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Surrogate

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Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Commissioned by anonymous

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Hannah eyed up her friend dubiously, sitting across Amy in her living room. When her friend had invited her around for coffee and a catch-up, she had not expected Amy to come out with something like that!

“I… Uh…" Hannah shook her head, folding her pale fingers around her mug of coffee, although it was too warm still for her to hold it comfortably for all that long. “I have to say, Amy, that's really a lot to ask of me."

Amy leaned forward imploringly, clasping her own hands together. She was built quite differently to Hannah, with a narrow body and moderate breasts, though she had something of an elegant appearance. Her blonde hair often turned heads with how she styled it with plenty of volume, her blue eyes sharp and enrapturing.

Hannah, on the other hand, was a little older than her friend at forty-three years old, though they were both Caucasian. Whereas Amy had her light blonde hair, her hair was as black as the night and fell straight in a sheer curtain. It was quite pretty – or, well, it had been prettier when she'd had a little more time to take care of her appearance. Her body was not what it had been when she'd been in her twenties, after all, and after having two children who were both adults by that time. Her daughter was a couple of years older than her son and Hannah was keen to see all she would do in her life, with the vitality and sense of presence in the world she already had in her.

She was a special girl, that one. But what Amy asked of her was more than Hannah even suspected her own daughter would ever ask.

“Being a surrogate…" She said slowly, working the words over her tongue as she sounded them out. “That's a lot to do, Amy. I think you know that already."

“Yes, but you already have two children, you've done this all before," Amy said with a sigh, looking down. “You know what to expect… I wish I could do it for myself and I just want it to be…someone I trust. I want to have my own child too. I've seen how much joy it's brought you and…I want that too. Maybe that's selfish."

Oh, how her heart went out to Amy. She understood completely where Amy was coming from, though that didn't make what she asked any easier to hear. It would disrupt her life greatly for the next nine months, if she agreed to it. But would the outcome, for her friend and for her, all be worth it?

“I'll think about it, Amy," Hannah said at last, taking Amy into her arms for a hug as tears spilled down her cheeks. “Oh, I know how hard this has all been for you… Struggling to… Anyway."

She couldn't say it aloud, though Amy had been struggling to conceive with her husband, Dan, though he was still very much in the picture. He often went away for work but had just moved back to the area permanently, having taken a position that meant he would not need to travel anywhere near as much anymore. That was something Hannah understood too, considering that her husband was away on business at that time too, working in sales. It wasn't the kind of job that she found all that enthralling to hear about but, for her and her husband, it more than paid the bills. James worked hard for their family and the balance in their relationship could only have been better if she'd been able to spend more time with him.

Maybe James would take on less travel in the future too? She could only hope, especially as they were getting older.

So, Hannah took some time to think about the ask from her friend, though she couldn't talk to her husband about it as he was out of touch for a while. There was a big sales convention going on and he had a lot of networking to do. As ever, to Hannah, it all sounded frightfully dull.

Standing in front of the mirror in her bathroom, which was a full-body one, she took stock of her body, poking at her soft belly and her already wider hips. She'd had a good body for giving birth before, though becoming pregnant at her age was very much a risk too.

“It'd change how I look even more…" She said with a sigh, turning side-on to the mirror to eye up the curved round of her ass, which, to be fair, didn't look all that bad at all. “But that's just part of aging and living, isn't it?"

A body wasn't meant to stay the same, even if the magazines seemed to want to body shame every single woman in existence with their air brushed, starved models. Not even the models they used in their pictures looked like that, not in real life.

So, what did it really matter if she gained more pregnancy weight, from doing it one last time? It would be worth it, she was sure: for Amy.

It was funny how easy the decision was to make in the end, as if Hannah had always known that was exactly the choice she was going to make. She loved Amy dearly and they had already been friends for so many years, to see her suffer more in her longing for a child would have broken Hannah's heart.

But she took the time to make sure she was certain of her decision before agreeing and letting Amy officially know. The thing was, her previous pregnancies were just so easy that she didn't gain much weight. The babies just about slipped right out her, even with an easy labour for both her daughter and her son. So, would it really be all that much of a burden for her, even if there would be a little disruption and a little discomfort for the next nine months.

Amy, of course, was thrilled she agreed, although she didn't even ask if James was okay with everything. James, however, had always been supportive of Hannah before, so she was quite sure he would be more than okay with her helping their close friends like that.

The baby would still technically be hers by blood, which made the procedure at least a little safer for Hannah. It meant she didn't have to have an embryo implanted in her that came from both Amy and Dan, but just Dan's semen.

That in itself… While she was undergoing the procedure at a fertility treatment facility, she certainly understood that was a little weird. It was just the fact that she knew it was his semen inside her that made her squirm, tipping her head back and staring up at the ceiling. Yet she was comfortable enough as they inseminated her with the long rod. There was even a TV in the room she could look at, distracting herself while the nurse softly went about her business there.

It wasn't anywhere near as exposing, at least to her, as being in labour had been. That had been an entirely different way of everyone seeing what she had going on “down there" and not, admittedly, a part of the pregnancy she looked forward to.

But the procedure was done and she called Amy from the car, pressing the phone up to her ear.

“Hey, Amy," she said, greeting her casually despite the gravity of the situation. “I just wanted to let you know it's all done, everything went okay. It'll be a few weeks before I get a pregnancy test done, but we'll keep going with your fertility doctor, of course. Just wanted to check that payment is all okay?"

Of course, Amy would foot the bill for the entire treatment and pregnancy. That was the least she could do, considering the fact that Hannah would be carrying her child for her. Resting her hand on her belly, though there was no more bump there than a light layer of soft fat that was perfectly normal. Still, she felt like there was already a baby inside her, so small and light and gentle that she wouldn't even feel the true weight of her pregnancy in the slightest.

“Oh, that's so good! And, yes, yes, please don't worry about the money side of things one little bit more," Amy gushed, her excitement flowing over the phone line between them. “Oh, I can't wait, I'm sure everything will be okay. Dan's not here at the moment but he can't wait to meet our baby! Do you think you'll be pregnant, you know, from the first time?"

Hannah shrugged.

“Hm, it didn't exactly take much for me to fall pregnant to James before. I went on contraception after having both my boy and my girl and will be back on it after this."

She failed to understand what a change that would be to her hormones, especially when Hannah would be introducing her pregnancy hormones to her body, once more, at her age.

“I see, oh…" Amy breathed a soft sigh, as if she was slightly struggling to control her breathing. “Oh, it's all so wonderful. Thank you ever so much for doing this for us, Hannah. It means the world to us and more. We'll be here to help you, of course, every step of the way. Anything you need, anything at all – Dan and I will be here for you."

That was, at least, something good to hear, even if Hannah privately thought it could be James who ended up helping her somewhat more. Of course, James still had his life to live and his work to stay on top of, so there would only be so much, without prior agreement and arrangement, he could do. As she was a stay-at-home wife and mother, however, Hannah thought she would be more than capable of handling everything on her own.

After all, she'd done so well before. What could go wrong?

James would be away for another month, although, three weeks later, Hannah received a positive pregnancy test at the fertility clinic. The clinic would not deliver a baby there, being more for reproduction and the pregnancy process than the actual time of bringing a baby into the world, but they'd be with her until then. It was rather a luxurious place too with a clean, well-lit waiting room and more comfortable chairs than she was used to, though her husband and her got on well enough at their place in the world.

Still, she liked how everyone bustled around her and brought her drinks and made sure her privacy was taken care of, that she was treated with the utmost respect. Perhaps it was something Hannah would grow bored of in time, all that attention, but she could take it for the time being.

However, things didn't quite go as she'd expected them to. She'd only had the lightest of light morning sickness with her first two pregnancies but waking one morning, mid-week, had her running for the bathroom with her stomach heaving.

“Urf…"

Bent over the toilet, Hannah barely made it in time, doing her best merely to hold her hair back from her face. She wiped off her face when she was done, her eyes wide and a little strained, though she ignored the glint of moisture in the corners of her eyes.

“That'll be the worst of it," she told herself firmly, as she got herself up from the bathroom floor and ready for the day. “It's just a bit of morning sickness. It's not that bad, this one just caught you off-guard."

Thankfully for Hannah, a bit of ginger tea mostly helped it that day, though the prickle of nausea lingered subtly.

Yet it was from that point on that her pregnancy failed to mimic her former two in any way. Every morning sent her running to the bathroom with morning sickness, regardless of whether she was dry heaving or not.

That wasn't something Hannah chose to linger on all that much, though she accidentally mentioned it to Amy and then was inundated with remedy after remedy. Amy sent over so many “morning sickness relieving" teas and powders and tinctures that Hannah didn't know what to do with them all. When she'd received so many that she couldn't possibly use them all, she was sure, Hannah walked down the road for some exercise, taking the pedestrian route to the woman's shelter.

They would, at the very least, be able to make good use of the extras that Hannah didn't think she'd need. It was really nice of them, however, to be as involved as they were. There was constantly a stream of messages on Hannah's phone from both of them, though they respected her privacy when it came to calls. Hannah had always been more of a person who preferred to talk to people face to face rather than over the phone. And that covered face timing someone too!

She tried to ignore her morning sickness, yet the cravings had her ordering in stranger and stranger combinations of food. She'd had something of a craving for salty foods during her last pregnancies, but nothing like what she wanted.

Pickles. They were the strangest one, considering she didn't even like cucumbers – though they tasted very different, to be fair. She dipped them in all kinds of things, from mayonnaise to chocolate sauce to spicy salsa, not really caring what they went into. It all simply served to feed her cravings, which grew stronger the more she tried to satisfy them. In a way, it was as if she made her cravings worse as she tried different things to make them go away completely.

As she moved past the five-week mark of her pregnancy, other physical changes in her body became evident. She seemed to spend most of her time in the bathroom when she was home, which was good for her as she didn't have to go to work, but her body gleamed back at her in the unforgiving glare of the bathroom mirror.

She turned before it, pursing her lips.

“When did my hips get this big?"

Hannah shook her head slowly and rubbed the back of her neck. She could not fail to notice how she rocked her weight back on to her heels, adjusting her stance as if she already had a baby belly. And she kind of did, looking at herself there.

The pudge in her belly stood out and she squidged her fingers into it, although it was not all that bad. The majority of the weight she gained went to her breasts, which sagged down a little more heavily with the new fat that layered them. Her thighs and ass rounded out thickly, bringing more shape to her hips still, though her hips had been a little on the wider side before anyway.

The softness of her belly, truthfully, was not all that noticeable anymore as she admired her new assets and just how thick the lower half of her body had become. The fat there was not lumpy at all but smoothly rounded as she tensed her glutes, watching her ass cheeks wobble ever so faintly.

With her body looking like that, perhaps she could deal with the bizarre cravings and morning sickness. The nausea was probably the more annoying of the two, although she could stock her cupboards at home and the fridge with everything she wanted, so she didn't have to worry too much about satisfying her needs.

She took long, hot showers while her adult children were busy elsewhere, making their own lives. She hadn't needed to tell them about her pregnancy yet, but Kayleigh and Gareth wouldn't have to deal all that much with the baby. Kayleigh was surely going to move out soon, although Hannah rather liked having her around. The worst would likely be her many trips to the bathroom later in pregnancy, when the baby was pressing on her bladder.

“Mmm…" Hannah breathed, her eyes half-closed as the hot water streamed over her. “I needed this…"

She raised her hands to catch the fall of water, running over and between her fingers. Although Hannah had turned the temperature down, it was still very warm in there. Her stomach gurgled faintly and she pushed her buttocks back as gas forced its way from her.

Ppffftttt… Ppffffttt…

_ _

The sound of her farts was dimly overshadowed by the hiss of the shower. Her belly bubbled and Hannah squeezed down as she forced another from her, though there was no point in waving her hand around her ass that time. Hannah blushed and rolled her eyes, though told herself it was just the heat of the bath that made her feel embarrassed like that. She wasn't the kind of woman who had many issues with her gut and digestive system, though she'd felt a little discomfort in her stomach for a while already.

It would be okay, she told herself more firmly. It's just a bit of gas and you will be fine with it.

Yet it wasn't okay and she headed out to see her friends, who she was the surrogate for, the next day, lowering herself heavily into a chair at the round, wooden kitchen table.

“Oof, I feel like I'm growing a person in here," she said jokingly, trying not to feel too put on the spot as Dan brought over a cup of tea for her. “Oh, wait… Haha…"

It wasn't that good of a joke, really. Still, Amy and Dan laughed, their eyes bright with mirth.

“Ohhhh, you look so good," Amy gushed over her. “You're glowing! How are you feeling?"

“Hm, it's all a bit of a change for me," Hannah confessed lightly, though she waved off their concerns, not wanting to go into too much detail. “I don't quite remember it being like this before… Oh!"

Pffff-pppt!

She farted, a little bubbling fart that snuck its way out of her ass. It was loud enough still, like a sharp “toot," and she rocked her weight to her right hip as another, louder, fart trumpeted from her in a single blast.

Blushing, Hannah ploughed on in conversation, trying not to even acknowledge it. How embarrassing! That gassiness was so out of the norm too, though she didn't know how on earth she could corral it.

