Authors notes: So yeah I know I have a lot to answer for. I had planned to write that part of AO where Ao meets Eureka, but the motivation was just not there. I tried to force myself, but it was pointless. So after ALL THIS TIME I decided not to write that. I decided to skip ahead to the part of the story I had actually written. It is sort of a draft but I hope you like it. Sorry to keep it from you. I thought it would be nice to not have lots of fanfiction loose ends on my account.
Eureka's POV
We were in the Gecko when it happened. My tummy started to hurt. All the fear I'd been bottling up for the past few months was finally getting detoxed from my body. All I could do was feel it – and gosh, it really hurt.
"My back hurts" I moaned. Renton rubbed my shoulders.
"I know. I'm sorry"
It almost felt like the thing with Talho all over again. I got up to the bathroom a few times, and decided to have a bath. We would tell Talho and Holland about it later. Renton sat near the bath and rubbed soap onto my back.
"I'm scared" I said, cringing as another contraction appeared.
"About Nirvash?" Renton asked. I nodded. Renton hesitated.
"They're just here to protect us" I explained "There's not much more that can be done"
Or so that's what I like to think, I thought. I took Renton's hand.
"I want to see our baby girl" I cried. I put my face in my hands, ashamed at how hormonal I had become. "I hope nothing goes wrong"
"I hope so too, Eureka" Renton kissed the top of my head "We can do it"
Labor was hard. I guess that's pointing out the obvious. It wasn't the pain that bothered me as much as how exhausted I was. It was so painful my mind would blank out and it was a surprise to be back in the real world again. It smelled awful, too. Nauseatingly so. While Holland and Talho alternated taking care of Wendy and being at my side, I was lucky enough to have Hilda, Mischa and Renton cheering me on. I know Renton was afraid for reasons he couldn't tell everyone else. I thought back to Talho's labor, and it gave me strength.
If she can do it, I can do it too.
I can't express in words the relief I felt when our baby appeared into my arms, unscathed. I burst into tears, and Renton's lip trembled.
"its okay" I said softly, as the final part of labour took hold "Our baby is fine, right?"
The baby let out a cry that didn't go on for long as Wendy's initial cries did. Mischa washed her up for us.
"She appears to be fine, yes. There are some cracks in her skin though. It might be just temporary"
Mischa handed our girl to Renton, who passed her to me. He was crying again. He was a big cry baby. He wiped his eyes.
"Look how beautiful she is" he said, and I smiled. She had been covered in gunk but I knew what he meant. I held her close.
"She is"
Amber… my little Amber… you're finally here.
Still paranoid, I turned her over in my hands, trying to see if there were any signs of problems. Mischa was right. Her skin looked awfully dry and cracked. I ran a finger over one cheek, and it felt like paper. In fact, it looked like she was drying up.
"What's wrong, Eureka?" Mischa asked.
"Are you sure this is normal?" I said, and I held our girl up to Mischa. Mischa's face turned stony cold, and I saw Renton's eyes widen in terror. She bit her lip.
"Hilda, Holland, can you come with me?"
Hilda and Holland looked at each other, then to Renton and I.
"Why? What's wrong?" Hilda asked.
"Just come here"
I looked to Renton terrified, and a new emotion filled my now stretched belly: anger.
"MISCHA!" I yelled, and I wanted to get up after her. I raised my head. Renton held onto my shoulders.
"No, Eureka. Stay still" he said. I hit Renton. I wasn't usually a violent person but I wanted to punch someone.
"That's our baby!" I said, and I started to shake "They're taking her away from me! I should be feeding her! I should be cuddling her! She's mine to love, not theirs!"
"I know, Eureka!" Renton yelled, and he hugged me "Mischa's trying to help"
"I didn't do anything wrong. My pregnancy was perfect! My body was perfect! It was designed to do the right thing" I said quickly, feeling panicky. Sweat dripped down my face. "Renton, I'm scared"
"I know. I am too" Renton admitted, and I heard his breath shudder "Stay here, I'm going to check on them"
"Don't you leave me too!" I yelled, not knowing what I was saying anymore. Renton put a hand on my head.
