Swollen Stomach

A cramp struck Lois, deep inside her gut, bending her over, hands flying to her stomach. She winced, feeling a sudden pressure within. It felt like a period pain, but more intense than any she had ever experienced in her life. Her stomach was hard against her hands and—

Lois looked down, breathing suddenly ragged. Her stomach was sticking out. She tried to suck in her belly. Muscles flexed, but the bulge stubbornly remained. Worse, Lois could feel it growing bigger, pushing against her hands.

"No..." she said. Both hands could about cover the bulge, which was center just around her navel, but it was pushing against her hands as it grew. "No no no, not possible."

Then, as suddenly as it began, the growth stopped. The hard bulge of her belly remained, sticking out maybe two inches. If Lois had to guess, she'd say she looked a couple months pregnant...there was already the beginning of a dark line from her mons to her belly button, faint as yet but distinct.

Calm down, Lane, Lois told herself. You're not pregnant. Absolutely not possible. You just had your period you...

The reporter reached down between her legs. She couldn't feel any blood. Sent a probing finger in between her lips, then brought it up to examine it.

Clean.

She stared at the idol. The tampon that had landed on it was pure white now, no sign that it had ever been bloody.

Could it...? She wondered.

In a world of magic and monsters, aliens and gods, Lois was not about to rule out any possibility. She retreated into the bathroom, dug around for a pregnancy test. Read the instructions carefully and performed the little ritual, then commenced the waiting period.

Ten minutes nervously considering her belly. It stuck out obstinately, not big, not more than...Lois realized she hadn't stared at enough pregnant stomachs to judge, but certainly just enough to actually make someone wonder if she was pregnant instead of just fat. Could I actually be pregnant? If so how—why?

The idol, obviously, Lois rationalized. The tampon must have triggered something. If it's a fertility idol, representing some goddess...well, old gods were fed blood sacrifices, right? It probably took the blood as an offering of some kind.

The reporter licked her lips, suddenly curious. Does that mean if I sacrifice more...would I get a bigger blessing? Maybe advance my pregnancy? Would it have to be human blood, or would it take animal blood?

The reporter was so lost in these ruminations, that she almost forgot to check the test.

Two blues lines stared up at her.

Lois lane swallowed hard.

She was pregnant.