“Yeah, and I will see James next week, of course, and tell him," Hannah rushed on quickly. “I'm sure he'll be glad to help out – and be glad that I'm helping you guys out too. It's going to be such a big change in your lives!"

They chatted on about Dan and Amy's plans for the baby, though there was only so much they could plan for when they didn't know the gender yet. They had started painting the nursery already, however, so they could slowly put everything together over the course of the next few months, and it was bright and sunny. Amy wanted to put a mural of ducks on the wall opposite the window, though Hannah grimaced at that.

It seemed really…cheesy? It wasn't the sort of thing she usually got worked up about, but it just felt so stupid to her.

What's wrong with me? Hannah thought, wrapping up the visit before she said something she'd regret. I'm never usually this crabby.

_ _

That was far from the worst of it, however, as she became grumpier. To others, it was likely not all that noticeable, but she noticed the difference in her as her hormones shot all out of whack.

She pressed her hand to her belly as she waited in line at the coffee shop, wanting to make sure she got a nice, sugary concoction to give her energy. Not being able to have all that much caffeine was troublesome to her, but there were substitutions that at least made it a little easier for her to still indulge.

“What would you like, ma'am?" The cashier said with an overly chirpy demeanour. “We have a special today on a coffee whip – would you like to try one?"

“Ugh," Hannah grunted before she could stop herself. “No. Just an oat milk caffeine free latte…with three pumps of caramel. And one raspberry too!"

The barrister blinked at her, holding up a cup as if she had been about to write Hannah's name on it. Hannah scoffed openly at that, her tongue pressed into her cheek: she hadn't even given them her name?

“Uhhhh… Raspberry? I don't think we do that…" The barrister said, looking around as if for help. “It's just, like…there's the iced tea stuff…"

“Yeah, yeah – that then!"

She didn't mean to be so brusque with the barrister, but it wasn't something she wanted to linger. Her stomach gurgled and popped with gassy bubbles and she took a deep breath, pressing her fingers over her belly.

Behave…

_ _

The barrister scurried off to get her the drink she wanted, even though Hannah was, once again, following her cravings. She never usually had raspberry syrup in her drinks, although there were, most likely, other places that carried that option.

Regardless of everything, once she had the drink in her hand and took a long sip of the hot beverage, it hit the spot perfectly. It shouldn't have, not with that clash of flavours and the syrup not even being for coffees and a sweeter mix that needed water to make the iced tea, but she didn't care. It was what she needed and nothing else mattered when her cravings struck.

It wasn't until she was outside that the rippling bubbles in her stomach popped free of her in a gassy fart, trumpeting and rolling on and on and on. Sighing, Hannah, paddled her feet lightly, shifting her weight back and forth, though the tightness bore down, demanding she let out more farts still. With every easing of her weight back and forth, another fart broke from her and she grimaced, though a little of the tightness eased. She lifted the cup up, glancing around her to see if anyone was near, and fanned her backside as if that would help dissipate the smelly fart around her body.

Then and only then did she notice the name on the cup: Karen.

“Damn it!"

She stormed back home, but there was thankfully a surprise there for her, even though her feet ached as she kicked off her shoes just inside the door. They throbbed despite that not really being a thing that was supposed to happen, really, until later in pregnancy, though brightened up when she saw her husband's coat on the rack.

“James!" She called out into the house. “Where are you? I thought you weren't getting back until later today!"

“My flight was early, honey!"

He appeared from the kitchen and grabbed her in his arms, laughing as he spun her around. As much as Hannah wanted to press herself into her husband's arms, the motion brought on a wave of nausea as he twirled her too quickly and she tapped his shoulder.

“No, no, no – down, down! I'm going to throw up!"

James obligingly put her down, although he held her by the arms and leaned back, looking her over.

“Huh… Hannah, you look so different," he commented. “You're as amazing as always, but…what am I missing? What's different about you?"

Hannah blushed and did a much slower spin for him, showing off her changing body.

“Well, I have put on a little weight and it all seems to have gone to my hips and thighs…and my butt too," she confessed. “And my boobs, I think. But you'd like that, wouldn't you."

He grinned and kissed her forehead.

“I love you exactly the way you are, Hannah," he said sincerely. “You are perfect."

“Hm…" She said, drawing out the moment. “Well… I do have something to tell you. Maybe you should sit down and we're going to have a tea."

Tea was easier for her to drink and not show that it was caffeine free than her usual favourite coffees. She caught her husband's eyes go to the noticeboard in the kitchen where her calendar was hung up. Hannah kept track of her appointments there, of course, and there was her first Lamaze class for mothers who were early in their pregnancy on the last day of the current month. It wasn't something Hannah honestly felt like she needed, but Amy had insisted that she did everything pregnancy related in the run-up to actually giving birth.

Pregnancy sure was feeling like a lot more work than it had been for Hannah before, though she wasn't going to worry about that all that much. She had a bigger thing to announce to her husband, even if it was quite likely he had already guessed. He was a very astute man.

“So, James," she started as soon as they were sitting down together comfortably in the kitchen. “I had to tell you… You know how Amy has been having a lot of trouble conceiving? I mentioned it, but that was quite a while ago."

“Mmm, I remember," James said, his brow furrowing in sympathy. “That was really hard on Dan too. Are they okay? They've not broken up or something, have they? I haven't spoken to him lately, but I'm sure he would have said something if something that big happened."

“No, no," she quickly reassured him. “They're fine, better than ever. They're very much still together and looking to the future."

Hannah took a breath. She had to tell him, one way or the other.

“So, there was thing, to do with them conceiving," she said slowly, trying to phrase it all as well as she could. “I'm…well… I'm helping them. I'm acting as a surrogate for them, for their baby, and I'm pregnant right now with their baby."

She put certain emphasis on the fact that the baby was that of their friends, so James wouldn't get the wrong idea. Her husband blinked at her, his lower jaw going slightly slack.

“I know it's going to be an interesting few months," she went on, “but I'm glad to be able to do this for them."

James, however, didn't say anything, only reaching over the table to squeeze her hand.

“James? James, say something, please."

“I…" He spoke slowly, not looking her in the eye. “I need some time to think."

That wasn't quite the reaction she'd expected from him, but there didn't feel like there was all that much else she could do. So, Hannah gave him space while she dealt with her pregnancy symptoms. She was only two months into her pregnancy at that stage, with a good bit left to go, and yet the bed had never felt bigger and emptier with her husband sleeping with his back to her on the other side of it.

She supposed that was one good thing about it. He didn't sleep on the sofa or away from her, so things couldn't be that bad.

Her son finally noticed that something was up with her, for he had been wrapped up in a new video game – not in a bad way, but he tended to get engrossed in things. Gareth quietly brought her a present on the evening of the third day that her husband and Gareth's father came home, sliding it across the table to her.

“Hey, mom," he said softly, a gentle look in his eyes. “I saw you were really buying a lot of churros lately, found the wrappers in the bin. I got you a special edition bunch of them from the place near my work."

She gave him a hug, but it wasn't Gareth's burden to bear when she and her husband were on the outs with each other. Even though her children were adults, it wasn't their place to take on things that were going on with their parents. It was only a good thing they were out of the house and working so much.

However, it only took one more day for her husband to have a proper conversation with her about everything, though Hannah punctuated the moment inappropriately by farting when she walked into the big family sitting room to talk to him. James looked up at her as she fanned her ass, though Hannah's cheeks pinked-up quickly.

“Oh! Sorry!"

He nodded and patted the chair next to him.

“Well… I was surprised, a lot, to hear you were acting as a surrogate," James said at last, jumping into the conversation that had been brewing for the last few days. “It's… It's a lot."

“Funny, I said the same thing."

He nodded and continued.

“I'm a bit hurt you didn't include me in this," he said. “I want to make sure you get the best care through this, I know it's more dangerous for someone to be pregnant…well, when they're older."

He seemed to be dancing around the point that he wanted to make, although Hannah had to be patient with him. He was her husband, after all, and she had kind of sprung the whole “being a surrogate" thing on him.

“It's just…" He finally said. “You should have talked to me about it. I would have wanted you too…and, truthfully, I don't know what I would have said either way. How far along are you?"

She nodded and took a breath, steadying herself. It had not been the best decision in hindsight.

“That makes sense. I'm sorry, I know I should have spoken to you. You being away isn't an excuse for that and I am, genuinely, sorry. Um… Yes, I think I'm two months along now, so everything looks to be fine with the baby, their baby. We weren't sure how well the surrogacy was going to go, of course, and the early days are apparently pretty fraught."

He looked a little more comfortable now that Hannah had apologised for her part in it, although that still didn't change the fact that she was pregnant.

“I… Uh… I will, of course, support you," he said, “in any way you need while you're pregnant. Though I have to say that I'm relieved I won't have to go through the sleepless nights with a new baby!"

That, at least, broke the tension between them a little and they hugged, Hannah relaxing, once again, into James' arms. Regardless of the previous tension between them, and the readjusting that was still to be done, it was good to be back there.

It was where she belonged.

Still, there were a fair few changes to be kept in mind, even though she caught him admiring her thicker butt and thighs when she was changing in the bedroom over the next few days. It was always a bit of a readjustment to have James back around and Hannah did her best to force back down that bubbling annoyance that swelled up from the pit of her stomach.

He just… Did he have to stare at her like that? Her temper flared, even though it was not something that usually rose to the forefront of her mind, and she forced it down. It was already bad enough that things had kicked off, even in that small way, with James in the first place; she didn't want anything else to take a sour turn.

Still, it was more difficult to hide her farts from him, for they gurgled up even when they were in bed together in the evening. At first, Hannah had thought it was something to do with what she was eating, so she tried a little harder to moderate her cravings, but all that did was make her crankier.

As her husband lay in bed reading, he raised his eyebrows at a long, slow “toot" of a fart that emanated from her backside.

“You seem, ah…" James floundered, clearly struggling to find the right words. “A little gassier than usual, may I say?"

Hannah frowned and blushed, pushing the bedsheets away from her ass as if that would help dissipate the smell a little more. Why wouldn't it all just go away? It was bad enough farting in front of James as it was.

But there wasn't really any way she could fan away the stink when she was in bed without looking crazy. Still, she caught how her husband's nose wrinkled, even though he was polite enough not to pinch it closed.

“Yeah, it's been…kind of difficult with the gassiness," she complained, trying to brush over her embarrassment in the moment. “I even get a bit bloated too, though I don't think that's all that noticeable. Not with the weight I've gained too."

James nodded.

“Hm, yes, I think Kayleigh was wondering about that too," he said, referring to their daughter. “I don't think Gareth yet understands pregnancy systems, what with his group of friends, but she's a little more clued-up on that sort of thing."

Hannah grimaced.

“Yeah, I've got to tell the two of them. I'll give it another week or so, just to make sure nothing in the early days is going to go wrong. It would be silly to put them through things they don't need to worry about."

It made sense, even though the baby was not one that Hannah was going to keep; they'd go to a fantastic life and home with Amy and Dan, of course. It was going to be strange, even from her, to see them grow up, knowing they were blood-related to her. Yet that was kind of part of being a surrogate in that manner – and they would have taken another option if it had not been Amy's infertility that was the issue.

Still, Hannah didn't linger on that side too much. She signed herself up for yoga classes in the meantime, wanting to manage her weight. Her joints ached when she tried to run, so that was another unpleasant pregnancy side-effect for her to deal with – though she didn't mind the weight gain all that much. She was just aware also that gaining too much too quickly would leave her with stretch marks and her body had been put through a lot, regardless, with her first two pregnancies. It took a lot of energy to grow another human being inside, after all.

The yoga was a struggle as she lay down on her mat and tried to push herself up, facing the ceiling, with her hands and feet on the mat. Her body just didn't seem to bend in that way anymore and even her centre of balance was shifted “off" from the weight she'd gained. Who would have known that having larger boobs could cause issues like that?

“Unff…"

“Now, in position," the yoga teacher with perfect, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, said, holding the crab-like position as if it was no trouble at all to her. “Please take three, deep breaths. Send praise up to the heavens…"

“I didn't know this was a religious class," Hannah muttered under her breath, sweating as she struggled. “I mean… Oof!"

She collapsed with a thud in a trembling heap, but that was not the worst of it. For, the moment she hit the ground, she let out the loudest, most trumpeting fart she ever had.

Ppppppppffffffpppppffffpppppffffpppppttttt!

It exploded from her with a disgusting ripple that had everyone's head turning towards her. Her face turned redder and redder, fury flooding her, tangling with embarrassment.

“Well, what are you staring at then?" She snarled, clambering awkwardly up and trying to roll away her yoga mat. “Get on with it!"

She wouldn't return to the yoga class again after storming out like that, though Hannah was not quick enough to avoid seeing others in the class rudely gagging and fanning the smell away from themselves. Sure, it was bad, though even Hannah didn't honestly feel it was that bad!

The windows opening behind her, as she fully left the yoga studio, said otherwise.

Maybe she would find a different place to do yoga. That one was weird anyway, but it always took her a while to find a class that suited her.

