Author's Note: I should probably warn you that this part of the story mentions a controversial subject matter for some people. There's more on my reasons for adding this here in the Author's End Note. Feel free to review, but flames about this particular subject will be ignored.
Second Trimester
It was amazing how quickly four months managed to pass without notice. Well, that wasn't entirely true. The cool wet fall had turned into a bitter cold winter with more snow than the New England area had seen in many years. Her neighbor's son returned from college for winter break and promptly managed to get into trouble. Her boss got moved to an office closer to the city, which meant that soon there would be a replacement, one that she hoped might actually turn out to be a human being. As for Taylor herself, the four months were a bit hazy beyond the rim of her toilet.
She heard that morning sickness sometimes lasted past the first trimester, but it was getting more than a little ridicules. As if morning sickness wasn't bad enough, she quickly discovered that there was very little food that her stomach – or was it her unborn child? - tolerated. In the first three months, she'd actually managed to loose weight rather than gain it, and though it had slowly started to build back up as her lower stomach gained a slight but ever growing curve, eating was not the easiest of activates.
What worried her wasn't so much her own health, but the fact that she didn't feel pregnant. If it wasn't for the small bump, Taylor would have sworn that she really had eaten something bad and had a toxin she couldn't get rid of. Though still tiny, her doctor had told her that she should have started to feel the baby move a few weeks ago. He had described it as nothing more than a flutter, but Taylor hadn't felt a thing, and it was cause for concern. That or her hormones had gotten the best of her yet again, something that seemed to happen quite frequently recently.
Times like this, Taylor really missed her mother. She'd died of cancer several years ago, leaving a small financial inheritance as well as the house Taylor currently lived in to her daughter. Abigail Corbet was a good woman, tough but caring, and Taylor would have given anything for her to be with here now, if only to have a little support. Luckily Karen had been a good friend to her, coming to see her nearly ever day which cheered her up.
As if on cue, the door bell rang which was quickly accompanied buy Brandy's barking. Taylor quickly headed downstairs to open the door, glaring at the dog, who just didn't understand the concept that not everyone who was outside of the house was a stranger. For a moment she paused. Did Brandy behave better when he was there? Taylor was sure she had.
"Alright," Karen was inside as soon as Taylor opened the door, pulling off her hat and scarf and tapping her winter boots against the doormat. "I brought 'Roman Holiday' and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's.' Plus," she held up a bag of groceries. "Chips and tea. Strange combination, but hey, who am I to question pregnancy cravings."
Taylor smiled, taking the tapes from her friend and crossed the living room to squat by the TV, fiddling with the VCR. "Just put them down on the coffee table, and I'll take care of the movie."
"You look good," Karen commented as she hung up her coat. "You gain some weight?"
"Thanks," Taylor called over her shoulder sarcastically. "That's just what every pregnant woman wants to hear."
"Hey, that was supposed to be a compliment considering the first few months. How are you feeling, by the way?"
"Honestly?" she got up with a sigh, resting one hand against the TV. "I feel like shit. I'm exhausted all the time, and I think it just might make life easier if I set up permanent residence in the bathroom."
"Oh, hon, I'm so sorry," Karen sat down on the couch and waited for Taylor to sink onto the other end. "You know, I hate to even say this," she chose her words carefully, "let alone sound like I'm suggesting it, but you do know it's not to late for the big 'A'."
Taylor took a deep breath, but didn't act too surprised or angry at the idea. "I can't admit I haven't thought of it," she answered honestly, her voice quiet. "And I know like I should feel guilty about it, but a part of me wonders if maybe it isn't such a horrible option. This doesn't feel real to me, Karen. I read all this stuff that pregnant women are supposed to have this... glow about them, but all I feel is sick."
The other woman nodded sympathetically. "All I can say is that I won't think of you any less if you do. If I had to put up with all the crap you do, I think I would have gone crazy by now."
"Don't think that hadn't occurred to me," Taylor laughed. "I don't know. I think I might stick it out for another week, and if things get really bad..." she trailed off.
"Can I ask you something?" Karen pulled a leg underneath her. "Now, please don't get mad before considering it: are you going through all this because you really want a baby now or because it's his child?"
"Karen!"
"I'm just saying," the woman held up her hands in self-defense. "He may have been the spawn of Hell from my point of view, but he was still this great love of your life. I know you don't like to dwell on things, but you do still love him. At least admit that much to yourself. Come on, you're twenty-seven. Hardly an old maid. If you really wanted to move on, you can get any guy you want."
