Chapter 24
The sunlight streamed through the window as Abigail slowly popped one eye open and immediately regretted it, turning on her side to snuggle further in the pillow. She felt something warm against her and immediately snapped her eyes open, looking up at the peaceful sleeping Undertaker. It took her a minute to recollect the previous night and felt his arms tighten around her to pull her closer, his nose burying in her hair. They hadn't had sex, but…the foreplay – that had been spectacular in itself. Hours of having his mouth buried between her thighs and hers on his dick, with breaks in between to either talk or hydrate themselves, had Abigail feeling pleasantly relaxed. She had no idea what time they went to bed and glanced at the clock on his nightstand, immediately bolting upright in bed.
"FUCK!"
Scrambling out of bed, Abigail tripped over her shoes and groaned, trying to find her clothes. Stephanie was going to KILL her! She was over an hour late helping prepare breakfast at the common house.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
Since he wasn't using any magic to maintain a look, -he didn't need it with her- he felt no shame whatsoever about crooking a finger and drawing her right back to bed. "I sent word that you were indisposed a few hours ago, darlin'." Taker informed her in a husky, sleep-filled rumble. One day only wouldn't kill her and Stephanie had new girls to train so to speak since she would have to start overseeing more than actually doing the work soon because of her pregnancy and how large she was.
"You really enjoy doing that to me, don't you?" Abigail muttered good-naturedly, once she landed back in bed beside him and turned on her side to stare at him.
Indisposed…anyone with half a brain would know exactly what that meant, even though they hadn't had sex yet. It was bound to happen, especially if he planned on keeping her in bed with him all day. What a delicious thought that was, but Abigail also knew he had obligations to Wonderful. In the sunlight, he was even more beautiful as Abigail stroked his face with her hand and scooted closer to softly kiss his lips.
"I didn't mean to wake you up like that. Sorry." She mumbled against his mouth, laughing when he smacked her backside and pulled her to sprawl over on him again as they continued kissing.
"I've been up off and on for a while now, darlin'." He chuckled, kissing along her jawline. "I'm not used to having someone else in the bed with me anymore." They couldn't spend all day in bed, as much as he'd like too. Eventually, people were going to come knocking to see what the hell he was doing, cooped up in here… and maybe he'd let them inside, and answer the door butt naked.
"Mmm, you could've woken me up and I'd keep you company…" Abigail purred, lifting her head and tilting it slightly as he sat upright with her legs draped on either side of him. "W-We really should start getting up and around…" Seeing him nod in agreement, neither moved from their spot as he continued kissing her neck down her collarbone to her breasts, completely melting against him. She smiled, hearing him mumble 'five more minutes' and slid her fingers through his hair, allowing him to love her all over again. "Five minutes then…"
An hour later, they were in the shower together washing each other and talking about whatever came to mind, the subject of the DOV or Bray never coming up.
It was interesting how easy it was to talk to Abigail. He hadn't felt like this in a long time, just talking and being with someone without feeling overly awkward or hesitant. She had gotten to see more of the faded scars and he had told her the story of how he had gotten them, about Glen. It rang dimly in the back of his mind that, if things went south or she somehow wound up back in Bray Wyatt's clutches, she would have a bit too much information on him, but… Taker also trusted her.
Taker had a lot of information about her as well, such as her upbringing in the foster home and her mother's death. It wasn't easy to talk about, but it was all Abigail really knew since she'd blocked out a lot of the first couple of years in the foster home. The fact those people actually thought BrayWyatt was a devil and punished him for it, all because she had spoken to him…Abigail wished she never would've opened her mouth. Maybe he wouldn't have turned into the monster he was today. Then again, it took a lot more than just abuse at a foster home for 6 years to warp a person the way he was.
They talked about their likes and dislikes, favorite books, music, color, food…all of it. It broke her heart to hear the story about how his brother had died by sacrificing himself to save Taker…and he'd even told where he got his magic from. Abigail trusted him as much as he did, not having a reason to think otherwise. By the time they finally emerged from the tower, it was past noon and he walked with her to the common house, kissing her hand before heading out to take care of his business.
