"Are you sure?" Emily asked yet again. "Like absolutely certain?" She internally winced at how stupid she sounded in that moment, but she just couldn't jump-start her brain into working again after it had stalled with the doctor's recent revelation.
The doctor, at least, seemed to find her inability to wrap her mind around the matter amusing. "I ran it twice to be sure," she insisted.
"But... How?" she asked, breathless and urgent. Granted, she knew how, but that didn't exactly make the matter any easier to digest.
Even though the question was mostly rhetorical, the doctor answered anyway, "Some women actually become more fertile after they have a child..."
Emily nodded distantly, obviously not completely paying attention.
She supposed that it made sense, given her moodiness and exhaustion lately – she'd written it off to stress, but, obviously that had been a mistake. She'd also been pretty sure she'd put on some weight, based on the fact that she couldn't quite button some of her tighter pre-pregnancy slacks, but she'd written it off as her imagination.
She and Erik had agreed that they wouldn't actively prevent another pregnancy, but they weren't actively trying either. She'd assumed (obviously incorrectly) that at her age, that there was no chance that she'd get pregnant again without medical intervention.
"It's okay to feel anxious or overwhelmed or even upset," the doctor assured her when she remained silent for an overly long time. "The transition from parenting one child to two is a big one, especially when there's such a short window between them."
She nodded again, almost numbly.
A beat. "Emily," the doctor said quietly, seriously, "There are options..."
She swallowed thickly, not quite sure how to respond, if she could respond at all without losing her composure completely. Before she could, though, her phone rang and she silently thanked a God she wasn't sure she believed in for the interruption. "It's work," she informed the doctor needlessly. It was always work. "I have to go."
"Hello, Little One," Charles greeted when Erik entered his office with Isadora earnestly attempting to escape his arms. "Old Friend," he added as if Erik were an afterthought, though his grin belied his forgetfulness.
Erik had taken Isadora to New York to visit Charles at the School. In the last few days, the baby had started showing signs of her abilities manifesting and they wanted to have Charles render an opinion on what they should expect from her as she got older.
"Hello, Charles," Erik replied, actively wrestling the baby as she tried to jab her finger in his eye. "I apologize for my daughter who, apparently, is determined not to be on her best behaviour."
Charles laughed. "I'd expect nothing less from the child of Emily Prentiss and Erik Lensherr."
Erik looked like he might have liked to argue that point, but honestly couldn't while maintaining a straight face. Especially given the fact that Isadora had spent the better part of the train ride trying to tear pages out of his book.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Charles asked, holding out his arms to take the baby.
Erik gladly relented, setting Isadora in his lap, letting her stare curiously up at the unfamiliar face and waiting to see if she'd make strange. When no tantrum seemed forthcoming, he explained, "Someone's an overachiever..."
Charlies tickled under the baby's chin. "Are you already more trouble than your parents can handle?" he cooed to her.
Isadora blew a raspberry in response, making him laugh once again. She then busied herself trying to pluck one of the shiny buttons off his sweater.
"So, what trouble has she been getting into?" he asked Erik.
"She's controlling Mudgie." Seeing Charles' confused expression, he explained, "Rossi's chocolate lab. When one of her toys rolls out of reach, she has him fetch it for her, rather than crawl to get it."
"Well, well, well, Little One – you are a wonder..."
Word in the School travelled fast – apparently, in spite of being populated by young mutants, the idea of a baby with abilities was somehow worthy of spectacle... A small crowd had gathered on the lawn to watch whatever it was that Charles had planned to test Isadora's blossoming abilities, though they were trying to pretend like they weren't watching because, if nothing else, Erik remained mysterious and intimidating (even if he was carrying an infant in a frilly pink dress).
Erik set Isadora down on the lawn outside Charles' manor and immediately had to stop her from sticking a fistful of grass in her mouth. He looked up as Charles wheeled over. "Where's the dog?" he asked.
Charles shook his head. "I want to see what she'll do when there's not an immediately obvious saviour..." he said.
Following his lead, Erik set Isadora's favourite toy just outside her reach and stood back, waiting to see what she'd do.
It didn't take long before Isadora pouted, whimpered, reached for the toy. She looked up at her father, bottom lip wobbling, eyes filling with tears and, much as he might want to immediately jump to her rescue, he resisted the impulse.
When it became clear that he wasn't about to get the toy for her, she let out a heart-rending wail. Birds in the nearby trees immediately took to the sky, swooping through the air as if in expression of her upset.
From a burrow hidden among the roots of one of the trees, a family of rabbits emerged and approached. In spite of their normal shyness, they came right up to Isadora, nuzzling her little hands as if soothing her. One of the rabbits snuffled at the toy then, turned, kicking it with its powerful back legs, sending it skidding to a stop right in front of the baby.
With a squeal of delight, she took the toy in her hands. Nearby, some of the students applauded her victory.
It was clear that Charles was intrigued and would have liked to investigate further, but before he could suggest further testing, Hank leaned out one of the windows and shouted, "Erik, there's something I really think you should see..."