"Are you sure bears and bunnies even go together?"
Heather pursed her lips, hands folded on top of her protuding belly, as she glanced over at a protesting Sean. The boy had made a mess of himself - pale yellow paint was splattered across his t-shirt and arms, some even reaching his face, acting as a second pair of freckles - and Heather wondered if he had even managed to get any of the paint on the wall before him.
The nursery was large, almost as big as Heather's room, and while the room had first seemed dark and dingy, with a little paint and sunshine, it was shaping up. "Like, I'm pretty sure bears eat bunnies, so I don't know why you'd want them together," Sean continued, and Heather had to bite her lip at how serious the boy seemed.
"Sean," she responded, "I seriously doubt any infant is going to question why bunnies and bears are together. Plus, it's not like the blankets I bought have the bunnies being mauled, in fact, they're having a tea party." Alex snorted at that, but continued painting, while Hank shrugged his shoulders, adding almost to himself, "I think it's cute."
Sean looked like he wanted to protest further but Alex ran his paintbrush along the back of his neck, making the younger boy slap a hand across his mouth, trying to hold in a shriek, before he grabbed his own brush and attacked the other boy with it. Heather quickly left the room, smiling to herself as she heard the three boys' laughs echo through the halls.
Heather walked - more like waddled at this point - to Charles' study, stopping at the doorway and knocking gently against the wood. Charles glanced up from his papers, just as Heather asked, "Are you busy?"
"I'm afraid so," the man's voice was tense and stressed, and Heather noticed the dark circles under his eyes, how pale he was starting to look. "How long have you been in here?"
Charles shrugged, and Heather sighed, making her way over to his desk. "Charles, you need to get some rest."
"I need to keep looking for students. And to help with the school. And to look over the plans for Cerebro. And - " Heather stopped him there, taking his face in her hands and turning him to look up her, his face almost parallel with her stomach. "You can't just burn yourself out. You have to take care of yourself. Otherwise I'll have to start acting a mom towards you." Charles smiled weakly at that, glancing down at her belly, before asking, "How's the nursery coming along?"
Heather let go of his face, leaning against the desk. "Good. The boys work surprisingly - " There was a loud crash from somewhere in the mansion, " - good together." Charles could hardly keep his giggles to himself. "Oh, really?" He teased, and Heather rolled her eyes, playfully shoving at his shoulder.
The laughter stopped suddenly, as Charles' eyes widened. "What?" Heather questioned, "What's wrong?" Charles shushed her, and continued to look at him in confusion. Was something wrong? Was that crash they heard something more serious? Before Heather could question him again, Charles mumbled, "I hear it."
"It?"
"I mean - I hear the baby. Its - they're - thinking. Rather loudly, actually."
Heather stared at Charles for a moment with wide eyes, before glancing down at her stomach. He could read her baby's thoughts. Of course she knew the baby could think but it'd never occured to her that Charles might be able to read its thoughts while its little mind was still developing. "What's it thinking about?"
"Just simple things, really. Colors, swirls. I would look deeper but - " Charles stopped and Heather understood after a second. He was afraid of his power - as an infant, he had accidentaly killed his brother with it, so of course he was afraid of pushing into the baby's mind. "It's okay," Heather quickly added, before a sharp kick silenced her. After a moment of shock, she let out a laugh. "I think he or she wants to announce their presence." Charles' hands found their way to her belly and he laughed as the baby kicked once more. "I think it likes the attention," Charles concluded.
After that, it seemed like the baby never stopped kicking.
Not a day went by that Heather wasn't in pain, whether it was from her swollen ankles, her aching ribs or the fact that a tiny human was currently kicking (and punching, she was sure as hell going to hold that against her child) the hell out of her uterus.
Not to mention that the doctor had told her at her seventh month appointment that the baby was going to be a big one - and the room seemed to spin a little when he added the phrase "...a nine pounder...". This was her punishment, she supposed, for being a rather large baby herself. She was going to have to go through what her mother went through.
Don't get her wrong, she loved her kid with all her heart, but she just wanted the baby out now.
Heather was half asleep when she felt it. A cold, lifeless presence in the room, so different from the May warmth that surrounded them all, and it was at the foot of her bed. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked several times to cover her vision, settling on the woman before her. She hadn't changed at all from the first time she'd seen her - dead, unblinking eyes and blonde curls - and Sharon Xavier's hand hovered over Heather's stomach.
"I want to start over," the woman's voice was almost a whisper, like she was sharing a secret with Heather, "I can do better. I can be a good mommy." Heather sat up and backed away from her hand, and Sharon looked almost shocked, like she hadn't even noticed Heather was there. "I deserve another chance," Sharon's voice turned bitter and cold, and Heather laid a hand protectively over her belly. "Get out. You had your chance," Heather growled, "You were a shitty mom."
Sharon's expression and attitude changed in a heartbeat, and the woman was suddenly wailing. "Charlie," she cried, almost like she was begging for them to answer her, "Charlie, baby. Raven. I promise - I promise, I'll be - I'll be a good mommy. Patrick. Cassie. Please come home." Heather stared at Sharon in confusion, before asking, "Cassie, who's - "
But with one final wail of agony, Sharon Xavier disappeared.
Woot, woot, big announcement.
So I decided to combine what I had planned for Chapters 8 and 9, mainly because they were really short.
So the next chapter is *dun dun dun* Chapter 10 (or as it's now known, Chapter 9). Once Chapter 10 is published, you have two days left to vote for what gender Erik and Heather's baby should be.
