CowboyBassett Writing & Art

Oh what she was willing to do for love. Andy ran her fingers through her close cropped blonde hair, a typical habit of hers when her anxiety was peaking. She looked herself in the mirror, taller than some, with a toned body and a mean look. She wasn’t really mean though, just cursed with a perpetual resting expression that made her look like she’d just chewed on curdled milk. She turned to the side, letting her vanity win out for a moment as she admired her own body. Dressed in a sports bra and cargo pants, her midriff remained exposed. It was a ritual of hers before every supply run. Look for marks, scratches, anything, and make sure they’re the same ones she came back to camp with. 

“Not today.” She told herself. A stirring from the bedroom caught her attention. The blonde turned, moving about the candlelit apartment that she shared with her girlfriend. The survivor camp had lost power a month ago, and the few remaining people who knew about engines and electricity still hadn’t fixed it.

As Andy entered the bedroom, spears of light laid across the floor and bed, giving her an intermittent view of the woman laying there. The light bent around her body, accentuating the curves she’d gained these last few months. Andy loved those curves, and absolutely adored the woman who bore them. She sat on the edge of the bed, teasing the long red locks out of her lover's face as she slept. A slight chuckle couldn’t be helped as Andy noticed the hair in her mouth. She was nude, as a side effect of the fun they’d had last night. Andy’s hand brushed along her body, tracing the curves with a lovers gentleness. She found her tattoo, a crude thing done here in the camp a few years ago. When her hand stopped, it was on the gravid swell that was her belly.

“Rise and shine Lucy.” Andy said softly. “Time to get up.” She and Lucy had been a couple for nearly a year now. A party in the camp had led to many poor choices with far too much alcohol, but in the end the two women ended in bed together, and living in the same apartment less than a week later. Excitement had filled Andy the day they realized Lucy was pregnant as a result of that night. They’d both had fun with men and women, but now it was just the two of them, and that’s what counted. “Cmon sleepy head. If you want to go out to get munchkin their clothes then we need to leave soon…”

Lucy made a soft groaning sound as she curled over and buried her face into the pillow, not wanting to leave the bed just yet, not when she had finally found a comfortable position. It had been her idea to venture out of camp for more baby supplies, some instinctual need to get everything ready and prepared for their new arrival - ‘nesting’ they called it. It sounded like something an animal would do, but she couldn’t argue the logic behind the name. Despite the baby supply run being something she had practically begged Andy to do, right now, she was too tired and much too pregnant, she simply didn’t want to move.  

“Mmmhh… he’s kept me up most the night… feel like I’ve hardly slept.” Lucy grumbled into the pillow while Andy lovingly rubbed her large belly that was resting against the mattress in her side-laying position. “I must have gotten up four times to pee last night. And these practice cramps are driving me mental.” Slowly she opened her eyes and turned to her partner. 

Andy was absolutely gorgeous; tall, blonde, incredibly tough and physically strong but with a kind and gentle soul. It wasn’t the traditional way to meet your life partner, stuck in a survivors camp while the world outside went to hell. And yet, Lucy felt like she was destined to be with Andy. This baby hadn’t been planned of course, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t wanted. They didn’t know if she was carrying a boy, but Lucy felt herself saying “he” and “him” so often she stopped trying to correct herself. They’d find out for certain soon enough. 

“Okay, I’m awake. Help me up? I need to pee again.” She said with a frustrated grimace, feeling a lot of pressure in her hips that she had learnt not to trust. 

“Alright alright.” Andy took her hands, first lifting her to be in a seated position. They had to wait a moment for Lucy to catch her breath, any and all exertions seemed to be nearly too much these days. From there, Andy leaned back, flexing her arms as she brought Lucy to her feet. Her grip remained, especially when she saw the vacant look Lucy always got when she went lightheaded. One particular fainting spell courtesy of her standing up too fast had ended with Andy threatening to tie her to the bed till the baby was born.

“Steady?” She asked, taking a single step back. Andy looked her girlfriend up and down, admiring her body. Where Andy was strong and lean, Lucy was more curvaceous and soft. It didn’t stop her from being capable, but it did lend a certain appeal to the blonde. The height difference was more apparent now as well, with Andy standing nearly a full head taller than Lucy. “Quick bathroom, then we need to get you dressed.” It had looked like Lucy was about to reply, some sarcastic remark that Andy would no doubt laugh at, but the look in her eye told the blonde that the bathroom had gone from a feeling to an emergency.

Lucy waddled off as fast as her heavily pregnant ass could go. The second she had got to her feet, allowing gravity to sink the baby even further into her hips, she realised just how much her bladder was being squished. The baby’s head was already too damn low; she didn’t need a full bladder there as well. 

She made it. Barely. Still struggling to wake up, Lucy sat on the toilet for a moment, her hands automatically running over the swell of her belly. Her body has changed so much, it was a bit insane to think there was a baby in there that she had grown. She didn’t have much knowledge or experience with pregnancy, babies were not that common in the camp, a couple of new children each year at most. She wasn’t naive, she knew about it all, but it was another thing entirely experiencing it first hand. 

Beneath her hands her belly tensed, another practice cramp. They’d been happening on and off for weeks. The doctor in camp said it was all normal, just her body preparing even though the baby wasn’t due for another couple of weeks. Lucy breathed through the discomfort, akin to a period cramp, and then finished up in the bathroom. 

Clothing was all about functionality and less about fashion. Ever since her bump really “popped” she’d been wearing men’s boxer shorts as pyjamas along with a tank top that barely covered the top half of her belly. With one hand braced into her lower back, trying to alieviate the constant twinges and pressure in her pelvis, she waddled back out to her lover. 

“I swear, if this kid gets any lower he’s just gonna fall outta me.” Lucy joked, cradling her belly with her other hand for effect. She felt huge. How Andy still found her attractive in this state was beyond her imagination. 

“It just means I get to be his favorite mom even faster if that happens.” Andy joked. She’d put on a flannel shirt and heavy beige jacket. Lucy had been on enough supply runs before discovering she was pregnant to know that Andy had her pistol tucked in the back of her pants, and that the bolt action rifle by the door would be accompanying them into the city. She turned to face Lucy, her wardrobe making her almost appear like the stereotypical father from those movies they’d seen back when the power still worked. 

Her hands went to the dome of flesh, and her brow furrowed. It was harder than usual, but then again all those practice cramps would do that. When they got back she’d make Lucy go back to the docs apartment to get checked, just in case.

“Don’t hate me for saying this, but I’m gonna miss having you like this.” Andy blushed, her hands making gentle circles over Lucy’s belly. She found her lover's hands and clasped them tightly. “And I really don’t like the idea of you going out there today. I know you have your perfect nursery in mind but is it really worth the risk? I can make three or four trips and find what you want by trial and error.” 

“No, by the time you get what I want the kid’ll be walking and talking.” Lucy said with jest, but her answer was firm. “I’m going.” 

Andy was against this trip, she’d made that clear many times over, but eventually Lucy wore her down and finally got her girlfriend’s nod of reluctant acceptance yesterday. She knew it was risky, but that could be said for literally anything these days; just beyond the camp’s fence the undead roamed free around the country. But they knew the route, where they were headed, Lucy herself and done it umpteen times she could do it with her eyes closed. She wasn’t an invalid, she was just pregnant. 

“I know the risks darling, I do. But I just want to do something normal for this baby for once. I want to go to the shops and get nappies and clothes and blankets. That’s not too much to ask…” Her eyes watered, unshed tears gathering above her lower lashes. Damn hormones. But she was just desperate to do something ordinary, like expectant parents did in movies. 

“Ok ok shhhh.” Andy pulled her in before the waterworks could begin. Such a strong woman usually, Lucy’s hormones had been a surprise to say the least. It did however lead to some of their best nights together. Using the homemade lotion to ease the expanding skin of her belly, recording the little changes to her body, and Andy’s personal favorite, figuring out what cravings needed to be satiated that particular day. The blonde inhaled, taking in the natural scent of her partner.

“I won’t bring it up again love. Promise.” Hands on Lucy’s shoulders, she separated them and looked her dead in the eyes. “You are getting your mum-to-be be experience today. No ifs ands or buts.” Andy leant in, planting a kiss on her girlfriend's lips. “It’ll be like a date in the movies for you, though sadly without the chocolate.” She smiled. “But first things first… we need to get you dressed.”

Lucy stripped off her pyjamas and threw them on the bed before getting some clothes out of the drawers. The options were very limited and even more so with her gravid bump. Deciding on her favourite jeans, that were pre-pregnancy and very distressed looking, plus a long tank top and an olive green sweater that didn’t fully cover her bump. It would have to do. She insisted on getting herself dressed even though Andy hovered nearby trying to help. The tank top tucked into her jeans, the flies stuck open and folded out to accommodate her changed shape, with the knitted green sweater over the top. Her bump was impossible to miss, the sweater and the jeans unable to contain it. Reluctantly Lucy had to sit to put her socks and shoes on, Andy smirked as she helped, making some joke about being Cinderella as she slipped the trainers on. 

The couple had a quick bite to eat with some of their rations before leaving their apartment. Lucy was hoping a walk might help get rid of the cramps that seemed more persistent this morning. They weren’t painful, just annoying. Drinking water and moving around was the advice the camp doctor had given. Granted that advice probably didn’t mean to venture beyond the camp’s fence, but the benefits would surely be the same. Lucy watched with affection and pride as Andy loaded up with their bag and the rifle. She’d become such a fierce protector of Lucy during the pregnancy and she couldn’t deny how damn attractive it was. 

“Ready?” Andy asked. 

“Yes, let’s go get us some baby clothes.” Lucy grinned as she held her bump, feeling the kicks beneath the surface, like their son was just as excited for the outing as she was. 

The couple navigated the halls of the apartment complex, having to descend a few flights of stairs to reach the street. As soon as they’d discovered the pregnancy, Andy had attempted to bribe one of the survivors on the first floor with some rations and ammo to swap. It didn’t work out, and left her giving nightly massages to Lucy to ease the swelling of her feet. The going was slow at first, and Andy took it slow to match her girlfriend's pace. As soon as they were outside, the brisk air met them as did the familiar faces of the camp.

Most of them had nothing but excitement in their looks as they saw the young couple. A few held animosity, the older more closed minded assholes who Lucy more than once had to prevent Andy from breaking jaws for calling slurs at them. Andy was fine being called anything under the sun, it didn’t bother her, but to call Lucy such things? That was a great way to get your fingers snapped. It took all in all around twenty minutes for them to reach the front gate. Standing just over twenty feet tall, scaffolding had been constructed at its top to provide the ability to stand watch. Andy and Lucy both had taken their turns doing it, though recently much to the pregnant mothers chagrin, Andy had gotten her sidelined and took over the shifts.

“You don’t need to be up so high.” The blonde had said in her own defense. “You have a hard enough time with the stairs, you shouldn’t be on a ladder.”

A man, far more advanced in years than any of the other survivors at the camp, met the couple at the gate.

“Well hey there kids.” His voice was hoarse, but the smile he wore was warm as the sun. 

“Hey Mike.” Andy said. “Any excitement?”

“Some Zeds on the outer perimeter.” Mike shrugged. “Boys on the wall took care of ‘em.” He looked at Lucy, smile broadening. “And how’re you today kiddo?” Not being related didn’t prevent Mike from calling everyone ‘kid’ or ‘kiddo’. Everyone was a child to him, whether they were in their forties or a teen, and he, as it was, basically acted as the grandfather to the entire survivor camp.

“I’m good thanks Mike, just waiting on this new kiddo to arrive.” Lucy smiled, copying the affectionate name for her own child. She shifted her weight slightly side to side, going down the stairs and walking across to the gate had settled the baby heavier in her hips. “We’re headed to the old mall, need to get some more baby things before he arrives.” 

Mike furrowed his brows as he looked at Lucy’s bump. “Y’all sure you should be heading out there? Looks like baby could come any day now surely?” 

“I know it looks that way, but we’re all good, kiddo ain’t due for a few weeks.” Lucy attempted to suck in her belly a little, to try and make her rounded middle look less like she was about to drop any day. It was a white lie, barely a lie at all. A few weeks… it was only two but babies usually went over for first-time mums. Lucy didn’t want Mike worrying unnecessarily, and she also didn’t want him to stop them from leaving. She was having her mum-to-be shopping day damn it. “Plus I’ve got my gorgeous and strong girlfriend with me. We’ll be fine.” Lucy leaned in towards Andy, who naturally placed her arm behind her waist. 

As Mike considered Lucy had to school her expression a little as another practice cramp rolled through her middle. Fucks sake, now isn’t the time. Eventually Mike softened towards the pair, letting them through and reminding them of all the safety protocols when beyond the camp’s perimeter. 

As soon as they got a few meters away from the gate, Lucy exhaled heavily, not realising how much of a front she’s been putting up for Mike’s benefit. She walked, well waddled, down the road with her hands pressed into the small of back. “Bless Mike, he’s lovely but for a second there I thought he wouldn’t let us out.” 

“You know he can’t say no to us.” The blonde chuckled, wrapping an arm around Lucy. “I think as a thank you we should stop at the cigar shop that’s in the mall. Maybe there’s some pipe tobacco still in there somewhere.” Andy glanced sidelong at her girlfriend, her stomach seemed to rest lower after she let out that breath. Despite the heavy fabrics covering her, Andy had an easy time visualizing the almost torpedo shape to her girlfriend's womb. A part of her wanted to once again protest Lucy coming along, but pissing off a pregnant woman never went well. The ship had sailed, and they were now out in the domain of the undead.

The city had been bombed in the early days of the outbreak, a poor attempt to quell the growing number of infected persons gathering in city centers. Andy barely remembered the bombings, she’d only been eleven when the outbreak happened, and so much had come to pass since that she sometimes had a difficult time tracking when events occurred. 

They passed by a park, the first of many landmarks used by the camp for calling out and assigning patrols to kill the undead. Andy knew the routes by heart, having done them ever since she was old enough to hold a rifle. One such patrol was her first interaction with Lucy. The pretty redhead who, at the time, was lacking a midriff full of life. How time changed things, and how life found a way to make things all the better. They rounded the street corner past the park when something made her look back, Andy couldn’t help imagining how it would look bringing their baby to such a place. The visual was heartwarming, Lucy pushing their son on the swing, Andy holding him in her lap as they went down the slide. The blonde had stopped in her tracks, just staring at the empty playground overgrown with weeds and corroded with rust from a decade of disuse.

“Did you see something?” Lucy asked worriedly, noticing her girlfriend had stopped. But Andy shook her head, shaking off whatever daydream, and  jogged back beside her. “Let’s keep moving honey, going to take us at least two hours at my pace to get there.” 

In truth, Lucy was feeling a little restless and wanting to keep moving. Her back ached and her hips felt like a bowling ball was grinding down between them, but moving felt useful and productive. It helped to appease the nesting instincts. She couldn’t move very quickly so they had to go slow and steady if they were to get to the mall, have an attempt at shopping, and make it back before dark.  

Being out in the open the pair were always on watch, keeping eyes and ears on the look out for any rogue undead that might be looming. But still they talked, mainly about the baby and their plans for when he was born. Andy wasn’t convinced they’d be a boy, not that she was adamant it was a girl either, but she kept saying “just wait and see”. Throughout the journey Lucy felt a few more twinges in her womb, nothing too strong, but enough to get concerned eyes from her partner. She would take her water bottle out of Andy’s backpack, making sure to drink more and keep walking, and soon the cramp would go away. 

Andy was too preoccupied with the world around them to really question the occasional exhale Lucy did when the baby would kick or she’d cramp. Out here, beyond the fence, things were far too likely to change for the worse. All things considered though, the couple made progress quickly and efficiently. Block by block, street by street, they made their way to the mall. The last small patrol outpost of their camp was only a little ways away from where they were going. Andy would have them stop there for a short break, and check the notebook the patrols were supposed to fill out letting anyone moving that way know what kind of undead presence they would be looking at.

“That office building right there.” Andy pointed ahead, about two blocks away a half destroyed building stood three stories tall. “We can stop there for a few minutes. We can refill our water too, get a lay of the land and all that.” Andy hadn’t thought to bring an extra bottle of water, Lucy’s was already empty, and half of Andy’s now as well. 

Lucy huffed, giving a look to her partner that said I’m not fragile, I don’t need to stop every five minutes. 

“No arguments.” Andy said a bit more firmly. “Don’t worry love, we made good time so we can stand to rest for at least thirty minutes. Besides, with all those kicks and cramps I need to have a talk with the baby. Not very polite to kick while their moms are trying to get them stuff.” Andy smiled, putting her rifle over her shoulder so that she could kiss Lucy’s cheek. 

Lucy just wanted to get to the mall, the continued restless energy keeping her focused on their destination. She didn’t really want to stop, if she stopped she would notice just how much her hips, her back, and her feet were all aching. But they needed more water and taking a few minutes inside a building would certainly give them a break from the constant heightened alert they both were on. 

“He’s fine, just out of room and using my organs as a punching bag. Same as yesterday and the day before that.” She said a bit curtly, not directed at her partner but just the irritability of a heavily pregnant woman. 

When they arrived at the patrol building, Lucy made a beeline for the bathroom while Andy went through the usual motions of arriving at a patrol station. With all the water she’d been drinking to get rid of the practice cramps, she was desperate for a wee. Lucy knew the way, having patrolled this station numerous times prior to pregnancy, however when someone was expecting they were taken off some of the more riskier stations.

Once in the bathroom with her jeans around her knees she noticed a sticky gooey substance in her underwear. Her mucus plug. Shit. It freaked her out at first, especially when the discovery was timed with a practice contraction. “No, it’s okay, no need to worry.” She told herself as she rubbed her belly. “This can happen weeks before labour. It’s fine. No need to panic, and no need to tell your other mum. Right?” She asked the baby, hoping for confirmation that it wasn’t time. He kicked, a swift move up to the ribs. “Yes, that’s right, it’s not time for you yet, mister.” 

Outside the bathroom, Andy had her brow furrowed as she looked at the notebook. The last patrol that came through had left no notes, nothing about spotting hordes. Her stomach churned at the blatant disregard for procedure. They might not be military, but they did things this way for a reason. 

“Lazy bastards.” She muttered. She’d be talking to the patrols when they got back. The only reason she’d agreed to bringing Lucy out here was that they’d have the information from the patrols. But this book hadn’t been updated in nearly a month. For all they knew, a horde could have taken up residence in the mall and no one would know. Andy glanced back at the bathroom, knowing all too well it could take some time before Lucy was ready. In the meantime, Andy would do what the patrols didn’t.

She looked out the window at the park, it was overgrown, much like the rest of the city. There were a few zombies out, nothing they couldn’t avoid. A fight wasn’t something they needed, especially with the baby slowing Lucy’s movements. Aside from those few stragglers of what she assumed was a larger horde, the way was clear. Maybe another thirty minutes of walking. Andy looked to the bathroom door again, Lucy really was taking a long time.

“Lucy?” Andy called. She could hear her girlfriend talking. “Baby the way is clear all the way to the mall. When you’re ready we will fill up the water and head out.” The blonde opened the bathroom door just in time to see Lucy trying to stand. “Need help up love?”

Lucy laughed, partially squatted with her knickers on but jeans still around her knees. Immediately she put her hand out for her girlfriend's support. “One of these days I’m gonna get stuck on a toilet.” She joked. Andy helped her stand while she pulled her jeans up. Although an ill-advised outfit for a heavily pregnant woman, Lucy was grateful she was wearing her pre-pregnancy jeans with the flies wide open meaning she had nothing tight or elastic on her lower belly. She was uncomfortable enough as it was without anything squeezing tighter. 

After finishing up in the bathroom the pair went to fill their water bottles before returning to the outside. The thick warm air was only marginally better outside than it was inside. Lucy barely remembered what air conditioning felt like anymore, but god she wished she had it during this pregnancy. There were dark clouds over the horizon, perhaps they’d have a storm this evening, hopefully it would cool things down a little. 

“Was there anything useful in the patrol notes?” Lucy asked innocently, though the disgruntled expression she got in return told her everything she needed to know. Andy loved routine and procedures, it was probably her way of feeling in control in an out-of-control world. Lucy was a bit more carefree in that respect, not that she didn’t care but perhaps was a bit more chilled about things. It was partly why she didn’t want to tell Andy about losing her mucus plug, she would no doubt spiral into worry and demand they return home regardless of the fact Lucy wasn’t having contractions or even close to going into labour. She’d tell her later, after she had her baby shopping day. 

“Theyre going to get an ass whooping when we get back.” Andy said. Taking Lucy out here was already a massive risk, and Andy couldn’t stop running scenarios in her head. Where they’d hold up for a horde, where they’d seek shelter out of the storm. All the while she kept a smile on her face in an attempt to show Lucy she wasn’t currently riddled with anxiety. “At least we have a pretty day for a walk though, for now. Lil bubs should get some nature time.”

As they walked through the park, twice they had to avert their route because of a zombie blocking the path. After Lucy was forced to take a break, claiming the baby decided to kick her hard, led Andy into a lecture about patrol protocol and the reasons that Lucy had been taken off them months ago. The blonde continued fussing over Lucy and the baby, not outwardly saying that they could still go home, but implying heavily. Each insinuation was met with Lucy deflecting and reaffirming that they were going ‘shopping’. It was always going to be a losing battle, but Andy persisted. Eventually the conversation turned to the scenery. The park's vegetation made it seem like they walked through the woods.

“Do we have a verdict?” Andy asked. She could hear the quiet shuffles of a zombie nearby but couldn’t see any, she kept her knife in her hand just in case. “Bubs like nature?”

“Hmmm… he’s certainly moving more that’s for sure.” Lucy said with a slight grimace, feeling another punch from her unborn child. Her hands were cradling her bump at this point, as they walked quickly through the park, lifting it slightly to ease some of the pressure on her pelvis. 

Everything around them was overgrown and wild, not the idyllic suburban park it originally was. It also meant there were many hiding places for the roaming undead; behind trees, in the bushes, amongst the debris that had been dragged across the abandoned green. As they got nearer to the other side she felt Andy stiffen beside her. Lucy was too focused on the baby and her wondering thoughts of when the little one might arrive now she’d lost her plug, but when her girlfriend gripped her knife a little harder she turned her attention outwards, only to hear a rustling nearby. Too nearby. 

Andy slowly rotated, eyes narrowing. With all the trees, narrowing down the sounds to a precise point was nearly impossible. Instinctually she reached behind herself, ensuring Lucy was there in the safest spot she knew. Well, not the safest, that was back in their apartment behind a fence with armed guards. A twig snapped, and Andy spun, simultaneously keeping Lucy out of the way with her other arm. Too close, everything was too damn close. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw it. Branches parted, and a face rotted with decay and smelling of the most heinous scents Andy and Lucy could imagine emerged. The zombie only had one arm, shuffling towards them. 

Andy reacted quickly, reversing the grip on her knife and plunging it into the top of the things skull. It made a sound, one that no sane human could mimic, and collapsed to the ground. Bodily fluids slurped as Andy yanked the knife out, and she faced Lucy.

“Still think coming out here was a—.” Andy’s eyes went wide, just as another zombie came out of the woods, right behind Lucy.

The look on her girlfriend's face made Lucy’s heart stop. She whipped around and was suddenly face to face with a white-eyed rotting corpse. Out of pure instinct Lucy lifted her leg and kicked hard against the being’s ragged torso. It was her only defence, Andy had the weapons, and she couldn’t allow the undead to get too close for fear of infection. Both Lucy and the zombie fell back from the force of the kick. There was a millisecond of weightlessness as her heavily pregnant body careened backwards. Before she could hit the ground Andy’s arms were around her, her girlfriend having rushed forward to break her fall. 

The creature scrambled on the floor in a circle like a dog, quickly getting back to its feet and charging back towards them. Lucy could see chunks of the creature's limbs were missing but still somehow functional. All it took was two lunges forward and it was right at her feet. Andy was stuck beneath her, squashed when the pair fell backwards. Lucy was about to roll onto her side, so Andy could break free and attack, but the creature jumped into the air. 

She screamed as the undead launched, wrapping her arms over her belly in protection and lifting both legs in the air, bent at the knee with feet up. She kicked once more, using strength she didn’t know she still possessed, and when her feet made impact against the rotted flesh a loud crack of bones could be heard across the park. The force of her kick cracking the ribs of the undead creature as it hurtled back. 

Andy was stuck. In her haste to catch Lucy, her knife was lost, scattered a dozen feet away and no longer an option for protection. Panic was setting in, not for the undead, but for her girlfriend and their unborn child. They shouldn’t have come, she should have stood her ground.

The creature was writhing, its pain centers long since rotted away. It’s unnatural speed horrified her. It righted itself, bones cracking beneath its skin as it did so. Andy was still trying to get out from under Lucy, at least enough to free her hand and grab her pistol. It lunged at them, and Andy’s instincts took over. As the saliva and blood soaked teeth gnashed towards Lucy’s face, Andy threw her arm out. The zombie bit down on the blondes arm, and she growled in effort. Its fingers went for Lucy, but with the adrenaline pumping into her, Andy was able to shove her girlfriend aside. The teeth clamped harder, and despite the body having little to no flesh left, it still kept its power. That didn’t matter now.

With Lucy out of the way, Andy kicked out one of the legs, forcing it to lose its leverage. Her free hand went for the small of her back, finding that comforting grip that was the pistol. In the corner of her eye she spotted Lucy moving, she didn’t know what she was doing, but Andy didn’t want her near this.

“Get fuckin back!” She shouted, just as she pulled the pistol, and fired two shots into the things skull. It went limp immediately, twice dead weight falling onto Andy. She shoved the thing off, its jaw still clamped around her arm as she tried to stabilize her breathing.

“Fuck… Andy, Andy you okay?” Lucy croaked. The redhead had been pushed aside, thrown across the long grass. She ended up beside the motionless corpse of the first undead. When she saw her girlfriend’s misplaced knife glinting through the green blades she had grabbed it and got to her feet to try and help Andy. Everything happened so quickly; its teeth, the knife, the gunshot. And now, now Andy was prone on the floor. Panic clenched her heart, the raw fear of something happening to her girlfriend made her stomach drop. 

Lucy fell to her knees beside her partner, her hands cradling her face. “Babe?” 

Beneath her hands she felt Andy’s chest rise and fall, her eyes were open, she was alive. Relief flooded through Lucy’s body. Andy was alive, she was okay. As if a switch had been flicked, Lucy’s body immediately crumpled, adrenaline fading and her vision swimming. 

She’d barely registered Lucy’s voice, or her touch. Andy’s heart was pounding as she fought the shock that was trying to overtake her. The world could have been blown to hell and rebuilt and she would not have noticed. 

“Luce?” Andy blinked, her vision refocusing. Everything flooded back, her head ached, and her arm hurt like a bastard. She sat up, the passage of time seeming to slow. The head was still on her arm, she stared at it with a blank expression. Lucy, the baby… “LUCY!” Everything snapped into focus, and she turned to her girlfriend. She had a scrape on her cheek, and grass in her hair. Andy ripped the head off her arm, feeling the sting of relief as she threw it away. “Lucy? Baby?”

Andy was on her knees, checking Lucy over. No blood, just small cuts and scrapes.

“Fuck. Baby look at me. Lucy!”

The long, haunting drone of hundreds of decayed vocal cords filled the air around them. Andy knew that all too well, a horde, a fucking massive horde. The gunshots had drawn them to the couple, and it was only a matter of time before they were on the pair. And if they caught the scent of their blood… they’d never lose them. Andy tried to lift Lucy, but she couldn’t, all she managed was to pull the mother to be into a sitting position. This was all wrong, they had to leave. 

“Goddammit Lucy get your pregnant ass up!”

Everything felt so heavy, every bone, every muscle, Lucy felt so dazed and confused. One minute her girlfriend was laying beneath an undead creature and the next she was struggling to get Lucy to her feet. The hauntingly familiar screeching pierced her ears and instinctively the pregnant woman shifted to her knees and then her feet. She gave Andy the knife back so she could cradle her belly as they started to move out the park as fast as they could. The horde wasn’t close enough to be seen, but god that sound. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The noise was coming from the direction they had travelled, the way back to camp. How were they going to get back? Lucy’s mind short circuited, only fear pumped through her veins. Luckily Andy seemed to have a plan. 

“They’ve got us blocked.” Andy hissed. “Only safe direction is towards the mall.” 

As they moved Lucy could feel the baby shifting in her womb. That was good. He wasn’t harmed, he was still safe. Her hands lifted the bump as much as she could to take as much pressure as possible off her pelvis so she could run. But the grinding weight in her hips was impossible to alleviate. Every step seemed to hurt, sending shooting pains up her spine. Why did the baby have to be so low, why did she think it was a good idea to leave camp when she was this god damn pregnant. As if her body was protesting the physical activity a sharp cramp rolled across her lower belly. 

Andy was pulling her forwards, trying to help her move faster. She wanted to stop and breathe through the discomfort, but the gravelled hungry cries of the undead seemed to be getting closer. They couldn’t stop. If they stopped they’d be dead. Worse than dead. By the time they reached the exit to the park Lucy was panting and grimacing. 

The park was right up against the parking lot for the mall. In the early days of the outbreak and subsequent ending of the world, the malls large parking area had been utilized as a triage for the overflow from the hospitals. When treatment for the infected was abandoned, it instead became a mass grave. Andy kept a tight grip on Lucy, refusing to let her slow down. Above the pounding of her heart she could hear her girlfriend's heavy breathing. They couldn’t stop, not yet, not until they had some kind of barrier between them and the dead.

The couple reached a fence, old rusted signs called the area restricted. Even if anyone was still alive to enforce it, Andy wouldn’t give a damn. Frantically, she looked side to side. There. Fifty yards away, a gate. Andy turned to run, only to be halted by Lucy’s gasping breaths. The pregnancy had slowed her girlfriend, and the physical exertion of the moment must be hell. They didn’t have the time though. With a squeeze of her hand, they bolted, continuing the run towards their salvation. The noises grew louder, and the crushing vegetation beneath the feet of the horde sounded too much like flesh tearing.

“Get in!” The gate was open, its lock long since destroyed by scavengers. Andy practically shoved Lucy in, following behind soon after. The blonde made a mistake there, she looked back towards the treeline, and saw them. Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred. Bodies upon bodies of the undead sprinting with ravenous hunger towards them, releasing a shrill roar that made the hair on her neck stand on end. “Fuck. Move move move!”

Lucy winced, trying to ignore the pain in her pelvis and back, and resumed running towards the mall. She didn't dare let go of her bump, it felt like if she let go it would simply drop to the floor. It was firm beneath her palms, and so damn heavy, but any concern she might have had was lost to the rabid sound of the undead hot on their tails. 

Andy pulled her pistol, she didn’t have enough ammo to even make a dent in such a group. When collected in sizes like this, the camp would usually do a ‘suicide run’. One person, someone fast, leading a horde into a trap where they could be taken out. Out here in the open, and with a woman nearly due? Options were dwindling by the second.

“Up ahead, get to the front door!” 

Every step was too much, every move sent a pain up her spine. Lucy was visibly struggling to run at any sort of speed, her natural stance far too wide. She wanted to stop, she wanted to curl over her bump and catch her breath, she needed to rest. But she couldn’t. The undead were coming and they had to get out of the open. 

Too slow, too goddamn slow!

Andy had to cut back her speed in order to stay behind Lucy. Running ahead would mean she could get the door open, but exposing her girlfriends back to a horde with no buffer was not going to happen. Lucy had started to slow even more, her striding waddle nearly coming to a crawl. Andy saw her try to reach a nearby table for what she assumed was momentary support, even a few seconds of rest would lead to death. Andy grabbed her hand before she had a chance to put it on the table.

“We have to move faster!” 

Lucy whimpered, clutching at her bump. “Ohhhh… but Andy—”

Andy practically shoved her forwards. They were close, but so were the undead. Andy could hear them hitting the fence. She turned just long enough to spot the horde climbing over one another like a flood of ants. As bodies stacked, they managed to get over the fence. Her stomach dropped, five of them were closing in, sprinting like feral hounds of the hunt. Teeth gnashed, and bloodshot eyes focused on the couple. They had no chance of getting inside before at least one reached them.

Up ahead, the doors stood like a bastion of hope. While they were made of glass, they were durable enough to hold back a horde for at least a little while. 

“Inside! Get inside!”

They slammed into the doors, both of them pulling. That was when Andy noticed with horror, the doors were chained and padlocked. There was a little give, enough for Andy to get through with minimal effort thanks to her slim stature, but Lucy…

Andy shut her eyes, coming to terms with what might happen next, not that it matter. She opened her eyes, looking at the spot on her jacket sleeve where the blood was still wet. She was going to die anyways, right? At least she could get Lucy in and protect her long enough. She pulled hard on the chain, opening the gap as wide as possible. With her other hand she pointed the pistol at the oncoming zombies.

“Move!” Her gaze locked on Lucy, tears burning. “I won’t let them get you.”

“W-what….” Lucy was confused, her girlfriend looked scared but also… resigned? A loud cry from the approaching horde shook the mother-to-be from any conversation and she moved towards the crack in the doors. 

She surely couldn’t fit through there, but there wasn’t any other option. They had seconds, if that, before the undead reached them. Somehow Lucy curled over her rounder belly, lowering her knees, and squeezed herself through the gap Andy was providing. Her partner’s full body weight was pulling at the chained door, trying to make the gap as wide as possible. Lucy slipped in, in a diagonal angle, her belly squashed against the door as the survival instinct prevailed and eventually she made it through. 

