Crown Of Thorns

Chapter Five: Sweet Child O' Mine

   Sam and I are in the mansion's garden, lying on the grass and looking up at the sky together. I suppose you could say we're enjoying one of the last few precious moments of peace and quiet we're likely to get (when the baby comes, we'll never get anything like that again, so I guess it's best that we make the most of what we've got now…), but we're also just taking the time to enjoy each other's company and talk about other things besides the child growing inside me. Sam has just finished telling me about the ball game that he and the rest of the male X-Men attended earlier that afternoon, and how it all went right down to the ninth innings (and I managed to look interested for the whole time he was doing it, too, even though baseball bores me to tears), and I've just told him about the fight Jean and I had with the Rhino, only a little while ago. It's been a busy few days for the team, so he didn't get to come home until now – and I've really enjoyed telling him about how I managed to make the Rhino pass out with only a medium-strength psi-bolt. And to Sam's credit, he managed to stay at least a little bit interested as well, even though he must have heard hundreds of similar stories about Aunt Jean. He kisses me on the forehead and says "So you and Jean had a good time in Manhattan, huh?"

   "Yup," I reply, stretching a little in his arms and feeling my ever-expanding bump rub against his belly a little. "I even got to meet Spider-Man as well." Sam raises his eyebrows.

   "No kidding?" he says. "Damn, you really did have a good day. If that'd been me, I'd have gotten to meet the Steel Spider, but you get the real deal. I hope you got his autograph, girl – you could clean up on eBay, you know."

   I laugh. "Sorry, Sam. I couldn't get his autograph – I forgot to ask him. I think I was too busy watching Aunt Jean flirt with him to find a pen."

   "Jean flirted with Spider-Man?" Sam raises an eyebrow, sounding a little sceptical. "You sure she wasn't just being friendly?"

   "Sam, trust me. The only way she could have been friendlier is if she'd flashed the guy." I yawn, feeling the heat of the sun sucking the energy from my bones, and then say "Besides, what's not to like about a guy in head-to-toe spandex and a mask? 'Mysterious' equals 'sexy', Sam." I chuckle then, as a related thought suddenly strikes me. "Why do you think so many women go for Uncle Logan?"

   "Pheromones," Sam fires back instantly. "It's the only explanation, honey. The guy's short, hairy an' ugly as sin – an' he's got a mouth like a sailor, too. How that makes him such a chick magnet, I'll never know." He pauses. "An' anyway, why would you need him when you've got me?"

   "Modest, aren't we?" I deadpan. "Don't build yourself up too much, Samuel Guthrie – you're not all that, no matter how much you might think you are." Sam laughs, and knocks gently on my forehead.

   "Hi, Mom," he says. "Nice of you to disguise yourself as my girlfriend."

   I purse my lips. "Wow – you're so funny, Sam. I don't know why Bobby hasn't taken comedy lessons from you yet."

   "Because he's too dumb to realise he needs help," Sam replies, with a smile. Then, his face takes on a more serious look (and at the same time, the colour of his thoughts turns a lot darker, which doesn't exactly put me at my ease), and he says "Um… look, Bec, I've been doing a little thinkin' about what we're gonna do when the baby comes, and I, uh… I was gonna ask you if you'd… um… you'd like to marry me."

   Instantly, I feel like I've been gut-shot. All I can manage to say is "Seriously?" Sam nods, and grips my right hand a little tighter as he does so.

   "Seriously," he echoes softly. "I want us to be a proper family – an' I want you and the baby to be properly provided for if somethin' happens to me." I begin to open my mouth, but Sam puts a finger to my lips. "I hope it won't, but I just want everythin' to be covered, you know? I ain't exactly workin' a desk job in the city, am I?"

   "I suppose not," I say, arching my eyebrows briefly, "but you don't have to worry about that – Mum and Dad would keep me and the baby safe if anything happened to you. You don't have to worry about that."

   "Yes, I do." Sam sits up, pulling himself away from me and rubbing at his eyes at the same time. "Look, I don't want your mom and dad to have to do what I should be doin'. You an' the baby are my responsibility, Rebecca. I – I want to take care of you."

