CHAPTER 10
ROSE
In the five months since I had returned things had calmed down a bit. Nathan had been overjoyed to see me and had then turned to Mari and apologized profusely for blaming her. While it hadn't excused what he had done, it had helped sooth Mari and in her condition soothing was a good thing. She was now almost 6 months pregnant and it was definitely noticeable not only in her figure, but in her moods. She was more volatile than she used to be and her mood swings could happen at any moment so we had all learned to walk on eggshells around her whether she liked it or not. Jace was being a great boyfriend and had gone to every single appointment with her, holding her hand and soothing her whenever she got scared, which was quite often. I helped her in anyway I could, but in the end there was only so much I could do without using my magick and while most people just assumed that I was being careful, there was a darker reason behind that.
I shook my head, trying to move past that train of thought. I would manage without magick until Magnus could find the Pyxis. The last time we had talked he had spoken with our old friend Tessa and she had a good idea of where to find the one her late husband Will's family had. So they were close to finding it which was a great relief. I was shaken from my thoughts by a pair of hands going over my eyes. "Guess who," a voice whispered in my ear and I laughed softly. "Good morning my darling," I said as I turned to capture Dwight's lips with my own. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked, pouting. I smiled and ran a finger along the scruff of his cheek. "Your scruff and no goatee my darling." He laughed and kissed me again. I responded in kind, wrapping my arms around him tightly and pulling myself as close to him as I could. "I love you Dwight," I said softly as I pulled away for a breath. "I love you too, Rose," he responded, breathlessly. He kissed me again harder lifting me onto the counter and stepping between my legs. Just as things started getting hot, an intense pain shot through my head. I clenched my eyes shut, afraid to look at Dwight. "Rose?!" He cried as I pushed him away and grabbed my head. "Are you okay?" he asked softly and I nodded. "Yeah, sorry just. Bad headache. Migraine," I replied. "Can I do anything?" "Can you grab me the vicodin from the upstairs bathroom?" I asked softly and I felt him move away. I slowly got off the counter and looked at my reflection in the window. My eyes weren't their normal soft, warm gray, but an icy, intense blue. I gasped and shook my head trying to clear it. I heard Dwight walking down the stairs as the pain in my head began to dissipate and quickly glanced at my reflection again. My eyes were back to normal. It was getting worse. Hurry up Tessa! I sent mentally, hoping that wherever she was she would hear me.
MARI
"Hey Lana, I'm going for my break!" I called as I waddled over to a chair on the deck of the Gull. I figured I could help fold the napkins and arrange the silverware, but I needed to sit down. I was 6 months pregnant and my stomach bulged in front of me like a huge balloon. "Sure thing Mari!" Lana called back to me from the kitchen. Jace and Duke had insisted that Jace take over at the police station after I told them I was pregnant and that I take over for Jace here at the Gull. At first I had protested profusely. I wasn't going to be the girl that changed her entire life just because she was expecting, but after three months, it was becoming harder and harder for me to actually do much of anything and Dwight had practically chained me to a desk, so I eventually gave in. I figured at least this way, I wouldn't have to be inside all day doing paperwork.
I sat down in one of the chairs and began folding napkins for that night. "Hey Duke," I said smiling, hearing and feeling him long before he even got to me. "It's really creepy that you do that you know?" he asked me sitting down next to me at the table. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Still? I've been here for what, over 2 years? You should be used to this by now." He smiled and reached for a pile of napkins. I slapped his hand. "I can do this!" I said. There wasn't much I could still do by myself and I hated needing help so I revelled in the things I could still do. "Sorry!" he laughed. "Just thought you might want help," I looked at him pointedly. He laughed harder. I shook my head incredulously and went back to folding the napkins. "So how are you doing?" he asked me, leaning back in his chair. "Fine," I said as I sighed. He looked at me and raised his eyebrow. I knew that look. It was one I gave to him, and many others, quite often. I rolled my eyes. "I'm tired. And hungry, and hormonal, and I can't do anything. How do you think I am?" I asked him. "Hey, you just gotta focus on the positive! Pregnancy is a beautiful thing!" he said smiling. "Oh yeah? You should try it sometime if you think it's so wonderful," I said focusing on the napkins. "You gain tons of weight, have no control over body, and can't actually eat the things you want to eat because either they are bad for the baby or your boyfriend has decided they are bad for you and won't let you have them!" I folded the napkin I was working on with more force than I intended. "Breathe Mar," Duke said still smiling. "I know it's tough, but Jace is just trying to be helpful." I sighed. "I know," I said. "I'm just frustrated. He won't even let me eat ice cream anymore!" "Hey, why don't we go sit down by the water?" Duke suggested. "The napkins aren't going to fold themselves," I said, grabbing the next napkin on the pile. "No, but seeing as how I'm your boss and you are carrying my niece, I'm insisting you take a break. A real break," he added as I started to protest. I sighed. "Fine, but you are going to have to help me up," I said. I pushed the chair back enough to get out of it and Duke offered me his hand. I took it and we both heaved me up so that I was standing. We walked slowly down to the deck chairs on the dock. Duke helped me lower myself into one of the chairs and then he took the one next to me. I leaned my head back and took in the smell of the bay. It smelled like salt and seaweed, almost making me gag.
