Page 28 of His to Mate

13

Ann wokeup and waited for a moment. She was alone, as usual lately, but it wasn’t Rager she waited for. It was the telltale sign of cramps that she waited to feel. Her periods had always come at night, never during the day, and she would always wake up with cramps low in her abdomen. Not this morning. Or the last few either, no matter how much she waited for it.

She got up, went to the bathroom, but still, there were no signs that menstruation had started. She wanted to scream but knew that would just be silly. She took a shower, dried off, and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. She’d have to go out and do what she hadn’t wanted to do. Find a pregnancy test.

She drove to the apartment where Skye lived and asked her to come out exploring with her. Ann watched as Skye looked at her, noted the moment that Skye saw her anxiety, and took a deep breath. “I need to find something important.”

“Sure, I’ll come with you. I’ve got your back.” Skye shut the door, and they left. Before long, they were at the pharmacy and Ann stared at the rows of boxes in front of her.

“Will they even be useful at this point?” Ann said it out loud so that Skye could hear her. She’d brought the other woman along simply as moral support. She was late, a lot late. That kind of late that got your attention, and she’d worried about it for far too long. It was time for some answers.

It had only just occurred to her that the tests might expire. She’d seen a date on one of the boxes and wondered if it was just a marketing gimmick to make women buy another one. It was just a strip with something on it, after all, wouldn’t it stay good forever?

“Sometimes the more expensive digital ones will still work longer, but usually they all expire around two to three years after they were manufactured. Which means even the newest ones will probably be expired.” Skye’s voice came from a different part of the store. She walked over and looked at the boxes on the shelves. “Those might, and I can’t stress that might enough, might work.”

She pointed at the very expensive digital pregnancy tests; her face doubtful.

“Is there another way to tell?” Ann’s voice shook as she reached for the box, her lip caught between her teeth as she read. She was a bundle of mixed-up emotions, strung too tight and ready to burst into tears or a fit of anger, she wasn’t sure which.

“If we had the equipment, we could do a blood test. Meg and I have been looking for the equipment in hospitals. She’s found one hospital with a lab that’s intact. She might have it all up and running now, if you want to go and see her?”

“I think that might be best. But I’ll take a few of these just in case.” Ann grabbed a few boxes of the digital tests and stuffed them in her bag. “Let’s go find her.”

“She should be there now. I know a few of the women want confirmation, although it’s more than obvious that there are two or three that are pregnant already. She’s been working late to try to get it operational.”

“I hope it’s all working then. I have a feeling I know the answer, otherwise I wouldn’t be here now. It’s just that I would have liked more time with him, to get to know him better, but I guess progress waits for nobody, right?” Ann made sure Skye was settled into her seat and started the transporter.

“Nope, and we all know how babies are made, don’t we?” Skye laughed, but it wasn’t mean, it was just an amused sound. “Not that I’ll have that problem.”

“Not for a while, at least,” Ann reminded her, then thought it might sound spiteful. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. How do you feel about having a baby?”

“I’d love to have kids. I’m gay, not anti-kid or anything. I’m still a woman, you know?” Skye’s laugh was patient this time. “I know some women, straight and gay, that never wanted kids, and that was their choice. Probably the best one considering what happened.”

“I try not to think about things like that too much. It’s a depressing pit of gloom.” Ann glanced at Skye and saw her nod her head in agreement. “I think you’ll have beautiful children. Especially if they look like you.”

“Maybe so. I’d like to get the nursing school up and running though, and the medical clinic too. Then I’ll pay the aliens back for bringing me above ground again.”

“How long would you have stayed down there?” Ann asked, just to change the subject.

“Another month or so. I was rationing food, but would have run out eventually. Then I’d have discovered the new world above. And the aliens.”

“Shocking, aren’t they?” Ann smiled at Skye, but soon glanced back at the world around her. “Maybe after I talk to Meg, I’ll find out more about the medical technology they brought with them.”

“That sounds like a plan to me.”

They both went quiet as Ann drove, but Ann’s mind wasn’t quiet at all. She kept swerving between anxiety about the whole process of being pregnant and producing a child with a man she barely knew, to feelings she’d never quite explored before. The idea of a baby, her baby, pleased her, made her smile in a way she never had before.

She felt things she didn’t understand when she thought about a baby of her own. Maybe it was what made other mothers so happy, that love they talked about. She wasn’t sure. She did know her breasts were sore, which was sometimes a sign of her period, and she’d been tired the last couple of days.

Not enough to say she was pregnant, but the missing period was. She turned her attention back to her driving and tried not to stress about it too much. She’d have to deal with whatever result she got, she knew that and for now, there was nothing she could do about it.

“Don’t panic, Ann. We’ll get you through this. And hey, we’ll get some practice in before it’s your turn if you are pregnant.” Skye’s smile was bright and a little more confident. “Those other ladies should have their babies before you do, so we’ll be experts at it by the time we get to you.”

“Oh, that’s funny.” Ann did laugh, despite her contradictory tone. “At least I won’t be your first.”

“Always a good thing, when it comes to medical stuff.” Skye sat back in her seat and sighed. “I remember the first time I had to draw blood for my clinicals. There was blood every-fucking-where. I’m just glad it was another student and not a patient. I’d have died of shame.”

“That bad, was it?” Ann relaxed a little and smiled. “I can just imagine how scared you were. I’d have been terrified.”