   "I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, Sam," I retort, getting annoyed for the first time. "I'm not a little girl who needs people to hold her hand all the time. Having a baby to look after won't turn me into an idiot, you know."

   Sam rubs his hands over his face, frustrated at the direction that this discussion has gone in. "I know that, Bec, but look at it from my point of view. I grew up lookin' after my family all by myself. My daddy died and I had to be the guy who put bread on the table for my little brothers and sisters. It ain't easy to just… throw that kind of thinkin' away just because you got a cushy allowance from a bald rich guy, you know?"

   Pushing myself into a sitting position (with more than a little difficulty, seeing as how I've developed a considerably lower centre of gravity recently), I lock my gaze with Sam's so that I can make sure he doesn't miss anything I'm saying. "I know, Sam, but… marriage is a big step, don't you think? 'Till death do us part' – isn't that how it goes?"

   "That's how it goes, yeah," Sam agrees, nodding, "but ain't havin' a kid the same thing? Ain't that a lifetime commitment, too?"

   "Having a baby together shouldn't be the only reason you want us to get married, Sam," I tell him, making sure to let him know that I'm not playing games on this. "Do you love me?"

   "You're the telepath, Bec," Sam says simply. "You know I love you – I always have, ever since the first moment I saw you. I want the best for you and the baby, that's all."

   Something approaching relief pulls one corner of my mouth up in a hesitant smile. "Then that's all I needed to hear." I pause, and then say softly "Yes."

   Sam's face breaks out in a wide grin. "Then you'll –"

   "Yes, Sam, I'll marry you," I tell him, before holding up a hand to make sure he listens to what I have to say next, "on one condition: that you let me take as big a part in this as you. I don't want to be your sidekick; I want to be your partner. I'm not going to be your Girl Wonder for the rest of my life, do you understand?"

   Sam holds his hands up, still unable to wipe the stupid grin off his face. "Okay, okay – I understand; I'll treat you as my complete equal… as long as you promise to wear tights and a cape on our wedding night."

   I purse my lips. "Don't push your luck, flyboy," I tell him, pushing his face to one side as he leans in for a quick kiss. "The only way I'd dress up like the Scarlet Witch is if you paid me." I can sense Sam coming up with a snappy retort, so I cut him off by finishing "With real money." Then, I smile, stroking Sam's cheek with the back of my right hand, letting my fingers play gently across the soft skin of his face. "So, Sam… you want to help your future wife decide on some possible baby names?"

   Sam nods thoughtfully, and replies "Sure. I think that'd be a great idea."

*

   Later that day, Mum and I are sat in the mansion's rec. room, drinking blackcurrant tea and watching Tom crawling around on the large, soft rug that covers most of the polished floorboards. "He's getting bigger all the time, isn't he, Mum?" I say as I watch my little brother pushing himself along in a determined kind of way. "How's his walking going?"

   "Well, he tried to stand up again a few days ago," Mum replies, watching him with a careful, but very loving eye. "He fell right onto his backside when he did, and cried for Mummy until I picked him up and hugged him." She sighs. "Still, that hasn't stopped him from trying again – has it, sweetheart?" She waves delicately to Tom as he plays with the wooden building blocks Uncle Logan carved for him, and claps her hands as he waves back with one chubby blue paw, chewing thoughtfully on a block he's holding with the other. "He's getting there, put it that way – Hank says it shouldn't be too much longer before we have to put him on a leash." Then Mum leans forward, putting her teacup on the glass-topped table in front of her, and turns to face me more fully while still keeping enough of an eye on Tom to make herself comfortable. "So… what about you and Sam? I saw the two of you earlier today, and it looked like you were having a fairly intense discussion." She holds up a hand to silence the remark she can obviously see building in my throat. "And before you ask, Rebecca, I didn't use my powers to listen in. I think I trust you enough not to eavesdrop on your every move. If you don't want to discuss it with me, then I'm perfectly willing to respect your decision." She looks hopeful for a second, and says "Do you want to discuss it with me?"