Telling her children, although they were adults, was a bit of a trial, but she got through it okay. Gareth got really quiet and looked down at his hands, so Hannah made a mental note to follow up with him later, just to make sure he understood it wasn't something that was going to disrupt their family. Kayleigh definitely understood, but had thought her father and mother were having another baby together at first. Explaining that it was Amy's baby really, along with Dan's, had raised conflicting emotions in her daughter.

“I guess I won't get a baby brother or sister then," Kayleigh said, sitting at the kitchen counter with obvious disappointment etched across her face. “That would have been nice."

Hannah clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and shook her head.

“Kay, you know I would have wanted to give you a baby brother or sister years ago," she said gently. “But it just wasn't in the cards for your father and I, not when I had you two to look after. And I don't regret a thing when I already have two beautiful children."

She tried to hug them, even though Gareth shrugged her off. It was good enough to know things were, mostly, okay with her kids, though.

As she moved up to the two-month mark of her pregnancy, Amy and Dan came around with piles upon piles of food for her. They'd been pretty involved and Hannah was mostly happy to keep them up to date with how the baby was doing. Her increased appetite seemed to render her eating for most of the day, however, which made it just as well that her adult children didn't exactly need her to do much for them anymore.

“Hey, Hannah!" Amy greeted her with a hug. “How's our baby doing? I know you've been craving sweet potato pie, so I've made you a bunch of it!"

“And a load of other things too," Dan added, chuckling as he helped his wife take everything through to the kitchen, getting it all put away. “Don't worry, we got this. You sit down and put your feet up, you're doing more than enough."

Hannah nodded and did so. It was good to be waited on, though it wasn't exactly something she had all that often. She devoured the first pie Amy gave her without even thinking about it, though seeing the empty plate afterwards and their awed expressions made her wonder if she really was eating an extreme amount.

“Pregnant women have to eat a lot," she said, explaining with a short laugh as her belly gurgled. “That's normal! I'm sure I'll go through all those pies so quickly…"

Dan laughed and patted her shoulder while James tried to get involved. He had been quite close to her since deciding to help her with the pregnancy, always at hand when he was home and rubbing her shoulders.

“I bet! I can't wait to see the baby you're cooking in there, Hannah, thank you so much for doing this for us."

“Yes, it really means the world to us," Amy added, shooting both Hannah and James grateful looks. “I don't know what we'd do without you, you've changed our lives."

Although Hannah grumbled and waved them off, she chose not to tell them how difficult she was finding the pregnancy. She could handle it all, couldn't she?

She decided to sign up to some new yoga classes, where she didn't have to see the same people that had annoyed her before. Something better-suited to her pregnancy where the instructor was not looking down on her would most certainly be a bonus. Her gas was still embarrassing and yet the more she broke wind in public, the more normal it felt to her.

Was it really that bad? She was starting to think everyone else was overreacting about it, though she admitted it could be loud at times.

Hannah managed well enough, after all, nearing the end of month two and heading out shopping for maternity wear. She had outgrown her clothes a lot quicker than expected with her breast and belly growth in particular, although her hips and butt weren't doing her trousers any favours either.

She had a bag of clothes hooked on to her arm when she paused, a sweet smell catching her nose.

“Mmm…"

Hannah hummed to herself, following the scent to a bakery that also seemed to cover a delectable array of sweets. The theme, clearly, was pink with the colour plastered all over the bakery and a far too cheery attendant behind the counter.

“Hello!" She chirped, ponytail bouncing. “Can I help you with anything today?"

“Yeah…" Hannah practically drooled, waving off the cashier. “I'll take…everything!"

She didn't really mean everything but, taking a basket, she loaded it up with absolutely everything that took her fancy, from banana bread to iced buns to rich chocolate cake. There was so much there and her sweet cravings sang at the sight of it, her bill shooting up higher and higher.

Hannah didn't realise that the attendant was following her to the door, impressed by the sheer volume of baked goods she'd ordered. Her belly rumbled and gurgled but, seeing the sweet treats before her, she ignored it. That was to her detriment.

Before she opened the door, she paused, the discomfort bubbling up in the pit of her belly. Too late, her eyes widened and she gasped as she released a trumpeting fart that stopped all manner of conversation in the bakery behind her.

“Oh!"

“Agh!"

The cashier bent over instantly, hacking and gagging, though Hannah only half-turned. She rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue disapprovingly against the roof of her mouth. Heat swirled within her, annoyance tangling with embarrassment. Why had the cashier even followed her? She had all her bags of goodies with her already!

“Uh… Were you staring at my ass?"

She shook her head and darted through the door as quick as her heavy belly would let her, though the redness in her cheeks didn't last long. The cashier shouldn't have been so crude about following her out like that, even though she knew it had been just because of what she'd bought. She'd just taken her chance to be crankier and make it look like the attendant was doing something she shouldn't have been doing.

Her husband was working at the office that day so she took every liberty she could, setting out her purchases on the posher dining room table and taking a bite out of…everything. There was no softness or gentleness to her as she chowed down, genuinely pigging out on whatever she fancied.

There was nothing like chewing quickly, gulping down her bite of chocolate cake with a hunger for a sprinkled doughnut next in her future. Her belly gurgled the more she ate and yet Hannah didn't have in will in her to stop.

Just why should she stop? She thought rebelliously, cramming one and then two doughnuts into her mouth as she chewed messily. She had to make sure she fed herself well, even as the strain on her stomach intensified.

Yet she grew increasingly tired as she ate, crumbs lingering around her mouth as Hannah ate to her heart's content. In the end, however, she slumped over the table, pushing the plates aside, to snooze.

When she woke a couple of hours later from her food coma, she blinked and yawned, getting up slowly to head to the bathroom. Her husband wasn't yet home and it sounded like her kids were getting ready to go out too – she'd have to check in with them and make sure everything was still okay.

“Ugh, this is all such a drag…"

She smiled and waved at her daughter as she headed to the family bathroom, for there was more room to move around in that one. She, however, gave her mother a look that could have been disgust – but caught herself just in time to at least somewhat mask it.

“Okay then…"

Hannah shook her head and checked herself over in the mirror, though it could have been the pink icing smeared on her cheek that had given her daughter pause. They'd been avoiding her, her children, more and more lately, though Hannah didn't blame them. Pregnancy and everything that came with it was a completely new experience for them.

She would have to sit down and talk to them, as she'd said. But perhaps taking some time to remind them of just how important to her they were would go down well too.

She washed off her face quickly but the line of her stomach had changed, even when she was wearing clothes. Gaining fat around her thighs and buttocks was one thing, but there was a noticeable, specific baby bump there. As she leaned forward, trying to inspect herself more closely, her belly gurgled.

Pffftttppptttt…

Of course. She rolled her eyes as the farts broke from her, though they were soft and bubbling: not as noisy as some she had endured. Maybe breaking wind was not as embarrassing as she had thought before, for it seemed to be becoming a part of her everyday life at that time.

With her belly showing already, people in her wider life and world would have to know about her pregnancy, although her mind was already wandering to fast food. Despite her feast, she yearned for something fatty she could slurp off her fingers…

The pregnancy didn't easily subside when it came to the symptoms as she moved into the third month. Yet the number of weeks that had passed meant she could at least head in for her first ultrasound, so she could check everything was progressing as planned.

She undressed in the nurse's room, settling herself on the bed, even though her stomach gurgled and rumbled as it always did. There was always a sense of pressure there, although Hannah didn't pay it too much mind. If she farted, well…didn't everyone? The gown still made her feel exposed, even though it was one designed to open up over her belly in that instance, so the nurse could access her bump for the ultrasound.

“Ah, there you are," she grumbled when the nurse came back in – someone whose name, of course, she didn't know. “Took your time about it, didn't you?"

“Ma'am, I've come as quickly as possible," the nurse said, straightening her back as she prepped the ultrasound. “I see you've filled out the questionnaire… Shall we begin so we can get you out and on your way as quickly as possible?"

“Yeah, that would be right," she snapped, squirming where she lay. “Just like you lot to drag me in here for a quick scan and goodbye."

Hannah barely even knew what she was saying, though it was as if she had to direct her ire at someone, even though the nurse was not truly to blame. It was just all that crankiness rumbling away in the back of her mind like her gas, though Hannah more often than not tried to keep that side of herself away from her husband and children. They, after all, had not signed up to be a part of her pregnancy, as much as her husband was trying to get involved in it.

As the slick goo was smeared over her stomach by the ultrasound wand, she flinched from it. Why did they always have to make that so cold? She was sure the nurse would have warmed it up for her, but maybe she just had it out for Hannah.

“I'm sorry," the nurse said slowly, focusing on what she was doing. “It's just going to take a little longer. It's a bit blurry…"

“Uh…"

Hannah squirmed as the nurse pressed the ultrasound wand down harder and Hannah jolted. It was too much as her belly suddenly felt tighter and more bloated than ever, forcing her to let out a trumpeting fart!

Ppppffffffffftttttttttttttt!

_ _

Oh, did it have to be that long? She blushed hard and looked away, refusing to meet the nurse's eyes. Damn gassiness!

“I… Uh…"

“There, see if that helps," Hannah grumbled, though there was still heat in her cheeks. “I'm so gassy today, I'm always gassy… I was never this gassy when I was pregnant with my kids…"

The nurse should have asked what she meant by that, though was interrupted by another round of trumpeting farts. The bubbling, popping exudes of gas burst from Hannah in a flurry, as if they were never meant to be contained, though Hannah merely looked away with a touch of pink in her cheeks.

The nurse, however, was professional enough not to comment on the stench, which started light and then grew deeper, more insidious. The exam room would reek of Hannah afterwards, but that wasn't Hannah's problem to deal with. At least she was able to get the ultrasound to find out that everything was progressing, even though she had another problem to deal with in the next few days.

Valentine's Day. She usually enjoyed celebrating and being spoiled, but it felt more like another obstacle to go through when she was in her second trimester.

During the car ride to the restaurant James had picked out, her stomach bubbled and gurgled with gas and she sat as still as she could, fighting to hold it in. Nausea still plagued her, though random scents seemed to set it off. That was why she hadn't been all that thrilled about the notion of going out with her husband when her guts were so weak and her farting had reached an all-time high. But devouring a mound of pasta hit the right spots with her cravings too, so she found herself dressed up a lot prettier than she would have wanted and sitting opposite him in the poshest Italian restaurant in town.

“I'm so glad you came out with me today," he said, holding her hand across the table as he rubbed it gently. “You… You've done so much for Amy and Dan, you should be so proud of yourself."

She grimaced and, fighting down her snappiness, extricated her hand from his grasp.

“You could say…" Hannah delayed. “But… Ugh, what is that smell?"

She clapped a hand over her face as her stomach lurched, though the pungent aroma was worse, even to her, than her own farts! Her guts bubbled and popped but she pushed that note down as she tried not to let her eyes water.

The waiter came by to enquire after any problems, though it was James who had to wave him off, red in the face and more embarrassed than she was.

“Uh, no, no… No, everything's fine, I'm so sorry. Yes, yes, just pregnancy, you know how it is…"

Yet neither Hannah nor James “knew how it was," for they hadn't experienced a pregnancy like that before.

“Ugh, can you just get that away from me?"

Hannah directed the comment at the table nearby with the offending plate of food, though there was no reason at all eggplant should ever have smelled that foul. The table glared at her, the husband there looking like he was about to say something before his wife put a restraining hand on his arm.

“We're just trying to enjoy our meal over here…"

In the end, her rolling nausea and strong reaction to smell was too great and they ended up heading home. Her husband's hand travelled up her leg as he drove and, surging on pregnancy hormones, Hannah was more than receptive to his touch. So much so, in fact, that she ignored the gurgling and bubbling in her stomach, her gas starting to rise once more.

Not now, she thought. I want this night.

_ _

But that didn't stop her stomach from feeling tighter and increasingly bloated. Yet she tried to keep it at bay the best she could, holding it all in as they went inside the house and quickly hastened upstairs.

That was, at least, until she was getting undressed in the bedroom. She tried not to move too quickly, wanting to hide her gassiness, though the gurgling bubbled up. As she slid her bra off, trying to cast him a sexy look, her ass tightened.

Pppppfffffftttt!

_ _

“Oh!"

She blushed, not able to hold it back, though James smiled at her, even though a little of the enthusiasm had clearly seeped from him. Hannah rushed to cover up the errant fart by working on her bottom half, getting her panties off, though her belly rumbled ominously.

The grumbling of her guts all came out at once as she exploded in gas and she let the floodgates open. Fart after fart exploded from her as her ass gave up everything it had, relieving her of every drop of bubbling, aching gas that had been grinding up her guts all day long.

“Uh…" Her husband rubbed the back of his neck and tried to look away. “My dear, I think we should try this…some other time."

Hannah shrugged.

“If you can't handle a bit of gas then, that's fine," she huffed, brushing him off. “But you should see just how much your farts stink!"

However, her husband's gas was very different to hers – not that Hannah would have acknowledged that.

