Belly of the Beast

Chapter 4

I woke up with my sinuses stinging from the smelling salts someone shoved under my nose. I was still submerged in the tub with Vincent still looming over me, and the woman in the lab coat stood at his shoulder wearing a self-important smile.

"I think she's over the hump," said the nurse. "But we're not out of the woods yet."

Her clichés didn't tell me much, and she slipped out of view before I could question her. I wanted the answer she was ready to give when my eyeballs rolled back into my head. I felt an arm move behind my neck, which I assumed belonged to Vincent since he was practically nose-to-nose with me, and I couldn't help thinking about my breath.

"Reese, you gotta stay awake. You gotta fight this," he begged me. The poor guy was distraught.

"What did the nurse say?" I asked. "Before I passed out... What was the answer?"

It took Vincent a moment for my question to register, making me wonder how long I'd been out, but he finally cracked a pensive smile. "Positive."

Balls.

"So, yes? I'm pregnant?"

"Yes, you're pregnant. How do you feel about that? Wait...don't answer. I want you to be coherent when you tell me."

Vincent's puppy dog eyes made me smile, and I tried to lift my arm to touch his face, but I was too tired to move. I just laid there smiling at him until he smiled back, and it didn't seem like he needed me to tell him I was happy. But wait... I had a fever. A damned high one based on the fuss everyone was making. Wasn't that bad for an unborn child?

"Vincent, my fever. The baby..."

"Shh," he said as he kissed my forehead. His lips felt nice and cool. "Our baby is going survive just like you are, but you have to do your part by staying alert. Do you remember where we were before we came to the hospital?"

My brain slipped back to the scene before I ended up in the bathtub. I remembered seeing camera flashes. I saw my dad's face. He looked worried. "Auction house. We're in DC. You bought me an original Ansel Adams... And your magic cube."

Vincent nodded. "Good. Your parents are here. They want to see you. Are you alright with that?" He looked pointedly at my semi-nude body. My breasts floated weightlessly on the water's surface, although my bra concealed the fancy bits.

"If they want proof that I'm still alive, they're welcome to see me in my unmentionables."

Pulling out his phone, Vincent typed a message one-handed, never moving his arm from behind my head. "I'm letting them know. There's a doctor coming to do a test. We're just waiting for your fever to drop a little more so we can take you out of the tub."

"Sure thing, chief." I let my head loll against his shoulder, which made the perfect pillow, and he brushed his fingers across my cheek.

"If the battlefield doesn't do me in, I think love will." He whispered his sentiment as he brought his forehead to rest on mine.

"At least we can do battle together," I said, although I wasn't sure it fit. My head still felt fuzzy, and the water seemed to be getting colder. I jerked as a shiver caught me by surprise, and this triggered pain in my gut. My grimace must have been obvious because Vincent stiffened.

"Does your wound hurt you?" he asked.

Oh, shit. The knife wound. How had I forgotten? "I guess it does."

"We need to get you out of the bath." Vincent's voice carried to the nurses, and they appeared next to me with towels. Vincent lifted me out of the water, not caring that he was getting soaked. It reminded me of the showers we took together during our early days. Most of them happened with our clothes on.