Prologue: The Crash

I wipe her tears away, as she squeezes my hand so tight it could break.

"It's gonna be okay, baby." I say hopefully, as we stare into each other's eyes. She tries to smile, but the pain is too much. Our baby will be born soon.

"Faster!" I yell at the dashboard, "How long until we get there?" 

The Ai-mobile's onboard replies in a smooth robotic tone, "Already at maximum emergency speed. Arriving at your destination in 2 hours, 42 minutes, however there are multiple closer Medical facilities in New-"

"Just go where we told you to go, and get there quickly, dammit!" 

We can't go back to the city, it's too late now. I focus my attention back to what matters most, as she lets out a painful groan. I stay by her side as the car speeds down the lonely desert road, leaving the enormous walls of the city to shrink in the distance as we approach the winding roads of the hills.

We smoothly drift round the massive bends, climbing higher and higher as we get closer and closer to the place we decided. The only place we'll be safe. Flying around another large curve, all of the lights in the car suddenly turn off. Panicking, I rush to the emergency brake as the car keeps rolling at high speed towards the edge of the road. I'm too late to stop it. The airbags deploy from the impact of the car hitting the barrier at the edge of the road. I'll always remember hearing her scream and the feeling of disorientation as we rolled and flipped down the tall rocky hillside. 

I awoke to the sound of her voice.

"Oh thank god. Hey baby, you alright?" She asks, breathing heavily as she crouches down. "You had me worried sick."

She seems to have dragged me out of the wreck, and the physical strain is taking its toll. I sit straight up and hold her gently, kissing her on the forehead.

 "Are you hurt?" I ask quietly. 

"We're fine." she says, looking down with a hand on her belly. "Really. We're gonna be okay." 

I let out a sigh of relief. Thank god. 

That night, after a long and difficult childbirth, our little girl was born.

Her eyes were a beautiful and brilliant blue, just like her mother once had. 

My wife and I look at each other, our brown eyes meeting for the first time as the proud parents of this precious little girl. She looks back at our baby, and slowly hands her over to me.

"It's gonna be okay.." she says weakly, her voice destroyed from the screams of a painful labour.

"Daddy won't let anyone hurt you."

I hold my Daughter. Tears begin to form in my eyes. I can't let her see. I have to stay strong for her.

My wife puts a hand on my knee, still smiling at her newborn child. "I'm sorry baby, but mommy can't come with you, she's feeling a little tired-"

"No…" is the only word I can choke out as our baby's cries fill the air.

"-It's okay. Don't cry."

The tears pour out, I can't fight them anymore. She wipes some away with what little strength she had left.

Our eyes meet. One last time.

"Don't cry, baby"

That night, after a difficult and painful childbirth, a loving wife and mother died.