||"I just want to be with you, especially on the days when I don't understand anything, even myself."||
Their yoga instructor was an older woman with a wide smile.
Wanda felt incredibly out of place, and it didn't help that there was a mirror on the wall behind the instructor, giving Wanda a full view of how silly she looked.
"You'll grow more comfortable doing this," Vera assured her, stretching her legs out. "I felt ridiculous at first, too."
Wanda gave her a stiff smile, trying not to wobble as she held a position her body wasn't used to.
It'd been quite a while since Wanda had stretched her body in a way that wasn't for the sole purpose of preparing for a day of training, but as she leaned forward, her legs spread apart, her arms reaching for her toes, she felt that, in a way, she was preparing for something.
She was preparing her body for the difficult task of giving birth to a baby. From the books and magazines in her room, she'd read that giving birth was one of the most painful experiences a human can go through. It terrified her, but she knew when the time came she would be ready.
"Now, raise your arms slowly above your head, breathing in through your nose, and exhaling out through your mouth." Wanda followed instructions carefully, watching the instructor with her wide smile, all while trying not to giggle at how Vera kept stumbling over. By the end, Wanda was sweaty and exhausted, but most importantly, she felt relaxed and comfortably tired.
It'd been so long since she'd worked her body out.
"How about I run you a bath and get lunch started?"
"Yes, please," Wanda wiped her face with a small towel, plopping down on her bed once they were back in her room. As Vera turned the bathtub faucet on, Wanda slid her shoes off and removed the shirt that had gone sticky with sweat. The black sports bra that she wore underneath felt a little too tight against her chest, and she remembered it wasn't just her stomach that would be growing. With Vera out of the room to grab lunch, Wanda made her way into the bathroom, stripping off the last of her clothing before climbing into the bathtub.
There were bubbles, big clouds of them jumbled together over the water, and it occurred to Wanda that it'd been too long since she'd last taken a bubble bath. But her body ached, and instead of playing with the bubbles, she lay back, resting her head against the head cushion, and closed her eyes.
The water was perfectly hot, and she hoped that with some miracle, it'd stay this hot for as long as she wanted.
"Don't fall asleep," she heard Nik say. "It's very dangerous, I've read."
Wanda turned her head, staring at Nik as he sat in the corner of the bathroom, his knees up to his chest. "Is that so?"
"Yup."
"I won't fall asleep, then," she told him. Nik didn't say anything after that, he just simply sat there and watched her as she lay in the tub, the bubbles hiding her completely from his view. In the silence, she tried not to think of her situation and how she wished to go home because she knew she was meant to be here. She didn't really know why, but she knew. Following orders was better than defying them, and now, as an expectant mother, she was aware that this rule held more importance than it had before.
It wasn't just her own well-being that she had to look out for.
After some time, Nik spoke. "Have you dreamt lately?"
Wanda grabbed the soap bar from the indent in the tub and began to run it up and down her arms. "If I have, I don't remember any of them."
"Not even a little?"
