"I am truly sorry, my liege." Octavius apologized to Larry as he and Jedediah watched the flustered night guard wipe down the front of his jacket with a tissue. "I shall make this up to you, I swear it."
"Maybe next time give me a warning, huh?" Larry muttered, obviously annoyed. "Tell me you aren't feeling well BEFORE I offer you a ride in my pocket."
"Now just hold up there, Gigantor! He didn't mean to blow his grits all over yer fancy guard coat." Jedidiah spoke up for his lover, who still looked a bit nauseous at the moment. Truth be told, this wasn't the first time he'd had a spontaneous spell of vomiting in the past week and they were both certain that it wouldn't be the last.
"I didn't." Octavius confirmed, wiping at his eyes then as tears began to fill them.
"Oh, come on now, sugar plum, don't cry." Jed pleaded with his weeping husband, pulling him into a tight embrace and allowing him to hide his teary face away against his shoulder. "Gigantor didn't mean to go off at ya like that. He just don't understand."
Well this was terribly odd. Octavius didn't cry. Maybe once in a great while at a really heart wrenching tear jerker flick but he still always denied it. Larry was suddenly quite worried about him.
"Understand what?" The night guard asked his miniature comrades. "Octavius, don't cry. What's going on here? Is something wrong?"
"Ain't you done enough already, hombre?" Jedediah growled defensively, still trying to comfort a very distraught Octavius. "Cut a trail and get yerself someplace else!Yer only makin' things worse!"
"Hey, hey, I'm sorry, alright?" Larry apologized, tossing the tissue he'd been using into the nearest trash bin and stepping closer to the desk he'd sat the pair upon. "Now come on, you guys. Tell me what's wrong. I'm here to help you out. It's my job."
"I said get, dammit!" Jedediah snapped again. "He don't need nobody shamin' him fer his mornin' sickness! It's bad enough on its own!"
"Alright, okay, I'll go. I just..." Larry had started to turn away but once Jed's words registered with him he stopped and with great alarm, wheeled quickly around again to face the little couple.
"Morning sickness?" He asked in utter shock. "As in, bun in the oven, pitter patter of little feet, morning sickness?"
"Shh! Keep it down!" Jed demanded. "We ain't told nobody yet! It's a secret!"
"It's quite alright, my love." Octavius assured his husband, lifting his head and drying his eyes before he looked up to Larry. "It's true, Larry. I am with child. Jedediah and I are going to have a family together."
Jed smiled proudly and placed his hand over Octavius's middle. "That's right. Our little fella's gonna make one hell of a gunslinger one day! Ain't that right, little Randall?"
Octavius gently stroked through his husband's hair while Jed cooed affectionately to his belly. "We're still working on names, as you can see." He said to Larry then at Jed's unfortunate addressing of the unborn baby. If he could help it at all, Randall would not be making the list of possible titles.
"Well that's...That's great, you guys. Kinda weird, but you know, I guess stranger things have happened." Larry said, trying to work out in his head just how it was that two male museum miniatures had managed to conceive a child. He supposed that the tablet was involved, but he didn't know how. Ahk had never mentioned anything about such odd occurrences.
Of course, the former pharaoh had admitted that even to him, many of the tablets secrets were still total mysteries.
Perhaps it was pointless to question any of this then.
"Can we trust you to keep our secret, my friend?" Octavius asked Larry, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"What?...Oh, yeah! Yeah, I can keep it to myself. No problem."
...
"So its true then?" Larry asked Ahkmenrah. "They are having a baby? Nobody's trying to pull one over on the gullible night guard?"
"Not this time." Ahk confirmed. "Though, I must say, it is extremely difficult for such a conception to occur. Unless a very precise ritual is followed during intercourse, it cannot happen. Our friends have incredible fortune, it seems. They must have been in the moon's light at just the right moment, in the exact position that it takes to provoke the tablet's magic to give them a child."
"Wow." Was all that Larry could manage after the explanation.
"Yes. It is quite incredible. The chances must have been a million in one at least." Ahk continued.
"I get it." Larry stopped the young pharaoh before he went into anymore detail on the mechanics of the whole ordeal. "So what happens now then? Is Octavius okay? Is the baby..."
"They are both fine, Larry. I examined them myself." Ahk assured the worried guard. "Now what's left for us all to do is wait and give our friends the support they need."
...
