Thank you everyone for your support, patience and dedication to this story. I want to apologize for some awkward writing and will continue to tweak this. It is certainly readable and interesting, just not too smooth quite yet. And at least it's a decent length, roughly 3800 words.
Sorry, the writer's block - for everything except 'Politics as Usual' - is getting ridiculous. Finally I'm updating with some more scenes from Kori's birthday party. There will be more in the next chapter.
I believe I'm getting back into the swing of things with this story. As I've said before, I have the outline for the rest of the story and the final chapter written. I just need to get us there.
And thanks as always to RagingSapphireStorm for encouragement, idea exchange, being there, reminding me I still have this story... you are such a big help!
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Double Take
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Chapter 49
Kori's Party, Part 2
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Character List:
Richard Grayson (Robin/Nightwing) - ER doc/playboy
Kori Anders (Starfire) - Nurse practitioner/working temporarily as an ER nurse
Victor Stone (Cyborg) - ER doctor/Chief of Emergency Medicine
Karen Beecher (Bumble Bee) - ER Nurse/Victor's Fiancée
Tara Markov (Terra) - ER Nurse
Rachael Roth (Raven) - ER doctor
Gar Logan (Beast Boy) - ER Nurse
Wally West (Kid Flash) - Paramedic/ER Nurse
Roy Harper (Speedy) - ER Nurse
Jade Nguyen – Roy's pregnant girlfriend
Katrina "Kitten" Moth (Kitten) - Registration Clerk
Jennifer McAllen (Jinx) - Nursing Student, Wally's girlfriend
Xavier Red (Red X) - Plastic Surgeon, Babs' boyfriend
Barbara 'Babs' Gordon (Batgirl) – Socialite, Richard's ex-girlfriend now dating Xavier
Taryia Kalapatt (Taryia) – Tamaranian friend of Kori's, married to Karras, Professor
Karras Kalapatt (Karras) – Tamaranian former fiance of Kori's, married to Taryia, Pilot
Ambassador Galfore (Galfore) – Kori's uncle and the Tamaranian ambassador to the US
Selina Kyle (Catwoman) – Bruce's girlfriend
Chase Meridian (Dr. Chase Meridian) – Psychiatrist, former girlfriend of Bruce Wayne
Bruce Wayne (Batman) – Richard's adoptive father, former US Ambassador to Tamaran.
Alfred Pennyworth (Alfred Pennyworth) – Bruce and Richard's butler and friend and confidant
Jim Gordon (Commissioner Gordon) – Babs' father, the DC Police Commissioner
Brion Markov (Geoforce) – Tara's brother, Geology professor
Rex Mason (Metamorpho) - Archeology professor
Sapphire Stagg-Mason – wife of Rex Mason
Jefferson Pierce (Black Lightning) – Statistics professor
Lynn Stewart-Pierce – wife of Jefferson Pierce, Statistics professor
Tatsu Yamashiro (Katana) – Geology professor
Jenniy-Lynn Hayden (Jade) – Professor in Fine Arts
Helena Bertinelli (Huntress) – Economics Professor
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Mingling with the party guests separately seemed like a good idea to Kori and Richard when they decided to do it. It was just that neither of them were especially good at it, at least not during that evening.
Richard was thinking more and more as time went on that all this seemed so silly, that they needed to be close together and that any distance emotionally or physically was too much of a strain with everything else that was going on. Kori was faring better, very pleased that things at the party going much more smoothly than she had anticipated. She was also naturally social and while Richard was getting out of the house, granted far too often for either Babs' meetings or work, Kori had not left at all. Her main social contact was Alfred. Kori had been so pleased that Karen, Rachel and Tara had spent the afternoon with her: it had really relaxed her, got things in perspective and helped her ready for her birthday celebration.
For a while, Kori and Richard fell into a pattern where they would try to mingle but ended up meeting up with each other again, only to part company again after 10 minutes or so. As they always had since they met, kept an eye out for the other, sharing smiles and glances and more than a few longing looks.
Kori thought about how nice it was that they had such wonderful friends. She wasn't sure if she had ever been quite this content socially. Even with all the constraints at the moment, she was so thankful that she had so many wonderful people in her life. The only other time she was nearly this content was her senior year of college when she was finally coming into her own, free of her shyness, her insecurities as a foreigner, and also free of her near-miss marriage with Karras. She had felt wonderful that year and had enjoyed it so much in spite of the long days in clinical rotations in the hospital and the daunting task of her Senior Thesis.
But now was an even more special time, and her relationship with Richard had a great deal to do with that.