Spring was not too bad to bear through, even though she had a litany of appointments with the doctor and Lamaze classes that she really didn't feel like she needed. It was nicer, however, to have some time and attention from James, who took off work after she'd had a particularly annoying doctor's appointment.

“Thanks, James," she sighed, leaning back on the sofa while she devoured fast food: a selection of burgers to satisfy her cravings. “I didn't know I needed this…"

James smiled, having tried his best to help his wife, though it was a new situation to him even then. As it was so warm, she had her bare belly out, though that was becoming an increasingly common occurrence. With a glance at his wife, he rested a hand on her belly, rubbing back and forth gently.

A small bubble of gas worked its way from her in a popping trumpet, though it was soft enough that time that it went under the notice of the TV. James still wavered at the resulting smell, for there wasn't a single one of her farts that was either silent or odourless.

Ugh, it's good when he rubs my belly, she thought. It makes the gas easier…but it makes me pass it too.

“Do you want a foot rub too, darling?" He said soothingly. “You've been doing so well with this, there's so much going on with this pregnancy…"

“Oh, yes, please," she all but moaned, her mouth stuffed full of food. “Yes, that would be fucking amazing…"

She groaned, though it was not usual for her to swear like that. Maybe it was yet another symptom of her rough mood and short temper, though Hannah didn't have it in her to care anymore. Vaguely, she considered the yoga class she had in the morning but if she thought that was going to do anything to counter the sheer number of burgers she was eating, she had another think coming.

Still, it was nice to have James down on the floor, taking first one foot and then the other into his hands. It reminded her of earlier times, when they had been early in their dating life, but they were older and still together, despite the challenges they faced together. Always, together.

“Okay, that's enough."

She grunted as she kicked him off her without a second thought – which was just as well or else she would have caught the wounded look on his face. As her guts gurgled again, she rose, her belly exposed while her son passed by with a strange look on his face.

Hannah hauled herself up and staggered away, though she didn't look back to her husband and her son left there in the living room. Not even as she let out a blasting fart and groaned, heat clawing its way up her neck, her shirt having ridden up to expose the smooth, pale round of her growing belly. She rocked her weight to the side and rubbed her exposed belly, releasing another trumpet of a fart from her gurgling stomach that seemed set to shake the walls of the room.

Ah, well. It wasn't as if she could control it, though she squirmed in her own embarrassment. If only her gassiness was not so bad!

“Oh my god, mom…"

Her son grumbled, clearly embarrassed, though Hannah couldn't help the loud, sharp fart that had slipped from her. If it left a stench behind her, she didn't notice: she ran from it too quickly with the weight of her belly throwing her off-balance.

She lounged around the house for the next few days while her husband was off work, though visited her yoga class. It didn't do her much good, floundering around on the ground while she struggled to get into position, the gas in her belly coming to a head as she tried to go into a downward dog pose.

“Oof… Someone would think I was carrying twins…with how big I am… And how hard this is…"

Hannah groaned, pressing down. At least none of her friends were there to see her as her shirt rode up, exposing more of her belly than, honestly, she should ever have been personally comfortable with. The weight of it and the growing baby inside lingered, pulling her off balance while she struggled to bend even in a small way.

Pfffff-pppptttt…

_ _

Gas, once again, broke from her in a noisy, sputtering fart. Hannah ignored it with no more than a roll of her eyes. Honestly, it was just a daily occurrence for her. When others in the class muttered and shot her looks, some even coming out of their yoga poses entirely, she grunted and plopped heavily back down to the mat.

“Oh, come on, girls," she groaned. “You can ignore that, like you all don't have rancid farts too!"

She fanned her backside to dissipate the gas, though that only served to spread it further into the room as some hacked and gagged, their eyes watering. Others pinched their noses, though Hannah turned away from them and lifted her butt cheek from the yoga mat while the instructor desperately tried to get them back on track.

Ppppffffffpppppptttt!

_ _

“Ah, better out than in," she said, laughing throatily as she let loose another wave of gas, settling her butt back down again. “I needed that!"

“Now, ladies, ladies… Please, will someone open a window?"

Hannah laughed and lay back, doing as she pleased. It was so good to forget things like politeness and the like when she was pregnant! No one would say anything to her for fear of offending her or, more often than not, hurting the baby. It was a similar case in the Lamaze classes, which she only went to as Amy had booked them for her and she kind of felt obliged to. Not that they did her any good.

She barely listened either in the Lamaze classes, skipping some and still trying her best at yoga while her body grew less and less flexible. Yet it was as the weeks went on that her body challenged her the most as she piled on a greater volume of fat still around the lower half of her body. Despite how much her figure had changed, it was still obvious she was pregnant and her belly looked a lot further along than she actually was. The maternity clothes she'd bought did not all fit anymore and she was forced to get the next sizes up just to have something to go out and about in.

It was challenging, but she reminded herself that there was a reason behind it – and that was Amy and Dan. Why, they'd even planned a baby shower for themselves that she was invited to, though Hannah thought it was going to be a bit strange to go to one where she was not the one becoming a mother, yet carrying the baby. Lines were certainly blurred there.

Yet her husband did his best for her, ignoring her grumpy snappiness, and even bringing her a pile of Mexican food – a mix of dishes she could eat with her hands – while Hannah was lying in bed. The weight of her stomach and her gassiness had kept her in bed most of the day, feeling more like a bloated whale.

“I look like I'm about to give birth next month," she complained loudly to James, while he cleared the used paper plates and supplied her with more food. “And it's so hot already! You would have thought it was the height of summer…"

There were still a few more months to go, but Hannah wasn't thinking like that. He nodded, even though it had only been a slightly warmer Spring than usual. When Hannah farted, he blinked and tried not to react to it. Yet it was harder as she lifted her butt cheek from the bed and alternated which way in which she broke wind.

The rise of her belly roamed on show with her shirt pulled up over it, though he rested his hand there more comfortably. It was amazing for him to think there was a little life in there and he splayed out his hand flat on her stomach, letting it ease lightly back and forth.

“You are wonderful, Hannah."

She grinned and let out her loudest fart yet in response. She gripped her butt cheeks with her fingers digging in, feeling the vibration of her ass as she let rip the fart. The trumpeting blast echoed through the room.

Pppppffffttt-ppppfffftttt-ptttt!

“Whew, that was a big one!"

She sighed in obvious relief, so he made no comment. Getting into bed later with the mixed smells of Mexican food and her farts was unpleasant, though he cleared everything away and managed to get some sleep.

Yet James hardly expected to be woken by ripping, numbing farts that tooted and echoed off the walls of the bedroom.

Ppppttttt-pppppttttt-ppppfffffttt!

“Hannah, please…"

He moaned and rolled over, pinching his nose in the darkness. Yet James could not stop himself from hacking and gagging as his eyes watered and, too late, her reek reached his nostrils.

“Ugh, no, Hannah…"

“Look, if you can't take a bit of gas," she mumbled, still half-asleep as more farts ripped noisily from her, even loud enough to disturb her children in the other rooms, “then go. You don't have to be in here…"

Hannah didn't mean to kick her husband out, but there was little else that could be done in a moment like that as James tried to hunker down and hold the sheets over his nose. But it was all too much as even the bedsheets wafted up around her buttocks and he was forced to slink from the bedroom, leaving his wife to sleep in her own stink.

James was forced to sleep in the spare room a few more times again after that night, but he certainly had a fresh respect for her farts!

Around month five, Amy and Dan found time to help her get to one of her ultrasound appointments. Hannah could have technically got there by herself, but, as it was a surrogacy, they wanted to keep an extra close eye on the baby, which made sense too. They wanted everything to go smoothly, which meant extra traipsing back and forth for appointments.

Hannah opened the door to a smiling Amy, who practically bounced up and down on the balls of her feet with joy at seeing the “baby bump."

“Oh, oh, you look amazing," she gushed, hands fluttering. “Can I touch them, your belly? Is that okay?"

At least Amy asked permission: Hannah would have snarled at anyone who tried to touch her otherwise. Her gassiness tended to keep strangers away, unless they were oddly quiet for a spell.

“Yes, go ahead…"

Amy instantly latched on to Hannah's belly and rubbed it, her hands sliding over Hannah's stretched shirt, though a line of skin showed where her top had ridden up. Clothes just didn't fit right, but, with everything getting warmer, she didn't mind being a little more exposed than before.

“Oh, hello, baby!" Amy cooed. “Oh, there's not much longer for you now, I promise. You're going to have such a wonderful life with us, we just can't wait to meet you!"

Hannah shuddered as Amy planted a kiss on the bare skin of her belly, having pulled her shirt up a little more. That felt too personal, yet she didn't know how to wave her off at a time like that.

Maybe she'd just have to deal with it. All, of course, as her belly tightened and gurgled with encroaching gas once more.

She squeezed herself into the backseat of their rather compact car – apparently, they were buying a new one soon that would have better space for them and the baby – and grunted as she slumped back against the seats. Her belly gurgled and she winched.

Ah, damn… This is going to be bad.

_ _

Hannah sat up straight, shifting her weight even as the gurgling and rumbling grew more intense.

Oh, no. I've got to hold this in, Amy will hate it if I have gas like that!

_ _

She didn't want to stress too much about it, though there was still only so much Hannah could do as she wriggled in her seat and fought against the pull of the seatbelt around her.

“Hannah?" Amy said, meeting Hannah's gaze in the rearview mirror. “Are you okay? Do you need me to speed up? Is something wrong with the baby?"

“Um… No…" She fudged her words, dragging them out. “I just… I just kinda have gas."

She didn't mean to sound so sheepish, especially not when she was getting increasingly used to the problem of having gassiness so often. But it came out like that regardless and she grumbled as she shifted her weight, her belly rumbling and gurgling. As she pressed her hand to her belly, she could even feel the gas “popping" in there, which only increased the bloating and sense of pressure.

“Oh, don't worry about that!" Dan shouted back to her, as jovial as ever. “Just let it go, Hannah! We're all adults here! You're doing more than enough for us already!"

Amy nodded, though she wasn't quite as keen as her husband to fill the car with farts.

“Yeah, don't worry about it," she said, waving off Hannah's concerns. “I don't want you being uncomfortable, sweetie, just make sure you're okay."

“Uh…" Hannah suppressed a smile, both embarrassed and amused at the same time and not quite knowing what direction to go in. “Yeah… Okay, if you're sure."

She lifted her left ass cheek and thigh to better release her gas and didn't just let out a toot of wind: she let out a trumpet.

Pppppffffffpppppppffffftttttttttttttt!

_ _

On and on the sound dragged, breaking through the car as Amy's jaw dropped and Dan whooped, hollering as if Hannah farting was the best thing in the world. He laughed and laughed – at least until the smell hit him, the blast of the fart sweltering within the close confines of the car. He coughed and gagged, turning away, while Amy fought to open the window.

“I could have told you it was bad," Hannah muttered, but, that time, she was more amused than anything else as she wafted the gas away from her casually. “Come on, it's for you. It's for your baby."

And they couldn't have anything else to say to that really, even though the car reeked all the way to the ultrasound appointment. Her appointment was sure to be just as fragrant, but Hannah was getting a name for herself at the fertility clinic. However, she was not quite free of Amy and Dan during those weeks, for they were as involved as they could be with a surrogate who was also their friend.

With the end of her pregnancy surely in sight, it came time to go to the baby shower. Fortunately for Hannah, most of the attention was on Dan and Amy, so she got to mooch in the corner where her bubbly gassiness was not too noticeable and chow down on cake after cake.

It wasn't the most ladylike thing to chomp into the cake, relishing in the strawberry filling as she squidged it to the back of her mouth, chewing quickly. Another woman gave her an odd look as she passed by, though Hannah ignored her and went for another slice of cake. She'd lost count of how many she'd had, but there were cupcakes too that she could peel the wrappers off and then shove the whole cupcake into her mouth in one go.

The icing smeared lightly on her lips and she licked it off her fingers, making sure not a single morsel was wasted.

“Mmm…"

She hummed as an attendee – a friend of Amy's – came over to her. They must not have known her, for they smiled and clapped their hands together for Hannah.

“Oh – and you're pregnant too, isn't that wonderful?" She gushed. “Will your little one be born soon, you look so far along? It would be such a small age gap for Amy's baby, with her surrogate too, wouldn't it? That's just a marvellous thing, isn't it?"

Hannah ground her teeth together, glaring up at the woman who had dared interrupt her relaxing time. It was one of the rare instances where that nausea, liable to come upon her suddenly, wasn't bothering her.

“Sure," she said, her tone dripping with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “They're being born soon… If you mean in three months. I am the surrogate, idiot."

“Oh, um – wow! I'm so, so sorry, I didn't think!"

“Yeah, you clearly didn't," Hannah shot back at her, ignoring the woman's fumbled attempts at an apology. “Seriously, do you even talk to this woman you think is your friend?"

Of course, she was referring to Amy, but Hannah didn't feel the need to be specific. Her new “friend" stumbled her way off, still fumbling with her words and trying to apologise, though Hannah didn't care about that. The blue and pink of the baby shower no longer meant anything to her, though she knew the gender of the baby (it was a boy) while the proud mother and father to be were in the dark.