“Andy!” She yelled back through the doors, whipping herself around to make sure her partner was following behind her. The horde was close, Andy’s gun was raised, and for a split second Lucy feared she would be doing something stupid like sacrificing herself. “Come on Andy! Get in here now!” 

Andy was shaking, should she go? If the bite was real, and that blood hers, she’d be putting Lucy and their baby in danger. The closest of the horde got close, and she fired, putting two down with three bullets. Her heart was pounding as she heard her blood in her ears. Was that a symptom? Or was that simply adrenaline. Lucy’s hand grabbed her wrist through the gap, and Andy was brought back to reality. She turned, seeing her redheaded lover’s eyes full of fear and concern.

If I am infected… I will stop myself before I hurt them She told herself. Andy dipped between the gap, about to pull the doors shut and lock them when the bodies of two zombies slammed into the door. The glass cracked, but held firm. Andy found a small metal pipe on the ground, and put it through the handles to provide just a little extra protection. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“We need to get deeper into the mall.” She said, trying to stabilize her voice. She had to keep calm, she had to get Lucy out before things got worse. “Baby? Can you run?”

“Hmmm… I don’t think I can run any-anymore.” Lucy admitted, exhaling heavily with relief now there was some sort of barrier between them and the undead. Unconsciously her hands moved around her bump, rubbing and cradling it protectively and soothingly. 

The pair moved at a pace, not running but they weren’t taking it slow either. The inside of the mall was dark. They were on the ground floor and there was a second and third layer above their heads. Each shop was left open, glass windows smashed, debris everywhere. Lucy managed to get a few metres from the barricaded glass door before she stopped, her eyebrows furrowed. 

Without the adrenaline of a zombie horde right behind them, she felt it more clearly now - that dull but forceful tightening in her belly. A groan of pain slipped from her throat and she cradled her swollen middle. Her other hand shot out towards Andy, looking for something to hold and brace against as the cramping spiked to new levels. 

“Uhhhhh…..” 

Andy had been preoccupied, eyes darting to and fro for anything that might be used as a barrier or weapon. It was doomed however thanks to her eyes deciding at that moment to take an eternity to adjust to the lack of light. Further into the mall towards the food court there would be a skylight, and that would be a good place to get to if only because of how far away it was from this section of the mall. The plan in her head faltered when Lucy’s hand clamped onto her forearm, and the pregnant survivor bent over.

“Lucy?” Andy said, sounding far more out of breath than she’d realized. “Babe we can’t stay here we have to keep…” Lucy’s hand was on her stomach, oh fuck. Andy’s concern grew tenfold instantly. “Is the baby ok?” Was this her fault? Had she pushed her too hard? “Lucy, talk to me.”

“Ah… hooooo… I think…” Lucy squeezed her girlfriend’s arm while trying to withstand the firm pressure rippling through her lower half. “…I think I’m having… contractions…” Her face scrunched, breathing heavily while the pain peaked and then ebbed away. 

It took her a moment to recover, a part of her not wanting to look up, not wanting to see Andy’s reaction. Andy had said going out this heavily pregnant was a bad idea, and damn it she was right. Looking towards her girlfriend she saw Andy’s face had blanched. Even though Lucy was the one feeling pain, she somehow still felt like comforting her girlfriend's clear panicked expression. 

“He’s… he’s okay I think. He’s moving and kicking like normal. Mmmmm… he’s just…” her voice trailed off, barely even a whisper “…really low.” 

“Contractions…”

Andy’s hand was shaking as she reached out, placing it on Lucy’s stomach. The baby was extremely low, yes. Her chest felt like it was in a vice as she tried to think. There was nothing she could do, and really, she was terrified to even make skin to skin contact with Lucy. What if even being this close could get her infected?

“We need to get you home.” She finally said, pulling her hand away. A small, bloody print was left on Lucy's shirt. “I’ll get you home. I promise.” Andy could no longer think back to every time she’d tried to stop this trip from happening. All of that was no longer a concern, all she cared about was getting the two people she loved home. A home she wouldn’t see again. Andy turned away so that Lucy couldn’t see the tears. “Cmon. There’s an exit by the food court.”

That was…strange, Lucy thought. She assumed Andy would be more tactile following the admission of having contractions but she had whipped her hand away so fast as if Lucy’s bump was on fire. Maybe her partner was pissed off they were in this mess, all because Lucy had been so stupidly focused on trivial items. Andy would certainly have every right to be annoyed, it was because of Lucy they were even out here. 

Lucy followed her girlfriend through the debris towards the centre of the mall, towards the food court. Each movement was slower and more considered, the weight nestled in her hips felt so low she didn’t want to take any large steps or risk triggering another contraction. Should they be timing these? No… that was only needed if she was in labour. A few cramps weren't labour. It was just stress, yes, just stress. 

Barely five minutes of silence had passed before Lucy began to hum a whimper. “Mmmgh… A-Andy… it’s happening again…” she groaned and waddled to the nearest wall to press her palms against its solid surface. She found her hips shifting automatically side to side, a low sound rumbling in the back of her throat as her womb began to clench once more. 

Andy moved, coming up behind her girlfriend. She had to find some way to calm her, but how? Nothing about this situation was calm. She’d started to reach out, to offer comfort, but pulled back. The fear of infection was foremost in her thoughts. All those days they did the practice breaths and stretches, lomenz or something, like the camp doctor said.

“Just, breathe through it.” 

A distant crash, followed by an echoing howl caught her attention. Lucy didn’t seem to notice. The blonde took a passive glance at her girlfriend, her head was hanging down, and the sounds she was making… it wasn’t like the ones she made with the cramps back home. It sounded off. Another crash, another howl of the undead.

“Luce…” A shadow, far down the way they came. It moved like it was having a fit, jerking one way to the other. It croaked, and an ill timed groan from Lucy made its frantic movements end, and even at a distance, Andy could see the limited intelligence snap into place. “Lucy…” A second shadow, growing larger, coming towards them. “Lucy!” Andy’s hiss was barely loud enough to echo, not that they could hear it above the growing growls. The infected, were inside.

Lucy’s face scrunched, her teeth clamping together as the pain reached its peak. She had tried to contain her noises, she really had, but the intensity of the contraction had caught her completely off guard. It was just so much stronger than any practice cramp. At the tail end of the wave, just as it released her muscles enough to lift her head up, she felt something give…. 

“Oh no….” Lucy muttered under her breath, a warmth flooding the inside of her jeans and running down her thighs. She whipped her head to the side, to look wide eyed and panicked at her girlfriend. “…my waters….” 

This wasn’t happening, it couldn’t be happening now. Fuck. Lucy’s bottom lip trembled, her heart thundering so loud in her chest she feared it would summon the undead. Labour, she was actually in labour. The reality of their situation sank like a stone to the pit of her stomach. She felt sick. 

“What?” Andy whirled, seeing the puddle growing between Lucy’s legs. Fear flooded her. Labor?! As if this entire goddamn situation couldn’t have been worse, now Lucy was actually in labor. Bubs was coming, and… A dark thought entered her mind, she glanced down, her hand was shaking again, it had to be the infection. Through the terror of knowing what was to come, she couldn’t look at the bloody spot on her sleeve, the bite she knew was beneath it.

The last thing she’d do, was see Lucy safe, and if she could, maybe see what their baby looked like.

“Upstairs.” Andy said, refocusing. “We need to get upstairs.” There’s shops upon shops in this place, they needed to hide, Andy needed to be able to think. The undead started moving. Slowly, the first tilted its head, like a wolf scenting the air. There was no mistaking the scent they were latching onto. The amniotic fluids coupled with the blood from Lucy’s water breaking was too unique for them not to seek. Andy, left with little choice, pulled Lucy’s sleeve towards the stairs. She didn’t move, not at first. Unable to contain her whirlwind of emotions, she got in her girlfriend's face.

“If we don’t move, you, and him, will die. I need you to fucking move!”

She’d never seen Andy this scared or serious before, not even when they’d been out on patrol together pre-pregnancy. It was almost scary, making the gravity of their situation impossible to ignore. A silent tear rolled down her cheek, Lucy’s hands cradling her belly after pushing herself away from the wall. She nodded, silently showing understanding. 

Andy whisked them around a corner out of direct line of sight from the glass door where the undead had smashed through. Every step was arduous, Lucy could feel so much more pressure in her pelvis without the cushioning of her waters, feeling like a boulder was grinding between her hips. But she kept running, being dragged by her sleeve as Andy led the way. She tried to grab Andy’s hand to hold but it was twisted away whenever she reached. Lucy wanted to say something, to admit aloud that she needed the physical support, but breathing took priority - speech wasn’t possible as well with the speed in which they were moving. 

They made a sharp left turn, diving into one of the large department stores. Lucy cradled her stomach to try to lessen the bouncing pressure that seemed to sink with every heavy step. She didn’t know where they were going, she could barely think, but trusted her girlfriend implicitly. Andy must have a plan. They weaved around the maze of clothing rails inside the store, stepping over broken mannequins and discarded old fabrics. Left, right, right, left. Lucy was gasping, struggling to keep the panicked pace Andy had set. Then the next contraction struck and Lucy immediately doubled over, bracing her thighs and panting. 

Andy lost her grip on Lucy’s shirt the second she’d stopped. The blonde cursed in frustration. The sounds of their followers was distant now, but it wouldn’t be for long. In her head she tried to do the math, the doors were shattered, hundreds of bodies, maybe some would lose interest in the time it took to get inside? At the very least they’d have fifty in the mall with them in the next ten minutes. Reduced to their basic instincts, they’d follow one another, so unless the few who had Lucy’s scent got separated enough, they’d all group together and hunt.

The old signs didn’t help much with them being so covered in grime, they’d only been children when this all started, so the innate knowledge of shopping mall layouts wasn’t something either of them possessed. Sure there was a map, and Mike had been the one to tell them the turn by turn in the mall to get to the maternity store, but Andy couldn’t focus. The infection, or just pure nerves and adrenaline, she wasn’t sure. Looking over the racks of clothes, Andy spotted a line of doors. Dressing rooms, she remembered, they’re small but they lock. 

The blonde was about to tell Lucy they needed to move again, only to stop. Lucy was still panting, still fighting through the contraction. Sympathy for her partner was quickly overshadowed by survival instinct, and her need to protect.

“Dressing rooms.” Andy said, grabbing Lucy’s sleeve again. “Dressing room, now.”

Lucy whipped her head up, staring at Andy with teary eyes. “G-give me a second… hooooo…” she exhaled as quietly as she could, the contraction still holding her womb in a vice. Her fingers squeezed her thighs, bracing her legs as she rocked her hips around the pressure in the bowl of her pelvis. There was no way she could move while this pain lashed across her middle. And yet Andy was yanking at her sleeve trying to get her to move. Lucy was panicking and scared, their baby was coming, and she needed her girlfriend’s strength and support more than ever. But all she seemed to get was Andy’s fearful barking orders to run. 

Amniotic fluid continued to leak down Lucy’s thighs; she could feel it happen during each contraction, that gentle rush of warmth seeping into the already-dampened denim of her too-small jeans. She had to consciously bite down on her tongue to stop any noise escaping as the wave of pressure peaked and disappeared. Slowly she straightened up, one hand pressing into her back while the other cradled her bump. “Okay… let’s go…” she muttered, letting Andy - who was practically bouncing on the spot at this point - lead the way to the back corner of the department store. 

Andy didn’t take the most direct route, something that she knew would hamper Lucy. But, if the scent was sporadic, and the leaking fluids Lucy continued to leave behind traced over itself, then maybe it would confuse the undead. That is, if confusion was still something they were capable of. 

The pace quickened, and Andy spotted the series of five doors where once upon a time people could try clothes on. Her mind slipped, imagination taking her to a reality she’d never see; Lucy trying on maternity clothes, cooing at baby clothes, both of them having the time of their lives. The blonde shook the thought from her head. Deeper into the clothing store, the darkness encompassed them. Andy’s eyes were adjusted somewhat, but it was far from ideal, and with what was behind them, the risk of a flashlight was too great. That was why she missed it.

A squelching, gnawing sound so miniscule it was unheard by the women. The infected was small, perhaps Lucy’s height, but emaciated to the point that its ribs pressed out against its skin, a cage attempting to escape its leather confines. The dog it’d caught didn’t have much meat either, but the thing didn’t care, it only wanted to feed. A new scent, and sounds, disturbed its meal. Bloodshot eyes rose, flesh still trapped between rotting teeth as its jaw worked. A guttural, ululating sound came from its throat, and the women’s footsteps stopped. It knew where the source was, the blood, the fresh meat. It began to move…

“Andy, th-the rooms are right…”

“Shh.” Andy hissed, eyes scanning. In the far distance she could still hear the sounds of the dead, but the one she’d just heard, the blonde could’ve sworn it was closer. “Something’s in here…”

The gun would be too loud, everything nearby would come for them, for Lucy. Andy, with slow movements, drew her knife. Point down, she lowered her stance to try and look under the racks of clothes, Lucy however, was rooted to the spot, frozen in fear.

The undead stared at the source of the scent, who stared back, frozen, hands on her round body. Plump, fresh, meat. New smells, fresh blood. It moved on all fours, the icy blue iris of once human eyes glaring out of the dark. The sweet scent of flesh was too much, and it… was hungry. It could sense something about the fat fresh meat, something different than its other meals. This one had more, fresher meat inside…

“A-Andy…” Lucy’s voice was a barely audible gasp, but the fear in her tone was enough to call Andy’s attention. She turned, just in time to hear the scuttling. 

It lunged at its meal, the need to feed was absolute. The undead never reached its meal, never sank its teeth into the warm fresh flesh. The other meal, the scrawny one, had blocked its path. Thrown to the side, they hit the cold, dead floor. The scrawny meat on top of it made a noise, but the undead had no concept of language anymore, it gnashed and scratched, hungry, so SO hungry! It tried to make its own sound, the ululating cry, the one that called others to feed. Its mouth opened, but no sound came, everything simply went dark.

Andy was panting, she’d tackled the damned undead out of the air as it lunged at Lucy. By some miracle, it hadn’t screamed, and Andy’s blade quickly plunged into its jugular and then deeper to sever its spine. She felt sick, lightheaded, and all around terrible. The survivor pulled the blade out, wiping it on her sleeve before standing again. The couple made eye contact again, Andy’s attempted reassuring smile ended with her breakfast on the floor.

Lucy hadn’t moved, her arms wrapped around her belly protectively and watched in horror as her girlfriend wrestled with the undead. It was only once Andy had stood up, smiling faintly, that Lucy could breathe again. And then she was rushing forward towards her girlfriend who was doubled over vomiting. 

“A-Andy… that was crazy… you could have died!!” She whispered, placing her hand on Andy’s back and rubbing gently to soothe and aid the vomiting. 

“Gah… f-fuck…” Andy groaned, wiping her mouth on her non blood covered sleeve. “We need, to get you hidden.” Andy took a deep breath, and stood upright. “At least for a few minutes.” Even if the undead didn’t call out to the others, that scuffle very well could have alerted any nearby creatures.

“Just… just stop for a second, Andy please.” Lucy put her hands on her lover’s shoulders and forced her to turn around so they were facing. She was ghostly white, sweat dampening her forehead, and she was trembling. “Honey, what’s going on, talk to me. You’re not thinking, you’re shouting at me, you’re throwing yourself into the arms of the fucking undead. What are you doing?” The panicked worries spilled from Lucy’s mouth without filter. This was the first chance since the attack in the park they could speak to one another. Granted it was in a dark changing room in an abandoned mall surrounded by infected undead creatures, but she needed to understand. Andy was acting so strangely, so aloof, and it felt more frightening than any zombie or contraction. 

“Talk to me, please, I can’t do this without you.” She said quietly, both of them glancing down to the round bump between them. 

Andy let the silence hang, she tried to back up from Lucy, but her lover wouldn’t allow it. The blonde was terrified of being so close to their baby, that her proximity might harm them, or she’d turn feral, and attack Lucy. She saw a flutter on the fabric covered surface of Lucy’s womb, and she couldn’t stop the tears rolling.

“You’ll have to, Lucy.” She finally broke the quiet. “I, I won’t be there for you, for the baby.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“Fuck. I’m, I’m infected Luce!” Andy broke away from her, putting her back against the wall of the dressing room. “I’m infected…” Andy let out a breath, all the fear and tension with it. The truth was out, and she couldn’t bear to look her girlfriend in the eyes. “I have to get you home, before I can’t anymore.”

It felt like Lucy’s whole world cracked open and crashed at her feet. Infected. She stumbled back, hand on chest, struggling to breathe. Infected. Her strong and gorgeous partner, her soul mate, was going to turn into…into one of them. Infected! 

“No…. Y-you can’t be…” Lucy croaked, her eyes roaming every inch of Andy in search of verification. They landed on her jacket, the dark congealed blood staining one sleeve. Bile rose up her throat, the acidity making her retch. “No… no no no… you can’t do this. You can’t leave me Andy.” 

In blind desperation Lucy rushed forwards, her arms raised, wrapping Andy in her embrace as if she could stop the inevitable. If she clung on tight enough Andy could never leave. 

“Lucy please.” Andy turned her face away, her hands locked at her side. As much as she needed this hug, the blonde remained terrified about the proximity. “Baby I need you to let go.” Andy gingerly put her hands on Lucy’s hips, and tried to push her away. “Lucy don’t make this harder.”

“You’re not… g-gonna be one of them. I w-won’t let you…” Lucy sobbed against Andy’s shoulder, her fingers gripping harder. 

This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t happening! Lucy could feel the hitching of Andy’s chest, knowing she was on the verge of tears as well. But then her girlfriend pushed harder against her hips, forcing more of a gap between them. Fear reflected in both their eyes. 

“You’re not infected Andy, you’re not… y-y-you can’t be…. Not now… you have to be there, to raise this b-baby with m-me…” the tears cascaded rivers down Lucy’s cheeks, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it. How… when?! “S-show me.” She demanded through the tears. 

“Lucy…”

“Show. Me.” 

Andy hadn’t dared look, the pain was present, a dull throb that became sharp at any movement. The blood on her sleeve was enough to know she was dead, or soon would be. Her hands were shaking again, and that need to vomit once again grew as her vivid imagination put the image of her gnarled forearm in her mind. Her breathing became rapid. Between the couple, Andy held out her arm. Caked blood covered it up to the elbow, her hand as well.

She kept hesitating, not even paying attention to the sounds coming from outside the dressing room. All that was far away. Andy unbuttoned her cuff, and pulled. The blood… didn’t go past her wrist. Andy kept pulling till the sleeve was at her mid forearm. The skin was bruised, and where the bite should be, there was nothing. Barely even an indentation, the bite that killed Andy, never broke her flesh.

“W-what…” 

Lucy snatched Andy’s arm, yanking it up towards her face to inspect every inch of gorgeous, perfect skin. Bite marks, bite marks… “Where’s the bite mark??” Lucy blurted, turning the extended arm over and back again. Slowly she looked up and saw confusion on her girlfriend's face. 

“You didn’t even check?!?!! For fucks sake Andy! So what - you assumed and just surrendered to your fate?” Gut-wrenching heart ache quickly transitioned to relief but then anger, Lucy’s cheeks flushing and her speech getting louder. “You tackled one to the ground, you were right on top of it, you could have died! All because you thought you had been bitten. Didn’t think to actually fucking check before throwing yourself to the undead wolves.” 

“B-but I felt the bite...”

As fury swarmed through every vein in Lucy’s body, she pushed against her partner’s shoulders, the combination of relief and rage coming out through the heel of her palm as she shoved Andy back. What the fuck. All that distance, acting strangely, not touching, being reckless and for what?! She was nine months pregnant for God’s sake, she didn’t need this sort of stress— 

Harsh, twisting pain lashed across her uterus and Lucy threw her arms out and grabbed Andy’s biceps. “Ughhhhh…” she groaned, a low unstoppable sound clawing up her throat as the pressure in her pelvis skyrocketed. There was so much intensity in the contraction, much worse than any before. Her heart thundered in her chest, her knees bent and widened instinctively, all thoughts of arguing quickly overshadowed with how incredibly low the baby felt between her hips. 

The dumbfounded trance Andy had been stuck in after realizing that she wasn’t actively dying quickly ended. The fear of proximity was gone, and Andy’s hands quickly took hold of Lucy’s arms to offer support. Once upon a time, the dressing room had a bench, the screws still jutted from the wall where it had been attached, but that was long gone. Andy wanted to tell Lucy to sit down, but with nowhere feasible, she just continued the support.

“Breathe through it.” She told her. More words of encouragement came to mind, the ones she’d practiced in the mirror and her imagination to prepare for the birth. All that fell flat though, as Lucy’s low groans attracted unwanted attention. Survival instincts came back to Andy, though her methods and thought process were no longer self sacrificial and borderline suicidal. Fuck the infected, she was going to be there for her girlfriend and their baby.

The howl, seemingly from the front of the store, reached them. A cluster of infected, too far and dark for her to identify any true number. The contraction was still holding Lucy hostage, and Andy could tell that her ability to hold back any noises was about to fail. Thinking fast, she pushed Lucy back, and lifted her hand to cover her mouth. The blonde's wide eyes tried to tell of the danger nearby, and she could only hope that Lucy understood.

The redhead’s eyes scrunched, the wave of the contraction crashing through her very soul. Lucy understood what Andy was doing, she did, but that didn’t make the action any less shocking or claustrophobic. Her back was flat against the dressing room wall, Andy’s palm across her mouth, her womb an iron sphere between them. With her mouth covered she was panting loudly through her nostrils, trying to swallow down the groaning sounds in her throat. 

As the intensity spiked Lucy’s fingers clawed into her girlfriend’s arms, her knees softening for the briefest of moments with the pressure in her pelvis, then her legs went back to normal. Well, as normal as they could in active labour. 

Slowly, once sure the contraction has passed, Andy’s hand lifted from her mouth. Lucy exhaled, slumping back against the wall, catching her breath back. 

“This… this is happening… really quickly babe.” She whispered, her voice soft and subtle so as to not attract unwanted attention. “He feels really low, like - really low.” 

Lucy took one of Andy’s hands, pressing it into the very lowest curve of her bump in the space between the open flies on her jeans. They were both very familiar with her bump, spending hours guessing and trying to work out where baby was laying in her belly. So it wasn’t hard to distinguish the solid mass right above her pubic bone, their child’s head nestled low down into her hips. “He’s dropped lower, fuck, Andy he’s dropped so much since this morning. And my mucus plug came out after we left, and I should have said something, I should have told you… I didn’t know, I didn’t think I was going into labour so quickly… and he’s coming and we’re surrounded and….” 

Lucy’s breathing hitched, tears falling from her lashes and rolling down her flushed cheeks. Instinctively she curled forward, sobbing into the crook of Andy’s neck. 

“It’s ok Lucy.” Andy told her, pulling her crying lover as close as she could. “We are getting out of here, all three of us.” It was so strange to have hope again despite all the odds stacked against them. Any other day she might have been angry at Lucy for hiding this, but Andy had no right considering she too had hidden that she thought she was infected. Her strength was back, her will to live, and her desire to hold their baby.

The couple took a few moments, Andy waiting for Lucy to calm enough that she didn’t need to stifle her cries. Dark shadows in the distance moved, vague silhouettes of the infected coming to the scent of both Lucy and their dead brethren. Limited options remained, and now with a timeline of the baby coming Andy had to figure out what to do. The stairs. Off to the left, near the old exit from the department store, a flight of stairs led to the second floor of the mall. There was almost no open ground, so as long as Lucy could get there without the baby trying to make himself known again they’d be ok.

“Lucy.” Andy broke the embrace, keeping her hand on the gravid swell of flesh dividing them. What she had to say was for the baby too. She cupped Lucy’s cheek, forcing the teary eyed redhead to look at her. Andy saw herself in the reflection of Lucy’s eyes, even in the dark she could tell that she too was crying. “We can get upstairs from here.” She said, her tender voice that of an encouraging partner. “The infected are only on the first floor for now, up there, we can navigate.” The blonde pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, and dabbed the tears from her lover's face. “You are so strong, and so brave. I just need you to stay that way a little longer.” 

Lucy nodded, her breathing hitching with the last dregs of tears. “O-okay. I’ll… I’ll try. We can do this.” She tried to sound confident but it came out fearful and uncertain. 

With the strong contractions forcing her to stop each time, and without the cushioning of her waters, even the smallest of journeys was going to be tough. But they were a team; Andy and Lucy, fierce and strong and unwavering in their love and protection of each other. The redhead rolled her shoulders, trying to call upon all the determination she could muster. 

Slowly, the pair moved silently out of the dressing room corridor - stepping over the decaying mess of the undead Andy had dispatched - and slunk back into the department store. Her girlfriend led the way but this time their hands were entwined, fingers interlocked, holding tight. They kept to the edge of the abandoned store, ensuring their backs were always along a wall so they couldn’t be attacked from behind. Lucy’s heart was thundering in her chest as they moved, heightened by the ominous clang of metal or crash of plastic echoing from a distance, reminding the women they were not alone in this mall. 

Lucy kept one hand on her belly while the other held fast to her partner. She hadn’t had a contraction since they moved from the dressing room, but it was only a matter of time before the next one struck. Every step felt like the baby’s head was grinding lower, deeper into her pelvis. She found herself clenching inner muscles in an attempt to keep the weight from sinking further down but it was fruitless. The bowling ball between her hips, their baby’s skull, was ever present in every bow legged step she took. 

Cautiously they made a break for it, leaving the outskirts of the store into the dead centre. Silent steps, eyes roaming frantically, both the women were on high alert moving as fast as Lucy was able in the midst of labour. They successfully reached the stairs which led up to a second and third level, but their new position meant they were a hell of a lot more exposed - open to attacks from all angles. When they reached the bottom of the first staircase - there were two to reach the next level - Andy gave her a concerned glance, squeezing her hand in a wordless question. Lucy gave her partner a nod and half smile, silently assuring the blonde that she was okay to keep going. She looked up the staircase, swallowing thickly, knowing this task would be monumental. But it sure as shit was better than staying here with the undead closing in on them. 

While she had led up to this point, she wouldn’t let Lucy lag behind going up the stairs. The pace needed to be quick, yes, but such an ask was too much for her redheaded lover. 

“Hold the rail.” Andy whispered, flinching at how loud her voice seemed even with the volume modulated. “Don’t try to rush, ok?”

Lucy nodded an acknowledgment, and Andy looked at her a moment longer before starting the climb. 

Step by step, the couple moved. Andy kept hold of Lucy’s hand for the first few, but with the mother to be also holding the rail, she could tell that instinct wanted her to hold her stomach. Andy recalled what the other moms in camp had said, how at the end it feels like the baby is trying to fall out. She could only imagine how it felt for Lucy right now, on top of all the terror and fear, a small amount Andy was willing to claim as her own fault. 

A crash below them pulled Andy’s attention, her hand squeezing Lucy’s as they froze in place. They were only halfway up, if that. Andy scanned, trying to see if it was an infected that was nearby. The cry from it made her skin prickle, but the survivor was able to exhale the breath she’d been holding. It must’ve been a clothing rack towards the front of the store, not a threat yet. Her grip loosened a fraction, returning to the comforting squeeze she’d been giving. Lucy’s grip remained firm. Andy looked at her, only to be met with horror. Lucy’s eyes were wide, her breathing faster than ever. Andy’s gaze fell upon her stomach, it was shrunken, and rock hard.

Fuck.

Lucy only managed a low hum before Andy’s hand was clamped over her mouth. The blond could feel her lover's jaw clenching, and the minimal shift in her stature as she lowered a little. The pregnant survivor's body had betrayed them both, picking the damned worst time to stop them in their tracks. A muffled cry escaped from Lucy, and an infected responded to it, croaking with its dead vocal chords. The undead moved, and out of the corner of her eye Andy could see it. She was just thankful that for the moment, it couldn’t see them.

Not wanting to risk any noise of her own, Andy adjusted to where Lucy could look her in the eyes. Slowly, Andy took an over exaggerated inhale through her nose, then out again. She had to get Lucy calmed and quiet, or they’d be in another mad dash, but this time up stairs with no feasible hiding spot. It took a few breaths, but Lucy seemed to be trying to mimic the exercise to a little success. Andy didn’t let go of her hand, matching the strength of the squeeze until Lucy was the one who loosened her grip. 

“You ok?” Andy mouthed the question, and only when Lucy nodded did she remove her palm from the redhead's mouth. She pointed up the stairs, moving to support her panting lover as the ascent began again.  

Every contraction made progress, an undeniable fact given Lucy could feel every millimetre of it. The boulder in her pelvis was forcing her hips to part, each step up the staircase grinding that pressure steadily downwards. She hated her body, the timing of that contraction. It was so fucking typical. If it weren’t for Andy she would have almost certainly attracted the undead with the involuntary noises that crept up her throat. They had to move quickly, she couldn’t have another contraction like that in the open. But moving was getting harder and harder with each inch their baby dropped. 

When they reached the top of the first set of stairs Lucy grabbed onto the railing with both hands, swaying her hips in a wide circle, trying desperately to shift the pressure into a more manageable place. Andy seemed to panic that she was having another contraction, her blonde hair flying into Lucy’s line of sight to guide more breathing. The redhead waved her off, mouthing that she was okay. Well, she was far from okay, but she wasn’t contracting which was the main thing at that moment. 

Finally they reached the second floor. It was dark and abandoned like the rest of the mall, but crucially it appeared to be empty. Lucy took the opportunity to brace her thighs and breathe deeply just to catch her breath back. Being in labour was zapping what little energy she had left. She just wanted to sit down, to rest, though in all honestly she wasn’t entirely sure sitting was an option with how low the baby felt. 

“So…. What now…?” She breathed, straightening up and naturally cradling her bump. Even standing still Lucy found her hips shifting side to side, an unconscious move but one that seemed to help. 

“Now…” Andy whispered, her head on a constant swivel. “Now we keep going.” Andy began to rub Lucy’s back as well as belly, a common enough occurrence at home that it almost made her forget that they were in danger. Almost. She found where Lucy’s navel was and absently began rubbing circles around it. Even without looking, she could feel how low the baby was. For the past ten months she’d gotten to know every little change to Lucy’s body, including how she carried their baby. They’d always nestled high, except for the past week or so when the baby had dropped. But even with that drop in mind, she didn't feel the firmness till she was far lower than expected.

The trick, in Andy’s mind, was going to be where to go once out of the mall. Camp was the obvious choice, but a direct route was out of the question. She had to also think, how close was the baby? Lucy wasn’t pushing yet, but the contractions felt far apart still, right? The blonde tried to recall, and couldn’t begin to guess how long it’d been between the dressing rooms and the stairs. Shit, she hadn’t even tried counting how long the damned thing had lasted. They had time, they definitely had time. ‘First babies always take a long time.’ The doc, and the other parents in the camp had said so. They were older than the couple, pre outbreak knowledge filled their heads, they obviously knew what they were talking about.

“When we get out in the mall, keep against the stores.” Andy said. She pulled at Lucy, getting her moving. “They come to noise so we just gotta be quiet, right?” Andy spoke as if schooling a novice survivor on how to run for supplies, but her tone was clear, panic had gotten to her, and Andy was just talking to try and calm herself down. 

They didn’t make it far into the second floor of the department store when Lucy abruptly stopped. Instinctively she turned and launched against her partner, looping her hands behind Andy’s neck. The contraction came on fast but she reacted in time to stop her legs from fully buckling. A ragged inhale pulled through her nostrils as she buried her face into her girlfriend’s neck. Fuck… There was so much pressure. 

Without hesitation Lucy's feet planted wide on the floor and her ass jutted backwards. She couldn’t think beyond the weight pressing through her pelvis forcing her body to contort and open around it. A low grumble slipped from her mouth and Lucy clamped her teeth shut trying to contain what was entirely involuntary at this point. She could feel her body trembling as she clung on to Andy for dear life, adrenaline and fear and labour all rolling into one and making every muscle shake. Andy’s hands were wrapped around her waist, holding her tight, but her thumbs dug into the backs of her hips and somehow it provided just enough relief to keep her from squatting to the floor. 

“Shit, shit Lucy?” Andy’s concern grew, this was fast, really fast. They’d only just gotten up here. That was what? Three minutes? No, five… six? Her failed attempts at remembering the chronology of the contractions was interrupted when Lucy lowered a fraction more. 

The redhead whimpered through the aggressive contraction, hands curling into tight fists behind her girlfriend’s neck. Lucy has never been vocal with pain, something she’d learnt in a world filled with a plague of undead, but this was on another level entirely. She wanted to moan, to scream, to roar as the pressure plunged so low it made bile crawl up her throat. How could it feel so low, it wasn’t possible for the baby to actually be where it felt. She'd only just gone into labour. And yet her thighs were parting, widening her stance as far as her pre-pregnancy jeans would allow. She was going to be sick. She was going to scream. She was going to— “nnnghhh…” Lucy grunted deeply. 

“Lucy? W-what’s wrong?” Andy knew the contractions were meant to hurt, but this wasn’t right, this was very very wrong. Lucy’s pain tolerance was higher than her own, and they’d joked that the birth would be easy, just some breaths and a push or two then the baby would be here. That wasn’t happening here though, they’d been so very mistaken. Lucy’s grunts grew in volume, but Andy couldn’t stop it, not as she started to process what might be happening. 

