Deleted Chapter

(I know this starts out the same – just keep reading)

Chapter Four | Careful Where You Tread

'The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted.' – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Faking a pregnancy was like murdering someone and having their blood stained all over you. No matter how hard you scrubbed, you'd never get rid of the guilt or the blood in your clothes. Jake was feeling like that right now. He told his mate he was warming to the idea, but in all truth, he was not. He always had the horrible feeling that something was going to go wrong, somehow someone was going to find out all about it, and they would be utterly humiliated.

And he was about to find out just how dangerous this lie could get.

"I just do not want a baby shower," Neytiri told her friend, Nikti (the other pregnant one) as they came into the royal's lounge. Jake was already sitting there, and he eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Please?" Nikti begged. "I had one. They are fun!"

"I just think they are..." Neytiri searched for a word to put.

"Tacky?" Jake offered, looking at his mate.

Neytiri looked at her mate and nodded slowly. "Yes, what he said," she said to Nikti. Nikti rolled her topaz eyes.

"Please! Fine, it will not be a baby shower. What about just a fun get-together?" Nikti begged.

Neytiri sighed and looked at her friend with a shrewd look in her eyes. She just knew Nikti wouldn't let this go. "Fine."

Nikti beamed and hugged her friend. "Alright! I am going to go plan. See you two later." After Nikti disappeared, Neytiri and Jake retired to their room. "Can you help me?" Neytiri asked. Jake nodded and lifted up her dress, undoing the clasp gently and letting Neytiri pull out the bundle of fabric that made her look like she was pregnant. Thank God we're in a room to ourselves, Jake thought. If someone saw them doing that, well, he didn't want to think about it. Neytiri stretched a little. "The great thing about this pregnancy is that my back does not ache and my feet do not swell."

Jake chuckled and kissed her softly. "Yes, and you won't have to go through the pain of labour." Neytiri smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him a little harder. Jake leant down to kiss her neck when she moved away. "Come on, we best get to bed. Any 'get-together' Nikti always throws is very longwinded and very boring, and we need to make sure we do not fall asleep." Oh, Neytiri, how wrong you are about this particular one.

· · ·

Nikti, being an established get-together-planner, had it up and ready by the next day. It was hosted just outside of Hometree, in the clearing, and every member of the clan was there in the evening. The chirp of night dwellers in the forest and the beauty of the bioluminescent lights cast a beautiful glow on everyone, and especially Neytiri. Jake found himself smiling with pride as he watched her, knowing she was his and how much he loved her. And with that glow of the forest, Neytiri looked like she was really pregnant, and she looked absolutely radiant.

Just as Neytiri had predicted, it was very longwinded to start off with. Everyone wished Neytiri and Jake the best of luck, and some of Neytiri's close friends and family made speeches. Yes, this was very longwinded, and it got even worse when Mo'at gave a speech and mentioned the traumas of Neytiri's breech birth, and Neytiri just went pale. Jake leaned over to her and said softly in her ear, "You never told me about that."

"I think you can see why," Neytiri pointed out, taking her hand off her belly to massage her temples gently. "Imagine hearing it for the first time on your sixteenth birthday."

After the speeches that made everyone drowsy, save for the one by Mo'at who made audience members queasy, the adults got to talking. Everyone came to try and rub Neytiri's belly, which made her uneasy, scared that they would shift some fabric, but she smiled along. The children, deciding they were bored, went to go practise with bows and arrows. One little boy, by the name of Palin, came and shook Jake's hand to get his attention. "Will you come watch us?" He asked with a smile. All the children loved attention from Jake, as he was always playing with them. Neytiri loved it when he did that. He was one of the only leaders who ever took real attention in the members.

Jake smiled and ruffled his hair. "Aw, sorry little buddy. I have to stay here with the adults. But I can see you from here," Jake added when Palin's ears went down. Palin smiled again and then raced off. The moment he did, Jake's smile faded. Neytiri came over to him and squeezed his hand. "I don't trust his parents," he said softly to his mate.