She wondered briefly how it would go down if she gave in to her intrusive thought and announced just what the baby was to the whole room. Whereas that would be satisfying to her, there was a big part of Hannah that didn't want to make things bad for Amy. In brief, despite her experience, she didn't want to spoil said experience for her friend either.

Few things could get her to quiet down when her hormones were raging, but, well, she did actually care about Amy – and Dan by proxy too. Although the baby shower was a boring drag with her being more of an object there while Amy took the attention and spotlight, Hannah didn't really know what to do with herself and planned to slip out early if the opportunity presented itself to her.

“Hannah – Hannah, come up here!"

Amy, of course, wanted to share the spotlight and it was with a groan that Hannah lumbered up, not wanting to be the centre of attention.

“Here is the surrogate of our baby," Amy said proudly, her arms around Hannah's shoulders while the woman in question simply tried to suppress the bubbling gas in her belly, the cake clearly not sitting well there yet. “Isn't she wonderful? Hannah… Thank you so much for doing this for me, for us. We will be eternally grateful to you."

“Mm, well…" Hannah floundered, her sharp tongue momentarily stripped from her. “Er… Just doing it for a friend, you know…"

Yet she couldn't stop the gas bubbles from popping as her backside tooted – though that was not all that was coming. As the crowd gathered there, all eyes on her, tittered politely, they were greeted with another blasting fart that trumpeted as if proudly from Hannah's ass.

Ppppppfffffppppppfffffftttttttt!

_ _

Out and out, it rolled, though Amy went beet red while Hannah grumbled and fanned her backside, her other hand resting on the baby.

“Baby presses on all the wrong places," she said more lightly, making it a joke for everyone, even though frustration rumbled along inside her, with the farts. “Eh, you all non-pregnant people got this to look forward to when it's your turn!"

A couple of the women there looked shocked by that idea, but others were too busy hacking and gagging at the insidious, creeping stench to really do anything about Hannah's quip. Dan turned on a fan, which didn't help much, and Amy guided Hannah to the side. At least with her breaking wind in public, her role in the baby shower was good and done for the time being.

Amy and Dan thanked her, of course, for coming – and being plied with all the leftovers from the shower too placated her somewhat. She had no idea how many calories she was consuming daily, only that even more of them seemed to have gone straight to her ass, which challenged her maternity wear every time she wriggled into her bigger clothes.

Lumbering, for the weight of her body was difficult to contend with, Hannah managed to get herself into the shower to freshen up. Thankfully for her, the shower did not have a big lip over the bottom “tray," so she could manage it on her own.

Yet her body took up a lot more space in the shower than she was used to and she turned carefully in the cubicle as the rush of hot water flowed over her. The round of her belly pressed against the opposite wall as she tried to turn to get herself comfortable, yet she bumped into the shower itself, jostling for room. Still, her backside balanced her a bit more and she only had to push back a little for her ass to be touching one side of the shower and her belly to the other.

They were different, however, with the jiggly curves of her ass taking up attention as much as her firm belly, holding new life. She ran her fingers over the tight curve of her stomach while her ass squashed, very lightly, into the wall, relishing in the contrast between the cool tile and the hot water. She certainly was an awful lot thicker than before, though Hannah considered that a nice thing, enjoying the lines of her new body through her pregnancy at the very least.

At the start of her third trimester, everything was coming to a head and she had to bear down for the last part of her pregnancy, all so she could deliver and be done with it.

I'm so big… The ultrasound definitely only showed one in there, but I swear it looks like I'm carrying twins. Other people would think so too, I'm that huge.

_ _

The words came with wonder, though it was not something she honestly accepted about her body – not in the long-term, at least. All her efforts to walk and do yoga and gently exercise in other ways too had been for nothing, for she had gained more weight in that pregnancy than she had in the first and the second combined. None of that made any sense but she could go along with that, considering she was only a few weeks away from delivering.

Yet that didn't mean she didn't gulp at the prospect, her throat working hard briefly, of giving birth to a large baby. Or maybe two – if the ultrasound had let a baby hide away. What if there were two babies in there really, twins? Or triplets? Hannah shivered, pushing the thought from her mind the best she could.

Still, that didn't mean that she could fit into her world with a body that large and she washed herself off carefully, water trickling between her ass cheeks. Her belly gurgled ominously and she straightened as the rumble of her guts caught her attention.

Pffffftttt!

A loud fart echoed off the walls of the shower, for she had not realised her gas was quite that bad that day. Gagging, Hannah stumbled out of the shower as her belly continued to grumble anxiously, releasing yet another achingly rancid fart.

“Ugh!"

Hannah coughed and tried to cover her mouth and nose as she stumbled out of the shower. Yet even the rest of the bathroom was not free of the stench and she had to leave the bathroom entirely to air it out, steam wafting into the hallway as her own reek dissipated slowly. Thankfully, she'd had the presence of mind to wrap a towel around her body first, which at least helped a little.

The towel, with her bigger ass and hips in particular, did not close all the way around her body anymore, which was something new that she could not have said she appreciated. When her son stepped out of his room and immediately bolted back inside, Hannah was extra grateful that her pregnancy was not going to last forever.

She didn't have too much to occupy herself over the coming days, though her short temper and snappiness only seemed to increase with only three weeks to go, supposedly. The due date couldn't come soon enough and she visited the Lamaze class again, though they didn't tell her anything she didn't know. For Hannah, it was all the same as before – why should she worry about nerves or anything like that? To her, even with the changes in her pregnancy, giving birth was simply going to be a breeze.

“Unff, I can't wait to get out of here," she grumbled to her neighbour, though they didn't seem all that bothered. “It's all the same stuff. We all know this already, right?"

In all honesty, there may have been new information from the Lamaze instructor, but Hannah had given up listening after the first few sessions. Her gurgling stomach said otherwise and James rubbed her shoulders soothingly where he knelt behind her. Amy and Dan, thankfully, were not at that one. She couldn't help feeling glad they weren't there, at least that time, to get on her nerves. James sort of knew how to manage her.

“Actually," her neighbour said, sitting on a birthing ball as she struggled to get into a comfortable position. “I'm finding this pregnancy a struggle. So, I would very much like to hear what Sarah has to say, thank you."

The woman was as stiff as a board and Hannah rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue noisily against the roof of her mouth. Instead of taking the point the other woman had been trying to make, she leaned back into her husband, the weight of her belly rolling her into him from where she had been sitting, cross-legged, on a mat.

Her stomach gurgled ominously and it would have been enough to get her to pause – if not for the fact that she could use it to her advantage that time. Hannah smirked, shifting her weight and ignoring the discomfort in her belly that time.

Well, well, well, she thought. Maybe being gassy isn't such a bad thing after all. There are some tiny perks.

“Can you believe that?" She scoffed, her voice too loud and carrying to others in the class, though she was just buying time for the gurgling of her belly to build and build. “They think it's going to be hard? I swear, all these women here don't know what they're talking about one little bit. They're all wimps, they won't even –"

“Can I help you in the back there?"

The class organiser, whose name apparently was Sarah, smiled fixedly as she approached them. James shrugged back and tried to shrink away, though Hannah met her eyes boldly. James drew back a little, eyes wide.

“Hon, don't!"

For he knew what she was doing, the gurgling rising in her belly and his ears far more attuned to it than they had been before. He reached for her, but Hannah shrugged him off, a fart rumbling up from deep within her guts. She was working up to a big one, he could see, though there wasn't anything James could do to stop her, not even then.

“Yeah, actually," she said, making sure her voice filled every corning of the clean, brightly lit room. “I have something to say about your class."

And, as had happened before, she lifted her leg, raising her right butt cheek from the ground. That time, however, it was intentional as she let out a loud blast of a fart that droned on and on and on, just like a foghorn. It was low and deep in tone and yet that wasn't the worst of it as she fanned her backside, sending the stink out further and further. Fanning herself, of course, meant Hannah was not the one to deal with it, letting the rancid stench spread out through the Lamaze class.

Even her husband pinched his nose and wrinkled up his face, but he was better used to her gassiness by that time. And her embarrassment over the whole thing, well… It had eased off. A lot.

It was not the worst she had to offer, however, even as people got up and walked away, trying to find space and fresh air for themselves. Hannah had one last blast in her and she smirked wickedly, enjoying the petty side of her that had come through in her pregnancy. In a way, it was good to get payback on people for annoying her while pregnant, though she wondered briefly if that was something she simply had not noticed before – just how annoying the world around her was.

“Hannah!" James hissed, though he was still close enough to try to get her attention. “Don't do it! You're going to clear out the room!"

Hannah blinked less than innocently and pressed a hand to her stomach.

“Yeah… I think that's the point."

I didn't want to be here anyway.

_ _

He didn't get a chance to escape, however, as she rolled to the other side and lifted her other butt cheek: she wouldn't have wanted to hide the sound away, after all! With a grunt, she blasted out a long, trumpeting fart, the sound blasting from her in a long, drawn out blast. There was no denying it, her fart loud enough to drown out even the presenter, and people flooded from her.

Ppppppfffffpppppfffffffpppppptttttt!

The instructor gasped and reeled, a hand going to her chest.

“Oh my god! Please, stop!"

But Hannah couldn't stop. Her gas seeped through the room, into every tiny crevice in it, insidious fingers reaching and greedily forcing people to smell her stench. Hannah merely sat there where her fart reached a fever-pitch of sound, so loud that heads turned in other rooms in the building, wondering what on earth that sound was. Even they would deal with the reek of her fart seeping through the ventilation system, even if they would not know until the instructor told them what had happened in there.

“Oh, god!"

“It stinks!"

“Get out of here!"

No one, seemingly, could stand that fart, as loud and as stinky as it had been. Even Hannah was more than a little impressed with herself as her ass wobbled, perhaps the huge size of it allowing her farts to resonate more. There was some perverse part of her that liked the sound of that, even though it was hardly something that would ever have crossed her mind before.

“Ugh, I've got to get out!"

“What the hell is this?"

Hannah giggled and pressed her fingers to her lips as if she had done something naughty as she watched them leave, everyone streaming from the eye-watering, toxic stench. It spread out in a wave across the room, only growing in intensity, and even her husband had to mutter his excuses and flee for fresh air.

It was funny how the participants of the class ran as if the hounds of hell were chasing them – which was rather impressive for a load of pregnant ladies. Hannah laughed and shook her head, amused by their antics, though it did, in a way, clear the way for her to make her grand exit from the Lamaze class one last time, all for her final, stupid class of stuff she already knew.

They cleared the room, some of the husbands or partners pausing to help their partners while others simply ran full pelt from the room. Hannah didn't blame the ones who ran for it, for she was immune to her reek by that time and merely wrinkled her nose as if to say it was only a little stink and not all that bad at all. As ever, she acted as if everyone around her was merely overreacting.

The instructor hastened everyone out the door, though she cast a despairing look back at Hannah, who remained in the class with a smirk and a cheerful wave. Even if others would call it quits that day and go home early, Hannah had a reason to stay then – and that was solely to make her point. It may have been a silly point, but she didn't have to deal with horrible people at the very least.

She stayed for the rest of that class, as she made the instructor return to “get her money's worth" despite not paying for the classes, but there was to be no further ones for her. At the end of her pregnancy, or near enough, Hannah was more than glad to forget about them and the snotty women entirely. Forcing the instructor to deal with her continued farts, each of them startling the instructor enough that she visibly flinched, expecting the worse, was just the cherry on top of the delicious cake for Hannah.

And the rumbling and gurgling in her stomach barely diminished at all, regardless of how many times she let out a blasting fart, attempting to relieve herself of her bloated belly.

James, however, didn't come back for her that time, though he was not to be blamed: even he needed a break at times. That left Hannah all alone to rock her fat ass up at the end of her class, though not even the instructor offered her help in the slightest. The most they did was watch her from a distance just to make sure she didn't hurt herself. Grumbling, Hannah finally heaved herself up again and waddled, sweating, to the exit. Regardless of it all, her chin remained held high, a small, tight smile on her lips.

“Still," she said to herself as the door swung closed behind her and James looked up cautiously from where he leaned against their car. “It was a good way to leave the last class. Never again!"

Life went on.

Amy and Dan, bless them, brought around even more food for her, though her cravings were erratic in the latter part of her pregnancy. She gorged for hours in the living room, plates piled up beside her while her husband was forced to sit away, only sneaking in to try to tidy up from time to time. It only set Hannah off to have someone, even her husband, in her space when she was eating.

“James, I already told you," she growled at him, though Hannah didn't truly bear any ill feeling towards her husband. “You can't have any of this – you know I'm eating for two!"

He grimaced and laughed lightly, though looked a little torn.

“Yes, but you don't have to eat quite that much, darling," he suggested. “Maybe I could give you a back rub instead?"

She mumbled something that was sort of an “okay" and he helped her sit on a large yoga ball, for they didn't have one of the slightly smaller birthing ones there. With the birthing balls being sized, ideally, for individual women, it hadn't been a cost Hannah had been all that interested in taking on.

As he rubbed her back, her guts grumbled, letting out a blasting wave of farts that slammed through the air, as if they didn't want to be ignored. One came and she waved it away from her ass, though it was swiftly followed by another the moment she shifted her weight.

