Somewhat the Beginning (A Falling Skies Fanfiction)

A Slave to Love

*Ashley's POV*

Ugh the pain is too much! I can't stop screaming and the contractions are coming sooner and Lourdes is trying to get me to do my breathing exercises.

"Is it supposed to hurt this much?" I say through my teeth. It felt like I was getting I was getting punched, stabbed, and shot in the gut and back all at the same time. And whenever the contractions came my stomach involuntary tightened, making the pain so much worse.

"Yea it is." she nodded. The glass doors to my right burst open and my loved ones entered. Matt was followed by Ben, Tom, Hal, Maggie, and Anne.

Ben kneeled beside me at eye-level and held my hand.

"How are you, does it hurt?" he brushed a piece of hair away that was stuck to my face. I hadn't realized until then that I was sweating.

"It hurts like hell!" I screamed when another contraction came.

Dr. Marcus rushed into the room, "Sorry I'm late, I was in surgery." he walked up to Lourdes. "How far apart are the contractions?

"About 10 minutes, but they're closing in fast."

"I thought she wasn't supposed to be in labor for over a month!" Ben yelled at my doctor.

"She's having the baby prematurely. I told you I didn't know what the affects of her spikes would do." he answered calmly. "And it seems she's also experiencing Precipitous Labor."

"What the hell is that?" Ben was pissed, but I was in too much pain to try to calm him down.

"It's a fast labor, should could give birth in three hours or less."

"Way less." Lourdes said as I had another contraction; I sincerely regret not agreeing to take any epidural.

After about half an hour of painful contractions Lourdes ushered everyone but Ben out of the room; the baby is coming.

*Ben's POV*

After everyone left I held on to Ashley's hand while the doctor prepared for the delivery.

"Ok, when I say, push." after a few seconds he said "Push!" and Ashley did. She screamed and squeezed my hand tightly. After she stopped she fell back on the bed and started crying.

"Are you ok?" I asked her.

"This is too much Ben! It hurts too much, I can't do this!" she sobbed. I kissed her forehead.

"Yes you can, baby. It's just a few more pushes, then this is all over."

She nodded then Dr. Marcus told her to push again. This time when she squeezed my hand it wasn't so hard, it felt like she was getting weaker with every push.

"Ok, one last time." Dr. Marcus announced, and when Ashley pushed we heard the screaming of the baby.

"It's all over." I smiled down at Ashley, who was panting.

"Guys." Lourdes called to us and we looked over at her.

*Hal's POV*

"This is insane." I mumbled. We are outside of the room where Ashley is having my brother's baby. Every time I think about it, my heart breaks. No matter how much I try to forget, I will always be in love with Ashley. I've always wanted to be the father of her children, it should be me in there, not Ben.

"I know." Maggie sighed, "I hope the baby's ok."

"I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the fact that Ashley is having Ben's baby." I said through gritted teeth. I looked across the hall at Matt talking to Tom and Anne, her baby should be here soon too. What's up with everyone getting pregnant all of a sudden?

"Hal, why are you still pissed at them? You should be happy that your brother is in love with someone, even if it is Ashley.

"But it's not fair! That's supposed to be my baby in there!"

Maggie gasped, "I can't believe you. Listen to yourself, you sound like a five year old! And I can't believe that this whole time I thought you were over Ashley and loved me, but the truth is I was your second choice." She scoffed than stood up, and I didn't stop her. She's right, she is my second choice. She started to walk away, but then the door opened and she stopped. Ben came out holding the baby wrapped in a yellow blanket.

Everyone, including me, stood up and went to see the newborn. I stayed in the back and looked at the little one. When I saw that baby's cute little face anger resided in me; that should be my baby, not Ben's.

Ben's smile widened, "Say hello to Benjamin Mason the second."

Anne touched the baby's hands, and that's when I noticed how small it was.

"Is he supposed to be that small?" I asked.

Ben's smile went away, "No. Since he is premature, it's going to take him some time to get healthy."

"What do you mean, 'get healthy?'" Tom questioned.

"The doctor can explain it better than I can. Come on inside, everyone." Ben lead us into the room.

The first person I looked at was Ashley; she looked so weak and fragile, like the birth took all of her strength out of her.

"I'm guessing you all want to know about the baby's condition?" Dr. Marcus asked, pulling my attention away from Ashley. "As you can tell, Benjamin is very small, and I fear that he may have Jaundice and Anemia."

"What's that?" Matt spoke up.

"Jaundice is when a baby's liver isn't fully developed, and a strong indication of that is the yellow tone on his skin and eyes." We all looked at Benjamin, who was curiously looking around, and the doctor is right, his skin and eyes have a noticeable yellow tinge to it. "And Anemia is when a there isn't enough healthy red blood cells to give oxygen to the rest of his body. I don't know if it's because of an iron deficiency, or if he has a disease like sickle cell - but unless someone in your family has it, than that won't be the case. Now remember, these aren't definite, it's just my medical judgment. But all we can do is get tests done." He finished and I looked around for the other's reactions.

Matt's face was blank, obviously he doesn't know how serious this is, but I can tell everyone else can, especially Anne. She's trying hard not to cry. I'm guessing that as a pediatrician she saw this all the time, but I don't think those other kids affected her as much as Benjamin does. I look back down at Ashley, who has tears rolling down her cheeks. I went over to her and stroked her cheek.

I put on a smile, "It'll be ok." I bent down and kissed her forehead. She looked up at me and gave me a weak smile.

"Thank you, Hal." My heart fluttered when she said my name, but her voice was so tired and weak. This whole thing took a lot out of her.

I looked at Ben and he gave me a small smile. He has no idea I still have feelings for Ashley, and guilt pings in my stomach whenever I look at him. I don't want to be madly in love with her, especially now, but I can't help it. I'm a slave to love.