She looked over to where Richard was standing and gave him a wink and a smile. It was obvious to her that he was getting a lot of ribbing from the guys they worked with as he was surrounded by Gar, Wally, Victor and Roy, all of whom were laughing and joking.
Kori moved further away from Dick so that he could continue having fun with his friends and so that she could catch up with her friends from Philadelphia. They were all pretty much in one group. As it happens more often than not, different groups of people in a social setting don't tend to intermingle. It gets better as you get older, but still people tend to gravitate toward the familiar faces.
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Fortunately Kori was completely out of earshot when a slightly drunk Victor had let it slip that Kori and Richard were waiting to make love, which was wonderful fodder for the guys from the ER.
"I won't believe it until he tells me himself. You and Kori haven't bumped uglies yet?" Roy asked.
"Ah man, I was sure you guys were going to when you were away together at the horse show," Gar whined.
"And what about the pool we had going? You being you we hadn't even considered the possibility of you waiting, Dick," Wally said. "It wasn't even an option any of us even considered. Now we are going to have to give the money back to everyone."
"What are you talking about?" Dick growled although he knew exactly what they were talking about. The ER staff bet on everything and they were always a bit too interested in his private life.
He wasn't surprised that ever so briefly, no one dared to say anything.
"What!? Did you even think about Kori? It's up to her you know!" Dick said strongly, feeling the need to defend her honor.
"Sure, I mean..." Gar started but he never did know when to just keep his mouth shut, so in spite of himself he continued, "but you could charm the pants off a-"
"Shut it, Grass Stain," Vic said, clamping a hand over Gar's mouth, something most people had seen Rachel do once or twice, "something tells me this is not a joking matter."
"Sorry, dude," Gar said to Dick.
Dick gave all of them a hard look. Waiting hadn't really bothered him until the last few days, not that he would tell his friends. Not that he would necessarily tell Kori. He still knew deep down that she was worth waiting for, but it would be so nice for them to be able to connect at that level.
"How 'bout those Mets?" Wally said, hoping to end the awkward silence.
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Taryia sought out Kori so she could catch up with her alone after Kori had moved on to another group of people after visiting with her Philadelphia friends. Taryia had not so subtly asked her husband Karras to let her do this on her own and Karras fell into conversation with Helena Bertinelli, Rex Mason, and Jefferson Pierce, all colleagues of Taryia's that Karras had gotten to know well socially through the years. He was thankful for the familiar faces. Galfore was really the only other person he knew there well other than Kori, and Galfore had never really forgiven Karras for his behavior during his engagement to Kori.
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"Hello again, birthday girl," Taryia said as she met up with Kori who was talking with Rachel, Tara and Karen by the fountain on one of the terraces. Kori gave her an enthusiastic hug and then introduced her around.
The three women chatted on various topics, but Taryia wanted to speak with Kori privately. She had waited as long as she could but the waves of nausea were getting overwhelming. The transition from the first to second trimesters of her pregnancy was still a week or so away, and hopefully then there will be some relief from the exhaustion, nausea and vomiting.
"May I borrow Kori for a minute?" Taryia asked.
"Sure, hopefully we'll start seeing her regularly at work again soon," Karen said with a wink.
"Your lips to God's ears," Kori said with a giggle. It was one of her favorite expressions and one of the few colloquialisms that she ever remembered.
She and Taryia headed back into the manor, "Thank you so much for coming down so much Taryia. How are you feeling?"
Taryia spoke in Tamaranian, "Very queasy and tired to be honest, but that is normal. How are you, Koriand'r? You can call me any time, you know that, if you ever need me. I am just sorry I have not had a chance for us to talk before about the publicity and having to stay here. "
Kori replied in Tamaranian, "I will not lie and say it is easy. But the publicity and being forced to stay here is not the worst of it." The wine and being with a dear friend had loosened her up a bit. She had not wanted to complain to anyone, even a friend, but she couldn't stop herself.
"How bad could it be? I imagine it is nice for you and Richard to see each other all the time."
"It would be nice if I did see him all the time, but that is not the case. You see Richard-" Kori paused. She had said too much. It physically made her ill to think about breaking Babs' confidence.
"Everything is alright with Richard, is it not?"
"Yes and no. As it is turning out, he is very busy with work and helping a friend through a difficult time."
Taryia's eyes narrowed a bit, "What kind of friend and what kind of difficult time?"
"Well, I really can not say..."
"Kori! We are speaking in Tamaranian and no one is near enough to hear us even if they could understand us."
