A big thank you to Eunice339 for her beta work on this chapter. And another big thank you to divergentpanda64 for reminding me of what day it is.


CHAPTER SEVEN

NATALIE'S POV

I am sitting on the couch with Hana right next to me. Hana is only four weeks from her due date and I am still eight weeks from mine, although I look so much bigger than she does. Well, I do have an extra baby growing in my stomach…

"I can't wait for this baby to be out of me," Hana whines. "He does not stop kicking. I thought Zeke was lively, but this one is hyperactive compared to how Zeke was."

"What are you complaining about? I have double the arms and legs than you have kicking me."

"You both may be complaining now, but it will all be worth it when they are born," mum shouts out from the kitchen. Zeke is with his other grandparents today, which leaves Hana and I free to be spoiled by mum. She is currently making us some lunch while we lie around.

"Did you see that?" Hana almost yells in my ear.

"What?" I ask.

"Watch where our bellies are touching," Hana says.

"What am I looking for?"

"Just watch," Hana demands.

"Oh!"

"Mum, come and have a look at this," Hana calls out to mum.

"What is wrong, Hana?" mum asks as she rushes to us.

"Our babies, they are touching each other," I say.

"You can't be serious," mum exclaims.

Hana and I just nod our heads as we all sit and stare at our bellies. Then we see it – Hana's baby's foot can be seen pushing out from her belly and then one of my baby's feet kicks out from me and it is touching Hana's baby's foot.

"That is incredible. Do you know if that is the boy or the girl, Natalie?" mum asks.

"Girl. She is always more active whenever Hana is around," I say simply.

"I've never heard of this happening before. I doubt anyone would believe us if we told them," mum says in disbelief.

I think we are all in a little bit of shock. We stare at our bellies for a bit longer, but it doesn't happen again. I hope it doesn't mean that our kids will want to fight each other once they are born.

"When are you going to start your maternity leave, Natalie?" Hana asks.

"I'm not sure. It would be great to start it now, but I like having things to do. Xavier said if I get any bigger though, he is going to make me stay at home because I won't fit into the chair any more. Then Axel offered to get me a bigger chair. It was all quite embarrassing, really," I admit.

"That's only because they all care about you, Natalie. Xavier is starting to panic because he thinks we won't survive without you. Axel is just excited that you decided to stay and that there will be two more Dauntless dependants running around. I swear that man would adopt every dependant as his grandchild if he could," mum says. "You know he is even talking about setting up an area in the dining hall where the kids could play while the adults have dinner."

"That would be awesome. It is so hard to take Zeke down to the dining hall now. He is into everything, but he loves to be around all the people. I just can't get him to sit still for long enough to eat much," Hana says. "Maybe if I can bribe him with somewhere to play, he will eat his dinner and then give me five minutes to actually eat my own meal."

"Great," I moan. "Just another thing I have to look forward to when these two are born."

"It isn't all bad, Nat," mum says.

"I know," I sigh. "I just keep wondering how different my life might have been if this hadn't happened."

"Are you kidding me?" Hana scoffs. I raise my eyebrow at her in response. "You would be stuck over there in stuffy Stiffville with a selfish prick, trying to forget who you are. All the while, having to feed the factionless and not have any sex till you're too old to want it. You would be way more miserable than you are right now. You only have eight more weeks of this, but if you had transferred, you would have had a lifetime of being bland."

Mum starts to laugh. "I think you might be exaggerating it a little bit, Hana."

"Which part, mum?" Hana asks. "Because from what I have seen, that is exactly what they are like. I mean, they seem like nice people, but seriously, some of their customs are way behind the times. Imagine not being able to show affection. I don't understand that rule. Or what about how they only look in the mirror every three months or something like that. What has looking in the mirror got to do with selflessness? Do you know they had to take all the mirrors out of the ground floor bathrooms at the high school so that the Abnegation kids wouldn't look at themselves when they washed their hands after going to the toilet?"

"I always wondered why they did that," I remark.

"It all seems a tad extreme, if you ask me. I wonder why they have their members cover up their entire bodies with those hideous outfits they all wear. It makes me think they are hiding a lot more than just their figures. It just all seems really wrong to me."

"I think we all got that, Hana. I like that they live such a simple life," I respond, although I am really glad that I am here in Dauntless with my family.

"So, how are you and Max getting along? Nathan seems to think that it is getting serious between the two of you," Hana smirks.

"Why? What has Max told Nathan?"

"I don't know. You know they have that whole Bro Code thingy between them. That's why I'm asking you. It would be easier pulling teeth than getting anything out of Nathan," Hana says.

"It's good," I say with some hesitation.

"'It's good'?!" exclaims mum.

"What? What is wrong with 'good'?" I ask.

"Natalie, we might live within a rock, but the wall between ours and Max's apartment is not rock. The two homes used to be one big one before we had them converted. So, you must think things are a bit more than 'good' if you are spending the night at Max's," she laughs out.

"Oh my God!" I scream, my face turning red with embarrassment. "Are you kidding me?"

Hana is laughing so hard it would surprise me if she didn't wet her pants in her current state. Mum has the biggest smile on her face as she laughs at me, too. I didn't know she was able to hear us through the walls.

"Natalie, what are you so embarrassed about? It's not like I have to worry about you losing your virginity, now do I?" mum says, still laughing. "It probably is lucky you didn't transfer to Abnegation. They would have shunned you with how loud you are."

"It wasn't like that with Andrew," I mumble under my breath.

"Oh, Natalie, lighten up," mum says. "Be happy that you have such a wonderful young man in your life."

Hana stops laughing and looks at me. "What's really wrong, Nat? Obviously you two are compatible in the bedroom."

"I don't know. I'm just worried," I fret. "What if he doesn't want me anymore when the babies are born?"

"Sweetheart, you have to stop thinking like this. Every woman has these same thoughts when they are having a baby, but if that were true, then Hana wouldn't be about to have her second baby. Just enjoy the time you both have now, because once the babies are born, you will never get that time back again," mum tells me with love in her voice.

"But what if he doesn't want anything to do with my children? He keeps telling me he does, but what if he doesn't? I just feel like he is getting the raw end of the deal here."

"Stop, Natalie. Just stop. You have always put others before yourself. I think we can all agree that Max has shown you that he wants you in his life. And not just as a friend. Most of the compound thinks you are having his children anyway," says mum.

"Won't they be shocked when they are born?" I question.

"Who cares," mum waves her arms dismissively in the air. "It is no one else's business and I'm sure they will all be gossiping about something else before you even bring the babies home."

"Oh! Did you hear about Wyatt and Indiana?" Hana asks.

I stop listening. I don't want to know what the latest gossip is. I have enough to think about without worrying about anyone else right now.