Radioactive

"Love takes time to build it's defenses, and trust takes time to tear down those fences."

---

Harper didn't move for a long period of time. She only stared blanky ahead until Matt started to wonder if she was even breathing anymore. "Don't you think we should talk about it?"

She leaned forward to look over the wall, "do you think I would die if I fell from this height?"

Matt reached forward and grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him. "Harper, this is a big deal." He couldn't help but smile as he continued, "we're having a baby. That's--that's amazing."

She stepped backwards, swatting his hands away. "No, it's not amazing."

"It is amazing!" Matt insisted, staring at her in surprise.

"It's not!" Harper said loudly, her voice rising as she continued, "everyday I wake up hoping that it was all just a bad dream and it'll go away. But then I get sick or I feel randomly dizzy, or I crave something weird like lemons, and I know it's not!"

"Harper--" he tried to continued, but she only stepped away from his outstretched arms.

"I don't think you realize how awful this really is. So much is going on, zombies are attacking, the government has completely shut down, and I'm pregnant."

"There are a lot of pregnant people in the world." Matt countered.

"But I was stupid enough to be careless. I got pregnant with a guy who kidnapped me!"

"Come on," he nudged her shoulder, "that can't be all I am to you."

"It doesn't matter what you are to me! What matters is that I feel like i'm going to throw up. But I can't just wait it out, BECAUSE I CONSTANTLY FEEL LIKE THROWING UP."

He held up his hands defensively, "Harper, I don't know what you want me to do--"

"I want to not be pregnant."

He dropped his hands, glancing around. "I--well, we can't really take back that night."

"Would you take it back if you could?"

He seemed surprised by the sudden question, but he answered back smoothly without hesitation. "There are things I'd like to change, but I don't think I'd completely take it back. Because...I really enjoyed being with you."

She looked a bit surprised by his proclamation, but she didn't fight it. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest, looking down at her shoes and muttering in a broken voice that made his heart clench, "Matt, what are we gonna do?"

He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, thankful when she didn't pull away. "We're going to focus on making sure this baby is healthy and safe. And that he or she has parents who love them unconditionally."

She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face in his shirt. "I'm scared."

Matt laughed into her hair, tightening his arms around her. "I kind of feel bad about my hospital comment."

She returned his laugh, although it sounded more shaky. "You're right, though. I don't know what i'm going to do."

Matt smoothed down her hair, "You don't have to worry about that now. But I promise i'm going to be there, every step of the way." She didn't answer as he soothingly ran his hand up and down her back. "I was the last to know, wasn't I?"

She nodded against his chest, "I'm sorry. Taniss helped me, and Amaryllis found out, and I was just...scared." She leaned back, holding him at arms length. "How'd you react when you found out?"

He shrugged, swallow hard. "One thing at a time, Harp."

She only just seemed to realize the purple bruise forming on his jaw. She gingerly touched it, making him wince. "Taniss or Amaryllis?"

He laughed at that, "I wouldn't let Amaryllis punch me."

She grinned in response, "there's no way you'd be able to stop her."

After a few more minutes of playful bantering, he lead her back to the stairwell and towards the others. Watching her as she walked ahead of him into the room where the others were waiting, it hit him that he was going to have a family. He'd thought about it, but it always seemed so far into the future. A mixture of emotions settled in his stomach as he followed her inside; fear, happiness, and still a bit of surprise and confusion.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Harper was extremely upset to see that the doctor had fished out some wine, and they were already passing the bottle around. This time Matt joined in, sitting on the floor beside Taniss to take a long sip.

Taniss was already feeling a bit light headed as he gave Matt a hard pat on the back. "This father-to-be really needs a drink!" He called out, holding his bottle of wine in the air. Only Harper seemed to notice the hard look the doctor gave Matt at that. She settled in one of the swivel chairs, wrapped in Matts jacket, one hand rested loosely on her flat stomach.

It didn't take long for them to be drunk. They decided to play the same game they played back at the hotel, waiting until Brown left to do so.

