It's getting late, but Dawn can't sleep because it won't stop moving. Little points of pressure on her organs, hipbones, and against the curve of her stomach. There have been short moment of this before, but she was largely able to ignore them. Now it's shoving its foot into her bladder and she doesn't know what it wants. She's eating regularly, not drinking or smoking, and going for all her check-ups. What more can she do?
Her busy mind isn't helping her sleep either. Anders was asking her question earlier, adding to the mess that she has to sort out with him. The more she thinks about that, the more the movements in her stomach speed up.
"Fine." She whispers into the room. "If I promise to address all of this in the morning, will you STOP MOVING?"
There are a few sweeps of limbs, then her stomach stills. Finally, she's able to sleep.
She may have not been speaking to a complete person, but Dawn is true to her word and intends to keep it that way. So she tells Anders that they are going to have another conversation. She has him stop at her house again, so she's on her own turf. It doesn't help as much as planned when he's sitting on her couch waiting for her to say something.
"First," she pauses, thinking. "You will never ask me questions about Lance again."
Anders nods, shoulders still squared back.
"Second, if I want to you to know anything about what is going on here," her hands circle around her belly, "I will tell you. No asking. Third, I have a proposition for you."
His eyebrows come together. "What?"
"If you agree, it is a one time thing. Neither of us mention it again. You bring it up at all, or attempt it again, I will destroy the company. You know I can, I'm in on every part of it."
"Whoa, whoa." Anders leans forward, one hand out. "You're threatening me, and I don't even know what it is you're talking about."
Dawn takes a deep breath. "One fuck to get the itch out of my system, that's it. You leave afterwards and forget it ever happened."
Anders doesn't say anything, but his mouth is slightly open. His eyes are slightly squinted, like he's trying to figure out a puzzle. After a moment, he clears his throat and slaps both hands onto his knees.
"Dawn, I don't know what point you're trying to make, but this is really weird."
"I doubt I could be less subtle."
"Well, my answer is no."
Dawn sits down on the coffee table in front of him. "All those women you talked into bed, and now that there's finally a willing participant, you develop morals?"
He at least has the decency to look ashamed. When Dawn catches his eyes again, she can tell that he's mulling things over. Then, he sighs and rubs at the center of his forehead.
"You won't use it as barter material or blackmail in the future?" At her look, he adds, "I've had some trouble in the past. Just making sure."
"It will be like nothing happened."
"Alright."
She all but leaps across to straddle him. At first, it's awkward because Anders isn't responding much. But eventually he lets go more and they're able to get off the couch. Anders gets her dress of much easier than she ever has, belly or not.
She's not sure how to go about this with the added waist. It doesn't seem to deter Anders, who is more concerned with their clothes at the moment. Every time their skin brushes, her nerves double the sensitivity. It doesn't seem possible for her body to more receptive, but then he skims his fingers up her thigh to touch and proves her wrong.
Dawn lies still after Anders leaves. Her entire body is loose and relaxed. When she does move, it's to roll over. But she's asleep almost instantly. When she wakes in the middle of the night to pee, she feels like she's been resting for a week. The tension along her back has mostly disappeared and her teeth are hurting less now that she's stopped clenching them.
She remains completely professional throughout the day, and so does Anders. At moments, the atmosphere feels too impersonal, even for them. But this is what she wanted the office to be like since her first day, so there's no point in complaining. Anders goes through numerous phone calls and spends the remainder of his time typing and giving Dawn a few instructions. At the end of the day, he does not say goodbye.
The bar is bone dry, despite Anders continual searching. Axl, Mike, and the goddesses are arguing in the middle of the room while Olaf unhelpfully tries to think of more places for Anders to look. No one can decide on what to do next to find Frigg. All their leads have fallen through, and Ingrid's genealogy work is haltingly slow.
Anders almost told Ty about Dawn the moment he walked in the door. But he promised to never mention it again. Besides, what's one more secret?
His brother is sitting next to Olaf, watching the group go over the same ideas. Anders has a hunch that he's the only one Ty has kept contact with recently. When he arrived, Mike had made a type of remark usually reserved for Anders. Ty hadn't said anything, sticking close to Anders.