"I promise I'll come back"
He kissed me on the head.
"Stay there"
He walked out of the room, and I left there, feared the worst. What was happening to our baby girl?
Renton's POV
I didn't know what to think as I exited our bedroom, smelling like blood and gross things. I found Mischa, Holland and Hilda whispering among themselves, holding our baby close to them. I stopped in my tracks, and put my hands on my hips.
"Do you mind giving me an explanation" I began "As to why you're letting our kid starve to death in this cold corridor?"
They all looked to each other, and didn't say anything. An alarm bell went off in my head. Something wasn't right here.
"What?" I asked "Do you like keeping secrets from us?"
Hilda shook her head, sadly. Holland took a deep breath.
"Renton, you have to understand no one did anything wrong here. The circumstances were just bad"
"What do you mean?"
Holland groaned.
"I don't want to do this"
He stormed away, before anyone could protest. I felt fear rumble inside, and I wondered how Eureka was coping on her own.
"Are you going to tell me or not?" I asked. Maybe she had a genetic abnormality. Maybe she was going to be mentally disabled, or had some lifelong disease. Maybe it wasn't anything life threatening. At least, I hoped not. Hilda stood behind Mischa, as she handed me the pile of blankets.
"You can see, if you want" she said, emotionless. I looked into her face, and I knew she had dealt with this sort of pain before. There was a familiarity in her eyes I didn't like. I took the blankets, and was surprised by how heavy it was. I remembered she had once told me she hadn't managed to have children. Taking a deep breath, I opened the blankets, and gasped. Our beautiful girl was covered in patches of what looked like brown muck. The bits that were still human flesh were shrivelling up like old fruit. I placed a hand on the brown sections.
"It's cold. Is she sick?" I asked, dreading the answer. Mischa shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Renton, but I think she is turning to stone"
"What?"
I couldn't hear this, I couldn't take it. How would I tell Eureka the truth? Mischa put a hand on my shoulder.
"I don't know what it is about the outside world, but clearly it's not meant to be"
"Don't tell me that!" I screamed, and my voice broke. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone on the ship heard me. "You told me she was healthy! Don't go back on your word!"
"I'm sorry, Renton. There's nothing I can do"
"LIAR!" I screamed. I stepped away from her "You're a monster! You did this on purpose because you're jealous!"
"Renton, please…" Mischa began. I wouldn't let her speak.
"Eureka and I just went through hell and back for nothing, is that what you're saying to me? That we spent all our money for nothing? All our hard work was for absolutely NOTHING?!"
Mischa had given up trying to reason. She just stood there, while I yelled at her.
"Maybe she doesn't like the air of the Gekko, maybe she wants to be outside. She would be half Coralian after all" I said "I don't believe you"
I kissed our girl on the head, and I ran back to where Eureka was. I didn't know how to explain it to her. I just knew that I would.
When I came back, Eureka was already in tears, with Hilda and Holland surrounding her. I pushed past them.
"Get out of the way!" I growled. Holland looked sadly at me.
"What are you trying to do?" he asked. I looked away at him.
"Change things"
I reached Eureka, and she couldn't even speak. She just looked at me with wide, red, eyes. Hilda was holding her hand. Tears wouldn't stop falling down her face.
"Don't listen to them, Eureka" I said "I'm going to make things better. I'm going to bring her outside. This stuffy ship must be getting to her"
"No! Don't do it!" Eureka pleaded "Holland told me that might make it worse. We should just be with her while we can"
"SHUT UP!" I yelled "I'm not going to sit back and watch. I've done enough of that tonight"
"I know you're emotional, Renton. This is a terrible thing to happen" Hilda explained "but do you really want to take that risk?"
"I'll take any risk" I said, filled with a newly found power "If it means I can save my family"
As I ran out the room, and down the corridors to the outside air, I felt the blankets in my arms getting heavy, but I refused to look, and I strove on.
"We can do this" I said, muttering under my breath "we can get it to work"
I opened the door, and I panted, as the cold air brushed over her beautiful, disfigured face. She didn't look so bad. Sure, she might be picked on at school, but nothing a bought of surgery can change, right?
