Chapter 25
.
It was official, I was pregnant. By this point humans and aliens having children together wasn't unheard of, but it was still frowned upon. People in St Louis didn't murder these children, at least not that I saw. There was a general sentiment that the war would be over soon, and people didn't really want to endanger their own survival by doing something stupid. When I told Coulson about my pregnancy, he encouraged me to have an abortion. He suspected that David was the father, didn't really like the idea of humans and aliens having children together, and he pointed out that the aliens didn't really like their blood being tainted with race mixing. I knew that Coulson wasn't wrong, and I did worry what it would be like to raise a half human half alien child in a world where the two sides were still at war. I knew I'd have to quit drinking alcohol if I remained pregnant. Like most veterans I drank a fair amount. There was a joke at the time "We drink a lot as compared to before the invasion. We drink not enough compared to being in the war." But I also loved this baby. I thought about my mother, how she had gotten pregnant from her rape. I did sometimes wonder, if abortion had been legal in 2047, would I have been born? This child had also been created in circumstances that were far from ideal, but he or she was no less innocent than I had been. I was finally able to talk with my mother in March, and I told her about the baby. I didn't tell her that David was the father, not yet. Mom said that it was no doubt difficult for me, she said she would support whatever decision that I made. At the time, I still wasn't sure what I would do. Leah was also there for me during this difficult time, she was a good friend. I saw how she was with Noah, I saw how hard it was for her at times. But I also saw how much she loved him, and as I looked into little Noah's face, I could imagine my own baby's face. By the end of my first trimester, I made the decision to have this baby. David was relieved, he promised he would be a good father to our baby. He also promised that he'd stop drinking, that if I couldn't drink he couldn't drink. Coulson wasn't nearly as happy, he mocked my religious beliefs. He seemed to think that it was my jewish beliefs that prohibited me from considering abortion. He didn't seem to know that jewish theologians debated this issue just as christian and muslim theologians did. It also didn't occur to him that I might genuinely love this baby. Coulson said that I would be given a medical discharge if I remained pregnant, because I would be of no more use to our side. By this point I had served two tours of duty, been a POW, been wounded, and fought in a particularly bloody battle in Milwaukee. So a medical discharge for being pregnant actually sounded pretty good. I had seen other female soldiers get pregnant on purpose for this discharge, why shouldn't I take it and have my baby. I got this discharge in April, and simply went back to St Louis.
.
Me and David prepared, took parenting classes, began talking about baby names. Human and alien marriages weren't really recognized by most courts, but there were ceremonies we could have done. David even suggested we have a commitment ceremony, but I declined. I supposse I was still worried what my mother would say if she found out that I married an alien. There were some aliens living in Israel, and my mother accepted working alongside them, but I knew she wouldn't want her daughter marrying one. I knew she would want to meet her grandchild. So, in July 2068, I was able to contact my mother, and tell her who the father of my baby was. She was not happy, but she didn't scream at me or call me bad words. She did however make a point that, even if the war ended, it would be difficult for her to return to America, especially with Willow. She did wish me the best.
.
By August Walker and Gardner were both campaigning for president. It was difficult to campaign, with so much of the country under occupation. In St Louis and other cities, there were efforts to let american citizens vote. The alien authorities here kept the truce going, perhaps hoping that Gardner would win and keep his promise of peace. Otherwise, the negotiations kept dragging on. St Louis was relatively calm, but that could change fairly quickly, as it had in Miami and Seattle. I was well aware that Gardner had been brutal, but he was promising peace. So I decided to vote for Gardner if I had the opportunity. Ever since my "defection" I had been offered the opportunity to appear on the "Alien Andy" show. Now, I began to think I should. Others had, to pressure both sides to make peace. A part of me did think that his conspiracy theory was accurate, that most countries did want to see their jewish populations wiped out in the war, before they made peace. It would explain why they were so hesitant to make peace even now. In September I did appear on the Alien Andy show. I criticized my leaders like Walker, Murphy, Hamilton. I said how jewish soldiers shouldn't fight for a country that despises them and uses them as cannon fodder. And I talked about my pregnancy, how I was happy to be having this baby in a place that would accept us. Perhaps this was treason, but I no longer cared.
.
On October 9th 2068, I gave birth to my son. As I held him in my arms, I knew that I would do whatever I had to do to make it a safe world for him. I had already decided what to name him if he were a boy. By this point I had known two men named Abe, the man who led me back to America to fight the aliens, and the doctor who worked to preserve life no matter whose. There was ofcourse also the Abraham who is considered the spiritual father of jews, muslims, and christians. I also gave him the middle name of a president whom i greatly admire, Lincoln. So my son's full name is Abraham Lincoln Rosenberg.