The Witching Hour
Chapter 3
By JewWitch
Paige stood unblinkingly in front of a shelf full of hairspray, biting her lip and scowling. It just hadn't occurred to her until this moment that she had absolutely no idea where in the store to find the pregnancy tests, and she just couldn't bring herself to walk up to one of the pimply-faced, nineteen-year-old Safeway employees and ask. First she'd thought they'd have to be by the tampons...it made sense that if you didn't need one, you'd need the other, didn't it? But apparently whoever was in charge of product placement at Safeway headquarters didn't follow this particular line of reasoning, so Paige had next imagined that they might be next to the condoms, another item she had no idea where to find. Why should she? Pacing up and down the aisles, Paige became steadily more agitated, both for herself and for Phoebe, whose nerves were streaming from the car outside like a five alarm fire. The drive from the manor had been entirely silent, and Paige had offered to go in alone more out of nervousness than anything else. She wasn't sure who was more freaked out at this point, only that their emotions were bouncing back and forth off their telepathic connection, amplifying each other's anxiety exponentially.
Paige stared harder at the sea of products in front of her, trying not to think about the blind terror coming from Phoebe in the parking lot. She didn't want to let herself ask why her wife's feelings about the possibility of being pregnant weren't happier; she was afraid to ask anything she might not like the answer to, and in her insecurity she groped for some clue as to how she ought to act (she had a brief moment of internal amusement when she considered the fact that this nervous-boyfriend-daddy thing was certainly the most butch she'd ever felt). The drive over had been so engulfed in buzzing silence, that when they had finally arrived it had been automatic for Paige to offer to go in on her own and let Phoebe wait in the car, the theory being that Paige could at least spare her this one stressful moment. But the longer she paced up and down the aisles, unable to locate her target, the more foolish and useless she felt. What the hell kind of idiot was she? How could she not have realized she wouldn't know where to find the tools of reproductive planning? The last time she'd seen a condom, it had been rolled onto a banana in ninth grade health class!
Finally, Paige gave up and asked the pharmacist, who, she reasoned, was at least some sort of medical professional. Whether or not the kindly old Asian man gave her an indulgent smile along with the small pink box she couldn't say, as she kept her eyes averted the whole time, cheeks burning. She also bought a soda, and toyed momentarily with some roses, but quickly decided against that out of fear of jinxing it. All in all, it wasn't more than ten minutes until she was back in the car, but it felt as if she'd been gone far too long and ought to account for her whereabouts.
"I got you an orange soda," she offered meekly.
"Thanks." If Paige had expected more than this monosyllabic answer, she didn't show it. The drive home was as silent as the drive out.
"Want me to come in with you?" Paige offered as she handed over the small package, both of them back in the manor and hovering in the bathroom doorway.
"I don't think that would be very good for our sex life," Phoebe said tonelessly. Paige got the feeling she'd been trying to make a joke, but hadn't quite managed the required levity.
"Okay." Paige sat on the floor in the middle of the upstairs hall while Phoebe shut the bathroom door. She hugged her knees, and tried to keep her mind blank. Whatever the little blue strip said was fine. It was true that they hadn't planned this, hadn't even discussed it; surely a few more years of adulthood would do them both good. It would probably be better if it were negative. Then the angelic smile and huge brown eyes of the child they'd seen in their premonition flashed across Paige's eyes, and she knew exactly what she was praying for. The fact that Phoebe seemed to be hoping the opposite was unnerving, but it doubled Paige's resolve to be supportive no matter the outcome.
A few more minutes went by in silence, then the bathroom door creaked open, sending Paige scrambling to her feet. Phoebe looked as tense as ever, eyes wet and bright. Then she shook her head, holding up the still unopened box.
"I can't do it, Paigey." She blinked once, sending a flood of tears down her cheeks.
"Oh, sweet girl," Paige sighed, gathering Phoebe into her arms as she began to sob, and tracing patterns on her trembling back. "Please don't cry, my angel..." Paige continued rubbing Phoebe's back until her breathing had calmed, then drew back so they were looking into each other's eyes. Terrified, Paige steeled herself to ask the question she'd been dreading.
"Baby...don't you want this?"
"Oh, Paigey, you know I do," Phoebe said quietly.
"Then why...?"