“Oh fuck, oh fuck please don’t tell me you’re pushing.” Andy said. Lucy couldn’t answer, her face still buried in Andy’s jacket. Andy reached down, holding the rock hard surface of Lucy’s stomach. It was still round enough, but not too low. They had time, Andy was imagining it, she had to be. Lucy wouldn’t push, she just… if it wasn’t pushing, then what was it? Something wasn’t right, there was a problem with the baby. Lucy’s hips jutted forward ever so slightly, her body seemingly adjusting on some unknown instinct. Andy was in a full on panic now, especially as she heard more infected downstairs. They. Had. To. Leave.

“No… yes… oh I don’t know…” Lucy whined between gasps. “A-Andy…the baby… feels like it’s gonna fall outta me…” She was stuck, held hostage by the contraction that kept her legs wide and her body weight against her blonde haired partner. The contraction peaked, drawing another low tone from the pit of Lucy’s stomach. It was primal and almost animalistic, and there was no stopping the sound from escaping. 

Andy’s heart pounded. With no idea of what to do for Lucy, she just held her close, hoping beyond everything that none of the hell downstairs would hear them. She had to focus, to find some way of keeping all three of them safe, but how the fuck was she supposed to do that when she was on the verge of a damn heart attack.

“It’s ok.” Andy said, trying and failing at sounding like she knew what she was talking about. “I-it’s just your imagination love, he just wants you to know he’s there, he’s not coming yet.” Lucy’s hips were swaying again, or at least more than they’d previously been from what Andy could recall in the past few hours. As she attempted to collect her thoughts, she moved back and forth with her, the couple making slow circles that reminded Andy all too well of the nights they’d dance in their apartment during a romantic evening. What she wouldn’t give to be back there now.

It took a few agonising seconds, maybe even a minute, before Lucy’s breathing returned to semi-normal. Tentatively she loosened her grip on her girlfriend and lifted her head. 

“It’s passed…. Whoa… that was horrible Andy.” She breathed, stepping back slightly to rub the lower curve of her bump. “So intense, I thought…. No, it’s okay. We can make it outta here.” 

Lucy buried any worrying or fearful notion to the contrary in her mind. They had to make it home. They would get home and have the baby in the apartment just like they planned, with the camp doctor present. That was the only possible outcome that the labouring woman would allow. But still, that pressure lingered as did the thoughts that went with it. It was so strong, too strong, almost like she was close to delivering?…. 

“Let’s move….ooooh….before the next one hits. We need to get more dis-distance between us and them, cos I’m not sure I can stay quiet for much l-longer.” Lucy admitted. She kept one hand under her belly as if holding up its weight, while the other looped over her lover’s shoulders, Andy helping to support her and her bow-legged unsteady stance. 

“Then we need to move fast.” The look Lucy gave her told her that ‘fast’ wasn’t possible. In an attempt at reassurance, Andy smiled. “Ok, a bit faster than a stroll love.” The blonde could tell Lucy was trying to smile, but the strain was causing her lover to sweat, beads dropped off her nose and were already collecting along her collar. Was this how labor was supposed to feel? Andy had half a mind to slap the doctor when they got home for playing down how much this would affect Lucy. Granted, the doctor would probably scold them both for leaving in the first place. She’d have to think it over some more.

Together they moved, reaching the wide open second floor of the mall. Along either side, stores lined the walls. The walkways were wide, and Andy, while tempted to do so, knew that if they walked to the rail to peek over to the first floor they’d find it flooded with the bodies of the undead. The smell alone was enough to tell her what was down there. If that churned her stomach, how the hell was Lucy managing? 

“Place is a goddamn maze…” Andy hissed under her breath. Stores upon stores, but no exits, none that were obvious to her at least. A map was now at the top of her list of regrets, aside from even allowing Lucy to come along in the first place. A hundred yards ahead of them Andy could see that the mall widened, probably the center of the place if she had to guess, maybe a map would be over there. “Cmon baby.” She said, running out of steam from Lucy needing more and more support. 

Every step was a knife to her lower back, every breath seemed to push the baby deeper into her pelvis. Lucy hung off the shoulders of her strong blonde girlfriend, barely able to walk without looking like she had awful saddlesore. The pressure was almost constant at this point, heavy and irrefutable, even in the break between contractions. As they shuffled forwards towards the open space Lucy felt the muscles in her womb begin to tighten. 

“Uhhh…another one…coming…” she groaned under her ragged breathing, a muffled warning of what was about to strike. 

Andy kept her moving despite the clamping of her womb, so close, they were so close to the central area and the dusty, dirtied map that waited like a beacon of hope. It was waist high, a metre wide on a plinth, the map that would show them the way out. The tightness in her belly intensified and Lucy staggered forward, launching out her partner’s arms to brace her whole weight against this randomly placed metal block. 

“Uggghhh…. Oh god….” The whispered moan was strained as Lucy fought against the primal urge to squat. Instead her back flattened and her ass jutted backwards, her knuckles white on the edge of the map. Open, she desperately had to open her hips more to withstand the pressure barreling between them. 

“You gotta breathe Lucy, but we have to be quiet.” Andy was quick to return to Lucy’s side, whispering to her as her hand's heel dug into Lucy’s lower back. “We have a map right here, we can…” Andy did a double take, her eyes following the curves of her lovers body, notably, the shrunken curve of her womb. The way she held herself, her wide stance, her knees being right on the cusp of buckling, her breathing hitching as she moaned...

Oh fuck.

“Lucy!” Andy went pale, her eyes crazed. How in the hell was she less stressed when she thought she was actively dying?! “Don’t push, please for the love of god don’t push.” But Lucy was, at least she seemed to be, and Andy didn’t know how to stop her. Andy’s hand found the underside of Lucy’s stomach, she applied a little pressure in a vain attempt to stop the baby descending. “Fuckin… you’re not having the baby here.”

The more that Andy said that word, the more Lucy realised it was true. Push. Fuck, she needed to push. 

The hiss that left Lucy’s mouth ended in a desperate gasp. “Oohhhh… baby’s coming…can feel it…. I wanna pushhhh….” She whimpered, shifting her ass further back, chasing more of the counter pressure from Andy’s palm. 

Lucy tried with every fiber of her being to close her legs, to clench and hold back the baby from its impatient descent, but her body was locked in place. With feet wide, knees bent, and leaning flat against the damn map, she felt her body act of its own accord - she was bearing down! 

“Nononono, I said ‘don’t push’. Do—Not—Push.” It was too late. Whatever instincts or primal nature had decided that Lucy would bear down had its claws in her and wouldn’t relent. Andy was dumbfounded, wishing that her girlfriend wasn’t in labor just so she could cuss at her for pushing. Nevermind that if she wasn’t in labor the whole ordeal wouldn’t have happened in the first place. The blonde instead muttered a stream of curses under her breath that would have made the old veterans at the camp blush. 

The map became a secondary concern as Lucy’s lips failed to contain a moan of effort that in the mall might as well have been a gunshot. It echoed down the four pathways that they stood in the crossroads of, and Andys hope was that the noise would reverberate so much that the infected would have an impossible task in finding the source. Still, not wanting to risk it further, Andy stepped behind her girlfriend and clasped her hand over Lucy’s mouth yet again. Her arm staying protectively wrapped around her lower belly to try and slow the descent of their baby.

The surface was rock hard, a boulder to the touch and Andy imagined it was similar in weight. As she tried to hold her, Lucy only appeared to tense more, pressing her hips back, lowering, and growling into her palm. Andy was on the cusp of her very own panic attack. She closed her eyes, trying to stave off the oncoming hyperventilation, and did what had always calmed her down on the bad days back in camp. The blonde nuzzled against Lucy, leaning over so that her chin could rest on her lover’s shoulder. Her natural scent was masked by the grime of the outside world as well as blood and amniotic fluid, but she could still smell her, that faint whiff of wildflowers.

”If you have to push… only do little ones. Relieve the pressure.” Andy whispered, her panic momentarily masked.

“Nnngh—‘m trying—” Lucy gritted out behind Andy’s palm but the sound came out just a muffled desperate groan. It was so strange, Lucy felt like she’d completely lost control of her faculties. The pressure was absolute and her body reacted without question, bearing down against the boulder splitting apart her pelvis. Her fingers squeezed the far edge of the map as the contraction peaked, her entire body trembling, and the only thing holding her together was Andy’s strong and comforting arms wrapped around her sweaty rounded body. 

After the sudden involuntary pushes, the redhead slumped forward and panted rapidly through her nostrils. It took Andy a few seconds to be certain the coast was clear to remove the hand from her mouth, but Lucy was grateful she never let go of the hold around her bump. They stayed there for a minute, standing together, the shock of what was happening taking both women a bit time to process. The way her body had taken over, a complete lack of control, had truly rattled the pregnant redhead. In this godforsaken hellhole of a world, Lucy prided herself on her ability to tackle any challenge head on, to take ownership, to be reliable and get things done. But this… this pregnancy had stripped her of her independence, no longer able to contribute to the camp like she used to, no longer in charge of her bodily functions. And now she could barely even stand. It felt like the weight of the world was about to fall from between her legs. 

“A-Andy-?” Her words were quiet and terrified. “I… I don’t think he’s staying put much l-longer.” 

No matter how badly she wanted to get back to camp, the confession, the statement hung heavily in the air between them. 

“He has to.” Andy didn’t sound sure at all. “Baby you have to keep him in.” Her body shifted, though her hand never left Lucy’s belly. Andy got to where she could look Lucy in the eye, although doing so required her to squat a little due to the redheads doubled over posture. “We are getting you out of the mall.” Expectations had to be curbed, back to camp? Not possible anymore, but at least they could get out of the mall and clear an apartment, or old house. Anywhere that didn’t have a fucking horde of undead looking to turn Lucy into their next meal.

With a planted kiss on her forehead, Andy broke their touch to check the map. They remained too exposed out here, and if another contraction hit before they started moving there was too much risk of an infected deciding to explore the second floor. She wiped the dust away, though it did little, leading her to spit on her sleeve and try again. It cleared the view enough this time, and her brow furrowed as she looked over it. She’d been right, they were currently in the center of the mall, which meant technically any direction could get them out. Four exits, well, three exits, unless suddenly Lucy could outrun infected. Andy glanced at her lover. Not likely. 

With no way of determining whether or not any of the exits were blocked, they were left with guesswork, and that only stressed her more, and unless she wanted to stress Lucy, she had to at least act like she knew what she was doing. Andy put on an assured expression, and pointed.

“We’re going that way.”

“How do you—” 

But there wasn’t time for questions. Andy was pulling her to stand and peeling her fingers from the sturdy frame she was still gripping. Reluctantly Lucy transferred her weight from the plinth back to her girlfriend, slinging her arm across Andy’s shoulders once more while the other hand cradled her cumbersome belly. All of her effort was going towards moving and staying quiet and as they shuffled quickly around the central area Lucy didn’t have the strength to speak and breathe at the same time. 

The pair veered off to the right, down one of the four prongs of the mall. Another railing was visible here, beyond a large open space that transversed from the ground floor all the way through each layer to the glass roof. Immediately the stench from the undead on the floor below hit Lucy like a freight train. Her hand whipped from her belly to her mouth, her throat retching slightly. It was horrific. The combination of decaying rotting flesh mixed with a metallic tang of blood was something she ordinarily was used to, but trapped in this mall with little ventilation made the smell nauseating. Lucy’s poor body had bigger fights than a churning of her stomach. 

Thankfully she didn’t make a sound but the way her body heaved with the dry retch made Andy stop, concerned. The redhead turned to the side, burying her face into her girlfriend’s neck to try and inhale the smell of anything else. She knew she couldn’t speak - they were too near the railing and the open space, the undead below would hear a pin drop even from all the way up here. Lucy gagged again, clamping her hand harder against her mouth to cover any unplanned sounds. 

Andy held her close, all the while keeping an eye towards the dark pit that led down to the first floor. The smell was even stronger here than it had been earlier, and Andy's heart skipped as she realized what was likely the cause. They weren’t the first in the mall, and they hadn’t let the infected in to sully it for the first time in two decades. This section of the mall was a nest. When the infected became hordes, oftentimes they would clump in some building and ‘hibernate’. Andy cursed herself and all the others in camp for never thinking the mall would be such a place.

“Breathe through your mouth…” Andy whispered, her voice trembling from the fear of her revelation. If she was right, and she had little to contradict it, then they were now in even more danger than before. Just our fucking luck. Lucy shuddered in her grip, and for a moment  Andy thought she was about to vomit, but if anything came up, Lucy must’ve swallowed it down. “We need to go a different way, now.”

Lucy barely nodded, uncertain about moving her head too much. Bile had risen up her throat, a combination of the constant pressure between her legs plus the rancid fumes of the undead wafting from below. “Q-quick.” Was all she could manage, the sound a ghostly whisper towards her girlfriend's ear. If they stayed much longer here Lucy was confident she’d either throw up or push, or both, and neither would be a silent affair. They had to move fast. 

The pair turned around and went back the way they had come, returning to the central circle of the mall once again. How many minutes had passed on that fruitless journey? How long did she have before the next contraction. Time was an enigma - passing painfully slowly but also flashing past in the blink of an eye. The redhead was visibly getting more disheveled, sweating and panting through each and every wide step she took. Andy dragged Lucy along the next nearest prong of the mall, along a strip with more empty shops. This one didn’t have the open area between floors, no railings that brightened the areas with the bright sunlight from the glass rooftop. It was dark and eery, glass littered the floor, doors and window displays from the different stores having long been ravaged and broken. There was however an escalator mid-way down the length of the strip, and therefore an open section between the different floors in the mall. A space where sound could very easily travel between the layered levels. 

Lucy clutched at her belly while she gripped hard onto Andy’s shoulders, her nails hooked and clawing over them. The baby felt so freaking low! Forcing each step to be narrow and short with the impossible fear it could simply fall from her body. “A-Andy….” She whispered quietly through heavy and panicked breathing. “W-when the next one hits, I’m… I’m not sure I can hold off much longer. I— ooooh— I can’t control it anymore….” 

She was of course referring to the infamous urge to push. The last contraction, despite the additional nausea that now plagued her body, still lingered in the redhead’s mind. Still reeling from the complete and utter loss of control, and how damn satisfying it had felt to actually bear down. Not that she would admit that part aloud to her girlfriend. Andy was already on a knife edge. And yet, she needed to say something - to offer some kind of warning, because when the next contraction hit Lucy could feel in her bones that it would be unstoppable. 

“You have to Lucy.” Andy said. They had to get somewhere to hide again, one of these stores maybe? Yet another perfect example of their shit luck finding a way to manifest. The stores were difficult to see into, the light of the glass roof only shone where they were, not into the smaller stores around them. Andy made a choice, at this point she was not on a good track record for split second decisions but perhaps this one would be slightly better, she hoped. The blonde guided Lucy into a store off to the left, hoping beyond reason that it wasn’t one of those glass fixture stores that no doubt would be littered with debris on the floor to make them broadcast their location. 

The couple managed to make it five steps in, well, five of Lucy’s steps, so barely piercing the darkness before Andy was forced to stop. Lucy had doubled over, her grip on her girlfriend tighter than any infected could even manage. 

“Shit, shit shit don’t…”

“Mmmm, c-can’t… coming…”

Lucy’s face twisted, her teeth baring as the inevitable came into being. Andy watched in horror as her girlfriend gave in, and pushed. Just like at the map pylon, Lucy’s body shifted, her hips shooting back as her spine arched. Andy was forced to grab her and hold her upright, especially after one sway would have made the mom-to-be fall to her knees, which Andy’s gut told her would lead to a much more intense urge to push. Even in the darkness, Andy could see Lucy’s strain, her face turning the shade of her hair as she fought the contraction. Not to resist it, but instead not to cry out. She was only mostly successful.

A singular muffled groan escaped, prematurely ended when Andy hugged her to her jacket. The blonde was about to have a damn heart attack and she wasn’t even a mother yet. To much quiet protest, Andy forced Lucy to step, one foot at a time, deeper into the darkness. 

“H-hurts.”

“I know love, I know.” Andy said. She’d never heard Lucy’s voice convey such pain, and she couldn’t stop herself as she thought about how much worse it might’ve been if it was her in Lucy’s situation. The redheads tolerance was astounding, Andy’s, not quite as high. She doubted she’d be capable of staying as stoic as her lover had so far. Yet, no one could hold out forever. “Long exhales, remember? Long exhales.” Andy was doing the breathing exercises as she spoke to try and calm her own racing heart.

Further and further, and thankfully with no one else following, they got into the store. Andy’s hand brushed against something soft, and she thought they might be in another clothing shop, then her back hit a hard metal shelf and she hissed in pain, stopping them both. Stopping proved to be a mistake as the contraction brought Lucy to her knees. Andy was brought down with her, and both hands planted on her belly. Please baby, please stay in your momma.

“I-I think it’s ending Luce.” Andy whispered.

It wasn’t ending. Lucy made a strange grunting sound shortly after her knees made contact with the floor, her hips dropping towards the backs of her feet as she gave an almighty push. Every inch of her body was shaking, her nails digging crescent moons into Andy’s shoulders, the pressure between her thighs forcing her legs apart. 

This was just like the contraction at the map, only this time along with the unstoppable pushing it was accompanied with a new stinging pain, a burning she’d never in her life experienced. The baby… the baby was starting to come out! Lucy gulped for air at the end of the push, the contraction fading slightly, and she distinctly felt the head slip back inside her body and the fiery feeling dissipated. 

It took a few deep breaths of air before she could speak again, all the while Lucy stayed in the exact same spot, not daring to move from her kneeled position. Eventually, the whispered words were laced with fear and panic. 

“A-ndy…. I—I can… I think I can feel the head.” Lucy’s bottom lip trembled, looking up in the dimly lit store into her partner's eyes. 

Andy’s mouth hung open, their natural instincts to stay silent meant reactions were often solely expressive. Before her girlfriend could say anything Lucy freed one hand from her grip on Andy’s shoulders, lowering it to feel over her jeans between her spread thighs and bringing one of Andy’s hands with her. The crotch seam on her jeans was stretched and taut, but behind the denim Lucy noticed the difference immediately. 

“He’s right there…” Lucy sobbed quietly. 

Andy’s palm found it too, her girlfriend’s wide stance already forcing her jeans to be tight but after gently moving Lucy’s hand to the side, she felt it, the smallest press against the seam, and proof of the most wonderful thing coming into their life. It’d barely even been two minutes since they left the map, and already a contraction had come and gone. Andy cursed herself yet again for not having the wherewithal to keep track of the previous contractions. 

“Yes he is, baby.” Andy said, finding Lucy’s shaking hand between her thighs. A comforting squeeze did little to abate it, and Andy wasn’t sure if it was pain or fear that was the cause, likely both if Lucy was as terrified as Andy was, and she had far more reason to be. “But so am I, I’m here, you aren’t alone.” 

The store around them seemed to block the rest of the world out, leaving the horrific possibility of death as a distant concern, allowing the couple to simply be together. Andy kissed Lucy’s cheek, tasting the salt of her tears. If he was this close, there wasn’t much chance of them going to yet another location. The fight to tear her eyes away from Lucy’s was won after a few moments to look at their surroundings. She frowned, some sort of clothing store yes, but in the darkness she swore the clothes weren’t normal, and… was that a suit of armor by the entrance? The old, faded sign read Magic and Mayhem, and Andy’s confusion only deepened. 

“I think he may have to be born here, Lucy.” Andy whispered. “I, can you make it anywhere else?”

Lucy’s head shook, up and down, left and right, completely lost and uncertain. With each silent tear her chest hitched, the reality of their situation crashing down like an anvil. “I… I can’t have him here… it’s not s-safe… we’re not in c-camp… I’ll— I’ll hold him in! I won’t push… I promise I won’t p-push…” 

This was not the birth experience she’d prepared for, it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. It was supposed to be just the two of them in their little flat, Lucy labouring and listening to her body in the comforting arms of her girlfriend. Not on the fucking run from a horde of zombies. How could she give birth like this? How could she stay silent long enough to safely deliver her baby boy? And babies cried! They made noise. Beautiful perfect little noises but sounds that would surely ring out like a blasted siren to the undead ears currently hunting the pair.  

“I… I can’t do it here… I can’t…” the redhead whimpered. At first it was silent tears that wracked her body, bending forward into Andy’s arms, but then her whole body tensed and stiffened. Muscles shaking, hands gripping, breath coming in short ragged pants into the crook of her partner’s neck. 

Trying to tell Lucy what to do never went well, but trying to do so when she was afraid only made things more difficult. Andy was no doctor, but she knew what the doctors had said. Labor was here, and it was taking everything Lucy had in order to hold herself together it seemed like. Their baby was going to be born imminently, they could feel him pressing out from between Lucy's legs, even now as she fought the instinct to push. 

“Lucy please.” Andy's voice cracked, her heart aching as she felt utterly helpless to do anything for the love of her life. “Lucy, you're going to hurt yourself.” The blonde tried to lift Lucy so she could stare into her eyes, but she couldn’t. Against her, Lucy's entire body trembled, her weight shifting as Andy assumed she wanted a comfortable position. Such a thing would be impossible with a baby between her legs. 

They needed to go somewhere, maybe a mattress store, an employee area, or even the roof. Getting out was a pipe dream, but something closer might be possible. Lucy's sobs pulled Andy back, she really was going to hurt herself if she held back. Without anything else she could think of, Andy enacted on her last bad idea. Her hand cupped over Lucys bulging jeans, applying pressure.

”Push.”

As if her girlfriend had some weird remote control on her body, Lucy felt herself bear down - despite her own wishes, despite how much she tried to hold back. Andy’s gentle palm was pressing up between her thighs, right against the seam and emerging head, and the reaction was immediate. Her teeth grit while her muscles squeezed, the tsunami of pressure rolling down down down towards Andy’s hand. The white hot burning returned and had to bite her lip to stop the scream from escaping, tasting the copper of her own blood. 

Over and over Lucy pushed with this contraction. She couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop it. Andy whispered encouragingly into her ear, assuring her she’d keep them safe, that Lucy had to follow her body’s instincts. The contraction lasted almost two minutes, leaving the redhead stuck on her knees pushing over and over into her girlfriend's palm. Her efforts were not entirely fruitless either. Lucy could feel every miniscule amount of progress being made in this delivery - every millimetre, every fraction the baby’s head slipped further into the crotch of her jeans. It was as if the flood gates had opened and there was no chance of containing it anymore. 

In all honesty, pushing felt… damn satisfying. Lucy knew she shouldn’t be pushing, not if they wanted to get out of this mall, but it felt so correct. It was primal, a biological call, a raw instinct of a soon-to-be mother. But eventually the contraction passed, the urge becoming less possessive, and Lucy slumped forward against her partner, wrapping arms over Andy’s shoulders while she gasped for air to catch her breath back. 

“Good job love.” Andy whispered, tears stinging her eyes. She didn’t dare remove her hand from between Lucy’s legs, not yet. She’d felt their baby, pushing against her. That action, as necessary as it was, made Andy despise herself. What if that had hurt the baby? Or Lucy? “I’m sorry, I-I’m sorry.”

“It’s… okay darling… it’s— e-easier to push…than h-hold back now…” Lucy admitted quietly. 

The couple remained in that position, neither wanting to be the first to move. Eventually Andy had to be the one, gently helping Lucy to sit back on her heels. The laboring redhead put her hands on her thighs for support as Andy stood up, sniffling and wiping tears on her sleeve. Her eyes were adjusted to the encroaching darkness, and their surroundings were revealed even more. The rear of the store held more costumes, card games, and… swords? All of it was a bit nuts, and not great for a birth, however, Andy spotted something else. She saw a couch, layered with blankets.

“We are going to go deeper into the store.” Andy said, looking at Lucy again. “In the back of the store you will be a little safer.” She’d just leant down to lift Lucy, the redhead shaking her head and about to speak, only for Andy to freeze, her eyes widening.

“No… noise…” Andy whispered, staring at the infected who’d just appeared in the second floor walkway of the mall.

Automatically Lucy froze, the fear in Andy’s eyes telling her everything she needed to know - they weren’t alone. 

Ten seconds ago Lucy was about to protest, to argue against moving from this very spot. There was a baby quite literally trying to come out between her legs, she couldn’t get up and move anywhere! But then in the silence a low growl was heard, isolated crashing of debris across the floor, the undead slowly investigating the very front entrance of the store. The redhead dare not breathe, her heart thundering in her ribs. Andy was hunched over - paused in her attempt to lift Lucy to her feet, meanwhile Lucy was still kneeling and sitting on the backs of her feet. Their hands were entwined, both women completely and utterly still like statues. The undead often didn’t have the best of eyesight - their decaying corpses relied mainly on sound and scent. The women knew they had to be still but more importantly silent. 

Andy, still holding tight to Lucy’s hand, lifted her head slightly to see over the aisle. No doubt searching for the current whereabouts of this latest threat. Slowly she lowered back down, crouching in front of Lucy. Silently she freed one of her hands to point directly over Lucy’s shoulder, the direction they had come, and gestured to the aisle behind them. The wordless message was clear, she was pointing to where the creature was - it had come into the store! Without speaking her girlfriend made more gestures with her hand and eyes, signalling that they had to move further into the store. 

Lucy gulped nervously. Staying silent was already taking all her energy, to move as well - let alone with any semblance of stealth - was going to be nigh on impossible. Andy’s eyes widened, pleading, her hand squeezing Lucy’s gently. Slowly, Lucy nodded. 

One movement at a time, careful and silent, Andy helped Lucy to rise up on her knees and then to her feet. The redhead’s face was scrunched in pain at the motion, her body protesting every unnatural move when all it wanted was to squat and push. Andy’s arms were strong and firm, taking as much of Lucy’s weight as possible. Once upright, the labouring woman paused, clinging on to her girlfriend while she adjusted to the abominable pressure between her legs - heavier still now she was standing. It felt wrong, her legs forced apart, the head nestled so low and pressing against her womanhood causing the burning to return. 

Another crash. Closer. Directly on the other side of the aisle where they were hidden. Lucy’s fingers dug into Andy’s arms, both women whipping their heads in the direction of the sound before looking back at each other. Terror swelling in their eyes. Immediately Andy wrapped her arm around Lucy’s waist, the other holding her hand, and forced the redhead to move. Step by cautious step, they creeped silently down the aisle in the opposite direction of the snarling that was audible from the neighbouring aisle. 

Every step was torture. Between her legs the head of their child was irrefutable, each bow-legged step making it feel like there was a giant watermelon in her vagina. Lucy’s breathing was silent but heavy, her terrified heart pounding in her throat. The couple had only navigated a few metres before Lucy froze. Her eyes wide and her face paled. Beneath her clothes her rounded belly had solidified into stone, a contraction raging through her womb and clamping down with such force her knees wobbled. She tried to pant her way through it. She tried to close her legs together. But instead Lucy’s body took full control. Grabbing her girlfriend’s hand and shoulder, Lucy’s knees widened and suddenly she was bearing down with the pressure. Pushing uncontrollably and moving the baby’s head further earthside. 

Andy whirled, already knowing what was happening, but refusing to believe it. Her partner's eyes locked with her own, the horror and will to stay silent screamed at Andy in that look. They’d only made it a little further, and the infected remained near, near enough that if Lucy made even the smallest peep, there was a high chance of them being found. 

She was being pulled down towards the floor by Lucy, the redhead's knees were bending more and more, but Andy refused to let her squat. She mouthed instructions, to put her knees as close as she can and take a step. An impossible task, beyond impossible. The expression on Lucy’s face was enough to tell Andy as much. The laboring mother looked on the cusp of screaming out in pain, her pale sweat soaked skin reflecting what little light remained in the darkness of the store. She managed, through sheer strength of will and self preservation Andy assumed, to hold back that scream. Andy had to wrap an arm around her though. The rock hard surface of Lucy’s stomach under Andy’s fingers seemed smaller again. Andy wasn’t sure if it was imagination, or actually how it worked, but Andy’s gut translated the smaller size to more of the baby being between Lucy’s legs. Was she crowning? Fuck, fuck was the baby’s head out? Her pants didn’t stretch much…

Lucy suddenly gasped, and it wasn’t muffled. Before Andy could guess whether that was her gasping from the end of the contraction or simply the end of her pushing, the croak of the nearby infected echoed. It had moved further down, but Lucy’s involuntary noise just pulled it back. Give us a fucking break. 

The infected must’ve reached the end of its row, because half a second later Andy spotted it, a dark silhouette against the light from outside the store. Lucy was clawing at her arm, trying to get her attention, but Andy’s eyes were locked on the infected. Was it moving towards them? Was it one of the ones who had gotten Lucy’s scent? Lucy’s breathing was bordering on hyperventilation, and in the silence of the store it might as well have been a dinner bell. The cracking of bones sent shivers down her spine as it whirled towards them. Andy let Lucy pull her down, the latter going to her knees while Andy pulled her face into her shoulder. She had to be quiet. Just in case, even though it was a death sentence if it was used, Andy pulled her handgun and pointed at the infected.

For Lucy it was all too much, as if everything had boiled down to this one moment in time. The searing pain between her legs made it feel like her whole body was being split in two. White hot and burning, her skin was being stretched beyond comprehension. A primal growling sound came from the depths of her own chest as she buried her face into Andy’s neck, clawing at her girlfriend’s clothes, knees as wide as her tight jeans would allow. 

She could barely think, barely breathe, unable to move. Lucy was completely overpowered by Mother Nature, by the demand of her body to deliver this baby - right here and right now. Thoughts of their surroundings, the nearby undead, was entirely lost to the blinding pain of the baby’s head slipping to a full crown. 

“Nnnnnghhh!!! It’s— coming—ouuuuut!!!!!” She cried out with raw panic and fear. 

Everything that came next happened in a few moments. The undead snapped to attention, the unending hunger it held locked onto Lucy. It roared, the shrill sound making Andy’s heart seize. Head first, leaning in like a sprinter, the thing charged at them. She reacted. Andy opened fire, emptying the magazine at the oncoming infected. One handed, shaking, holding Lucy, most of them went wild, ricocheting off the shelves or embedding in the floor. A few struck true however. First hitting the things elbow, the hollow point eviscerating the arm thanks to the long rotted flesh having little to no fresh tendons to hold it. Still it charged. The second bullet to hit took out a leg, dropping the thing down. Ravenous hunger kept it crawling, but Andy managed one shot right between its eyes, leaving its head a mess of fluids. It died, less than a foot from them both.

“Lucy?! Lucy!” Andy’s attention was immediately on her girlfriend. The contraction still held her. She tossed the gun to the side, its ammunition gone, and held Lucy. What had she said? Crowning… Andy reached down between her lover's thighs, and felt it. A fresh spot of warm fluids was coming from her, and her jeans stretched to their limit, the seams bulging so much that Andy thought for a moment she’d tear the fabric through force of will. Lucy’s pushing wasn’t stopping, not that she had any choice in the matter.

“Fuck. Fucking fuck!” Any chance of stealth, of hiding, of a silent delivery was gone. This was no longer a time to delay the baby coming, they had to get him out now! A loud, howling wail began. First one infected, then two, ten, a hundred, a thousand… The horde was hungry, and Andy had just given up their location by saving them. No, she didn’t save them, merely delayed the inevitable.

“Lucy, Lucy hey, hey you’re doing great. It’s ok, it’s ok I’ll be right back! I love you!” Andy kissed her, but didn’t wait for Lucy to say anything. She could hear her cry out something as the blonde ran, but between the pounding in her ears and the stomping and howling of the horde coming to kill them, Andy couldn’t process much of anything. The front of the store was close, a single memory from when Mike had told them about the mall came to her. The store might be locked up, take some bolt cutters. All those stores have safety gates that they pull down at the end of the day… 

She just had to get that gate and pull it down. It’d been meant for riots and to stop thieves. Neither would be as motivated as the undead but maybe, just maybe they’d have some luck. Andy had almost made it to the front, the rolled up cage in view, when three infected ran in from the direction of the escalator. They must’ve bottlenecked themselves in the rush to close on the kill. She had no weapon, no pistol, no rifle, and her knife wasn’t an option. Fueled by adrenaline and a paternal instinct to save her child, Andy charged.

It was all a blur to her. Andy was capable, but three on one against the undead without anything to use was suicide. Luckily for Andy, she was in a store full of things to use. She grabbed a strange glass ball off the shelf and in one smooth motion threw it at the first infected. The impact dazed the thing, and Andy was bought a precious few milliseconds. To her right, she grabbed another oddity, this one some sort of porcelain statue that looked like a dragon. It might not have breathed fire like in the stories, but when thrown it did give a satisfying crunch against bone. The third infected closed on her, climbing over its dazed fellows without any sign of care. She was the goal. Determination burned in the blonde, especially when she saw the rack she was about to pass. A sword, not unlike the ones used by knights, found its way into her hand. The survivor lifted, grabbed the grip with her off hand, and swung. Head parted from body as the infected died via an unintentional decapitation. Andy only had a moment to process how well that worked before she was forced to quickly dispatch the two others who had recovered. 

“I’m keeping you…” She panted to the now blood coated blade. Lucy cried out again, and Andy’s momentary relief melted. The horde, then the baby. The rolling gate dropped hard, the thing easily weighing a few hundred pounds. Andy had only needed to jump up and tug for it to fall, trapping them inside, and the horde outside. It was only a few seconds later that the horde slammed into it. Bodies, piled on bodies, piled on bodies. The sheer force killed the infected pressed against the gate, but by some miracle, the horde was held at bay. Andy sprinted back to Lucy, and the baby who was about to arrive.