“Ugh…"

Annoyed, Hannah rolled her hips a little, trying to alleviate the bubbling and gurgling there. Yet the rocking motion forced more from her in a trumpeting fart that rang out the most loudly of them all so far.

He swallowed hard, coughing and gagging without opening his lips. Hannah didn't pay him much mind. Yet the smell lingered, even though he tried to fight it off, eyes watering as the reek got to him; he rubbed the back of his hand across his face, trying to cover it up.

“I can't wait to have this pregnancy over with," she moaned, grumbling as he rubbed her back and shoulders through her loose maternity clothes. “It's so heavy, always dragging me down."

The baby, as if hearing her, kicked hard at that very moment, making her jolt as her belly tightened.

“Agh!"

Pppffftttt!

_ _

Right on cue, the baby forced her to let out a loud blast of a fart, but it was a rancid one indeed. James tried to stay close to her even as Hannah grumbled about it, though there was very little even he could do as the smell infiltrated their nostrils. She flapped her hand around her ass again, though it did little good, except to clear her immediate air and get it away from her more swiftly.

“Ah…" James took a breath of fresh air from a little further away before returning to her, ever the loving, doting husband. “It's okay, darling, you look amazing. You're doing so well through all of this, everything you have to deal with."

He kissed the top of her head, James' tenderness, one way or another, always finding a way to show through. After all, he loved his wife dearly and even the turmoil of her erratic pregnancy was not enough to change that. He got used to her gassiness, even though he would have rather not have had to deal with it, even when she lifted a butt cheek to more easily fart and let her gas ease out into the room.

She bounced on the yoga ball, grunting in the back of her throat, though it didn't do anything to ease the weight in her womb. The baby shifted and kicked and she grunted, her hand over the spot where their fist had shown through her skin, even if only briefly. It was kind of a miracle and mostly just an annoyance to her.

“I can't wait to get you out of me," she said, poking her stomach and regretting the action immediately. “Look at what you've done to me… My body doesn't look anything like it did!"

“You're always amazing to me, though."

She shot her husband a look and rolled her eyes. Couldn't he say anything else other than parroting the same thing over and over again?

She patted her stomach and jumped as she farted. Oh, she hadn't been expecting that one! Fanning her ass, she grumbled and James prodded her stomach again, even though that wasn't going to help anything. At least the sharp toot of a fart hadn't been too disruptive that time, but her belly rumbled anxiously with gas.

“Hey, stop it," he grumbled. “You're gassy enough!"

“Oh, get off."

She didn't let James finish and staggered upright, her stomach grumbling with hunger once again. It didn't seem to matter just how much she ate: she was always ravenous. It didn't take a fool to understand that it was one of the several reasons she had gained as much weight as she had so quickly, but there was nothing Hannah could do about that.

Or, at least, that was what she told herself. It was more that she didn't want to do anything about it, regardless of how things were going or how close she was to the end of her pregnancy.

They patched things up, her and her husband, though it didn't escape Hannah's notice either that Kayleigh and Gareth had developed a rather wide berth around her. And that wasn't due to her farts alone, as far as she was aware. Her crankiness had gone a lot further than she'd realised and they were just trying to stay out of the line of fire when it came to her snappiness there.

She was far from herself as she lay in bed and relaxed, the mattress creaking obnoxiously under her weight. Yet that was just how things were meant to be, with that pregnancy, Hannah reasoned with her herself. Soon, she would give birth and things would change.

Her husband hesitated in the doorway as she let out a loud, ripping fart that blew up the bedsheets from around her backside. James hesitated for a moment – and then gagged as the reek hit him. With his eyes watering, he fled once again from the bedroom, not even managing to get into bed that time before her gas forced him into the spare room to find some manner of sleep.

Yet Hannah couldn't sleep that night and got up early in the morning, her hunger driving her straight downstairs to the kitchen. Even her step down on to each stair was heavier than before, as if she was lumbering and about to break through them entirely.

“Oof…"

She grunted, though her cravings dictated that she feed and that she feast, despite the early hour. Tiredness pulled at her, though Hannah was at least comfortable in a long dressing gown, even if it barely covered her expanded ass. It would just have to do.

It was a mound of potatoes, dripping in cheese, covered with tikka masala curry she wanted the most, upending a bottle of chocolate sauce and pouring it over the top. It drizzled out of the tube, which was usually used as an ice cream topper, too slowly for her liking, so she cut off the top with scissors to allow more to pour out. Hannah was so intent on her craving and satisfying it that she didn't even undo the lid.

It just seemed like a waste of time.

When she'd finished the mess of a craving, she dived into it, using a big spoon to ladle it all into her mouth. A knife and fork simply would not have been good enough and Hannah was so wrapped up in gorging that she didn't even notice her son and her daughter waking up and entering the kitchen. They clearly decided to make sure their breakfast needs were taken care of elsewhere, for they didn't hang around.

It was just so satisfying to feel the food filling her stomach, stretching it out further than it ever had before she'd been pregnant that time. With all she'd eaten, she'd still have a massive appetite even after she'd given birth and that, to her, was not all that bad of a thought. Not when she was caught by a craving, satisfying that strange need with a sense of gluttony that she simply had not been allowed before.

She finished up and dropped the dishes carelessly in the dishwasher, a muscle in the corner of her eye jumping at the little beep-beep sound it made. Even the tiny things like that were getting on her nerves when she most certainly would have passed over them before.

“Urf… Yes, that's much better."

Hannah muttered to herself as she got herself ready for the day and to head out to her last doctor's appointment. She'd likely still have an ultrasound to be sure everything was okay; she'd already had the regular two and an extra as a double check when her gassiness had not subsided. They seemed to be taking extra precautions with her and she still needed to be inspected to see just how close to labour she was.

The heaviness in her stomach weighed her down and Hannah rubbed her food belly, shaking her head at herself. It was such a nice feeling to be full, warm and spreading through her – and yet that was not a part of her body that she was on board with when she was back in “control" of herself.

How could I eat that much? She thought, tugging on her clothes and readying herself to go out the door. It's gross… This fat and flab, all around my hips and thighs. The big pregnant belly is something they all stare at, but only I know just how much my body has changed. And there's nothing I can even do about it either.

_ _

Hannah grumbled and pressed a hand to the smooth round of her stomach, obviously rounded out with her pregnancy, which made the maternity dress she was wearing hang at a funny angle. The bubbles and popping in her gut were so familiar to her by that point and yet she didn't relish the gas, even if it didn't bother her too much anymore. It looked like indulging her morning cravings had given her a good bout of gas that she would have to let out one way or the other.

Toooot!

_ _

Her backside prepared as she headed out and made her way to the doctor's surgery for the last trimester check, letting out stark, trumpet-like farts as she freely broke wind. In her car, there was no one there to bear witness to her, though heads obviously turned in the office. Even though there were other pregnant people in there, some with their partners and others alone, everyone stared at her and gawped.

And Hannah just sat there, adjusting her weight in her chair so she was more comfortable, ignorant to the wafts of noxious gas floating around the waiting room. Some were able to leave to get some much-needed fresh air, hacking and gagging, but others had to stay and wait for their appointments. If their eyes were watering, Hannah thought, crossing her arms across her chest, then it was all their fault.

If they can't handle a bit of gas, then what are they doing around pregnant women?

_ _

“Mrs Hanes? We're ready for you now."

Hannah rose with a lumbering groan, a hand on her strained lower back as she waddled into the nurse's room.

“Took long enough," she grouched. “Aren't I seeing the doctor today then? Or is it just you I'm stuck with? I already gained three pounds this week and it all went to my ass, so I'm not in the best of moods here."

The nurse blinked at her: someone young and pretty who Hannah didn't know.

“Um, ma'am, I'm perfectly capable of performing your check-up and the ultrasound, but if you would prefer a doctor…"

“Nahhhh," Hannah whined, shaking her head as she got up on the bed ready. “Just make it quick, would you? I could fart you into oblivion right now."

The nurse shook her head again and started the check-up – though it was to her detriment that she didn't enter the waiting room at the right time. For she had not heard just how loud and obnoxious Hannah's farts were and there was nothing she could do, not even then, in order to save herself.

Hannah whistled innocently, her demeanour suddenly turning sunny. Gas rumbled in her belly, but she held back her amusement. The nurse smeared the ultrasound jelly on her stomach, keeping most of Hannah covered, and she waited for the perfect moment.

With the ultrasound wand touching her belly, she took her chance. The round of her gleaming, jelly-covered stomach had the nurse's full attention and the tight sensation of bloat within was not to be staved off for a single moment more.

“Hey…" She hissed to the nurse, as if something urgent was happening. “Pull my finger!"

“What?" The nurse baulked at that, the ultrasound wand juddering in her hand as the shaky image came into view. “Why? Are you okay, Mrs Hanes?"

“Yes, yes," Hannah said, rushing her. “Come on, do it! Pull it, pull my finger!"

The nurse did so and, right on cue, Hannah let out a blast of a fart that could surely be heard outside the check-up room. She didn't need to fan the gas away from her backside, the sort of fumes that should never have come from a human body, and the nurse backed off instantly, releasing her finger.

“There we go!" Hannah laughed, patting her stomach proudly. “Phew, that felt good!"

“Oh… Oh, Mrs Hanes!"

She tried to compose herself, but there was really no helping herself as she bent over, her eyes streaming, trying with all her might to remain professional. Yet when Hannah's gas, farts ripping and popping out and on without a care in the world, the nurse had to leave the room.

Hannah laughed, her crankiness settled with that little prank, if only for a while. The nurse coughed and gagged, turning away and covering her mouth, though the damage had already been done.

“I'm going to have to try that again! Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Hannah told the nurse with a roll of her eyes, another trumpet of gas rumbling ecstatically from her. “Lighten up, would you?"

Everything progressed as normal in the last two weeks of her pregnancy, though Amy and Dan were always over and anxious, which just annoyed Hannah even more than before. She snapped at them and growled like a bitch in heat, yet they just allowed her to be the grumpiest she'd ever been. Maybe that was because they knew she was carrying their child and to piss Hannah off at such a time, indeed, would not be the wisest course of action. That didn't mean Hannah taking out her frustrations on her friends and family was at all okay, however.

Still, the end days of the pregnancy brought the roundest rise of her baby belly – especially when she went overdue. Hannah complained and lamented her situation to the doctor at the fertility clinic, but they couldn't do anything to help her.

Even the huge swell of her baby belly could not detract from how the rest of her body had changed and how thick she'd become, with her thighs round and curvy, all to support her changed body. Her backside rounded out nicely, though she didn't like the light roll around her hips. Most of the new fat layered her body in an appealing fashion, however, so she could get along with it.

Knowing that it wasn't forever was something at the very least.

Hannah groaned, standing in front of the mirror as she slowly dressed in her underwear, though she'd gone for some maternity lingerie that time that at least hugged her body.

“Sent the kids out…" She muttered. “I'm getting this damn baby out of me!"

Hannah had read that sex could kick-start labour and she was good and done with being pregnant! It would not be a bad way, after all, to settle everything down again.

Looking over her body, she took a breath, her breasts nicely filling out the bra, which had been fitted for her. Her belly and ass, however, were larger than ever while her tits seemed to have paused their swelling a little earlier, which suited her just fine.

She turned back and forth in front of the mirror and ran her hands over her belly and ass, pressing the flat of them both into her flesh, just to see how it indented lightly under her touch. Her belly, of course, held more of its shape with the baby resting too heavily in there, though there was still a comfortable layer of cushioning with her weight gain.

Yet there were no stretch marks to be found there at all, which she found unusual, turning around to check out her back and her ass more clearly, tugging her underwear to the side to eye up the curve of her butt cheek.

James seems to be getting hard when he watches me get dressed in the morning too, she thought, a smirk playing across her lips. Even if I am struggling to put on my pants… He likes it.

_ _

With a short, sharp barking kind of laugh, she gave her ass a sharp slap, the crack of her own hand making contact with her backside ringing through the air. Her guts gurgled again and she grabbed her ass, her butt vibrating as a fart blasted from her.

Ppffffffttt!

_ _

Oh, how used to her farts she'd become! Hannah laughed and fanned her ass, settling her lingerie back into place.

“Yeah, that's the stuff…"

It was not a bad thing to be free of stretch marks like that and her lips twitched in a light smile as she angled her body back to face the mirror, though there was something new there that made her lips turn down again.

Her belly button stuck out obstinately like the cork from a wine bottle and she poked it with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, sure, that's sexy…"

Her sarcasm wasn't due to be noted by anyone other than her and Hannah sighed. With the kids gone, she brushed off the idea, knowing at least that it would all be done with very soon.

Heading downstairs, she lumbered, taking her time with her centre of balance off. The heavy roll of her step was mostly from her oversized, pregnant belly, she told herself, although Hannah knew it had come to the fat she'd piled on too, with her thick thighs and butt. It wasn't to be helped, not at that stage.

“Hey, James…"

She found him on the sofa and sashayed her way awkwardly in front of him, letting his eyes following the swing of her hips and the jiggle of her full, round ass. James let out a little grunt, instantly turning off the TV – for what man would have turned down a sight like that?