"It's just so sudden...I mean, after we got together, I thought I wouldn't have to worry about getting pregnant by accident anymore, and I...I...what if I'm not ready? For God's sake, I still have cartoon characters on my toothbrush! I stay up too late, my car is a deathtrap, I have overdue library books-- I haven't even been taking a multi-vitamin! What if our kid is born with Spina Bifida or something? I'm completely irresponsible. I can't be someone's mother!" Phoebe's lip quivered-- she was practically hyperventilating, and Paige suddenly felt like a complete idiot for not having anticipated that Phoebe might feel this way.
"Oh, Pheebs," Paige sighed, a sad smile blossoming on her face. "This isn't about you being irresponsible-- which, by the way, you're not. It's about your mom, isn't it? She died before you even knew her; you never had a role model for motherhood, so you think that means you don't know how to be a mom."
"Well...yeah...it's true," Phoebe sniffed, staring at the worn carpet and picking the fuzz apart between her fingernails.
"It is not true," Paige admonished, shaking her head. "How can you even think that, you nut? Wyatt adores you! You've got more love in you than anyone I've ever known...the rest we'll figure out as we go." Phoebe looked up doubtfully from beneath damp eyelashes. "You're gonna be an incredible mom," Paige murmured, her voice full of love as she swiped a few tears from Phoebe's cheek. "Whether it's in nine months, or another nine years." A small, reluctant smile tugged Phoebe's lips as she covered Paige's hand with her own, and kissed her.
"You always know what to say," she sighed, leaning her forehead against Paige's shoulder and breathing in her familiar scent of orange blossoms.
"I should've said it an hour ago," Paige said ruefully.
"Well, you were kinda busy with your drugstore treasure hunt." Paige could hear the grin in Phoebe's voice, even though her face was still hidden.
"Wait a minute--" Paige pulled back, leveling an outraged look at Phoebe, which only served to turn her grin into suppressed giggles. "You knew I had no idea what I was doing in there..."
"I kinda figured."
"And you let me go anyway?"
"You offered."
"You used my panic for your personal amusement."
"Was that not your intention?"
"Oh, you are so dead!" Paige exclaimed, jumping on Phoebe and pinning her to the floor, tickling her ribcage until she was shrieking with laughter and begging for mercy. They both lay there, panting, for several minutes. Paige glanced sideways at Phoebe, and propped herself up on one elbow.
"So," she said cautiously, "are you ready to find out if you're having my baby now?" Phoebe tilted her head, regarding Paige with an unreadable expression.
"Okay." She grinned nervously. "Let's do it."
"I think we got that part covered already." Phoebe smacked Paige on the shoulder.
"Goofball."
A minute later, Phoebe came out of the bathroom again, her fist held out in front of her as if she were holding a bomb. "I can't look," she said breathlessly, and thrust the test results at Paige with her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Paige, who was levitating upside down to distract herself from her nerves, took the tiny stick from Phoebe's outstretched hand without bothering to right herself first. A loud crash made Phoebe open her eyes, to find Paige sprawled at her feet, blinking dazedly.
"Jesus! Are you okay?" Phoebe dropped to her knees, smoothing Paige's hair back and quickly looking her over for injuries. Paige grabbed her wandering hands, and held them tightly.
"Yes." Phoebe blinked uncomprehendingly for a moment.
"Yes...?"
"Yes! Yes!" Paige laughed, sitting up and throwing her arms around the shell-shocked form of her lover.
"I'm really pregnant? Really?" Phoebe had never understood the expression tears of joy before, but now it made sense-- she wasn't sure if she was laughing or sobbing.
"Really, baby," Paige nodded, kissing her all over her face. "Oh, goddess, I love you..." Phoebe kissed her back, pushing her up against the wall. "Can't wait...to tell everybody..."
"They can wait an hour or two," Phoebe mumbled, her hands raking up Paige's back.
"Mmm...definitely..." Paige growled softly, nipping at Phoebe's exposed throat. Phoebe groaned in pleasure. Then she jerked against Paige in an odd way, as if she'd gotten an electric shock, a small gasp coming form the back of her throat. Paige opened her eyes, and froze in horror. At least a hundred razor-sharp teeth were bared less than a foot above their heads, connected to the monstrous demon they'd almost managed, in their excitement, to forget. It's sharp, talon-like claws were dripping with blood-- Phoebe's blood.