Lottie couldn’t get comfortable.

Her belly was too full and the baby wouldn’t stop wiggling. A few of its kicks were downright painful and Lottie couldn’t wait for it to be born.

She’d read some literature provided by the government before she ran and knew that pregnancies lasted forty weeks from her last menstrual cycle. That would put her at thirty-seven weeks today, and if Casey kept her the full three weeks…

She squeezed her eyes shut, blocking the thought. She did not want to be near soldiers when she delivered. She’d rather be out in the wild risking death due to complications than owe them any more favors.

“Wu, Teo, get some rest. You’re on dawn watch,” Casey’s low tone drifted to Lottie’s ear. “Have Adan report to me.”

Lottie heard the two men walk away, down the hill from Casey’s tent. The campfire near the entrance wavered as someone walked in between it and the tent. Lottie pulled the blankets up higher.

So far no one had tried to touch her, but Casey’s tent was far enough away from the others that if he tried something... Who was she trying to fool? The other soldiers would turn a deaf ear at best, and at worst, help.

Lottie swallowed hard. Bile rising up in her throat.

More footsteps approached.

“Case?”

Lottie guessed that was Adan.

“You’re on runaway watch, in case I miss something.”

“Gotcha,” Adan replied, and his footsteps moved away from the tent.

Lottie didn’t know how far away Adan went but guessed he had a clear view of the tent flap from wherever he stopped.

The light of the fire flickered away and back again, and she heard soft footfalls in the grass coming closer.

Lottie closed her eyes and willed herself to look asleep. She flinched when the zipper started to open and she struggled to keep her breathing steady and slow. She didn’t want Casey to realize she was still awake.

Casey entered the tent and sat at the end of his bedroll rolled out on the ground. “You can stop pretending. I know you are awake.”

Damn.

Lottie opened her eyes. He was sitting a few feet away, his hands in the process of untying his boots. Deliberately he unlaced the top and tugged the first boot off, and tossed it to the side. He looked back down to his other boot and pulled the second one off and threw it aside also.

“Comfortable?”

No.

“Yes,” she whispered but tugged the blanket under her chin.

“Good,” he replied and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Lottie’s heart started beating harder. Her mind grasping at his first promise to protect her “treasure”, but she worried that didn’t extend to her person. He folded his shirt and set it with his boots, then removed his holster and started to unbutton his shorts.

She couldn’t keep the squeak of fear from escaping, and she struggled to sit up, dragging the blanket with her.

He was in the process of folding his shorts when she whispered, “Please don’t.”

“Don’t what, babe?” He asked, never quite looking at her. “Get ready for bed?”

It was so hard to breathe in the tent. The air felt too still and she thought she might throw up. “Don’t touch me,” she panted.

Casey looked at her, searching her eyes. “What happened to you?”

No! She couldn’t think about those hellish few weeks. She shook her head. “Just don’t touch me… please.”

“Don’t plan to, devushka,” Casey replied and set his shorts on the shirt, and crawled onto his bedroll in just his boxers. “I need sleep, and so do you,” he said and pulled the blanket to his waist. He pillowed his head on his hands and closed his eyes, within moments his breathing smoothed into the rhythm of sleep.

Slowly, Lottie’s breathing returned to normal and her tense muscles relaxed. The unfortunate side effect of the adrenaline rush was now she had to pee. With a sigh, she hugged her arms around her belly and watched Casey sleep.

He looked young, not much older than herself, but clearly seasoned within his squad. She remembered his warm, calloused hands on her wrist and forearm, and shuddered. Casey’s grip had been firm, not painful, and radiated strength. It reminded her of before and she gagged.

You have to stop thinking about that! she growled to herself. The memories forced themselves forward regardless, and she felt the tears slide down her cheeks. She sniffed and wiped her nose against her sleeve and grimaced. It was gross, but she didn’t have a tissue.

Sniffing again, she rested her elbows against her knees. In one last angry attempt to rid herself of the memories, she let her mind turn blank and stared off into space.