Chapter 7

Irene had finished picking up her mess, happy she finally re-organized Dell's letters. From remembering about her visit to Teufort, Dell eventually got over his infection and gained better control over his new hand. Since the right hand was now made of metal, they had to take extra care not to cause too much damage. Dell came up with a practical solution: He had a pair of old electrician gloves that he had from college and started wearing the right glove over his hand for protection while he was at work. At home, Irene had managed to find some attractive leather gloves at the local Macys and this is what Dell wore whenever he was at home. After that, everything went back to being the same old, same old.

Irene topped the shoebox with its lid and put it away in the closet.

"I think that's enough trips down memory lane for one day."

It was getting late. Irene had a long day. She washed up and changed into her pajamas, settling in for a peaceful night's sleep. It was early the next morning when the front door began to be rapped upon quite loudly. Irene, still groggy, looked at the alarm clock next to the bed.

"Five a.m.…what the hell?!"

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and threw on her bathrobe as the loud knocking continued.

"Alright, alright, I'm comin'!" she grumbled to herself.

When she opened the door, Irene immediately recognized the man. He wore a dark brown blazer over his white polo shirt, khaki pants and scuffed-up dark brown loafers. His military-style buzz cut was starting to grow out slightly and that 5 o'clock shadow was ever present. His bright blue eyes gleamed has he smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry ta wake ya so early. I, uh, would've called, but ya know how work is…"

"Dell…you're home." Irene was in shock. He had just left not even a couple of days ago. The next ceasefire wasn't for another few weeks, so why was he here?

"I know what you're thinking, 'Why is Dell here?'" he said as if he had read Irene's mind. "I'll explain everything once we get inside the house."

The two of them made their way to the living room and say on the couch.

"So, what's with the unexpected visit?" Irene said. "Does anyone at BLU know you're here?"

"The team knows I'm here, but I need to get back before the Administrator suspects why her Engineer is not available." Dell explained. "And the reason why I'm here…I felt guilty fur cuttin' our weekend so short. You were tellin' me that you had some important news ta share with me. When I up 'n left, I knew you were disappointed you couldn't tell me. So, here I am, tryin' to make amends."

Irene was quiet. She knew Dell meant well, but he did go out of his way to make his mistake right. She wasn't going to get another chance to tell him, so it was better late than never to do so.

"I'm not sure how you're going to react to this, but here goes…" Irene took a deep breath and told him. "I went to the doctor the other day since I haven't been feelin' that well." She paused, not sure if she could continue. Dell sensed her hesitance and held her hand, letting Irene know it was OK. "After some tests, the doctor…told me I was pregnant."

Dell was silent, surprised by the revelation. "You're pregnant?" Irene nodded to confirm.

"That's great!" Dell exclaimed, happily clasping both of his wife's hands now and grasping them in joy. "I know we've been wantin' ta start a family someday and now this has happened…I'm gonna be a Daddy!" Dell couldn't contain his excitement. "I gotta let everyone know at work! Oh, this is wonderful, I can't wait for when my little boy, or girl comes!"

The excitement was short lived when Dell noticed that Irene wasn't joining in on the celebration. She remained rather somber and calm.

"What's wrong Honey Bee? Aren't you happy?"

"Oh, I am. It's just…once the baby is here; will you be home more often to help out?"

Dell had gotten so caught up in the excitement that the obvious situation had been completely over looked. With a baby on the way, that meant…

"Oh" was all Dell could say.

"I know. Your job wouldn't allow you a more flexible schedule now, would they?"

"I could get some family leave, but after that…I just don't know." Dell was now in a serious mood, given the newly raised problem.

"You could always leave BLU and get a job, a real job, as an engineer someplace else. I'm sure BLU could cover your past…'discretions', so to speak."

Dell just sighed. He didn't know what to do now. The money he was earning from BLU couldn't be matched at any other job he would apply for. If he were to go back to freelance work, it still wouldn't do them any good: He'd be gone on and off and it wouldn't be a steady income either, especially now with a baby on the way. But that didn't matter right now. Right now, Irene was the most important person to Dell right now and now that they had been blessed with a baby, he had a whole new outlook on life. He smiles gently at Irene and took her hand once more.

"We'll worry about that later. The only thing I want to focus on right now is you and our baby."

Irene smiled back. Dell was right. Right now, it was all about their new future as parents…