The darkness parted for a moment and the pain flooded in, a pain, which reminded Mia of a memory, a memory of the pain that had started the darkness. Only this pain wasn't in her shoulders, back, and chest. It was lower, between her legs and in her lower abdomen. She gasped loudly as another jolt ran through her body.
She felt a cool rag on her forehead and there was a buzz of voices that made no sense. Only the pain kept her focused and kept her from dropping back into the warm velvety darkness. Her body was in an awkward position; she was on her back with her knees high, and spreads wide. It was such an odd position for riding a motorcycle.
Her beautiful red motorcycle, the speed, the power, the vibration, and sound as she revved it up through the gears. The flow as it rolled through the curves, the exhilaration as it accelerated on exit. Her control was always precise, always on the ragged edge, always....
Another jolt of pain brought a picture of a truck pulling out of a side road, a truck that was getting too large to fast. Her feet and hands worked to downshift and to brake, to slow the bike as quickly as possible on the curve. She remembered the back wheel slipping and remembered over correcting.
The dark crept in to soothe and comfort her. Pain drove it back. A familiar voice was calling her name. Why was this pain drawing her out of the darkness when the other pain had forced her into it? This pain was tied to the cycle of life and not her precious motorcycle.
Mia's eyes focused on the cool cloth bathing her face and the slender fingers with ruby red nails holding it. The red was the same color she had had her motorcycle painted. Those red fingernails had spent hours airbrushing the eagles on both sides of the fairing, her beautiful eagle in flight. Her....
Who had called her that? Mia's eyes were following the arm as the next shot of pain hit. This one was worse than all the others combined. Mia tried to sit up or rather ball up around the pain. From between her feet she heard someone say, "Breath deeply but don't push yet."
Push what, Mia wondered. A baby, her mind supplied. That made no sense at all; lesbians didn't have babies. Well, they did but....
"Hang in there, baby, it'll all be over soon," the familiar voice by her head whispered.
Lisa! Lisa was here. Mia's eyes flew open and she looked in the direction the voice had come from. Lisa's big blue eyes and short spiky hair filled her vision. Mia's heart beat faster and she took a deep sharp breath. Lisa, the love of her life was here. Mia tried to smile but the next contraction hit her hard. She shut her eyes and groaned loudly.
"She's awake!" Lisa shouted loudly.
"How do you know that?" someone on Mia's other side asked.
"She opened her eyes, looked at me, and smiled or tried to smile before the pain set in."
"Keep talking to her."
Mia was aware of all this on some level but a vision of someone on top of her in a dimly lit room was holding her attention. Her panties were around one ankle, the hospital gown was up around her neck, and the man was grunting and breathing fast as his hips banged solidly against her own. She could feel him moving inside her and a sharp burning sensation.
The contraction released her tense body for a moment and she screamed as the realization that a man was raping her flashed through her mind. Lisa was talking to her and the other voice was asking about the pain but Mia was lost in the dark again. It crashed over her with soothing oblivion.
Suddenly there was a maddening tickling scrap along the bottom of her left foot, followed by the same on her right foot. Mia yelled for whoever was tickling her foot to stop. She opened her eyes to see Lisa running her nails up and down the bottom of her left foot. Before she could yell again, another contraction hit.
Mia tried to double up but someone was holding her shoulders, only allowing her to rise so much and whispering, "Push, push hard. It's time for the baby. You have to push."
