Baby Blooms:

Simone’s Notes:

Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female human. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets. Human pregnancy is the most studied of all mammalian pregnancies. Obstetrics is the surgical field that studies and treats pregnancy. Midwifery is the non-surgical field that cares for pregnant women. Childbirth usually occurs about 38 weeks from fertilization, i.e., approximately 40 weeks from the start of the last menstruation in humans. Thus, pregnancy lasts about nine months, although the exact definition of the English word “pregnancy” is a subject of controversy. One scientific term for the state of pregnancy is gravid, and a pregnant female is sometimes referred to as a gravida. Both words are rarely used in common speech. Similarly, the term "parity" is used for the number of previous successful live births. Medically, a woman who is not currently pregnant or who has never been pregnant is referred to as a "nulligravida", and in subsequent pregnancies as "multigravida" or "multiparous". Hence during a second pregnancy a woman would be described as "gravida 2, para 1" and upon delivery as "gravida 2, para 2". Incomplete pregnancies of abortions, miscarriages or stillbirths account for parity values being less than the gravida number, whereas a multiple birth will increase the parity value. Women who have never carried a pregnancy achieving more than 20 weeks of gestation age are referred to as "nulliparous". The term embryo is used to describe the developing offspring during the first eight weeks following conception, and the term foetus is used from about two months of development until birth. In many societies' medical and legal definitions, human pregnancy is somewhat arbitrarily divided into three trimester periods, as a means to simplify reference to the different stages of prenatal development. The first trimester carries the highest risk of miscarriage. During the second trimester, the development of the foetus can be more easily monitored and diagnosed. The beginning of the third trimester often approximates the point of viability, or the ability of the foetus to survive, with or without medical help, outside of the uterus.

The day that everyone really got to work on the virus came early September fifteenth. Havoc and Breda had just come from lunch. They were heading into a crowded street when they noticed something right away. Dahlia was among the crowd in the distance. The boys recognized her right away.

“Hey,” Breda whispered to his friend. “Is that Mrs. Winston?” Havoc squinted really hard for a look.

“It is!” he said. “It is Mrs. Winston!” Both men looked at her for a few minutes more. Then, they began to notice some strange things about her.

“Hey Havoc,” Breda voiced. “I know we have girlfriends and all, but did Dahlia’s boobs get bigger?”

“Huh?” the other lt. asked. Then, he took another long hard look. “Yes they did,” he said. Then, the biggest surprise came when the crowd cleared away. The boys’ eyes grew wide in shook. Dahlia was close to seven months pregnant! The boys knew that her husband was dead and wondered who the father was. So, the guys hurried over to the mother-to-be as fast as they could. Dahlia was about to head home when she heard calling out to her.

“Mrs. Winston!” they yelled to her. The widow looked up quickly. Her eyes lit up instantly. She smiled when she saw two of her old friends. Dahlia waved at them happily.

“Hey guys!” she cried to them. The lieutenants raced over to her.

“Hey,” Havoc managed to say once he caught his breath.

“Hi,” Dahlia repeated. There was a pause between them. The men kept staring at her. The widow looked at the boys confused.

“What?” she asked them innocently. The men still couldn’t speak at first.

“You’re… You’re… pregnant!” Breda exclaimed aloud in shock. There was another pause. Dahlia looked down at herself smiling.

“Why yes!” she chirped. “I am so happy.” Then, the glow from her face slowly faded away. “It’s too bad… Mark won’t be able to see his child!” Dahlia said in a sad voice. Her sweet eyes began to well up in tears. She broke down into tears. Havoc hugged her lightly.

“Shhh,” he whispered to her. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” Dahlia just cried on his chest. Havoc lightly stroked her hair. News about Dahlia’s pregnancy quick around quickly like wildfire. Most were very excited. The deities were rightfully worried. The news even made it back to the Aizen Myo-o Academy. This only meant one thing.

“The virus is in its advanced stages!” Mother Superior announced to the students at the academy. Everyone was in a fearful whisper. Their great fears had come true. If the fallen ones had mated with the humans, half-breeds would be born. If that were to happen, the fallen world would grow even more. Also the barrier between mystics and humans would be destroyed and the dark desires would eat up everything. There was something that had to be done. But yet, Dahlia wasn’t the only one expecting.

Lately, Yasmine had been feeling sick. She was laying on the couch resting when Malachi rested over to her. He had a ball in his hands.

“Mommy,” the boy said concerned. “Will you play with me?” Yasmine looked up at him tired.

“Not right now,” she said to him. “Mommy’s tired.” Malachi pouted at her.

“Okay,” he sighed. Then, he went off to play with something else. Steven was watching them from the kitchen. He began to notice a pattern. For the past few days, Yasmine had been feeling sick. Not just tired all of the time, but also throwing up in the morning. She had been complaining about back pains as well. His wife was even craving for chocolate most of the days. Steven knew the signs too well. But how could he be sure? There was only one way to see…

Steven approached his wife quietly. Yasmine turned her head and looked up. Her husband froze in his tracks. He seemed to be surprised. His wife smiled a tired smile at him.

“It’s okay sweetie,” she said to him. “You don’t have to freeze up every time I sense you.” Steven relaxed some. He began to smile at her.

“You okay?” he asked her. Yasmine looked at him slightly confused.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You’ve been feeling pretty sick lately,” her husband answered. “How bad is it?” Yasmine sat up a little bit. She thought about that for a moment.

“Well, now that you mention it,” the deity replied. “My breasts have been feeling sore. I feel really hungry for chocolate. I’m always tired. And I’m always sore all over. That and I have been throwing up almost every morning.” That was enough to convince Steven right away. He quickly grabbed Yasmine by the arm and hurried out the door with her. The deity was really confused now.

“Steven!” she called out. “What’s going on? Where are you taking me?” Her husband didn’t answer. He just took her straight down to the clinic. When a few minutes, his suspicions were confirmed. Yasmine came out of the doctor’s office. Her face looked pretty pale. Steven rose to his feet over to her. His wife pressed her lips together nervously.

“I’m pregnant,” she announced. Steven was both shocked and overjoyed. He hugged her close to him.

“Honey!” he said to her aloud. “This is wonderful!” Yasmine looked as if she would throw up all over.

“But how is that possible?” she asked softly so that he would only hear. “We’re two different species.” Steven let go of her and slowly backed up. He looked at her slightly confused. The col. Just shrugged at her.

“A miracle?” he asked her. Yas kept quiet at that one.

“I suppose…” she replied uneasily. But, the deity knew the real reason. “The virus is advanced!” she thought. That only meant one thing. “Syd,” she thought. “Please hurry with Janine. We don’t have much time!” But still, Dahlia and Yasmine weren’t the only one with bundles of joy coming to them.

At school, Jakob got a call on his cell phone. He answered it quickly.

“Hello?” he asked.

“Jakob?” a woman asked him. He quickly got excitement.

“Riza?” he asked. “What’s going on?” There was a slight pause on the phone.

“I’m pregnant!” the captain announced. Jakob’s eyes grew big in surprise.

“What?!?” he asked in shock.

“I’m pregnant,” Hawkeye-Riis repeated. “By three weeks!” The mouse didn’t know what to say at first. Happiness had taken over his mind.

“This is great!” he called aloud. “We’re going to be parents!”

“I know!” Riza said back to him happily. Then, they both began talking their future with a baby. Outside, Alice was watching them closely. She was breathing out in relief. She was lucky that Riza and Jakob conceived before the shite hit the fan now. “Great!” the love deity thought. “That’s one last couple I have to worry about with fighting the virus!” Now, to clean up the other mess before it gets worse. Ha! Good luck with that one!