Author's Note: Thanks to my awesome beta, as always, BluCrayons. Love ya!
Chapter 44: The Birth
"Is he really ok?" Mike asked as he sat with Peter, wanting to help Micky, but too afraid to leave Peter. Micky seemed to be hurt pretty bad, but he had Rose, Sarah and Davy to help him. Micky lay down on the floor as Sarah knelt down next to him.
"Micky, let me take a look at your wounds," Rose said kneeling next to Sarah.
"Sure," Micky answered softly.
"Hold this," Rose said lifting up Micky's shirt and handing it to Davy. Davy took the shirt and held it up so Rose could unwrap his bandages. Mike waited impatiently for Rose as she inspected Micky's chest.
"How is he?" Davy asked.
"He's fine," Rose said. "Sarah, get the burn cream."
"Sure," Sarah said and rummaged through the first aid bag for more bandages and the burn cream. "We're almost out of both."
"Shit," Rose said.
"It's fine," Micky said.
"No, it's not," Rose said. "Some of these are still blistered pretty bad. We're gonna need some more."
"Tell me whatever you need and I'll get it," the priest said walking in the room at that moment. "What happened to him?"
"He was burned," Rose answered. "We need more bandages and burn cream."
"I'll make sure to bring you some by tomorrow," the priest answered looking at Micky's chest with a slight bit of horror.
"So he's ok?" Davy asked.
"Yes," Rose said. "Well, aside from the injuries themselves. He overworked himself. He didn't injure anything. He just needs a lot of rest. He's gonna be fine." Rose wrapped Micky in more bandages after putting more burn cream on his wounds. A little while later, Willow brought them food. The first decent meal they'd had in months. Willow had made them eggs, bacon, and had a small bowl of fruit for each of them and even a pitcher of milk. She said she'd make something for Peter later when he woke up.
Mike tried to eat, but he was too worried about Peter and Micky to really eat much. Rose pushed him to eat, however, even though he didn't really want to. When Sarah finished eating and pushing Micky to eat, too, she moved to spoon feed Heather, who tried not to eat. Rose threatened her again and she finally allowed Sarah to feed her. A little while later, the priest and Willow came back with cots, pillows and blankets for each of them. Micky passed out on one of the cots as soon as Rose and Sarah set it up for him and then moved to set up more for the rest of them.
As night started to fall, Peter finally started stirring. Mike saw his fingers twitching a little and felt Peter try and lift his head a little. He motioned to Rose that Peter was stirring and she quickly moved to the bed with the bag. She felt Peter's pulse first in his wrist and nodded at Mike.
"His pulse is stronger," Rose said. "That's definitely good."
"What happened?" Peter mumbled.
"Relax, Pete," Mike said as he felt Peter try and get up. "You were shot. Try not to move."
"I know," Peter said. "After that."
"Micky saved you," Mike answered. "Just rest."
"My leg hurts," Peter said.
"I know," Rose said pulling the needle and bottle of morphine out of the bag they'd come to rely on so much. "I'm gonna give you some more morphine, ok? It should take some of the pain away. It'll just take a few moments to kick in."
"Ok," Peter said allowing her to find a vein in his arm. "Where are we?"
"In the church," Mike said. "We're safe; don't worry."
"Is Micky ok?" Peter asked.
"He's fine," Rose answered finding a vein and injecting him with the medication. "Everyone's ok. Thanks to you. You're a real hero, Peter. You saved Sarah's life."
"I'm not a hero," Peter said smiling. Mike felt relief wash over him at the sight of his best friend smiling. It meant that Peter was going to be ok. Over the next few weeks, Willow and the priest took care of them. Willow made them meals full of the nutrients they'd missed out on for months, making them all feel a little better over time. Mike hadn't even thought about how malnourished they all were until they were finally able to eat decent food. The priest managed to get them all the medical supplies they needed, and more. He brought them more burn cream and bandages for Micky and Peter and had even managed to get some antibiotics for them, just in case.
Sarah continued to periodically check on Heather, informing them that she looked healthy and didn't see any issues with the baby. Her own pregnancy progressed, as well. She was 4 months along and her stomach was getting bigger every week but she was still nauseous. She'd run down to the bathroom periodically and Micky would run after her to help her and be with her. She had a little control over her emotions but would still sometimes start crying for no reason. Each time she did, Micky would hold her and calm her down.
