Chapter 49
"Are you sure we should be swimming?" Rikki asked Bella cautiously.
"Since when have you been one to turn down a swim?" Bella asked her puzzled.
"I don't know, maybe since you are due any day and we are both pregnant!"
"Relax Rikki, swimming makes my aching back feel better – you'll understand when it gets closer to your time," With this Bella lowered herself gently into the water off the dock, and swam off.
"I am so going to regret this," Rikki followed reluctantly behind the determined Bella.
As they were swimming across the reef – almost at Mako Island, Bella surfaced quickly.
"Rikki, I don't feel too hot..." she said
"Okay, well it's quicker to get to the moon pool, so let's go there," Bella nodded and the two of them swam off. Just as they were going through the moon pool tunnel Bella stopped abruptly, going limp. Rikki saw that she had stopped and grabbed her waist and pulled her to the surface of the moon pool. She pushed her onto the sand around the pool, her tail still dangling in the water.
"Bella, wake up," Rikki said tapping her cheek. "Ahh, what do I do!"
Bella's baby bump began to glow gold, her tail scales turning white.
"Ahh…" Rikki said beginning to panic, "Bella, in case you can hear me, I'm just going to get help," she told the unconscious young woman.
With this Rikki swam out of the cave as fast as her pregnant body would take her.
Rikki floundered around in the shallows in front of her house, not caring if anyone saw her.
"ZANE! ZANE!" she yelled frantically.
He looked out the window to see her there. He ran out of the house over the dunes towards her.
"What are you doing?" he asked her looking around
"Bel…Bella's in trouble!" she said breathlessly, "I think it may be the baby, go get Lewis and come over to Mako Island ASAP!"
"Okay," he replied and scrambled back up the dunes, back to their house.
"Shhh! Do you want to wake Jenny up?" Lewis whispered forcefully when he answered the door.
"Bella, is quite possibly in labour – she is not in a very good way…"
"Where?'
"Mako,"
"Just a sec, I'll be right there. Go get Will, I'll meet you,"
Lewis rushed around the house grabbing his stuff. He also scribbled a note:
'Cleo, I have gone to Mako Island to help Bella. Didn't want to wake you. I'll be back soon. Xx'
He raced out the door to his boat and sped out to Mako Island.
In the meantime, Rikki had gotten back to the moon pool. Everything around her had turned to jelly.
"You are out of control!" Rikki said pulling her gently back into the water. The moon pool's magical qualities calmed Bella's raging powers.
"Lewis! Thank God you're here!" Rikki said as Lewis entered the cave. He took in the glowing, changing Bella and the remains of gelatine around the moon pool's rocks.
"Okay, let's pull her out," Lewis said. Rikki helped him place Bella on her back, on the soft sand of the moon pool.
When Will and Zane arrived, they both gasped.
"Oh my gosh, what's happening!" Will panicked when he took in her glowing form.
"Okay…maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring him along…" Lewis muttered to Zane. "Zane, try to calm him down…"
Will began pacing.
Rikki hoisted herself out of the pool and dried herself off. She went and examined the unconscious Bella. "Shouldn't she be in her human form by now?' Rikki asked frantically, "or at least conscious?"
"I don't know!" Lewis exclaimed still trying to get to grips on the situation, "It seems even though she is completely dry, she is not transforming – I suspect that the baby is doing this,"
Bella's eyes opened suddenly, and she gasped, "Oh my Goodness! It hurts so much!" A shudder wracked through her body. All of a sudden, her tail fin seemed to be dividing, the scales moving apart; a very strange spectacle to watch – it was freaking them all out. Her upper tail was the same as normal, (except for the white scales) but the tail fin had divided in half, providing an opening that looked vaguely of legs. Unexpectedly, the glowing from her belly started moving down her tail, shining through the scales. None of them knew what it was.
"Ahh, Lewis? Is that supposed to happen?" Rikki asked wearily.
"I haven't a clue! I'm just playing this by air you know!" Lewis responded.
Will was near hysterics, pacing the room, every now and again looking over at his wife who was screaming in pain.
"ZANE! Take him out of here now!" Rikki yelled. Rikki pulled herself out of the moon pool and dried herself off quickly. The light was still moving slowly down Bella's tail. Bella screamed again as another convulsion wracked her body.
"Bella, I think I know what's going on. You need to push!" Lewis said
She obeyed his instructions and sweat beaded on her brow as she used all her energy. The light stopped moving and then started as Bella pushed. The light must have been coming from the baby. Finally, it moved the divide of the tail. One last push resulted in a head emerging from the divided tail fin.
Lewis lifted the baby out. "It's a boy!"
The newborn baby had a red scaly tail and wisps of blonde hair with sparkling blue eyes that looked up innocently. Bella smiled exhausted. Lewis washed him off in the moon pool and once he was dry, he handed him back to the proud mother.
"Will! Zane! Come in and see the baby boy!"
The proud father took him into his arms smiling. He was very relieved that his wife and son were okay.
Bella looked down at her divided tail. It was slowly, very slowly joining back, the white scales returning to their original colour.
"Why am I not human?" Bella asked Lewis.
"I'm not...too sure..." he replied.
Will placed their son back into Bella's arms. Her worry about her tail and legs was out of her mind as she took in the sight of her beautiful baby boy.
"What's his name?" Will asked, "Which one did you choose?"
"Jacob." She replied firmly.
"Middle name?"
"Jacob Forest Benjamin"
"Forest?"
"I'll tell you later,"
"Great name," Will replied and he kissed his wife.
A/N: Hey guys, sorry 'bout the long wait! I got home from my trip last night. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you think about this chapter and the whole story. Please Review!
For those who asked I did have a wonderful eight days skiing on the beautiful Mt Ruapehu. Have a good day!