Alone on her knees in an abandoned store, Lucy was in the worst pain of her life and it felt like Andy had been gone a lifetime. She had fallen forwards onto her hands and knees after her girlfriend had run off, stuck on all fours rocking and pushing with each crashing wave of the contraction. It was as if her muscles were being controlled by someone else, something else, squeezing the boulder inside of her pelvis down and out. The noises that escaped her mouth were raw and guttural, just as unstoppable as her bearing down. 

After a few fruitless pushes, Lucy shifted towards the nearby shelves and climbed her hands up each one, her trembling fingers gripping the edge of a higher shelf to pull her top half upright. Every move was instinctual, unplanned but focused, the need to get this baby out of her body taking charge. Pushing on all fours was not doing anything, she needed gravity. The redhead’s knees stayed spread on the dusty floor but her arms reached up and her backside lifted, rising up her knees. The next contraction swept through before the last had even finished, back to back torturous pressure, every cell in her body screaming at her to keep pushing. She obliged, she had no choice. With a low grunting roar Lucy bore down with everything she had only for the same result. The baby wasn’t moving any further - stuck in an agonising full crown and stretching her skin white and thin around its giant head. Lucy screamed, high pitched and pained, blinded by the scorching fire between her legs. 

“Aghhhhh!!!— ANDYYYYY!!!” 

“Lucy!” The blonde reappeared beside her lover, the sword clattering to the floor. The close combat with the infected had been much more gruesome and juicy than Andy had realized. When she came back into Lucy’s view she looked like she’d just come out of a bath that used blood instead of water. Everything in the world was more important than that acknowledgement currently. 

Andy had immediately held Lucy, her girlfriend's grip on the shelves shifted to the canvas jacket. The laboring mother’s full weight nearly took Andy down, and if she’d not been prepared for it then it would have. Lucy’s agonized screams competed against the howls of the infected trying to get in the front of the store. Whether or not the horde would get in, Andy wasn’t sure, but moving Lucy was impossible so she just had to hope that the gate would hold. The redhead’s face pressed into the crook of Andy’s neck. How long had this contraction been going? Lucy was obviously pushing but was there any progress?

“I’m here, I’m here!” Andy tried to calm Lucy. “How close?!”

“Nnnghhh!!! Fuck— I need it ouuuut— I need it outta meeeee—!” Lucy growled as she gave another fierce push, lifting one leg slightly to try and make more space for the emerging baby. But the move only pulled the fabric taut across the crotch, creating even less room. But still her body pushed. Desperate in its attempt to deliver the head and end the grueling pain. She whimpered at the end of the unproductive push, trembling and gasping for air as she clung to Andy’s shoulders. 

Andy reached between her lovers legs, her palm found the baby’s head far too quickly. Lucy wasn’t stopping, her pushes continued, each one more determined than the last. Andy took hold of the front of Lucy’s jeans and tugged.

“Goddammit!” The jeans wouldn’t tear. “Fucking denim!” Andy cursed over and over, her mind racing. “Lucy, I need you to close your legs! I can’t get the pants off!.”

“What—?! Ughhh I can’t— the h-head is there!” The request from her partner went against every instinct in her body - Lucy needed her legs wider not closer together. The head must be out by now, surely. She had been pushing and pushing for so long. 

“Babe, the jeans are too tight - the baby can’t come out.” Andy tried to explain. 

“Hooo…hoooo… I need— I need it out— get it out please!!! Oh fuck I need to push….!” Lucy barely registered Andy’s words, couldn’t think or focus on anything other than getting this baby out of her body. The pressure between her thighs was constant and unyielding, even between contraction peaks she had to actively work on not bearing down, but during each crest of pain her body went into autopilot. “H-help m-me— please— get them off! I have to push!” 

There was only one thing to do, only one way to help both Lucy and the baby without risking harm to them both. Andy cursed herself for what she was about to do, but there was no time for doubt. Her palm remained on the baby’s bulging head.

“Lucy!” She had to repeat her lover's name three times before it was acknowledged. “Take a deep breath, and when I tell you, close your legs.” Her eyes were serious, no room for error, no chance of doubt. “Don’t fight it, just do it.”

“W-what are y—.” 

Lucy’s words ended as Andy’s palm pressed hard, pushing the baby back inside of the redhead's body. “I’m sorry.” Andy whispered. 

The scream that left Lucy was almost inhuman. As her lover pushed the full crown of their baby’s head back towards her body, the blinding plain of crowning seemed like nothing compared to this - this agony of unnatural torture. Her fingers clawed and pulled at Andy’s clothes, teeth bared and head tilted towards the dark ceiling as she mewled in pain. White spots danced across her vision, her stomach lurched, bile rising up her throat and then— Andy’s palm stopped, making contact with Lucy’s pelvis. The redhead was frozen, overwhelmed, and in shock. Without skipping a beat her partner nudged her knees and physically forced Lucy’s legs together. 

They had seconds. 

Andy rushed, hands shaking with a fresh dose of adrenaline as she grabbed either side of Lucy’s pants and yanked down. At that moment some of Andy’s favorite traits about Lucy’s body worked against them, her ass and hips had to be forced into these pants that morning thanks to a lack of larger clothes. Now here they were, doing the opposite with just as little success. Andy managed to get a decent hold of the waistband and yanked even harder. The jeans dropped to halfway down Lucy’s thighs, a telltale shriek of tearing denim accompanied it. Of fucking course. When she’d been trying to rip the damned things they wouldn’t, yet now that she was simply trying to pull them down obviously they would tear.

“Hold on, hold on!” Andy was trying to shout encouragement but even now she could see Lucy trying to once again spread her legs. “Don’t you fuckin dare! Not yet!” With one last yank, the jeans reached Lucy’s knees, leaving only one thing left to do. “Now spread and push!”

Lucy didn’t need to be told twice, hell her body was already pushing before the words had left her girlfriend’s mouth. Pulling the jeans wide at each knee as they spread, the pregnant woman bore down with raw visceral determination. Every muscle worked on the singular task, her bump small and firm, her teeth gritted, her uterus clamping around the baby and forcing it down. Lucy growled low and deep as she pushed and very quickly made back all the progress she had lost at Andy’s hand. The head was right there again - stretching her skin thin, the weight heavy and foreign, her body desperate to expel this giant mass from her womb. Lucy could feel her body shake as the head reached the widest part once more and she gasped for air. 

“It’s— ohhhhhhh it’s comingggg— Andy—- unnnghhh!!!” 

“Oh shit, shit underwear…” Andy had only just started to remove them, thinking that she may have an extra moment or two, but Lucy’s legs had snapped immediately back to their open spot for the push. 

Lucy was leaning into her again, and the blonde was torn between two thoughts. Holding Lucy’s hand, supporting her body and offering encouragement as she pushed. Or, getting her girlfriend down on all fours so that Andy could get around to her bum and check her progress. She wouldn’t dare leave her loves sight, so a compromise would have to work. She kissed Lucy’s neck as the laboring woman’s arms wrapped around her and she put all her weight on Andy. Andy’s words were quiet, but they came out non stop, encouragement, declarations of love. She told Lucy no less than five times how good she was doing and that she was so close.

The hot breath and exasperated sighs weren’t much of a response, but Andy didn’t need to hear Lucy, she just needed Lucy to listen.

“He’s coming out.” Andy reassured. Lucy’s shirt was up over her stomach, Andy’s palm pressed against it, the other was in her lover's underwear already supporting the baby’s head as it emerged. “Breathe, breathe!” Lucy’s body tensed, vibrating with effort. The underwear was thankfully more elastic than the jeans, much more. The baby pressed into Andy’s hand, she didn’t fight it, she simply guided. “Good girl, keep going! You’re so close!”

“It—burns—! Ohhhh goddddd….nnnnnghh!” Lucy whimpered before grunting once more. She zoned in on every word from her girlfriend - every proclamation of love, every ounce of encouragement - it kept her going. The redhead was trembling, so much adrenaline and effort causing the woman to physically shake. Just when she thought it was never ending, when dying seemed like a better option than this agony, Lucy let out a cry of sheer relief as the head popped out into her partner’s palm. 

“Ahhhh…. It’s—it’s—out!—” Lucy breathed in disbelief, panting and slumping over Andy’s shoulder. 

“That’s it! Oh I can feel it!” Andy laughed, the seemingly eternal struggle of her girlfriend's labor finally surpassing a major milestone. The baby’s head came out with a gush of amniotic fluid, but any concerns of scent were gone. “Just a few more pushes babe.” Andy didn’t know if it was one or ten more pushes, but it had to be soon. Her free hand went into Lucy’s underwear, preparing for the baby to slide out. “We don’t have time to rest love, you need to push.” She could still feel Lucy shaking against her, an almost imperceptible movement of her lover’s head led Andy to believe she was shaking her head ‘no’. “It’s not an option Luce. He needs to come out, and we have to leave.”

“Mmmh… I can’t… I can’t do it a-anymore…” Lucy mumbled against Andy’s neck. She was exhausted, sore, in pain. She’d had enough. The redhead’s arms had draped down the back of her girlfriend’s back, all her weight against Andy who kept both hands beneath her underwear and supporting the head that was now hanging there. 

Lucy was struggling to catch her breath back, the primal force of delivering the head pushed her far beyond her limits. It took a few moments to register the strange movements between her hips, of the baby shifting positions slightly, it was only at the increase in pressure against her sensitive opening that caught her attention. 

“Ughhh… something’s… wrong… weird… moving…” She tried to communicate, to explain the change she was experiencing. Was this normal? Lucy’s mind was too distracted by pain to recall the advice and guidance from the camp doctor and other mothers. Then her muscles began to tighten again, the forceful pulling and squeezing of her womb, overwhelming the mother-to-be once more. She didn’t want to do this again, didn’t want to keep pushing, didn’t want the pain to come back. A soft cry hitched her chest, a whimpering sob against the soft but bloodied skin of her life partner. 

“That’s just bubs turning Lucy.” Andy said, nuzzling against the redhead. While her attention was on her lover, her eyes kept flicking back to the front of the store. The gate could only hold for so long, and with all the screams and blood and fluid she doubted the infected would lose interest. While Andy couldn’t force Lucy to push, she had to keep the encouragement up. They had minutes at best before they’d be forced to run yet again.

Andy felt it, the baby was turning, ever so slightly the head shifted to the side, and Andy felt hot tears roll down her cheeks as she felt the nose and the mouth. All the advice they’d been given played through her head, and she tried to use that to tell Lucy what was coming. In reality she knew she was misremembering most of it.

“He’s going to turn, and then a little push, and he’s coming out.” Lucy didn’t seem to be bearing down, all this progress was simply from her body naturally pushing for her. That wouldn’t be enough, not now. Lucy would have time later, but here and now letting her body do all the work wasn’t an option. Andy hissed under her breath as she realized if needs be she might be forced to actually pull the baby. But that was an absolute last resort. The baby’s head finished its rotation and pushed out just a bit, Lucy was crying, her strength sapped. The reserves the woman had to get this far were superhuman, but still they needed more. Andy was about to tell her to push, to command her lover to give it everything she had in order to get the baby out when her finger felt something, and beneath layers of blood Andy went pale.

She’d been probing with her fingers, trying to test how fast and easily the shoulders would emerge. Easy enough, she figured, after all the hard part was done, right? Her opinions quickly changed when her index finger found something slimy and bumpy near, no, around the baby’s neck. 

“Oh fuck. Fuck! Lucy ignore what I said, don't push!”

Lucy’s head bolted upright at the pure fear in her girlfriend’s voice. “Unnh… what… what’s wrong? What’s wrong with the b-baby-?!” 

She tried to pull back to see Andy’s face, needing to know what was happening, to gauge her partner’s expression. But instead Andy moved, ducking down beneath Lucy’s rounded belly. The redhead lost her balance without her girlfriend’s shoulders to grip, instinctively she leant forward and quickly grabbed the shelves once more to stay up on her knees. 

“Oooohhhh… ohhhh And-y—” Lucy moaned loudly, her hips twitching wildly as the pressure built and built between her legs. She could feel the baby pressing down against her sensitive skin, the width of their shoulders bringing forth that burning ring. Without realising, Lucy’s body began pushing with the contraction, bearing down automatically, forcefullyin a primal attempt to expel the child. “Nnnghhh— ‘m-pushinggggg!” 

“W-wait!” Andy was trying to work fast, of all the things the doctor had said might happen, this was the one that had scared Andy the most. Breach they could handle, that shoulder something or another they could work through, but this? The umbilical was practically a noose made of flesh that if not removed, would starve the baby’s brain of oxygen. 

Lucy couldn’t hold back, and Andy knew that, yet the predicament wasn’t going to take it easy on them just cause the redhead needed to push. Andy went by feeling, the darkness along with Lucy’s soaked underwear made it impossible to get a visual. One hand held the baby’s shoulders in so as not to let the umbilical tighten while the other dug around searching for some wiggle room. She found it a moment later, but quickly that slack was disappearing as Lucy’s body worked to expel the baby. Without much in the way of choices, Andy started pulling on the cord, terrified it might tear or worse, tighten around the baby. Neither came to pass and Andy sighed in relief as she got enough slack to untangle the umbilical from the baby’s neck. She’d only just tried to look up, to tell Lucy all was well, when the torrent of fluids gushed out of the mother along with the baby’s body. Andy went wide eyed, not prepared in the slightest that it would happen so fast.

Through the sobs of Lucy and the howls of the infected, a beautiful song emerged. Cries of a newborn hit the new parents ears, not even a second after finally escaping their mothers womb.

“Oh shit! He’s out! Lucy he’s out!” The blonde was crying and laughing at the same time, her emotions unable to properly convey what exactly she felt. She pulled the baby from Lucy’s underwear, sobbing in tandem with laughter as she saw a healthy little bundle. Perfect, a perfect little girl. Andy lifted her gaze to meet Lucy’s, seeing her exhaustion reflected tenfold in the eyes of the redhead. “She’s perfect…”

“S-She-?” Lucy stuttered in shock. 

The sheer relief when the baby slipped from her body had Lucy’s legs finally give out and once Andy had fished the baby out of her underwear the redhead sank back on her heels. Her arms outstretched without question, a maternal need to see and hold her newborn baby. “A girl…” She muttered through the wide grin as Andy passed across their daughter onto Lucy’s chest. “I was so sure…” 

The baby was pink and blotchy and covered in vernix, but her perfect little lips were pouted and open and beautifully crying after her whirlwind entrance into the world. Ten fingers and ten tiny toes, scrunched up in a bundle against Lucy’s torso. “You really couldn’t wait to meet us eh?” 

The feel of Andy’s hand on her shoulders, wrapping around the new mother and child, brought Lucy’s gaze away from their daughter. She brought her lips to Andy’s, kissing her softly. “Thank you, for delivering her safely. I can’t believe that just happened.” 

“I don’t think she’s ever going to believe the story either.” Andy said, nodding toward their daughter. A beautiful moment that was meant to come in the solitude of their home, instead arrived on the most terrifying day of their lives. Andy felt sick to her stomach, her mind awash with worry for their daughter. Where once it had only been for Lucy, now her concerns doubled. Andy had to force the aches and pains of their ordeal aside so she could just enjoy this. The blonde and redhead pressed their foreheads together, the baby’s cries the best sound either of them could imagine. Andy stayed a moment longer, her hand squeezing Lucy’s shoulder, the other, so dirty and caked in blood, gently caressed the baby’s soft pink skin. 

So many things to say, so much to do, but all was put on the back burner as a sound Andy had been dreading echoed through the store. Her head snapped up, and she could see the roller cages mount had broken in one spot. The thing was on the verge of collapse, all those bodies pressed against it couldn’t be stopped, only delayed. Andy cursed, her survival instincts resurfacing to overtake the joy of motherhood she’d felt. 

“We have to leave.” She said, the sword she’d found back in her hand again. “We have to leave now.”

Nodding slowly, Lucy held the baby close to her chest as the sobering realisation of danger came flooding back. Her jeans were still around her knees, her underwear loose and soaking with birthing fluids and blood. Moving was agony, everything hurt but she had no choice. Andy began to help Lucy, lifting her to her feet and pulling her sodden clothes back on. She had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out as the fabric brushed against the tender flesh between her thighs. The umbilical cord still connected the baby girl to Lucy, the placenta yet to be delivered. But they didn’t have time to wait. 

Andy had the idea of using Lucy’s over shirt as a sling to keep the baby secure against Lucy’s chest. Together they maneuvered the newborn against the redhead’s bare skin and covered with her tshirt, just the little face visible poking around the neckline. Then Andy took the over shirt and wrapped it around and around Lucy’s body so the baby could stay secure whilst keeping Lucy’s arms and hands free. If something were to happen on their journey, if she was to fall, she’d need her hands to protect the baby. All the while they were getting ready the constant banging and wailing of the undead got more and more feral, as if the creatures knew the roller cage was weakening and would soon break. If they got in… Lucy shuddered at the thought. There must be hundreds out there, enough to overpower the couple in seconds. They had to get out and soon. 

Andy had winced in sympathetic pain when redressing Lucy, she could only imagine the discomfort that came with her body being touched by rough fabric after such an ordeal. Still it had to be done. With her lover now standing, Andy was able to shift focus to an escape. Even if the one time she’d been in a mall was as a young child, the logical part of her mind told her that there only being one way in and one way out was ridiculous, there had to be another avenue. Something Mike had mentioned in passing came to her, he’d talked about tunnels, corridors linking the shops to one another and to the outside so that employees could move unnoticed. Each shop had a door to this.

Andy dropped to a knee, unslinging her pack and rummaging through it. She still had the bottle of kerosine with a cloth, but that wasn’t the focus, her goal was found in the outermost pocket. The blonde grabbed the flashlight and deftly flicked it on. She’d left it in her pack up to this point to avoid the infected using it as a beacon. Well, that was no longer a concern seeing as Lucy and the baby smelled like a damn feast to them. 

“Tunnel… tunnel…” She muttered, scanning the store. More of the merchandise was revealed, an excess of medieval dress up shit that Andy had no idea the point of. “Aha!” The beam hit a door in the back. “That’s our exit.” Andy handed the flashlight to Lucy then swiftly assisted her lover toward the door. Things were growing dire. As Andy opened the door, another part of the roller cage gave way, and a steady stream of infected ran in. 

“Gogogogo!” Andy shouted ushering her girlfriend and new baby through the door before jumping in behind. Andy slammed the door shut just in time to feel the first few stragglers smash into it. Whilst the door hinge opened towards the store, the creatures didn’t have a modicum of measurable intelligence that didn’t apply to eating flesh and stalking prey, so Andy doubted they’d open it. But just in case she held tight to the handle and only let go once she’d managed to wedge a rogue plank of wood underneath - stopping it from being opened from the other side. 

Darkness surrounded them, the flashlight the only solitary beacon in their new environment. 

“Look for an exit sign.” Andy said, both hands now gripping the sword. She had her teeth bared, a fresh dose of adrenaline thanks to the unknown area pumping through her veins. “Mike said the workers used to use these areas…”

Looking around the dark tunnel it was impossible to know where they were or which direction to go. Lucy kept her hands on the baby at her chest, even with the make-shift baby carrier she couldn’t stop herself from holding the bundle close. There had been a short burst of adrenaline, survival instinct, when the horde broke into the store but after a minute in the tunnel Lucy’s energy was quickly declining. Every step ricocheted through her aching body, muscles protesting, bones throbbing. But still she continued, eyes wide in the darkness looking for a sign, searching for the exit. 

The pair soon discovered the signs overhead. Hanging from the ceiling beside each metal door was a sign indicating what store resided on the other side. A “TJMaxx”, an “Anthropologie” and a “Uniqlo” - the brands were unfamiliar to the women as they walked beneath the faded signs. 

Mercifully the newborn at her chest was calm and quiet after her entrance into the world, the skin to skin contact helping to keep the infant comforted but most importantly silent.  Lucy could feel her breasts ache, more than usual, and she wondered whether she should be feeding the baby. How quickly after birth do babies need their first feed - she didn’t know and cursed herself for not knowing. She felt like such a failure already; risking her child’s life for some stupid maternity clothes, delivering the baby in a dangerous and dirty place mere metres from a horde of undead, and now hiding her away in a dank dark corridor. The tears rolled down her cheeks before she even knew she was crying. Her feet had stopped, her hand pressed into the side of her aching belly, and she was panting? 

Andy had been ahead of her just a few steps, only realizing Lucy stopped when the flashlights beam fell and she was left blind. The blonde turned to her partner, concern etched on her blood covered face.

“Luce?” In the quiet of the tunnels Andy finally realized how hoarse she sounded. When was the last time she’d drank water? In the park? Her own issues became an afterthought when she heard Lucy’s breathing. Andy took the flashlight, noticing all too well that Lucy’s palm was applying pressure to her stomach. That only worried her more, what if there was more complications? Every horrible outcome ran through Andy’s mind as she looked Lucy up and down. She dropped the light just before illuminating the baby’s head. Andy shut it off, her fingers gently brushing their daughters head before she brought the same hand to Lucy’s cheek. 

“Babe. What’s wrong?” She asked. It was a stupid question, but in her own panic she was having a hard time finding anything else to say.

Lucy exhaled slowly, finding her chest hitching with a sob. “I’ll b-be fine… dunno why I’m c-crying…” It wasn’t completely true, but now wasn’t the time to delve into how much of a failure she felt already. They needed to run, to escape, her emotions might be scattered and hormones off the chart but safety was the top priority. 

With her girlfriend’s delicate hand on her cheek Lucy looked up at Andy and knew from the expression that Andy saw through her dismissal. “It’s just some contractions, the a-after birth will likely come soon.” She tried to divert attention elsewhere but as soon as she said it she realised just how much her belly was aching. “It’s normal, it’s fine, let’s keep going.” 

Feeding the baby had to wait. Delivering the placenta had to wait. They had to get out of this damn mall fast. 

Andy wanted to press on and get Lucy to open up about what she was feeling. Nothing about this was normal, and it sure as hell wasn’t fine. However Andy at least knew better than to pry when Lucy’s hormones were at such a spiked level, the mood swings her lover had early in the pregnancy were legendary and awe inspiring. Andy simply sighed, and pressed her forehead to Lucy’s once again.

“I’m getting us home.” She said.

The couple moved, their pace purposely slow due to Andy now realizing what Lucy was dealing with. She wasn’t about to rush her, doing so would not only hurt the redhead but also agitate their daughter. Flashlight in hand, Andy scanned each door and the signs above them. More names that seemed all too ridiculous. Did people really think they were catchy? “Spencer’s”, what a stupid name for a store, unless it was owned by a guy named Spencer…

Silence engulfed them, only broken occasionally by Lucy muffling a groan of discomfort. Andy cursed the situation, she should have been more firm to keep Lucy home. Three turns, a dozen stores, and they finally found a set of stairs. The dark abyss seemed eerie, and as much as Andy wanted to celebrate, she knew to do so would pull even more bad luck down upon them. She turned to face her lover, using the light she gestured down the stairs and approximated a slow walk using two of her fingers. Andy sucked at charades, but Lucy’s quiet nod told her the point was gotten. 

Halfway down the stairs Lucy hissed, and Andy damn near jumped out of her skin. She whirled on her girlfriend, wide eyed, ready for anything.

Lucy simply rubbed at her belly. Placenta. Just the placenta.

Andy couldn’t help rubbing at her own aches and pains. Her neck felt stiff, her shoulder, her lower back, her ass. She knew when they got home she’d look like some sort of living punching bag. How many times had she fallen today? Four? Andy scoffed at her own inability to avoid injuries, all the while also plotting an escape. The distant banging on the medieval magic shop door they’d escaped through now seemed to have ended, which could be good, or bad. Good would imply they lost the scent and were now bored. Bad, well, that meant they found another way to reach them. Plots and plans raced through her thoughts, how to escape? Getting outside would be ok, but how to get away?

“How fast do you think you can run?” Andy whispered. There was a pause before Lucy’s answer, prompting Andy to turn to face her. She was staring at their daughter again, the tears more prevalent. It broke Andy’s heart to see such a sight. “Babe?” Lucy’s attention snapped back.

“N-not very…”

Andy nodded. She knew that would be the answer. Her flashlight beam searched the signs of the first floor. “Auntie Annie’s Pretzels”, “Book Nook”, “Pyros Fireworks”, “Western Apparel”… Absolutely nothing use—

Andy let the beam return to the third sign.

“Pyro’s…” She muttered. Oh, this was a bad idea. “I have an idea.” Andy turned to Lucy. “A good one.” Both women’s heads turned back toward the sign, when they looked to one another again, Andy was grinning that same crazy desperate grin she had when she was about to do something stupid.

“Oh Andy, you’re not— you’re not serious?” Lucy’s mouth hung open slightly in disbelief and dropped further at her girlfriend’s unhinged smile. “Don’t be ridiculous! The nests are flammable and fuck knows how many are in there and you want to add fireworks to that mix?! Well never make it out before the place blows up.” 

“Just trust me, we get you outside with baby girl, I light Molotov, toss, big boom, we walk home.”

“‘Big boom’?! You’ve lost your mind. This is crazier than you not checking you’d been bitten—” Lucy’s rant was cut off by Andy’s lips on hers. It was a sure fire way to shut her up and Lucy hated but loved when she did that. Instantly she relaxed a little as her partner’s hands cupped the back of her neck and deepened the kiss. When air was needed they broke apart, foreheads touching, body’s linked, their baby girl between them. “Fine…” Lucy relented. 

“You know you love it when I go a little crazy babe.” Andy winked 

There was a fire exit at the end of the corridor, three shop widths down from the Pyro’s Fireworks. Lucy moved slowly, guided by Andy’s hand on the base of her spine, down the narrow passageway towards a faded green exit sign. She kept one hand over the baby strapped to her chest beneath her shirt, the other cupped the squidgy rounded shape of her deflated belly. Another contraction rolled through with the movement, a pulling sensation cramping through her pelvis and bringing back a familial pressure. A sharp hiss slipped through her teeth, but she kept on walking. 

A thought occurred to the new mother as they got nearer to the door - this would be baby girls' first time outside. But god knows what horrors could be waiting on the other side. They’ve been chased inside by a wave of undead, what if they were still out there? They had to hope all the creatures had taken residence inside the mall, that beyond the fire exit would be a bright sky and an empty car park. 

Both women took a deep breath as Andy pushed open the door. Blades of light pushed in on them, blinding the couple for a few seconds as they left the darkness of the mall into the fresh air of the outside world. Andy’s eyes adjusted first, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Not a single infected in sight, hell not even a wild dog or cross looking plant. The parking lot was full of rusted cars and a clear path around the fenced in quarantine zone. Thanks to her innate senses of direction Andy knew exactly where to walk to get home. 

“It’s clear.”

Lucy followed her out, and Andy felt her heart tug as she watched Lucy’s hand cover their daughters eyes so she wasn’t disturbed. The baby was starting to fuss, but Andy didn’t mind, it told her that the baby was still here, still with them. After another kiss, followed by one last scan of their surroundings, Andy moved back into the mall. Her adrenaline was long depleted, and she had to stop just outside the door into the fireworks shop. She stretched, rolling her shoulders and neck till she heard that satisfying pop. If she was going to be forced to run, she wasn’t about to do it without loosening up. Her shoulder, back, and ass were still killing her, but that wasn’t anything a hot bath at home wouldn’t fix.

Andy knelt, pulling out her Molotov cocktail. She had to dig for a few moments to find the lighter. The cloth caught easily, illuminating the blonde as well as her grin. With a deep breath, she opened the door…

A few minutes later

“That, looks cool.” Andy said, all too pleased with herself. Before them, a raging inferno blazed, the entire side of the mall was lit up, and thanks to the kindling that was the ‘nest’ the horde made, it went up like a candle. Andy and Lucy stood at the edge of the park, they had some daylight left, and took the moment to enjoy their handiwork. Well, Andy was enjoying it. She simultaneously was also rubbing Lucy’s back. Contractions were coming, the placenta soon to follow. With no immediate threats around them, Andy had helped Lucy to an old park bench so she could rest and get the baby properly latched.

“You were on fire when you ran outside.” Lucy admonished.

“Only a little.” Andy looked down at her blackened sleeve. “How was I supposed to know the ‘boom’ would be that fast?” The couple kept watching, even seeing a few infected escape, but falling to the flames that encased them. “Placenta feel close?”

“Mmmhh…yup…” Lucy breathed heavily, pressing one hand into the bench while the other held their daughter to her breast. “I’m happy she’s feeding so well first go but… it’s making the contractions stronger.” 

The couple had removed the make-shift baby sling in order for Lucy to try and feed the newborn, pulling up her tshirt and pulling down her bra. Not the ideal quiet moment she envisioned but her boobs were too full and the baby was hungry so needs must. It seemed dangerous doing something so vulnerable out in the open but with the noise from the explosion and the burning mall any nearby undead would now be long gone from the area. 

Lucy’s legs twitched and her hips rocked on the bench, a combination of instinct to soothe the baby with motion but also an unconscious attempt at relieving the building pressure. A soft whimper evolved into a slight grunt and Lucy gasped. “I think… I think I’m feeling a bit… pushy?” 

They both knew the afterbirth would need to be delivered soon, that it needed to come within a certain time of baby being born. Lucy had the hope they could make it back to camp before that happened but the pulling feeling in her pelvis and that pressure was making it doubtful. 

“I guess it’s better to have it happen here instead of while you’re walking.” Andy sat down on the bench beside Lucy, a welcome break from her own aches and pains. “She’s a thirsty girl.” The blonde reached over to rub the baby’s head. Still they hadn’t discussed a name, but they had time. “Huh? You thirsty sweet baby?” 

“Very.” Lucy said.

They both watched the baby feed, her little hand wrapped as tight as she could manage around one of Lucys fingers. Andy was itching to move again, sitting still just felt wrong. Whether that was a protective nature coming out or just her innate impatience she wasn’t sure. The blonde sighed, and was about to ask if Lucy wanted her pants to come off when she noticed her lovers face twist. The expression wasn’t of pain, not extreme pain at the very least, but Andy knew thanks to recent experience that it meant she was pushing. 

“Let’s get your jeans off.” Andy started. She’d barely gotten off the bench when Lucy grunted, and gasped.

”O-oh… shit I think it's out…” Lucy said. Andy's look of bewilderment made the new mother chuckle.

”Wait, what?” Together they removed Lucy's jeans for the second time today, and sure enough the cord from their daughter's belly ended at the fleshy mass now in Lucy's underwear. Andy had seen less gory looking infected, but refrained from saying anything out loud. “Why couldn’t you have done that with her?” That question elicited a glare from her lover. Andy just shook her head, unable to stop the laugh that came with it. The blonde stood up, stretching her back and shoulder again. “Alright, enough sitting around babe. Let’s go home.”

——————————

Mike was long past his scheduled guard duty at the front gate of the camp. Normally he wouldn’t stay so late, but the girls weren’t back, and he was growing more and more worried. They should have been back hours ago, and the billowing smoke in the distance was not a comfort. He lived here for decades before the infection killed the world, and knew the town better than any others in the camp. That smoke was coming from the mall, no doubt about it. His pleas for a search party fell on deaf ears due to one patrol spotting another horde to the south.

”Mike, go home.” One of the fellow guards said for the third time in the last hour.

”Just a few more minutes…” Mike said, also for the third time. 

He crossed his arms as he scanned the open road before the gate. Trees, destroyed buildings, the occasional wildlife. The old man rubbed his eyes. If the girls were ok, they should have been back by now. The mall was gone, and likely so too were they. He blamed himself for letting them go, and even more for being the one to tell them about the store within. He was about to give up, to leave the defenses when one of the guards called out.

”Infected! A hundred yards out!”

Mike whirled, lifting his rifle to look down the scope. He saw them, two haggard feminine shapes, one dragging… a sword? Covered head to toe in blood. Its arm was wrapped around the other, equally dirty, but less bloody. It was holding, a baby.

”Hold fire!” Mike ran as fast as his old bones allowed, opening the gate himself to rush out to the oncoming couple. Tears of relief were in the old mans eyes as he got close enough to see the young couple. “Lucy! Andy! Oh thank god… and…”

Lucy presented the little bundle. “Rosemary.”

”Rosemary…” The old man was grinning. “Good choice kiddos.” He looked Andy up and down. “You look like hammered shit.”

“Thanks Mike.” Andy said sarcastically, still rubbing her aching back. The other aches had become dull on the walk home, but her back just wouldn’t quit. Still the blonde couldn’t remember where exactly she’d hurt it. “We are just gonna, mmmphh.” Andy leant forward slightly, the ache spiking. Warmth ran down her inner thighs, both Lucy and Mike looked at her suddenly concerned. 

”Andy?”

It was a simple plan, but still, there were a few hurdles she had to jump to ensure everything went just perfectly. First was to arrange babysitting. Stacey and Carter had four children; two girls and two boys. Their youngest, Caleb, was nearly two years old, who had made a rather dramatic entrance into the world in a McDonald’s drive thru about 22 months ago. With four children, Stacey and Carter had very busy lives. It was rare they got any alone time these days, with football clubs, gymnastic class, not to mention the fact she was still breastfeeding the little one who was not so little anymore. Childcare for the evening was essential. 

