Jess Givens - dated to April 20th

[sluttylyingliar]

It's really, really not supposed to happen this way. Rachel has tried (sort of) to cut down the whining about this Wild Westcrap because it's about the happiest she's seen Raylan in pretty much ever but still. Birth? Without electricity? In the DESERT or whatever this is supposed to be? There are like, rattlesnakes around. And ghosts...maybe. And that clniic is not sterile and there aren't any modern drugs and these dresses are ridiculous and heavy and she can't breathe she's so pregnant.

Honestly, she should have known this would happen in the four seconds a day Raylan and Danny leave her by herself. Her back had been hurting all night but she had written it off to the lumpy mattress and somehow also forgot to mention the shooting pains that in restrospect were coming every ten minutes or so. She'd sent Raylan on with an assurance she was fine and all she needed was a soak in the bath (iron tub thing) and that she didn't need Danny to supervise. It's clear to her, now, that she should never be allowed to make the decisions every again because the second she stepped out of that tub, her water broke and it was very clear what was happening. And that is what happening very quickly.

She'd managed to scramble into one of those weird underdresses, not giving two shits how much the world was seeing and carefully made her way outside, her guts writhing and back not too painful to straigten. She squints against the bright, hot sun and pads barefoot out into the path.

"Help," she croaks out, arm firm around her belly like maybe she can catch the kid if he falls out right here in the dirt. "Shit, someone help!"

Another wave of pain sends her stumbling down to her knees, cursing loudly and creatively as she tries and fails not to panic. Two seconds in and she's already screwed this up.

Comments

[sluttylyingliar]

"Yes," she says a little desperately, latching on to anything to distract her from the need to vomit on a cactus and just lie down and die. "Tell me about your shitty world. You already know all about my boyfriend and about how we're too fucking stupid to use birth control. Your turn."

[uncanny_aim]

Andrea laughs at that, unable to help herself, even in a situation like this. She knows, though, sometimes you need to laugh at things when they're at their worst. "Well, dead people were walking back where I came from," she tells Rachel as they walk. "And they really did eat people, like you see in horror movies. Actually, it was pretty much exactly like a horror movie."

[sluttylyingliar]

"No fucking way," she huffs, raising an eyebrow as she gives this girl a better look. "Zombies? Seriously? Well shit. You win. That's worse than giving birth in the desert. I feel a little better."

[uncanny_aim]

"And that's not even taking into consideration all the things people started to do when all the rules went away," Andrea continues. She isn't about to tell the worst of her stories, but she knows Rachel's seen the scar on her face. It's sort of impossible to miss. "Society crumbles and people go crazy. Some guy tried to cut my head off with a knife."

[sluttylyingliar]

"Jesus Christ," he swears, hissing softly as another contraction hits. She's silent for a few moments before letting out a long breath.

"So, what's this like then? With no one trying to eat your brains?"

[uncanny_aim]

"It's..." For a moment, Andrea doesn't know what to say. Without the roamers, no one needs her to protect them and without having to protect people, she feels like she's at a bit of a loss. But then she thinks of Sam. Of Danny. Raylan and his soon to be baby.

It's possible she'll still be needed, even here.

"It's nice," she says. "How're you doing there? We're getting pretty close to the clinic."

[sluttylyingliar]

"I'm okay," she says honestly, like ninety percent certain the baby's not going to fall out into the dirt. "Thank you, seriously, thank you. I'd have been so fucked. So utterly fucked."