MONTH TWO OF PREGNANCY
JUNE 6, 2028
Nina's agitation was as visible as the deceased body on the floor.
It was noon on a Tuesday, Nina currently leaning against one of the house walls to support herself. While bending over to take pictures, her dizziness came in a massive wave and almost caused her to projectile vomit over the dead man. Thankfully, she pushed it away and excused herself for a couple of minutes.
The only people at work who knew about her pregnancy was her boss and her partner, Lukas Muller. It would become obvious soon enough, so Nina didn't bother telling anyone else. Besides, she wasn't that close to any of them anyways.
"You got everything, Brandis?" Detective Muller asked, walking over to the now sweating woman.
Nina nodded, pushing herself off of the wall as she followed her partner out of the crime scene.
Since Nina was a foresnic scientist and not an actual detective, she didn't have a partner. But, whenever she had to travel to the locations to gather evidence, she usually road with Lukas. He himself was more of an independent worker and has tried to avoid all partner work as possible. Nina couldn't blame him, though. She found it more productive to work alone in the lab rather than have help.
As Lukas pulled out of the driveway and down the street, Nina caught him looking over at her at least three times. Not wanting to deal with this for the next twenty minutes, she sighed before opening her mouth.
"What is it? Do I have something on my face?"
"Besides exhaustion? No, you're good."
Nina rolled her eyes, "My symptoms have been horrible, and it's only the second month. The smell of everything makes me want to puke and the only thing I can eat are donuts. Which isn't a surprise, really, since I ate them religiously before I was pregnant."
"I get it, my wife was the same way too. She felt better with our second child, though. Maybe that'll happen to you, too." Lukas noticed the panic that crossed her face, "Unless you only plan on having one, which is perfectly okay!"
"I'm not sure, to be honest." Nina said, fiddling with her wedding ring. "There's some... personal stuff that's going on and I'm not sure if a second child will be possible. I hope so, though."
"If you ever need to get away from that 'personal stuff', my wife would be happy to give you some baby advice. She stays home with the kids most days and gets bored once they fall asleep."
"I'll think about it, thanks."
Ten minutes passed, the only sounds being the soft music coming from the radio and the surrounding cars driving. Coming out of a daydream, Nina furrowed her eyebrows.
"Where are we? The station is the other way."
"You said you were craving donuts so," Lukas pulled into a bakery parking lot. "I'll run in and grab some, there's some extra water in the glove box if you feel naseous."
Before Nina could reply, he was already out of the door. As she reached into the glove box and pulled out a water bottle, a picture fell out. Leaning forward, Nina picked up the paper and scanned it, a small smile appearing on her face.
It seemed like the holiday season, Lukas and his wife, along with their two kids, dressed in matching pajamas with a Christmas tree in the background. Although you can easily fake a smile in pictures, Nina could feel the happiness radiating off of each grin. Her heart ached, hoping one day she and Rebekah could do this with their own child, or children.
In five minutes, Lukas came back into the car, handing over a box of donuts to Nina as he buckled himself in.
"I think you're my favorite person. Besides Rebekah. And my unborn child. And my parents-"
"I get it," Lukas laughed, pulling up to a red light. "I know it must suck being sick and still having to work, so if you ever need anything, my cubicle is across from the lab."
Smiling in thanks, Nina picked up the chocolate frosted donut and happily shoved half into her mouth.
✵ ✵ ✵
"Bex! I'm home!" Nina shouted, walking into the kitchen with the dogs following behind her.
As if they could magically tell she was pregnant, Lexie and Nik have been overprotective of Nina. Any time Rebekah would kiss her or come close, the two would growl and force them apart. Although Nina found it amusing, the blonde thought differently.
"How was your day, love?" Rebekah smiled, pushing herself off of the counter to give her wife a swfit kiss.
"I almost vomited on a dead body but got donuts afterwards, so pretty good."
"Oh?"
"I didn't save any for you, though. No offense, but I was really craving them. I think I ate the whole box in under twenty minutes."
"As long as you're eating and feeling better, have as many as you wish."
Nina waited a beat, looking around the kitchen then smiled hesitantly at Rebekah.
"So... I have something to say."
"Oh god, Nina. What is it?"
"Since something very super special is coming up in five days-"
"No! I don't want to hear it."
"But it's your birthday! We celebrated all the time why stop this year?"
"I'm not a huge fan of my birthday."
"I'm calling bull. You claimed it as everyone's favorite day of the year. Plus, Kol already texted me and demanded we set up a video call with everyone else."
