***
“We’re alone. Sort of.” Nick grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. “Whatever it is, I want to help you. I love you. Now, please, talk to me.” Claire leaned up against the bumper of the truck. She looked at Nick with such sadness, tears still running down her face.
“I think…” She had to take a deep breath. “I think I might be pregnant.” She stood in silence, wiping her tears on her sleeve. Initially Nick was stunned, but began pacing moments later.
“Are you sure?”
“No, I’m not one hundred percent sure. But I’m two weeks late, and I’ve been feeling sick to my stomach for the past couple days.”
“Shit…” He stopped in front of Claire and put his hands together in front his mouth. After a couple of deep breaths, he stepped closer to her and pulled her into him. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this.”
“The baby will be a burden on the group,” she cried.
“They will just have to accept it.”
“I’m sorry. We should’ve been more careful.”
“Well, we can’t turn back time so we just have to move forward. Okay?” He pulled her chin up and wiped her tears off her face. He smiled. “You are an amazing woman, Claire. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”
“It’s going to be tremendously difficult. I don’t know how we’ll clothe, or diaper, or even feed the baby. I can’t imagine I would produce enough milk with the lack of nutrients I’m getting.” She was breaking his heart. Claire always wanted to be a mom, but not under those current circumstances.
“I know. We’ll take it day by day, one step at a time.” He rubbed her shoulders. They heard the truck door open, and Henry rounded the back.
“Ahh… Sorry. I hate to break this up, but we need to get moving. It’ll be dark soon, and we need to find a place to stay.” He was trying not to intrude. Claire wondered if Elaina said something to him.
“Yeah. Sorry. Come on, babe.” Nick gingerly guided her back to the truck.
***
“Are we all set?” Henry asked.
“Yeah, let’s go.” Nick held Claire, who was still sniffling, close to him. Thomas and Henry had both decided to just be quiet and not ask any questions about what was going on.
“You know, we’re close to a military base. I heard rumors before all this mess began that there is a massive cache of weapons at this particular one.” Henry waited for someone to respond. It didn’t look like that was going to happen. “Fantastic,” he quipped. He was really catching on to my sarcastic ways.
“Yes…fantastic, Henry,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I don’t think it’s a great idea. It’s military.”
“Correct,” he replied in a rather cheerful tone. “That means they have bigger guns and bigger ammo.” He grinned. I had no idea why the thought of weapons made him so giddy. It was kind of creepy.
“I don’t know, Henry. It just seems too risky. What if they are still in operation and we try to steal from them? We’d all be undead food. Besides, the military has to still be in operation with the bombings up north.”
“If you hadn’t noticed during our small expedition, there have been bombings here, as well.”
“Henry… I just don’t see this as a good idea.”
“We’re running low on ammo, and I want to be sure I have enough to take out Gunther and whatever army he has gathered.”
“I understand that. It just seems dangerous.”
Henry laughed. “Look around us, love! It’s dangerous everywhere.”
“Don’t be an asshole,” I grumbled.
Nick spoke up. “Maybe we could just drive past it and see what it looks like.”
“I guess that would be fine,” I mumbled. “I just want us to be careful.”
“Love, have you forgotten with whom you are riding?” A wide grin spread across his face.
“Oh, my god, Henry,” I groaned.
“Oh, love, I know you enjoy me thoroughly, but to call me a god? That’s a little excessive, don’t you think?” I crossed my arms and looked out the window. I was suffering from a range of emotions: anger, embarrassment, and irritation.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Daniels,” I growled.
“Oh! Burn!” Thomas yelled with a laugh. Sometimes I forgot that we weren’t alone.
“Shut up, Thomas!” Henry quipped. There was an eruption of laughter throughout the truck. Even Claire laughed. “We’ll just have to see about that next time, my love.” He put his hand on my thigh and squeezed it. A loud sigh escaped my throat.