   I take a deep breath, and decide to launch straight into what I have to say, without trying to pad it out unnecessarily. "Sam asked me to marry him today."

   Mum covers her mouth with her hands for a moment, looking as shocked and surprised as it's possible for a telepath to get. "And what did you say?" she asks, looking up at me through her eyebrows.

   "I said yes," I tell her – and before I can say anything else, Mum has clasped me to her tightly, kissing me on the forehead as she does so.

   "Congratulations, button," she says softly as she rests her chin on my shoulder. "Sam is a lovely boy – you made a good choice."

   "Did I?" I say, suddenly feeling very unsure about the whole deal. "What did you feel when Dad asked you to marry him?"

   Mum sits back in her seat and takes a small measure of tea from her cup, pursing her lips and mulling the question over in her mind for a moment or two. "I felt scared for a little while, just like you are now," she says quietly. "I felt as if I'd had my entire life laid out for me by somebody else, and I didn't like that feeling one bit. I felt as if I'd be betraying my parents' memory because they weren't there to see what I'd become. But then I spoke to your Uncle Brian and Aunt Meggan, and they told me that to deny the love I felt for Warren was a very silly thing to do. You do love Sam, don't you?"

   "Yes," I say, feeling echoes of the question I'd asked Sam earlier, and wondering if Mum really did stay out of the discussion as much as she said she did. "I really do. He's wonderful." A much more positive thought suddenly strikes me, lifting my spirits greatly and making me realise that my decision was far wiser than I'm giving myself credit for. "He and I were thinking up some baby names earlier – would you like to hear them?"

   Mum smiles. "There you are, button – that proves my point about Sam, don't you think?" She leans forward in her seat, making a definite show of being enthralled by my suggestion. "So come on, button, what were these baby names you were thinking of?" Oh God… I'm turning into a right mumsy old cow, aren't I? she sends to me a moment or two after she's spoken. God knows I'd never have been as interested as this before you turned up. It's all your fault, button.

   You're not an old cow, I reply psionically, just to placate her. Well, you're not old, anyway. Credit where credit's due, I guess...

   Mum makes a face and sticks her tongue out at me. "Thank you, button – you always know exactly what to say to make me feel so much better, don't you?" She pauses, smiling. "So… baby names. Don't make me have to go in there and find them for myself, all right?"

   I pick up my teacup and drink some of the rich liquid contained inside it, and then put it back down onto the coffee table before saying "Well, Sam and I were only suggesting names to each other, but we did manage to come up with a few nice ones we could both agree on – we thought that if the baby's a boy we could call him Luke, John, or Harry, and if it's a girl, we decided on Hannah, Mary, or Caroline. What do you think?"

   Mum nods silently, turning the six names over in her mind for a moment or two before she replies "I think they're all very nice names. Any particular reason you chose those names specifically?"

   "Not really," I say, honestly. "I think we just liked the sound of them, that's all." Pausing, I manage to dredge up some additional information about the discussion Sam and I had earlier. "Well, actually, I think I remember Sam telling me that his grandmother was called Mary, and that he liked John Wayne movies. As far as the others go… I really couldn't tell you why we picked them."

   Mum chuckles. "Are you sure you weren't being influenced by somebody else? I distinctly remember that happening to your father and me when we were choosing names for Tom…" That makes me flush a little, my cheeks prickling with a slight heat.

   "Oh, you're a riot, Mum," I say, batting at her with the back of one hand. "You weren't really trying to give us ideas, were you?" Mum shakes her head earnestly and pats me on the hand, slipping her fingers into mine so that she can hold them tightly.

   "Button, I can honestly say that I did not put any ideas in your head that weren't there in the first place." She pauses, and then a small, wicked little smile crosses her lips for a second or two. "Well, I did plant a love for scandalously short miniskirts and high heels in the back of your mind, but other than that…I'm completely innocent, your honour." With that, she slides slowly off the chair in order to pick Tom up and sit him on her lap. He wails a bit at being taken away from his building blocks, but once Mum's given him the teddy bear that was sat on the sofa next to her, he's quiet again, busily putting the bear's already soggy ear into his mouth while Mum resumes her spot on the sofa.