I was wrong. So very wrong. As the cold air wafted over her face, she let out a cry, and the rest of her features quickly thickened to dark. It looked too solid to be skin. I tapped it, uncertainly. My breath left me. The others hadn't been wrong. I had been the idiot trying to be the hero. I unwrapped the blankets.
"Sweetie" I said, even now, not sure of what to call her "Please, don't go"
There was no response, only the gushing of the wind outside. I kissed her, and her skin was cold. She was heavy and motionless. She was most certainly dead.
"DON'T GIVE ME THIS CRAP' I screamed. I kicked the Gekko behind me, and it left a dent. I breathed quick, and fast, yet tears wouldn't come. I think I had been all cried out. Mischa, Hilda and Holland appeared, with Eureka between them, covered in blankets. Eureka looked like the definition of despair. She trembled, and held out her hand.
"Can I see her?" Eureka asked. I shook my head.
"She's dead" I said, blankly. Eureka paused, but she stepped forward.
"Please let me see her" she said again "our baby girl, I want to see how beautiful she is"
I turned to Eureka, and could barely stand to look at her innocent complexion, wrought by grief. Holland whispered.
"Don't push yourself, Eureka"
"Renton" she pleaded. I bit my lip, walked over, and passed her to Eureka. Eureka looked at her baby with a blank expression, and she bit her lip. Holland did something I had never seen him do. He kissed Eureka on the cheek.
"I'm sorry, Eureka" he said, earnestly. Hilda squeezed Eureka's shoulder.
"It's horrible"
"I-I-s this my fault?" Eureka asked, whether to God or me, or the Heavens, I had no idea "Am I a monster? Is this why this happened?"
"No, darling" Holland said, again, with that syrupy sweetness I had never seen "It's just bad luck"
I didn't know what to say to Eureka, except that there was no point saying this is what Nirvash had warned us about. Eureka sobbed, and she let out a strangled cry.
"Why?!" she shouted "Why me? Why Renton? Why did this happen to us?"
She collapsed into Hollands arms and wailed. For some reason this didn't bother me. Instead, I was left feeling numb and emotionless. I approached Eureka, and tried to hug her, but she pushed me away.
"If you hadn't run out, we could have held her a little longer" she sobbed "Maybe 10 minutes"
"What are you fucking blaming me for?!" I yelled "I was trying to help"
"It's no one's fault" Hilda said "Do you want us to leave you two alone?"
"Don't go" Eureka said, and she held tighter to Hollands shirt "I don't want to lose more of my family"
Holland ran a hand through Eureka's hair "We're always gonna be here for you, no problem"
Eureka didn't want to get rid of our daughter, even though she was made of stone. It was morbid of her to keep her corpse, but she wanted to sleep with her, and hold her. I didn't really blame her for wanting that much, and she talked to her, even though there was no answer.
It was only through lots of convincing with Holland, did she agree to let her go.
"No one's asking you to forget" Holland said "but she deserves to be left to rest"
Eureka nodded "I know. It's just… it's just so hard"
The anguish can not be properly put to words. We planned to bury her into the snow. As we approached the perfect spot we had picked out over the many hills of white, we fell to our knees. There could be no justice in a world like this. There couldn't be a God. We held each other and wept, knowing nothing could ease the grief. Little Amber Thurston … she was alive for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes – but to us she would always haunt us. She would never be dead, just sleeping under piles and miles of snow - as though waiting for the Angels to take her to some kind of Heaven.
It felt so wrong.
"I'm sorry, Eureka" I blubbered, and my nose started to dribble. It was cold, and I felt broken. We might as well be naked for how useless our coats were.
"Me too" Eureka held me close, but it did nothing to keep me warm "I wish we hadn't tried. I know that's selfish and I'm sorry… but the pain wasn't worth it"
I couldn't speak. I just nodded.
Deep down, Eureka knew that wasn't true… but she didn't make the connections for a very long time. Her mind was closed to the very idea of hope, for she believed there was none. I couldn't blame her. I thought so too.
Both of us were wrong.