. It's like they're using me as a hammock, and with absolutely no care for my own feelings. It hurts."
   "Well that's no good... Anythin' I can do to help?"
   "Doubt it..." Krolia rubbed her stomach, massaging it as best she could. She had this idea that if she massaged the spot of discomfort, maybe the pain would cease. Despite her efforts proving to be futile, she didn't care to stop. "Unless you know some magic earth tactic that isn't medicine, I'm just going to have to tough this out."
   "I might know something."
   "Please just do it... This is getting more and more unbearable with every passing minute..."
   Steven placed a hand on her back, slowly beginning to rub it in circles. "I'm sorry it got this bad... How long do you think it's been since you last slept...?"
   "At least an hour or so," she answered, looking over her shoulder and earning a sympathetic smile from Steven.
   "Geez... You should've told me sooner..."
   "I thought you were asleep," she confessed. "I didn't want to wake you over some minor fetus related issues."
   "Minor...?" He questioned worriedly, "you're loosing sleep. That's not minor."
   "It is to me..."
   Steven sighed deeply, "well, it shouldn't be. This 'minor issue' is keeping you from sleeping. That isn't good for your health."
   "Okay, okay. It's a pretty big issue."
   "Worst part is... there's no fix except birth which most definitely will not happen for another five months, right?" He joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
   "Well fuck..." she muttered under her breath.
   "Krolia! How many times am I goin' to have to tell ya' to stop cussin'?"
   "I know...! It's a bad habit. But I'm in so, so, so much pain right now. I'm within my rights to curse."
   "You've got five months to fix it."
   "Hmmmm...." Krolia groaned, dissatisfied with her limited amount of time. "Can't I have another mother...? Just for my own personal ease?"
   Steven rested his head on Krolia's shoulder, softly kissing her neck. "Nope. That's all of the time we get."
   "I'm not even tired anymore..." she complained after a few moments of silence, and she slowly resumed the massaging of her stomach. "I swear he's just doing this to spite me."
   "He..?"
   "They!" Krolia quickly corrected herself. "They are just doing this to spite me."
   "So you want a son?" He asked with curiosity.
   "No. I mean... Maybe. I really don't know. I've never thought about either. But I guess I'd like it to be a little boy. What about you?"
   "I wouldn't mind them to be a girl, if I'm being honest. Though, a boy is just fine."
"I suppose a baby girl isn't all that bad either..."
Steven switched hands, placing his hand—the one that had been providing the back massage— gently on top of Krolia's. The hand she had rested on her abdomen. "So," he began, "why a boy?"
"He'd be stronger than a female of his kind, making him a good soldier."
"What the—"
"I'm kidding!" She confessed, giving a quiet giggle. "If you want the truth,"
"I do."
"Then I guess I just like the idea of a son. I can't explain why, but I do..."
"Barely five months and you're already hoping for one gender over the other...?"
   "No... not exactly... I'd like a little boy. But I am still fine with either."
   Their conversation continued for a while longer, a long while longer. The topic changed from time to time, but for the next hour and a half, the two lay awake, quietly talking to one another.
   By the time the conversation had finished, Krolia's pain had completely disappeared. Whether it was due to the passage of time, or Steven's relaxing back rubs, didn't matter to her. All she cared about was that the pain was gone. No back aches, no discomfort, nothing.
   This is how it should be.
   This is how she liked it.
   Of course, there was the occasional kick from the developing infant. That was inevitable. It was part of reproduction. The little kicks didn't bother her though. The pain they caused was low and tolerable compared to whatever had been going on earlier that night.
   Steven had fallen back asleep first. He would've stayed up much later, but he was given the 'okay' from Krolia that he could rest. He did, however, keep his hand placed gently over Krolia's stomach. Something of both a protective and loving gesture.
   Minutes later, Krolia had drifted off into a light sleep. Still somewhat awake, she could feel the occasional movements from her child. Some feeling inside of her prompted her to rub her stomach each time they moved. Krolia felt as though if she did this, the child would stay calmer and move about les, and she was right. Within minutes of becoming drowsy, she was out completely, exhausted from staying up so late and being woken up, and kept awake, by pain for nearly two hours.
   She too had fallen asleep with her hand resting on her abdomen. Even after the pain subsided and the child's movement stopped, she kept her hand there. By choice. This wasn't some subconscious accident. Not this time. She liked the feeling of the child's tiny feet hitting the walls of her womb as they move about from time to time. And she liked the way she could just barely feel said feet with her hand if she was resting it in just the right place. She liked it. She liked it a lot. All of it. She loved all of it. It made her happy. A kind of joy brought on only by motherhood. The kind of feelings she had would most certainly get her kicked out of the Blade of Marmora. These were feelings of love. Love got in the way of success, compromised victory and jeopardized missions. These would not be tolerated by the other Marmora. But why would she ever confess any of this to them.
She was here now. On Earth. Not in a Galran Soldier's uniform. She was in a cozy home. One safe from harm. Comforted by the constant reminder that she wasn't alone. Krolia had Steven, the love of her life. And in a few months, they would have a new addition to their family. A child. Maybe a boy. Maybe a girl. The uncertainty of the child's gender would make buying clothes and toys rather difficult, but they'd find a way to make it work.
   In the end, she had fallen asleep happy, a smile lingering on her lips as she slept.