However, after a moment, Freya pulled away again. “I think I’ll feel better after a hot shower,” she announced, turning away slightly from Lily as she stripped off her FRIL lingerie, including underwear.
At first Lily was confused, since hot water didn’t really do much for Freya, but then she abruptly froze solid, staring at her friend’s naked body in complete shock.
“F-Freya,” Lily stammered.
“What?” she replied, turning to face her fully, only to follow Lily’s gaze down to her stomach. Freya’s eyes widened in shock, slowly traveling upwards again to meet Lily’s citrine eyes, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.
“Freya,” Lily repeated in a whisper. “Are you pregnant?”
“That’s not possible,” Freya murmured, as she turned sideways to look at herself in the mirror. Without a doubt, both women could see clearly that she had a small baby bump.
“So then, you’re not pregnant?” Lily tried clarifying. “Because it looks like you’re pregnant.”
“No, I mean…” Freya’s voice trailed off as she met her friend’s gaze hesitantly. “I am pregnant,” she admitted. “I was going to tell you, but I just found out a few days ago, and…” Her eyes unfocused as she became lost in thought.
“And what?” Lily urged. “You were waiting to tell me? Freya this is exciting! This is like the best birthday present ever!”
Freya ignored her, appearing panicked as she dashed out of the room at full speed without another word.
Lily tried to follow after her, only for them to almost collide into each other as Freya reappeared at the bathroom door with her phone in hand.
Freya immediately put it on speakerphone and set it on the counter as she turned sideways to look at herself in the mirror again.
“Freya…” Lily whispered, confused by her reaction. She could see on the screen that it was Dr. Hawthorne’s private number.
Unexpectedly, a man’s deep voice spoke up on her phone. “Hello, Ms. Rosetti. A pleasure to hear from you. Can I help you with something? I just had to step away from another client, so–”
“Dr. Hawthorne, I’m pregnant and already showing,” she responded in a rush.
“Congratulations!” he replied, sounding sincerely happy for her. “I’m sure–”
“No,” Freya cut him off. “Dr. Hawthorne, I’ve only been pregnant for twelve days. Conception was on March 7th.”
There was a pause. “And you’re showing already?” he repeated.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you’re only twelve days pregnant?” he asked, sounding skeptical. “Most women with a first-time pregnancy don’t start showing until they are at least twelve w–”
Instantly, he stopped talking.
“Twelve weeks,” Freya finished for him. “And my diet has changed,” she added. “I’ve been eating everything in sight. Enchiladas, pizza, cookies, ice cream…everything that has tasted like dirt before is now–”
He cut her off. “Head down to my office immediately. I’ll clear my schedule, and do the ultrasound myself.”
Lily just stared at the phone on the counter in disbelief, before focusing on Freya again, seeing the panic in her eyes as she examined her stomach in the mirror.
Twelve weeks…in twelve days…
Was it really possible? Or was Freya mistaken?
❖ ❖ ❖
Sam Archer
March 19, 2735 – Current Day – Afternoon
I nervously held Freya’s hand as she laid on the imaging table, waiting to have her ultrasound done with her feet already in the stirrups, her legs spread. Lily was right beside me, stroking the top of Freya’s head while Dr. Hawthorne put lube on the probe used to do a transvaginal ultrasound.
For most women, a normal belly ultrasound could be done at twelve weeks, but to get the images he needed, Freya would be required to have a full bladder. Certainly, he could fill her up with fluid manually with a catheter.
But that was also assuming she was really at twelve weeks already – not twelve days like Freya claimed.
Given that both procedures would be invasive and uncomfortable, Freya opted for this method since it would be the easiest and fastest.
Dr. Hawthorne cleared his throat. “Now, I know you’re not as sensitive to temperature and pain as most people, but this might be cold and uncomfortable,” he explained.
“I know,” she replied.
He held the probe down between her legs, glancing at the screen for a moment. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Surprisingly, Freya didn’t even react as he inserted the probe, and within a matter of seconds he was angling it different ways, trying to get a view of the fetus.
I could already see it though, taking a peek for the first time in my second-sight.
A small alien-shaped body no larger than two inches.
It had a bulbus head and a semi-transparent body, but what was crazy to me was that I could make out the individual fingers and toes. The small hands, feet, arms, and legs where so tiny that even Rose’s pinkie fingers were larger than this baby’s limbs.
The heart was beating rhythmically at about double the resting heartrate of an adult.
The sight almost moved me to tears, and without thinking I reached out to rest my hand on Freya’s gown-covered stomach.
She looked up at me in confusion, before she registered my expression. “Can you see him?” she asked in a whisper.
I met her gaze and nodded, before clearing my throat. “Is it a him?” I wondered.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she admitted. “It might be a her, but I didn’t feel right about calling our baby an ‘it.’”
“We’ll love him or her either way,” Lily chimed in quietly.
Dr. Hawthorne spoke up. “Gender can be determined around eighteen to twenty weeks,” he explained. He then sighed after a couple more minutes, and retracted the probe. “Well, your baby is perfectly healthy based on the ultrasound. We’ll still want to do blood tests, but based on the body measurements, you’re right at twelve weeks.”
