The Intervention

The Twist of Fate

I had never really thought of myself as a maternal person but ever since the last scan, my hands seem to wander over my stomach in wonder

A new life was forming inside me. New in every sense of the red eyes that track my palms sliding over my rounding stomach. His mind lost in its own thoughts that soothed me whenever I listened in.

'Should we start decorating a room for the baby J'onn?' My question breaks his concentration and his wandering gaze fixes onto my face.

'It will be some time before the baby gets here.'

'I know, but I'm kind of getting restless doing nothing all day.'

His stern features twist into an expression of disbelief, 'You are growing a life within you, that is doing the impossible.'

I give him a shrug. Every woman in the history of mankind who has ever gotten pregnant, has been growing a life within them, I am doing the same. Just a slightly different genetic combination was at work growing within me.

J'onn glides his large fingers under my jawline, tipping my head up to meet his gaze. His thoughts are centered around the miracle that is this developing child, his crimson eyes hold so much love when he looks at me that I can't bring myself to voice any protest.

He presses his lips to my forehead and whispers a prayer against my hair.

J'onn had never been religious, in all the time I had been with him I hadn't seen him loose himself in prayers of any kind. But now he frequently prayed to his gods when he was anxious.

Anxious is not a look anyone has seen him wear and it was easy to see that no one knew what to do with a worried J'onn. The Justice League had dropped by over the course of the weeks to see how we were doing and at each instance, they struggled to handle a nervous J'onn.

J'onn had always been stoic in the face of danger, the most emotion he showed was a small smile or an equally small frown. Baring that he often wore an expression carved of stone, so seeing any kind of emotion on this face was not something the other members of his team knew how to handle.

Diana spent her free time talking to J'onn when he seemed to be particularly plagued with troubling thoughts. She brought me special blends of herbal tea from her mother and spent many an evening talking till the nightfall darkened the sky.

The soft ding of the door bell rouses J'onn from his prayers, he pulls back from my forehead to gently press his full lips against mine.

My hands latch onto his shoulders, wanting nothing more than to do pull him over me and loose myself in his kisses but as I expect J'onn pulls back and gets off the couch to answer the door.

He has been increasingly hesitant to initiate intimacy between us, afraid that he might be too rough on me and cause me harm. It has come to the point where all I can expect from him are cuddles and hugs with a few occasional kisses that he made sure to keep tame.

His voice carries across the hall, welcoming Diana into our house. Her footsteps click across the wooden floor as she approaches. The soft scent of jasmine and honey filling our living room.

A sudden chill shoots up my spine.

My senses screaming at me all together. The sounds around me reach my brain as if I were under water. The signals surrounding me fight to dominate my thoughts as my body screams one word. 

Pain.

Pain like I have never known before burn up my body. The world tilts on an axis as my vision develops black spots. A cold death grip catches my feet and hands, draining my blood away from the extremities of my body.

A startled female voice shouts, 'J'ONN! SHE'S BLEEDING!'

Large green hands right me up, tipping my head back, trying to catch my quickly dimming eyes.

Diana calls up the watch tower for a teleportation as J'onn gathers me into his arms. His usually calm voice, shaking as he demands that I stay with him.

All I can feel is pain.

Like Diana shouted, I am bleeding. I am aware of it in a distant sort of way. My body is cold. Pain shoots through my spine at random intervals and my body convulses on the bed that J'onn has strapped me to.

He seems to be on the verge of crying.

Diana has taken control of the situation, she commands the med bay as Hawkgirl rushes in with towels and warm water.

The water runs red as she wipes me down.

Screams echo through the med bay and it takes me a few minutes to realize that the screams are coming from me. J'onn grips my hand tightly in one of his hands as the other is firmly holding my face in place so that all I can see is him. His eyes carry unspeakable amounts of sorrow, his lips moving into words I can not discern. He looks tortured beyond his worst nightmares.

I'm miscarrying.

The two women quickly attach electrodes and run an IV into my arm to compensate for the fluid loss. The staccato of my racing heart fills the med bay.

My vision dims and flutters around the edges as J'onn tries his best to keep me focused on him. His large frame blocks my view of whatever is happening below my waist but I can feel the princess working me through the contractions and cleaning me up as the room becomes saturated with the smell of blood.

'Stay awake.' The trembling whisper is pressed into my skin.

It's difficult to obey him. There is immense tiredness with each breath I take, the pain shooting up my body till I can't differentiate my tears and the cold sweat. With each stuttering breath, I feel less inclined to take the next one.

J'onn's voice echoes around in my head just as the sharp beep of a flat line rings out.