"So have you guys decided on a name yet?" Duke asked me. I laughed. Jace and I had NO idea what we were going to name our child. We didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl yet. Jace had wanted to know, but the idea of knowing what we were having made it all too real for me and scared me too much so he gave in. "Jace wants Jennifer if it's a girl and Will if it's a boy, but…" I said, trailing off at the end. "Those are nice names. Why don't you like them?" Duke asked me, curious. "I don't know, they just seem so….I don't know...normal? Boring? I mean come on, mom pretty much set us up for that with our names. Duke and Maripossa? I just feel like I've seen so many Jennifers and Wills in my life." I sighed knowing that this reason was really pathetic, but something about both those names just rubbed me the wrong way, but maybe it was just that I didn't want to pick a name yet. Again, it made this whole thing so much more real, which, again, scared the living daylights out of me. Duke laughed. "Yeah, you've got a point there with mom. She certainly had a way with names. You could always choose Wade…" he said laughing. I made a face. "That's horrible! And so not funny" I said and smacked his arm. "Just saying…" Duke said still smiling. "Yeah, well don't!" I said and smiled to myself. "Ok, if you could choose any name in the world, what would it be?" Duke asked me. "I have no idea! It's not something I ever thought about, and don't give me that look!" I said looking over and Duke and seeing his disbelief on his face. "I never in a million years thought I'd be a mom and have kids! It just, was never on my radar, and no, not every woman thinks about having kids. I should know." I said answering his unspoken question.
"Are you second-guessing your decision?" he asked me quietly. I thought about that for a minute. "No. I mean…" I started slowly and then sighed. "I never thought this would happen to me but...as much as it all scares the shit out of me, and as much as I kinda wish it had happened a few years down the road, I'm kinda ok with it all. Strangely. Jace has been amazing, not that I expected anything different, and with the family all back together, I know I'll have support. And to be honest," I said smiling and putting my hands protectively on my stomach. "I'm actually kind of curious and excited to meet this kid. And I know I'm gonna screw up, but I've got a pretty awesome support system here," I said. I felt Duke smile and relax. He knew that in a few hours I'd freak out again, but for the time being, I was happy, which was all that mattered to him. Everyone had been on "Keep Mari calm and happy" duty since I'd announced my pregnancy and it was actually really funny watching them bend over backwards to try and keep my mood swings under control and keep me calm about the whole thing. I knew they were all worried about me, which was partly how I knew that it would all be okay in the end. If they cared this much about keeping me sane while I was still pregnant, imagine what they would do once the baby actually got here! "This kid is going to be so spoiled," I said laughing. "What do you mean?" Duke asked me. I could feel his confusion and laughed even harder. "I mean, you and Dwight and Rose and Jace are all gonna be wrapped around this kids' finger so bad!" Duke laughed. "Yeah probably," he said. I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
"How's Rose doing?" I asked trying to change the subject. I had a very specific reason for asking, but I couldn't let Duke know that yet. "She's fine," he said and leaned forward in his seat. "She still get's headaches every now and then, but she seems like she's completely back." Damn. That meant he had no idea. Technically, neither did I, but something was off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but her mood would shift randomly from calm to angry in a flash, and I could tell she was expending a lot of energy keeping me out of her head. At first I thought it was just her flashing back to her time beyond the door and not wanting me to see anything, but things just kept getting more weird than less as time went on. And so far neither Duke nor Dwight had noticed, which meant not only was Rose doing a fantastic job of keeping things under wraps, but it also meant that whatever it was was so big she felt like she couldn't tell the two people she supposedly had no secrets from. That made me nervous. "Why do you ask?" Duke asked bringing me out of my thoughts. I shrugged. "She literally went through hell. That's not something someone gets over overnight. I just wanted to check and make sure she was doing ok," I said, trying to keep my voice light. "Oh, yeah she's doing great!" Duke said. "Cool," I said.
"Ouch!" I said and put a hand over my stomach. "You ok?!" Duke asked in sudden alarm. "Yeah I'm fine. This kid just has a good leg!" I said laughing. Duke relaxed immediately. "Here," I said and put my hand out. "Give me your hand." He gave me his hand and I put it on my stomach just above the place that had received the kick. "Feel?" I asked him. He furrowed his brows slightly and then smiled. "Yeah! That's so cool!" he said in excitement. "Yeah, it would be cooler if it wasn't to my kidneys though," I said. "How does Jace feel about it?" Duke asked. "About the kicking? He's super stoked! He pretty much constantly has his hands on me so he can feel every single one. It's actually getting kind of annoying." Duke laughed and took his hand away. "No I meant about the whole pregnancy, Mar." "Oh, the previous answer still pretty much covers it. I think he's read every pregnancy book known to man. Seriously, anytime I have a question about anything, all I have to do is ask him, and if he doesn't know the answer, he goes online." Duke and I both laughed. "No he's really happy," I continued, thinking. Jace had been there every second since I'd told him I was pregnant, to make sure that I was happy and comfortable. He tried to get me to stop doing anything at all, but after a very long fight, I was finally able to convince him that that wasn't going to happen. Since then, he'd been amazing. The best part was seeing myself through his eyes. When I started having to wear maternity clothes, which I was not at all happy about, he always told me that I looked beautiful and amazing. He was going to be an amazing dad. "Ok," I said trying to get up. "This has been great, but I've got to pee." Duke stood up and helped me up and we both walked back up to the Gull.