Caroline & The Blue Lagoon
Chapter 7
Rated 'R' for sexual content
By:
*****~*****
--Richard just held her, saying nothing. Why wasn't he saying anything? Why wasn't he yelling? Or something… anything would be better than silence.
"Richard?"
He pulled back and looked at her, holding her shoulders gently. His expression was hard to read…
"We have to think ahead…" he finally said, with all the seriousness the subject deserved… "We can't wait till the last minute."
"What?" That wasn't what she expected him to say…
"We'll have to prepare. First thing… you need to take it easy. No more strenuous stuff. And you need milk. Gonna need to catch a cow…"
She looked at him like he had lost his marbles… and her tone mirrored her look… "Catch a cow?"
"Yeah. There are some on the island. Hard to kill… and big. A waste of meat really. But if we catch one, and… keep it somehow…" his thoughts trailed off… "But, we'll have to boil the milk first. Kinda like pasteurizing it…"
"Richard?"
"Or we'll have to find something else high in calcium. What else is high in calcium?"
"Richard?" She tried again to get his attention…
"Pineapple juice! Isn't that high in calcium?"
"Richard!"
"And liver! I think liver is too!"
"Ummm… yuck!" Caroline wrinkled her nose, then tried again to get his attention… "RICHARD!"
"What?" He stopped his ramblings long enough to really look at her. He could see the pain in her questioning eyes and he silently chastised himself for not stopping to think before speaking. "I'm sorry, Caroline…" He reached out and held her… "Here I am going on and on about the logistics when that was the last thing you were worried about…"
"Well, maybe not the last thing…"
He chuckled as he rubbed her back, comforting her…
"I'm scared Richard."
"I know you are, but we will get through this…"
"How? There's no hospitals or doctors here!" She pulled back to look at him… "How can I give birth HERE?"
"Caroline, women have been giving birth WITHOUT doctors and hospitals and drugs for longer than they have WITH. We can do this…"
"WE? Seems like it'll be ME doing the bulk of the work!"
"True, but I will be by your side every minute…"
She started to cry again… "I can't do it Richard. I can't give birth on my own…"
"You won't be on your own. You'll have me helping…"
"Have you ever delivered a baby before?"
"No. But before we landed here I'd never started a fire without matches, or killed an animal to eat it, or built a house out of rocks, bamboo, and homemade cement..."
She seemed to relax a little at that statement…
"Caroline, look… I know you're scared… but you can't shut me out. We need to stick together, ok?"
She nodded weakly… "Ok…"
"We'll get through this, it's just going to take some planning and common sense."
"Ok…"
"Now, when was your last… you know… monthly…?"
"Early November."
"Ok. So you're about 4 to 6 weeks?"
"I don't know. That sounds about right. I guess…"
"Ok. So, pregnancy lasts 9 months… about 36 weeks?"
"Actually, I think it's more like 38. You know, cause 4 weeks is 28 days? Most months have 30 or 31?"
"Right. Right. Ok… so, 38 weeks. Six weeks down… 32 to go. Roughly."
"Ok…"
"Right. So… we plan. You eat right, take it easy, get lots of rest. Leave everything to me… I'll take care of you. Get the water and stuff…"
"Ok…"
He took her hand and started walking back towards the shelter… "And we prepare for the baby's birth. We'll need extra pelts to wrap her in. And diapers. We'll have to do something about diapers. Can't have her toddling around without a diaper…"
"Her?" She stopped walking and he stopped too, turning to look at her…
"Or him." He smiled…
She smiled and they started walking again… "I'm so sorry…"
"About what?"
"About getting pregnant."
He halted abruptly and turned her by the shoulders, looking at her sternly… "Caroline, this is not your fault. We are together… on an island without contraception. We were both there. And we're both adults… we knew what could happen. So, it happened… now, we deal."
"Yeah, maybe, but you're not happy about it…"
"I would be lying if I said this is how I pictured my life. I never expected to have any kids. I never wanted to have any kids…"
"Oh, great. Perfect…" She started to walk away, but he stopped her…
"Caroline, let me finish." She stopped and looked at him, so he continued… "You know about my childhood. I didn't want to see another child go through what I went through. But OUR child will not have that kind of life. Not only because we're HERE, and that obviously changes things… but because she… or he, has you as a Mother." He gently touched her face and wiped away the tear that was trickling down her cheek… "And I'm sure gonna be the best Father I can be."
"You will be a great Father…"
"Well, I hope so. And sure, it's not gonna be easy. But we can do this Caroline. Together."
*****~*****
--When Christmas came 3 days later, Richard was actually excited. Not because he was expecting anything… like presents or whatever… but because of the present he had made for Caroline. She had been down the last 3 days, since she told him about the pregnancy, and he hoped his gift would cheer her up. They ate dinner and she started setting up the Mancala game when Richard produced the little item… wrapped in a small, soft pelt that had no fur, with beautiful designs created with bright colors on it. It was almost as if he'd painted the images on…
"What's this?" she asked, taking it from him slowly, almost reluctantly…
"It's your Christmas present."
She touched the painted images gently… "How did you do this?"
"That's my secret. Open it."
"Open it?"
"Yeah. That's just the wrapping." He smiled as she looked at him in amazement. She had actually thought the painted pelt was the present.
She opened it carefully to reveal a necklace. Pearls, with accents of colorful sea shells. She gasped, and looked at Richard, tears falling as usual.
"Oh my God, Richard… it's beautiful!"
"You really like it?"