"We will need this cradle." Octavius informed Jedidiah, who approached with the marker they had been using to circle things in the doll furniture catalogue Larry had set out for them. Their very generous friend intended to buy them anything they wished to have for the baby. All the couple had to do was pick out what they wanted.
"That's a purdy one." Jedediah nodded his approval before carefully maneuvering the marker to circle the little white cradle that was decorated with tiny yellow flowers.
"And the wardrobe that matches it." Octavius added, walking across the page to indicate the dresser that he wanted.
"You got it, darlin'." Jed assured him, moving to mark that item as well.
"You guys hungry?" Nicky asked Jed and Octavius, hopping up onto the front desk next to the much smaller men and pulling out his phone. "I was thinking we could order a pizza. Dad said I could use his card."
"I could eat." Jed agreed, dragging the page to the catalogue until it opened to the next one completely. "What about you, honey bee? Weren't you just sayin' how starved ya were?"
"Indeed. Nicholas, I too shall require a pizza." Octavius told the boy, placing a hand against his belly, which had now expanded to proudly reflect his delicate condition.
"Cool. What do you guys want on it?" Nicky asked, punching the number in on his phone.
"Olives." Octavius answered. "I've had a immensely strong craving for olives lately...Oh! And honey!"
Nicky raised a brow. "Honey?" He asked, unsure if he had heard Octavius correctly. "You want olives and honey?"
"Yes." The expecting miniature confirmed. "But the olives must be green! The mere thought of ingesting a single black olive is nearly enough to make me ill."
"I don't know if the pizza place will be able to..."
"Wait! I just thought of something else!" Octavius stopped the boy before he could protest. "Ask them to make it with the pretzel crust, and if it is not too much trouble, I would also like an orange juice to drink."
Nicky stared at Octavius for a moment, but when it became apparent that he was not joking, the young Daley proceeded to call up the restaurant and place his unusual order. Of course they assumed he must be off his rocker, but astonishingly, the clever boy was still able to talk them into making Octavius's pizza, with a pleading claim that it was supposed to be for his nonexistent pregnant girlfriend.
Octavius, at least, was pleased.
...
"Hey ya'll! Calm it down now an' gather round here! Octy's gonna open the gifts!" Jedediah alerted the rest of the museum's residents who had been kind enough to throw him and Octavius a baby shower.
Attila, especially, seemed very excited, as he let out a glee filled squeal and ushered his Huns urgently towards the front desk to watch.
"Excuse me." Sacagawea spoke gently, tapping the big man on the shoulder as she managed to squeeze past him and the others to get to the miniature couple on top of the desk. "You may want to open mine first. It will make the rest easier for you." She said to Octavius, presenting him with a small package that was really quite large to himself and to Jedediah.
"Let me help ya, honey." Jed insisted, aiding his now heavily pregnant husband in tearing off the wrapping paper. Once they had finished, a tiny rocking chair, the perfect size for Octavius, was revealed.
"A glorious gift, my dear!" Octavius exclaimed happily. "I am grateful to you." He attempted a bow but his belly made it difficult to be chivalrous. Even now that he had swapped his armor for a loose fitting toga, moving was becoming quite difficult all together.
"I'm happy that you like it." Sac smiled at the tiny men while Jedediah helped Octavius to sit down in the chair.
"Comfy?" The cowboy asked his partner.
"Yes." Octavius confirmed. "Tell the men to bing forth the next gift."
As the evening went on, Octavius opened many lovely gifts from both the western and roman peoples. By the time the pile of presents had been completely picked over, they had collected everything they needed for the baby and much more.
On top of their fellow miniatures gifts, the others had also been generous and thoughtful enough to provide them with much needed equipment.
Attila and his men had given them a thimble, which they intended to use as either a small clothes hamper or a disposal for dirty diapers. Teddy gave them a tiny cradle board that he had managed to bargain with the miniature mayans for. Akhmenrah gifted them a very small piece of Egyptian cloth to use for a baby blanket, and of course Larry and Nicky had provided them with various pieces of furniture for the nursery.
"You have all been too kind." Octavius said to their friends once they had opened everything. He could feel the tears threatening to fall from his eyes already, and this time Jed was there to offer him his bandana to dry them.
"Hold on. Don't get emotional yet." Larry said, reaching into his coat to grab another present. "There's one more thing here."
He placed the final gift infront of Octavius and he and Jed gasped in disbelief as they tore the paper off.