“But I’m not,” Freya countered.
He nodded. “And I believe you, which is why I want you to come back in two days to have another one. If you’re really progressing a full week every day, then there will be a drastic difference in just two days.”
Freya cringed. “Can we make it tomorrow?” she asked, before quickly elaborating. “It’s just that, it’s Lily’s birthday in two days.”
“Oh Freya,” Lily chastised. “Don’t worry about that. This is way more important.”
Freya still remained focused on Dr. Hawthorne, waiting for an answer.
He shook his head. “It would be best to wait at least two days, if not three.”
Freya sighed. “I guess we’ll make it three then.”
“Freya!” Lily exclaimed, before looking at the doctor. “We’ll be here in two days – I’ll drag her in myself if I have to.”
He grinned at that. “Very well. I’ll need to schedule you for after hours though. I cancelled a few appointments today to see you on such short-notice, but I won’t be able to do that again unless it’s truly an emergency.”
Freya nodded. “Thank you. Any time is fine.”
“I’ll put you down for six o’clock then,” he offered.
“Sounds good,” she agreed simply.
On the way back out to my green Mustang, Freya commented about stopping someplace to get a bite to eat, which made Lily briefly look at her in horror. I supposed she had forgotten for half a second that her friend was eating normal food now too, in addition to blood, since she hadn’t actually seen Freya eat yet.
However, on the way to grab food, Freya stared out the window looking really depressed. Lily tried to cheer her up from the backseat by wondering if she wanted to discuss baby names, but our pregnant beauty wasn’t even remotely in the mood.
Finally, I spoke up, guessing at what was wrong. “Are you worried?”
She
sighed heavily. “Sam, if this baby really is growing a full week every day, then he or she will be seven years old in a year…and in ten years…” Her voice trailed off.
My knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.
In ten years, our child would be in their seventies already.
Lily spoke up. “Do you think growing faster than normal might be their superpower?” she whispered.
Freya sighed heavily. “It has to be. Since superpowers can’t be inherited, neither of our abilities would matter. But that’s the problem. Superpowers are just a result of regular human DNA becoming warped, which means sometimes the result can be a curse.” Freya glanced back at Lily. “It happens much less rarely now, but go back six-hundred years ago, and babies born with mutated features or life-threatening abilities was a more common occurrence. Like, I remember reading about a baby who created earthquakes when he was upset, with him being the epicenter – he killed himself and his mother within the first week after being born.” She grimaced. “And if I was a normal person without regenerative abilities, then this is the type of pregnancy that might have become a miscarriage. Or at least put me in the hospital.”
“Shit,” I exclaimed underneath my breath.
She was completely right. Condensing forty weeks of pregnancy down to forty days would be a huge burden on most women. Sure, the average super might be able to survive the ordeal, but not without putting a ton of stress on their body. They would probably have to be hospitalized at the very least, like Freya suggested.
Lily did her best to look on the bright side. “But the baby is healthy, right? Even if we only get ten years, we can still give him or her all our love and…” Her voice trailed off, tears beginning to fill her eyes as she really considered the implications of what this might mean.
Ten years…ten short years and then our baby would be gone…
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, reaching out to grab Freya’s hand, tears now streaming down her cheeks too.
After a moment, she cleared her throat, her voice sounding strained. “Like Lily said, we’ll shower our baby with all the love in the world, and make sure his life is as wonderful as it can be.”
I pulled her hand towards me and kissed the back of her wrist, silently making the same promise.
I knew we really only had two options at this point, either have the baby and deal with the consequences, or else consider an abortion. But I was completely against that second idea for a couple of reasons.
For one, I had just seen the tiny little fetus with my own eyes – so to speak – and despite myself, I had already fallen in love, the vulnerability of our child provoking my protectiveness. And second, having already been through this experience once before, in my mind I personally couldn’t separate that tiny little fetus with the person I knew they would grow up to be.
Certainly, everyone had different opinions on this type of subject, but that was mine, especially since the baby was otherwise healthy. So, even if our child had been conceived with a curse, I still would rather let them live their life and see what happens, rather than not give them that chance.
Thankfully, based on their comments, it appeared that both Lily and Freya were against it too, with both of them being upset about the situation, but determined to see this through until the end. Even if that meant it would be a stressful hell for the next ten years.
Although, I wasn’t planning on verifying what their opinions were right now, because Freya already seemed depressed enough as it was. But we probably did need to discuss where we all stood on that issue, because no doubt when Freya asked Dr. Hawthorne what our options were, he would probably bring it up.
Granted, with this child growing so quickly, it wouldn’t be long before that decision was made for us, with abortion being illegal country-wide at eighteen weeks, as verified by the fetus’ development level and growth, which was technically just six days away for our particular situation.
Basically, it became illegal once the gender could be determined.
Thankfully, just like any normal pregnant woman, Freya cheered up really fast once she was chowing down on fast-food.