Micky's wounds progressed slightly, but they still seemed to hurt him pretty bad. None of them really knew what to do with acid burns so treating him was very difficult. Peter's wound was healing quickly. They had given both the antibiotics the priest had gotten for them just in case, knowing they'd both run through a dirty orchard and could have picked up anything. But everything seemed to be going well, in spite of everything. But of course, as soon as Mike thought something like that, it immediately had to go to hell.
Heather woke them all up in the middle of the night screaming only 3 weeks after their escape. Peter still couldn't walk, but he sat straight up in the bed and stared at her while the others either fell out of their cots or jumped up. Davy, who's turn it was to stand guard over her that night to make sure she didn't escape, was already at her side when Mike looked over at them.
"What the hell?" Mike asked.
"Uh, she's in pain," Davy answered. "Contractions? Maybe? I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing."
"Move," Rose said quickly rushing over to look at her. Micky joined her, both knowing exactly what to do. Mike suddenly felt himself gripped with fear. If she really was in labor, he was about to become a father. A wave of emotion washed over him, nearly knocking him back over. What if he was a bad father? What if he screwed up and destroyed this kids life? What if he got the baby killed? Could he really raise a child on his own? The room seemed to spin around him and he felt like he was going to throw up. Another scream ripped him out of his thoughts.
"Get your hands off me!" Heather screamed. "Do you really think I'm gonna let you deliver my baby!?"
"Do you really think you have a choice!?" Micky yelled back. "We're all you've got right now."
"Fucking bitch!" Heather yelled and kicked Rose in the arm.
"Hey!" Davy yelled and pinned her leg down.
"I can't tell if she's in labor without looking at her," Rose said. "Sarah, hold her other leg so she doesn't kick me again."
"You alright?" Mike asked reaching for her arm to inspect it.
"Fine," Rose said. "She'd not at full strength, so it didn't really hurt. Might just bruise later."
"What can I do?" Mike asked wanting to help.
"Go get some water and some towels," Micky said moving to try and help Rose.
"No," Rose said to Micky. "You're still hurt, too. I can handle this. You just sit still."
"Fine," Micky said leaning back against the wall his cot was set up against. Mike nodded and ran to get the towels and the bowl of water. When he came back, Willow and the priest had entered as well and were watching. Rose had finally been able to examine Heather, though she was still fighting fiercely.
"She's definitely dilated," Rose said. "At least 4 or 5 centimeters. She's in labor. Has been for a bit, I think."
"Is there anything we can do?" the priest asked.
"Not really," Rose answered motioning for Mike to put the towels and water down next to Heather. "We have this under control, but thank you." Rose tried to put a towel under Heather, but Heather was still fighting.
"Fuck off, all of you!" Heather screamed. "You are NOT touching my baby!"
"This is my baby, Heather," Mike said. "You're just the incubator. Now shut up and listen to them. You don't have a choice. You're in labor and there's no one else to help you deliver this baby."
"I won't let you get away with stealing my baby!" Heather screamed.
"Can we gag her again?" Davy asked. They'd only had her gagged for the first few days. They decided to take it out when she'd been fairly quiet. Mike wasn't sure why, but didn't care at this point. He reached for the cloth they'd used to gag her before and tried to shove it in her mouth only to have her bite him.
"Ow!" Mike yelped as she tore the skin open. Heather let out another ear shattering scream as another contraction hit her.
"Get this fucking thing outta me!" she yelled.
"Shut it!" Davy yelled and pushed the gag in her mouth.
"You alright?" Micky asked getting up and walking over to Mike.
"She bit me!" Mike exclaimed in disbelief. "Why did she bite me!?"
"Because she's insane," Micky said taking his hand.
"Here," Willow said handing Micky a bandage to wrap Mike's hand with.
"Thanks," Micky said wrapping Mike's hand before the bleeding got too bad. They spent the next few hours listening to Heather scream behind her gag and waiting for her water to break. When it finally did, Mike's fears intensified. The room started spinning again, but he felt Micky walk up and squeeze his shoulder. His fear must have been visible on his face.
"It's gonna be ok," Micky said. "If anyone would make a great father, it's you. And you've got Davy, Peter and I all here to help you. We'll support you all the way."
"Thanks, Micky," Mike breathed feeling only a little better. Rose glanced up and smiled at him. Without saying a word, she said the same thing to him helping to ease his fears even more. But they weren't gone. A few hours after that, Rose alerted them that Heather was fully dilated and the baby was ready to come. Heather struggled even more at this, but couldn't really do much of anything to help herself.