“Oh, Hannah," he moaned as she bent over a little to better show off the curve of her buttocks to him, though his erection already showed through his jeans a little. “You… The kids?"

“Yeah, they're out," she said, sliding awkwardly on to his lap as she straddled him on the sofa. “Don't worry… It's just you and me here."

She didn't tell him she was trying to kick-start labour, though it wouldn't have mattered anyway. He kissed her hungrily, his tongue delving into her mouth while his hand dropped to rest on her belly.

Hannah didn't try to hold in the farts that were coming, one way or the other, though the gurgle and pop of her rumbling stomach was impossible to miss. It was like a feeling of unrest in her that Hannah couldn't set aside, though her husband's fingers moved and shifted on her belly, as if he was trying to evade the disturbance.

Ppfffftttt…

_ _

She ignored a fart as it trumpeted from her, cutting through the air, though her husband coughed and gagged, turning his head back and forth as he struggled to bear through the reek of her.

“Agh… God…"

“Don't stop, James, please…" She whispered, playing on his weak spots as she kissed the line of his jaw. “I need you so much."

He forced his way through it as her hormones surged, need rolling through her body just like her farts. It was fortunate that she didn't fart again as James struggled through it all to undress her and unclasped her bra at her back. Her heart surged at the touch of his skin on hers and she groaned, ignoring her belly gurgling.

“Take me upstairs, James," she murmured to him. “Please…"

He gladly took the chance to help her up but thought better of picking his wife up in his arms after giving it a quick go. No, that clearly wasn't going to work, but that didn't matter all that much as they hustled their way back up the stairs, Hannah's beautiful breasts pulling down lightly under their own weight. Those really were one of the best parts of her pregnancy, though she wouldn't have minded them getting bigger to better match her thick ass and thighs too.

James fumbled with his belt, in the bedroom, while she unbuttoned his shirt for him, need racing to the forefront. Her body burned luxuriously with every brush of his fingers against her, teasing her nipples and trailing down over her round belly once more.

Finally, they both managed to get naked with James slowly rolling her underwear down her wide thighs lastly, as if her pussy was the final treat for him. He let out a moan as her sex was exposed but Hannah took the chance to back away to the bed, sliding heftily on to it with a creak of the mattress protesting.

“Do you like what you see, darling?"

Stretching out the best she could on the bed, Hannah put an arm back above her head and tried to angle her body, so she posed seductively, though that was a tall order indeed for someone in her position. Rolling a little on to her side, she showed off her ass to him, letting him see the thick curve of it and how much bigger it was. Her belly gurgled as James hungrily looked her over, his lips slightly parted, but she couldn't stop the rolling farts from coming.

Alas, they were her downfall.

Ppfffftttt!

_ _

Hannah's jaw dropped as she tried to press her ass to the bed, but there was no stopping the grumbling farts from breaking free that time.

_ _

Ppppttt…ppppfffftttt…ppppffffttttpppttttpppptttt!

_ _

“Oh… Oh, Hannah! Oh, my god!"

The blasting farts were more noxious than usual, sending a heady rush of foul air seeping into the bedroom. James hacked and gagged, bending over and covering his mouth, clearly fighting to stop nausea rising.

“Come on, James," she pleaded with him, eyes wide. “You can do it, for me… I'm so horny, I need you inside me!"

Pfffffffftttttt!

But it was already too late as he was forced to flee the room, leaving his naked wife on the bed with her legs spread. Hannah growled and slumped back, frustration overwhelming her. Damn it! Who could have known that farting would get in the way so much?

“It's not even that bad," she grumbled, fanning her ass again and flapping her hands around. “Sheesh…"

But James wouldn't have sex with her again until the baby was delivered.

When she was overdue by ten days and the doctors were starting to grow worried, she went out with her husband for their anniversary. James deserved to go out, even though she felt as big of a whale and walked slowly, no longer even able to fit comfortably behind the wheel of the car. No, she had to be a passenger just for her body to spread out more comfortably.

“Oof… Yeah, looks like we're here," she said, looking up at the restaurant front with distaste, her stance putting extra emphasis on her already huge stomach. “Come on, let's go in and get this over with."

She was so used to her own grumpiness by that point that she didn't even recognise it in herself, although James was a little deflated by it – visibly so. Still, a nice dinner was on the cards for them both and Hannah confidently ordered enough for three people.

“Still eating for two," she laughed, even as her gut grumbled faintly, drawing her attention to her gassy nature again. “I might be a bit fragrant today, James, hope you don't mind."

Pffffffttttt.

_ _

Of course, a fart punctuated the moment perfectly and Hannah lifted her butt cheek nonchalantly to better allow it to escape. Backing away, James clearly grappled with helping her out and fleeing. Eventually, swallowing a coughing gag, he sighed and shook his head.

“I'll be just as glad as you to have this pregnancy over with," he said gently, taking her hand. “Eat all you like, love, I'm glad to be here for you. But I'm grateful you'll be more comfortable again soon and surely back to your old self."

Hannah shrugged. What did it matter about her old self? She crossed her legs. Well, at least she tried to as all the extra fat of her legs rubbed together, huffing and puffing – and eventually deciding against it as she could not comfortably complete the action anymore. When the three meals arrived, she chowed down like she'd never seen food before, though, of course, made sure to use a knife and fork. It was their anniversary, after all, though some of her cravings had forced her to eat more like a pig, forgoing the use of cutlery at all.

Pfffffttt…

_ _

Ppppfffffpppppffffttttt!

_ _

Hannah ignored her farts as her belly tightened and gurgled, though she dug into her first meal, a lasagne, heartily. Bits of sauce splattered as she shoved big mouthfuls into her gob, smearing food around her lips. She wasn't trying to have bad manners, of course, but she just wanted to satisfy the aching hunger in her stomach.

James ate more demurely, delicately cutting into his steak, though Hannah was not done with the lasagne. For her second meal, she had tacos, which probably wouldn't help the gassiness at all – but she didn't care.

Ppppfffftttt!

_ _

“Oops!"

Hannah laughed and playfully fanned the gas away from her ass as she paused in the middle of opening her mouth wide to stuff a taco in there. It was too large for her to eat in a single bite, but she still chomped into a good portion of it, filling her mouth so much that her cheeks rounded out with the sheer amount of food in her mouth. Softly, James leaned over to her to dab around her mouth with a napkin, though at least he was in more of an open area that time, so he didn't have to inhale every last bit of her gas.

“I got you, darling."

She mumbled her thanks, working her way through the Mexican meal even as her farts drew attention. The table next to them had the waiter move them away and Hannah only felt glad that she had more space to herself – and subsequent privacy too, even if they were in the middle of the dining area.

Her final meal was a big plate of beef stroganoff – and none of her three meals could have been said to go together in any way at all. Still, she stuffed herself with it, piling a spoon rather than a fork high with the meat and rice, just so she could feed herself more swiftly. Maybe the kitchen had seen by that time how much she was eating, for the portion looked larger.

“I can't stay here a moment longer!"

She looked up briefly as a man flounced by with his date scurrying after him. James shrank back, as if he wanted to hide in his seat, though Hannah only shrugged and rocked her weight to her right ass cheek.

“Eh, don't know what his problem is."

Ppppfffftttt!

_ _

It should have been obvious, yet Hannah simply didn't care as she worked her way through the stroganoff, a little more aware of the looks they were getting. But couldn't they see she couldn't do a damn thing about it? She was more concerned, if only lightly, for the fact that James appeared embarrassed. If it had been her on her own, she would have let her farts all fly freely without comment.

And yet it was not the gassiness and rising farts, drawing looks from other patrons of the restaurant, that were their undoing. She broke wind, again and again, though her dress stayed in place and she merely grunted, shifting her weight to fan her ass.

“Damn gas," she muttered to herself, only offering a half-shrug as something of an apology to the waiter, who nodded stiffly and otherwise kept his distance. “Erff… It makes my stomach feel so tight and bloated."

There was a lot more than that going on for her and she tried stretching out her legs to relieve the pressure on her swollen ankles and feet, which just about felt like they were bursting out of her shoes.

She wriggled and squirmed on her seat while her husband slowly lost his appetite opposite her, though her gas was worse than ever. She bent forward with a groan, pressing a hand to her belly even though it didn't do anything to relieve the pressure.

“Erf… James… James, this… Ach!"

Pppppffffffpppppffftttt…

_ _

She farted loudly and noisily, yet her eyes widened, as it was no longer her focus. Not as wetness marked the seat under her and she shuddered, the pain of her gas morphing into something she had never felt before.

“I'm in laaaaabouuuur!"

Chaos erupted, though they, thankfully, didn't have to pay the bill at the restaurant, which Hannah thought was very kind of them. James rushed her out and into the car, though it seemed like they were at the hospital in the blink of an eye.

It was not really, however, in the blink of an eye as James swore and fought to get her into the car, the seat just not going far enough back to allow enough space for any semblance of comfort as his wife moaned in pain. Her belly pressed against the glove box of the car and she shifted her weight back and forth as she tried to curl forward – yet there was no escaping the pressing pain of a contraction.

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!"

She cried out, tears building in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't do her exercises in there! Everything she knew from her classes and her previous labour vanished as James rolled the car into action, the engine rumbling and sending another deep, dull pain emanating from her.

“Drive faster, James!" She screamed, her voice cutting through the air hoarsely, a sore edge to her voice even though her labour was only just beginning. “This is happening! It's finally over!"

It was not quite and she half-closed her eyes, panting through short, sharp little breaths that were not quite what her Lamaze classes had instructed her in. But the pain – oh! It was so much worse than it had been with her previous two labours and she tried to twist from the strain of it all.

A contraction ripped through her and she blinked. Surely that was too close to the first? She didn't want to think that her contractions were already coming close together – yet that was only Hannah's distorted perception of what was happening in the moment. Wetness stuck to her inner thighs as she fought to get enough space for her heavily pregnant belly, her skin strained as her stomach wobbled out before her.

Every jump in the road seemed to jostle her thick body, her flesh squashing down against the seat of the car. Her voluminous thighs seemed to bubble over the sides of her seat and yet that wasn't something she could hold in mind, not as strain cut through her furiously. As much as she tried to take the time between the contractions to rest and recover, it was simply impossible knowing what was coming.

Of course, James forgot to call Amy and Dan with his concern for his wife at the forefront of his mind, though that was not entirely a bad thing. They would simply be along a little later. They would get to meet their baby soon enough, but he had a wife to take care of who he still loved very much. And the end of their ordeal, shared, was finally in sight.

“Ohhhhh!"

He half-dragged his wife from the car as he swerved into the drop-off zone in the front of the hospital, though James would still have to rush out to park the car afterwards: that was by the by. She growled at her husband, who was red in the face and puffing, though that didn't make things any better for her.

“Get me in there – now!"

“Yes, yes, dear, it's okay, everything's going to be okay."

James muttered soothing words, though it was all Hannah could do not to shove him out of the way, a dull ache spreading through her. The nurses were useless, as always, she thought savagely. None of them seemed to know what they were doing and she leaned heavily against the wall of the waiting room, one hand on her round belly.

“Is she having triplets?" A panicked nurse half-shrieked, looking entirely too blonde and pretty (in Hannah's opinion) to be there. “Quick, quick! I didn't know we had triplets coming!"

Hannah growled under her breath, shooting the nurse a look that could have withered evergreen trees.

“It's one baby, you idiot!"

Although the nurse stammered an apology, Hannah didn't hear her as she squatted a little, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, simply trying to find a position that didn't hurt so much. The weight of her belly simply put too much strain on her back, even her glutes pounding with strain. It had been too much for her body and her feet and legs remained swollen, shoes pinching in around her ankles and toes in particular.

Finally, a different nurse who looked like she might have known a thing or two more than that first idiot brought a wheelchair out for her. With a barely grateful sigh, Hannah hastily lowered herself into it.

She dropped too heavily, however, for the moment her buttocks connected with the seat, she let out an ear-splitting, ripping fart.

Pppppfffffffppppppppttttttt!

_ _

“Oh!"

The nurse stepped back, trying to pinch her nose to keep the reek from it. Her eyes clearly watered, though Hannah only huffed and fanned her own ass, wafting the smell away from her. After so much time and in such a state, she couldn't honestly say it bothered her in the slightest.

“Oh, it's like you've never seen a pregnant woman before," she snorted, scoffing at the nurse's reaction. “Quickly, hurry the hell up! Get me into the labour room, because this baby's coming out of me right now!"

Her labour room was moderate enough, with the birthing bed and more than enough room around it for the staff who were to help her get the weight of the baby out of her. Still, she could neither sit on the wheelchair for long or rest on the bed, needing to move.

“Unnnggghhhh…"

She moaned as she paced and tottered around the labour room, though it took a long time for her contractions to grow closer together. Hannah was so sure she was imagining it, for even though she thought the contractions were growing closer with less time between them, the hands on the wall clock simply weren't moving quickly enough.

Alas, it was doomed to be a long, slow labour for her. Hannah refused to acknowledge such.

