The wedding was in September of that year. Let me tell you this, there is nothing equally frustrating and expensive as planning a wedding. In addition to getting ready "Save the Date" and "RSVP" cards (which aren't the same thing) we also had to book a location, arrange travel for relatives, plan catering, get outfits-including the bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen tuxedos, book a DJ, and plan out how Rose's and my dad's non-magic relatives would mingle with my magic friends and family.
We eventually decided that we should just invite humanoid creatures to the wedding, saving ourselves the headache of having to wipe thirty-odd Dillon family members' memories. I reminded my family that the Dillons would likely never know my true identity-like how Dad's family didn't, and that we needed to avoid any suspicious behavior. It was easy enough to control most of my family but Greg-ever the idiot-nearly blew the whole thing when he set a chair on fire while trying to impress one of Rose's cousins.
The ceremony itself was relatively normal, we had decided on a small church near where we lived for the event, with the reception being in a park not too far away. When the time came for Rose to walk down the aisle I couldn't help but think how, despite the fact that I was always seemingly running into some catastrophic artifact, that I couldn't be luckier. After the vows and our first kiss as a married couple we managed to get a few private moments before the barrage of family and friends insisted on getting photos with us. Spud had decided on getting drone footage of the reception, which nearly led to the destruction of our wedding cake, but aside from that everything ran smoothly.
After the exhausting day we decided to hold off on traditional honeymoon activities until the next morning-plus we had to share our house with my parents and Haley, which wouldn't have made it all that appealing anyway… By the time everyone left the next day we were both insatiable. Seriously, I'm not going to share too much (because again, this isn't some smut magazine or anything) but it was FANTASTIC. It's most likely that we conceived our first child sometime during that next week, though to be honest I can't say exactly when or where-given the frequency of our "activities" together and the number of places we tried out at home.
When Rose and I found out she was pregnant I was elated I was going to be a dad. The funny thing about parenthood is that until it happens you never realize how excited you are about it. It was agonizing waiting the few months until we were able to tell everyone. Finally, like we had a year earlier, on New Years we made another big announcement.
This time it was at our house, though. We had invited everyone down from New York for the long weekend. Trixie had managed to get some time off from the hospital on base, and Spud and Stacy had driven down with my parents. Haley was also down, and she had brought Grandpa and Fu along with her.
When we broke the news it was similar to my proposal. As soon as the clock struck midnight Rose and I stepped in front of the TV.
"We have an announcement to make…" I began.
"I'm pregnant!" Rose exclaimed.
"Good job kid! I gotta make a call and collect on some biscuits." Fu congratulated me and whipped out his phone. "Hey Ernie, guess who's having a kid? Yup. You owe me…"
"Congratulations!" Mom almost shouted, running over to Rose and placing her hand over her stomach. "Boy or girl?"
"We don't know." Rose replied.
"And we don't want to. As long as they're healthy, we're happy." I continued, defending our decision to not know the gender.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? You know I'm specializing in prenatal care! Rose, honey, you and I need to talk…" Trixie pulled Rose toward the kitchen to sit down and discuss the many multivitamins and exercises she would need to do.
"Congrats man!" Spud and I fistbumped. "So, does this make me, like, and honorary uncle?"
"Of course man!" I had known spud since we were kids, he was as close to a brother as I had.
My sister Haley quickly interjected, "And I'm an aunt! Oh my God! I'm going to need to learn how to knit."
"Why do you need to know how to knit to be an aunt?" Stacy asked.
"Every Christmas Jake and I always got matching scarves from Dad's sister. I don't intend to let the tradition stop with me."
I smiled, even though she might be a royal pain in the ass and know it all, Haley did genuinely care.
While Mom, Rose, and Trixie were talking in the kitchen Dad pulled me aside for a minute to congratulate me. "Jake, I'm so excited! I'm going to be a grandpa! Or wait, granddad, maybe pop-pop… Any who, congrats! I hope you know what you're getting into. Kids are a lot of work-especially when they're little. You in particular were a Mr. Messy when it came to toilet training. I think your mother still has the tapes from that."
I laughed as I rolled my eyes,"I know Dad, even if my kids are as crazy as I was I still can't wait."
Grandpa took me aside a minute later, telling me to walk with him out back.
I threw on a jacket as I slipped away out the back sliding door, remembering not to shut it all the way, as it seemed to lock itself for no reason. When we had moved in the people before us had already done some work on the backyard. It was a small fenced in yard with a patio and a few young trees (no older than the house itself). Everything was still and cold, December-or I guess at that point January-wasn't much different here than it was in New York in terms of weather.
The backyard had a thin layer of snow over everything which reflected the moonlight through the cold air. I could see my breath as we walked toward a bench Rose had put in next to her flower garden-all dormant for the next few months. He brushed off the snow and then motioned for me to sit down next to him.
He smiled warmly at me, but his eyes seemed concerned.
"So G, why exactly are we sitting out here freezing our asses off instead of sitting in my warm dining room thirty feet that way?" I asked, pointing at the sliding door we had just walked out of.
He sighed, then began. "Jake, what you and Rose have is something that has never happened before. Dragons and humans have had children before-you and Haley being examples. But never have dragons bred with anyone else in the magic community."
"Wait, isn't Rose human? She was in the Huntsclan, and they were all humans."
"Not quite, young dragon…The Huntsclan was a powerful force that did rely somewhat on magic. Dragon birthmarks are not merely created by chance, they signaled an individual who had immense potential in the magical arts. The Huntsclan never knew this because of their hatred of the magical community, but they were part magic themselves."
I frowned, "So, what this meant for Rose and I?"
Grandpa responded, "I am unsure of the specific results, as this has never happened before, but if what I believe is true, Rose and I will be the parents of the most powerful magical children in the world. You are already a strong dragon at a young age, and Rose is the last of her kind. As a result, your children would likely inherit both your heritages, and be able to wield the powers of a dragon and the Huntsclan."
He paused a minute to let me understand the weight of the situation, then continued, "The Huntsclan were naturally adept with technology and were resilient and agile in battle. While they could not control their magic, having long forsaken any knowledge of them having it, they still were much stronger and faster than normal humans."
We sat in silence for a minute, then I turned to him and asked, "So, why are you only telling me this? What about Rose? After all, she's the one who's pregnant."
"Jake, pregnancy for any woman is a delicate time. I do not want to place stress on her by telling her about this. If I am wrong she will have been worried for no reason, but if the child does have the dragon birthmark, then my beliefs are correct."
I nodded, understanding that she already had enough stress with pregnancy and her job-not to mention the missions I had to constantly go out for at all hours of the night. As we walked back inside he promised to tell her after the birth if it was the case, if not, then our child would still be a dragon, if nothing else.
