The 103 | COMPLETE

Chapter 31

40 weeks 0 days

February 25, 2150

I lay with my arm outstretched over my forehead. "I am so over being pregnant."

Clarke pulls the stethoscope out of her ears. "I hate to say it, but Baby still sounds nice and cozy in there." She feels along my stomach. "He or she is head down though, and I think you've dropped." She pulls my shirt down. "Hopefully not too much longer."

"But I've been having contractions on and off all day. Doesn't that mean it'll be coming soon?"

Clarke looks sympathetic. "Not necessarily. It could go on for another week or two. Unless they're regular or your water breaks or something, you're probably not in real labor."

I groan.

"I can brew some red raspberry leaf tea for you," Althea offers, bouncing Iris on her knee. I want her there for the birth, and she's been staying in Lincoln's cave for the past few weeks since it's nearby and spending her days in Arkadia helping me prepare, both physically and mentally. "First time moms tend to go overdue, and many say it helps."

"Did you?"

"No," she laughs. "I had Iris nine days early."

"Lucky," I mumble.

"Come on." She helps me stand. "There's some in the pharma tent."

I sip the tea, watching the cloud swirl in front of me, a mix of steam and the fog of my breath in the cold air. "This is disgusting."

"Not a fan of tea?"

I grimace. "Not a fan of this tea, anyway. But if it gets this baby out, then bottoms up."

"You know what will definitely put you in labor?" She covers Iris's ears with her hands and mouths the word, "Sex."

"Sex?"

She grins. "Give it a try. If it doesn't work then the worst thing that happens is you've had some fun before you have a little monster sucking on your boobies and everything is swollen beyond recognition."

I roll my eyes and put my head in my hands, laughing at how ridiculous the suggestion is. "So the second time I have sex is to get the baby out that happened the first time I had sex."

She looks confused. "I thought you were with Bellamy."

I shake my head. "That relationship isn't real. It was his idea to give these people some hope and so we could play the doomed lovers bit to Lexa to barter for more hunting grounds. If she ever asks, he's my husband."

"Oh, he went big then," Althea laughs. "I know you fought in the beginning. It's just, he seems so protective and caring and well, loving. I spent three weeks in the same cabin with you two and I genuinely thought he loved you. I never questioned it."

I take another sip. "He's always been better at this acting thing than me."

Althea tilts her head. "I don't think he's acting."

I wave her off. "It's just the baby. He doesn't really feel that way. I mean yeah, he likes me, but we're just two friends who happen to be having a baby."

"What about you?"

I almost choke on my tea. "What?"

"Do you care about him?"

I shrug. "Of course, I do. He's the father of my child, why wouldn't I?"

"No, I mean, do you love him? More than a friend, more than for the sake of the baby?"