CHAPTER 12: THREE BABIES, ONE BUNKER WAR

Bianca didn't sleep all night.

On camera, I watched her. Medical bay camera, night vision, green light. She sat on the floor, back against the white wall, holding her 7-month pregnant belly, staring at the glass that separated her from our main bunker. She didn't sleep. She stared at our corridor, at our kitchen light in the distance, at our warm home. Jealousy keeps you awake.

Damian slept, or passed out from fever. Antibiotics EVA gave him helped a little, fever down from 39.5 to 38.8, but his arm was still swollen, bite marks red and angry. He needed more antibiotics, needed clean bandage, needed doctor. I was a doctor, before apocalypse, before I became barren woman who cried in garden. I was Dr. Elena Voss, MD. I took oath.

Killian and I slept, or tried. He slept sitting up again, gun on lap, one hand on my belly, guarding twins. Two pups. He whispered in sleep. "Two... two... need two names..."

I woke at 4 AM. Couldn't sleep. Twins high risk, EVA said bed rest, but my doctor heart couldn't rest knowing a man had infection behind glass and a woman 7 months pregnant was on floor with no mattress.

I got up, quiet, not waking Killian. Went to kitchen, took water, bread, extra antibiotics, bandage. Went to glass.

Bianca saw me. Jumped up, pregnant, fast. "Elena! Elena you came! Please, please let me in, I can't sleep on floor, my back hurts, my baby kicks so hard, please, I need a bed, please..."

Damian woke too, pale. "Elena..."

I looked at them. Two people who destroyed me. One who paid doctors to say I was barren. One who laughed. And now they were on floor, begging me, barren woman with twins, for bed.

"Bianca," I said, calm, through glass speaker. "I am a doctor. I will help your baby. But you will follow my rules. Rule 1: You don't touch my husband. Rule 2: You don't touch my food without asking. Rule 3: You tell me truth about every time you laughed at me being barren. I want to hear it. Then I give you mattress."

Bianca nodded fast, crying. "Yes! Yes! I will tell! I laughed... I laughed many times! When you cried in garden at 2 AM after doctor appointments, I laughed with Damian in bedroom! When you bought baby shoes hoping one day, I laughed and said you were crazy! When you told me you felt empty, I laughed and told Damian you were too weak to be mother! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, mattress for my baby!"

Truth. Ugly truth, but truth.

Damian looked at me, fever eyes, sorry eyes. "Elena, I also... I told Bianca you would never be mother. I told my friends you were broken. I told my mother you were defective. So she would let me divorce you. I'm sorry. I was cheap monster. He is expensive monster who loves you. I see now."

Cheap monster vs expensive monster. He finally saw.

I pressed button. Glass inner door opened a little, small slot, enough to push mattress, water, bread, medicine. Not enough for them to come out. EVA helped, robotic arm pushed two mattresses, thin but clean.

Bianca grabbed mattress, crying thank you, putting it on floor, lying down, holding belly, finally comfortable after 12 hours on hard floor.

Damian took antibiotics, water, bandage, changed his own bandage with shaking hands.

"Thank you, Elena," he whispered. "Even after... thank you."

I was about to close slot when Killian's voice came behind me, cold, angry, awake.

"Elena Thorne, what are you doing? I said bed rest. No standing. No stress. And you are giving my supplies to people who called you barren?"

He was behind me, tall, gun in hand, not happy. He slept 3 hours only, guarding twins.

"Killian, they are pregnant and infected," I said, turning. "I am doctor. I can't let baby on floor. And twins... twins teach me to be kind. I want our twins to know their mother was kind even to evil people."

He looked at my belly, then at Bianca on mattress, then at me. Anger vs love. Love won.

"Fine," he said, jaw tight. "But my new rule. Rule 4: They work. No free food in my bunker. Bianca cleans medical bay. Damian, if he lives, cleans toilets. My bunker, my rules. My wife is not their maid. They are their own maid."