"It is confidential Taryia," Kori replied meekly.
"Alright, I need to get to the bathroom, another normal but unhappy side effect of pregnancy. Then you are going to tell me what you feel you can in Tamaranian, hopefully distracting me from my nausea."
"Taryia, let me get you crackers, or we can sit down-"
Taryia waved her friend off, "Do not fuss over me. The best thing will be if you distract me. Whoever called it morning sickness didn't know what time of day it was."
"Taryia, how Americanized are you?" Kori teased, "Complaining about a pregnancy like that! Tamaranians are strong and resilient!"
"Lies, all lies!" Taryia shot back with a laugh. "Just you wait until you are with child!"
Kori thought about how much she'd like that, morning sickness, swollen ankles, stretch marks and all. She could picture it, with Richard talking to the baby in her rounded belly, spooning at night...
"Kori?.... Kori? Are you daydreaming?"
"Huh? Yes, a bit," Kori replied sheepishly.
They made it just in time to the bathroom off of Taryia's guestroom for her to succumb to her 'morning' sickness.
"Ugh, why is this happening to me?" Taryia moaned after she rinsed out her mouth.
Kori was in the room with Taryia. As a nurse as well as the friend, she was not one to leave someone alone even if it was an unpleasant situation.
"It is happening because you are pregnant," Kori told her friend, trying to be supportive and as encouraging as possible. "It will be worth it, you will see, and this will be forgotten as soon as the baby is born. Otherwise no one would have a second."
"That is what I have heard but I will never forget this."
"Yes you will. Knowing you, you will have four or five children."
Taryia belched in a most unladylike manner and Kori dissolved into giggles.
Taryia glared and then laughed at her predicament, "You like to see me like this Kori, don't you?"
"Of course not Taryia! However, I am so excited that you are having a baby! I imagine he or she will have all the classic features of a Tamaranian: auburn hair, green eyes, and tanned skin. I can't wait to meet the little bungorf!"
"I wonder what your babies with Richard will look like."
"Taryia-"
"I know you Koriand'r and I am sure you have thought about it."
"...."
"Fess up, Kori. Do you think they will have red hair, blue eyes, no tan?"
"No, I imagine green eyes, black hair, and the tan..." Kori said wistfully.
"I knew you have been thinking about it!"
"Those are girlish daydreams only, Taryia. I have only had those dreams of the day because I have had plenty of time on my hands lately."
"But they are fun daydreams!"
"I must admit, they are some of the most pleasant ones I can imagine."
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Taryia wanted to get back to the subject of Richard helping his 'friend' and not having much time with Kori.
"So what is Richard helping his friend with? And if you say Lamaze classes I will personally make sure he-"
"No, of course not! Nothing like that! You really do have babies on the brain, don't you?" Kori replied, hoping for a change in subject.
Taryia didn't respond. Her attention was the view from the window, as she looked down onto the couples on the dance floor.
"Taryia?"
"This friend of Richard's isn't another redhead, is she?"
"She is. Why?"
"Well, he's dancing with a redhead right now and it's not you."
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Kori did her best to calm Taryia, to reassure her that Babs and Richard were just friends. She did admit that Babs and Richard had been a couple for two years but that it was a number of years ago. Kori wasn't sure if between Taryia's Tamaranian temper and her pregnancy hormones that she was going to be able to stay calm. Kori resigned herself to the fact that Taryia would say something to Richard and / or Babs. Kori thought again as to whether she should tell Taryia about the nature of Babs' problem and why Richard was helping her, but again, Kori knew the importance of keeping a secret. Even when she suspected that Babs had not kept her secret.
Taryia was heading outside fast and Kori could barely keep up with her. Then, when Tara stopped Kori to introduce her to Tara's brother Brion who was visiting from out of town and had come to the party, Kori decided that there was no stopping Taryia anyway. Not wanting to contribute to the scene if there was one, she let Taryia continue on ahead. She was concerned that Taryia was likely to only build up more of a head of steam as she moved toward Babs and Dick. But her fate out of her hands, so Kori stayed and fell into a polite conversation with Brion and Tara, wishing she had eyes on the back of her head.
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"Pardon me, may I cut in?" Taryia said to Richard and Babs. Babs didn't look happy but Taryia was comforted to some extent that Dick looked relieved and not at all guilty.
"Yes, of course Taryia. Taryia Kalapatt, you met Babs, uh, Barbara Gordon at the horse show, didn't you?"
"Briefly, yes. How are you?" Taryia did her best to keep her tone even.
"Uh, fine. Uh, nice to see you again," Babs said, trying to remain composed.
