Beth had had no idea that a human could grow so quickly in such a short time. Not only her own body but the much smaller one inside of her. She kept track of time mostly by the frequent visits she took to the doctor's office to ensure that the baby was growing as it should. She no longer had the structure of her exploration trips or any of the other work she'd been doing, and for that, she was mostly glad. Her back ached almost constantly with the weight of the child that had grown inside of her. She'd never really seen a pregnant woman very closely before, but now she was one, and it was a rather eye-opening experience, to say the least.
She stared in the mirror, marveling at the sheer size of her belly, running her hands lovingly over the bump. If she pressed gently, she could feel a knee here, or perhaps the head there. It seemed impossible.
She still remembered when she'd felt the baby kick for the first time. Such a strange sensation, entirely alien when everything alien had literally become her life. Tears had run down her face almost constantly and she'd made Liam come home from work immediately and in the middle of the day. That had been the day every anxiety had finally, truly left.
Sure, she'd long since lost the fear that she wasn't fertile. But something else just as bad—no, much worse—had taken its place shortly after. What if the serum in her blood, or some other complication, took her baby away before she ever even got the chance to see its eyes, feel its breath against her cheek? And it only grew worse until time went on.
Until the moment the baby began to move with an almost feverish intensity inside of her, almost as if the little one was excited to finally get out into the world. That moment had quelled the fears, locking them away where they couldn't harm her new family.
And now? She was huge, swelling up in almost every way to accommodate the new life within. The last time she'd visited Ruth, the kind older woman had informed Beth that the baby could be coming any day now.
Liam had taken to pacing whenever he was around her. It seemed even the sight of her rather planetary proportions worried him. He'd mumble questions about the baby and the delivery date, almost to her and almost to himself, never quite to either. The first time she'd felt the pain of the baby shifting inside of her, and he'd gone into a full panic, nearly fainting with fear that the baby wouldn't survive such an early birth. She didn't think he appreciated her laughing at him after the ordeal was over, but he eventually came around and realized that it was rather funny.
She laughed softly to herself and pulled a loose sweater a little tighter around herself, moving away from the mirror to sink heavily into an armchair. Even standing for such a short time was starting to become a challenge. She barely even needed Ruth to tell her about the baby coming—she could feel it herself.
She took a deep breath and leaned back in the cushioned chair. In a couple of days... she would have a baby in her arms; a child all her own that she had carried inside of her. She'd never, ever thought it was possible. It was the happiest thought that had ever popped into her head. But it was also just a tad bit terrifying. A baby. She would be a mother.
And Liam would be the best father ever to exist. She found herself tearing up. How had her life turned so perfect? She couldn't decide if it felt like decades or simply a few short days since she'd boarded the Starship Songbird, not only to escape her old life but to find a new one. She wished she could go back and tell that scared, anxious little girl how well things would eventually turn out... she'd changed so much in such a short time, and she knew, looking back, that she wouldn't rather have any other person by her side than Liam.
She let out a soft sob which was really partly a laugh. She couldn't rein herself in now that she'd started, and tears swam in her eyes before streaming freely down her cheeks and onto her swollen hump of a belly.
A familiar pain in her abdomen broke her solidly out of her emotional haze. She sat bolt upright with a soft gasp, one hand flying to her stomach and the other one grinding into her back to assuage the pain. Normally she wouldn't worry about a little twinge of pain. It had become rather normal, especially with such an active little baby, but now, with the baby so close to arriving...
She took a steadying deep breath and forced herself to dissolve the spike of fear that had tried to enter her mind, and she calmly stood up. She nearly fell over again when another pain rippled through her, longer this time and much more drawn out. And now that the idea had entered her mind, she could think of nothing else but the fact that she might be going into labor.
She made herself take deep, even breaths and she straightened up. The holoscreen across the room had been idling in sleep mode since they'd gotten the heads up from Ruth to look out for the baby, and it was waiting and ready in case she had to contact Liam. This was definitely worthy of a call home from work.
He'd been offered a brief leave of absence, but he was still one of the busiest people in the colony with all the upgrades and increases in housing that had been going on recently. They would be swamped without him.
But they could stand to be swamped for a day or so. Liam was needed with his wife and the baby that might be seeing the light of day for the first time in a few hours... if everything went right.
She shoved the fear away and made her way to the holoscreen, trying her hardest to ignore the strange added soreness in her belly and pretty much everywhere else. She got a distinct feeling that the baby was restless—or maybe that was simply her own feeling...
She quickly typed out her message, and Liam got it right away. He was always near a holoscreen, just in case. It seemed, now, that all of their anxious precautions were being put to good use. It was silly of them to think that the baby would simply choose a free time to pop out.
She stayed near the screen just long enough to see the reply—that he was coming as soon as he could—before hurrying back over to the chair to wait out the seconds before the next contraction—for she was now certain that that was what these were.
Another pain, traveling down her abdomen. She rubbed her belly anxiously, staring at the doorway. What if the baby started coming before he got here, or before they could get themselves to the hospital? So many worries... she was sure it wasn't good for the baby. But she couldn't help herself. Every time she quelled one fear, another rose to take its place.
Liam arrived at the door in a record time; he pushed through the house at breakneck speed only six minutes after she'd summoned him. She'd expected panic, but the expression wasn't on his face, nor did she find any traces of it in the way he moved.
"Are you alright?" he knelt in front of the chair and peered up into her eyes.
