| PART 11 I wake up to the smell of something good. I smile and shake my head. Ever since I told Michael I was pregnant, he waits on me making sure I don�t overexert myself. I�m not even allowed to enter the Crashdown unless I want to eat, but even then he has to carry me down the stairs. I roll out of bed and walk out to the kitchen. �What are you doing?� He smirks as he approaches me to wrap his arms around me and says, �You should be sleeping.� I roll my eyes. My emotions have been like a roller coaster these last two weeks. �I�m not tired.� I head for the stairs to check on the new manager Michael hired. �Where do you think you�re going?� I sigh and say, �I�m going to check to see if everything is going smoothly downstairs.� He gently grabs my arm and says, �Liz, you don�t have to worry about it. I don�t want you to entail any unwarranted stress. Anthony can handle it. Have a little faith in him.� I shake my head and say, �But Michael, the Crashdown is all I have left of my parents and it�s our responsibility, not Anthony�s.� He cups my face and sighs. �Listen, I�m concerned about you and the baby. You�ve been looking weak.� �It�s not a look of weakness you�re seeing, it�s annoyance. I�m capable of doing everything I did before I became pregnant. I�m not an invalid and I wish you�d stop treating me like one,� I snap turning away from him. �I�m just worried about you.� He turns me around so that I�m facing him. �You know that I�m an alien,� he whispers. He strokes my back. �I don�t want anything to happen to you. You mean everything to me. I don�t know if you�re even able to carry my child.� I meet his eyes and say, �I know, baby, but you can�t keep treating me like this. I�m used to doing everything for myself.� He bows his head. �I know. If you�d just let Max ...� �Don�t even finish that. Max is not coming anywhere near me.� My eyes start to water and I furiously wipe them away. He takes my hand leads me to a chair and kneels in front of me. �I don�t mean to make you upset, but I love you so much, Liz. If anything happens to you, I don�t know what I�ll do.� He swallows. �I haven�t had much luck with people I care about staying alive.� I smile at him as tears flow down my face. I reach up and caress his cheek with my thumb. �It�s funny how several months ago I said the same thing to you and what did you tell me?� He shrugs. �You told me that nothing�s going to happen to you.� �That�s because nothing is going to happen to me, but you--� I place my index finger over his lips. �Don�t. I love you too, Michael, and I see this child as a miracle, and a blessing. Maybe God and fate are giving us a second chance. Maybe we finally followed the path we were supposed to take and this is where we ended up. Just love me, Michael.� He pulls me in his arms and whispers, �That�s all I�ve been doing. I just want Max to make sure everything is running smoothly with you. He knows more about an Antarian birth then we do.� I sigh debating if it�s a good idea or not. �He doesn�t have to touch you. Just inform us if everything looks normal.� I grip onto Michael tightly knowing he�s right. I don�t know if I can handle seeing my past yet. �Okay,� I softly say. He hugs me tighter and then lets go. He walks to the phone and starts to dial. I stand and head for the bedroom I suddenly feel a pain in my side. I exhale slowly trying to will it away, but it only intensifies. My knees hit the floor as I hold my stomach. I feel Michael come to me, but before he can say anything, the room spins and then goes black. I slowly open my eyes and look around. I try to sit up, but it feels like something is restraining me. I turn my head and see Michael lying besides me with his hand over my belly. He opens his eyes and smiles. �Where do you think you�re going?� I�m too tired to argue. His eyes turned from teasing to concern. �I�m okay, just tired.� He nods and says, �I know. I also know you�ll appreciate this but we don�t have to involve Max.� I try to read his eyes and say, �But what about the pain?� He looks down, but his whole face lights up. �Our baby connected with me. I saw this tiny little handprint and I placed my hand over it�� I put my hands over my ears and say, �You can tell me what happened, but can you please not spoil the surprise? I don�t want to know what the sex is until it�s born.� He sits up and removes my hands from my ears. �I promise I won�t tell you.� I nod waiting for him to continue. �Your body is just adjusting to our baby.� �But does that mean our baby won�t be able to survive? Isn�t that why you guys left in the first place? Oh God, Michael, is our baby going to die?� He pulls me to him and rocks me. �No, since you�re carrying our baby and not an alien our baby is able to adjust.� I crawl up into his lap and whisper, �Are you sure you want this?� He lifts my chin and says, �I�ve never wanted anything so much.� I lean into him and close my eyes. �Um, there is one other thing,� he hesitantly says. I raise my head and stare at him intently. �Well you see...� He takes a deep breath and I start to get nervous. �Since this is a half alien baby the gestation period is a little shorter then a normal human birth.� I narrow my eyes and say, �How much shorter?� He clears his throat and whispers, "Six months shorter.� My mouth drops open and I shake my head. �But that�s too soon. How are we going to have everything ready?� I attempt to hop out of bed, but Michael stops me. �Whoa, slow down. Two and a half months will be enough time. Why don�t you go to the bathroom and I�ll fix us something to eat.� I nod and walk into the bathroom. I touch the small bulge of my tummy and smile. �Mommy and Daddy love you so much.� |