A “date night” she had called it. And technically, that would be true. A nice evening together just the two of them, just husband and wife, and not ‘mum’ and ‘dad’. So she had packed off their brood in the car earlier - they were going for a sleepover with their grandparents. When she got home, she couldn’t help but feel the house was a little empty. Even if the quiet was a blissful change. 

Her husband knew she was planning a date night, a romantic evening for the two of them. What she hadn’t told him was the item she had bought online. One she had discovered in a very particular forum, something she very quickly ordered, and was oh so excited to try out. 

The Pregnancy Pill 

Ever wanted to know what it is like to be heavily pregnant and give birth? The Pregnancy Pill is a unique technological advancement that allows anyone with a uterus to fully experience the whole spectrum of pregnancy and birth. Simply download our app, connect to your individual pill, and choose your desired options. Rapid growth, large baby, multiple babies, long labour, short labour, posterior, breach… the possibilities are endless. And the best part - the special pill is 100% reusable. Once the baby (or final baby) is born, it will shrink back to the original pill size to be used all over again.  

As someone who had given birth for real four times, you would think that Stacey and Carter would be done with pregnancy. However, their youngest’s sudden and unprecedentedly erotic birth in the drive-thru had brought to light previously undiscovered kinks for the married couple. It took a few weeks or months to recover from the ordeal, but then the confessions came out, late at night when the kids were asleep. Both Stacey and Carter admitting just how fucking arousing the whole experience had been. So when Stacey made the discovery of The Pregnancy Pill a couple of weeks ago, she knew what she wanted to do. 

After the kids were at the grandparents, Stacey readied herself for tonight’s events. She had a long shower, shaved her legs and armpits, and afterwards put on her favourite maternity dress. The instructions were simple; connect the pill to the app on her phone, then, once connected insert the pill into the vagina. It took some negotiating to get her hand at the right angle, but Stacey soon completed her task. Next, the settings. 

She scrolled through the app’s different options. It seemed to run in live time, meaning that you could alter or change the pregnancy and birth during the process. That could be fun. Stacey grinned, imagining what Carter would do if left in control of the app. She didn’t go through to the birth options just yet, she would save that for when her husband got home. Looking at the time, he would likely be getting home in the next hour. Excitement twirled and danced in her stomach. Or maybe it was already The Pill. She better progress this pregnancy if she was going to get her desired response from her husband. 

There was a part of Stacey that was nervous about this pill, it wasn’t exactly from a reputable website. But her desires to play out all manner of unplanned or sensual births won out against any hesitation she might have had. As she scrolled through the pregnancy options, there were just so many, she settled on a tamer route for their first go. 

One baby. 9lbs. Anterior positioning. 

Pregnancy development: 30 mins to full term. 

From the second she clicked ‘Accept’ on her choices, Stacey felt an immediate change in her body. A steady warmth erupted from her womb, spreading down her thighs and up her spine. She shifted on the bed, breathing a little more measured as the gentle cramping began, her womb slowly expanding around the developing ‘child’. 

“Whoa… this… this is gonna be fun.” She chuckled to herself, her hand on her belly that was already forming the first signs of a bump. 

——————————

“Thank you.” Carter handed the cashier a twenty dollar bill, taking the bouquet of flowers in his other hand. They hadn’t been able to have a proper night alone in almost two years. Not that it was a large complaint of his, they both loved their children, and adored being parents. But to finally have a proper date night? Carter was prepared to make the most of it.

He left the shop, climbing into his car. It wasn’t far to get home, maybe thirty minutes at most. With a smile on his lips, he sent a quick text message to Stacey.

Carter: On my way home. Need me to stop and get anything?

Carter watched as his phone notified him that his wife had seen the message, a bubble with three dots blinking in and out as she typed up a response. It was simple, quick.

Stacey: Nope! Head on home love. 

With a smile on his lips, he put the car in drive, and began to navigate home. The entire drive he wondered what the plan was. A movie? Nothing in the theaters interested him or Stacey at the moment, all ridiculous action movies or remakes of remakes. Maybe dinner out in town? That made sense, he didn’t want her to have to cook unless she wanted to. Even if she did cook, he would ensure she wasn’t alone in the kitchen. In the end, it didn’t matter what the plan was. All Carter cared about was a night, just them, together. 

—————————-

What surprised Stacey most was the realism. As an experienced mother who’d gone through four pregnancies, she was well equipped to make the comparison. She expected the bump, that was a given, but the expansion and sensitivity of her breasts were an unforeseen bonus. Wearing her 1950’s style floral sundress, one of her favourite maternity outfits which had seen plenty of use with three of the four pregnancies happening during the height of summer, her bosom completely filled the larger cup size of the dress. 

Beneath her swollen chest was a gravid and undeniable bump. Naturally her hands moved across its surface, tracing large circles around the full size of the globe that now sat heavy on her hips. That was another pleasant surprise and something which added to its realism - the weight in her hips and pelvis. It was exactly like when she was heavily pregnant with her children. Not to mention the feeling of movement from within, the kicks and shifting as the ‘baby’ grew in her womb. It was just so real. 

Standing in front of the floor length mirror in their bedroom, Stacey looked in awe at her reflection. Within thirty minutes her regular body had ballooned into a maternal goddess, absolutely brimming with life. The relatively quick progress of the pregnancy meant she had to ride out the changes in her body. It wasn’t something she could pretend wasn’t happening, or to carry on as normal. The waves came in bursts, warm and sensual and almost pulsing, her womb expanding and muscles stretching to accommodate the growing foreign object. It wasn’t altogether painful, just a very strange sensation that was at times a little overwhelming. But now, now she was full term. The fact was undeniable. 

The rounded shape of her bump beneath the dress was very obviously hanging low, more oval and sitting closer to her hips. Not only that but her movements had altered. The increased weight in her pelvis made her legs part and the waddle Carter was so fond of to return. 

Carter. Shit. What was the time? He would be home soon. She had to move if she wanted to get the best possible reaction. 

Slowly, and very carefully, Stacey made her way downstairs. She could feel each step seemed to grind the weight of the ‘baby’ deeper into her hips. She couldn’t help the laboured breathing, the occasional huff, as she moved. 

Dinner was already in the oven, well the meat was. She still had to prepare the potatoes. Navigating the kitchen with a full pregnant belly, Stacey very easily slipped into the familiar routine. Stepping a little back from the counter so her bump could fit in the gap, cradling the underneath when she bent over to pick out a pot for the stove, swaying her hips side to side around the fullness in her pelvis when she stood to chop the potatoes. 

The smell from their dinner soon filled the warm kitchen; the glazed brisket in the oven and the roast potatoes on a rolling boil on the hob. Stacey put on some music to fill the empty space, the lack of children making it too quiet for the mother’s ears. She set the table for their dinner, using their fancy placemats and cutlery they’d got as a wedding present but seldom used, lighting a couple of candles in the centre. 

Time quickly passed, the afternoon sun turning the sky through the windows a glorious shade of amber and pink. Carter would no doubt be home soon. Stacey rubbed her giant belly, its size putting even the maternity shape of the dress to the test. She practically thrummed with excitement and anticipation for her husband to gaze upon her changed figure, to discover his surprise. 

——————————

The garage door closed behind him, the car already in park as Carter grabbed the flowers for Stacey. The steps to the mud room had to be carefully navigated, toys littering the floor. It always cheered him, the blatant evidence of their family life. The second the door opened, the most mouthwatering scent hit his nose. She really loved him.

”I’m home!” He called out, kicking off his shoes before walking further. “The grocery store didn’t have our wine, so I’ll make us some tea.” 

“No worries, darling. I’m in the kitchen making us dinner.” Stacey called back innocently, keeping the excitement from showing too much in her voice. 

The trek through the house was the same as always, though without the patter of little feet, it almost felt empty. Maybe their date night would be on the shorter side, if they both grew to miss their kids too much. He forced the thoughts aside with no small amount of will, and kept walking. Their home was simple, decorations on the wall weren’t for ambiance, they were memories. Their eldest, Nathan’s, first little league trophy along with a photo of him in his uniform. 

McKenzie, their second born who was conceived far faster than either of them intended, had her own pictures up as well. She hated being in photos, and Carter distinctly recalled using velcro on her pants to keep her in place for her one year photoshoot. She was the artist of the family, and anytime she handed either of her parents a new drawing, Carter would frame it, and hang it on the wall. 

Their third child, a girl who was the spitting image of her mother in all ways, was named Claire. At only four years old now, she was obsessed with her princess movies and would sing along as often as she could. He held no reservation that her overnight bag to her grandparents included at least three princess dresses and four tiaras. The family had a plan for a trip to Disney soon, and Carter couldn’t wait to see Claire’s eyes light up when she saw her favorite characters in the flesh.

Caleb, the youngest and easily their favorite story to whip out at dinner parties, had fewer photos on the walls. A small collage by the entryway to the kitchen had a picture of him as a newborn held in his mothers arms, a snapshot he’d taken mere moments after birth. Pictures from each month of his life covered the board, usually with another family member holding him. Carter smiled, as he recalled the memory of that drive thru.

”God, it smells good in here babe.” Carter rounded the corner. “Is there anything I can…”

He froze, mouth falling open but failing to formulate anything other than a dumbstruck exhale. Stacey was in the kitchen, cooking and looking as beautiful as ever, and yet… I’m dreaming, this is a dream. As his wife turned to stir potatoes, he got the full side profile. She was, pregnant?! No, that simply wasn’t possible. Not only had they both agreed that they’d wait till Caleb was older before discussing another baby, Carter was dead certain that she hadn’t been pregnant this morning.

”Did, I-is that a pillow?” He asked, his eyes conveying the confusion that his body radiated. It was a full twenty seconds before he was able to put together another sentence. “I guess these flowers are for two reasons now huh?” Carter approached, free hand going to her back while the other held the flowers before her. “You know if you just said you didn’t want to wait for the next baby, I would have been cooperative…”

Stacey couldn’t help but laugh. The sight of her husband’s jaw hitting the kitchen floor was exactly what she’d hoped. She could practically hear the cogs in his brain trying to make sense of the sight before him, knowing full well she was not pregnant when he left for work this morning. And yet there was a flash of doubt, in the grey flecks of his eyes, thinking for a millisecond that they might be expecting their fifth child and he’s just forgotten. 

“A pillow?” She mused, her hands naturally resting on the top curve of her bump that pulled the fabric of her sundress tight over its surface. A grin pulled at her pink lips as she took the flowers from her husband, placed them on the kitchen counter, and took his hand in her own. She placed his palm on the firm dome of her belly over the fabric of her dress. “Does this feel like a pillow darling?” She smirked. 

At that moment the ‘baby’ in her womb shifted, turning around and wedging its head in her pelvis and kicking up where Carter’s hand was resting. “Ooof-” Stacey winced but kept her wide grin and bright smile as she watched his eyes narrow in confusion. 

Well, that felt oddly realistic. And Stacey's acting, pretending as if there was a baby and it was kicking…

”It, doesn’t.” He said, still horrendously confused. Both hands pressed against her womb, as if through touch he might figure out exactly how she was making him believe this. He kept exploring, finding the little nuances through the fabric that told him this was in fact, real. Questions stacked unimpeded in his mind, and with no chance of sorting them out alone, he just enjoyed it for the moment. The baby within was moving, and the look on his face reshaped into that same magical expression he had for every one of her pregnancies.

”How?” Carter asked, and without waiting for her to answer, his fingers clawed at her dress. Inch by inch, the fabric rose, till her fertile dome of flesh was exposed before him. A spike of warmth within him formed as memories of the last time he saw his wife like this entered his thoughts. “Stace?” His eyes rose to meet hers, an effort he hadn’t expected to be so difficult. “Baby what is this?”

Her lashes fluttered, her cheeks tinged pink as her husband clawed the dress up to reveal the full expanse of her stretched and full womb. 

“Surprise.” She said simply, leaving it hanging in the air. It didn’t answer any of his burning questions, but they would get to that. For now she just relished the feel of Carter’s large hands of her bare skin, it was stretched and sensitive, exactly as it had been for every one of their pregnancies. 

“I… I wanted to do something special for us, for our first evening alone in well… years.” She needed to say more, to explain, he didn’t even know this technology existed let alone the fact anyone with a computer could order the device for recreational use. But it was too complicated, too many words to bring him up to speed when all she wanted to know was— 

“Do you like it?” 

Carter didn’t answer at first. The father of four knelt before his wife, gently rubbing either side of her belly. The man was still awestruck, Stacey was pregnant, and yet, not pregnant. Every synapse in his mind fired simultaneously, trying desperately to come up with what to say. All he knew, or at least all his mind told him, was that that ‘baby’ in there was his, almost like whatever she’d done had triggered his protective and fatherly nature. Before either of them knew it, Carter leant in, placing a kiss on her swollen middle. The ‘child’ within kicked, and he grinned, the curl of his lips making his whiskers prickle along the newly sensitive skin.

“I don’t like it.” He said, though his eyes remained joyous. “I fuckin love it.” Carter rose, hands never leaving. In his mind he couldn’t stop thinking how this was exactly how he’d acted with all her previous pregnancies. Hands had to be on her. “This is incredible…”

Habitually, Stacey looped her arms around her husband’s neck, her body pressed against him as much as her new swollen belly would allow. “Hmmm… I’m glad you love it.” She purred, kissing him softly. Their lips parted, tongues entwined and danced together in a passionate, well-practiced routine. 

“And the best part….” Stacey said, her breathing already heavier between the heated kisses. “…is that we can do this again and again….” She hummed “…so many settings to try… to play with….” Her teeth grazed his bottom lip while her fingers got lost in the salt and pepper locks of his hair. 

Carter’s hands were all over her body, massaging and squeezing every inch, and then, all of a sudden he gripped her widened hips and lifted her up in the air. Stacey’s legs wrapped around his hips instinctively and she squealed in surprise. He popped her down on the top of the kitchen counter, standing between her spread legs. His eyes were dark and hungry and laser focused on the gravid bump prominent between them. Her dress had fallen over her bare skin but he soon pushed it up, as if he needed to see her exposed and stretched belly in order to fully comprehend what was happening. 

“It’s called The Pregnancy Pill; a full simulated pregnancy controlled entirely via an app on my phone.” Stacey began to explain while Carter’s fingers roamed across her sensitive skin. 

Carter listened, but all the information she gave was quickly shunned into the back of his mind. The surface was so taut, and he couldn’t help himself as he reacquainted himself with every square inch of her skin. Radiating beauty like she always did, despite it being an artificial pregnancy. Carter lent in, eyes fixating on the little ripples courtesy of the ‘baby’ within.

“So, it’s fake, but it’s real?” He asked her, feeling his body growing warm thanks to his sometimes distracting attraction to his wife. A hindrance in public to be sure, but one the couple always was able to rectify like first time lovers. In the privacy of their home? Carter made no attempt to conceal his lustful looks towards Stacey. “What did you set this one to?” The question came with a gentle pat on her stomach.

She giggled, from the look in his eyes she was hopeful about all the fun they would have with this little device. 

“Just the one baby. A nine-pounder. And I can feel every ounce already in my hips.” Her words were breathless, both from the advanced pregnancy but also the arousal she felt coiling in her stomach. She shifted slightly on the counter, leaning back a fraction to feel the full depths of the large full term baby that was now curled up in her pelvis. 

“I only selected the pregnancy settings, to make sure you came home to find me like this. My date night surprise. But I left the birth options for you…” An arched eyebrow, the pout of her lips, gave her husband all the confirmation he needed for her playfulness this evening. 

“Oh is that so?” He asked, stepping closer. He felt her stomach pressing against his, a sensation he only now realized he’d missed so much. “Well, maybe we can wait to put those settings in…” Carter slid a hand around, finding the base of Stacey’s back. He leaned closer, planting another kiss. “I think this date night is going to be one to remember.” He whispered. Carter's eyes darted to the oven, the timer on it read just over ten minutes. Plenty of time for a little fun before dinner. “So, darling.” He began, his words a purr. “Did the pill cause your hormones to spike too?” As he asked the question, his grip on her lower back faltered, leaving only fingertips. His other hand however, had migrated, his knuckles brushing against her inner thighs.

Stacey shuddered. His hand was barely above her knee but the skin of her inner thigh was alive with sensitivity. “I dunno if it’s The Pill or… just the fact it’s been so long since we’ve had a night to ourselves.” Her breathing was heavy, which had nothing to do with the baby in her belly. “Oh Carter.” 

Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him close, her lips desperately colliding with his. Even with their advanced years, Carter still looked so handsome with a touch of ruggedness about him. The stubble on his strong jaw, the grey flecks in his brown hair, his large hands on her bare skin. The cologne he’d put on before work had faded and mixed with an intoxicating scent that was earthy and sexy and just him. Stacey moaned into his mouth, her tongue dancing around his with a passion she’d not felt in decades. 

His hand on her lower back pressed up, arching her spine towards him and squishing the heavy orb of her belly between their bodies. They both made a gravelled sound of pleasure, the huge swollen pregnant belly igniting their new desires, discovered following the birth of their fourth child. She wanted him, she wanted to feel him against her when she was gravid and bursting with life. They’d of course been intimate throughout all their real pregnancies but with the other symptoms of carrying a child - the exhaustion, nausea, aches and pains - they never went truly wild. But now, well now she had only been pregnant about an hour. Her body felt heavy and swollen but in the best way - no aches or pains or tiredness. It was perfect. 

His other hand travelled up her thigh, dancing dangerously close to the lace trim of her underwear. She grinned devilishly against his lips. “Careful now, you wouldn’t want to send me into labour would you?” Stacey whispered. As much as she wanted her husband right here and now, she didn’t want to peak too soon. Plus she couldn’t deny the call of the app and all the birth settings they’d yet to discover. 

Her words made his hair stand up on end, a shuddering breath escaping him. “I don’t know if you want me to answer that question honey…” 

Carter's fingers found her underwear, lifting them just enough to allow him to slip beneath. He tugged them, just enough to make sure Stacey knew what he was doing. His own pants grew uncomfortable as his body reacted to hers. The sight of his wife shuddering as his knuckles brushed against her lips made a devious smile appear on his face, a smile Stacey had not seen since that drive thru twenty two months ago.

“But…” He began, letting his fingers extend beneath the hidden fabric of her panties. “I could answer it.” Gingerly, his middle finger found her quivering opening, and with next to no pressure, slid up its center. “But I won’t answer with words my love.”

Stacey’s thighs twitched, her breath hitching, as her husband lightly traced the flesh beneath her underwear. “Oooohh… whoa…. C-Carter…” she moaned. Instinctively her legs drew together like magnets, trapping his hand between her thighs. 

“Y-you know you c-can’t— oooooha— trigger labour this way.” She tried to speak, to tell him their usual methods to bring on contractions wouldn’t work for this simulated pregnancy. Only the app could control what happens. 

Moving around and around, the pads of Carter’s fingers caressed her sensitive skin, pulling focus from the words she was trying to say. “W-we need— to select— the b-b-birth options darling—” But Stacey’s words cut off when her husband slipped two fingers inside of her and she nearly choked on the moan that rattled up her throat. 

He pressed his lips against hers, as he did, he curled his fingers into a hook shape. Carter knew just how to work her when they were in the mood, and the desires being felt in the kitchen were feral. The need to have his wife at that moment overcame everything. Her belly made it difficult, but Carter adjusted, bringing the hand that was on her back around to her womb. The two fingers nestled within her kept their work going, even as he subconsciously rose to his toes, a motion that, if they were both dressed for the occasion, would have embedded his ever hardening erection into her.

“Stace…” He groaned, moving from her lips to her jawline and down to her neck. “How’s it feel?” As he asked, he curled his fingers again, the motion becoming repetitive.

Her body rocked on the counter, circling back and forth in time with his movements, his index and middle finger hitting the perfect spot. “Oh— a-amazing…” she hummed, biting her bottom lip. 

The delicious pressure and weight in her womb was matched perfectly against her husband’s expert moves. He knew exactly what she liked, how to hold her, where to kiss her. Soon any thoughts of conversation were lost to the steady pulsing of pleasure building between her thighs. While Carter’s fingers worked their magic, his lips peppered her neck and chest with feverish kisses. He took extra time on the spot just below her jawline and earlobe, prompting an involuntary squeeze of her thighs around his hand. 

The things he wanted to do to her on the counter… it would absolutely test the construction. Carter's attention became far more involved as their passion flared. Stacey’s squeezing thighs only inflamed his needs. Before he knew it, her hands were on him, lifting his shirt to touch his chest, manicured nails glide across his skin as she pulled him a bit closer. The jostling of his belt made an audible groan escape his throat. Stacey had managed to reach down, an impressive feat of flexibility considering her gravid size.

It wasn’t long before he felt freedom, his jeans no longer containing his desires. Carter's fingers retracted, and the delicious whimper Stacey made caused a spasm as his body reacted. There was a pause as the couple stared into each other's eyes, this moment of intimacy the beginning of a new chapter in their life. Keeping her gaze locked with his, Carter guided himself in, enjoying the delicious flutter her eyelids made as her body accepted his.

Stacey had forgotten just how eye-rollingly good pregnant sex was, especially heavily pregnant sex with a baby so low and heavy in her womb. The air left her lungs as Carter slowly sunk inside, the fullness, oh the fullness. It was almost overwhelming but in the best way. “Oh god!” She gasped, her nails clawing beneath his shirt to both bring him closer and keep her steady. 

“Breathe” he whispered in her ear, foreshadowing words he would no doubt be saying to her in labour. 

It took a few moments, a few deep breaths, for Stacey to settle and adjust to the intense pressures, to the fullness in her lower half. She was right on the edge of the counter now, her legs high and hooked around Carter’s hips, while her arms moved from his chest to drape over his shoulders and hang down his back. The swollen orb of life was squashed between them, only adding to their arousal. Carter began to move, slowly but with purpose, a gentle rhythm as his hips moved back and forth, back and forth. Each thrust seemed to hit deeper and deeper, each prompting low moans from Stacey, husky in his ear while she clung to him and kissed his neck. 

The moment was electric, his hands holding her, their bodies pressed with such intimate closeness that he could feel every tremor. Stacey’s stomach shifted against his abdomen, and he had to consciously tell himself that it wasn’t a real baby in there, just a simulation. That didn’t stop his rising affection for her body though. Carters hand shot behind his wife. Palm down, he swiped it across the countertop, pushing away the ingredients she’d set aside for dinner. A ladle hit the ground with a thunk, but that was a non-issue.

His thrusts became more inspired, each one scooting Stacey back just a bit on the granite topped island. Knowing the counter was clear, he let his hand come back to her stomach. Unbeknownst to him, he’d found some discarded flour which now covered his palm, a white handprint on the side of her womb was the only evidence. One they wouldn’t notice till their moment of passion was at an end.

As Carter’s movements got more passionate, Stacey found her head tipping back, panting heavily towards the ceiling. Her dress was still bunched up between her enlarged chest and swollen bump, each thrust jossling her body making her breasts bounce. The feel of his hand was possessive on her belly, a shiver running up her spine, she loved how dominant and protective he got whenever she was pregnant.  

“Ohhhh… I’m… getting close….” She whined, feeling her muscles coiling, tense and pulsing on the edge of release. “T-tell me… how much you love me like this… t-tell me how you want to see me g-give b-birth…” 

“On your hands, nngh, and knees.” He groaned, his mind drawing a vivid image of how Stacey would deliver this pill baby. His climax was growing near, that warm sensation in his pelvis told him as much. “Wherever in the house you want…” Or wherever you can manage to waddle. Carter thought to himself. Watching her chest rise and fall to match his pace, he knew just how to get Stacey to fall from the cliff of her rising desire. He let go of her belly, sliding along her skin till he found her breast again. “All I know.” He said, his trembling voice unable to hide the fact that he was close. “Is I want you to push for me…”

The second his voice, gravelled and strained in her ear, mentioned ‘pushing’ it was game over for Stacey. With his fingers beneath her sun dress, squeezing her nipples while he thrust deep and uttered his own fantasy aloud, she couldn’t hold back any longer. With a gasp Stacey hurtled straight over the edge of pleasure, her inner walls clamped down tight around her husband. The orgasm rippled through every cell of her body, back arching and belly jutting against his, all the while her fluttering womanhood squeezed around his girth. She couldn’t help the high pitched moan of pleasure, calling out his name followed by a few expletives, riding the wave of the best high she’d felt in years. 

Carter wasn’t able to hold back, Stacey’s body pulled his release out of him like a siphon. With how busy they’d been after the birth of their fourth child, nothing had been this passionate. Always they were tired, always occupied, but this date night permitted a primal exertion of their mutual sexual frustrations. His chest and stomach tightened as his body pulsed, spilling the seed that gave them both four perfect kids. Even now, he smiled at the thought of this ‘baby’ in her womb being another for the group. They remained there, panting, recovering from their sexual highs.

“Well.” He said, his voice hoarse. “That was, something.” Bloodflow began to return to its normal circulation as he reached up to cup Stacey’s cheek. “I will never not find you sexy baby.” Carter grinned, then helped her to rise up to a seated position. As he pulled out of her, her panties slipped back to their original position between her thighs, already darkening as remnants of their arousal leaked out. “Do we need to worry about that?” He asked her, tucking himself back into his own pants before helping her down off the counter. The way her hands instantly shot to her lower back brought the endearment back out instantly, and his palm joined hers to apply pressure.

“Hmmm? Oh, I’ll clean the surfaces later, don't worry.” Stacey mused with a smile, knowing their night was only beginning. 

Now standing, the familiar weight of the baby dropped back into the bowl of her hips, pulling at her spine. Their love making had been passionate and thrilling, but her age and “pregnancy” made for a slower recovery. Her breathing was still a little heavy as her husband massaged the base of her spine. “Thanks darling, I’ve only been pregnant an hour and can already feel it in my hips and back. Baby is definitely a big one.” 

Their post coital quietness was rudely interrupted by the dinging of the timer on the oven. “Oh… that’s dinner ready then. Assume you're hungry after all that exercise?” She said coyly. 

“I am, and I can only imagine how hungry you are.” Carter grinned at her, then leant in to kiss her forehead. “Now, go sit down. You worked hard on dinner, I will serve.” He helped her to the table, pulling out a chair before retreating to the oven. All of it was ready, and Carter quickly made plates for them both. When he returned to sit beside her, he admired her body’s curves yet again. He knew her eyes were on him the entire time he worked in the kitchen, just as he stole glances at her. 

“Bob appetite baby.” He said. “Don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you.” 

“Did you just say ‘bob appetite’? It’s bon appetit darling.” Stacey couldn’t help laughing at her husband’s faux par. “I was thinking the same thing actually. The father of my children, still devilishly handsome, who enjoys pregnancy as much as me. It’s probably why we have four kids already, though perhaps we didn’t fully understand why until Caleb’s birth.” She ran a delicate hand over the full curve of her bump affectionately, clearly enjoying its weight sitting over her thighs.  

From his pocket, Carter pulled out Stacey’s phone. He’d seen it open on the counter, the app already loaded. Just out of her reach he scrolled, finding all the options. The lump in his throat threatened to come all the way out. There was no way they’d only do this once, so he wasn’t trapped on options.

As she began to eat her dinner, the brisket practically melting in her mouth, she saw Carter on his phone. Wait, no that was her phone. His grin told her immediately what he was looking at. 

“So…. What do you think? The app is amazing isn’t it. All the different settings.” She was ravenous, speaking slightly with a mouth full of food, eager to eat but also eager to talk about what would be happening next on their date night. “I haven’t looked at any of the birth options yet though, I got a bit too sidetracked picking the pregnancy ones.” 

That wasn’t entirely true. Stacey had taken a little peak at the labour and birth settings. From baby’s positioning, to events to trigger labour or water breaking, all the way to the length, intensity and sensations of the contractions - a painful to pleasurable scale. She didn’t need to spend long on the app to know how perfect it would be for them. After a quick glance she did swipe out of the settings, excited over the idea of Carter controlling the birth entirely, to not know what exactly would be happening added another thrilling layer to this whole experience. 

“Found anything that takes your fancy?” Stacey asked, shovelling another forkful of dinner into her mouth. The tone so casual she could have simply been asking what he wanted to watch on the tv that evening. 

“A few things.” He said, setting the phone down for a moment to combine his meat and potatoes onto a single fork spear. “I can’t believe they thought of all these. Baby they even have intensity slides for the ‘urge’ to push. Not the pushing itself, the urge.” While he wasn’t exactly the most tech savvy man, he did at least have a working understanding of phones. He tapped a few different options, scrolling idly as he experimented. Nothing was set in stone, and from what he could tell they could reset or even end the pregnancy at any moment should they decide to. 

“Oooo, baby head size? Length, weight, hell there’s a twins option?” Carter smiled deviously at his wife. “We can save that one for later.” After another few bites, he went back to the labor options. The amniotic sac had numerous options for it, thickness, capacity, even how durable it was. Carter subtly, as if he were just scrolling down a shopping app, slid the capacity to add twenty percent. At first it seemed like nothing happened, but then he felt the table get nudged, and saw Stacey’s bump which had been less than an inch away from the edge was now pressed firmly into it. “I think we are going to get into trouble with this app.” He said with a laugh. “There’s no way we will be productive adults when alone if we have access to this.”

“Ooof… I felt that. What did you do?” Stacey grinned, she readjusted her position on the chair so her belly wasn’t quite as pressed against the table’s edge anymore. 

“Ohhh nothing. Just wanted to give you more reason to waddle.” He winked at her, and continued to eat.

After Carter confessed to his impulsive fingers, Stacey could feel the excitement and thrill bubbling in her belly that had nothing to do with the ‘baby’ in there. Suddenly she couldn’t wait for things to get going, to have her husband quite literally throw her into labour. “You’re loving this already aren’t you?” She teased, her legs parting just a fraction beneath the table to accommodate the slight increase in her bump size from the additional amniotic fluid. 

Throughout their dinner Carter continued to scroll and investigate the app’s full potential. Sometimes he would tell her what he’d found, other times he just gave her a lustful evil smirk. The look in his eyes alone was enough to make her thighs clench with anticipation. After what felt like an eternity, both sets of knives and forks were placed together atop the empty plates. 

Carter rose from the table, grabbing his and Stacey’s plates. They’d deal with all those later, or at least once things kicked off and even mundane tasks became highly entertaining. While in the kitchen, he pulled out her phone again, the button to trigger labor was so, so tempting, but the buildup? He couldn’t think of anything sweeter than his memories with Stacey as they waited for progress. Humming lightly, he let the app start some contractions, Braxton Hicks, strong, but nowhere near their peak ability. It was only a few second delay before he heard the humming Stacey made in response, and he felt that lust grow yet again. 

“Feeling something honey?” He asked without looking, his tone indicative of his hand in her newfound situation. “Something like… little bits of pressure? Maybe the head nestling lower.” 

“Ooooh….mmmmh….” Stacey sat back in her chair, both hands either side of her swollen belly that was suddenly very tight. She hadn’t been paying attention, hadn’t noticed Carter taking the phone with him from the table. She was idly enjoying her simulated pregnancy and sipping her drink when her muscles began to clamp and squeeze. 

“Hooooo… okay…. This feels… realer than I expected. Not too strong but… they're definitely something. My belly is so tight now.” Stacey shifted on her seat, her legs wide on the chair as she rocked and held her bump, feeling and noticing every little change. “Baby does feel lower now… did you… did you start labour already?” 

She wouldn’t be annoyed if he had, she was just expecting a little warning perhaps. Not that she had any warning for any of her real pregnancies, but at least there had been subtle signs. This felt a bit abrupt. But she couldn’t say that was a bad thing. 

“Kinda.” He turned around, leaning on the counter for a moment as he watched his wife hold her belly. “Just some practice. It’s been almost two years hon.” He pushed off, coming to her side. Carter placed the phone, screen up, in front of her. As he leaned in, he whispered to her. “But maybe we don’t need practice. Just… jump right in.” He tapped the contraction button, the real contraction button.

Stacey sucked in a breath, mouth falling open as the contraction gripped her. Carter had no idea how strong it actually was, but the way one hand white knuckled the table, and the other shot to her stomach, he imagined it was strong. Her fingers enclosed on her dress, scrunching it up in her palm. It was, quite something. 

“Does that feel like old times?” He asked, planting a kiss on her head. “Baby wanting out and telling you as much?” The timer on the contraction was coming to a close, and even though he could extend it, that wasn’t what he wanted… yet. His palm found her rock hard womb, and rubbed wide circles. “Only ten more seconds love.”

“Mmmmmgh…. Hoooooo…” Stacey’s eyes had closed, already having to focus through the contraction, even though it was only the first one. There had barely been any sort of warning between Carter’s fingers pressing that button and the abrupt tightening of her belly. No light tensing, the echo of a contraction on the horizon like with a real pregnancy. No this almost jumped straight into the wave, as if she was already hours into labour. Her belly was a ball of iron beneath her dress, firm and tense, muscles squeezing inward and down. It was painful, but with Carter’s voice caressing her ears and his large hand possessive over her contracting womb, it was painful in the best way. 

Stacey released a hummed moan as it peaked and ebbed away. Slowly opening her eyes to find Carter’s face oh so close to her own. “You… you’re gonna be insatiable with this…” she breathed heavily, recovering slowly. “That was damn strong for a first contraction. I have half a mind to take that phone off you.” 

Stacey playfully tried to take her own phone back but Carter was too quick. Her swollen belly impeded her reach and it was gone before her fingers could swipe hold of it. 

