-Thirty Two Weeks-
The deviant android was monitoring the baby's growth very carefully. As he monitored her growth he detected stronger and strong movements and her every hiccup as she neared her impending birth. Now up to eight pounds and fourteen ounces she was very big and very healthy which made Connor happy to know she was thriving despite her unusual circumstances.
"You need to get into position." Connor urged the unborn baby kicking in his stomach. "I don't want to move you again."
"Stop talking to your stomach."
"I'm talking to the baby Hank. Not my stomach."
"Same thing."
"It's not."
Hank hadn't seen Connor much since the deviant android retreated into the safety of his bedroom all day while Hank went to the police station. "How do you feel?"
"Much larger than I'm supposed to."
"Are you hurting?"
"No. I'm just uncomfortable."
"And did you get any bigger?"
"No. My growth has remained the same since the last spurt eight weeks ago. She however has gain weight."
"How much?"
"I suspect she will be over nine pounds when she's born."
"And you're sure you can handle that?"
"I have to." His hands rubbed at the exposed swell of his belly from under the hoodie. "It's the only way."
"Connor we might be able to bribe some technician into keeping quiet and helping you through this."
"No. A technician is responsible for this and forced this baby into this world in highly illegal manners. I won't allow another one to come near her as long as I have the ability to protect her."
"Doctors have to keep quiet about their patients. What about a doctor instead?"
"Doctors don't accept androids as patients. And by law the doctor would have to report the circumstances of her birth since her life is arguably in immediate danger because an android is carrying her."
Hank stood beside the bed and stared at Connor's stomach. The baby was constantly moving and Hank could see her movements under the taut skin covering Connor's belly without needing to get too close. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't. I've looked for other alternatives but nothing is available." Rubbing his hands over his stomach slowly Connor suddenly pressed his hands down against his sides and felt the womb bio-component spasm slightly.
"Whoa, I saw that."
"I believe the bio-component is preparing itself for labor."
Hank hated touching Connor's unnaturally pregnant stomach but he needed to make sure his partner wasn't in any danger. "It feels like a braxton-hicks contraction. You know, false labor."
"No." Connor pulled up his hoodie to fully expose his stomach. "It's expanding again."
"What?"
There was a low gurgling sound as Connor's stomach pushed itself outward by a quarter inch and then settled down again. "It seems my womb hasn't reached its limits yet."
"Fuck. Your skin is starting to get a little blue around your bellybutton."
"My skin can't fully project itself over the expanding bio-component."
"Does that mean that's your blood pooling right there?"
"No. It's the surface of the womb bio-component pressing itself against the interior latex layer and my skin."
"So the baby's right there?"
"Actually she's still up here." Connor pointed to the top of his belly just below his chest. "She is face up now but her feet are still pointing downward."
"I'm going to check my vacation days. You might go into labor at any minute and I'm going to need to be here."
"Hank I know you don't want to deal with this and it's okay. I'll handle it by myself."
"You'll do this by yourself my ass. I'm not happy about this but I'm not going to let you give birth alone."
Connor resumed rubbing his swollen belly slowly as Hank left the room to make a phone call. "See? I told you he's not a bad guy."
-Thirty Five Weeks-
Unwilling to risk laying down fully out of fear of belly accidentally crushing his lungs again Connor sat on his bed and rubbed at his engorged stomach with fading patience. The baby had reached the weight of nine pounds the previous week and had now hit ten pounds even. She was getting very heavy and the deviant android could feel the womb seemingly shrinking around the baby as she continued to grow.
"I might have to induce labor sooner rather than later." Connor told himself.
It was a struggle but he managed to get up from his bed and look down at his massive belly as it hung awkwardly from his frame in a perfect dome shape. His navel looked like a cherry sitting atop a scoop of ice cream and emphasized how much pressure was inside the womb bio-component.
"Hank?"
"Something wrong?" Hank asked as he stepped into the room. "Besides your stomach."
"I'm going to try to induce labor tonight. She is now ten pounds."
"Fuck. How can you even stand right now?"
"Not well to be honest."
"Stay here and don't do anything until AFTER I call the station."
Connor put both hands under his swollen middle and held the impressive weight in his grip. "I will wait."
Hank made the call and had gathered a bunch of brand new clean towels to stock up in the bathroom. He hated the idea of having to go through this process but Hank was loyal to his friends and wasn't going to make Connor go through it without some help.
The deviant android began pacing up and down the hallway with one hand to his back and his other hand to his stomach. The movement was supposed to stimulate the womb into beginning contractions but no amount of walking seemed to get things started.
"Too bad you can't eat. Some women eat special food to stimulate labor."
"I think the only thing that'll work is walking or a direct rupture of the amniotic sac."
"So why don't you try doing that?"
"My belly hasn't dropped. If I were to rupture the sac now without the womb being properly stimulated for delivery it could cause complications to the baby."
"Like what?"
"Infection for one. And without fluid to move about in she'd be very unstable in my body."
"Great. Keep walking then."
"I wish I could take Sumo for a walk."
"You do that and you'd be running from an angry mob with lit torches."
"I know. I won't leave the house until after I've given birth."
"This might sound weird but there anything I can do to help you out?"
"No. As long as I keep walking the womb is likely to engage and begin labor soon."
-Thirty Six Weeks-
Connor hadn't gone into labor but he had noticed in the week since he began trying to induce labor that his stomach had dropped down by half an inch and the baby was beginning to descend downward. She still wasn't in the correct position but she was beginning to move on her own.
Resting with his hands against his belly as he sat down on the couch Connor ran another ultrasound over his belly.
"You're ten pounds and four ounces. You're not very small anymore."
Running a full scan over the expanse of his stomach Connor noticed that the baby was slowly beginning to turn.
"The sooner you descend the better."
Ending the scan he patted the top of his belly lightly. A suddenly shift in his weight and pressure in his stomach made him look down at the sphere that had become his belly and watched as his stomach pushed itself out a little further and then retracted to its original size. It was then Connor felt a second pressure welling up in his abdomen that made him slowly get up and examine his stomach.
His belly had dropped down another full inch and a tightening cramp burned through his stomach.
"Ow. Ow. Ow."
Waddling away from the couch Connor began pacing through the kitchen restlessly until he heard and felt his stomach gurgle again. Looking down at his too full stomach he watched as his entire stomach pushed itself outward another quarter inch and then steadily retracted again.
"...Contractions have begun."
A third pressure in his abdomen made him run his hands over his stomach until a sudden gush of fluids escaped his body and began running down his legs. The amniotic sac had ruptured on its own at long last.
"My water has broken." The realization seemed to hit Connor very slowly. "...I am in labor."
-Next Chapter-