Her foster home had been messed up and, perhaps possessed, or just genuinely evil. Abigail hadn't spoken in years and Bray Wyatt was the first person she did speak to, finally. Instead of rejoicing, they presumed the kid was a demon. That was jacked up and Taker had seen and heard of a lot of horrid stories in his life.
"Oh right there, John…. yeeesssss…." Stephanie was moaning when Abigail finally walked into the common house. She was sitting in a chair, her feet in all their swollen achy glory on her man's thighs while he gave her a foot massage.
Abigail laughed at the look on Johnny's face because it sounded like Stephanie was having an orgasm. She knew all about that now after her night with Taker in his warm, comfortable bed. He grinned up at her while continuing to massage his woman's feet and didn't stop, wanting to stay in her good graces. Stephanie pregnant was scary.
"I'm SO having Steve do that to me tonight."
"I don't blame you there. How are you feeling, anyway?"
"Hell woman, we should be asking YOU that question." Trish's brown eyes gleamed wickedly, knowing where Abigail had slept last night.
Abigail flushed, turning a deep crimson and cleared her throat. "I – um – no comment." Then she FLEW into the kitchen past the blonde to start preparing lunch.
"Oh my god! OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Amy was having a meltdown, storming into the common house, trembling from head to toe and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "T-This isn't happening to me…"
"What's wrong?" Abigail demanded, rushing back out and saw the object in Amy's hand, her eyes widening. "Oh my god…"
It was a pregnancy test…a positive pregnancy test.
"Fuck, we really need more help around here now…"
"There is plenty of hands-on-deck, they just need training." Stephanie rolled her eyes, sharing a grin with John. "Did you all forget Wonderful is filled with hundreds of people?"
"Got some teens looking to start pitching in, couple of pretty strong boys." John offered, grinning when Stephanie flashed him two thumbs up.
"We best get Jeff to check the water. Seems like pregnancy is contagious now." Trish shot Stephanie a wink before turning her attention back to Abigail. "If you don't want to join the ever-growing list, you best get over to Melina and see about birth control."
That was not a bad idea, especially now that three of her friends were all pregnant, one right after the other. "Good idea, on both counts." Abigail cleared her throat, refusing to tell them exactly what happened between her and Taker because it was nobody's business. She hoped he felt the same way and would keep their intimacy private, especially since they hadn't actually done the deed yet. "I'll go over there after we get lunch set out. Steph, why don't you take it easy and relax?" Her feet were really swollen, the poor thing had just a little under 2 months to go until she could pop that kid out.
"Agreed. John, take her home and make her bed rest." Trish held her hand up, in charge when Stephanie wasn't. "We'll start training some of the newbies today. Your feet look like little sausages and that's not good, honey."
"Pregnant…I'm pregnant…and I haven't even told Matt." Amy's eyes snapped up to meet John's. "DO NOT say a WORD to him about this, please!"
"Whoa, calm down little momma, I'm not gonna say a word." This common house was about to turn into pregnancy and hormoneville.
"Stephanie, get in to see Melina." They hadn't even noticed Taker walking in and he crouched down beside her and John, reaching out to feel her forehead. "You're red and flushed, darlin'. John, how often are her feet swollen?"
"Boss, I don't think they've been normal-sized in weeks… but she's always up and running."
"Carry her over, Jeff should be there as well. I want them to monitor her."
"Gestational hypertension?" Stephanie guessed, groaning at the concerned look he gave her.
That had been an issue before; it usually resolved after delivering the baby, but… left unchecked, it could also be fatal for the mother. She had no doubt Taker and the rest would save the baby. They'd done C-sections before and Jeff had improvised assisted breathing machines for preemies.
"Fine… fine, John, carry me."
"Trish," He caught the blonde's arm as soon as John was out the door. "I want an inventory of our medication. Make sure there'll be enough to keep her blood pressure within normal range for the next few months." They had done that raid several months ago and he was foreseeing another soon. "I want to see Steve and Bradshaw. I need maps."
"On it, Taker. Ames, you're in charge."
"But-"
"Abbie can help. Boss, could you?"
