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“Marlene, I’m pregnant.”
The arms around her tightened but Anna couldn’t tell if it was from anger or fear. She wouldn’t blame Marlene for being angry at her. Those feelings between them were still there, never resolved or talked about.
All Marlene and Anna did was dance around them. Both were aware that they still existed but it was easier to ignore them.
“Who?”
A strained laugh forced it’s way out of Anna’s throat. “Does it really matter?” He was a brief fling, if you could even call it that. Three hasty hook ups late at night after the end of their shifts resulted in the blessed miracle. Anna wasn’t sure what encounter led to her getting pregnant but in the end it didn’t matter.
The only thing that did matter was what Anna was going to do and how to cope with a pregnancy in this fucked up world of theirs.
Marlene sighed. “I suppose it doesn’t. Take it he still isn’t around?”
“Transferred to another military facility that was in short supply of nurses. I probably will never see him again and I don’t care if I do, Marlene.” Anna could feel her resolve breaking. “Besides, I had a chance to seek him out but I didn’t. I came to you because your the one I want by my side; not some man that was little more then a sexual relief.”
Anna panicked when the symptoms started appearing. As a nurse, she knew what pregnancy signs to look out for. It was like a textbook case and the only person Anna could think to contact was Marlene. Her friend and former lover who’d always been there for her-- no matter what.
They met two years into the spread of the infection. Anna was donating her skills as a nurse while Marlene had taken another path, becoming one of the founding members of the fireflies. They met on the edge of a militarized zone. Marlene was injured and Anna wasn’t about to let someone die of their injuries; Firefly member or not.
A tentative friendship formed followed by something more, unexpected. The reasons for it failing were simple. Anna was working with the military and often over worked, trying her best to save what little of humanity was left. With Marlene continuing to work with the Fireflies, her work took her all over the country.
Often, Anna would spend some of her nights worrying about where Marlene was and if she were still alive or not.
The worry and the distance eventually became too much for Anna. She had to end things but their friendship didn’t suffer. It became a little strained as it did in those kind of situations. Anna expected that to happen. Like they said though, time did indeed heal all wounds. There was, at least, some truth to that statement.
“I’m sorry for dragging you all the way out here, Marlene. I know how dangerous it is for you to come into the quarantined zones.”
Marlene suddenly broke the hug. “You never have to apologize for contacting me, Anna. Your my friend and I don’t care how long it fucking takes but I will make it to you.”
Another laugh came to surface but this one was less hysterical and angry. It was more on the amused side with a small hint of hysteria. Anna wasn’t able to erase all of it from her tone given the complicity of the situation. “Do you realize how cheesy that sounds?”
“Very but it made you laugh, didn’t it?” Marlene quipped.
It temporarily lifted the weight off her shoulders but soon the high faded and Anna was once again forced to face the situation. “I’ve never been found of children you know-- especially infants. All that crying and diaper disposal has never appealed to me.”
Marlene pulled Anna towards the table, inviting her to sit down. The offer was gladly (and quickly) accepted. “You’re still as fucking stubborn as ever. I mean, Anna you do know that pregnancy will result in a baby some odd months from now, right? It’s inevitable.”
“So?” Anna muttered, ironically feeling a surge of stubbornness. “It doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it, Marlene.”
“Anna, I want to help you in any way I can but what do you want from me? I can’t magically erase a pregnancy.”
“I was told I never could get pregnant but now I do?” Anna shook her head. “This pregnancy is not going to be an easy one so if something happens promise you’ll take care of the kid, Marlene?”
Marlene swallowed. “I’ll treat them as if it’s my own fucking kid but you need to stop talking like that, Anna. If anything is going to kill you in this world it isn’t going to be a pregnancy.”
“I would rather die that way then be turned into an infected, Marlene. That’s not a way anyone wants to go and certainly not a way I ever imagined dying.”
What they knew of the infected was enough to convince Anna that she didn’t ever want to suffer such a fate. The expression on Marlene’s face told Anna that her friend felt the exact same way. It was a relief because she needed Marlene to understand what she was getting at.
“Let’s just take it one day at a time, all right? In this fucking messed up world we have too, Anna.” Marlene leaned forward and reached out for one of Anna’s hand. She squeezed gently, a thumb running over a knuckle.
“One day at a time sounds like a plan but I don’t know how much more we can discuss now. The longer you’re here the more danger your in.”
Reluctantly, Marlene stood. “I’ll contact you in a few weeks, all right?”
Anna smiled weakly. “I look forward to it and you don’t have to tell me. If something comes up, I will contact you before that.”
“See you, Anna.”
“Bye, Marlene.”
Hopefully, they’d be able to see each other soon because Anna didn’t think she could do this without her.