"Why wouldn't he just tell me?"
"Because..." Nina's eyes widened. "Shoot! That was supposed to be a surprise. Pretend I didn't say anything. Ugh, he's going to kill me."
"If he kills you I'm sure I can get Davina's help in killing him back."
"How reassuring. Hear that, baby?" The woman looked down at her stomach, placing a hand on the small bump. "Your mommy is going to murder your uncle before you can even meet him. Excited about joining this world?"
"Hush up. They can't even hear you."
"Whatever. Point is, I'm going to make this your best birthday ever. You can't even get mad at me because I'm carrying our child."
"We'll see."
JUNE 11, 2028
"Happy Birthday, darling!" Nina grinned, taking in Rebekah's eyes fluttering open.
Usually the blonde woke up first, but seeing as Nina was up most of the night with naseua, she decided to stop trying to fall back asleep. At four in the morning, she managed to decorate the downstairs area with extra decorations they had in storage. At five, she drove to a supermarket that was surprisngly open and bought a red velvet cake. At six, she cooked breakfast and brought it to their bedroom, now watching her wife wake up at six thirty.
Rebekah smiled lazily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up into a sitting position. Nina reached over and placed the tray of food and coffee onto her lap.
"Aren't you quite the artist?" Rebekah snorted, referring to the smiley face drawn on the pancakes with whipped cream.
"I made a bit of a mess when opening the can. Lexie scared me and I accidentally sprayed the side of the fridge and some of the cabinets. I cleaned it up, though!"
"Thank you, Nins."
"Of course, you deserve to have an amazing day. Breakfast in bed is just the first thing on the agenda. Today will be great, I promise."
Not wanting her voice to betray the real reason why she was feeling down about her birthday, Rebekah dug into the food before Nina expected any type of response.
✵ ✵ ✵
"Are you sure we're talking about the same Rebekah?"
"Don't be a wanker, Kol."
The two were seated on the couch, the laptop placed on the table in front of them. The screen was filled with faces of their loved ones. On the call was Kol, Davina, Freya, Keelin, their son Nik, Marcel, and Nathaniel. Although everyone was here, Nina couldn't shake the feeling that someone was missing.
"I'm sorry to leave early, but I have plans with someone."
Marcel's comment resulted in groans from everyone.
"Why are you leaving Auntie Bex's party early? Are you meeting with your girlfriend?" Nik questioned with a tilt of his head.
"Girlfriend?" Davina questioned, Kol letting out a loud laugh.
"Please, Marcellus only sleeps with women, he'd never date any of them."
"Kol!" Freya screeched, Keelin covering their son's ears.
"My apologies, dear sister. But everyone knows I'm right."
"It's none of your business, Kol, but you're wrong. There is this... woman I've been seeing."
"That's so exciting!" Nina smiled, "What's her name? Do you have any pictures of her? You should bring her to the party next month!"
"I'm leaving now, see y'all soon." Marcel hung up before anyone could interject.
"He's the real wanker, Rebekah, not me."
"You're going to corrupt my child, Kol. I'll be in touch soon. Happy birthday, sister."
After Freya left, Nina and Rebekah talked with Kol, Davina, and Nathaniel until they had to leave as well. By the time the call was wrapped up, it was already ten at night.
"You ready to go upstairs, Bex?"
"I'll be up in a moment, I just need to clean up a bit."
"Oh, I can do it!"
"No, Nina, it's okay. Start getting ready for bed, I'll be up soon."
Once Rebekah was sure her wife was upstairs, she sighed and buried her face in her hands.
She truly did have a great day. Nina's plans of shopping, eating at a fancy dinner place, and spoiling her with presents gave her good spirits. But, this was the first year where things really fell into perspective.
If she were to take the cure and it killed her instantly, this would be one of her last birthdays on this earth. Of course, spending it with Nina hadn't been horrible at all and it really was one of her best birthdays, it still made her upset.
She wasn't sure how she could tell Nina any of this, and she wasn't sure if she even wanted to. It would only make her feel upset and she would insist on waiting years before taking the cure. Although she wanted to, she yearned for being human even more.
Shaking away the dark thoughts, Rebekah stood from the couch and made her way upstairs. As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by dimmed lights and rose petals scattered across the sheets and floor. On the bed was a grinning Nina, dressed in nothing but a see through silk robe.
Nevermind, Rebekah thought, this definitely was the best birthday she's ever had.
If you saw me accidentally publish this.... no you didn't.