These chapters are kinda short, and the names of them are a bit of a giveaway, but I was just trying to fast forward to the night Harold was born, so here's where they get a little longer.

Rain lashed on the train car as it trundled through the muddy side roads. Thunder boomed outside and lightning flashed, lighting up Margaret's little train car for a brief moment before all went dark again. The baby in her womb kicked her and she lay on her back, gasping in pain, for she could not bend over double. Her belly was now so big that she was forced to forever wear one of Clarice's bathrobes, tied very loosely over nothing but a white under garment. She moaned in pain until the kicking subsided, and stood up on her bed to peer out the window at the storm without.

They were on the road, traveling east to the state of Delaware. She had been with the circus now for almost a full year, and she was beginning to wish she never had. She wondered what her mother was doing right now, but then decided it was redundant, it didn't matter. What was done was done and there was nothing she could do about it.

Again, she fingered her mountainous belly and wondered when the time was going to come.

Margaret lay on her side in bed and pulled the ragged blankets close to her chin. It was freezing in her little area. At least her child was warm and safe within her, and Margaret fell asleep.

The next morning, Margaret awoke to the smell of bacon, which was odd. She hadn't smelled bacon for awhile, not since she left home.

She sat up and there was the Tall Man, in her car, and she shrank back in startled fear. The man, who was actually 6'9'', was crouching on her floor, holding a chipped plastic plate of bacon and scrambled eggs. She must be dreaming. Her rapist, bringing her breakfast in bed?

"I brought you food." He said, as if expecting some sort of praise. Margaret gave him none, but accepted the plate with grace. She hoped he wasn't going to apologize, because she wanted none. She didn't know what she might say.

"I'll be leaving soon. The circus, I mean." He said then, as she began stuffing her mouth full of eggs. They were hot, but good.

"Mmmf." She mumbled with her mouth full of food. She swallowed, then nodded and said "Thank you for the food." The tall man nodded and grinned, half his teeth missing. She got the impression he wasn't all there.

"I'm sorry, Tom's sorry, but you were just so pretty." He said, sadness in his face. And with that, he got to his feet and lurched out of her car, leaving her stunned, a piece of bacon hanging out her mouth. He had said he was sorry. She doubted it, but she finished her meal in silence and lurched herself to her feet and out the door after him, carrying her empty plate. She squinted her eyes against the harsh morning sunlight and headed to Jimbo's car to return the plate. She knocked on his door and said in a loud voice that carried

"I have your plate, Jim!"

He opened up his door and took it from her without a word, not even bothering to reprimand her for not cleaning it first. Since she became heavy with child, all she was was a burden, not even being able to go on the show because of her damned pregnant belly. He still had to pay her, and he was regretting his decision before not to hear her call for help. Of course, he had heard it, and he had ignored it, because she needed to learn to stick up for herself. He could see his plan had failed with flying colors.

"Go wash up and report back here for your weekly pay." Was all he said, and Margaret carefully stepped off his stairs to go out to the water bin and do as he said.

She had to wait in line, for the fat lady was there with the Siamese twins, washing her face. Margaret suppressed a giggle; it was probably the first contact she'd had with water for quite awhile. She left and Margaret waited for the Siamese twins to finish before she splashed water on her own face and headed back to Jimbo's car.

She knocked once again and Jimbo opened the door before her hand could fall again. He thrust two dollars into her hand and slammed the door in her face. Margaret stared at the money in her hand. Two dollars? What happened to her customary one dollar? Was he trying to be nice to her because of the baby? Whatever it was, she decided to get the money back to her car and under her mattress with the rest before he changed his mind and took it back.

She lifted her mattress and saw the rest of her wages, and added the two dollars. She now had about ten dollars and fifty cents. Most of her money went to buy food for herself, and jars of baby food for her unborn baby. She had also bought two baby bibs and two cloth diapers with safety pins. She sighed and replaced the horribly ragged mattress, then lay back down upon it. She knew she was being a burden on the circus, but what choice did she have? It was her home now, and she could never go back.

Margaret rolled over and decided to take a nap.

She was awakened with sharp stabbing pains in her belly.

At first she thought it was just the baby kicking, but then felt the wetness spread underneath her and smelled the blood. She was having her baby.

It was time.

Panicking, she screamed for someone, anyone to come and help her, she was having the baby, someone help her.

She saw someone push open the doors to her car and the tall man came in, closely followed by Clarice and the Siamese twins. One twin carried a pail of water, the other, a large, coarse towel. The bearded lady carried an extra towel and a pillow, larger and fluffier than Margaret's own. She put her legs up on the bed and was suddenly forced to spread her legs apart rather crudely as something inside her fought its way out. Her hips were being put under an enormous pressure and something inside her for the first time opened its black eyes.

Margaret began to lose consciousness, and she bit her lip till it bled to stay awake for this, the birth of her first, ill-gotten, illegitimate child.

The tall man held her hand, and she squeezed it, hoping for some small shred of comfort. The tall man squeezed back and it reminded her of that night, the force of it all. The pain in her hips doubled, then tripled, and one of the twins suddenly shouted.

"It's coming!"

His twin handed him the towel and his brother carefully mopped the blood away from the poor woman's legs. Under ordinary circumstances, the men would not have been allowed while a woman was giving birth, but these were no ordinary circumstances and the men knew almost as much as the women.

Margaret screamed as the baby pushed its head out, and the rest followed in a rush of birthing fluids. Margaret swayed on the brink of consciousness.

"It's a boy." Said someone, she couldn't tell, everything was so fuzzy.

But she thought it was the Tall man.