I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant (Patreon)

Note: This is a story-prompt for Absolus.

$20 Patreon Directory

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Kate had a lifelong dream of climbing Mount Everest. At the age of twenty-six, she realized it was time.

She gave herself three months to plan the hike as she recruited some friends and loaded up on gear. She did extensive research on the temperature and terrain she would have to prepare for, and carefully weighed the pros and cons of each item she intended to pack, knowing that carrying too much weight could be detrimental to her goals of reaching the top.

During her preparations, Kate could not help noticing that she was putting on some weight; a decent amount of it. She blamed her office job that contributed to her being mostly sedentary on the weekdays. She continued to go to the gym every evening, but often she just felt lethargic, and found herself snacking at night.

Kate wasn’t too concerned. She had been extremely fit all her life, and knew that she would drop the weight in no time. She remained focused on the upcoming hike until the day finally came, and she was on her way up Mount Everest.

Kate was a very experienced hiker. The whole trip went smoothly until she reached the Everest base camp, which would be her last stop before proceeding to the peak.

She tried to get some rest, but felt rather uneasy. For the past several hours, she had been suffering a steadily exacerbating stomachache. It hit her in waves, pain heightening and mitigating, but never altogether disappearing. Soon her abdomen was clenching up. It was still getting worse, having grown from mere irritation to truly painful in less than the span of a day.

But Kate knew that she would push through. She would not allow something as mundane as the minor health issue disrupt her lifelong goal. She kept quiet as she lay in her tent, and was rather surprised to find that she was sweating despite the icy temperature.

A glance at her watch reminded her that she and her party would have to depart soon for the final leg of the trek. Kate drew in a long breath before heaving herself up with a groan.

She folded her arms over her abdomen. Her belly was rounded and bloated with what she had long assumed to be gas. It had not seemed remotely serious, but now she was starting to worry that she had some stomach infection or something.

“Just one more day,” he quietly reminded herself. After she reached the top, she could go home, and resolve this then. So through her grunts of pain and tensing abdominals, she packed up her backpack and disassembled her tent. She went to join the rest of her party, hardly able to stand completely upright by then. She couldn’t help rubbing her hands over her belly as she drew in long, even breaths.

“You okay, Kate?” asked Evan, seeming to notice her signs of distress.

“Fine,” said Kate firmly, but then something unusual happened. She felt fluid splash from between her legs, and looked down at herself, aghast. Her mind went blank. Had she peed herself? Then a new cramp overtook her, proving to be more painful than any of the ones prior. She groaned out, gripping onto Teresa’s shoulder for support. “Nrrghhh…fuhhh…” she grunted.

“She’s in labor!” someone said.

“W-what?” said another person in shock. “She’s pregnant!?”

The claim didn’t make any sense to Kate. She tried to protest it, but then she was seized by a new wave of pain, this one overlapping the prior one. She began to buckle in on herself, but arms dove out, keeping her up.

“Quick, get out a tent and mat.”

“Put her down over here!”

“Ohhhh…” Kate moaned, her skin flushed hot as tears and sweat poured down her face. This couldn’t be right — could it be? But she would have known! There was just no way —!

There was a surge of pressure deep in her abdomen, her muscles squeezing, giving her the urge to push. “Oh god,” she cried as she was helped to her back. Someone unbuckled her pants and pulled it down as her thighs were spread. “It’s coming!”

She was pregnant.

“I can see the head!”

At first, Kate wanted to fight against the urge to push, because this made no sense. She wasn’t prepared to be a mother. This wasn’t part of the plan. She was climbing Everest! This was — it was — it just made no sense!

With the next contraction, there was no room to resist. She groaned as she pushed, thighs quavering.

“You’re doing great,” a voice said.

She felt delirious from the combined pain and fatigue. She felt herself stretching wide, painfully wide. Something was progressing, shoving forward. One more contraction, and another hard push.

There was a squalling cry. Kate gasped for breath as she slumped back, her heart hammering in her chest. A newborn baby was laid against her.

She was a mother, then.