This is just another thing that wouldn't leave until I got it out.  I hope it's okay.  I am still working on The Rabbit Died, though I don't know if anyone much cares.  This takes place in a possible future that I have that I hope to write about someday, but I don't know if I will for sure. 

(Also, just incase you can't tell when Ellis talks:  Ah=I, don'=don't, can'=can't, etc.  I'm trying to replicate his accent.)

Dave's Pain

Ellis and Dave sat at one of the old picnic tables scattered around the compound.  Rachel was nearby with the twins, Jimmy and Keith, who were playing quietly.  A guard, machine gun in hand, paced back and forth, watching and listening for anything out of the ordinary.  Days had passed since the last infected attack, a Tank wandering up, nearly destroying a section of the south wall.  It had been taken down with few injuries and they were still in the process of repairing it.  For the time being, an uneasy calm had fallen back over the camp.  As well as a dark mood for the two men watching the children. 

Keith, Ellis' friend and Dave's boyfriend, was gone.  Had been for nearly six months.  He had acted strangely the last day they saw him and now was gone with no one able or willing to tell them anything.  They knew it had something to do with Phil, Ellis' and Nick's infected young son.  Not long after Keith's dissappearance, they had been allowed to visit him for the first time since he'd been taken away.  He was still confined to a quarantine cell, but they were happy to be able to see him again, to assure him everything would be all right, even if they weren't so sure.  Though they didn't know the particulars, they knew there had to have been a trade or something.  Keith for Phil.  One test subject for another.

That thought made Dave sick.  Keith had been infected about 10 years ago in the first outbreak, but had, like a few lucky others, 'gotten well'.  His skin had become redder, nails and teeth were still claws and fangs, and his one good eye was a slightly luminescent yellow, but his mind had come back and that was what mattered.  Now, he was probably back into the cold hands of doctors, 'nobly' dissecting him for some sort of answer they wouldn't get for a cure they would never be able to make. 

Ellis looked to his dark haired friend, half bent in on himself, pale, and a shadow over his face. 

"Ya okay, man?"  Asked quietly.

"...Yeah...  Just... feel a little off..."  Dave tensed, holding his breath.

"Ya don' really look too good.  Maybe yew should see a doctor..."

"I'm fine...  Probably just lunch.  I've never been able to stomach this food."

Ellis frowned before glancing back at his kids.  They were digging in the dirt.  A while later, Dave let out a gasp, rubbing his side.

"Seriously...  ya should see someone..."

"I'm fine,"  He snapped, glaring at the table.

The children finally tired of their hole and started a game of tag, bringing in two nearby children to make it more fun.  Ellis bounced between watching the little ones and watching Dave.  Though he tried not to show it, he was in pain.  He'd tense at times, holding or pressing his sides, exhaling when the feeling would pass.  The kids got louder as more parents brought their own to add to the group.  They'd been there for sometime when Dave let out a groan, doubling in on himself.  Ellis reached out a hand, placing it on his shoulder.

"Dave?"

"...Shit..."  He said quietly, swallowing. 

"What's wrong?"

"...Oh god..."  His eyes got wide as he felt something warm and wet between his legs.

"Dave, what's wrong?"

"I-I don't know..."  Wrapped arms around his middle, tears coming to his eyes.  People began to turn their attention to them.

"We're goin' to the medic.  Rachel," he called over and she turned to him, "Watch Jimmy an' Keith.  If we ain' back soon, go find yer daddy, okay?"

"'Kay mama."

"Good girl."  Ellis helped Dave up, a wet spot marked where he had sat.  Together they made it to the medical tent.  The doctor on duty stood as they entered, helping place Dave on the cot.

"What's wrong?"

"My stomach..."  Dave cringed.

The doctor pulled up his shirt, prodding him.  He found his abdomen to be slightly distended, firm and tense.  No touch seemed to elicit any pain or other notable reaction.  With a 'hm', he grabbed his stethoscope, placing the cold metal to Dave's middle.  He moved it all over, lips pursed and eyebrows crinkled.

