I never realised how hard it is to hide morning sickness from a doctor, never mind your husband. Eating breakfast has become a battle zone in its own right. Ben fights with me to get me to eat any kind of "food" (It can't really be called food here!) and I fight with Ben to get him to leave me alone, so I can throw up what he made me eat. BJ, Margaret and Radar were getting annoyed with us, only Potter was paying any attention to me.
"ATTENTION, ATTENTION. CAPTAIN JENNIFER PIERCE TO COLONEL POTTER'S OFFICE. THAT WILL BE ALL."
"You wanted to see me, Sir?" I arrived straight from Post-Op duty.
"Yes, Jennifer . Why are you biting Benjamin's head off all the time?"
"I just don't want to eat in the mornings." It had only been one month. I wasn't going to let the cat out of the bag yet.
"You should. You're pregnant again."
"How do you know?"
"I am a doctor. What stuns me is that Hawkeye can't tell." Potter sat back and smiled.
"Maybe he can but I haven't said anything to anyone." I didn't tell Potter and with luck he wouldn't tell Ben.
"I won't tell him if you go when you're four months gone."
"That only leaves me with two more months," I replied with a heavy heart, "But I'll go quietly this time."
"You've kept it quiet. I only figured it out this morning. You may go. I'll see you at dinner."
"See you then, Sir."
I went back to the V.I.P. tent and to Ben, who was sleeping off the effects of late night surgery.
"Ben. BEN. I have something to tell you."
"BJ again?" Ben mumbled sleepily.
"Nope. I think you will like this." Ben sat up, rubbing the sleep from his blue eyes.
"What is it?"
"I'm…." I didn't get to finish.
"Pregnant?"
"Now, how did you know?"
"I'm not that stupid."
"That's what I was talking to Potter about. I've only got two months left."
"I've been thinking. Maybe you shouldn't have to go to Crabapple Cove."
"What do you mean? I have do go home."
"What if we got a flat or something in Tokyo?"
"Then you could come and visit. When there isn't a rush, of course."
"That was what I was thinking."
"Money isn't a problem. I saved loads because you and BJ have the still."
"You could stay till the end of the war. Then we will go home together."
It didn't take long to find a flat. It was really small but there was enough space for me, and Ben when he could come to visit. The expectant father was driving me up the wall. Like I couldn't look after myself. Damn checkups every five minutes and his desperation to do everything for me. At eight months it was getting harder to do housework and I wished that Ben was closer. I decided to visit the 4077th no matter how risky it was.
I set off in the morning, since I knew that it would take most of the day to get there. There wasn't a rush which was good and I got to meet my replacement, a "Charles Emerson Winchester the 3rd " as he put it. He is a bit posh if you ask me. Not Ben and BJ's kind of person. Still at least I got to talk to Margaret again. We hadn't talked since I moved away.
"How goes the pregnancy?"
"This is the worst part. All the waiting, kicking and back pain. And that's just from Ben. I'm guessing that the birth will be a lot worse than any of this."
"It shouldn't be too bad. Have you talked to your mother recently?" The thing about my mother is that she resented the fact that I got married so far away and without her being there, to a man she hadn't met. Me carrying her grandchild didn't matter, apparently.
"She shouted for a while, then told me all the first births in our family take at least nine hours. That isn't what I wanted to hear."
"It might not run through all of the family. Where are you having the birth, by the way?"
"Here? Not a Tokyo hospital anyway. I wanted you to be there. And Ben, of course."
"You want me to be there?"
"Yes. Why shouldn't I? How many births have you seen? There isn't anyone more qualified. In my mind."
"The fighting has moved north at the moment. I think you could and should stay. Talking Colonel Potter around should be a breeze. Since it would be better for you medically speaking."
Margaret, Ben and BJ talked round Potter. I stayed in the V.I.P. tent again. No-one understood how much I had missed being in Benjamin's arms every night. This safe feeling when I could hear his heart beat as my head lay on his chest. Now I had another heart beat to listen to. I borrowed one of the stethoscopes from the supply tent so I could hear the baby's heart. Ben used to bring one when he came to visit but he never left it behind.
The first contraction came after just two days at camp. Late at night the baby started kicking and there was this kind of pain that made me want to claw at something. It went as quickly as it came and I wondered if it was an actual contraction. Since it was followed by another twelve minutes later, I thought it was a safe assumption.
"Ben, it's time."
