Chapter 47 (Shaal Mayan)
Shaal had been around friends who began their child-bearing cycle. But she had never considered what it would be like to go through one herself.
Of course she wanted to have children in the near future, but not like this, not with a human. The concept itself was unthinkable. Even with what he'd done to her time and time again, such a result was unimaginable.
She stepped into the only light in the room and touched her flat stomach. She could see Delenn out of the corner of her tearful eye.
"Shaal?" she asked, voice layered with deep concern. "What's wrong? What did he do to you?"
She could not hold back the tears, and she wept out her words. "The human…he…he made me pregnant."
"What!" Delenn exclaimed, immediately rushing over to her aid. "T…That human! How was this possible?"
"He raped me over and over. When he was trying to do it again I told him."
"Shaal…" Delenn bowed her head and gazed into the shadows of the room. She appeared lost for words, but managed to pick some from the darkness. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't forced you to come on the trip, then you might not be in this situation."
"What am I to do, Delenn? I'm not married, I'm not ready for the child-bearing cycle and no one on our world would accept my baby." Shaal clutched her stomach as thoughts about rejection and torment rolled through her mind. The more Shaal thought about her problem, the deeper she fell into despair.
"I don't want to have a baby…I don't want to have a baby. T-That man, he-he's an animal… Please, Delenn…"
Shaal held on to Delenn's hand. She did not know why. What could she possibly do in a situation like this? They were both prisoners and powerless to stop the pregnancy even if they wanted to.
"I'm sorry Shaal," Delenn looked into her eyes and held her close and embraced her with both arms. "Are you sure you're pregnant?"
Shaal looked down at her stomach and knew for certain. "I'm sure. I can feel the changes, I can feel it growing inside of me and I feel a connection with its mind. It's growing very fast; I've never known a Minbari child to grow so fast. I never felt more confident in my answer, Delenn."
Shaal felt dizzy and sat on the hard shelf she found in the room. Shaal felt a tremendous strain on her body and she felt all her energy transferring towards her developing child. She knew it was not normal, and thoughts about what might be growing inside her frightened her. Delenn must have picked up on her thoughts because she walked over the hugged her tightly.
"I'm so sorry, Shaal. In Valen's name, we will find a way out of this."