"And what, prey tell, does that have to do with my baby?" Taylor's tone sounded dangerously low, and when Taylor Corbet was angry, everyone usually ran for cover.
"Because of who that baby's father is," her friend stated calmly. "You know full well that if you have that child, you'll never get over him."
Taylor was silent, knowing that her friend's words were true. Without thinking, her hand came down to gently rest against the small bump on her lower abdomen. "Despite all of this," she said quietly, her gaze downcast, "it's kind of comforting. Like having a part of him back here with me. I know it's not fair to the baby for me to think that way, but it's true."
She raised her eyes to her friend, and Karen saw the very beginning of tears threatening to spill out. "Guess, I'm kind of masochistic that way."
"You're not," her friend took her hand and squeezed it assuringly. "You can't help being in love."
Taylor nodded and quickly flickered away the tears with the back of her hand. "At least," she reasoned. "When my kid asks, I'll be able to honestly say I loved his or her father."
She stopped, suddenly bolting to her feat, her eyes wide in surprise. For a moment, Taylor stood perfectly still, hoping that she hadn't imagined it, but when the small fluttering sensation in the pit of her belly came again, she let out a shriek of excitement. Karen stared at her in bewilderment.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Taylor laughed. "I just felt the baby move!"
To Taylor's own surprise, the following week before her checkup went surprisingly well. She was still incredibly sick more often then not, but at least her appetite was slowly but surly returning as her belly began to grow in earnest. But it was during her checkup that she got the biggest surprise yet.
"How'd it go?" Karen asked when a beaming Taylor stepped out of the doctor's office.
"Fine," she smiled. "Doc even thinks he know what it is."
"See, I always knew there was something off about that boyfriend of yours," her friend joked. "So what planet does he hail from?"
"Ha ha, very funny," Taylor gave her a look. "Baby's perfectly normal. Ten fingers and ten toes. At least that's what the nurse said all that static on the ultrasound screen was. I mean, they think they know the gender."
"Well, don't keep me in suspense," Karen prompted. "Am I bringing blue or pink to the baby shower?"
"Thankfully, not pink," Taylor grinned. "I'm having a boy."
When she got home at half past eight, her bed was starting to look particularly appealing. Karen somehow managed to drag her shopping, and now several bags worth of baby clothes littered the living room couch. She briefly entertained the idea of taking the time to put them away but quickly decided that it could wait till morning. Between getting Brandy her dinner, trying to eat something herself, and taking a shower, it would be at least ten before she could actually fall asleep.
To her surprise, she managed to get everything done within an hour, and by nine thirty, Taylor was already in her nightgown. Deciding that a half hour of reading wouldn't hurt, she wandered over to the bookshelf in the corner of her bedroom.
"Okay, let's see what we've got here," Taylor mused as her eyes scanned over the books on the shelf. "I don't know how many children's books I still have, but I promise I'll get some more by the time you decide to grace me with your presence," she told her unborn child.
Her eyes came to rest on a dusty Bible, she picked it up for a moment before thinking better of it and putting the text back on the shelf. "I won't bore you with that stuff," she promised. "I'm sure someone at some point will torture you with it, but for now, let's stick with something a less fire-and-brimstone, okay? Just be a good kid, and you'll be covered. How about this?"
Taylor leaned down, now with slight difficulty, and pulled out a copy of "Peter Pan" from the bottom shelf. "I think this is more age-appropriate. You'll like it. It's about a boy who could fly."
Author's End Note:
I realize the topic of abortion is very sensitive for some people.
Personally, I'm 100 pro-choice. I don't know whether or not I would
get one if I ever found myself with an unwanted pregnancy, but I
believe it is up to each woman to decide whether or not she wants to
get an abortion. As a license plate I saw says, "keep your laws off
my body." In this particular case, I think Taylor's reasons were
perfectly legitimate. She wasn't a teenager who made a mistake she's
trying to get rid of. Her body wasn't handling the pregnancy well at
all (as Zeke mentioned in the first Fallen book often happened to the
mothers of Nephilim) and she was facing all of this without any
support aside from her friend. So don't be too quick to condemn
her.
As for the whole not-reading-the-Bible, I never thought of
Taylor as a particularly religious person. Again, it goes with the
whole thing about her being human and not saint-like. I'm pretty sure
that an average mother-to-be would also be reading fairy tales to her
baby instead of something as heavy as the Bible.
The next and last
part of the story is much darker, as you can expect, and will touch
on the angelic stuff. Till then.
