Gunslinger
Chapter 12
It is now one month later.
There was no denying that Kate was pregnant now. They could both see it. She could still wear her clothes, but they were getting tighter.
The two spent a lot of time in the Entertainment Room watching movies. They both thought they were catching on to the language. Of course, they guessed what they were saying based on what was happening but thought they were learning. However, it didn't help with the written language, which was what they truly needed.
They were presently eating lunch. "This is actually beginning to taste good," Kate remarked and took another bite.
"It must be you." Rick didn't like it, but it was food, and he was hungry.
"You don't like it?" She shrugged. "Must be the hormones."
"At least you're not throwing up anymore." Rick was so relieved that she wasn't.
"Yes, but now I'm going to get fat. Unless I eat less." Kate laid her fork down and stopped eating. She didn't want to get fat. She liked being thin.
"You are eating for two, Kate."
"Then, in that case, one of us will starve." Kate was finished eating for now. "I wish I could read their language."
"That's going to be tough. Listening to the alien language will help us to understand it. But read it?" Rick shook his head.
"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm going to spend time in the Medical Unit. Maybe I can make heads or tails out of what it says."
"Do you know anything about the Medical Unit?" Rick wondered if she did. He certainly didn't
"No, but I know more than I did about power and won't be tempted to press that button," she told him.
"Knock yourself out then." Rick watched her get up and leave. He spent his time cleaning up from lunch. The trash was beginning to pile up.
ǂ
Rick entered the Medical Unit and saw her standing over the bed. "How's it going?"
"I think this says Power, but I can't figure out why. What's so special about this bed? What else it says is a mystery." She was getting frustrated.
"Have you pressed it? I know how much you like pressing buttons," he teased.
Kate glared at him. "No."
"Press it and find out. I'm right here." Rick took a step back.
She pressed the button and jumped when these panels emerged from the bed and met in the middle. She put a hand over her heart and willed it to calm down. "What is this?" She moved in closer to take a look, as did Rick.
"You got me. Interesting in that it covers most of the body save for the head and feet," he said.
"There are more buttons on it on this side," Kate told him. "None of them say Power."
"Press the power button again," Rick suggested. He watched her press Power, and the panels retracted. Then she pressed the button again, and the panels came back up.
She frowned. "It's not doing anything."
"Maybe it needs a body," Rick offered. "And no, you're not getting on that bed. Not until we figure this out," he told her. "I'll help you figure this out, but you are not getting on that bed."
"All right," Kate agreed. She needed him to look at the panel after she got on the bed. Without him, this wouldn't work. "How? How do we figure this out?"
"We spend time in this room like in the Entertainment Room. We have months to figure it out, Kate." He wrapped his arms around her. "We'll figure this out."
Kate sighed, let him hold her, and leaned into him. "Yeah."
ǂ
It is now one month later.
Kate was getting bigger, and she could no longer wear her clothes. She had to wear the clothes she had picked up earlier. They weren't at all flattering, but at least they fit.
Rick walked into the Medical Unit and found Kate looking at the bed with the panels in place. "So how's it going?"
"I'm not sure it's going anywhere. I can't understand any of it," Kate grumbled.
"I meant, how are you doing, Kate."
"I'm fine. Honest, I'm fine, Rick. The baby might be moving, but maybe it's my imagination." Hoping to feel it, he laid his hand on her belly but didn't feel anything.
"He or she isn't moving now," Kate told him.
"At least we're ready" he said. "We have a crib for the baby. We have diapers next to it, along with oil and powder. I don't trust the formula; it's too old. So you'll have to breastfeed."
"My breasts are getting bigger. I can't wear my bra any longer and don't have a bigger one, so I'm doing without. So I guess I can." Kate sighed. "I'm not looking forward to getting no sleep. The baby's going to need nearly constant attention.
"It's why I didn't do babysitting when I was a teenager. That and changing stinky diapers."
"Well, that's going to change, but I'll help you where I can," he said. "Are you planning to stay here or join me in the Entertainment Room? I'm going to watch another movie."
"I think I'll watch a movie. This thing is starting to piss me off." She pressed the power button and followed him.
ǂ
Another month later.
Kate was getting bigger by the week. She was back in the Medical Unit, trying to figure out the written language. Kate was loathe to start pressing buttons, not knowing what it would do. She was using the power button to try and solve the mystery.
Rick entered the Medical Unit. "How are you doing?"
"Not really any better. The word Power doesn't seem to help any. What's worse is I think they're using abbreviations, so I can't make heads or tails of things."
"It's time for dinner, Kate. Come make something to eat."
"I'm not hungry. Well, I am hungry, but I don't want to get fat."
"You are eating for two," Rick reminded her.
Kate exploded. "I KNOW. I'LL EAT WHEN I WANT TO EAT!"
He opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. So he left Kate to it and went to the kitchen to make something for himself. He wasn't very good at it. He was leaving it to Kate to cook, but it sounded like he had no choice.
He had eggs, but they didn't taste like eggs were supposed to taste. But maybe if he added something, it would improve the taste.
ǂ
Rick finished eating and cleaning up, then went to the Entertainment Room to watch a movie. He thought he was getting better at understanding the language. He walked in and saw Kate was already watching one.
He kissed her, then sat down next to her and remained silent. Her moods were becoming more and more unpredictable. He didn't understand it, but she would blow up at the littlest thing.
ǂ
They made love that night. It was slowly becoming more and more like she wasn't interested. Rick gave her six orgasms, and she seemed to enjoy it, but she never said a word about it.
Rick was lying naked next to a naked Kate. "Are you okay?"
She turned her head and looked at him. "Yes… Why?"
"Nothing. No reason." He rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
Kate stayed where she was for a moment, then climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom naked. "Rick, talk to me. Is it something I've done? I didn't mean it if it is."
"It's nothing." He turned on the shower and waited for the water to get warm.
"Rick," Kate called to him and watched him enter the shower. "Fine." She followed him into the shower. "Talk to me."
Rick tried to stop her. "Kate..."
"I love you, Rick, and don't you forget it. And I love our baby, so talk to me."
"FINE. I ask you how you are, and you yell at me. I ask you if you're hungry, and you yell at me. I ask you if you're…"
Kate stopped him right there. "I get it, and I'm so sorry. It's the hormones talking, not me." She kissed him. "Really, it's the hormones talking, not me."
"Well..." Rick began to tell her.
"Thank you." Kiss "Thank you." Kiss. "Now wash me, please."
Rick chuckled a little and began soaping her up.
ǂ
Rick caught her standing in front of the mirror. "Now what?"
"I'm fat! My breasts are starting to sag. My butt is huge. Even my thighs are bigger, and my feet hurt," Kate complained, feeling pretty wretched.
"You're beautiful," he told her and kissed her. "I'll give you a foot massage. Just come find me," he told her, then kissed her again and left her standing there.
"Beautiful, huh." Kate continued to twist and turn. "What I am is fat. It'll take me months to work all this off."
She finally caught up to Rick in the Medical Unit. If she couldn't figure it out, maybe he could. "We don't have any weights, do we?"
He shook his head. "Sorry."
"Treadmill? I need to work off some of this fat after I have the baby," Kate asked him, even though she knew the answer.
"Sorry, no. And before you ask if you can go to the city, a treadmill will require power, won't it? And I'm not dragging a heavy treadmill back here."
"I thought you loved me," Kate purred at him.
"Nice try, Kate. I've already offered you a foot massage, so be content with it."
"Rats," she grumbled. "Maybe later. What are you doing here?"
"I'm trying to figure out what this says. I've gotten pretty good at the language, I think. Sadly, it isn't translating to the written language," Rick said.
She sighed. "Tell me about it. In about two months, I'll deliver the baby. I'd like for this place to work by then."
"That would be nice. How can I help?" Rick inquired.
"Well, the word for power doesn't seem to be helping at all."
He thought about it. "Have you started pressing buttons?"
She shook her head. "No. You told me not to."
"Well, maybe it's time to start," Rick suggested.
Kate's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Really? I can start pressing buttons?"
He nodded. "If you want this place to work in two months, I don't see any alternative."
Kate pressed power and watched the panels come up over the bed and meet in the middle. Then she started pressing buttons.
ǂ
She stopped pressing buttons. She heard a voice on some buttons, but that didn't help her much. Kate was able to get some of it but not all of it. They used words she hadn't heard in the movies yet. Besides, she was tired of pressing buttons.
"Stupid bed," Kate told it. "Why can't you speak English?" She left there and headed for their bedroom. She was tired and needed to lie down. She noticed she was getting tired more easily of late. She blamed it on the pregnancy. She used to be thin and in shape. Now, she was fat and out of shape.
Kate watched as Rick entered the bedroom. "We don't have any weights, do we?"
"No, not that I've seen, why?" Rick asked her.
"There's almost no place to run, either. No treadmill, no weights. How am I supposed to get all this baby fat off of me?" Kate fussed. Then, she came up with an idea. "There's the city."
"I don't trust that city, Kate. Nor do I trust that train. There's something about it that bugs me."
"Well, I can run up and down the platform at least and ignore the train. Except I don't have any shoes to run in. That sucks."
"You can run barefoot," Rick offered.
"And cut my foot open on all the debris?" She shook her head. "Thank you, but no thank you."
"I can sweep away all the debris. Clear a path for you." He waited for her to say no again.
"Maybe." She thought about that.
ǂ
It is now one month later.
