by Jill Cooper
Gerard spoke to a nurse. “Take four vials of her blood and some amniotic fluid.”
The nurse nodded and rushed to do as she was told.
“And the harnesses, can we talk about that?” Rick asked.
“What would you like to talk about? It’s working, isn’t it?”
“It’s activated three times this morning before we even got here. And when we got here, Jenna had a panic attack, triggering it twice in a row.”
Briggs and Gerard made eye contact. “That can’t be safe for the baby. That’s a lot of chemicals for an immature being, glistening or otherwise,” Briggs said.
Gerard nodded. “Agreed, but without the harness, Jenna will become aware of all of us. Those memories are already just beneath the surface and getting closer. I’m sure Jenna’s anxiety over this place is triggered to when we fitted her for the harness. Without it, she might realize what you’re up to.”
The statement was pointed and Rick didn’t miss it. He wasn’t ready to be impaled or tortured again by Jenna Morgan, no matter how important she was to the cause. “And the suicides? Jenna witnessed one just yesterday.”
Gerard puckered his lips. “Yes, I heard. Unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate?” Rick’s eyes narrowed. “Since then . . . well, she hasn’t been the same. It’s the harness, isn’t it? It’s driving glistening to suicide?”
“A small percentage.” Briggs defended his program.
But Rick didn’t want to hear it. “But a percentage. With how concentrated the formula is that Jenna’s getting, doesn’t that make her a risk? Do I need to lock away the steak knives at home, or what? Does she need extra handling?”
“Yes,” Briggs said, while Gerard gave a hearty, “no.” They both glanced at one another.
Rick threw his hands in the air. “Great. Just great. I have a half-glistening hormonal, pregnant woman on my hands and you can’t decide what I need to do.”
“Do you care so much because of the baby, or are your emotions compromised, Mr. Jameson?” Gerard’s voice hushed, and when he did that, he was scarier than if he had been screaming.
Rick’s eyes narrowed at the accusation. “The world isn’t going to make it much longer out there. You think I like being trapped in here with her?” He pointed at an unconscious Jenna, with a pucker. “With the monsters that are trying to destroy us? I want out of here, doctor. I want to find my friends and fight these things. And if her baby can save us all, then do whatever the hell you have to.”
The room felt eerily silent and cold. Rick felt everyone shifting his or her eyes away from him, but it was the truth, the damn truth. That baby didn’t mean anything to him, other than salvation, and if Jenna was part of that arrangement . . . But still, Rick couldn’t bring himself to look at her.
“Then watch her.” Gerard’s eyes went small as he glared at Rick. “Treat her to everything a woman’s heart desires—dinner, movies, foot massages. Treat her like a queen. Make sure she has no reason to be anything but blissfully happy.”
Rick nodded. He guessed he could do that if he didn’t have a choice. At first, it had been a chore, living here, with the glistenings, and Jenna. He felt like at any moment he’d be discovered as a fraud. But now he was socializing; having fun, and making friends.
He just needed to remind himself what the prize was and it’d help if he were more in the loop about such things. “And the cure? It’s going well?”
“A few hiccups, but Wendy is recovering. And then we get to try again,” Gerard said.
Wendy. Rick’s heart panged, not because he hated to see her suffer, but she was how this all started. He remembered being in his apartment, trying to sort out with his team where she was and who had taken her. Back then he trusted Jenna and would have done anything for his pal, Dirk. He was so shocked by Jenna’s admission of being part glistening, he went off the rails.
Jameson didn’t know if he would do it again. All he knew, was he wanted better for Wendy. “What sort of hiccups?”
“Seizures. Headaches—nothing that’s unexpected. We’ve converted her DNA back to glistening and now we’re getting ready to run the final test, thanks to Jenna’s blood here. It might have the key we need. And that of her baby.”
“Did you get what you needed?” Rick asked and the nurse nodded. “Good, then how about we wake Jenna up and see when we can deliver this baby.”
“You seem anxious,” Briggs said.