Harper watched them jealously as they sipped at the wine. She spun the bottle, and it landed on Matt. "Okay, hmm," she looked thoughtful for a moment. "What was your college life like?"

Matt leaned back on his hands, "boring, I guess. I mostly studied and focused on my grades."

Taniss laughed, holding his bottle in the air. "Neeeeeeeeerrrrrddddd." He drawled drunkenly.

"Hey, atleast I didn't have a girl coming over every. single. weekend." Matt shot back defensively.

"It was not every weekend."

"Really? What about the girl from 2B? She stalked you for, like, three months before you gave in!"

"That has nothing to do with anything."

-*-*-*-*-*-

"Hey, how you doin'." Taniss grinned at Amaryllis, as if she hadn't been sitting beside him for the past hour.

Instead of rolling her eyes or brushing him off, drunken Amaryllis only turned to him, and offered him a similar expression. "I'm doing great, baby, how you doin'?"

That was the last straw for Harper. "Okay, that's it, I'm gone." She threw her hands up into the air before pushing herself up out of the chair.

"Harper, noooooo." Matt cried dramatically, falling onto his back to grasp at her leg as she walked by.

She kicked at his hand, "Matthew!"

"Harper, don't go!" Amaryllis begged, "you can't leave!"

"Shuddup, Scotty." Harper said, rolling her eyes. Matt continued to grip onto her pants leg until she reached down and tried to haul him to his feet. "Okay, you're super drunk, you need to come with me."

"Harper--" he slurred, slumping back to the ground.

She tugged on his sleeve, "come on, i'm pregnant and tired. And sort of hungry.."

That got Matt to his feet. He had promised to comply to his pregnant girlfriends--if she could be called that--needs, and he kept his promise, even in his drunken state. "Okay, fine, I was about to leave anyways before Taniss starts calling everyone bitch, like he always does."

Taniss punched a fist into the air, "what are you talking about? ...Bitch."

"That's it, I'm out." Harper shouted, grabbing Matt by the arm and propelling him from the room.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Once Harper and Matt had disappeared down the hallway, Amaryllis got to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Taniss asked in alarm, clumsily pulling himself up after her.

Amaryllis stumbled, clutching onto a table to keep herself upright. "To our room."

"Our room?"

"We got stuck together again." She said with a laugh, throwing an arm around his shoulders to keep herself from toppling over.

He wound an arm around her waist, still clutching a wine bottle with his free hand. The hobbled slowly down the hallway until they reached the room that Brown had shown them. "This is the living quarters. Even scientists need sleep, I guess." She burst out laughing, as if she had just said something extremely hilarious. When they reached the room, Taniss let go to flip on the light, and she fell over without him to keep her standing. He laughed, slumping against the wall. "Can't even stand properly."

"I'm still tougher than you." She slurred, pushing herself into a sitting position.

"You're crazy if you think that." He grabbed the hand she held up to him, but she pulled him down instead of him pulling her up. She was knocked over backwards at his sudden weight, but she pushed over on top of him.

"I win!" She pumped her fists in the air at the same moment that he bucked beneath her, throwing her to the side.

He was hovering over her almost instantly, throwing his leg over her side until he had her pinned down. "Comfortable?" He asked with a grin.

"Maybe I like being on top instead?" She suggested, and his grin only widened.

He leaned down to mumble in her ear, "now you have to admit that i'm tougher."

She laughed, "no way."

"Say it!" He demanded, sitting up straight. She continued to protest, so he tickled her. She bucked wildly beneath him, and it was hard to keep her pinned to the floor. She was a bit of a weakling when she was drunk. When he finally stopped tickling her, her laughter slowed, her breathing becoming even again. Her face was flushed red, and her eyes had this far away look in them as Taniss reached down to brush some hair out from her eyes. He leaned forward until he could feel her wine flavored breath on his face. Their lips were only inches apart when her eyes closed and she went still beneath him, unconcious. His eyes widened in surprise, had she seriously just passed out beneath him? He pushed himself to his feet, throwing his hands into the air. "Lord, you are testing me!"