Bittersweet
Stefen woke up
slowly; he had a terrible headache and his stomach was rolling worse than when
Van had taken him through one of those Gate-things. He stood slowly and the
nausea only increased; he dashed to the window and lost the contents of his
stomach out it, hoping there was no one below him. He sat quickly with his head
between his legs and moaned quietly, willing the headache and stomach troubles
to go away. Gods, I must need to see a
Healer, he thought, but getting up was beyond him. In fact, moving at all
was pretty much beyond him.
Speaking
of Van, where was he anyway? Stefen cracked a bloodshot hazel eye open and
peered through his knees around the room. No Vanyel Ashkevron to be seen. Gods, I can't think of what could be wrong
with me...first I gain weight without eating more and now--this?
He
dropped his head between his knees again and sighed. His hair was probably
tangled beyond all hope and if he knew anything he was probably pale and had
dark shadows under his eyes. The slim
Bard's constitution had been rapidly deteriorating for about two months now and
honestly he hadn't told anyone, expecting it to get better.
Needless
to say, it wasn't.
After
what seemed like hours, he heard the door open and an unmistakable presence
entered the room. Anxiety pulsed along the bond he and Vanyel shared and long,
graceful hands cupped his face and lifted it up. He moaned as his eyes met
clouded silver ones.
"Good
gods, Stef! You look like you've just been dragged through the nine hells by
your hair!"
"I
feel like it too," Stef croaked, not even giving Van a weak smile.
"I'm
enough of an Empath I can tell that," Vanyel said snappishly, softening the
words with a loving smile. "What do you say we get you to the Healers, Stef?"
"That
would be nice. If you feel like carrying me," Stefen closed his eyes and
drooped. He really did feel like he'd been through hell...
Vanyel's
only reply was to lift the slight Bard into his arms and look concerned as
Stef's head lolled back and he was completely limp as the Herald-Mage strode
purposefully down the hallway towards the Healer's Collegium. The sight of Van
and Stef like that earned him more than a few odd looks but the scowl on the
Herald-Mage's face and the condition Stefen was in were enough to silence any
whispers.
Van
burst into the Collegium and immediately several green-clad people turned
towards him. "I need one of you to look at Bard Stefen!" he barked with an icy
glare fixed on the eyes of the nearest Healer, a short, stocky young woman
whose square face made her look more like a fighter than a healer.
"I
can take care of him, Herald-Mage Vanyel," she said firmly, "just bring him in
here," she gestured to a small room.
Vanyel's
Icy Gaze of Death (™) softened a bit and he walked in calmly, placing the limp
Bard on the cot near the back of the room gently. The Healer frowned and looked
at him. "Uh, he's unconscious?" she asked.
Van
jumped. "He is? I--ah, yes. He is."
The
Healer looked slightly amused and proceeded to check Stefen's pulse and blood
pressure. "Hm, his pulse is a bit fast and his blood pressure a bit high," she
said as the redheaded Bard began to stir.
Stef
twitched and sat up with an "OH!" then he looked at the Healer and said weakly,
"I need to throw up."
She
hastily held out a large bucket and the Bard did just that.
"Now,
Bard Stefen, what are your symptoms, please?"
"I
throw up a lot and feel terrible," Stef stated, watching the world spin
curiously around his head.
"Tell
me, have you experienced any excess weight gain?"
"Excess
we--oh, yes." Stefen held up a finger and began to doodle in the air. "I
suppose so. Say, Van, did you save any
of that chirra food I liked so much?"
The
Herald-Mage sighed and put his face in his hands. "No, Stef, I didn't. And I
meant to ask exactly why you liked it
so much."
Stef
smiled dizzily, his large hazel eyes crossing. "Oh, it's okay. I feel more like
eating some of 'Fandes' hay today."
"Bard
Stefen, I'll need you to tell me exactly how long you've been experiencing
these--ah, unusual symptoms," the Healer said. Vanyel noted to himself that she
had an extremely odd look on her face. Good
gods, don't tell me this is some mysterious affliction like Randi has!
"Two
months," the redhead stated. "I'm sleepy...Van, where's my bunny pillow?"
"I
did not bring it," Vanyel snapped. "I wasn't expecting you to want it."
"Isn't
it you who always says 'expect the unexpected'? Er...no, it's
not...it's...uh..."
The
Healer cleared her throats. "Um, Herald-Mage Vanyel, Bard Stefen, I have a few
very important and personal questions to ask you."
Vanyel
stiffened and sat up. "Yes?"
"Go
ahead," said Stefen sleepily. "Oh, Van, can you hear the stars? They're
singing, ashke, singing for you and
I. It's so beautiful...can't you hear them? Oh the stars, the stars..." he
began to hum tunelessly. "Oh the stars, the stars, the lovely stars, I can hear
them singing and they're singing for me..."
Vanyel
looked to the Healer as if he was either about to cry or pound something into
the wall. She plowed ahead nonetheless. "Is it true that you two are both shaych?"
Stefen
continued humming obliviously and Van nodded weakly.
"And
you have a physical--erm, relationship--together?"
Stefen
sang, "Vanyel and I...our bed is always warm and open to the weary traveler if
he does not mind that Vanyel is very vocal...isn't that so, Van?" he asked
offhandedly.
Vanyel
dropped his head into his hands again and moaned.
The
Healer smiled weakly at Stefen, who was swaying slightly and singing about the
stars again. "Well, Herald-Mage Vanyel
and Bard Stefen, I would say that in about seven months you two can expect a
healthy baby boy. Stefen is...pregnant."
Vanyel
went absolutely paper white and looked up. "Oh," he said weakly, and then his
silver eyes rolled back in his head and he toppled over, hitting the floor with
a loud thud.