"Sir...  I think you're pregnant, possibly in labor."

"W-what?  No, I...  What?  Oh god..." 

Ellis gaped for a moment before kneeling down to take his friend's hand.

"I's okay, Dave..."

"No...  No, no, no..."  He shook his head, tears streaming down.

"How far apart are the contractions?"

"I-I...  I dunno..."  He finally sobbed.

"We'll time them.  Tell me when another starts."

They only had to wait a bit before another came and a while more for the next.  He told them it wasn't yet time, the contraction needing to get closer.  The tent was quiet, save for Dave's occassional sobs and Ellis' attempts to soothe him.  Time seemed to drag on that way, the doctor preparing his instruments for delivery. 

"Oh gawd!"  Dave tensed, spreading his legs, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I's okay, i's okay..."  Ellis shushed, stroking his hand.

The doctor hurriedly removed Dave's pants, placing over a blanket for modesty.

"Oh mah gawd, I can' do this..."  Dave whimpered, Southern twinge breaking through.

"Yes ya can.  Ah know ya can."

Dave shook his head, letting out another cry.

"Push," the doctor ordered.  Dave did his best to comply.  "Okay, relax..."

Dave whimpered unintelligably, Ellis gritting his teeth, remembering his own birthing ordeals.

"Push."

"Aah!"  Squeezed Ellis hand.

"It's starting to crown."

"Ya hear that?"

"Oh gawd..."

"Relax..."

They continued in that fashion, pushing and screaming and comforting, for quite some time.  Dave continued to cry, hardly able to form words, and Ellis was near tears himself.

"I can' do this...  I can'..."  Dave shook his head again.

"Just one more push.  One more big push and you're there, sir."

"C'mon, Dave.  Jus' one more.  Jus' one..."

 Dave just shook his head more but his body was loathe to disagree.  He pushed, letting our a choking gasp as he felt the pressure gone.  He trembled, head pounding, the world blurry, pain still racking his body.  Moments later, a cry filled the room.

"It's a boy," the doctor announced after cutting the cord and wrapping the babe in a towel.  He offered it to Dave who took the bundle almost instinctually. 

His mind was an exhausted blank.  He could barely comprehend the thing in his arms.  A baby.  His baby.  Keith's baby.  He'd had no idea.  His stomach, while he had noticed it get slightly bigger, had not been big enough to even bring about the thought of pregnancy.  He hadn't had any odd symptoms, really.  The food had been making him sick before he would have even gotten pregnant.  He'd never even felt the baby move. 

After a few minutes, the doctor took the infant from his arms to inspect him.  He appeared healthy.  Heart sounded fine.  Lungs sounded fine.  He was a small child, just a little longer than his hand and only about as wide.  His exam done, he put the baby back into his mother's arms.

Ellis pulled his friend to him.  Tears ran down his face.  Dave shook, looking down at the boy (whom a voice from somewhere in the back of his head called Rupert) once more in his hands.

"Oh my god, Ellis...  Oh god...  It's-it's his..."

"Ah know, Dave...  Ah know..."

Fin

This was my first time trying to write a real birthing scene.  I'm not really good at it and I'm not terribly comfortable getting graphic.  I had kind of intended Rupert to be born around the same times Rachel was, but my friend convinced me not to.  And I kind of wanted to have Dave have a pleasant/unpleasant surprise at this point, but it was going to be a daughter...  Oh well...  But I wanted to play with a 'I didn't know I was pregnant' kind of scenario.  This is probably the only time I'll do this since I much prefer my men to have big, very apparent bellies.  Haha.  Anyway, Dave is really sad because he doesn't know where his baby daddy is or if he'll ever see him again.  <:I  May try to do another random birth scene.  We'll see what happens.  Hope you liked it.