Please Stand By

Chapter 16

Jade woke up with a start. She panted as her hand went to her stomach. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths in and out. Suddenly, her body was filled with a comforting warmth as words of sympathy were whispered in her ear. She turned her head to find Cain, who had wrapped her in his arms kissing the top of her head, then her lips. She held her stomach and got out of the bed, Cain following her. 

"Do you feel sick?" He asked quietly.
"No. This is different. It's not nausea, its actual pain." Jade said as she turned the bathroom lights on.
Cain's eyes filled with concern as Jade lifted up her shirt. Concern turned to horror as they both laid eyes on the bruises that adorned Jade's stomach.
"What the hell?" Cain asked.
"I... I..." Jade could not get any words out.
"Was this... Was this Trevor?" Cain asked, his voice shaking.
"No! I promise I would have said something a lot sooner if it was." Jade mumbled.
"H-How the fuck did this happen then?" 

Jade looked at the bruises. They all seemed to be along the same area. Horizontal from one side of her waist to the other, they were right along her belly button. Some of them looked like blots and incoherent shapes, the others looked like tiny handprints, as though the baby had reached out for Jade or Cain. 

"If they're bruises then the initial cause must have been a little while ago. Have you felt this before?"
"Yeah... I just thought that the baby was kicking. I know that's common."
"I'm gonna get Harmony." Cain walked out the door. Jade slowly walked to the ottomon at the edge of the bed and lowered herself onto it. A moment later Harmony walked into the room with Cain at her heels. Harmony got on her knees as Cain turned the bedroom lights on. Her eyes filled with shock as she gazed upon the bruises.
"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Cain asked.
"No... I once saw a wife with bruises along her stomach but that was because her husband was beating her." Harmony said.
"While she was pregnant?!" Jade said.
"Yeah... it was really sad. She ended up having the baby, but the poor kid down syndrome and some other long lasting affects." Harmony paused before speaking again. "Did Trevor do this?"
"I asked her that as well." Cain said.
"I promise it wasn't him. I don't know how this happened." Jade's voice became strained as tears formed in her eyes.
"Jade said that she thought the baby was kicking a little bit ago."
"That's a possibility. I've never seen this happen to someone, but that doesn't mean I haven't heard about it. It is a possibility that the baby is kicking. One of my coworkers' ribs broke from her baby."
"But... the tiny bruises that look like a hand..." Jade mumbled.
"Those are the only things I can't seem to explain." Harmony said. 

Jade doubled over, one hand on the ottoman and the other clutching her stomach. She winced, stiffening her body to stifle a scream. Cain rushed to her side and grabbed her hand. Jade held onto his arm tightly, her nails digging into his arm. Both siblings held her as she sat in pain, holding back the urge to yell out in pain as tears rushed from her eyes. Finally, she exhaled deeply and panted. It took the siblings a second to realize that she was holding her breath. 

"Breathe Jade. Breathe. In and out." Harmony said in a gentle voice.
"It hurts so badly..." Her voice cracked with pain. Cain rocked her back and forth gently. "At times... it feels like there's a knife in my uterus... at other times it feels like my insides are being punched by a professional boxer." She let herself be brought back and forth, the gentle rocking feeling comforting. Harmony got up, looking intently at Jade.
"What is it?" Cain asked.
"The small handprints concern me. That's never happened from what I've seen. This baby must be stronger than usual babies." Harmony finally said. Jade's eyes widened as she stopped rocking back and forth.
"What if..." She started. "What if the baby is infected?" Harmony paused in her tracks and Cain looked at her in disbelief. "Think about it," she continued. "Trevor had to have known he was infected. I believe he also knew that he got Cain sick because when Cain did get sick, Cain stayed away from everyone, so nobody else got sick. Trevor didn't. Trevor had his arm wrapped around me every now and then and went on a walk with me once. He didn't quarantine himself the way Cain did. He could have infected the baby."
"Do you think that's a possible explanation?" Cain asked, looking towards Harmony.
"I..." Harmony stammered. "It might be, but I've never heard of anything like that happening."
I'll love the baby, infected or not." Jade said flatly, staring at the floor.
"Oh, hon," Cain said, "I will as well." He wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm not sure there's anything I can do right now. If I could get you to a hospital maybe..." Harmony said quietly.
"I'll go on a supply run for pain killers and anything else you need in the morning." Cain said.
"Acetaminophen. I'll go with you to help you find it." Harmony stated. "For now, I'm going back to bed."
"We could try to go to your hospital some time." Cain said.
"That's farther than the store. We'll see." Harmony said, walking out.