Chapter 2: Twins
He gently caresses her swollen abdomen and is once again instantly awed. Even after seven months, a man who with a mere thought can will objects into existence, has explored the deepest parts of the universe, traveled in time, and has seen the hand of God - literally, is awed by this "simplest" of miracles. The miracle of life or in the Stewart's case, lives. "Twins", he says to himself, allowing a huge grin to come across his face, "I can't believe we are having twins". She begins to murmur from his caress, but remains asleep. Still smiling, he slowly and quietly lifts the sheets and steps out on his side of the bed. She sleeps on the right. He is immediately hit by the chilly, crisp morning air and quickly makes his way across the wood floor toward the bathroom. Rubbing his arms he reminds himself how her normally warm-nature seemed to increase nearly ten-fold during the first trimester. "It's the extra blood, dummy", she would tell him.
Opening the bathroom door, he turns on the lights and starts the shower. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror he begins to brush his teeth and silently wonders if her desire to move here, high in the mountains, was driven by some innate instinct to nest on high ground. "Nest", he says quietly laughing, remembering the joke future Virgil had made about the size of the egg she laid to bring their son into the world. "Our son", he says slowly, pausing and staring at his reflection in the mirror. After a few seconds he casts his eyes downward and a small frown begins to form on his forehead.
To this day he has never revealed to his wife the future he and Bruce saw. He convinced himself long ago that if it were truly destiny for them to be together then he would not help God out by obligating her in advance. Besides, as his grandmother had often told a once young and anxious John Stewart, "Things happen in God's time, not man's time". To a certain degree, knowing the future all these years had been a source of comfort for him. It had revealed his fondest wish and it often reassured him during the League's more dangerous missions. Lately, however, his knowledge of the future had become a source of anxiety and the former Marine's sleep habits were beginning to reveal his growing angst.