This storyline originates from the 'Changing Moments' -story (Ch. 2, 7 & 10). I felt this piece haunting me in the back of my mind and so I ended up continuing this storyline in a story of its own. Hope you enjoy it and leave a comment if you wish me to continue it. :)
In short: During the trials it was discovered that Andrea was pregnant too..
Chapter 1
x
St. Louis, two weeks after the Nathan James made port.
Andrea opened her eyes when she felt the sunshine reach her face while lying in her bed back in Norfolk. She looked around and recognized her bedroom in her old house. It was all very real to her in the moment and she began thinking if the pandemic had just been a very sick and twisted nightmare her own mind had cooked up. She got up from bed, wrapping her morning gown tightly around her as she looked outside from the bedroom window.
The street they lived on, was so peacefully still. It was Sunday, everyone was enjoying time with their families. Sun was shining and it would be a beautiful day, she thought. Everything felt so real, even the smell of fresh pancakes greeting her nose as she hopped lightly down the stairs. She entered to the kitchen where Lily was already eating a batch of pancakes with syrup and sugar. She walked over to her, placing a kiss on top of her head, taking in the flowery scent in her hair.
"Good morning mom." She heard Lily say and she smiled as she turned around to give her husband a kiss on the cheek.
"Good morning." Bill said turning the pancake on the fryer.
Andrea walked to the fridge and opened it. The cold air escaping felt like it went right through her. Suddenly the sunny and bright day had turned into a thunderstorm. Flashes from lightnings hit against the windowsill and she turned around only to notice the room empty.
"Bill? Lily?" She looked around but no one was there. What happened? She took a few steps to the doorway and heard the wooden floor creak under her. It was starting to feel like in a horror movie and she had a bad feeling about this. Her heart was pounding and she was afraid to look around the corner. She closed her eyes and paced herself to just take a peak, but as she opened her eyes she let out a frightening scream as she saw her husband with blood on his face, just like in the death of the Red Flu.
Andrea found herself sitting on her bed. She wiped her forehead, her skin was sweating. Her breathing was hurried. She glanced around in the hotel room. 02:34 was the time on the clock. She placed her hand on her chest and took in a few breaths. It was only a dream. Just a dream.. She felt like crying as she thought about her dream. It had been so real, to wake up in her old house that she had with Lily and Bill. To smell the pancakes he used to make every Sunday when she was home.
She got startled even more and let out another low scream as she heard a knock on her door.
"Andrea?" She heard Kara's voice through the door and she wiped the tears from her eyes and got up. She rushed to open the door and saw Kara look at her all worried. She must've heard her screaming in her sleep. The walls in the hotel they were occupying at the moment weren't thick.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah.. I just had a nightmare. That's all." Andrea explained, trying to hide the fact that she felt scared right now. Even if it had just been a dream.
"You need company?" Kara asked and Andrea let her come in.
They sat on the bed as Andrea shared her dream with Kara, eating sugar coated cereals as a snack since they both felt hungry.
"You miss them." Kara took hold of her hand giving her a gentle squeeze and she smiled faintly.
"In the dream I smelled Lily's hair, the flowery scent she always has after a shower.." Andrea heard her voice break and Kara leaned in to hug her.
She was too emotional right now to stop the sobbing wave coming, but she knew Kara wouldn't mind.
The next time she woke up, it was already morning and she heard a knock on the door again. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Kara sleeping beside her. She had stayed and kept her company, and they had fallen asleep.
She got up and put on a morning gown as she walked to the door. Not sure who to expect. She opened the door and saw Mike with a tray of food. She was surprised of this gesture, he hadn't really been this attentive to her because of Christine. She let him in and he placed the tray on the tiny couch table. Glancing at the way where Kara was sound asleep on the bed under the covers.
"Why is Kara sleeping here?" Mike asked in wonder as he took the liberty to sat down on the couch, beside Andrea.
"I.. I had a nightmare and she heard me screaming." Andrea explained feeling a little embarrassed.
"Oh.. You could've come to me." Mike said as he met Andrea's gaze.
"I didn't think of that, and I thought that since you're still trying to patch things up with Christine it wouldn't be wise to have you spend half the night in my hotel room." Andrea explained and picked a few grapes from the tray and began eating.
"Maybe you're right but I still want to be there for you. You're a close friend."
Andrea nodded as she continued eating the grapes in her hand.
"About Christine.. There's a cargo plane heading for Norfolk in a few days and I'll be on it." Mike began telling and suddenly Andrea understood why he had come with a tray of food. He felt bad about leaving her here when he was going back to Norfolk. Back to his wife and family.
They hadn't really discussed about the logistics around having a baby together just yet. After their first stop in Norfolk, the James had sailed on and there hadn't really been any time to properly discuss about her being pregnant, about Christine being alive along with their daughters Sophie and Laura. The Immunes had made sure that they had their hands busy.
"You don't have to feel bad about leaving." She smiled warmly at him and met his gaze and saw from his eyes that he felt relief when he heard her words.
"I know you love Christine and want to try and fix your marriage. It won't happen if you're here and she's in Norfolk."
"I won't be gone long. I still have tasks I need to take care here." Mike stated as if he was trying to reassure her that he wasn't abandoning her, but if he and Christine would manage to talk things through and she would forgive him for their mistake in the Arctic.. She knew she was going to raise this child on her own. Mike would of course come and visit them, and eventually their child would probably spend time with Mike and his family.
Mistake..
She remembered the moment where he pulled slightly away from her embrace and landed a wet kiss on her cheek. In the moment that kiss woke her need for contact with another human being. And as she turned to face him, she slowly but surely kissed him, knowing fully that it was Mike she was kissing and not her husband. But in the moment she had felt she needed him in a way she never had thought she would have him. The following morning they had talked about their night together, agreed that it had been a mistake. But in the aftermath she stopped regretting that night when it had given her something she had just lost. A child. She had lost Lily, she wasn't there to protect her, and now the child she was carrying was more precious to her than anything. She would have a child in her arms again. So the night might have been a mistake at first but now it was so much more than a mistake.
She still remembered his words to her when he told her she was pregnant. She heard from the sound of his voice that he was being caring, using her first name and she felt upset that he might be bringing up their night together, when they both had agreed that it had been just a moment they both had needed then and there.
What she wasn't expecting was to hear the words 'Andrea, you're pregnant' coming out of his mouth. She had looked at him with her mouth slightly open as she tried to figure out whether he was just joking with her. But she knew Mike, he wouldn't joke about this.
"What?"
"Dr. Scott found out about it during the trial." She heard him explain how he knew about her being pregnant before she even had a clue of it.
"Is she sure?"
"She's sure." He had nodded and she smiled while placing her hand on her lower belly. She was overwhelmed of the thought of being pregnant again. This was a welcome surprise in the darkening horizon for her. Her body wasn't ovulating every month and it had required quite the planning to have Lily when she was in the Navy and not around every month to conceive a baby. But her joy was short when she realized what this meant for them.
"This complicates things."
"Yeah, it does. But we're just going to have to own up to our mistake." She felt Mike's strong arms around her as she thought about what they would find back home. If their families were still alive and if they were.. How could they tell them this?