“Only as anxious as a dolphin swimming with sharks. Let’s just get this over with.”
*****
Jenna’s eyes fluttered open and she wore a sleepy smile. She was lying on an examination table, a sheet covering up her belly. Turning her head, she saw Rick, sitting beside her. He was gazing off across the room like he didn’t realize she was even awake. She raised her hand and touched his cheek.
Rick startled and Jenna couldn’t remember seeing him jump like that before. “You okay?”
“Sure.” Rick smiled, but Jenna could tell something was bothering him. She didn’t ask him what the matter was as he took her hand. He caressed it and gave it kisses, almost like a man in prayer.
Jenna’s anxiety levels crept up, heating her face. Her chest tightened. “Is something wrong with the baby?”
“No.” Rick shook his head and stroked her hair. “Everything’s fine, hon, they think you’ll be ready to induce mid-week.”
Mid-week. Today was Sunday. That meant she might have the baby in three days. Jenna could do anything for three days.
She broke out in a happy grin and her nose crinkled. “We’re going to get to hold our baby soon. Oh, Rick!” She leaned over and hugged him, settling into his arms.
But Rick squeezed her hard; he held onto her and wouldn’t let go. Jenna had a feeling there was something he wasn’t telling her, something he wasn’t saying. She pulled back to look at him and saw a secret in his eyes. Rick was guarded in a way Jenna couldn’t remember seeing him before.
Except . . .
“What’s the matter, Jameson?” Jenna snarled. “You look like a catfish is crawling up your leg.”
Jameson snorted. “Just sick of being stuck with you in this van, Morgan.”
Van? What van?
“What’s wrong?” Rick asked.
Jenna shook her head. “Nothing, of course. Nothing. We’ll be fine, right?”
“Right.” Rick used a paper cloth to wipe Jenna’s belly clean of the lubricant they used for ultrasounds and then he straightened out her dress. He was so good to her. Jenna’s fingers stretched out to him and Rick helped her off the table and slip into her shoes.
“I still have the rest of the day off from work, anything you want to do?”
“Work on the nursery.” Jenna’s nose crinkled and her eyes lit up. It made her heart soar. “The final touches before we bring out junior.” Jenna watched Rick’s expression flash for a fraction of a second when she said it.
“Something is wrong.” Jenna took his hands and made him stop moving. “Tell me what it is, Rick. Please. Am I going to . . . die?” Glistenings had notorious hard births. Carrying to full term wasn’t something that was expected and here Jenna was, closing in on her due date in a matter of days.
“Is it my blood pressure? Blood sugar?” Jenna’s face drained of color as Rick’s head bowed. He wouldn’t even look at her. “Jameson, answer me!”
His head shot up. “Why . . . why did you call me that?” His eyes were wide like circular little pools.
Jenna didn’t know why it was so upsetting to him. “To get your attention and it worked. If you’re keeping something from me . . . We’re married. You’re supposed to share everything.”
Rick caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. “Nothing’s wrong, baby. I’m just worried. I promise. Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?”
Jenna’s eyes flashed away and she blinked her eyes. “No . . . I . . .” she tried to steady herself, take a deep breath, but she didn’t catch her emotions in time. The harness hissed as it tu
rned on and Jenna swayed on her feet.
“Stay with me, Jenna. Okay?” Rick whispered and his lips danced across hers, graceful and precise.
She clung to his arms, trying to steady herself, falling deeper and deeper into his kiss. “I’m sorry I doubted you.” Jenna’s nose nuzzled against his cheek.
Rick’s face was neutral, but a small grin broke out. “What you need is ice cream.” He swung his arm around her shoulder.
Jenna giggled. “It’s a little early for ice cream.”
“Nonsense. No such thing.”
****
It was a farce.
And it was one; he had created.
Pink bedding, light, pink walls decorated with fluffy, white clouds. A white crib with the softest stuffed, white polar bear, glistening ration money could buy.