Honestly, with how much she had been eating, I was surprised she hadn’t really gained any weight, other than her breasts being a little swollen. I supposed it might be because her body still wasn’t using the nutrition from food just like before, with everything instead being used for the baby.
Without really thinking about it, I watched Freya eat in the passenger’s seat, finding myself enjoying the sight of her breasts in the process while focusing on the road with my second-sight.
Lily must have noticed, because in the corner of my eye, I noticed her rub her chest with her hands before clearing her throat.
“Hey, umm, guys?” she said hesitantly.
We both looked back at her.
“Do you think…” Her face began turning red as she started over. “Do you think you could get me new implants for my birthday?” she finally blurted out.
Freya and I both exchanged a glance. Since one of us had our mouth full of food, I responded. “Oh. Yeah, of course,” I reassured her. “I figured that was a sensitive subject, so I didn’t want to bring it up,” I added.
“Me too,” Freya agreed through a mouthful.
“Sensitive?” Lily asked. “How so?”
I put my car in autopilot to give her my full attention, twisting around in my seat. “Well, because I’m fine with how you look now, and I didn’t want you to think you needed the implants for me to love you.”
Lily took a deep breath, visibly relaxing a little. “I admit that it was nice knowing neither of you seemed to care.”
“And we don’t care,” I emphasized. “If you decide you want to stay how you are, that’s completely fine.”
She smiled at me before shaking her head. “No, I liked them. In fact, I feel naked without them, even though I’m fully clothed. Plus, none of my clothes fit right anymore.”
I smirked, knowing that the tank-top she was wearing under her zipped coat was a little baggy in the chest area. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to catch on, returning my smile.
“Well, I’m not sure how soon we will be able to get an appointment, but we can call around and get you scheduled someplace today if you want.”
Lily nodded appreciatively, leaning back in her seat. “That would be great. I think the average wait time is about a month, so the sooner the better. It’s weird looking so young.”
Freya instantly froze halfway through a bite, and we both exchanged a glance.
Lily didn’t know yet.
“What’s wrong?” Lily asked urgently, noticing how we both reacted.
Freya wiped her mouth with a napkin and turned in her seat to hold Lily’s gaze. “Umm, it’s not the breast implants,” she admitted.
“What?”
Freya sighed. “I mean, that probably does have a small effect. But Lily, you don’t just look younger. Your body is younger. The difference is minor, but your body has lost a few years of age.”
“What?” she said breathlessly. “What are you even talking about?”
“It’s a side-effect of Heidi’s power,” Freya continued explaining, causing Lily’s citrine eyes to become as wide as saucers. “When she heals someone, she repairs both the physical damage and their DNA, which means she returns people to their peak physical state, just like how Sam and I are.”
“You mean?” Her eyes were still wide.
Freya nodded, smiling warmly. “As long as Heidi is willing, she should be able to keep you from aging by essentially healing your DNA every few years.”
Lily’s voice was strained now. “You mean?” she repeated, her eyes now filling with tears.
I finally chimed in. “Yes,” I replied, knowing what she was asking. “We can keep you forever.”
We were all quiet as she processed that, before she reached up to wipe her eyes. “But is Heidi really okay with that?” she wondered. “Did she ask for anything in exchange?”
Freya pursed her lips. “For now, she just wants to be able to continue being in our lives like how it is now.”
“You mean living with us?” Lily clarified.
“Not necessarily,” Freya said carefully. “She told us she had decided to do it just before the terrorist attack at the mall.”
Lily was still skeptical. “Okay, but what if she changes her mind? She could totally blackmail us with this kind of thing. And what’s worse, I’d probably do whatever she wanted if it meant I could live forever.”
Freya and I both grimaced.
“I hope you don’t mean anything,” I commented.
Lily gave me an apologetic look. “Well, no, of course not anything. I do have some dignity, but immortality is basically priceless – most people would do anything to have it.”
“So long as it didn’t have consequences,” I clarified. “If they had to be a completely normal person when everyone else has superpowers, like myself – or, worse, they had to have Freya’s problems – then they probably wouldn’t like it so much once they had it.”
Lily huffed. “Well, I for one would definitely trade out my superpower for immortality if I could.”
“Really?” Freya asked skeptically.
The two of them locked eyes for a moment, before Lily’s shoulders slumped. “Well, I guess maybe not,” she admitted. “It’s nice being able to protect myself, even though it’s caused me a ton of problems all my life.”
“And,” Freya added, “it’s nice giving me your warm hugs, right?”
Lily blushed intensely. “R-Right,” she agreed.
I laughed. “Do I need to get you two a room?” I teased.
“Sam!” Lily scolded me.
I just laughed harder, causing Freya to smile a little too, though I suspected she thought my laugh was adorable, as opposed to thinking my comment was that funny.
“But still,” Lily continued, her mind having drifted back to her original question. “What if Heidi does try to blackmail us?” She paused and then raised her voice. “Freya, you’ve seen her thoughts. What does she want? Or is just being around us truly it?”
Freya grimaced, staring straight ahead.
The Sacrificial Love of an Immortal Page 27