"You gotta be pullin' my leg, Gigantor..." Jed shook his head in disbelief.
"It's perfect! Oh, Jedediah! We needed this, didn't we?"
"I thought you might." Larry smiled as he watched them both gush over the tiny car seat. "Now you can take the little guy on your rides around the museum. Just make sure to drive slow. A seat belt can only do so much."
"Thank you, my Liege! For everything you've done for us..." Octavius said, finally beginning to weep as Jed pulled him in for a kiss and a tight hug.
...
"Bye, Mom!" Nicky waved back to his mother's car as he ran up the stairs to the front doors of the museum. He could hear her yelling something back at him. Probably a reminder to stay out of trouble. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He was far too excited to listen anyway. Earlier that same evening, not long after the sun had set, his father had called to inform him that Octavius had gone into labor and that they were all waiting patiently for the baby to be born.
"Dad!" He shouted as he rushed into the building, dropping his bag at the front desk.
"Hey, Buddy." Larry smiled nervously, walking down the stairs hurriedly towards his son.
"Dad! What's happening? Am I late? Is the baby here yet?" Nicky began to question before Larry shushed him urgently.
"We've gotta be quiet, alright? The last thing Octavius needs is a bunch of yelling all around him." The older Daley told his son.
"Sorry." Nicky whispered in reply. "But really, Dad, what did I miss?"
"Not much, son. Not much." Larry assured his boy, walking him back to the hallway that led to the diorama room. The others were all waiting there as well, aside from Ahkmenrah, who had been asked to attend the birth in case of any unforeseen complications relating to the tablet.
"Dear boy, you've arrived just in time." Teddy smiled at Nicky, patting the lad on the back before his eyes turned to Larry. "Ahkmenrah came in just after you stepped out, Lawrence." He said. "He was confident that we won't be waiting much longer."
Dexter squeaked happily and jumped up onto Nicky's shoulder, clapping his little hands with obvious excitement.
Larry sucked in a shaky breath and looked around him at all of the others. "Alright then. I guess that's all we can do. Just wait it out."
"He'll be fine, Dad." Nicky assured his father, who's worry could not be masked no matter how hard he tried. "Octavius is strong. You know that."
"Very strong." Akhmenrah agreed as he entered the corridor to join everyone. "He did very well. It was a quick and easy delivery."
"You mean it happened!?" Nicky asked, feeling his heart leap in his chest. "The baby's here?"
Ahk nodded. "They want to see you all now. Come and meet the little one." He invited all of their friends who had gathered to wait.
No one needed any more convincing. They followed the pharaoh quickly down the corridor and into the hall of miniatures. Jed was waiting there for them at the front of the Roman diorama. In his arms he held a tiny, whimpering bundle.
"Look at this, little darlin'. All yer friends come to see ya. Ain't that just the sweetest thing?" He cooed to the newborn that he held.
Larry approached first, Nicky at his side and the others not far behind them.
"How is Octavius?" Sacagawea asked before anyone could gather themselves to say anything else.
"Oh he's doin just fine. Restin' up in the bedroom." Jed answered, not looking up, as he was unable at the moment to take his eyes away from the baby. "He wanted me to come show little Julia to her family so here she is." He pulled back the blankets just enough to reveal a tiny, pink, chubby face and a little head of soft black hair. The baby was beautiful.
"So it's a girl?" Nicky asked.
"Yep." Jedediah confirmed, gently rocking his daughter to soothe her. "A purdy little lady. Looks just like her mama. She's got my eyes though."
"She's beautiful, Jed." Larry told his friend.
"Congratulations, my boy." Teddy nodded to the little cowboy.
Dexter offered a cheeky smile of approval to show he was happy for them as well.
Jedediah couldn't have been happier.
...
"Here ya go, Mama." Jedediah smiled proudly as he carefully laid the baby in Octavius's arms. "She's been askin' for ya."
Octavius took his daughter and held her close against him when she was handed over. "Did you show her to them all?" He asked his husband weakly. "What did they think?" He kissed the baby's head gently when she began to make little noises at him.
"Oh they love her." Jed answered, sitting down on the edge of the bed and looking down at his husband and their beautiful little daughter. "Not as much as I do, though. That just ain't possible..." He leaned in to kiss Octavius then. "You did so good gettin' her here, darlin'." He told him.
"I couldn't have done it without you, my love." Octavius answered, his eyes now closed as he began to fall into a well deserved sleep.