Everything about it was false. Nothing about it was real. Hell, it wasn’t even Rick’s kid. He was playing a part and doing his damnedest to make sure the baby was delivered healthy, for science. To finally end the glistenings and their war. But as he leaned over and attached the final piece, the mobile that he and Jenna picked out last week at the Swap Shop, Jameson couldn’t help but feel bitter.
He never wanted kids; never wanted a wife, but now that he was playing house, Rick could see what the appeal was in the old days, before the first glistening outbreak. There was no place for this in the real world, where glistenings breathed fire from the night sky.
But here? In a protected New Haven community?
Glistenings didn’t know how good they had it. Sure, food ran short sometimes and the police were always sniffing in your privates, in the name of ‘protection’. But they had everything humans didn’t.
Rick burned hot with anger over that. Glistenings had it all and most of them didn’t even realize it.
“It looks beautiful.” Jenna stepped into the nursery, bare foot, with her hands cradling her belly. “I can’t wait for her to see it.”
Twirling the screwdriver in his hand, Rick turned and took in the sight of her. His heart skipped a beat to see how tender she was, peering down at her belly. Rick didn’t think anything could soften Jenna Morgan up like that. He had to remind himself what she really was, who he really was.
It was a part, just a game.
“It’s going to be a special time.” He cleared his throat.
“I’ve called Mr. Pearcy. He does magic with a camera.”
“A camera?” Rick’s brow furrowed. “For what?”
“Newborn photos silly.” She swatted at him as he drew her in close. “Father and daughter. Special time, just like you said.” Jenna bit her lip.
He put his hand on Jenna’s belly and caressed it. Dirk’s kid was in there and once, Dirk had been his best friend. Now he was going to give that kid up for science? Jameson knew he could never face Dirk again, before this. If Dirk was still alive he’d hunt Jameson to the ends of the Earth. If there was anything left of him to hunt, once Jenna was done with him.
Rick stroked her cheek. Her button nose squished up and it was one of the cuter things she did. Jameson never guessed how much potential hard-ass, Jenna Morgan, had bottled up inside of her.
But that wasn’t real, either. It was due to the drugs and the harness. Without that, Jameson knew all of this would fade away. She’d turn into a ruthless killer once again and her hit list? Rick’s name would be right at the very top.
Which meant Rick was going to have to kill her first.
“The Jensen’s are on their way over for a little bridge and a little barbeque,” Jenna said.
Rick knew exactly where she was leading. He nodded, the ever-dutiful husband. “Then I’ll cut the watermelon and get the charcoal roaring.”
“Such a good husband.” Jenna pinched his cheek.
If she only knew the half of it, Rick thought. If she only knew . . .
Chapter Ten Jenna
Outside on the patio, Rick grilled the burgers medium rare, just like Jenna liked. He wore his ‘Kiss the Grill Master’ apron and held a beer in his hand as he chuckled at his joke. Their friends, Molly and Dean Jensen, joined him in laughter. They all sat at the round picnic table. Molly was wearing bright, red lipstick, customary for a glistening, and Dean had a thick head of wavy, brown hair.
Everything was light and jovial, as the evergreen trees shifted with the breeze.
Happily, Jenna watched from the sliding glass doors, her head resting against the pane of glass, hands tucked around her belly. She liked watching Rick talk and smile when he didn’t realize she was even there. It made her so warm inside, almost like a fuzzy feeling. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so content. Maybe that’s what married life and being about to have a baby was all about.
Being content, finally accepting yourself, for who you really are.
Who you really are . . .
Jenna shook the cobwebs out of her head and headed into the kitchen. There was a fresh decanter of organ juice in the fridge. She placed three small glasses on her oak tray to carry outside, but as she got ready to pour, her heart pounded, and the decanter froze in the air. A tiny drop of juice slowly fell to the waiting glass below.
There were three glasses and not four. Jenna grabbed them on instinct because when she had the juice in the morning, Rick never did. Why didn’t he? She scowled as she thought back to all the time they spent together. He always said he didn’t want some, or had some already, but had she ever seen him drink the organ juice, himself?
Ever?