Kate was tired of being pregnant. She had about one more month to go but was ready to have the baby. Her breasts were tender. Her feet and back hurt; she tired easily. She was ready.
"Oh, that feels so good," Kate moaned as Rick massaged her feet for her.
"I wonder what my dad is doing right now? Besides worrying about me, I mean. I hope he hasn't started drinking again." She sighed. "Tell me about your parents."
Rick shrugged. "There's not much to tell you. I was 12 years old when I met the Gunslinger who trained me. I lived with him."
She frowned. "Doesn't sound like much of a childhood."
"It was okay. I didn't mind. I wanted to learn. I wanted to be a Gunslinger. I wanted to be just like him."
She decided to guess at it. "His name was Roy, wasn't it?" She thought it might be because the previous Roy had fooled Rick.
Rick nodded. "Roy Montgomery. He was kind to me and taught me everything I know. He even told me about girls."
"Oh?" Kate was interested in learning. "When was your first kiss?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You want me to kiss and tell?"
"When you put it like that… Yes, I want you to kiss and tell. So start talking."
Rick told her about April and how she was his first to have sex with. "Your turn. Tell me something I don't know."
"Well, they didn't call me Rebel Becks for nothing," Kate said. She told him a story about what made her Rebel Becks.
ǂ
It is now one month later.
By now, Kate was really tired of being pregnant. She wanted the baby on the outside of her body and not on the inside any longer. Kate felt as big as a house. She often needed help just getting up. Her back was beginning to ache something fierce all the time.
The worst thing about being in the Entertainment Room was the seats. They were not for humans, given that they were big and deep.
"I'm going to go fix breakfast." That was one meal he could cook without Kate's help.
"Help me up, please." Kate raised her arms and let Rick pull her up. "Thanks." She followed him into the cafeteria, where she sat down again. These chairs were hard, so she had less trouble getting up.
"So what are we eating today?" Kate asked him.
"Omelets. I find that if I put things in it, it kills the taste of the eggs. I know they're eggs, though they don't taste right."
"Probably because they don't come from chickens," she said and waited for her breakfast.
She ate her omelet without comment. It tasted pretty good to her. But she blamed it on the hormones.
"So, what have you been up to, Rick?"
"I found a broom and swept the platform for you to run barefoot. While I was there, the train showed up, opened its door, and said something. I stayed away and didn't hear it."
"I wonder what's with that train? Next time you go, you should approach it and listen to what it says," Kate suggested. "We've gotten the language down pretty well by now, I think."
"I'll wait a few weeks before I go again. Give you time to get ready to go running. Likely, the train has blown something in," Rick said.
"Thanks."
Just then, she felt something and froze. Then, she looked at Rick. "I think my water just broke." She was sitting there in a small puddle.
"Your water broke? ...Your water broke!" Rick jumped up, helped her stand, and took her to the Medical Unit.
They still hadn't worked out what much of this area said. They feared much of it was abbreviated.
Rick helped her get up on the bed, and suddenly, the panels rose, and the bed turned on. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Kate screamed as she began to panic and kick her legs. He pressed the power button, turned it off, and waited to see if it turned itself back on. Thankfully, it didn't.
He pulled her pants off, along with her wet panties, and cast them aside. Kate spread her legs so Rick could check her. He scrubbed his hands and forearms. "I don't think your cervix dilated yet, Kate."
"Great!" she groaned. "I'll be in labor for hours."
ǂ
It was now 12 hours later. Kate was breathing heavily and trying not to push.
Rick came in, scrubbed his hands and forearms, and checked her cervix. "I think it's fully dilated."
"It's about time," Kate panted.
"Okay, let me get ready." Rick gathered anything he thought he'd need, wiped everything down, and scrubbed his hands and forearms again. "Ready? I want you to push on the next contraction."
Kate pushed at the first contraction and rested between the next one.
"Okay, push!"
"AHHHH!" Kate was sweaty; she pushed, then rested.
"Push!"
"I AM PUSHING!" Kate bellowed at him. She gritted her teeth and pushed.
"I think I see the head."
"AHHHH!" she screamed as she pushed.
"I've got the head. One more push should do it."
"AHHHHHHH!" Kate pushed and felt the baby slide out; she could finally rest and let Rick do the work.
"It's a girl! Now we need to see if there's another one."
"OH, GOD!" She prayed there was only one baby.
Rick cleaned the baby off and wrapped her up while he waited to see if there was another one. "Looks like she's it. We have a daughter, Kate." He handed their baby to her.
Kate took the baby and held her close to her body. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "She's beautiful, Rick."
"She needs a name, sweetheart."
"Lilly. Her name is Lilly Johanna Beckett-Castle, after my mother." Kate smiled through her tears. "Hi, Lilly. I'm your mommy."