The quickly disappearing phone was followed up by a passionate planting of his lips on hers. Eyes gleaming with love and intent, Carter knelt before her, already knowing just how soon the next contraction would come. Handy that, being able to set progress and timing. Stacey of course wouldn’t know till it came, or till his eyes no doubt glinted with anticipation. He put his hands on her, her womb returned to its softer, round shape. 

“I guess we need to decide what should happen tonight.” He said, as if she wasn’t actively having a ‘baby’. “Are we watching a movie?” Carter patted her bump again, he just couldn’t help himself. “Are we… going to the bedroom?” His fingers formed into a little claw, tips making circles as he rubbed. “Do we need to have a look at all your old maternity clothes?” So many thing, there were so many things he wanted to do with her, to her. His mind raced, and he just couldn’t decide what he wanted to do next with her.

“First things first…. Help me up?” Stacey asked with a resigned giggle, knowing from experience she would struggle to stand unaided. “They’re too low already, think I want to move around a little.” 

It was strange how easily they fell into routine; the way she moved, the way his hands never left her body, both Stacey and Carter slipping back into the familiar rhythm of pregnancy. They’d done this four times already so it was an easy shift. Carter hooked an arm around her waist, helping her to her feet. She had to pause once standing, the distinct movement within, of the baby dropping into her pelvis, caught her breath just a fraction. 

“Ooof…. This feels familiar…” she muttered, one hand on the table while the other rubbed the side of her belly. At Carter’s raised eyebrow she further clarified. “Baby’s dropped, that contraction must have moved them down, I can feel that steady weight right…. Yup, definitely between my hips now.”  Stacey could help but purr the last few words, knowing how much Carter would appreciate the information. 

“Mm, must be a sign that things are gonna go quick.” He knew that they wouldn’t be, no way on Gods green earth was he going to have Stacey be rushed through both of their favorite part.

Even though it was date night, the mum-of-four couldn’t entirely switch off and the thought of the messy kitchen creeped into her mind. “Can I just tidy the kitchen first? I don’t want to have to do it later, plus I kinda want to be standing for a little bit at the moment.” She said honestly, a subtle circling of her hips as she got used to the ‘baby’s’ new low position. 

“I suppose…” He said in mock disappointment. He too was going to be driven nuts if the kitchen was left a mess. Being proactive was important with kids, they’d learned the hard way with their first born, what gets put off till tomorrow gets stacked up with all of the other things they’d said they would do later. Thankfully Stacey’s mom had come and helped them to get their house back in order.

Carter helped her into the kitchen, hand never leaving the base of her spine. He’d gotten too used to her gait returning to normal, a situation rectified after her waddling led to their hips bumping into one another. It made him love her even more, getting to see all these little nuances again, her mannerisms that gradually increased in commodity through pregnancies. Before he let her do anything, he made her face him, and stared into her eyes yet again. He never was going to tire of doing that.

“You wash and I put away?” He asked. “I seem to remember this…” He rubbed her belly. “Always got in the way when you tried to put dishes in the cabinets.”

Stacey laughed, the action making both her bump and breasts jostle as she giggled. “Yes, the amount of times you man-handled me away from the cabinets because you thought I was going to - what was it, oh yes - going to squash them.” 

Stacey was still fiercely independent, even when pregnant, and often (perhaps due to sheer stubbornness) she refused to allow her condition to affect her day to day activities. Carter however seemed to get fiercely protective, not overbearing but cautious and fussing. His whole world was his wife and children so Stacey understood, albeit had the potential to get annoyed. 

“Fine, I’ll do the washing up and you can put everything away.” She rose on her tip toes, planting a kiss on the side of his face before twisting towards the sink. While she filled the basin with hot water Stacey felt Carter’s hands glide across her body, squeezing her hips before moving around to cradle the weight of her belly. His stubble grazed the back of her neck and shoulders, peppering kisses while he enjoyed feeling the weight of her womb. 

“Mmm… Stop trying to distract me Carter— oh shit-!” Stacey gasped, her belly abruptly and harshly turning to stone once again. The second real contraction stole her breath away and she gripped the sink with a low moaning sound. 

Even without the ability to see her stomach from his position, his hands felt it all. The weight he’d been holding was suddenly lessened as his wife’s body ticked another contraction off of the number before the baby would come. He quickly made sure she was supported, caressing her stomach with his hands as her hips swayed side to side against him. The rapidity of it was intoxicating, as was Stacey’s reaction to it. Carter found himself swaying with her, humming into her ear as kisses peppered her exposed skin. Nothing was said, until he felt her womb lower back into his palms, and her tensed body relaxed.

“Good girl.” He purred. “That was a rough one, is the level ok?” As much pleasure as he found in it, a nugget of concern remained. He didn’t want her to feel more than she wanted to.

“Mmmm… yeah… it’s okay….” She hummed a quiet response through the tail end of the contraction, her hips still swaying with Carter's, side to side. “I don’t mind their strength, it’s kinda fun, adds to the drama. They just come on much quicker than real contractions. Like I don’t have much time to brace for it.” 

They were both discovering this pregnancy pill and its technology together. It was a proper simulated pregnancy, which so far was true, but there were bound to be slight differences to the real thing. For Stacey, during her previous labours, her body could feel when the next contraction was coming. Perhaps a sense or instinct, or perhaps they just ramped up with a bit more of a wave. But these, these crashed through her womb like a thunderclap, sudden and abrupt. It wasn’t bad, just different. 

“You might need to be a little more hands on with these labours darling, than I usually allow.” Stacey said with a smirk. “If they continue like this with no warning, well, I won’t want to let you go in case one creeps up on us.” 

“I won’t go anywhere honey.” Carter told her. “I haven’t missed a birth yet, and I won’t be missing any.” He rubbed her back, then looked her up and down assessing. “You sure you’re ok to do the dishes and clean? I can do them while you lean on the counter.” He knew better than to tell her to sit down, but maybe he could secure a little comfort for her by making her not need to lean and bend. A thought occurred, he could make it so she wasn’t able to do the dishes. Too many contractions too fast. Perhaps a little encouragement from the app was needed.

Carter removed her phone from his pocket, and placed it on the counter, screen unlocked and visible for her to see. He didn’t see a way to alter the contractions buildup, perhaps that was a more advanced setting that in their eagerness, the couple had overlooked. No matter, there will be plenty of time to experiment. 

“Carter…What are you doing…?” Stacey’s eyes narrowed at the phone, glaring brightly beside the sink, her hands still resting on the counter’s edge. With joyous slow torment, Carter’s finger hovered over the screen. Then he kissed her, first her neck, then cheek, and in a moment of distraction she turned her head to the side and his lips landed on hers. She moaned pleasurably into his mouth and while her eyes closed… Carter tapped the screen. 

The reaction of her body was instant; the scrunch of her eyes, the sharp inhale through her nose, her knuckles white gripping the sink while her hips twitched back against him. The contraction raged through her body like a storm, tight and unyielding and focused. With her muscles contracting she broke the kiss with a humming moan, bending forward into the twisting cramp, her ass pressing against his hips. 

“Oooooohhhh…. Oh not f-fair…. Y-you barely g-gave me any t-time between those….” Stacey panted, instinctively shifting her weight side to side through her hips, her ass swaying against him while she rode out the contraction. 

“I know.” His voice betrayed the devious smile playing on his lips. Carter let himself lean into her a bit, the pressure of their bodies pressing against one another yet again in such a short time left his chest fluttering. “But if I give you too much of a break Stace, you’ll forget how it feels.” And I can’t help that you’re so damn sexy like this. He left unsaid. “Cmon, you know the motions to ride it out.”

Carter gripped her hips, making her shifting weight far more exaggerated and sensual than was necessary. But, he knew Stacey in her state would still recognize his enjoyment. He pressed with his thumbs, hard, digging into the muscles of her lower back as his hips pressed against her rear. Unable to actually see her belly from this position, Carter was left to figure out when it ended based purely off of her breathing. Her shoulders had curved in ever so slightly as she braced, and for a moment he could have sworn her knees wanted to bend as well. Too soon for that love. The baby is going to take its time. 

“I’ll give you five minutes.” He whispered after he’d seen her shoulders relax. “Five minutes, then we will see if the app is going to be gentle.”

Stacey released a long drawn out breath, lifting her head and straightening up after the contraction.  Turning around with a feigned glare of annoyance, she playfully bumped her hip against his body and stepped away from the sink. 

“For that, you can wash the dishes.” Her lips pulled tight, trying to keep from smirking. 

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Carter didn’t stop his grin, and recognized Stacey’s attempt to hide hers. He kissed her cheek and gently ushered her out of the way of the sink.

While Carter busied himself with the dishes, Stacey waddled around the kitchen island with her hands pressed into the base of her spine, arching her back and pushing out the full swell of her belly. Already she could feel the effects of the pregnancy in her muscles, the familiar straining and aching of carrying additional weight in the depths of her pelvis. But she adored the feeling, the changes of her body and the shifting of her centre of balance, of feeling just so… gravid. Even though she was in no way in control of this labour, the desire to move around and “help” the baby down was something unconscious and ancient. It didn’t matter that this was a simulated pregnancy or that the baby wasn’t real. Her instincts remained exactly as they had been for each of their four children. 

“Are you gonna warn me when the next one is coming?” She asked, pausing to rub the side of her bump, her eyes drawn to her phone that Carter kept in close reach. 

Carter sat the skillet to the side along with all the other dishes he’d done so far. Absently he shrugged. 

“Maybe. Though if you remember hon, I did say five minutes.” He looked over his shoulder at her, the corner of his lip curling. “Hope you’ve been keeping count, cause otherwise it’s gonna be quite the surprise.” He had been keeping count, and knew that she was about to be hit with another contraction. Thirty, maybe forty seconds at most. “Next one if I remember right… is going to be a bit more intense.” Carter quickly scrubbed a plate, then turned to face his wife as he dried it with the towel. His eyes scanned her up and down, lingering on her stomach as if waiting for it to change in some way. The kitchen was silent save for the steady breathing of Stacey. A calm before the storm, one that was rapidly forming and about to break loose.

The glint in his eyes was intoxicating, drawing her in like a moth to a flame. Stacey kept her position behind the island, needing a barrier between them or she’d lose herself in those deep hues. The not-knowing was exhilarating, even more so because he knew. Carter knew when the contractions would hit, how strong they’d be, what he had chosen for the birth of this ‘baby’. And she loved every second he gazed at her with anticipation. 

The only warning she had was the minute twitch of his lips but it wasn’t enough to steady herself before the contraction took hold. Stacey felt her stomach hardening beneath her dress, the muscles clamping together and pulling the weight inwards towards her spine. She gasped, clutching the bump automatically. 

“Ahhh….ooooooohhhhh Cart—” she couldn’t get her words out, the air trapped in her lungs as her body suffered the intensity of the latest wave. He was right, it was stronger, oh so much stronger. All of the weight inside her womb was pressing down, being squeezed deeper into her hips and forcing her stance to widen. Stacey’s body buckled, curling over the globe of her belly and grabbing the nearest thing in reach to hold on to - the edge of the kitchen island that served as a breakfast bar. Carter was over the other side at the sink, watching with rapped attention as his wife panted and bent forward. 

“Ohhhhhhh… there’s pressure n-now….” Stacey moaned, a deeper sound than normal, evidence of just how low the baby had dropped. Her fingers gripped the surface’s edge while her knees began to dip. The boulder in her hips demanded more space and she could only oblige - lowering into a squat with a husky groan and disappearing out of Carter’s line of sight. 

The unbothered saunter Carter did as he walked around to her side was calculated. His mind raced with what he wanted to try and what scenarios they’d dreamed of to play out. Left without a decision, Carter opted to simply experiment. He knelt by her, brushing her hanging hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. 

“Easy now hon. Pace yourself, you have no idea how long this might take.” He started to rub her back as he spoke. “Labor could be an hour, or, it might last until just before the kids are dropped off tomorrow.” Carter leant in, waiting for Stacey to raise her head. He kissed her, never tiring of the taste of her lips. “Can’t have you getting too exhausted.” That last contraction he was sure brought an urge to push, perhaps not one so intense that she needed to, but enough. Carter took her hands, and rose, letting his eyes linger on how she was forced to keep her feet apart now. The ‘baby’ was deep in her pelvis.

Stacey groaned as she stood, feeling every inch of the simulated pregnancy deep in the bowl of her hips. “Mmmmgh…. low…. feels so low….” Her words were breathy and almost musical in her constant soft humming. 

Carter guided her hands to the counter, only for her to snatch one away to press into her back. Her intoxicating movements and sounds kept distracting him from, well, everything. In his pocket, the phone buzzed. As he pulled it out he saw a notification.

PLEASE SELECT WATER BREAKING PARAMETERS

“Think you can hold on till I finish the dishes?” He asked, all the while pressing the very specific setting he wished to trigger her waters. Orgasm. “I promise I’ll only have one or two more contractions come before I’m done… maybe.”

“Hmmm…sure….I’ll be f-fine….mmmmh….” Stacey hummed, pressing the heel of her palm firmly against the back of her right hip, needing any sort of counter pressure she could find. “Just be quick darling…. Oooohh…. Cos this feels just like it did with Claire…. Just before I hit transition.” 

Keeping one hand on the counter and the other deep into her lower back, Stacey didn’t feel like she could even walk anymore. That last contraction had moved everything so low she daren’t step too far or move too much for fear of the ‘baby’ falling out. She knew it wasn’t possible, not only physically but also because the birth was 100% controlled via the app, but still that fear kept her feet planted on the floor. 

Stacey focused on her breathing, relishing the gradual loss of control of her body. This was really happening, they were actually doing this, the weight and size of her belly attested to that fact. The next contraction came quick, mere minutes after the last, and just when she thought she’d made it through - another contraction started before the previous had even ended. She growled, leaning her elbows on the kitchen island and swinging her hips around the insane pressure between her legs. 

“Ughhhhh…. Ohhhhhhhh—!” Her sounds were low, uncontrollable already. Her head was buried against her folded forearms, panting and moaning as everything dropped lower and lower and lower. The pressure was so real, undeniable and unrelenting, and getting more and more urgent by the minute. It was crazy how quick she had advanced; they were sitting eating dinner not long ago and already she was finding herself trying not to bear down. 

“Nnnghh— ohhhhh Carter—” Stacey whined, rocking her hips back towards the dinner table, her weight fully forward against the kitchen island. “I— ohhhhh—I think I wanna pp— puuuush— mmmmmh….” 

“Oh?” Carter was down to the last few dishes, the app sitting nearby telling him exactly what his wife was feeling. “Pushing is pointless Stace, but if it makes you feel better.” With no ceremony, he wiped his fingers with a towel and tapped the phone screen. On cue, he heard Stacey’s whine. Just for the fun of it, he’d ramped up the contraction, making the ‘baby’ demand progress while actually preventing her from making any. 

When he’d turned to face her, Stacey’s breathing was rapid, her knuckles white as she put a death grip on the countertop. 

“You pushing honey?”

His only answer from her was a low humming groan of primal instinct. Carter kept cleaning, wiping the final dishes before the contraction had ended. At a glance, the app said it would go for another full minute. To offer her a reprieve, Carter ended the contraction, stuffing the phone into his pocket once more.

“Ooooh—fuck—” Stacey eventually uttered, the contraction releasing enough to be able to speak. Her body was flushed, each pore overheating and over sensitive. Slowly lifting her head, breathing heavily, she glanced at her husband. He was still innocently drying the dishes, a false halo practically sitting above his head, but that smirk... She wanted to be mad, but the whole situation was too damn enticing. 

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to be pushing in the kitchen.” She stated plainly, her breathing still laboured, still recovering. Her hands moved, reluctantly letting go of the kitchen island and dropped down to cradle the weight attached to her hips. She would never get tired of this. 

Carter was putting away the final items, reaching up to the top cabinet easily. Stacey waddled over, staying close to the countertop just in case she needed something to grab hold of. “Is that what you wanted…. to see me start to push right here in our kitchen? Where we make breakfast every morning, have dinner with the children every night, so you’re reminded every day of the sight of your wife in heavy labour?” Her voice dripped with seduction, her fingers dancing up the sides of his waist across his shirt until they reached his arms and shoulders and she wrapped her hands behind his neck. 

“Hmmm.” Carter wrapped his arms around her, letting his hands fall to her bum before eventually resting on her hips. “I won’t lie.” He started. “Having an image in my head of you pushing in every room in our house isn’t a bad thing.” Carter grinned at her, especially as he felt the artificial kicks coming from her stomach. He made a mental note to investigate if they could make the baby more ‘active’. “Pushing in the kitchen, holding back in the pool, moaning while in the shower.” Every square foot of their home being the site of a birth wasn’t unappealing. 

The couple remained in the kitchen a while, Carter using her swaying hips to form an impromptu little dance. The moment made him think about their prom, all those years ago. He recalled Stacey with vivid clarity. Hair up in a braid he to this day couldn’t have figured out how to do, and a beautiful dress. Years had only made Stacey more gorgeous in his eyes. 

“We got a lotta real estate in here Stace.” He said, doing another rotation with her. “So where, oh where, do you think I need to see my perfect wife in heavy labor?” Carter's smirk turned devious. “I have a feeling, that your water might break soon…” He leaned in, kissing her, the heat of her breath making him shudder.

She hummed against his lips, from pleasure but also from the steady heavy weight in her pelvis. “Hmmm…. This house is so big, so many rooms to ‘christen’ with a birth.” She mused as they swayed, her fingers interlaced behind his neck, her body pressed against his as much as the belly would allow. 

Out of their four children, their second and third had been born at home. McKenzie was delivered in their bedroom, while Claire arrived a little unexpectedly in the living room. “Well… the bedroom and living room has already seen me pushing, so perhaps let’s try some different lo—locations—oh!” 

A sharp inhale hissed through her teeth, the next contraction coming on quick. Carter seemed just as surprised, perhaps their dancing and swaying had distracted him from the phone and timing the gaps between. Stacey’s knees immediately softened, her body pulling down while her hands gripped together behind his neck. “Unnnghhh…. Ohhhhhh Carter…..” she moaned against his chest, her knees pointing out as she dipped slightly. The bowling ball in her pelvis was pushing down, making her hips feel like they were being deliciously spread, widening for what was to come. 

“Hoooooo— the pressure— so strong—already—” her staccato breaths punching each word. The urge to push was insatiable, tempting, desperate, but she panted through it. Inhaling her husband’s cologne she pressed her face against his torso, clinging onto him to keep herself from being dragged under with the urges to bear down. 

“It’s different, isn’t it?” He asked. She didn’t answer, whether it was by choice or an inability to do so, he wasn’t sure. “No days of practice contractions, no slow build, just deep, intense cramps.” On cue, he felt even more of Stacey’s weight be placed on his neck. He let her, even allowing his own knees to bend ever so slightly as she tried to find the nonexistent comfortable position. “You’re doing amazing Stacey.” 

When it finally ended, Carter altered his grip on her. He stood by her side, one hand around her waist while the other dug out her phone. 

“C’mon, upsie daisy.” They walked, or in her case, waddled, towards the stairs. Just from the look in his wife’s eyes, Carter could see the regret. These stairs were the bane of her existence throughout all of her pregnancy with Caleb. More than once, he had made a makeshift bed on the couch for them both so that she didn’t have to climb. He was about to ask if the guest bedroom was preferable, but she looked so determined. That alone fueled Carter's next choice. His thumb tapped a series of buttons within the app.

URGE TO PUSH: maximum

DELAY: fifteen seconds

“What are you doing there?” Stacey questioned.

He shook off Stacey’s quizzical expression as well as the question. “Nothing. Let’s get you upstairs baby.”

Stacey gripped onto the handrails either side, looking up the Mount Olympus sized stair case, and groaned. “Stay close please, these stairs, I’m getting flashbacks.” She said over her shoulder, preparing for the journey. 

The Pill was realistic that was for sure; each step up felt arduous and impossible, exactly how she’d felt during those last weeks of her fourth pregnancy.  Each time she lifted a leg she could feel the baby sink into the bowl of her pelvis. It was technically her own doing, Stacey had chosen this ‘baby’s’ size and weight. In truth, she had glorified the heaviness and weight of pregnancy in her desire to re enact, forgetting just how difficult some tasks really were. Like stairs. 

One, two, three, four steps. Carter was close behind, his hands secure and reassuring on her hips. Then it happened. The strongest contraction yet. Stacey didn’t even make a sound, so surprised by the abrupt clamping of her womb. Her muscles were an iron band around her middle squeezing tighter and tighter. Automatically she curled forward, towards the pain, and her hands slipped off the handrails and slapped onto the carpeted steps above. 

“Ohhhhh fuck-!” She growled, lowering to her knees and spreading them wide across the stairs while her fingers clawed at the fibres on the higher step. 

Any semblance of control was completely lost in this moment as the contraction squeezed everything down! There was no riding it out or panting through, the demand of her body was crystal clear - she had to push and she had to push now! Carter’s hands were holding her hips as she gave a deep and primal push, sinking back ever so slightly towards his face, instinct taking over. The pressure was dizzying, unstoppable, and she moaned with a little hint of joy at each involuntary surge of her body. She was pushing, half-way up the stairs, it was ridiculous but fucking amazing. 

“Good girl.” He cooed. Carter allowed his hands to linger on her hips, giving her soothing pressure against the intense downward need of the ‘baby’. “That’s it, Stace, give in.” The view was stellar, one that no matter how many years they were together, he wouldn’t tire of. Carter climbed a step, gaining just enough height to allow his lips to plant a kiss at the base of her spine. The image of his wife pushing was far more arousing than he recalled, and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching around, taking hold of her gravid body in his palms. 

“This dress is too loose on you.” He said matter of factly. “How can we tell how much progress you’re making when there’s so much fabric in the way?” 

She couldn’t answer, the contraction was still at its peak, and wouldn’t fall for at least another minute. With a grin, he started to lift her dress. Stacey remained mostly covered, but his fingers found her bare flesh. Knuckles brushed against her inner thigh as he kept whispering sweet nothings, all the while her thighs quivered from the combination of his touch and the laborious task of pushing. The phone in his pocket buzzed, and he knew the contraction just hit its most intense point. With that in mind, he let his hand creep higher.

“Can you describe it?” 

Stacey opened her mouth to speak but only a lowing grunt escaped. It was as essential as breathing - the act of pushing - completely and utterly unstoppable. She marvelled at its strength, at her loss of control, the way her limbs and muscles worked in sync without any instruction from her mind. 

In the tiny gaps between pushes, she inhaled, gasping, and managed to say “…pressure...low… nnnghhh…full…” Attempting to find the words to explain to her husband what exactly she was feeling. 

Carter’s hands were soft and delicate between her trembling thighs, but it was too gentle against the raging storm of the contraction and the pressure moving through her body. “Push….” She gasped a request, but Carter misunderstood. 

“Yes darling, you are pushing, pushing so beautifully for me.” He purred over her shoulder. 

“No— ughhhhh— push against me—p-please— h-hold me—nnnnnnghhh!!!!! Can’t stop—” Stacey panted, rocking her hips forward and back with each surging push. She was desperate for counter pressure, for stability, kneeling wide and fragile half way up the stairs. She needed something sturdy against her body while she fruitlessly pushed. 

Carter rose, adjusting his position so that Stacey’s body would press against him whenever she leaned back. It wasn’t much, but he knew the exact pressure she was describing. He waited a moment, letting her rock forward and back twice before shifting his weight to meet her. Stacey backed into him, a gasp escaping her. The sound made it seem like she was surprised by the sudden intervention, even though she’d been asking him for it. Carter knew better, it was a sudden exhale of relief as her body finally had the much needed counter to her primal need.

“Only a little longer now.” He told her, leaning even harder against her hips. “Contractions coming to a close, unless I make it longer… of course.” Carter couldn’t help it, in all their fantasies they’d spoken of after Caleb was born, the idea of roleplay was at the forefront. Some darker and more taboo, while others were simply just fun. “Would you like that?” He asked her, running his fingertips across her back as a makeshift massage. “Need that pressure to last all night long?”

“Ohhhhhhh…. Yes…. No…. Dunno…. Oh god-!” Stacey breathed heavily, each word in sync with the gentle rocking motion and uncontrollable pushes. 

The feel of Carter’s body against her, providing blissful counterpressure in the depths of her spine and hips, was the only thing Stacey could cling to through the peak of this contraction. Keeping her from spiralling into a pointless round of guttural pushes. The pressure in her pelvis stayed strong and exactly in the same spot - no moving down, no peaks and troughs, not an inch of progress made even with her involuntary pushing. 

Mercifully the contraction began to ebb away. The contraction Carter had chosen, specifically selected, had added the overwhelming urge to push. She knew this from the smile in his voice, the way he purred over her shoulder, and the feeling of his arousal pressing against her back. 

“E-enjoyed that, did y-you-?” Stacey asked as she tried to recover, still kneeling half way up the stairs. 

“Almost as much as you did Stace…” Carter answered. “Don’t even try to deny how much you loved that.”

“As fun… oooooh… as that was, if the pressure stays like that all night, no breaks, well…. I’m not sure I’m moving from this spot til baby comes.” 

Carters fingers lazily played through her hair, lifting it off of her neck to give Stacey a much needed cooling off. He wanted her to cool down, because from here, this night would only get hotter. A single finger traced down her spine, taking a certain level of pleasure at her reaction. His hips felt her press against him, her spine arching ever so slightly. This would be a perfect moment for another contraction. He thought to himself. But, he would be nice. For a few more minutes at least.

“You aren’t staying here.” He said, firmly. Giving birth on the stairs wasn’t going to happen, because these stairs won’t give her what is needed to truly start labor. “Now stand up, and waddle that beautiful body to our bathroom.” Carter lifted her, taking control of the situation. Each step took almost a minute, and he had to resist causing more contractions in the process. Sweet nothings continued to be whispered into her ear as she made progress. 

“That’s my girl. Almost there.”

Stacey couldn’t help the huffing and puffing as they went up the stairs, her hands gripped on the rails even though her husband was holding her hips securely. Eventually they made it to the top and immediately she leaned against the wall, hands cupping beneath her belly, catching her breath back. 

“R-remind me next time…. to better plan for heavy babies… and avoid stairs.” Stacey smiled through her accentuated exhales. She knew the next contraction would be coming soon, whatever break Carter had pre-set the intervals to would surely be coming to an end. Her body felt hot already, sweat dampening the back of her neck, as if she’d been labouring for hours and hours. The thrumming ache in the base of her spine coupled with her overheating reminded her of something she enjoyed with the labour for each of their children. 

“Shower… I think I wanna get under the jets to help make these contractions a little less intense.” She said, pushing off the wall and waddling down the hallway towards their bedroom. The married couple had a large master bedroom complete with an en-suite that had a double occupancy waterfall shower head. And it was calling her name right now. 

While she walked heavily through the house Stacey pulled at her dress. Her skin was too sensitive, too warm, and she was desperate to free her gravid body from the confines of the summer dress. She managed to pull the hem up above her bump but the fabric was tight at her waist and chest and the zip was behind her. She couldn’t reach, not with one hand continually cradling her swollen womb. 

He was one step behind her the whole way. The sight was endearing as much as it was arousing to Carter. Throughout Stacey’s second, third, and fourth pregnancies, Carter kept himself next to or behind her. With their first baby he’d made the mistake of walking away and leaving her behind due to her waddling slowing her pace. She’d forgiven him of course, after he bribed her with ice cream and a foot massage.

The phone found its way into his palm, while his other hand reached out for her. Stacey’s dress was beginning to darken as a sheen of sweat soaked into the fabric. With the zipper pinched between his index and thumb, he leaned in close to her ear.

“A shower sounds perfect baby.” He told her, pulling the zipper down. Without the belly, the dress would have fallen to the floor with ease then and there. Instead, it crumpled, using the top of Stacey’s swell as a makeshift shelf. The image made him smile. “How about you lean on the bed? I’ll get the shower going for you.” Three quick taps of his thumb adjusted the settings for the next contraction.

Urge to Push

90% Intensity

45 second delay

“I’ll get you out of your dress first though.” He said as he confirmed the settings. Carter pulled the fabric up over her head, tossing the dress over into their laundry hamper. The phone went back to his pocket to free up his hands for some attention to her body. Smooth skin against his fingers, he leant to kiss her again. “Don’t have a baby while I’m gone.” He told her with a smirk, and walked away to turn on the shower.

“You’re the one in control here, not me…” Stacey muttered back with a returning grin. 

She planted her hands deep into the mattress, leaning forward to let her belly hang and take the weight off her pelvis. The bump was tight and low, her popped belly button pointing towards the floor as she moved her hips in large pendulous circles. The Pill was immensely realistic, she felt so swollen and feminine and gravid, something she only felt right at the tail end of pregnancy. But now, since their fourth child’s unexpectedly erotic birth, now she could really enjoy it and indulge in the sensations. 

Stacey hummed and rocked. The next contraction was surely on its way if the way Carter had looked at her was anything to go by. She daren’t take her hands off the bed, knowing by now just how quickly they came on. 

Her instincts were proved right not even thirty seconds later - her uterus suddenly clenching in on itself and squeezingdown. “Ugggghhhhh…. Oooooooooh….” She tried to breathe her way through the abrupt shift, the fierce tightening, the increased pressure. Her feet moved wider on the carpet, her back curved as she fully braced against the edge of their large bed. Without her dress she was left in just her knickers, her sensitive bosom hanging towards the floor in tandem with her bump which had risen up with the contracting muscles, warping it into an iron boulder. 

But no amount of panting and moaning was going to keep this contraction at bay. Whatever Carter had done on that damn phone was just as bad as the contraction on the stairs and she couldn’t help but bear down. A naturally low sound emanated from the depths of her chest, knees bending as her body pushed. She gave a long and primal push right into her bottom, nature and instinct guiding every hitch of her breath and squeezing of muscles. But unlike real labour, this push didn’t do anything. It didn’t relieve the pressure, it didn’t satisfy, it wasn’t “productive”. The baby remained right where it was, meaning the heavy boulder in her pelvis stayed in the same deliciously torturous position. 

From the door to the bathroom, Carter gazed at her with poorly hidden lust. The angles were simply all perfect, the dim light peeking though the fabric of the curtains making her appear almost as an art piece. Her back was arched just right, her hips pushed back as if such a motion would ease the pressure. A part of him wanted to mess with the phone again, to make her be like this for hours. But, he refrained. He’d already done far too much to alter the already pre-set labor. All he needed right now was to spectate, and enjoy. 

The contractions peak must’ve come on, because the shadow that fell across the floor towards him altered. Her knees bent, her gravid swell shrinking away from the carpet. That image alone was enough for him to grow aroused. Carter let her suffer alone for just a few moments longer, relishing that what happened next would cause everything to change.

“That’s it.” He purred. It hadn’t taken long to get the shower to temp, already steam was collecting on the glass surfaces closest to the bathroom door. “Sorry baby I couldn’t resist one more surprise contraction, just to set the mood.” Carter had stripped, a sensation his wife no doubt felt when he wrapped his arms around her from behind, leaning over to cradle her womb. Slowly, he helped her to rise, his interlaced fingers taking most of the weight from the baby off of her back.

“Mmmhm… you’re not sorry…” Stacey quipped, breathless from the contraction, but smiling. “You just like watching me trying not to push.” 

They waddled together, the distance from the bed to the bathroom a practical marathon for a woman in the middle of labor. Carter knew how to distract her though. Without the phone he could change no settings, not that he desired to. His desire was for her, and he knew that she was already well aware. They halted at the entrance to the shower, the steam and stone giving it some sort of mystical ambiance. Gingerly, Carter let the weight of the artificial baby rest at its natural position, his hands tracing from bump, to navel, to breasts, and then retreating to her back.

“Hold the wall for a moment love.” He commanded, though his voice remained as endearing as always, simply with seduction added in. Lips pressed to the back of her neck, finding new territory the further down he crouched. As he kissed her body, his thumbs hooked her knickers, pulling them down as well until they fell to the floor. He planted one last kiss to the base of her spine, then rose, fingers trailing along flesh the whole way. “Perfect.” Was all he could say.

Despite the warm temperature in their en-suite, Stacey shivered. Her husband’s feather-like touch on her swollen and sensitive skin prompted a physical shudder of arousal. Her hands gripped the glass doorframe of the shower as she lifted each foot in turn, stepping a little ungainly out from her underwear leaving the small heap of lace and cotton on the tiled floor. 

Stacey pressed on, stepping further into the large stone-tiled shower, knowing Carter would follow. Her wonderful husband would follow her anywhere, to the ends of the earth and back again, and with this rounded belly attached to her hips she knew he wasn’t going to be separated an inch from his beautiful wife. As the hot water fell from the ceiling onto her aching pregnant body, Stacey couldn’t help accentuating the moan of blissful relief - her muscles relaxing under the glorious heat. 

“Ooooh…yes…. Oh that’s nice..” Stacey hummed, swaying a little to get every inch of her body beneath the hot waterfall. Her hands had found their way to her bump, cradling it subconsciously - protectively, but also lifting it as she circled her hips. She was the epitome of motherhood in this moment, heavy and swollen and full of - albeit artificial - life. 

“Yes, it is isn’t it?” Eyes never left her body, mapping out every little detail as if his intimate knowledge of her wasn’t retainable. “It’s perfect.”

