Chapter 6: Truth
"I told you?" he asks somewhat shocked. "I don't remember talking to you about Chronos", he replies, now lathering his thighs.
"Well you probably wouldn't", she says yawning. "But, you've been saying it in your sleep every night for the past two weeks", she states, walking back towards the mirror and throwing her hands up over her head. "And by saying, I mean yelling", she says reaching for her toothbrush. "You don't have to be Batman to know that whatever this Chronos thing is it's bothering you", she remarks, while unscrewing the top off of the tube of toothpaste. "And if you have problems sleeping, then I have problems sleeping", she says pointing her thumb toward her chest. She is about to brush her teeth and then pauses. Smiling, she turns toward the shower door and does her best Bill Bixby-Bruce Banner impersonation, "And you wouldn't like me when I'm sleepy". She laughs aloud, proud of how she was able to mix her adopted planet's pop culture into the conversation.
Think, John. Think! He knows that how he decides to answer her question will have far-reaching ramifications. If he lies to her and she discovers the truth, she will never trust him again. In one moment, he will have undermined his entire marriage and thrown away all of the work it has taken to get to this point. On the other hand, if he tells her the truth, how will she know that what they have had for all these years is real? In her way, she will come to the conclusion that they've just been actors following a preordained script and she will hate him. She will hate him because he cheated. He already knew how it would end because he had proverbially skipped to the last page of the story by traveling to the future. Worse, it would also mean that he could have spared her the pain of losing Carter.
"I swear, John. What is wrong with you? It's like you're moving in slow-motion today or something!" she says exasperated. "How long does it take one person to get clean for God's sake? I've got freakin' wings to wash and it doesn't take me as long as you!" she says extending her wings and lightly flapping them.
"Well if you didn't keep it like a meat locker in here I wouldn't HAVE to use the shower to thaw out!" he says, more angrily than he meant. Nice. Real smooth, John.
She stares at him briefly, frowns and turns to rinse out her toothbrush. She turns the water off at the sink and dries her hands on one of the hanging towels. She has her back to him, but slowly turns to face him after putting the towel back. "Okay. What the hell is going on?" she calmly asks, putting her hands on her hips and obviously annoyed at his earlier response.
"I'm, I'm sorry, Shayera", he says remorsefully while turning off the water in the shower. "I'm cranky because I'm not sleeping well, but the last thing I want to do is take it out on you". He opens the shower door and begins to step out. "A little help?" he asks pointing toward the heated towel rack.
"Oh, yeah. Sure", she says slightly smiling.
Uh, oh.
She takes one of the bigger towels off of the rack, bundles it up and throws it, hitting him squarely in the face. "Ouch! Hey, I said I was sorry" he says aloud. I don't think even Wally could have avoided that. He drys off his upper torso and then wraps the towel around his waist and walks toward her. She is now standing with her arms crossed and still frowning. He bends his head down and gently kisses her on the forehead. "You know I love you".
She slowly drops her arms and wraps them around his waist. She pulls him close to her and squeezes. "You better". She rests her head on his chest. "Ow!" she cries out.
"What? I didn't do anything", he says alarmed.
"Not you, dummy", she says rubbing her belly and laughing. "I think the twins are trying to kick you for yelling at mommy. They're very protective you know", she remarks smiling. "Oh. Oh! Here. Put your hand right there". She guides his hand to the right side of her belly and smiles again. "You feel that?"
"Wow", he exclaims gently rubbing her abdomen and shaking his head. "I never get tired of this".
"Those are our babies, John. Yours and mine", she says softly, looking up at him and laughing a little. He loves to see her laugh. It is one of the rare times she lets go of her tough exterior and he is glad that it is happening more frequently. "Can you believe it? In just a few short weeks we'll be a full-fledged family".
They are gazing into each other's eyes, both smiling and then tears slowly begin to form.
"Why are you crying?" she asks lovingly, reaching up and rubbing away his tears with her thumbs.
The sins of the father are visited upon the children. I'll not start their lives with a lie. "We've got to talk, Shayera" he finally says, composing himself. "I need to tell you about Chronos".