"I'll help out today, send the guys here to me."
"I-Is she going to be okay?" Abigail was worried for Stephanie and the baby, her eyes mirroring it, her gaze suddenly snapping to the ladder as Susan came trekking down it.
Amy had to pull herself together, taking a deep breath and nodded, placing a hand on her still flat stomach. "Fine – she'll be fine…"
"Sorry…I must've overslept…"
Susan hadn't slept well due to nightmares and had to keep reminding herself she was safe in Wonderful. Luke Harper wouldn't wake her up in the middle of the night raping her. Everyone had been told to let her sleep as long as necessary, wanting those dark circles to disappear from her eyes.
"Not a problem, sweetie, how do you feel?"
"Thirsty, and hungry."
"Sit down and I'll get you some fruit until lunch is ready." Abigail stepped forward to guide her to a table, smiling reassuringly and saw Taker nod in agreement. "Do you know if you're allergic to anything?"
"N-No…I like bananas though…"
"Got plenty of those. Hang tight, okay?" She walked past Taker to the kitchen to grab Susan a banana, apple, and some milk, needing to put fat on her bones. Susan was way too skinny.
He sat down along with Susan, smiling gently when she gave him a small smile of her own. "You'll get used to it here, Susan." Taker promised, knowing it was going to take her a long time to get used to moving about freely and get comfortable around the men.
For the most part, they didn't have trouble here. Of course, there was crime and they had dealt with a murder or two over the years, a case of rape as well. Taker had been swift but merciful with justice and punishment. Stealing was more of a thing these days and that usually stemmed from when supplies got low and winter was already set in.
"Abbie," She looked so damn concerned, that tray shaking in her hands. "Stephanie will be fine, we know what to do for her, all right, darlin'?"
Locking eyes with him, it took a minute, but Abigail stopped shaking and set the tray in front of Susan without splattering the milk and fruit all over her. That was a win in her book. They had eaten before coming down from the tower, thanks to Taker having a small fridge of his own at his place. It was fruit and water; which Abigail didn't mind because it was healthy. She needed something to give her energy after the numerous activities they'd done the previous night with each other.
"Now eat up."
Susan didn't need to be told twice, digging into the banana with gusto and drank her milk, feeling better than she had in ages. Women in the DOV were fed leftover scraps from dinner unless they were pregnant, then they got their own meal. If there was nothing left, the women tended to go hungry. There was an abundance of them, so losing one or two of starvation wasn't a big deal to the DOV.
'Thank you.' Abigail mouthed to Taker before heading back into the kitchen to help Amy with lunch.
"Trish said you wanted to see us. Hey there, honey." Steve flashed Susan a smile, before dropping down at the table, along with Bradshaw.
Shaw was eyeballing Susan like he had never seen a woman before. Considering Taker had JUST discovered his niece, he wasn't entirely sure he was alright with that ogling from his friend. "Maps, John?"
"Oh yeah, here boss."
How likely would Abbie be in helping him spill coffee on someone, Taker wondered thoughtfully with a snort. "Hospitals that we haven't raided, what do we have?"
"Not much within a few days ride…"
"Abigail!"
She rushed out of the kitchen with wide eyes, clutching her chest at the look on Susan's face and planted her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes. "I'm really busy, so if this isn't important, Susan…"
"It is." Susan smiled serenely and gestured to the map, pointing at a spot on it. "Isn't that where the DOV stores stuff like medicine and supplies for the castle?"
Walking over, Abigail looked down at the map and trailed her finger from where the castle was to the storage facility, remembering Bray showing her this while boasting about his plan at the beginning of the DOV. "Yes. Yes, it's there. They've been raiding towns like you guys and…stocking up for the women…" Whatever they needed for pregnant women was in that facility. "It's huge, four stories and…god, what did he tell me? Something about the serum being stored there, I think…"
"Right, so wouldn't what Stephanie needs, and other women here, be there?"
"Yes…" That place was HEAVILY guarded, however. "It does." Her eyes locked with Taker, worry filling her eyes and already knew he would do what was best for people in Wonderful, especially pregnant women.