Carter stayed right behind her, first enjoying her body but then examining her as he always did when she was pregnant. In the shower he had the habit of watching her, making certain that she was ok. It was her joy that stopped him in his tracks. He didn’t need to worry, because the woman before him was the perfect person for him. He pulled her close, his desire pressing against her lower back as his arms hugged her to his chest.

“I don’t want this night to end.” He admitted, his voice a whisper. “I never want it to.” Hands found her gravid womb, and with delicate precision, he traced her faded stretch marks, the evidence of four separate children giving Stacey the badge they both loved, that of a mother. “Remember how we helped Caleb come along?” As the question came, so too did his fingers reach lower, finding that sweet spot between her thighs. “Think that will help here?” Carter rolled onto his toes, brushing her spine.

“Almost certainly.” She hummed, tilting her head skywards so it rested against her husband’s shoulder. If the placement of his hands weren’t enough of a giveaway, the feel of his arousal pressing against her back certainly gave the game away. Stacey arched her spine, the full sphere of her belly jutting forward while her hips went back, ass pressing against him in return. 

“I think you’ll find this… ohhh… this method wasn’t to help Caleb come along and more to try and stop his ill-timed descent.” 

“That's true.” He said, swaying with her, his hands never leaving her body. “You were so sexy trying to hold back from pushing, and when you pushed into my palm...” Carter kissed her again. “Maybe we can try to hold this one in too? After we make sure they start coming out.”

Stacey continued to sway beneath the rainfall of warm water from above, enjoying the feel of the jets on her swollen body coupled with the supporting embrace of her husband. His one hand stayed wrapped around her hips, lightly pressing between her thighs, while the other free hand roamed across her skin - over her giant bump and then cupping her full heavy breasts. When he pinched her nipple she gasped, shuddering with pleasure but wobbling slightly unsteadily. 

Carter’s hands were quick to respond, holding her close against his body, keeping her steady. “Careful honey, you’re carrying precious cargo.” His hand moved naturally and possessively over her belly, even though it wasn’t a real baby the instincts remained the same for both of them. 

The feel of his touch on her sensitive skin sent waves pulsing through her veins. Stacey’s thighs clenched, trapping his hand between them, craving more friction and more pressure. She sighed, long and lyrical, her head tilted under the water and against Carter’s shoulder. With her neck exposed he began to kiss just below her ear, delicate and slow, the coarse scratching of his stubble against her skin triggering every sensitive nerve in her body. “Ohhhh… Carter….” Stacey moaned, feeling every hard inch of her aroused husband pressing against her cheeks. 

His stubble shifted against her skin as he smiled. Hand trapped between her thighs, he was only encouraged to try harder. His middle and ring finger began to shift, playing with her lips. Carter felt her body shudder against his.

“Stace…”

He retracted his hand from her legs, savoring the whimper of disappointment. He found her hand, gently taking hold of it as he guided her towards the tiled wall of the shower. Kisses continued to pepper her neck and jawline before nibbling on her ear. As soon as both her hands were placed against the wall, his hands found her hips. Thumbs applied pressure to her lower back, a silent encouragement to lean forwards. Water rolled down her back, flowing like a river along the line of her spine all the way down to her ass. Carter took position, guiding himself in with intentional slowness. Her folds accepted him, and Carter was forced to take a sharp inhale as their second intimate entanglement in as many hours began.

The fullness brought a gravelled moan from her throat. Stacey leant forward, pressing her hands against the cool tile as she adjusted to her husband’s size. Thank fuck he had moved slowly, her already sensitive body might have blacked out with a harsh intrusion. But Carter was gentle, delicate, deliberate, but it was with intentional torturous lust behind it. He knew exactly how to make her squirm and shudder, and he knew how amplified the pregnancy would make things. 

Stacey hummed with pleasure as he moved, a slow pull back and gentle trust forward, as if testing the waters. She bent further forward, lowering her belly and spine just a fraction, seeking more of Carter’s appendage. “Hmmmm… d-deeper… ohhh go deeper please darling….” She almost whined. 

With a husky growl and nibble of her neck, Carter’s hands gripped her hips more forcefully before thrusting forward. The sound of their skin slapping was muted by the rumbling of the shower jets. 

It was at that moment they were rewarded with the next contraction and Stacey all but cried out. “Ooouuhhhh…. Fuck….” Her hands clawed at the slippery tiles as her belly tightened abruptly, muscles squeezing and lifting her heavy bump up, trapped by the iron band wrapping her middle. Every part of her body seemed to clench and press down, trying fruitlessly to aid a labour that wasn’t controlled by nature but by the phone left in their bedroom. 

Carter grinned, he was about to joke with her to ‘watch her language’, that ‘they were about to be parents and couldn’t say that in front of the kids’. The thought was seized when he saw her knuckles turn white as she tried desperately to grip the wall, to grab something, anything. Carter, both to torture himself a little but also to give her some extra pleasure, slowed his pace even further. 

“Contraction?” He asked, tucking her soaked hair behind her ear. He heard her try to say something, but it was interrupted by a grunt of effort. Her body was squeezing him, and even though he wanted to slow, it felt as if her body was calling to him, challenging him to keep going. Skin hit skin, and Carter grunted as the friction between their bodies increased. “Pushing, mmm, won’t help.” He said, taking a handful of her breast and giving it a squeeze. His voice dropped low, becoming more of a growl than a whisper. “But dammit I love when you push for me baby…”

Stacey’s palm lifted and slapped against the tile, pressing through her elbows and shoving her hips back to meet Carter’s pelvis. His groping, his primal sounds, the feel of him so deep it made her see stars. And then he mentioned pushing and she was completely lost to her body’s urges. “Mmhhhaaa… ohhhhh…. Can’t… can’t stop… p-pushing…..” She panted. 

The contraction, like all the others, was intense and powerful. Her legs were trembling and the weight in her pelvis was outrageously low. They’d been playing with The Pill not even two hours and she already felt simultaneously on edge of climax and on the cusp of birthing this pretend baby. With a shuddering gasp Stacey bore down on his instructions. It was instinctual, yes, but she was also very aware of how each push seemed to bring Carter closer to release. His hands palmed and squeezed and pinched her breasts while he plunged deep into her wide hips, drawing husky grunts of uncontrollable pushes from Stacey. 

Carter didn’t say anything, his mind and body too immersed in the moment to form anything intelligible. This was the sexiest Stacey had ever been. She was gorgeous and beautiful, but this moment, pushing as he was rapidly thrusting into her, this was the most intense any of their exploits had been. To think the drive-thru could be topped…

The warmth in his pelvis grew, the sign of his impending climax. There was no way to get closer to Stacey, and he hated it. Nothing was between them. Yet the need to be even more intimate and close frustrated him. A hand left her breast, finding the side of her womb. Hard as rock. He knew it looked larger now because she was letting it hang as she bent over, the weight of her womb trying to reach the floor without her. But damn if he wouldn’t let that visual of her body fighting to expel the fake baby build in his mind. 

His hot breath hit her neck, audible moans coming with them to match her own. The thrusts became frantic, primal need overtaking the kink driven intercourse. He found resistance, and even with his mind clouded, Carter knew exactly what it was. Not solid, but tough, with something concealed behind it. Knowing that each thrust against its unbreakable surface was too much to bear. A singular twitch, that was the only prelude they had. Carter buried his face in the crook of her neck, simultaneously squeezing her breast and digging his fingers into the side of her womb. 

Stacey cried out, her knees shaking beneath them as that climax Carter knew she’d been staving off bloomed into an explosion of pleasure and release. As he kept the expulsion of his own desires pumping into her, he felt her hand grab his, pulling his hips closer. Every time, she did that, not wanting anything to go to waste. Both of their simultaneous orgasms rang out for a moment long, then it all changed. She clamped down on him, and he felt an onrush of something hitting him before exiting her, momentarily covering his hips before the shower washed it all away. Her moaning had grown more intense somehow, and for the moment, he was the only one who knew why.

At first Stacey assumed the change, that feeling of release, was from the exceptional pregnant sex and orgasm. But her uterus was still contracting hard and she could barely breathe. The pressure had dropped so low it felt like the baby had fallen all the way to the kitchen downstairs. But Carter was still inside her body, still pulsing with post-love-making bliss, so she knew the baby couldn’t be that low. And yet— 

“Unnnghhhh…. I have… I have to p-push….” She cried out in a slight frenzy. 

The primal sensations overtook any cohesive thought. Normally the experienced mother would recognise the signs of her water breaking, especially considering the torrent that ejected onto her husband’s groin, but this was no ordinary pregnancy. And this was going to be no ordinary birth. 

With Carter still holding her tight, still buried inside, she gave a guttural push right down into her pelvis. Alongside the grunt of effort her fingertips squeaked down the tiled wall of the shower as her knees softened with the push. It didn’t matter that they were in the shower, that their bodies were still connected and intertwined, all she knew was she had to push and she had to push now. 

He felt it. Carter's arms felt her body contracting in his hold, but that wasn’t the exhilarating sensation that he was wide eyed at experiencing. He felt it. The phone was in the other room, so there was no way to tell for certain aside from their four previous births. Stacey’s dilation must’ve progressed instantaneously, or was already at its widest when her waters had broken on him. 

“Good girl.” He told her, his voice still strained from his recent climax. “That’s it, you can push.”

The pressure was intense, her body clamping down even as he was returning to his natural limp state. It was almost enough to reinvigorate him for round three, almost. He felt her lower slightly, and almost instinctively he took hold of her hips, still in position but keeping her steady. He had an adversary within her, forcing him out as she pushed. Fuck. He wasn’t ever going to be able to get this one out of his head. Carter decided it was best to remain right where he was, at least for the moment. Stacey, apparently, didn’t realize that her own orgasm had been the straw that broke the camel's back as it were. Her pushes were no longer pointless, they were purposeful, and progressive.

While the contraction held her hostage, Stacey could only gasp and push, gasp and push, over and over. Autonomy was long gone and all her focus and efforts were diverted to this one cause. With every grunting push their bodies inched lower in the shower, an unconscious slow motion to get her pelvis wider and more open by squatting slightly. She was working entirely at the hands of primal instincts - no thoughts or plans or intentions. 

Her whole body trembled with a roaring push, the action egged on by the purring encouragement of her husband, and then eventually the contraction ebbed away. Her breathing was heavy and rapid, control gradually returning, and god did her knees ache. 

“Hooooo… hooo oh my… that one was the most….intense…yet…” she puffed out, palms still cemented on the tile, still unaware of the specific sequence of events chosen by her husband. Her knees promptly checked out, buckling with exhaustion post-orgasm and post-pushing. Somehow she got down onto all fours and she immediately felt the loss of her husband slipping out from between her legs. 

Carter dropped with her, protectively holding her on instinct. The way she’d gotten downward was too fast, and he was afraid for a moment that she’d possibly blacked out. Her back was still arched though, and even now she panted through the pain and discomfort.

“It sure felt intense.” Carter said, adjusting his positioning so that he was beside her. “I think that might be the end of sex for now.” A smile split his face, growing broader when Stacey gave him a questioning look. He read her like a book, it was saying ‘What aren’t you telling me?’ Carter kept the little nugget of truth to himself for now, after all, maybe she’d assume the settings were altered when he’d gone to start the shower, or just not realize that progress was possible. Either way, Carter wouldn’t tell her until the very last moment.

“Here…” He said, placing the heel of his hand in her lower back. He pressed down firmly, making little circles as he did so. “How’s that feel?”

“Mmmhh… good… helps…” Stacey hummed, rocking slightly on hands and knees to adjust to the new weight that had settled deeper in her hips. 

The shit-eating grin on her husband’s face told Stacey that he had planned something, or at least knew something. What that was - well, she would have to find out. She knew giving him full access to the damn app would make him feral, only time would tell if she’d let him have control again next time or not. 

Even without a contraction Stacey’s words sounded breathy and moany. Any pressure she’d felt with each wave no longer disappeared - remaining heavy and unrefutable. “Oooof— god Carter this baby feels low already. For a second there, I thought it was going to deliver right here in the shower.” 

“Well that is an option.” He said with a one shouldered shrug. “But I was thinking we should go back downstairs”

The look on Stacey’s face made his grin only grow wider. He relished the prospect of watching her try to waddle downstairs while in active labor, especially seeing as he had yet to look this far into the app to see how the birth was meant to play out. His only alterations had been triggering her water to break and the extra contractions, as far as progress, he was now as in the dark as his wife was.

“Tell you what, love.” He said, rubbing a bit harder again against her back. “After the next contraction, we could try on some of your old clothes. I know a certain pair of leggings we both have fond memories of…”

Stacey laughed. Those leggings were a big part of the success of their fourth birth, managing to hold back from delivering the head as long as she did. Those leggings were also long thrown away. 

“I chucked them out, remember, they were ruined after Caleb’s birth.” Stacey said heavily, managing to recover a bit more to lift her head and sit back on her heels. “But I like where you’re going with this. I do have some non-maternity leggings we can use. It won’t go over this bump, but they’ll certainly be tight.” 

Carter helped Stacey off the shower floor, switching off the waterfall jets before wrapping her in a towel. It barely went around her circumference - the belly poking out the middle. Waddling back into their bedroom, both stark naked, Stacey made her way to the dresser to get the specific outfit she was thinking of. The next contraction happened while she was hunting through the drawers and she had to elbow the surface of the dresser and moan her way through it. The urge to push happened every-damn-time now, the baby felt like it was right in the bowl of her pelvis. Carter stood loyally behind her, pressing hard against her hips and encouraging her not to push. His words were gravelled and so sexy, and combined with the pressure she felt it was hard to stay focused. 

Eventually, and with only two contractions in the middle, they both got dressed. Stacey wore her regular black leggings and a long black and white striped tshirt. Carter meanwhile opted for a pair of athletic shorts and a long sleeve blue shirt with grey sleeves, his typical attire for being around the family all day. Huffing from the effort of getting dressed, Stacey automatically cradled her belly as she turned around on the spot - almost asking for her husband’s approval in her choice. 

“Come here often sexy?” He asked, the corner of his mouth twitching up as he cocked an eyebrow. A full intake of her outfit didn’t trigger lust as it had with the dress. It was endearing on a level he couldn’t explain, seeing the love of his life dressed so casually with a life growing inside.

“I know where I want to go next….” Stacey purred, slowly stepping in her husband’s direction until her rounded orb of a belly pressed against his torso. She lifted on her tiptoes, holding his shoulders to keep balance, and leaning towards his ear she whispered “Your office, downstairs.” 

“Oh?” He questioned, hands instinctively falling to hold her swollen stomach. “All the way down…” As he spoke, Carter slowly turned with her, the couple making a tiny circle. A waltz of two lovers. “That’s a long way Stace, and I don’t know how patient our baby will be.” His fingers found the edge of her shirt and lifted till he felt the warm flesh. She was still slightly damp from the shower, and he knew they’d both relish when she got soaked to the bone with sweat from the labor.

As if his thoughts had triggered it, the third contraction since they left the bathroom hit her. He knew before her face even changed, the muscles in her abdomen tightened beneath his palms a fraction of a second before her jaw quivered. Before him his wife quivered, no doubt feeling that urge to push again. She still didn’t know, did she? He leant in, already noticing how more of her weight was on his neck. She was trying to squat again wasn’t she?

“Hold back hon.” He told her, thumbs rubbing the rock solid sphere of flesh between them. “It’s not time to push yet.”

Her hands gripped the back of his shirt, bunching the blue fabric in her fists as she panted rapidly. Without thought, her stance was wide as she clung to her husband through the raging contraction, trying to withstand the pressure between her hips. 

“Mmmmghh… but… I want to push darling…. Ohhhhh god I wanna push….” Stacey practically whimpered, hips rocking and swaying around the iron boulder pressing down, barely managing to hold back. 

By the skin of her teeth Stacey made it through the contraction without pushing, at least, not consciously pushing. But as she moved again it was hard to ignore how much lower the baby felt. “Carter… I’m not sure if this is… right…. Baby feels so low?” 

“I know darling, but it’s not time.” He told her, bringing a hand up to twirl her hair between his fingers. “It’s just the urge, the labor is not moving along just yet. The app even says so, we have time before the baby comes. Let’s enjoy it.”  

Despite the reassurance, Stacey felt on edge, as she did with each birth just before things got serious. As if her body was on the precipice of something monumental. She might not have the app, or know what was coming, but she was certain of one thing - she didn’t want to deliver in the bedroom or the living room. Two of their children had been born in this house and she wanted to explore more unconventional locations with this simulation. So she waddled out the door of their bedroom, down the hallway, in an attempt to get down the stairs before the next contraction happened. But if she had been timing them, she would have known the mission was bound to fail. 

Carter remained two steps behind her, already anticipating the inevitable. He wasn’t dumb enough to try and stop her when she was so determined. But, he was smart enough to know that there was no chance of her descending the stairs without issue. Eyes examining her every move, Carter watched as Stacey tried to go down. Pregnancy affected her balance horribly, and while normally she was able to adapt over months, this short gestation seemed to still be troubling her. She’d started to step, paused, seemed to reassess, then turned to the side to go down one step at a time.

The tedious method reminded him all too well of when she was pregnant with their first. Constantly having to adapt to her own changing body was a skill that never ceased to amaze. Stacey managed four steps, and froze. White knuckled, her chest heaved, her stomach shrinking to show the outline of her womb. Mere moments before her knees buckled, Carter had looped his arms beneath hers, holding her upright.

“Breathe.” He told her. “Just a contraction like all the ones before. Nothing to it, and no pushing needed…”

Automatically her eyes closed with the sudden clamp of her womb and while her fingers gripped the rail Stacey was grateful for Carter’s swift reaction. This so easily could have ended badly, so easily could have fallen, but her husband - as always - kept her steady and safe. A groan came bubbling up her throat while her muscles clamped down, her knees widening and softening part-way down the stairs. 

“Hooooo—hoooooooo— Car—Carter—” Stacey moaned, her mouth hanging open to pant through the pressure. 

His soft soothing words in her ear did nothing to alleviate the desperate weight in her hips determined to sink lower. She grunted, unplanned and uncontrolled, her body bearing down with the contraction unconsciously. She only realised when she felt the fruits of her labour and an increase of pressure against her cervix. 

“I… ohhhhhh… I think it’s coming…? I’m…. I’m pushing….?” Stacey panicked slightly, caught entirely off guard with how forcefully her body was acting of its own accord. While they were stuck on the stairs. 

“Hey hey, it’s ok.” His reassurance came with a kiss on her cheek. Stacey was trying to squat, whether intentionally or not he was unsure. What mattered was keeping her up, and keeping the baby in. “Baby isn’t coming, the app is saying as much.” A lie, but one that was going to feed into both of their fantasies. To give his wife even more comfort that it was fine, another small lie came. “Your water hasn’t even broken, it has to before the baby will make progress.”

A slight nod was her only answer. Carter waited, holding her until it appeared the worst of the contraction had passed. The weight in his arms lessened, and he spotted her knuckles regaining color. She had absolutely been pushing, but a little fib to make her doubt whether it was true wouldn’t hurt. This pill was safe, and with it they didn’t need to worry about possible dangers. They moved, taking one step at a time. Stacey didn’t push him away, her independence taking a momentary backseat to make sure he was near enough in case another contraction came. Thankfully, they made it all the way down.

“That wasn’t so hard was it?” Carter asked, that shit eating grin he knew she loved plastered all over his face.

Stacey paused to glare at her husband, lips pressed in a thin pout. But the sparkle behind her eyes, the slight curve at the very edges of her lips, confirmed the underlying playfulness of the moment. She released a long and heavy exhale before responding. 

“T-they’re getting harder and harder to ride out.” Stacey mused while rubbing her belly over the striped cotton jersey of her tshirt, still keeping a hand out just in case she needed to grab onto something. “I can’t even speak through them anymore. If this was a real pregnancy I’d say we were long overdue calling for the midwife. It’s all so intensely realistic babe, the pressure, the urges.” She couldn’t help soften the last word, a breathy husky tone that she knew would affect her husband. 

His body betrayed him, a shudder rippling through him. It disappears as fast as it came, but even in that short span, Stacey had absolutely noticed. Maybe there was time for more fun…

They had to ride out another contraction at the bottom of the stairs before they could move to Carter’s home office. Her husband seemed to foresee the weakening of her knees and had wrapped his arms around her upper back and entwined his fingers together over her spine. When Stacey moaned and panted her way through the contraction, when her knees started to buckle, his strong arms held her close and she was almost hanging off his broad frame. The instinctual need to lower her stance and spread her legs wide was something so primal she barely noticed, but Carter certainly had. He took extra care after the contraction had ended to make sure her stance returned to a much narrower position. And god it made it feel so full. 

“As much as I love your waddle, you don’t need to be so wide.” He told her. “Not till I let you know it’s time to push.” 

Stacey’s eyes fluttered, almost rolling, and she held on to his shoulders for a second while she adjusted to the heavy bowling ball sitting oh so low in her pelvis. 

The office was in the corner of the house, opposite the kitchen. He tried to spend as little time there as possible when the kids were home, preferring time with the family. But, as it was, work did sometimes find its way home with him. Today the office wasn’t for work though, it was simply for pleasure. Walking backwards so that he could continue his support of Stacey, Carter pushed against the doors to open them. Double doors with glass panels led into the room. The walls were painted white, a row of books on shelves against the back wall with his desk sitting in the center. That was the goal.

“I think this is the perfect place.” He whispered to her. The couple made it to the desk, and simply from the counting in his head and the way Stacey’s body was trembling, he knew the next contraction was near. Mischief in mind, he pulled out the phone as she leaned on the desk, her rear towards him. Sure enough, another ten seconds, and she’d contract. He sat her phone down, screen up, and took hold of her hips. Carter leant in, timing his words perfectly. “You can’t push…”

With her head hanging between her shoulders, Stacey began to pant, faster and faster as the contraction took hold. Beneath her clothing the glorious orb of her belly had lifted and distorted, turning to stone and squeezing everything down. She whimpered, rocking her hips and moving her feet wider on the carpet. 

“Oooohh—ohhhhh— ughhhh!!!” The groan that slipped from her mouth was gravelled and breathy. She could feel sweat start to dampen the back of her shirt as she tried to hold off against the barreling urge to bear down. 

“P-Press—back— h-hard—” she managed to huff out in staccato breaths. She needed something - anything - to counter the overwhelming pressure between her legs. If she couldn’t push yet, the last resort was the firm weight of her husband to stop this contraction from taking over. 

He said her waters hadn’t broken, that the simulated baby wasn’t ready to be born yet - but fucking hell she wanted to push. She wanted to push so fiercely that it was starting to overwhelm all thoughts. Until Carter’s hands pressed hard into the backs of her hips, his breath caressing her neck from behind. And then she remembered the pleasure, the game they were playing. 

“That’s my girl…” He purred. Hips pressed against hers, he continued the deep massage in her lower back muscles. “Breathe, but don’t push.” Her legs were trying to spread again, and he could only imagine the pressure and need she had to do so. But it wasn’t time, they could have so much more fun before he let the path from her womb open up. With relative ease he put his feet on either side of hers. The action must have been noticed, because less than a second later her legs were trying to claim any open space they could. Carter remained firm in his position.

There were little noises, sounds so familiar to him that they may as well have been projected over a megaphone. Even though she tried not to, Carter knew she’d just given in. It was barely anything, but that little failed effort made a part of his brain click, a role to play, one that he’d put into action immediately.

The game was growing intimate again it seemed. Perhaps unintentionally, Stacey’s hips rocking led to Carter's body reacting naturally. It could be easily said though, that Stacey rarely had to do much to get Carter excited. Stacey took in a gulp of air, and Carter rightly assumed the contraction was gone. Gentle hands took her, and spun her around to face him. Red faced, sweaty, and exhausted, yet the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“You pushed.” He admonished. “I don’t remember saying it was time…” Carter looked her in the eyes, unblinking and focused. “I think I need to keep an eye on you, and check, to see if you moved things… too fast.”

“What… no, I didn’t push… I don’t… I don’t think I pushed?” She breathed heavily, her full chest rising and falling as she attempted to recover from the contraction. The waves were so close together it felt like she was continually huffing and puffing, sweating and waddling, it was exactly as she’d hoped. 

At her husband’s feigned sternness, Stacey pushed her bottom lip forward, a little pout. “I didn’t push.” This time more definitively, a little defiantly. 

With the desk now behind her, Stacey shifted slightly back, planting her ass on the very edge of the wooden furniture to keep herself upright. Her hands moved in large circles around the full sphere of her belly that stretched the jersey knit of her long top, and accentuating her breathing through soft pursed lips. 

“Baby is so low and heavy… they feel like they’re close…” she cooed softly, watching her husband entranced by the sight of her gravid form. “How are you going to check my progress, with these tight leggings on?” 

He blinked, momentarily taken out of the role he’d been trying to become. Stacey was just too damn sexy when she was like this. Her curves were begging to be exposed, yet for the moment, he knew they both wanted her to stay dressed. Carter stepped closer, hands planting flat on either side of her on the desk. Her belly stopped him getting any closer. Her scent filled his nostrils, and he savored the intoxication it offered. He exhaled, his hot breath breaking against her sweat-damp skin.

“I have my ways.” Carter told her, reimmersing himself. In a flash, he took her thighs, and lifted. Pregnancy added weight, as was natural. But dammit when a man was hungry for his wife he could do anything. Before she knew it, Stacey was fully on the desk, any paperwork that was stacked there was brushed away, and his laptop set far to the side. Carter stared at how her legs were forced apart by her belly, her forward posture making the underside touch the desk.

“Now.” He said, calmly. Carter gingerly pulled up her shirt to expose her stomach. Palm flat on its surface, he spoke again. “I need your legs apart.” As the words came, his hand crept down. “But don’t take that as an opening to push Stace. I told you, it’s, not, time.” He found the elastic band of her leggings, digging beneath them with his fingertips. “Can you promise me that?” Before she had a chance to answer, his lips were on hers, and his hand, found its intended target.

Her moan was swallowed by Carter’s hungry kiss, the growl from the back of her throat disappearing into her husband’s mouth. His lustful gaze, his hot breath, and soft caress had all cumulated into putting every nerve in Stacey’s body on edge. She was trembling beneath his touch, moaning pleasurably against his lips, all the while her legs parted to let his hand explore. 

His digits plunged deeper, and Stacey gasped, her hands rising to grip his shoulders - nails digging slightly into the blue fabric of his shirt. Everything was so sensitive, delicate, thrown into an ocean of arousal at the slightest of movements. The lingering pressure from the latest contraction seemed to be so low she was almost sure Carter would cross paths with that heavy weight. But as his fingers plunged he curled them slightly, his lips grinning against hers, and she cried out at the sweet spot he had reached. 

“Oooooh—my—god…” 

Automatically her thighs parted wider on the desk, simultaneously to allow better access and to alleviate the ache of her hips. Stacey ground her pelvis, trying to meet more friction, to seek more from her husband. But midway through her pleasurable humming a sharp contraction stopped her in her tracks. Every part of her body stiffened, tight, braced for the inevitable peak. Her womb seized, lifting her low belly from the desk where it had been hanging over and between her legs.  Every muscle clamped and squeezed, her breath catching on the painful pressure, made all the more intense with her husband’s hand, so deep, and practically trapped by her contracting body. 

“Ughhhhhhh— ohhh ohhhh-ohhhhhh nnnnghh! I—I’ve gotta push—!” She suddenly cried out. 

Carter let the silent debate in his head roll for a moment before the decision was made.

“Push.” He told her. The single word came with a curl of his fingers within her. She bore down almost immediately. He knew this was the first time she intentionally pushed, and the way her chin dug into her chest was perfect. He allowed her to keep going, only able to imagine the satisfaction she felt giving in to the instinctual needs of her body. He waited, after four kids he knew exactly how she’d shift when the contraction peaked. Stacey’s thighs shook, and he knew it was time.

“Now stop.” He said. “That’s all for this one love.” Carter's eyes were hungry and devious. This moment couldn’t end too fast.

Her eyes flew open, staring hazily up at Carter. “Wh—what?! No!” She gasped. 

The contraction had reached its peak and had only granted her enough time to take a breath - utter her words of dismay - before her muscles squeezed again. She couldn’t stop now! The contraction was still raging, the urge still screaming at her to bear down. 

She did it anyway, not fully taking seriously her husband’s instruction. With her teeth gritted and exposed, she bore down against her husband’s fingers once more. Desperately craving that satisfaction of a deep and productive push. 

Well, that was a mistake on her part. Carter remained silent, letting her savor this push. A quick glance over to the phone would have revealed his intentions if it hadn’t been for Stacey’s current condition taking all her attention. He reached for it. With phone in hand, he looked through the settings. He didn’t need Stacey to tell him the contraction was ending. The grip on his fingers loosened, and now that she’d done the opposite of what he said, it was time to get serious.

“That wasn’t a suggestion.” He told her, slipping his fingers out. His palm remained on her belly, feeling the baby shifting. According to the app, its descent was underway, the head finally starting to exit the cervix. Little dials and scales, as well as a virtual diagram of the baby’s progress filled the screen. A thrill went through him, as his thumb pressed on the dial labeled ‘progress’. “Let’s try that again baby…” Carter, slid the dial, reversing all the progress his wife had just made.

Initially Stacey whimpered, an automatic response assuming another contraction. But the feeling inside of her body was unlike anything she’d experienced; the pressure was receding but the fullness - oh god the fullness. 

“Ohhhhhhh….” She gasped, pressing her hands into the desk and lifting her hips a fraction through the peculiar pulsing inside her womb. It was as if her belly was getting bigger, rounder, and her thighs began to shake. Stacey felt the weighted sphere in her pelvis rise instead of sink - the baby was going— 

“Carter!! What have you done…? Hoooooo…. It’s going back…!” She panted her way through the disturbing reverse of sensations, the sounds coming from her chest were almost whimpers. It felt weird, wrong, and yet the continued stretching of her hip joints meant she still felt deliciously full, so it wasn’t all bad. 

“It told you little pushes Stacey.” He leaned in, putting his face so close that the smallest shift would inevitably lead to another kiss. “That, wasn’t a little push. So I figure, why not have a little punishment for not listening?” Carter was fully immersed into his role, ready to take control in a more dominant way. “It only makes sense darling. If the kids don’t listen they get timeout, if you don’t listen, you gotta start, all, over.” He smiled again, letting that kiss happen he’d been teasing. 

Their lips pressing together didn’t stop him from reading a few things from his wife simply by how she kissed. Over a decade of marriage would let anyone read more into the most subtle of changes in a person's behavior. She’d exhaled, a quick huff that he clocked as annoyance. Carter expected as much, so in response he sat the phone down, bringing his hands to the sensitive underside of her womb. Teeth tugged at her lower lip as he pulled away. She was pouting, and that made him even happier about doing what he did.

“You’re an ass.” She blew out a heavy exhale, slowly settling after the retreating of the “baby” back into her womb. 

“I had to show you I was serious, didn’t I? You’re just lucky that I didn’t have the baby stop halfway out. It is an option you know.” A wolfish grin split his face. “Now, promise to be a good girl for me, and only do little pushes, or maybe the progress will get even slower…” 

“Hmmm…” Stacey’s pout lingered, her eyes glaring playfully at her husband. She was annoyed, yes, the undoing of her pushing progress was bound to have that effect. But the annoyance was only surface level - in truth she was relishing the evening, getting to indulge in all their fantasies. It was clear from her husband’s tone that Carter was really getting into the role, a role so unlike his caring and thoughtful self but one of loving dominance. 

Well if he was going to play a role this evening, then she would too. 

Stacey fluttered her lashes, the pout on her lips turning coy, and she gently let her hands roam and caress the front of his shirt. “I’ll try not to push… I’ll be good.” She purred. Usually fiercely independent, Stacey played up the submissive role with sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks. “It’s just… when the baby gets that low, it is hard not to push. My body wants to push so badly.” As if to tempt him from his role Stacey widened her thighs on the desk, sliding to the edge and pressing her full swollen belly right against his torso. 

Carter leaned over her, feeling her womb press against him. It was an impossible task before him, trying to keep himself immersed without melting like putty between his wife’s honeyed words. He wanted her again, and his body knew it. Lips found her neck, and the heat of her breath against his skin only made that urge grow. Carter was huffing as he whispered into her ear.

“I know.” He purred. “But we don’t want the baby coming love… slow, so, so slow. I want you to feel every centimeter as it goes down.” His palm found her crotch, massaging over the fabric of her leggings. “I can’t have you missing the sensations like you did when I broke your water…” 

The words hung in the air and Stacey almost missed them; too distracted by the teasing movements of her husband’s thumb over the stretched Lycra of her leggings. 

“Wait— what?” She breathed heavily, trying to focus through the sizzling pleasure between her thighs. But she couldn’t question Carter any further, her round belly seizing abruptly and she gripped his shoulders with a gasp. 

“Shhhh, shhh. Feel that?” He grinned. “You think it would feel like that with the amniotic sac?” Her tightening womb flared his desires, making his body shudder. “Be a good girl, and give me one, little, push…”

Stacey was already panting - whether from the contraction or arousal, she didn’t know. With her head tilting skyward, her husband’s lips grazing her neck, her body complied without question. All the tension, all the pressure, moved south. She grunted, the push drawing out those delicious primal sounds that made her husband feral. Hell, it made her feral too. Fuck, she loved pushing. Even more so when it was against Carter’s large palm. She lifted a fraction, tilting her pelvis towards him and pushed against his perfect counterpressure. As the ‘baby’ moved, her efforts fruitful, she moaned beautifully. 

