CHAPTER 28
Date: September 17th through October 1st, 111 P.A. / 2115 C.E.
And so, five months passed. As the eighth months began to slowly crawl along, Arei now heavy and brimming with the baby almost finished growing inside her, more and more Mewtwo was at her side. He cared little for what others thought…he wanted to be by her, and it delight him deeply to watch her walk, a waddle that displayed her very pregnant state. She actually wasn't showing nearly as much as he thought was normal, but with her frail, petite form, it was not easily noticeable. But at nights, when he felt their little one kicking strongly, he felt reassured. Now, his heart beat with a mix of joy and excitement, and he knew sometime he forgot to mask this. But he did not worry. How could he, when someday very soon, he and Arei would be gazing upon their child, holding it in their arms. Yes…that idea appealed to him immensely.
Currently, he found her with other potters, attempting to make what appear to be a bottle…but because of how encumbered she was by her round belly, she was having some trouble. Kindly, he sent the others away, not feeling the mood to make his voice cold and hard as he ordered this.
She glanced up at him, her ring caked with clay, but did not remove it. She refused to. Seeing the failure and mess she had made, she sighed, but not unhappily, and rose to meet him. He laughed at the mess of her robes, and did not mind the dirt that clung to his fur at their closeness as they touched and kissed, delighting in the simple sweetness of the present moment. As they pulled away, he kicked at a finger of his paw, wiping the smudge she possessed from her face. Arei flushed faintly, and thanked him….
"How is our little one?"
She pressed his paws to her swollen middle, the baby kicking in response. She smiled; eyes gleaming. "Well, Doctor Zered say he can't detect any anomalies…he says things are going well."
He kissed her cheek. "Good…good…."
And so, it went…and a week from her due date, Arei stood in Mewtwo's quarters, gazing out at the night sky and the western sea, her hands to her stomach. There barely passed fifteen minutes without her little one moving in some way, and while this delighted her, it was also a clear sign that it was ready to be brought into the world…and she was very nervous at the thought, and the five months that would then be between her and the child and safety….
What if…they did not make it? What if something happened during childbirth, or before those five months were up? Surely the Rebels, at least, would be aiming to take her out in those months to get to her child. Fear began to pool in her stomach as she thought on that, and she wondered to herself…if that were the case….
"What will happen to you, my little one?"
And silently, as though having sensed her worry and awoken, her husband came up behind her, slipping his arms around her body, holding her to him, placing his paws over her hands, kissing her reassuringly. "He, or she, will be fine. We will hold our child, Arei…we will raise it together, and nothing will stop us from doing that. I will not allow it…we will be okay. Trust me, beloved."
She did…still, she worried, wondered if indeed that could be the case….