The family is falling apart every day. A rift if growing; half of them scrabble for a path to power and the other half try to stay human. If it comes down to choosing sides, Anders won't abandon Ty. He'd prefer to just take his brother, Olaf, and Dawn and get the hell out of Dodge if this goes nuclear. That's what his ancestors did over a century ago. The times got tough and everyone fled to the other side of the world. Mike would call him a coward. Anders thinks it's closer to protecting what's important.
Anders looks up from the cabinets to see Axl eyeing him. There's no warmth left. Anders wouldn't regret leaving his baby brother behind. Not when he's the greatest threat.
When he gets home, Anders opens up the small safe sitting in the corner of his closet. He pulls out the documents and takes inventory, then calls his bank the couple check what he has in his checking account. Next, he calls his lawyer and makes an appointment to get things in order.
Before he goes into the office, Anders stops at the bank as it's opening. He orders the largest amount of American dollars he can, figuring is the worst happens, it's a straight shot across the ocean. Australia is too close and Asia is too crowded to remain unseen.
Dawn doesn't look up as he enters the office. He knocks on her desk, drawing her attention. "Did the blueprint orders come in yet?"
"No."
"Are you okay?"
She frowns. "Anders, we had a deal."
"I know. I'm asking because your stomach is so big it's resting on your desk, and you were grimacing."
"I'm fine. " She backs up so her belly is hanging loose and rests her hands on her back. "It's just moving a lot. Can't keep a compromise."
"Really?" He crouches down to peer at the bump. "Does she, like, grab your intestines?"
Dawn sits down in the chair. "No. Just makes my body hurt more."
"Hm." Moving closer, Anders sets his coffee on the floor and balances himself. "Hey, there. I'm Anders, your mum's boss. But really, she does most of the work."
"What are you doing?"
"Having a conversation. Now, shush." He clears his throat. "As I was saying. I was jumpy when I was a baby too. Made my mum complain all the time. So I get it, you're growing some limbs and want to try them out. But sometimes, your mummy needs to relax, so that means you need to take a break with the acrobatics. Right?"
Unfolding from the floor, he scratches at his chin. "Um, that's all I have." Dawn is looking down. "Dawn?"
"It worked. I'm taking advantage of not getting kicked." She groans. "I was."
"Well, have fun with that." He grabs his coffee.
"Nope. Keep talking."
"About what?"
"I don't know. Anything. It's probably used to you blabbing on. Usually, you never shut up."
Anders grabs for words, talking about the clients, his fish, Ty, the last time he tried to get his hair cut. Eventually he gets Dawn seated on the couch with some paperwork so he can go over things at his desk. He's not paying attention to what he's saying, exactly. He's focused on events and contacts, while his mouth is running. Dawn stops him while he's in the middle of correcting some prototype advertisements.
"I think you can stop, now. It's almost lunch." She closes a few folders. "You've been talking for hours."
"You're going to be fine, then?"
"Yeah." She hovers for a moment. "Want to get something? You can watch me eat three meals in a third of my usual time."
"Well, how can I turn down that offer?"
Jesus, she's hungry. Anders is watching her from across the table while she inhales the food. Moving around takes so much out of her, plus she might as well have a tapeworm for the amount that this thing is eating. When she finishes, Anders pushes what's left of his sandwich over and wipes his hands with a napkin.
She eats that too. Anders glances at his phone when it rings, but doesn't answer. He shakes his head when Dawn starts to ask. Whatever he wants.
Anders talks during the afternoon, too. Dawn didn't know that many words could be in one person. He just keeps going, one subject blending into another. A couple times, stories slip in. He mentions people she doesn't recognize, and some of it seems fantastical. But he keeps her stomach still, so she listens with half an ear while editing press releases.
He helps her back into her shoes before she leaves, and pulls her up from the couch. She turns to leave, but Anders still has a grip on one of her hands. When she looks back, he presses his lips to her cheek, hitting the high point just under her eye instead of the hollow. Then he drops her hand, fingers tracing hers. Looking at his back, she's suddenly worried that he's preparing a farewell.