“Ooooohhh Carter…. That’s… that’s why it feels so… so…. looooooow….. no fluids… this is all just—ughghhh— the head is coming d-down…” she sang through the moan, grinding down on the desk, and taking another breath she prepared to push again with the current contraction. 

“That’s right.” He groaned. “The heads coming down, almost too big for you isn’t it…” Carter pressed his pelvis against her, her inner thighs telling her what she couldn’t see. Maybe there’s time… Carter applied pressure with his palm, the heel of his hand finding her most sensitive spots. 

The contractions peak left his wife panting, but she was waiting, waiting for his approval. The hungry look in his eyes would have betrayed the temptation to make her hold back. The beautiful agony she’d experience would be such a turn on for them both. The mere thought made him want to rip her clothes off here and have sex on his desk. Desperate eyes stared up at him, pleading, she was doing so well at holding back. But even in this role, he wasn’t so cruel that he’d force her to go with no progress.

“Push.”

The word barely left his mouth before Stacey was giving it her all. Her knees lifted, belly firm and tight as she curled forward with the effort of bearing down. “Nnnnghhh!” 

The heat between them, the sexual tension, could be cut with a knife. And yet Stacey’s body was on an instinctual drive, automatic clenching and squeezing of muscles against the solid weight between her hips. Her waters had already gone - Carter hadn’t told her when or where but it must have been in the shower. She’d have noticed otherwise. The pressure on her cervix was astronomical and she was surprised she hadn’t realised it wasn’t the cushioning of fluid but the firm hard skull of the ‘baby’ that was wedged there. 

“Oooooh—ohhhhh—nnnnghh— oh god!” Stacey gasped at the end of push. All her efforts were on bringing this baby through to the birth canal, so much so that as she released the push she slipped backwards, no core muscles to keep her upright. 

Hands took hold of her, gripping beneath her arms to prevent Stacey from falling down to the desk. No matter how immersed into a role Carter might become, there was no chance he would allow Stacey to even have the chance of getting hurt in the pursuit of their pleasures.

“I’ve got you hon.” He said, the mask of a dominating lover slipping for a moment.

“Mmmh… c-can I move? It’s h-hard to push p-properly like this…” Stacey breathlessly asked. The question partly in her submissive role but partly because she’d need assistance to move with the near-constant contractions and the sheer size of the baby in the bowl of her pelvis. 

“Oh?” Carter cocked an eyebrow. “Asking instead of just doing?” He didn’t lean closer to her, instead, he pulled her towards him, forcing her to sit upright in what he could only imagine was an uncomfortable position with the baby so low. “You’re learning love. Let’s get you a new position then…”

He helped her to scoot off the desk, her stance forced wide due to the baby’s low movements. She’d started to turn, to lean on the desk in what he knew she would find more comfortable. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Carter held her from behind, his arousal pressing against her lower back. Hand between her legs, as if he was concerned the baby would come, he spoke again.

“I haven’t told you what position yet baby.” Carter guided her away from the desk. “I think your only support right now, should be me. No desk to hold, no chair to lean on.” He kissed her cheek. “You bend over and this will end up like the shower all over again…” Not that he’d complain, and for her to be actively pushing? Well that would have been quite the experience. “I’ll make a deal with you.” He lifted her striped shirt, fingers brushing against the nub of her navel. “If you can orgasm, then I’ll let you lean on the desk for a few contractions. Deal?” 

She nodded, breathing heavier from the effort of standing. “Okay y-yes… oooof…mmmhh…” 

At this point the phone was an afterthought, an extra whimsy for him if the mood struck. Perhaps after another contraction or two he’d tweak settings, but this slow progress was far too delicious to alter just yet.

Stacey’s head fell back against her husband’s shoulder, his hands possessively wrapped around her body - one splayed across the firm globe of her belly while the other dipped beneath its curve to cup between her wide legs. “Mmmnh… baby is so heavy, so low… I can feel it-” She hummed, circling her hips slightly, the movement highlighting just how hard and aroused her husband was as his hips mirrored her own “-just wedged there. Ooof— it’s huge!” 

They barely had thirty seconds of this intimate swaying before the next contraction, the first one standing in a while. As she stiffened, Carter growled a pleasurable noise in her ear. “Hold it.” He whispered, her body tensing and tightening beneath his hands. Her knees widened and shook automatically, the barreling pressure reaching new heights aided by gravity. Without anything to lean on, to bend over and brace, Stacey was stuck in her husband's arms while she panted frantically. 

“I… I wanna push….mmmmgh…” she whimpered, trying to fight the urges to bear down. Lifting her arms up and behind her head, she grasped on to her husband any way she could - looping her fingers behind his neck. 

Her preferred labouring position was always to curl forward - on hand and knees, bracing walls, or leaning over the bed or couch - to ease into each contraction and help it progress. But here, now, she was the complete reverse; Carter standing behind while her body arched uncomfortably backwards like a crescent moon, her bump sticking so far out like it was orbiting the couple. It was doing nothing to aid the ‘baby’s’ journey through her birth canal but that didn’t mean the desire to push was any less urgent. 

Stacey hissed through her teeth as the contraction fast approached its peak. “I—I need to push— Car-Carter I have to push—” But still her husband didn’t give the word, didn’t tell her to bear down. In desperation to continue holding back she uttered the shaky words “touch me!”, knowing if she wanted to push in her preferred position she’d need to climax first and there was only one way that was happening. 

One hand stayed dominantly between her legs but Carter slowly moved his other hand over her low and contracting bump, beneath her clothes, towards her sensitive breasts. She moaned, almost shuddering, his fingers brushing over each nipple. 

“I know you want to.” He mused, placing emphasis on how her pushing was a choice. Of course at this point he knew to resist was an impossibility, but watching and listening to her try to hold back was a pleasure unto itself. “But you can’t. Not yet…”

Between index finger and thumb, he pinched her breast, the warmth of her milk coating his fingertips. Simultaneously, he straightened his other hand between her thighs, lifting it up to press against her opening. The fabric did nothing to conceal her desire. And Carter didn’t care if that was just leakage of the excess amniotic fluid or actual sexual fluids, his wife was dripping beneath his touch, and that was exactly what he wanted. The hand between her legs moved back and forth, making a sawing motion that with her increased sensitivity would drive her mad. He’d done it before, and adored the result. 

“That’s my girl.” He purred into her ear. “I can see you thinking you’ll get away with pushing a little… I suggest, you don’t try that.” His middle finger curled between her legs. “Be a shame if I have to punish you again.”

“Oh god, Carter!” She mewled. Stacey bent her legs without thinking, sinking onto his flattened palm, chasing friction and grinding down. Pleasure thrummed through her veins, reaching almost the same intensity as the need to bear down. Every part of her body was trembling, her chest heaving as she gasped for air, stuck beneath the devilish ministrations of her husband’s hands. She was on a knife edge with no idea which way she’d fall. 

He squeezed her nipple in tandem with additional pressure between her thighs, Stacey shuddered before grunting a moan. “Oh no… I’m gonna… p-push…” Her words were a frantic whine laced with unbridled enjoyment. She was desperately clinging on, trying to hold back, but there was just no distinction between her body’s demands. There was no way she could do one and not the other. If she climaxed, she’d most definitely push. 

“Not. Yet.” He growled. Carters hips pressed against her, his arousal undeniable. This torture was so, so sweet. Milk was leaving Stacey’s shirt soaked, almost as if their son was in the other room crying and she responded in kind. The warm fluids coated his fingers as she whimpered. He stretched the moment, three seconds, five… Carter decided that now, she deserved a little relief. Fingers dug in, the fabric of her leggings only barely preventing him from penetrating deep inside. As it was, he still found some depth. In the same moment, he moved his hand back and forth with speed, his breath exhaling against her sweat damp neck. 

Stacey careened right over the edge, any hope of holding back promptly evaporating. Her inner muscles clenched, a sharp gasp catching in her throat, the climax taking hold. “Ah…ahhh…. Carter—yes—!” With trembling knees she held on tight, her fingers still looped behind her husband’s neck above her head. With the crescendo of pleasure spasming between her thighs, her womb clamped down in tandem, taking the opportunity and pushing along with the orgasm. 

The result of her combined arousal and pushing was felt instantaneously. The heavy boulder in her hips shifted lower, splitting her pelvis apart, forcing her knees to bow. The simulated baby was dropping even further, even closer to the exit and she groaned with pained pleasure at the increased fullness. 

The drop was anticipated. Carter's hand between her legs held firm, preventing his wife from dropping to all fours in order to open up for pushing. This was still early in the active stage of labor, and he knew as much as her body wanted to rush, Stacey would want it to move slowly. Or would she?

“Don’t hold your breath.” He told her, letting his own knees buckle to give her just a little more space to work with. “Feel it dropping down?” Of course she did, her moans were enough evidence of that. “I’m sorry I had to punish you love.” The contraction was ebbing, as it did, he guided his laboring wife to the desk so he could place her hands on it. Before he let go, he tucked her hair behind her ears. Sweat dripped off her nose onto the stained wood top, her exposed womb still open to the air. Carter was forced to bottle his lust for her. He moved, leaning on the desk in a nonchalant manner.

“You did good, you listened.” He smiled, showing just enough teeth that told Stacey he was enjoying playing this part far more than either of them could have anticipated. “And when you listen…” Carter turned on the phone screen, letting it be in plain view for Stacey. “You get a reward.” His finger found a slider, next to it, a depiction of a uterus and birth canal, with the artificial baby’s progress. He moved it, to just behind the opening.

With her hands on the edge of the desk, Stacey settled into her much preferred position, watching the way her husband’s eyes sparkled with the reflection of the phone’s light. Or perhaps it was pure glee. As his fingertip rose from the screen she felt something change deep inside her womb. She hadn’t seen what he’d selected, only that a decision had been made. But she was soon to find out; immediately her swollen belly seized, tight and firm, outlining the shape of the artificial baby inside. It was strong, almost like a contraction, but somehow not. 

“Ohhhhh… ohhhh something's happening… mmmmhh…” she moaned, leaning into the desk and lowering her head slightly, her ass naturally shifting backwards and opening her pelvis more. “Ahhh… oh it’s moving… down! Oh wow….” 

Stacey couldn’t help the lengthy breathy moans as whatever setting that had been chosen activated. The bowling ball between her legs was sinking - heavier, deeper, closer. Without thought her feet slid apart on the carpet, widening her stance instinctively around the hard skull that now felt dangerously close to appearing. 

“I’m… I’m not pushing… oh but it feels like it’s coming out… unghhhh….” Stacey almost purred the moan, overwhelmed by the sudden fullness that was making her aroused again already. And brought with it the desire, but not a need, to push. 

He cupped her cheek, running a lover's thumb across it. Using the smallest implication of force, he lifted her gaze so they could lock eyes. 

“It’s going to try and come out.” He told her. “It’s right there, between your legs.” Carter's smile became more genuine as memories of the drive thru played on repeat behind his eyes. He recalled this exact moment there, where he’d placed his hands, what he’d done while she pushed, the pleasures they both felt as a result. He wondered inwardly if such pleasures should be repeated, if Stacey’s body could handle even more erotic pleasure. His hand dropped from her cheek, and he pushed off the desk.

“Now, I could let it go smoothly.” He said, circling her. As he did, his fingertips graced along the exposed flesh of her belly and lower back. “But I think that would be too nice.” The gap between her shirt and skin spread as he slipped his hand up, middle finger finding every bump of her vertebrae. The shudder she gave in response fueled his own need for intimacy. He found her shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he leant in to whisper in her ear. “What do you think baby? Should I be nice? Or will you be naughty?”

Stacey was practically panting. The thrumming pressure combined with Carter’s teasing touches was deliciously intense. She could feel his warm breath on her sweat-dampened neck, the rough callouses on his hands as he glided up the smooth skin of back. 

“Mmmhh… I… I just wanna push Carter… I don’t care if I d-don’t make progress I just— oooohhh I want to feel… damn it’s right there!” Stacey groaned, her knuckles squeezing the edge of the desk, the fullness between her thighs was so tempting, calling at her to bear down. “P-please let me p-push properly.”  

Carter took his time to think on it. She did ask nicely, as he’d told her she must, and she was in what he remembered as the hottest part of the whole ordeal. The phone was stuffed into his pocket, the next alteration wouldn’t be till a very specific point was reached. So all his attention could be on the moment about to unfold.

“Ok.” He said, slipping a palm between her opening thighs. “Push for me…”

A sharp inhale, a minute adjustment of her legs, and then Stacey was pushing. A deep and forceful push, a productivepush. “Nnnnghhh!!!” Her teeth were bared, gritted, as all her efforts sank down through her pelvis. It felt so damn satisfying she sighed an enjoyable exhale at the end of the push before taking another deep breath and going again. 

Her husband’s hand was cupped between her legs, keeping her stance suitably wide, but crucially applying counterpressure through her tight leggings against her sensitive opening. Stacey found her hips dipping slightly, grinding and pressing down against his palm as she pushed again, feeling the baby move down while Carter’s hand pressed up as if to meet it. She was so beautifully full. So heavy and swollen and gravid and now pushing into her husband’s firm hand. It was exactly where she wanted this evening to go and was determined to enjoy every second of it. A low grunt of pure primal effort rattled from her throat as she beared down, feeling every tiny millimetre of progress, the baby sitting heavier against her labia and beginning to peak through with the push. 

The pressure against his hand increased, and the delight along with it. Her body was trying to open around the head, but with the size they’d set, even the added effort from her openly pushing was doing little to progress it. Even if it did start to poke out, Carter would simply have held firm. So many unmedicated births, and Stacey still shook when bearing down. Carter supposed that no matter how many children they had, her body would always react like this. That, was more than ok with him. 

“I can feel it.” He said, gently patting the solid mass bulging in her leggings. “It’s right there love, trying to escape.” Carter found her stomach again. “I think it’s safer in there, don’t you? Maybe we should try to hold back a bit, let this moment stretch.” As the words came, the contraction finally ebbed, and he emphasized by pressing firmly where the baby was descending. 

A whimpering sound rumbled behind Stacey’s closed mouth. When the contraction released her muscles stopped pushing and with the relaxation - along with Carter’s gentle nudge - the baby slipped back slightly. It was still undeniably there, just behind her skin, sitting heavy and oh so ready. 

“I forget… how intense this bit is.” She mumbled, catching her breath back. “When they are this close, but not quite crowning, it’s like— hmmmm…. It’s like nature takes over. My body working on pure instinct.” 

Slowly Stacey circled her hips, a tentative move to really feel just how low the ‘baby’ was nestled, to appreciate every ounce of fullness. Usually, with a real baby, there would be a sense of urgency and need to deliver quickly and safely. Especially once this point had been reached. But now, now there was no risk to an infant or Stacey. Right here and now was purely about pleasure and fantasy and exploration. Her husband’s choice of words echoed in her mind. Stretch. Yes, soon her body would be stretched thin around a baby. The implication behind Carter’s words was clear - this birth was going to be a long and slow progress. 

Slowly, Stacey righted her body, letting go of the desk to stand straighter. Somewhat. Carter’s hand stayed between her legs, reluctant to let go. 

“Yes, it’s definitely safer for them to stay inside a little longer.” Her words purred with emphasis. “You’re right. You’re the boss.” Stacey added, appealing to the dominant role Carter was so eager to play. “And…. Perhaps as the Boss, you should take a seat at your desk.” Her eyes twinkled with delight. 

“Mmm.” Carter hummed, weighing the prospect. A show would be nice, and with the tightness in his shorts, sitting would be preferred. The smallest application of pressure between her thighs before pulling it away was his answer. Revelling in the stifled yelp Stacey made, he distanced himself. 

“I think I will.” He said. The office chair had been pushed aside not long before. Upon first entering the room Carter had debated having Stacey sit in it while he leaned on the desk, watching her embrace the beautiful agony as the ‘baby’ emerged between her thighs, its gap shrunken by the leather of the chair and the gravidity of her womb. The mental image left him salivating. He pulled the chair forwards, sitting himself down facing her. The phone was on his lap, as was the obvious evidence that he was still in fact very in love with his wife. 

“I don’t think you should use the desk for the next few contractions honey.” He told her. Absently the phone was unlocked, and the settings opened. Not yet. Not just yet. Carter resisted the urge to enact his plan. They needed some more fun first. “Come here love.” His wife took a moment, gathering her strength he assumed. The second her hands left the desk, they were cradling her stomach, one reaching even further to that growing mass between her covered thighs. The devious side of him couldn’t help itself. As soon as she was standing in front of him, he smiled up at her. Carter, triggered a contraction.

“W-what?” She’d only had a moment to glance at the phone before the contraction hit full force. With no build up, Carter was able to watch her body alter. Stacey was forced to double over, and he caught her, placing her hands on his shoulders. The position left him with an eyeful of cleavage and a rock hard hanging belly. With those in front of him, he had to fight to keep eye contact with her.

“Push for me.” He said. “I won’t stop you…”

But Stacey was already bearing down. The choice wasn’t hers to make anymore. Immediately her legs trembled and widened, her fingers squeezing Carter’s shoulders, and a deep primal force squeezed deliriously low. The whimpering groan in her throat transformed into a grunting sound of effort. 

With how low the ‘baby’ was in her pelvis, the absurd width of her gait, she was practically standing over Carter's legs, bent forward at the hip as she braced against him during this intense contraction. Their faces were mere centimetres apart, both flushed and heavy breathing for entirely different reasons. Stacey’s mouth hung open with another push, eerily silent this time as she bore down with such focus she lost herself for a moment. The pressure was growing between her thighs, that firm and heavy weight slowly parting her body open more and more and more. She could feel every iota of progress happening beneath those tight black leggings, the skull of the ‘baby’ bulging and retreating with each individual push. After four kids already, every second was familiar, her body knew exactly what to do. It also recognised every slight change of sensations and she gasped at the end of a forceful push. 

“Ughhh… c-crowning… oh god….mmmmmh…” Stacey moaned with a wobbling tone of pain and pleasure. 

Carter knew she was telling the truth, Stacey’s experience was not in question. However, that didn’t prevent Carters hand from finding the evidence of that crown. His eyebrows rose slightly as he realized just how big the ‘baby’s’ head was. It was one thing to see the measurements on the app, but feeling how completely it filled his palm was a whole other experience.

“Good girl.” He told her, patting the bulge as if it too deserved praise. “Don’t let it slip back in, you’ve made so much progress.” She was finally there, the stage where she was at her most beautiful. The concern was empty, there was no chance of the ‘baby’ slipping back in. Carter enacted his plan, the role he played and his own desire for what happened folding in to become one thought. The phone screen was back to the control, where only a little while ago he’d reset her progress as punishment. What he was planning now was no punishment, it was ultimate pleasure. A single toggle, and the ‘baby’ ceased to move. No progress, no loss, its head was trapped at a full crown. 

“There.” He told her. “Now it won't slip back in. But, it’s not coming out either.” 

She looked confused, or simply exhausted, Carter had a hard time differentiating. Stacey was still panting as her body recovered. He felt the trembling in her fingers, and saw the shaking of her thighs. A full crown, trapped until he changed it. He sat the phone aside, bringing both his hands to her belly.

“See, I was thinking.” He spoke slowly, letting each word sink in as Stacey battled her body’s needs. “We had sex, a few times… we both had our fun and finished together. But then, just a few minutes ago, you finished, without your husband.” His grin grew wolfish. “I don’t know if it’s fair to be uneven in that, do you?”

Stacey shook her head, unable to speak, panting through the sheer fact a large ‘baby’ was at a full crown between her legs. She knew Carter wasn’t asking for penetrative sex, his hand cupping the bulge beneath her leggings meant he knew that was not physically possible. Her eyes dropped from his face, seeing the strained fabric of his trousers that were tented to the ceiling. She wanted to hold him, to bring him as much pleasure as she was feeling, but damn with the baby where it was she was hesitant to let go of his shoulders. 

The app might have changed settings, preventing any progress from happening, but that certainly did not alter what she felt on a deep and primal level. The instinct to drop into a squat and push, no matter how pointless, was oh so tempting. With a trembling hand, Stacey let go of one of Carter’s shoulders and reached for his waistband. Immediately her knees began to shake and she whimpered against the urge to push. 

The elastic band was pulled away with ease, as was that of the underwear he wore beneath. He was at attention already, and had been for some time, leaving no need for any foreplay or teasing. He shuddered, as her fingers wrapped around him, shocks of pleasure echoing through him. 

“That’s it, Stace.” He said, keeping his palm firm against the bulge while the other rose to her cheek. She began to move, her hand making the necessary motions to give him a much needed release. His thumb probed for her most sensitive spot where it was stretched to the max around the head. He brushed against it, only then noticing her legs shaking. He excused it as her own pleasure growing from the intimacy of the moment. “That’s my girl.”

She tried to focus, to listen to the gravelled sounds of her husband’s enjoyment, concentrating on her hands as they glided up and down his length. Then his thumb ghosted her clit and she shuddered, his touch prompting a sudden contraction. 

“Ohhhh… Carter…. This-might— not be a good— idea…” she breathed heavily. 

The pressure between her wide legs was intoxicating and forceful, her body stretched thin and on edge, Stacey barely managed to hold back the instinct to bear down. She had one hand braced against his shoulder while the other worked on Carter’s erection, all the while her belly was an iron sphere that was contracting so hard and begging for her to push. Stacey couldn’t help but clench both her fists a little firmer unconsciously. 

The firmer grip only seemed to invigorate him more. His chest was rising and falling with speed, each pump bringing him closer and closer to the edge of climax. This wasn’t a typical vice of theirs, but dammit he was enjoying it. He brought his index finger to her lips, still too immersed into the role to actually take in the weight of her words and look. She was just playing the part, and doing incredibly good. His lust filled gaze met hers, and he felt the beginnings of his body’s crest over the peak. He pressed harder against her clit, lost in the moment and unable to comprehend the gravity of such an action. 

“Don’t worry.” He said, struggling to keep his voice level. “This is perfect.” 

“B-but.” 

Carter leant in to kiss her, the only sure way to prevent anything more from escaping her lips. He felt her pace quicken, and their tongues began a dance within their mouths. He grabbed her breast, closing his eyes as the two of them enjoyed the moment. He was so close, so very nearly able to release the pent up pressure within his loins. She was holding him a little tighter now, and he couldn’t help wondering in what way she was playing her role. Her jaw quivered against his, a sharp exhale of breath into his mouth. She was no longer pumping, she was simply standing, breathing. 

“O-oh. Ohhh!” She groaned. He knew that noise, more specifically, he knew what came immediately after.

His eyes opened, only to see hers shut tight, teeth clenched. A fraction of a second later, pain hit him and he was forced to cry out in alarm. Her knuckles were white around his shaft, squeezing it with such ferocity that any thoughts of pleasure or even roleplay disappeared in an instant. 

“Stacey?! Ah! Stacey!”

“Can’t. Stop!” She grunted, words barely forming as her growls of effort tried to force the baby out.

He quit fondling her breast, and tried desperately to loosen the vice on his erection. Her stomach was shrunken, this contraction far more intense than what he’d ever set. Any chance of the analytical side of his mind figuring out if there was something going on with the app was squashed along with his manhood under his wife’s grip. He tried to apply counter pressure to the baby’s head, hoping that it might get her to relax, but what he felt as pressure was applied made his eyes widen. Despite the app pausing the progress, and despite her body being stretched to its limit, the head was shifting, her primal efforts combined with her body’s need to expel the child within actually overwrote the programming of the app. She was making progress, the bulge in her leggings moving millimeter by millimeter.

“Stacey! Stop pushing!” He hissed. Her grip couldn’t be loosened, and he could only imagine how much worse it’d get if she kept going.

“It’s— it’s coming out—!” She gasped, unable to stop the actions of Mother Nature. 

The contraction was a tsunami of pressure. There was no fighting or denying it, all Stacey could do was ride it out. But her hand was wrapped around her husband’s appendage when the wave struck, rooting her to the spot, unable to move or loosen her grip or do anything besides push. Carter’s noises of agony shocked her, it matched the fiery pain between her legs. With her eyes closed she couldn’t see what was happening, or even think beyond the realm of her own existence. The only thought in her mind was to push. And push hard. 

Carter desperately reached for the phone. With the contraction only worsening, there was no way for her to finally let go until it was over. He grabbed it, opening the app with speed and quickly hitting the button to cancel the contraction. He heard Stacey gasp, and felt her weight press on him as the peaked contraction ended as fast as it had begun. 

“Easy.” He encouraged, pain still in his voice. “Easy…” Carter rubbed her stomach, already able to tell that she was recovering simply from how her breathing was normalizing.

The contraction ended but the throbbing pressure of the full crown lingered. It took quite a few breaths to fade to a point where she could speak or move. 

“I know that one was rough, and I hate to kill the mood but… d-do you mind loosening your grip a bit baby?” He looked down at his shaft, all the blood practically choked out of it. “I don’t think a vasectomy was in the plans for tonight.”

“Oh…. Oh my god Carter…” Stacey stuttered, finally realising the full effect of what just happened. Immediately her fingers loosened, her hand pulling away quickly. “Shit. I’m sorry darling, I didn’t mean to, I just…. that contraction was insane.” She felt so guilty, accidentally nearly castrating her husband was certainly not how they wanted the evening to go. 

“I couldn’t stop pushing, everything just got so… primal or something.” She was still panting heavily, her legs still bent wide over his lap, miraculously the crown between her legs momentarily forgotten with her worry for Carter’s well being. “Are you okay honey?” 

“I’m ok, Stace.” Carter couldn’t help the chuckle that came. This was all so ridiculous, and clearly they’d been so caught up in the moment that consequences of their actions became moot in their minds. “Just want to make sure I can give you a real baby when the time comes.” He made a show of checking to make sure that he was still in possession of his appendage, then tucked it away into his pants. As soon as it was away and safe from Stacey’s frankly frightening grip strength, he returned his attention to her.

“Seriously, it’s ok.” He smiled. To show her that he was in fact fine, he leaned in and kissed her. “No hard feelings. Well, besides down there.”  

Her worried expression formed a slight smirk. Playfully she pushed at his shoulders, stepping back ever so slightly and straightening up. “Carter! I was really worried, I thought I’d hurt you.” Relief flooded her heart. Not only did she not want her husband to be injured, but she too was thinking of future real babies to add to their brood. Neither of them wanted that to be taken off the cards. 

The unplanned ending to Carter’s hand-job really took the pair out of the moment, fantasy having been quickly swept aside. But their evening wasn’t over; Stacey was still fully crowned with this simulated baby. A fact her body was all too eager to remind them both. 

As her womb clenched abruptly again, in spite of the app’s settings, she spun around to brace the desk edge. “Oooohhhh… this.. this baby wants out… Carter….” She moaned deeply, leaning forward, giving an impromptu perfect view of her backside for her sitting husband. 

“Shit, ok, ok we got this.” The roleplay was gone, the pure sexual bliss along with it. But they remained, a couple who found more joy in these kinds of moments than anyone could have dreamed. The app was forgotten, and it was like they were trying to deliver one of their own children again. Carter took hold of her hips, appreciating the view for a moment. Thumbs dug into her flesh, massaging in the exact spots he knew would count. The head was right there, her leggings left nothing to the imagination. 

“No more holding back Stace.” His tone was that of a husband and father, encouragement dripping from each word with ease. “I want you to push for me ok? I’m right here, you know what to do.” 

“R-really-? I can p-push?” Stacey’s words were barely cohesive through the desperate panting she was making. With how the last contraction had gone she was doing her damndest to hold back, not to let her body give in to the primal surge to deliver. 

“No more roleplaying honey. Let’s get this baby out.”

With a shaky inhale, Stacey gripped the desk edge and spread her feet wider on the floor, opening her pelvis that necessary fraction more. She was silent at first with the pushing, then louder and louder the grunting strain of effort rattled her throat. It was right there, so fucking close and stretching her beyond anything she remembered. Carter’s hands pressed against each ass cheek, blissful counterpressure for her widening hips. One…two…pushes, each one bringing progress but seemingly not enough for the head to fully come out. The leggings. Damn it. 

Stacey groaned, frustrated, and took a long deep breath. This time her whole body shook with effort as she bore down with a fierce goddess like energy. Suddenly the head burst free into the gusset of her leggings and she cried out with sheer relief and slumped over the desk with exhaustion. 

He saw it coming, Stacey’s elbows rested on the desk as the head burst from between her legs. Her leggings were stretched thin, the fabric nearly allowing him to actually see the artificial baby through it. Before the inevitable occurred, Carter scooted forwards in the chair, bumping into the back of her knees with his. It took her by surprise, but in one fluid motion his wife had gone from standing precariously on the verge of collapse, to sitting in his lap, legs spread wide.

“Hey there pretty lady.” He said, wrapping an arm around her gravid body to make sure she wouldn’t slip off of him. “There’s a baby hanging between your legs, love.” The baby wasn’t real, none of this really was, but even so Carter felt the sting of emotions at the idea that they’d have another baby in their arms soon. Gingerly, he took hold of her hand, and reached it down between her quaking thighs. “Right there Stacey. It’s right there.” His thumb caressed her hand as they both touched the head. 

Her chest was heaving, trying to catch her breath back. It was difficult to reach around her still present bump but Carter’s warm hands ensured they reached the destination. Beneath the stretched jersey there was an incredibly large sphere between her legs. “It’s… it’s huge….” She laughed through her heavy breathing. “I didn’t think I selected too large a baby but this… this head feels bigger than any of our kids.” 

Stacey felt safe and at home in her husband’s arms, comfortable and familiar, albeit with a ‘baby’ half born from her body. Arguably that was an accurate reflection on the couple's lives. Her head tilted back, turning to nuzzle his chest and neck, inhaling him. Their hands stayed between her legs as she mumbled with quiet content. “Shoulders… starting to… press down…” 

“Perfect timing.” He told her, his smile making the whisker on his cheek brush against the skin of her forehead. “How about we try one last little enjoyment with this?” He let go of her hand just enough to tug on her leggings. There was no way to remove them currently, not that either of them wanted that anyways. He simply pulled them to the side, allowing the baby’s head to rest to the right, giving an easier path rather than directly into the seam.

“Think you can pant the baby out? You did all the hard work getting the head, relax yourself, the hard part is over.” He planted a kiss on her temple. He couldn’t help thinking that this was more intimate a moment than any other they’d had today.

“Mmmmmh…. I can try…. Hooo okay… here it comes…” Stacey swallowed, readying herself as much as she could. Without any input from the phone, which was long discarded, her body squeezed familiarly. Muscles tensing and contracting, clenching around the rest of the ‘baby’ that was nestled in the birth canal. Naturally her hips began to rock in time with the rhythmic spasms of her body, soft moans through breathy exhales erupting from her chest. 

“Uhhhh… ohhhh I can feel it babe! Oooohh I’m not pushing but it’s moving down… ohhh god….” Stacey’s breath got quicker as one shoulder stretched her sensitive opening, the temptation to push with the pressure was enticing but apparently not necessary as she jolted slightly when the first shoulder slipped free. 

“You’ve got it!” Carter moved her hand, bringing it to the side where the second shoulder was emerging. Even without being able to see, he knew exactly how it looked. The head, sliding along her thigh, stretching her leggings as the shoulders pushed out behind it. With a gentle nudge, he pressed against the baby, just enough to have the second shoulder pop loose. He felt her jump, and a second later the relieved exhale that came from the biggest ordeal a woman could face drawing to a close. The ‘baby’ slipped out, filling her pant leg and leaving them both awestruck.

“Holy shit.” Carter muttered, half chuckling, half crying. “We just had another baby.” Instinct fought him, a need to check on the wellbeing of the newborn. Such instincts melted away as two things happened. Carter watched, as Stacey’s stomach began to deflate, becoming the same as it had been only this morning. As unsettling a sight that was, it was nothing compared to the next. The ‘baby’, which had not made a sound upon coming into the world, simply began to shrink. “Holy shit…” The words were quiet, his brain having trouble processing such a thing.

Stacey’s hands went between her legs automatically. By the time they got there the ‘baby’ had shrunk so much there wasn’t much more than a tennis ball size shape behind her leggings and that promptly disappeared. All that effort, all that straining and pushing, and there was nothing there. This was a stark difference for the mother of four. 

As if a switch clicked in her mind Stacey pulled at the waistband of her leggings and her hands dived into her panties. She slowly pulled it back out with a tiny pill placed between her index and thumb. “That happened… that happened quicker than I expected. To be honest, I didn’t read up much about what happened after, got too carried away with the pregnancy and birth instructions.” 

She lifted to their eyeline. It was the first time Carter actually saw the pill for what it was, Stacey had inserted it before he’d got home from work. “It’s crazy that this one pill… could do all of that.” She said in quiet awe. Her breathing was slowly coming back to normal, her stomach returned to its usual slightly rounded shape. Her husband was quiet behind her. “Are you okay?” 

“More than ok.” He said. “We got a little carried away eh?” He laughed, holding her tight to him. He felt like he could sleep for days, and if that was how he felt, he could only imagine how exhausted she was. They remained in the chair for a while longer, not daring to seperate after such an ordeal. If he was honest, not having a newborn to cuddle with after the birth was a disappointment, but such feelings would ebb as soon as the kids were home. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his wife.

“I think the app has a few glitches.” He told her after a while being quiet. “I’m excited to see what others we might be able to find. Maybe later tonight…” Carter traced his finger across her stomach. “We can test out that twins option?”