"Who, the Serlans?" Neytiri asked. "Why?"

"I don't know... I just feel they're up to something," Jake told his mate. Jake had every right to be concerned. Every family had their secrets, and though in the Omaticaya you couldn't hide anything, the Serlans had a great poker face.

Neytiri frowned for a moment; she didn't like gossip or snitching on their friends, but she had to agree with her husband. She shook her head and took his elbow. "Come on," she said, steering him back to their friends. "And keep me by your side."
"Not that I'm complaining, but why?"

"Everyone wants to rub my belly. It is annoying and worrying. Soon, they might figure out that I am carrying a baby that does not kick," Neytiri said through gritted teeth.

Jake chuckled and led her over to where they were serving the food. "And I thought I was the one on edge," Jake smiled as he walked with her. One of the children, a young girl, left her arrows by the food, leaning against a log at a ninety degree angle.
Neytiri rolled her eyes and elbowed him. "Shut up," she murmured, turning around to flick him with her tail in a scolding way. As she did so, she didn't notice the pile of arrows, nor notice when one stabbed her in the stomach.

An elderly Na'vi by the name of Beyral was walking past, and she nearly had a heart attack. "Neytiri!" She screamed, to which Jake and Neytiri whirled around. "Oh, help! Dieln!"
Jake and Neytiri exchanged bewildered glances. Jake covered his mouth when he looked at his mate's stomach. He gingerly pointed to the arrow protruding out of the fabric. "Oh crap," Neytiri gasped. Jake was too busy fretting to realise that he mate had just cussed for what had to be the first time ever. Besides, he was trying to think of a plausible lie to get out of this.

He quickly turned around to Beyral. "No need! I'm sure she's fine," he smiled, and Neytiri smiled back.

Beyral had pretty much gotten a lot of attention now, and Jake had half a mind to stab himself so they wouldn't be focused on Neytiri. That wouldn't work though, considering he wasn't the one carrying the heir. "DIELN!" Beyral screamed, to which the young healer, about five years younger than Jake, came running over. "Neytiri got stabbed in the belly!"
Dieln's eyes practically popped out of his skull, and he rushed over to Neytiri. "Eywa, are you okay?" He exclaimed, placing his hands on her stomach. She quickly backed away.

"I am fine," she insisted.

Jake was wracking his brains. "Of course she's fine! It's... a trick arrow!" He said, pulling it out of Neytiri's stomach and then pushing it back in.

Neytiri quickly caught on. "Yes! It is a little game we played to freak you all out!"
Dieln's brow furrowed in thought. "That's... quite a trick," he said slowly, his eyes scanning theirs.

Neytiri smiled, but she saw that look in Dieln's eyes. He was calculating, and Neytiri grew worried. Jake quickly came to her rescue. "Let's go freak out your mother!" He smiled, dragging her away. He dragged her fully away from the party and everyone's view, into the forest. Everyone had taken the lie to heart, and had gotten involved with their own thing, so no one gave them a second glance – everyone except Dieln, whose eyes followed them into the forest. "My God, that was just too close..." Jake breathed.

Neytiri sighed and leaned against a tree. "I know."

After Jake got his heart rate down, he looked at his mate. "'Oh crap'?" He asked with a bemused smile. "First time I've heard you swear, ever."

Neytiri gave a small laugh. "If stuff like this keeps happening... you will be hearing a lot more."

Several reasons why I didn't put this in. This was way too much like Desperate Housewives in season four, – in fact, exactly like it – where Bree herself was faking a pregnancy, and at a barbecue got stabbed in her 'stomach' with one of those large forks with two prongs.

Also, I can't remember what my beta said about it; just didn't seem quite realistic. I'm not quite sure how sharp an arrow is – I'm assuming quite sharp, or blunt with a lot of force – so following that logic, Neytiri wouldn't have bent down too much for it to stab her. So that was why I didn't put t

his one in!