"Ok, Heather, you're just gonna make this worse on yourself if you don't push," Rose said. "This baby is coming whether you like it or not, and we're all you've got." As if on cue, they all heard a noise coming from outside. A car pulling up and stopping followed by a door opening and closing. Mike froze in fear, not sure who was there.
"I'll get rid of whoever it is," the priest said and darted out of the room.
"Heather, you have to push!" Rose hissed now wanting to be quiet in case whoever had entered the church was looking for them. Mike heard muffled yelling and suddenly grew worried. He and Micky exchanged worried glances with each other and ran after the priest. There was a pair of great wooden doors that were usually opened. Now they were closed. This couldn't have been a good sign. But now they could hear the voices on the other side of the door.
"Where are they, Father?" they heard Wayne ask.
"We know they're here," Claire said. Mike's heart sank.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the priest answered.
"We heard my daughter screaming," Claire said. "We know she's here. We don't want to hurt a man of the cloth, but don't think I won't."
"I'm sorry, but I cannot help you," the priest answered. Micky and Mike jumped back when the door rattled and bumped into Willow not having realized she'd followed them.
"Unlock this door," Claire said.
"He never locks that door," Willow whispered.
"He's protecting us," Micky said.
"What do we do?" Mike asked. "We have to help him."
"Go get the guns," Micky said. "We have to do what we have to do." Before they could even turn around, they heard a gunshot on the other side.
"No!" Willow exclaimed rushing for the door. Mike caught her before she could reach it and open it from their side. They had no way of knowing what happened and as much as Mike wanted to help the priest, he knew if they barged out there, they'd be killed for sure.
"Run," Micky said taking off down the hallway. Mike followed dragging Willow behind him. They could at least save her. They rushed back into the room and slammed the door behind them before beginning to barricade it with whatever they could. Willow collapsed to the ground in tears and Davy rushed over to comfort her.
"What the fuck happened!?" Rose exclaimed.
"They found us," Micky answered. "They heard her. They...they shot him."
"What!?" Peter exclaimed.
"He died protecting us," Micky said. "He locked the main door, but it won't be long till they get the key from him and get back here. We have to go. He only bought us a little time."
"Oh my God," Davy breathed.
"Baby's almost here," Sarah announced.
"Willow," Micky said kneeling down next to her. "I know you're scared and upset, but you have to tell us if there's a way out of here."
"There's a hidden passageway through there," Willow said pointing to a large painting hanging on the wall. "It leads to the orchard."
"How far from the parking lot?" Micky asked.
"Not very," Willow answered. "There's a van out there. I have the keys."
"We need to get ready," Micky said. "We have to make a run for it. We have to take the baby and leave her. How long, Rose?"
"Another few minutes," Rose answered.
"Davy, help me get Peter out to the van," Micky said. "Sarah, Mike, you need to keep pushing against the door and help Rose. And take the guns. Use them if you have to. As soon as that baby comes, you take it and run. Meet us outside."
"Right," Davy said rushing over to help Peter off the bed. He couldn't walk yet, but they had to hurry. Willow pulled back the painting to reveal a small tunnel they could climb through. Peter hissed in pain a little, but soon they disappeared behind it. Mike turned back to Rose and Heather who had a smug look on her face.
"Heather, push!" Rose demanded. But Rose just narrowed her eyes in defiance.
"She's not going to help us now that she knows they're here," Sarah said. Mike heard a thump on the door as the signal they had made it through the big doors. He knew in his heart the priest was dead. It killed him, but he didn't have time to grieve over it.
"Fine," Rose said defiantly as they heard another bang on the door. Mike grabbed the two guns they'd stolen and handed one to Sarah preparing for them to burst through the door. When Mike looked down at Heather, his heart nearly stopped. He could see the baby was halfway out. His baby. His beautiful baby. Rose carefully wrapped her arms around the baby and pulled. Heather screamed from the pain and blood came out with the baby, but as soon as the feet popped out, Sarah kneeled down with the scissors and clamp and cut the cord. As soon as the baby cried Rose wrapped the baby in the towels Mike had retrieved and jumped up.
"Let's go," Sarah said even as Rose wiped the blood and other fluid from the baby's face. Mike wasn't sure how he felt about leaving Heather looking weak and pained, but one look at his baby in Rose's arms and he knew he had to leave. He had to protect his child from all this. Hoping that Claire and Wayne wouldn't be able to catch up, he followed them through the tunnel and raced toward the light at the end of it.