Why wouldn’t he drink it?
Jenna pursed her lips together and felt a surge of anger, hostility coming out of nowhere. She took a deep, stabilizing breath and blew it out her mouth. Several more times she completed the breathing and it was enough to keep her harness from being triggered.
She put down the orange, sunflower decanter and tore open the cabinet to pull out another glass. Jenna didn’t know why it was important to her; she just knew it was. She slammed the door shut and placed the glass on the tray. One way or another, Rick was going to drink the juice, because she had to know, and she had to witness it, herself.
He doesn’t wear a harness. He doesn’t drink the juice . . .
Shut up, Jenna chastised herself and her ever-spinning mind. Happy and content just a few, short minutes ago, why couldn’t she just let things lay? Why did she have to stir up trouble, when the baby was going to be born in a few days?
The juice poured, Jenna picked up the tray and carried it outside with a huge smile on her face. “I thought we could use some refreshments!”
Placing it down on the picnic table by the potato salad and the corn on the cobb, her friends’ faces lit up.
“Oh, delightful! Thank you, Jenna!” Molly said.
Dean picked up his glass. “You always know just what we need. Cheers to Mrs. Jameson!”
Jenna’s skin trembled to hear him address her that way, but the reason why was unknown to her. It was her name. Her finger wore a wedding ring; the same one Rick slipped on her finger the day they were married, so what was there to feel creeped out about?
She picked up a glass and offered it to Rick as he finished putting burgers onto a platter. “Here you go. Everyone dig in!” Rick placed the platter down at the center of the table; all but ignoring that Jenna was even staring there.
“Rick,” Jenna said with force, “your drink.”
His eyes locked with hers, but then he picked up the brush he used to clean the grill and turned around. “Later, Sweetheart. I had some an hour ago.”
Jenna took a deep breath and turned to her friends. Their smiles were faltering and even hers felt like it was weathering something mighty. It was beginning to crack, so she tugged on Rick’s shirt while his back was to her.
“You need to drink this juice and finish the toast Dean made.”
Rick continued his scrubbing of the grill grates with vigor, like he was running away from something, or wanted to avoid her. Jenna’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Rick, this is ridiculous. T
urn around.”
Slowly he did and Jenna saw he was as white as a sheet. “Take the juice. Just a sip, that’s all that’s needed.”
“Why are you pushing this?” Rick asked as the glass was shoved into his hand.
“Why won’t you drink it?” Jenna asked with a rise in her chest. She swallowed a deep breath of air and blew it out slowly.
Rick stared not at her, but her harness, waiting for something to happen.. Unconsciously, Jenna stroked the center of it. “Why don’t you wear a harness? All of our friends do.”
“This is crazy.” Rick moved past Jenna, slammed the glass back down on the tray, and headed for the house. He slammed the patio door, and through the glass, the blinds swayed as he stormed inside the house.
Dean and Molly were stone-faced as their harnesses lit up. A puff of air escaped and they both moaned, with half-lidded eyes. Slow smiles spread across their faces and their eyes drooped like they were drugged. Was that what happened to Jenna, even though it was for her own good?
“I’m sorry,” Jenna, said to them, as they swayed in their seats under a hypnotic haze. “If our night was ruined, I apologize.” She grabbed a glass of juice and raced into the house. “Rick?” She entered the kitchen, but it was empty.
He wasn’t there.
Jenna headed up the stairs, straight into the bedroom. Rick sat at the foot of the bed; his legs wide and his elbows perched on his knees. In his open palms, his head rested, and it was clear whatever was going on, he was distressed.
When she entered and put the glass down on the dresser, Rick’s eyes were on it, but he was silent. He rubbed his mouth and stood to leave, but Jenna held out her hand and pushed it gently against his chest.
“What’s going on?” Jenna asked with a tilt of her head. “Why’d you rush off when we have guests?”
“Maybe then you should get back to them. Tell them I don’t feel well, okay? Headache.” Rick moved toward the window. He leaned against it and peeled the blinds back.