   "Really." I purse my lips. "I think I'll take that under advisement, Mum." Then I lean forwards and catch Tom's attention by touching the tip of my nose with my tongue and crossing my eyes at the same time. He laughs loudly, and points at me in pure, innocent excitement. Mum smiles at that, and nods appreciatively.

   "You're going to be a really wonderful mother, Rebecca," she says, before she kisses Tom on the top of his head and tickles him under his arms. "Getting Tom's approval is pretty difficult, after all – and I should know, I've tried it often enough."

   Just then, Dad comes into the rec. room, clad in his best work suit and clutching his red leather briefcase in his right hand. He waves to Mum and me as he comes through the doorframe, before he walks over to where we're both sitting and kisses Mum hello gently – and then gets his tie yanked on by his son's pudgy blue hand. Somehow he manages to rescue it without being throttled, and then kneels down to Tom's eye level. "Hey, slugger!" he says, sounding as delighted as I can sense he feels, despite the knot of his tie being tightened almost to the point of restricting the flow of blood to his head. "How's Daddy's favourite boy?" Tom squeals with laughter at that, and cracks the biggest smile I've seen from him today as he holds out his arms for Dad to take him. Dad gently picks him up and gives him a hug, kissing him softly on the forehead before he sits down on the sofa next to Mum and lets Tom play with his teddy bear again. Seeing the ease with which Dad managed to get Tom so pleased makes me look at Mum with a suspicious arched eyebrow.

   "So getting Tom's approval is pretty difficult, huh?" I ask her, my arms folded across my chest. "If Dad can do it, Mum, I think anybody can."

   Mum shakes her head. "Well, that's not quite true, button – your Uncle Logan finds it very difficult, after all. And besides, your father does have a habit of being very lucky, very often. Just ask his stockbroker…"

   "Hey, is it too much to believe that my son loves me and likes my company?" Dad shoots back. "I swear, you two treat me like I'm a complete chump sometimes."

   "Of course we do, dear," Mum smiles, patting Dad on the cheek as if she is consoling him about the loss of a chocolate bar. "You're a man – it's hardwired into you."

   "Keep this up, Betts, and I might just take my toys and go home," Dad retorts, before he leans down and stage-whispers into Tom's ear "Don't worry, kid, I promise I'll take you with me. We'll be free to eat Twinkies and play Tekken all day long… it'll be great."

   "Men," Mum laughs, rolling her eyes. "Tell you what, Rebecca, I hope you don't let Sam turn out like this." Do you want to tell him, or can I? she asks me telepathically.

   I'll do it, Mum, I reply. Thanks for asking first, though. Then, aloud, I say "Um… Dad? I have some news about Sam and me." Dad raises his eyebrows, and looks more fully in my direction than he had been before. On his lap, Tom still plays with his bear, completely oblivious, but Dad now has my full attention.

   "Are you two okay?" he asks, suddenly sounding very concerned. "Is the baby fine? I –"

   "Yes, and yes," I say, putting those fears to rest right away. "We're all completely fine, Dad, so don't worry. Sam just… well, he asked me to marry him today."

   Dad's face splits into the biggest smile I've ever seen him crack in my entire life (which isn't really saying all that much, I know, but it's still true), and he quickly trades Tom to Mum so that he can hug me tightly. "Wow," he says, sounding completely awestruck. "I, uh… oh, what the hell – congratulations, kid. You made a good choice." He plants a gentle kiss on my forehead then, and hugs me a little more firmly. "And so did he – you make sure Sam knows exactly how lucky he is every day, all right?"

   I roll my eyes. "Thanks, Dad. I can always count on you to give me unnecessary praise, can't I?"

   "Of course. A dad's gotta do what a dad's gotta do," Warren says, before he opens his wallet and continues "So do you want me to pay for the wedding, or not?"

   "Would you, Dad?" I say adoringly, fluttering my eyelashes. "It'll be so much easier if you can pay for the ice sculpture, the clowns and the banjo quartet, don't you think?"

   Dad raises an eyebrow. "I might be willing to pay for a lot, but don't push your luck, kid…"