Zelda12343 - Poor Hermia indeed. Things will get worse before they get better.

DarkLadyRebel - I got all excited for a review from you, and it was a dot. I'm sad now :(

Cornodopia - The drama begins!

By the way, what Mercutio says he did in India...the girls in the hotel room next to us did...


On the morning of her due date, Hermia woke with an uneasy feeling in her belly. It wasn't the baby kicking or anything like that, it was nerves. She rose, cradling her belly with both hands, and went to look in the mirror. She was absolutely huge. As Mercutio had predicted, her stomach had swallowed her whole form. Perhaps she ought to consider taking him up on his wheelbarrow offer if the baby went overdue by a few weeks.

So much had happened in nine months. It had been a long year. And a complete nightmare. So much drama, so many events, it had felt like a rollercoaster. Hermia had been a completely different person to who she was now last January. Tybalt actually found someone who wanted to marry him, there had been no feudal fights, unless you count Mercutio and his crank calls, and she was knocked up...

Downstairs, Mercutio and Allegra were sitting at the table, eating breakfast. They seemed to be getting on like fire. Mercutio was telling one of his stories about when he had gone to India. Something about how he'd thrown loo roll all over a fan, then turned it on and been told off by the hotel manager. Allegra was crying and bursting with laughter when he had finished. Hermia watched this cute little scene with a smile on her face.

In the living room, Theobald and Ricardo were having a go at Tybalt for snoring. Tybalt was shouting and mouthing off, calling them names. And denying that he had snored at all, when the whole family had heard him. A typical family scene for the Capulets. It wouldn't be long before an adult turned up and shouted at them all. Hermia ignored the three.

In the hallway, Juliet was marking the calendar as it was Hermia's due date today, and four days to Christmas. She smiled at her and called her Hermy-wa.

She didn't want to run away and leave this all behind. But she was terrified of Demetrius. After what he'd done to her, what would he do to his son? Hermia couldn't have her precious innocent baby growing up with an evil man like that in his life. And even though she'd be leaving behind Benvolio and living with someone she didn't love anymore, and once again lying to him, and not telling him what she was doing, and completely disregarding his offer to run away with her instead, the baby came first now.

How had she gotten in this mess? It took just one night for her life to change forever, and to be thrown in such a mess. When the baby was born, people kept talking about a paternity test, but Hermia was too scared to. She just had to keep Demetrius away from her.

How she wished that Benvolio could be the father!