Work for food. Fair in apocalypse.

Bianca heard through speaker, nodded fast. "Yes! Yes! I will clean! I will do anything! Thank you, Mr. Thorne! Thank you!"

Damian nodded too. "Yes. Work. I will work."

Killian closed slot, locked glass, took my hand, pulled me back to bedroom. "Bed rest. Now. For twins. You worry about three babies, but you forget you have two inside you. You are not doctor now. You are mother. Mother of twins. My twins."

He laid me down, covered me, hand on belly.

"EVA," he said. "Turn off medical bay camera audio for Elena. She needs rest, not their noise. And start making baby clothes from sheets. Two of everything. And... and make a small wall in medical bay. Separate their sleeping area. Bianca is jealous, I don't want her jealousy near my wife."

EVA: "Yes, Mr. Thorne. Wall being built by robot arm. Also, update: outer horde still 40 infected at fence. They are not leaving. They smell blood from medical bay. They will stay 2-3 days. Also, male human Damian infection improving with antibiotics, but he will need 7 more days medicine. Female human Bianca fetus: 7 months, healthy, but mother stress high. Recommend less contact."

Less contact. Yes.

I slept, finally, at 5 AM, Killian's hand on my twins, dreaming of two cribs, two names, two heartbeats in 5 weeks.

I woke at 10 AM to screaming. Not horde screaming. Human screaming. Bianca screaming.

"MY WATER BROKE! MY WATER BROKE! THE BABY IS COMING! ELENA! DOCTOR! HELP! BABY COMING EARLY!"

Medical bay camera: Bianca on mattress, water on floor, holding belly, screaming, face red. 7 months pregnant, but water broke early, stress early labor.

Damian panicked, holding her hand, looking at camera. "ELENA! HELP! HER WATER BROKE! 7 MONTHS! EARLY! HELP!"

Early labor. 7 months. In a medical bay, in apocalypse, with no hospital, with only me, Dr. Elena Voss, who hadn't delivered baby in 2 years, and who was herself pregnant with twins and on bed rest.

Killian ran to glass, gun up. "EVA, status!"

EVA: "Female human Bianca Cole, 32 weeks gestation, premature rupture of membranes. Early labor started. Contractions 3 minutes apart. This is premature birth. High risk. Baby will need incubator. We have no incubator. We have medical bay but not NICU. Mother and baby may die without help."

May die. Two lives, mother and one baby, may die behind glass, while I had two babies inside me, safe.

I got up, despite bed rest, despite Killian shouting "Elena no!", ran to glass, doctor mode on.

"Bianca! Breathe! Breathe! I am coming! Killian, open glass! I need to help! Baby coming!"

Killian grabbed my arm. "Elena, no! You are pregnant with twins! High risk! You can't deliver baby! Stress! Blood! Infection! You can't!"

"Killian, if I don't help, two die!" I cried, hand on my twins, hand reaching to glass. "I am doctor! I took oath! I can't let baby die because mother was evil! Baby is innocent! Let me help! Please! For our twins, let me be good mother who saves other baby!"

He looked at me, at my belly, at Bianca screaming, at his gun, at his bunker. Monster vs father vs husband. All in one second.

Then he opened glass.

"EVA, full decontamination! Medical bay to sterile! And Elena... if you bleed, if you fall, I will kill them both after you save baby. Promise me you will sit, not stand. Promise me."

"I promise," I whispered, and ran into medical bay, into blood, water, screaming, to deliver the baby of the woman who called me barren and laughed.

Three babies, one bunker, and one early labor that could kill everyone with stress.

END OF CHAPTER 12

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AUTHOR NOTE: OMG BIANCA WATER BROKE! 7 MONTHS EARLY! 😭🔥

Will Bianca baby survive with no hospital? Will Elena twins survive stress?

Comment SAVE THEM or LET THEM DIE? And what name for Elena twins? Boy + Girl? Two boys? Two girls? Comment! I'm reading all! ❤️