“Huff… Huff… Huff…"

Stealing the breathing exercise from the Lamaze class to calm her down, even though she'd hated the whole thing, she puffed out her cheeks and timed her breaths, though the short, sharp breaths just made her feel light-headed.

Breathe in… Out… Breathe in… Out…

_ _

Am I doing this too quickly? Is this even right?

“What a useless exercise," she growled to herself, swatting away James who was saying some rubbish about how he'd called Amy and Dan to get there as soon as they could. “I don't know why I…nnghhh…bothered going to those stupid classes."

“Darling, I'm sure they'll be helpful," he said, striving to be as soothing as he possibly could, despite the situation. “Please, calm down. Everything's going to be okay. You're beautiful, you're strong. You've done this all before."

Hannah swore at him but otherwise didn't acknowledge a word her husband had said to her.

Hannah, however, could not deny the pounding of her heart and how the walls seemed to be closing in around her. The pain was unlike anything she'd ever felt before and she hardly wanted to think about what was happening to her in the moment, her head swimming as she bounced on a birthing ball. Those things actually were kind of useful when she wasn't being so snappy she turned down everything that could have possibly helped make her labour go a little better.

She sat on the birthing ball, but it didn't seem to do anything. Everything felt awkward and uncomfortable and she hadn't even yet changed into the hospital gown they wanted her to wear. She'd been wearing a dress beforehand, however, and the ball stuck to her legs, so she had to peel her full, thick thighs away from it every time she moved.

“Ugh…"

Hannah moaned and rose off the ball, letting it bounce and roll into a corner of the room. The door to her room had been left open and she pottered to it, barely trusting each step she made. At least she had those annoying hospital slippers on, with grip on the bottom, for the shoes she'd worn out wouldn't have at all stuck with her through labour.

A woman outside paused, looking inside with a piece of paper clutched to her chest.

“Excuse me, I think this is my daughter's room?"

Hannah could have answered – but it was honestly so much easier to let her body do the talking for her as she half-turned to her and tipped forward. There was not much Hannah could do with leaning forwards, considering the restriction of her round belly, but she did all she needed to.

Ppppppppffffffftttttt!

_ _

One, long, rancid toot rolled from her backside, not broken at all by the sputtering, blasting farts that had become her own. Hannah would have been proud of it, if not for the contraction that gripped her in the next moment.

“Ahhhhh!"

She wailed through it, loathing how she sounded. At least it got rid of the busybody and she roughly shoved the door closed while she let her knees buckle a little, riding out the gripping, pressure-like kind of pain of the contraction. There was no sense yet that she needed to push, though she had no idea how dilated she was, just how much of her labour was left to come.

“Oh – oh! Hannah, Hannah, we're here!"

She blinked up at Dan and Amy, wishing she was alone. Yet she'd allowed them into the labour room and it didn't feel right to send them away, though her rising snappiness kicked into high gear.

“What, and you didn't bring anything from me?" She growled, rolling her eyes. “This is your baby I'm trying to force out of me!"

“No, no, of course!"

Amy soothed her, unfazed by Hannah, and guided her back to the birthing ball. A bag slung over her shoulder bristled with plastic packaging.

“Sit on your birthing ball," she instructed. “If you bounce, it'll help relieve the pain."

“I've done this twice before – who the hell do you think you are lecturing me?"

She would have said more, but her backside gave up as she broke wind again and a flood of toxic gas filled the room. Dan coughed and gagged, eyes watering, though Hannah only clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as if she was disappointed. Amy handled it a little better, though Hannah still caught her coughing into her sleeve, needing to back away to give her space while the smell dissipated.

Somewhat. Not much. After so much time, Hannah was proud of the effect of her farts. It certainly got people away from her and she could only see that as a good thing.

“I got things for you to eat too," Amy went on quickly while Hannah swapped positions, so she was resting her chest and stomach over the birthing ball, finding a more comfortable spot. “This should keep up your energy. Is there anything I can get for you."

“Water, water," she said roughly, glaring at the woman who was only trying to help her. “Didn't you even think of that?"

Vaguely, she understood she was being rude to Amy and Dan, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. Her attitude had changed throughout her entire pregnancy, all to bring her to that point with everything at its peak. She accepted the water from Amy only when she rose again from the birthing ball, leaving it to bounce into Dan's legs, though he caught her in time.

To say the least of it, it was not the labour she had at all expected. The nurse hustled her out of the dress, which was admittedly sweaty and clinging to her body in all the wrong places, and into the labour gown. She should have changed into it initially, but she'd been so keen to get the baby out of her that, frankly, she hadn't let them take charge of her at all. And that her farts cleared the room so often that few wanted to enter the birthing room to tell her to change. Still, it allowed her some more freedom to move as her body eased closer to birth, moment by moment.

Yet it was slow. James was there for her sometimes as her contractions grew tediously closer together, but he left when she asked him to also, which she was grateful for. She didn't want her husband always there, always over her shoulder, as if he thought he could do anything special to change things for her. Yet she wanted James there, even if she didn't want him to see her in such a state.

“Right, dear, I'm here to check on you, see how dilated you are."

Hannah glared at the nurse, who bustled in like she was just another patient on her roster.

“There's no way you're getting anything inside me to check!"

“There are many more patients all like you," the nurse said patiently, yet with a steely glint in her eye. “They will have themselves checked, just like you. I expect you to be quite far along but, judging from the timing of the contractions I have overheard too, we need to conduct further examinations."

She didn't want to submit to the nurse, yet she knew she had to. In more words, the nurse had said there could be a problem with the baby – but Amy didn't know that. She merely smiled and flapped her hands, encouraging Hannah to go along with it.

“Get back there," Hannah growled, pointing at the side of the room where they wouldn't be able to see anything revealed that she didn't want to be. “No staring at my bits!"

Dan blushed heavily and stuttered over his words, though he probably wanted to say something along the lines that he never wanted to look at that anyway. At least he wouldn't have to see his wife's vagina stretching around a baby's crown.

The nurse set her knees up in position with a gentle but firm hand and slid her fingers, gloved, into Hannah's vagina. She hissed, though otherwise didn't react.

“No transvaginal ultrasound," she said through gritted teeth. “No additional risk."

Despite her position, she didn't want to worry Amy and Dan and tried her best to throw them a reassuring smile. In her current state, it most likely came out as more of a grimace, however. Amy gave her a watery smile in return.

“That is fine," the nurse said, though her brow had furrowed. “Your cervix is barely dilated."

Using her fingers for a digital measurement of her cervix, the nurse shook her head, checking again before withdrawing her fingers slowly and then changing her gloves immediately.

“You have been in here for some time, so we're going to perform an ultrasound to check the baby's position."

By their word, they didn't perform a transvaginal ultrasound, which could have introduced bacterial risk to the baby at that stage but smeared cold jelly over her belly instead. The gown opened with buttons to allow only her belly out, though Hannah still squirmed weakly, hopelessly exposed.

“Pfffffttttttt!"

She was almost immune to her own farts by that stage and Hannah only half-heartedly fanned it away from her own backside, so she didn't have to deal with the stench too much. It was only for her benefit and she ignore the nurse turning away, eyes watering.

“Oof… Oh my god…"

“Everything alright there?" Hannah snapped, nerves making her irritability sharper than usual. “Got something stuck in your…nose?"

The nurse sighed and composed herself, straightening her back and standing up tall.

“No, no, dear," she said smoothly, though it was clear it took a lot for her to be professional as the eye-watering, noxious gas swept dismally through the small birthing room. “Everything is just fine."

It didn't feel fine to Hannah, however, as another cramp hit her and she broke out in a wave of cold sweat, huffing and panting, eyes narrowing as she fought to bear through it.

“Ohhhhhh!"

She groaned, a hand on her belly, though the nurse swiftly covered her back up again, so she wasn't exposed and moved on. Suddenly, the nurse was off and her husband and Amy and Dan were clustering back in, holding her hands and soothing her. Amy laid a cool flannel over her hot forehead, though Hannah was still feeling too snappy to thank her for it.

“It's okay, Hannah, it's okay," Amy said as soothingly as it felt she was able. “Everything is going to be okay."

“Oh, to hell with you!"

She didn't mean to be so bitchy, though Hannah thought she had a damn good reason to feel like that too: she was carrying their child, after all. She groaned, puffing and panting and doing her best to use the breathing exercises she'd been taught, though it seemed a tall order after everything.

It progressed slowly, though she had to deal with every wave of pain as it came, for it was not time to push. The nurse told her that clearly, putting a hand on her shoulder, and Hannah groaned, swatting her away. She didn't even know who was in there sometimes, whether James was stroking her forehead or if Amy was fluttering around her, the silly woman flapping and not knowing what to do with herself. Truth be told, she hadn't had much patience with others for a long time. Not since her pregnancy had taken hold, in fact.

The nurses came in to check her dilation again, though she wasn't far enough along, even as the hours ticked on. Hannah kicked one of them in the chest, pretending to be apologetic and claiming it was due to a labour cramp, though she'd really meant it. Why wouldn't they just induce her already and speed it up? In hindsight, she wished she'd asked for an epidural and yet she'd never even thought she would need one!

It took hours of sweating and chewing on chips of ice, trying to get hydration into her body any way that she could. Finally, however, she was dilated enough and the labour doctor was there, guiding her through the final stages.

“That's it – push now, Mrs Hanes! Push!"

She did as they asked, though the growl that ripped itself from her was pure savage.

“Ohhhhhhhhh!"

She howled, her head thrown back, lines of strain aching through her throat as she bore through it. It was both easier and harder now that she was being told to push, though Hannah doubted it was going to be a quick end to her labour in the slightest.

“Oof… Off… Huff…"

She panted heavily, feeling the cool of an ice chip dissolve on her tongue, though she didn't care for it at all. As much as she'd gone through, all she wanted was the baby out of her as the weight and pressure in her lower belly increased tenfold.

“Unff… Gotta…push…"

She grunted, squeezing James' hand hard enough that he buckled at the knees, as if she was crushing the bones. Hannah didn't care, not even if she broke his hand, not as she sweated heavily and pain rolled through her all over again. There'd been no epidural for her, but her natural births hadn't exactly gone badly before!

That pregnancy, however, was different. Everything about it had been different, from the rolling farts and the food cravings and just how it had dragged on and on and on. Even the labour pulled out, moment by moment, one contraction coming after the other, as if her body was as desperate for the end as she was.

“Ohhhhhh!"

“It's okay, Hannah, it's okay, look how well you're doing!"

Hannah didn't notice that Amy had a strong-smelling paste smeared around her nose to protect her from the smells of delivery, though it was really Hannah's farts that did the worst for her. Hannah grunted, her butt vibrating as it forced out another toxic wave of gas. Even the delivery staff, the nurses who should have been able to deal with such things, had to swap out from time to time, fighting with the stench.

Ppppfffftttt.

_ _

Pppffftttppptttt.

_ _

Fart after fart blasted from her, though it was difficult to say whether her farts were louder or her deep, resounding moans. Hannah didn't care, though she was too far gone to fan her own backside, curling forward with her knees apart and her feet, strangely, up in the air. She didn't remember giving birth like that before, but it felt better, even though the bedsheets rumpled and twisted more uncomfortably under her back.

Pppfffttt!

_ _

“Oh, my god…"

One nurse muttered something about Hannah's farts, though it was just as well that Hannah didn't catch what she said. Hannah bore down, pain ripping through her, claiming every last fibre of her being. Yet that weight pushed down, moving more at last, and she gasped, chest rising and falling for every sharp, snatched breath of air.

“Okay, they're crowning, I can see the head. Keep going, Hannah, you're nearly done."

Contractions were one thing, but she was glad at least for the nurse letting her know she was nearly there. With a few more pushes and howls of strain, which ached through her entire body, she would be done.

Pfffttt!

Finally, she thought. It'll be over. No more gas, no more cravings… Amy and Dan will have their baby.

_ _

That, at least, was a good end to a difficult experience indeed.

Despite her pregnancy being at an end, gas still bubbled from her, letting out blasts of farts from time to time. At least that was something labour and delivery staff were more than used to, for the messiness of labour was well-known to them.

Ppfffffttttt!

_ _

“Aaaagggghhhhhh!"

She pushed and pushed, her screams mingling with her farts, until, at long last, it was over. The baby's cries filled the room and Amy and Dan were allowed to rush to meet their new child, Hannah having done her job.

“You've done so well, sweetheart."

The nurses still looked after her, checking her vitals and the more sensitive parts of her anatomy, but she didn't care about the embarrassment or the exposure, not anymore. As James kissed her forehead and soothed her gently, she let out another, softer fart.

Ppfff…ppfffttt…

_ _

“Hey, that was almost a cute one," James teased, though Hannah could only groan. “All done now, love, everything's okay. You just have to rest up now and recover."

“Mhm…"

All in all, being a surrogate had been a lot more trying than Hannah could ever have expected. Her eyelids fluttered and she swore she'd never go through that experience a second time.

It wasn't worth it. Not even to help her friends out, though she'd already done her good deed and had nothing to worry about there.

And her body would never be the same again.