Elena

I’m not sure how long I’ve been sleeping when I suddenly jolt awake. The lights are still on in the lab so I’m able to orient myself to the room quickly. I look at my surroundings and let out a squeal of surprise when I see Commissioner Daniels sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.

Replying to my cry, an armed guard walks to the doorway. “Is everything alright?” he asks.

My hands are on my chest, trying to calm the frantic beating of my heart. “Yes, I’m alright. Just startled.”

Daniels stands up and walks over next to the bed, taking the glass of water from the table and handing it to me. I accept it and take a quick drink, all the while clutching the blanket around me.

“We’re just fine. You may leave us,” Daniels tells the guard.

I look at the guard quickly with wide, pleading eyes. The last thing I want is to be left alone with the Commissioner.

“Sorry, Commissioner. It is my job to make sure nothing happens to the patient.”

“And nothing will happen to her, I’m right here.” He’s impatient, snapping at the guard.

Finally, after he thinks about it for a moment, he says, “I’ll wait right outside.”

I’d rather he would stay in the room, but then he stands right outside the window where I can see him.

Daniels sits on the end of the bed facing me. “The ambassador has left, the treaty has been signed. Everything is moving forward as planned. And you are an unexpected bonus.”

“Oh yeah? How’s that?”

“Well, when this whole idea came about of using Earth women as breeders, we agreed but no one really knew whether or not a human could become pregnant with a Suthune’s baby. You went ahead and did some of the research on that issue for us. Now we can start sending more women as soon as they complete the research on you.”

“Women who have volunteered for this?”

He gives me a look like I’ve over stepped and I don’t think he’s going to answer me. He extends his hands in front of him, palms up in that common gesture that implies nothing can be done about it. “Women that won’t be missed,” he says.

I immediately feel sick to my stomach.

“And what will happen to me once I have this baby?”

“If it is a success, you’ll be able to remain. And have more babies.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“After all of your snooping around, you don’t have much of a choice, do you?” I feel like I’m being scolded by my father. “But, I’ll make sure you are treated well and have everything that you need.” He reaches over and lets his hand rest on my leg. Thankfully I still have the covers pulled tightly around me but in general, I don’t like being touched by him.

I reach down and brush his hand away. “Shots,” I say by way of excuse, “My legs are sore.”

“Of course,” he says. Thankfully he stands up, indicating he’s going to leave. “I’ll let you rest. Sleep well, Elena.”

He walks out of the door and I watch him through the window as he walks through the lab and out the door. He has been out of sight for a few minutes before I exhale deeply and let the covers fall around my waist. My body starts to shake and I have to bite the side of my lip to keep from crying out. It’s hard enough to handle this situation with as much grace as I can muster, but having Daniels lurking around makes it that much worse.

After I recover I try to move my legs around. They’re so sore from where I received the shots today. My arms are also sore from the blood draw. For the first time since this all began, I want to crawl under the covers and cry until I run out of tears. My body is sore, my heart is sore and things are starting to feel very hopeless.

I can’t stop thinking about Bane. Even while I was sleeping, he was in my dreams. I know what he did and still I can’t help longing for him. I always felt so safe in his arms when he would hold me. And the things he would do to me always cleared my mind and helped me sleep like a rock. I fantasize about him storming through the doors and carrying me out of here. But now that he got what he wanted, I’m sure he’s long gone.

I brush my crazy curls out of my face and reach over for another drink of water. One of the assistants from the lab walks in holding a tray of food. I didn’t think I’d be able to eat but it smells so good and my stomach is growling.

“Shall I set this here?” she asks, about to set it on the bed next to me.

“Sure.” As soon as she sets it down, I pick it up and set it on my lap. She’s about to leave the room again when I stop her. “Can I ask you a question?”

She stops with her back to me and I’m not sure if she’ll turn around. I keep getting the impression that they’re not supposed to interact with me. Eventually though, she turns around. Her hands are clasped in front of her in a very formal manner and she answers me with a simple, “Yes.”

“How long do Suthune women carry a child?” She just looks at me at first and I wonder if I phrased it the wrong way. “Because on Earth we carry a child for nine months. Maybe carry isn’t the right word. How long do Suthune women grow babies?”

“Ah, yes. Generally seven months. From what we have learned, Suthune women have a slightly faster gestation period than human women.”

“So if this baby is half Suthune, half human, the gestation period could fluctuate?”

“It is possible, but you are human. So, it is possible that your body will still carry this baby for nine months, part Suthune or not. It is one of the things we are hoping to learn.”

She smiles slightly and turns to leave.

“Can I see it?” I say quickly, before she can go. She turns around again, waiting quietly for me to elaborate. “Can I see the scans of the baby?”

“I can’t do that.”

“Please? I won’t say anything, I just want to see it with my own eyes. Because right now, none of this seems real, it’s all just a crazy dream.”

She looks around the room and I know she’s considering it. I wish she was wearing a name tag so I could use her name to make my request more personal. Really tug at her heart strings.

“Quickly,” she says.

I carefully get out of bed and follow after her. She sits at one of the work stations and I sit on a stool next to her. For now it is just the guard, the assistant and myself. Everyone else must be in bed for the night. She pulls up some images on the screen in front of us.

“There,” she says, pointing. “This is a scan of your womb, and this is the fetus.”

“Oh my gosh, it’s so tiny.” I didn’t expect to feel anything yet, because let’s face it, it’s really hard to see. But the proof is in the picture, I really am pregnant. And immediately I think of Bane and this crazy roller coaster ride of emotions begins again.

She presses a button on the panel and the screen goes dark. “You really should go to bed. It’s late and your body needs rest. There will be more tests in the morning.”

“Why so many tests?” I gently touch the bruises on my legs from the injections. “I mean, what else is there to know? I thought it was more of a waiting game at this point.”

“The tests are to learn more about the human body. And to see how your body is reacting to this pregnancy.”

“Of course. Well, thank you for showing me.” I stand up and walk back to my small room. Once I’m under the covers ready to go back to sleep, the lights in the lab dim. I sit up and look out the large window, only to confirm what I suspected. I’m all alone. For whatever reason, I stand up and walk to the door, looking out into the lab. There’s a strange eerie glow about the place now that it’s empty and the lights are so low. I cross my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling cold in my small gown and bare feet. There’s one piece of equipment sitting on a back counter that looks like a cube with a red light on the front making a whirring sound.

“So this is my home now,” I say to the empty room.

Rubbing my arms I turn around to go back to bed when I hear the swishing sound of the door opening into the lab. I turn around and see Bane standing in the doorway. Our eyes meet across the lab and I have to press my hand against my chest to keep my heart from leaping free. I need to remind myself that I’m mad at him for what he did, we are definitely in a fight. But then at the same time, he’s never looked so good.