Little Bean

The Baby Arrives

Needing to get home and to the bathroom, Erin grabbed two packages of Oreos and headed for the cash. As she turned out of the isle, a display of potato chips crashed down in front of her, making her jump back, and a small boy let out an ear piercing scream.

"But I want them!" He wailed. His mother stood looking exasperated. She glanced up at Erin, giving her an apologetic smile. Erin offered a sympathetic one back.

"Enjoy that," the woman said nodding towards Erin's belly. "It all goes downhill from there," she said, laughing subduedly and gesturing at her child in the throws of an all out tantrum.

Erin gave a half smile. She watched as the mother pretended to ignore the tantrum and wondered how she had the patience to stand their and wait it out. It was clear she wasn't going to give in to her son's demands. Erin admired her. As a cop, Erin's first instinct wasn't to stand around patiently while the child got tired of throwing a fit to get its way. She looked down at her belly. It would only be five short weeks before her little bean would be here. Erin hoped when she gave birth to the child she also magically birthed some good parenting skills because watching the little boy kick and scream made her feel overwhelmed and very unprepared.

Shanking her head, Erin continued up the centre of the isles to the cash. The door to the store chimed as someone walked through and Erin glanced up to see who was entering. She stopped in her tracks at the sight of a hooded, masked male approaching the cash with a gun in his hand. Erin ducked into the nearest isle, out of sight, fishing in her bag for her phone and gun. She quietly called for help then peaked around the corner.  The gun man and clerk were arguing.  The clerk refused to meet the gun mans demands to hand over his cash.

Remembering the mother and child in the store, Erin poked her head out and looked back towards where she had left them. She could see the mother's foot sticking out from behind another display and heard muffled whimpering from the child, like his mother was covering his mouth. Erin was relieved they'd been able to duck out of sight.

She looked back towards the store front where the exchange was escalating quickly. Erin knew she had a decent shot at the gunman if she stood fully in the isle. She was worried about exposing her baby to danger though, any other time she wouldn't have thought twice about putting herself in harms way to protect someone. She prayed backup arrived quickly as she weighed her options and the risks to the clerk, herself and the other customers.

"I want chips!" The boy yelled, startling Erin. She turned to shush him but it was too late, he came running forward, crying. Everything happened at once as Erin saw the gunman turn and point his weapon at the boy. She jumped to her feet and raised her weapon.

"Chicago PD," she began to yell but he was already firing. Three loud shots echoed through the stored, Erin returned fire, her three shots cracking like thunder, as searing pain ripped through her thigh causing her to stumble.  She recovered, adrenaline of the situation blocking out the pain, trained her weapon back on the gunmen, and held her breath as she watched him fall to the ground lifeless, one of her shots having penetrated his skill.

She turned to check on the child. He lay face down on the sticky tile floor.

"Call an ambulance," she screamed at the clerk, as she quickly secured the gun man's weapon and raced towards the child.

Gently she rolled the boy onto his back and gasped. The shot pierced the right side of his belly and he was bleeding heavily. His mother came rushing forward and at the sight of him she wailed, dropping to her knees at his side.

"Help him," she begged.

Erin begain checking his vitals. He was still breathing. "What's his name?" Erin barked franticly at the boy's mother.