She could just nod. He took the necklace from her hands and put it on her, placing it over her head.
"How did you do this?" she asked with a shaky voice…
"That's also my secret." He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her gently… "Merry Christmas."
She sniffled and shook her head… "I didn't make you anything."
"You're making my baby. That's present enough. Just you being here with me is present enough."
She hugged him tight… "Thank you, Richard. I love it. I love you."
"I love you too Caroline."
"Even though I'm acting all weird?"
"Weird?"
"Yeah. Weird. Like… you know… mood swings and stuff…"
He chuckled softly and held her a little tighter… "It's just the hormones. Cause of the pregnancy…"
"Yeah. I guess." She sounded down, and he pulled back to look at her…
"You ok?"
"Yeah. Just worried…"
"Try not to…" he instructed her… "It's bad for the baby."
*****~*****
--The next several months were hard… and a learning experience. Caroline's body went through many changes… and so did her mind. It got to the point where Richard was afraid to leave her alone. Not because he was afraid she'd DO something so much as he was afraid that her over-active imagination would conjure up horrible things that may be happening to him while he was away. She was getting much worse when it came to her panicking, and he just didn't know what to do.
--One day, upon coming home from gathering water and fruit, she was as bad as he'd seen her…
"You're back!" was how he was greeted, and her eyes made her look like a caged wild animal.
"Caroline? What's wrong?"
"You're trying to leave me here!"
"What?"
"You're trying to leave me here alone! I know the truth! You're gone a little longer every time you leave! You're preparing me!"
"Preparing you for what?"
"For me to be alone! You resent me that I'm pregnant! That you have to do all the work!"
"Honey, that's not true…" He took a step towards her, but she backed away…
"Don't! Don't touch me!"
He stood still and reached a hand out for her to take it…
"NO!" she shouted at him… "I don't want your pity! If you're gonna leave, just do it!"
"Caroline, I'm not going to leave you."
"You don't love me! You hate me!"
"No, I don't…" He spoke soft and gentle, trying to calm her down… "I love you, Caroline."
"No you don't! You can't! I'm fat! I'm ugly! I'm crazy!"
"You're pregnant. You're beautiful. You're hormonal."
Her anger turned to hysterical sobbing, and she dropped to the ground, her face in her hands. Richard rushed to her and embraced her…
"Ssshhh… it's alright…" he consoled her, and she melted into his body, her tears wetting his shoulder.
"Don't leave me…" she sobbed…
"I will never leave you."
"Let me come with you when you leave then…"
"It's too risky for the baby…"
Her anger resurfaced and she pushed him away… "See?! You ARE trying to leave me!"
He sighed as he slumped… "No, Caroline, I'm not."
"You'd let me come with you then!"
He'd had it. He wasn't mad, he was concerned… but there was no reasoning with her. He picked her up and started out the door…
"What are you doing Richard?!" she fought him, but it did no good… "Put me down!"
"No!"
"Put me down! Put me down! Put me down!"
"No! No! No!"
He marched with her in his arms all the way to the waterfall, and promptly walked right into the cold water. He immediately gasped at the cold, and she cried out a moment later…
"RICHARD! IT'S COLD!"
"I know! I'm in it too!"
"Let me go!"
"No! Not until you calm down!"
She hit at him and squirmed to get away, but he held her tight. Finally, she gave up, and collapsed against his chest.
"Calm now?"
"Yes."
"Ok. Now, listen closely. I love you! I will always love you! I will NEVER leave you! You need to stop this! All this… chaos is not good for the baby."
"Ok." her voice was quiet and meek.
He rocked her in his arms, almost like a cross between a dance and what you would do to soothe a young child. She started to cry, not hysterically but softly, and he held her closer, stroking her hair…
"I'm sorry…" she apologized, barely above a whisper…
"I know you are."
"What's wrong with me?"
"It's the pregnancy."
"I hate feeling like this."
"I know."
She pulled back and looked in his eyes… so much love there…
"You really do love me, don't you?"
"I really do."
She smiled, then leaned forward and kissed him… full of passion. Another mood swing. His first thought was to pull away, that it wasn't the right time for love… seeing as how she was obviously in the middle of an emotional crisis. But, if he pulled away… she might mistake that for disinterest. He remained cautious, but kissed her back, and soon her hands were all over him…
"I want you."
"Right now?"
"Yes. Don't you want me?"
He did, but not like she was right then… emotional, unsure of what she really wanted, of what she was doing. But he couldn't say that…
"Yes, of course I do."
She smiled and kissed him again, rubbing against him seductively. His body naturally responded, and he lifted her gently onto the bank, then climbed out of the water.
"You're cold. Let's go back home. I'll build a fire…"
She nodded, and he extended his hand to her, helping her off the ground.
--They got back to the shelter and he quickly started a fire, then laid beside her on the blanket. He gently took off her wet clothes, then his own, and slowly ran his hand across her cold, wet body… warming her. She moaned softly and it made his head spin. He wanted her. He wasn't sure if it was all together appropriate after the near nervous breakdown she'd just had… but she wanted him. Even if she didn't 10 minutes from then, she did then. He kissed her and fondled her, leaving no part of her untouched… and when he entered her… pure joy. That was the only word that could describe it, and that word didn't even do it justice. They reached their reward, Richard first, then Caroline soon after… both collapsing into sleep as they snuggled up together, the sun still set high in the sky.
--Not more than an hour later, they were startled awake by a sound. A sound that was familiar, yet totally foreign…
"Hello? Ummm… is anyone in there?"