She opened her mouth to reply when another contraction stole the words right out of her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed through the pain before returning Liam's look. "I'm fine, Liam. We should get to the hospital, though."
He nodded, and she was still shocked to find that not a single twinge of panic laced his expression. "I hope you don't mind that I let Kelbar know. He said he was right behind me. I figured we could use his help."
"Oh, of course, I don't mind." She gave a short laugh. "I don't know if there's anyone more fitting to help." She leaned forward and, though it was a struggle to manage over her belly, pecked Liam's lips softly.
"Alright." He nodded with a smile. Oh, that smile... "Can you stand, do you think?"
"I'm sure I can but I don't know if I can keep it up very long if I'm going into labor, dear." She pulled herself to her feet, smiling at her husband.
"Oh... of course." The nervous laugh that escaped his mouth was the first indication she could see or hear of just how worried he was.
"Shall we?" she asked in a mock British accent, holding out a hand.
Liam took it, and not a moment too soon. Another contraction nearly took her off her feet again.
Supported by Liam, Beth made her way to the front door, walking carefully. She didn't know much at all about going into labor but she was fairly certain that she shouldn't be too rough with an unborn baby inside of her.
The pair met Kelbar on the path outside, and with one of them on either side, Beth continued on her way to the hospital. She wished for a brief moment that their house was just a little closer, and the wish got just a bit stronger when another contraction hit.
They continued through the colony, Beth trying her very best not to make any worrying noises as they went. There was no use alarming any of the colonists.
She was about to chicken out and convince herself that this was just a false start to labor and that the contractions were fading... how long had it been since the last one? Surely it had been too long...? The hospital was just ahead and to the left, now. She'd made Liam and Kelbar come all this way...
She felt something release inside of her, then. She tried not to panic afresh when she felt a wet patch growing down the pants of her legs. She quietly informed Liam of the new development, and just then another contraction hit.
This time she couldn't help the strangled groan. The two guys no longer bothered letting her try to walk, and she was hoisted up and hurried towards the nearing destination.
There was no doubt about it now, the baby was coming. That strange, strange sensation of being happier than she'd ever been in her life and more scared of anything she'd ever encountered filled her mind as she was ushered into Dr. Ruth's care.
__________
No one bothered to make Kelbar and Liam leave as the baby began to arrive in earnest. Liam rushed to Beth's side and finally let all of his nerves and panic show as he gripped her hand almost more tightly than she was now gripping his. He murmured words of comfort that were probably only serving to stress her out, but he couldn't seem to stop himself.
It was terrifying to see her scream like she was. It seemed so sudden. She'd been so calm just a moment ago... he forced himself not to make the problem even worse, but he felt his own breathing pick up to a more frantic pace.
After knowing her for so long, and through so much, he'd never seen her like this and it worried him. And of course, he knew it shouldn't because of course, it was simply the way childbirth happened to work, but he was terrified. Absolutely terrified, more so than he'd ever been.
And so it all happened in a daze of worry and screaming and helplessness to do anything to stop his wife's very apparent pain. But it stopped just as suddenly as it had seemed to start, this time with a scream loud enough to rival Beth's own.
But this voice was new. Entirely new.
Liam was among the first people to ever hear that voice. That brand new, amazing cry. He couldn't have let go of Beth's hand had he wanted to, and he searched her clouded face until he saw what he was looking for; she'd heard it too, he could tell. There was a brightness to her eyes, and to the tears that fell down her cheeks at the sound of their baby's voice.
Liam was so absorbed in it all that he almost didn't hear Ruth speak.
"Beth, Liam, would you like to say hello to your new son?" the doctor's face was also awash in fresh tears as she cradled the baby in her arms, bloody and so impossibly tiny but undeniably so very strong.
Liam fought the tears. He wanted to see this all clearly, with nothing to blur it. A son!
The tiny boy was placed ever so carefully into Beth's waiting arms. He could see her struggling to keep her own sobs at bay. Liam leaned closer, almost unable to believe it. He was beautiful, just like his mother.
"I was right, Beth. It's a boy." He choked out through the rush of emotions clogging and vying for the top spot in his mind. A shaky laugh rattled his throat.
"I guess you were." She returned the laugh with one even shakier than his.
Any more words they could have said were swallowed in the feelings rushing around their heads. Their baby had been born, healthier than Liam ever could have hoped and without a hint of complications.
The babe continued to cry, a loud proclamation to the world that he was alive.
"Would you like to say hello to your Daddy?" Beth asked her son.
Liam held out his arms to receive the child. Fear and excitement shaking his core. He carefully cradled his wailing son, drawing him close.
"Hey there, little guy," Liam said, fingering his tiny hand.
The baby quieted at the sound of his father's voice. Liam swayed and rocked the baby gently back and forth. The crying quieted a bit.
"Wow! you're a natural," Ruth exclaimed. "You're going to be a great father."
"He sure is." Beth agreed, tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks.
The baby suddenly seemed to realize that there's more to life than crying, and slowly opened his eyes.
Liam gasped as his son blinked up at him. He recognized those eyes. They were just the same as his mother's. Bright, beautiful, and full of wonder. And just the same shade of violet...
Emotion overtook him. Sobs of pure happiness escaped his throat. Then, as if the moment couldn't get any better, his son smiled at him.
The room was quiet, but the love between father and son was thick in the air.
Liam didn't know a time that he'd ever been as happy, or that he'd ever be any happier. He did know, however, that as long as he had his wife, and now his son, he would stay exactly as joyed for the rest of his life...