"I'll talk to you later Babs," Dick said and turned his attention to Taryia.
Babs did her best not to appear like she was stalking off the floor but it was obvious that she was not pleased.
"How are you feeling, Taryia?" Dick asked as he stayed in perfect rhythm and in a formal stance as they danced.
"Fine thank you, how are you?"
"Good, thank you, I'm fine. Well except for the fact that I've seemed to lost track of Kori," Richard replied, taking the opportunity to look around for her a bit.
"My apologies Richard, she was with me. Now she is speaking with Tara who stopped Kori as she was coming back to find you. I am certain she will be by shortly."
Richard smiled, "I'm glad. But if she does not arrive soon, I'd like to look for her if you don't mind after we are finished this dance."
"I would only mind if you did not" Taryia said in Tamaranian and then continued, "you are happy with Koriand'r are you not?"
Richard was taken aback, but should have known better. Kori's friends were just looking out for her and Tamaranians were highly protective of each other. He had already had a similar conversation with Karras at the horse show and Lord only knew how many times Galfore had talked to him about Kori. At least Galfore was warming up to him. What if Galfore saw Babs and Richard dancing, that would not make the Tamaranian happy...
And Richard had known that dancing with Babs was a mistake, that it could be easily misinterpreted by anyone there. However, Babs had convinced him that she could tell him some important things about her internal struggles with her opiate use as they danced rather than meeting privately to discuss it. Babs was so good at playing to Richard's nurturing side. He wanted and needed Babs to recover. As soon as she did, she could take on a more appropriate role in his life as his friend who is a girl and nothing more - and certainly not as his girlfriend.
Of course as Dick danced with Babs, she had tried to engage him in a number of topics other than her drug dependency. Another thing which he should have known better about.
Richard let his emotions show and told Taryia in Tamaranian, "I could not be happier with Koriand'r. I love her very much and I can not help but hope for a future with her."
Taryia continued in Tamaranian, "I am happy to hear that, she loves you very much as well. But she is too nice for her own good, I am sure you know that. Just a little while ago, she was helping me for quite some time while I was not feeling well rather than enjoying her party. She would not want anyone else to think I was weak even during my pregnancy."
Richard considered this, not that he hadn't considered Kori's selflessness many times before. He still spoke in Taryia's native tongue, his voice full of concern, "Your pregnancy is safe though, right? It was not a problem for you to have traveled? I mean, you're what, 11 weeks now, still just having First Trimester issues?" Richard couldn't stop being a doctor if he wanted to.
"Everything is normal and expected," Taryia said with a smile. Few men had struck her as being as compassionate as Richard was. She had to be happy that Kori had found him, unless of course he was not being true to Kori. Taryia really hoped that he was as wonderful as he seemed to be, as wonderful as Kori thought he was.
"It's just that Kori wanted to help you and be discreet about it, right?"
"Exactly," Taryia clarified, glad he knew Kori so well. "Now that this song is ending, perhaps you should find your beloved?"
Richard smiled and said in Tamaranian, "I believe I will do that, that I will find my beloved, my Kori. I will see you later Taryia, and thank you for talking to me and dancing with me."
Beloved as translated into Tamaranian was used for special, well-connected unmarried couples, those that are in a loving committed relationship but who are not sexually intimate. To a Tamaranian, it is a subtle but very meaningful distinction from the word lover which infers sexual intimacy.
Beloved, it fit so well. Richard knew that Kori would be very touched if he used the Tamaranian word eh'hun and he hoped to find her so that he could call her that.
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To Be Continued...
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Slight cliffy but nothing catastrophic will happen... yet...
I do apologize for the slow updates and will do my best to buck that trend – I have started the next chapter already!
Thank you for reading and I will update soon! Reviews always help!
Of course 'beloved' and its meaning in Tamaranian, the word eh'hun, is all made up.
In the first trimester (13 weeks) of pregnancy, people tend to have fatigue and nausea/vomiting. The second trimester tends to be much easier with less fatigue and nausea/vomiting and is the beacon of hope (along with having the baby) that gets you through the first trimester!
If you don't recognize all the characters in the character list and within the chapters, some are adapted from The Outsiders, another superhero group that Starfire was on for awhile between tours of duty with Teen Titans and Titans. If anyone is curious, currently in the comics, Starfire has just joined the JLA (and Dick Grayson is there as Batman). However, she will be leaving at least for a little bit to join the outer space hero team R.E.B.E.L.S.
I still remain hopeful that Dick and Kory will find each other again and I really need a life...