The 103 | COMPLETE

Chapter 32

40 weeks 3 days

February 28, 2150

"Are you okay?"

When the tension releases, I huff in frustration. "I'm fine. It's just those Braxton-Hicks. All the pain of real contractions and none of the progress. Sometimes I wonder if this baby is ever going to come out." I lay a hand on the top of my stomach, which gets kicked. "Yeah, like I forgot you're in there."

He rubs my back in sympathy. "Are you sure those are just practice contractions? They look pretty intense."

"Yeah, I'm sure. They're still irregular."

"I'm not so sure," Althea says from across the table, tearing up pieces of venison for Iris so it cools faster. "I know how that look felt. I think you're getting close."

"I better be getting close," I grumble, taking a sip of water. "I've got a list of complaints as long as my arm." I start counting them off on my fingers. "I've got heartburn, my ribs feel like someone's been living in them, I get these random shoots of pain in my crotch, I'm leaking milk already, I haven't slept more than an hour at a time in weeks -"

"Oh, you'll never sleep the same ever again," Althea says, digging into her dinner. "Even when they're old enough to sleep through the night, you'll still wake up wondering if they're okay."

Clarke sits down next to us with her plate. She and Althea had come to a begrudging peace, mostly just because I want them both in the room with me and don't need them fighting while I'm trying to push out a baby. "It's been theorized that the loss of sleep during late pregnancy is to prepare your body for light sleep during the newborn phase. If you were to just knock out for eight hours straight and your baby needs to be fed every three, they'd be beyond hungry by the time you woke up. It's instinctual."

Althea picks up Iris's dropped fork. "And here I was thinking it's because there's a seven-pound person inside you doing flips the moment you lay down."

"Sometimes I can feel it too," Bellamy grins. "I don't mind not sleeping then."

I roll my eyes. "You don't sleep, huh? I'm willing to place a bet that when the time comes, if it's at night, I won't be able to wake you up."

"I'll wake up," he says defensively.

"It won't be without a lot of effort, I know that."

"Are you willing to put money on it?"

I roll my eyes. "We don't have any money down here."

"Are you willing to put hypothetical money on it then?"

I hold out my hand for him to shake. "It's a bet."