"Oh
lovely, Vanyel, the stars are singing," Stefen continued in a delirious manner.
***
"Van-YEL!"
"Yes,
honey-sweet, oh love of my life, soul, and very existance, how may I serve
you?" Vanyel reeled off with an exasperated note in his voice. This was the
third time today...
Stefen
appeared at the door, clutching his bulging stomach. "WHERE DID YOU PUT MY
BUNNY PILLOW?" he bellowed, shaking one fist at Van.
"It
is in the closet by the bedside table, oh master of my heart." Van answered,
trying to keep his tone civil and placing the bookmark in the textbook he was
reading. "Would it please you if I got it for you?"
"Oh
yes!" Stefen chirped, rubbing his stomach. "Oh Van! He kicked! Come feel!"
Vanyel
mentally rolled his eyes and walked over to pat the Bard's abdomen. "Yes, I'm
certain he'll be a robust young thing." Then, before he had time to retch, he
jogged into the other room and retrieved Stefen's sacred bunny pillow.
Stef
grabbed it from him and giggled, burying his face in it. "Thank you Vanyel-ashke!" He gave the Herald-Mage a large,
sloppy kiss and danced out the door.
:But it's a physical impossibility!: Yfandes
protested weakly in the back of Van's mind. :Utterly
impossible, I say!:
:I know!: Vanyel
replied, running his fingers through his silver-streaked hair. :And the gods know I'm not cut out to be a father!:
Yfandes
agreed. :I don't know what you're going
to do!:
:Neither do I!:
***
"VANYEL!
I WANT MY BUNNY PILLOW!"
Vanyel
lurched upright and automatically retrieved said object without even waking up.
Stefen snuggled into it and was silent.
***
"OOWCH!"
Stefen screamed, convulsing madly.
"What?
Whatwhatwhat?" Vanyel's eyes widened as the young man's face twisted with pain.
"Oh
Van! My stomach! OWCH! IT HURTS!" the Bard wailed, squeezing his eyes shut and
clutching his bulging abdomen.
:IT'S TIME!: Yfandes screamed, giving
Van a mental kick in the pants.
Vanyel
stumbled blindly upward and groped for a pair of breeches. He found them and
slid them on, dashing out the door and down the hall like lightning on wheels.
He
made it to the Healer's Collegium in perhaps record time and dragged the
nearest Healer away and back to his room.
The
Healer turned out to be the same one who had first diagnosed Stef; she looked
at his writhing form and grimaced.
"This
isn't going to be easy. Now, Bard Stefen," she soothed, "just push. It will be
all right."
"I'm
PUSHING!" the Bard insisted, grabbing Van's hand. "This DAMN THING won't come
out!"
"It's
perfectly normal for labor to last up to twelve hours, Stefen," the Healer
informed him.
Stefen
paled. "Twelve--hours?"
***
(Two hours later)
The
Healer smiled and handed the squalling bundle to Vanyel. "Congratulations,
Herald-Mage Vanyel. A perfectly healthy, perfectly normal little baby boy."
Vanyel
breathed a long sigh of relief. "Thank the gods."
Stefen's
chest was still heaving. "Ohh, Van...let me see him..."
Van
smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. They had gotten Stef to the
Collegium in good time and everything had gone relatively smoothly. He handed
the pink-faced baby to Stefen and patted Stef's hand. "What are we going to
name him?"
"Tylendel,"
Stef said sleepily. "Tylendel Withen Ashkevron."
Van
felt tears around the edges of his eyes as the baby grabbed at Stefen's
fingers. Tylendel had stopped crying already and was viewing the world through
curious new eyes--one silver, one hazel.
***
With life just begun, my sleeping new son
has eyes that roll back in his head
They flutter and dart, he slows down his heart
and pictures a world past his bed
It's hard to believe
As I watch you breathe
Your mind drifts and weaves
When you dream,
what
do you dream about?
When you dream,
what do you dream about?
Do you dream about
music or mathematics
or planets too far for the eye?
Do you dream about
Jesus or quantum mechanics
or angels who sing lullabies?
His fontanel pulses with lives that he's lived
With memories he'll learn to ignore
And when it is closed, he already knows
he's forgotten all he knew before
But when sleep sets in
History begins
But the future will win
When you dream,
what do you dream about?
When you dream,
what do you dream about?
Are they colour or black and white,
Yiddish or English
or languages not yet conceived?
Are they silent or boisterous?
Do you hear sounds just
loud enough to be perceived?
With so little experience,
your mind not yet cognizant
Are you wise beyond your few days?
When you dream,
what do you dream about?
When you dream,
what do you dream about?
When you dream...
***
FINIS
PS:
for those of you who think that this must all be a horrible nightmare, read on.
For those who think we should leave Van and Stef alone with their son, this
really is the end! J
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Epilogue:
"Van? Van! Wake up!
It's past breakfast!"
Van
stirred and wrinkled his nose. Who was it that was disturbing him? Where was
'Lendel and Stef? He had been feeding 'Lendel...when...
"Vanyel-ashke! Wake up! I let you sleep in but
you really need to wake up!"
Van
slitted his eyes open to see Stefen standing there, slim and young as always.
"Hey, Van...are you feeling all right?"
He
sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Where's the baby?"
"Baby?"
Stefen looked charmingly confused. "What baby?"
Vanyel
realized with a start that it had all been a dream. There was no "Tylendel
Withen Ashkevron" and Stef had never been pregnant. He felt mixed emotions, as
well as a supreme sense of irony. No Tylendel...no pregnant Stefen...he
reflected on that. It was the oddest dream he'd ever had.
What
a bittersweet dream it had been.
FINIS
(Yes, that's all. Now go away.)