Apologies for the slight delay with chapter two. A last minute camping trip took me far from my laptop and internet connection! On the plus side, I got a lot of writing done. :-D
Thank you for the lovely reviews welcoming me back.
Some nudity coming up so I've changed the rating, just to be safe.
Chapter Two
Three pairs of eyes watched movement on a small screen as tiny limbs twitched and a rhythmic whoosh, whoosh sound filled the room.
Dr Vanessa Calder turned from the image and smiled at the two teary-eyed parents. "Everything looks good, Moms. Growth is what I'd expect, he's plenty active and vitals are normal." She handed Myka the chart, knowing that the agent would ask anyway. "He seems no worse for wear after your recent adventure, but I can continue with the weekly visits if you want, Myka."
"Thank you," the curly-haired brunette responded, looking a little shame-faced for having demanded so much of the doctor's time since her return from 1890. "I think we'll be ok going back to a regular schedule. I can't keep dragging you away from your work."
"If it helps to give you peace of mind, you know I'm happy to do it. I'm not so busy that it would be an imposition." She saw the determined expression on the brunette's features and nodded slowly to herself. "We'll make an appointment for another visit in four weeks. If you need me before then, don't hesitate to call."
Myka squeezed Helena's hand and met her gaze. Since their renewed closeness and Christina's silent agreement to sleep in her own bed, much of her accumulated anxiety regarding her pregnancy had dissipated. Without a crisis around every corner, they were finally able to relax and enjoy their family.
At twenty-two weeks now, Myka was really beginning to feel the frustration of not having a body that bent to her whim. With approximately eighteen weeks left to go, it was beginning to feel like she'd be pregnant forever. Still, there was something to be said for the warmth that filled her whenever Helena looked at her with complete, unwavering devotion. Part of her would definitely miss the experience when it was over, but already, she was eager to feel her son in her arms.
They drove home from the clinic where Vanessa had requisitioned the use of an ultra-sound, and arrived home to a still empty house.
Myka's brother-in-law, Kevin, was in Rapid City on business, so the family was staying at the Bering-Wells household. Tomorrow, they had decided to take a trip into the city to visit the Reptile Gardens, but today, while her husband was at work, Tracy had offered to take Christina and Daniel to the Children's Museum.
"We have approximately two hours," Helena announced as they stepped across the threshold and hung up their coats. "Do you want to take a bath with me?" She watched her fiancée's gaze flit back and forth from the kitchen and smiled to herself. "You can get a snack while I'm running the water."
Myka took the inventor's jaw between her palms and kissed her soundly. "I'll meet you upstairs in twenty minutes."
Half an hour later, Myka sat, surrounded by bubbles while she felt her lover slide in the tub behind her. They each relaxed into the water and, as had become habit, entwined their hands over the welcome protrusion from Myka's body.
"Do you think he'll be like Christina?" Myka wondered aloud after several moments of blissful tranquillity. Her head was resting against Helena's shoulders while the Brit's fingers teased up and down her arms. "They are technically twins. Do you think they'll share many attributes?"
"You're asking to debate nature verses nurture?" HG asked, her hands pausing in their exploration. "Now?"
Myka's head twisted towards the inventor's, her nose brushing against her fiancée's chin. "Do you think growing up in the twenty-first century will make much difference? Christina's adapting. I don't think it will be long before she becomes completely immersed in the modern world and there's nothing to stop us trying to instil the same values in him."
"You have a point," Helena conceded. "The manner in which he responds when he hears her would indicate that they already have an uncommon bond."
"Hmm," Myka responded contentedly. Another peaceful minute passed before a new thought came to mind. "What did Nate say when you called him?"
HG grabbed the shampoo and poured some in her hand before beginning to run it through wet curls. "He's happy to drive Adelaide over this way. In fact, he sounded more than happy. I do believe he may have an acquaintance he wishes to spend the weekend alone with." When Myka didn't comment, she paused in her ministrations. "I would like to see him find someone who feels for him the way he feels for her. He is a good man."
Myka's head turned so Helena could see her sincerity. "I know that. And I agree, he deserves someone too." She nudged her lover's hand, indicating for her to continue. "I don't bear him any ill will, it's just..." She sighed. How do you say 'I hate that he touched you' in a nice way? she wondered internally. She was very conscious of not wanting to trigger any more guilt on Helena's part.
"I know," the Brit whispered. Her hands sank into thick lather and curls, fingertips finding every point of tension along Myka's scalp and massaging it away. She felt her lower regions throb at the sound of contented pleasure escaping the American's lips. "But only you get that privilege now. Until the end of time, you are the only person who has permission to touch me this way."
Liking the sound of that, Myka smiled and sank into hands that knew every which way to make her melt. She couldn't wait to see the expression on Christina's face when Adelaide turned up on their doorstep in two weeks. "I suppose it's a shame they don't live closer. The girls in Christina's theatrical group are just so..."
"Theatrical?" Helena tried, the smirk evident in her tone.
Myka snorted. "That's a nice way of putting it." She leant her head back at Helena's urging and allowed her hair to be rinsed. "I'm sure one or two of them are kind at heart, but I think our baby is finding it hard to connect with them the way she has with Adelaide."
"I agree." Regret tinted the inventor's tone. They both wanted their daughter to have friends she could trust and connect with, and both were aware of how even children could be fickle and unnecessarily judgemental. "I think she's considering a change of recreation."
"That might be for the best. Do we suggest it or wait until she says something?" Myka wondered.
"I believe if we present her with options, she will make a choice she is happy with." Helena finished rinsing all the suds from her lover's hair and began to work conditioner through the decadent mass. She breathed in the scent of coconut and knew that it would remind her of this moment for weeks.
"So perhaps all we have to do is find some alternatives?" Myka thought aloud, sounding hopeful. "What if she doesn't want to quit?"
"Then we respect her choice," HG said simply.
Myka shook her head, mildly ashamed at the little voice in the back of her mind that just wanted to make the decision to pull her little girl away from those negative influences. All she could picture were the cliques of girls in high school who had attempted daily to make her life miserable. "Of course." Her left hand moved through the water, swirling bubbles in spirals absentmindedly. "Do you ever consider moving?" Myka changed the subject, her words edged with hesitancy as she tentatively tested the waters. "Living somewhere else? Somewhere with more prospects for the kids?"
HG's eyebrow rose in surprise as she considered the question. "The thought might have crossed my mind once or twice," she admitted. Univille's community was small and somewhat insular. The local school was miles away and very few opportunities existed for extra-curricular activities. Having grown up on the outskirts of a busy city, the inventor appreciated the abundance of choices. She hadn't thought that Myka would consider moving away from their Warehouse family though. Not yet anyway. "Do you want to move?"
Myka played with a kneecap and breathed in the scent of lavender-perfumed bubbles. "I'm not sure I'm ready to leave the Warehouse but it's not as if I'll be going out on assignment any time soon. Is it selfish of me to want to stay here for that?"
Helena took her time with her answer. Something told her that this was a delicate issue for her partner. "If we weren't living here, where would you want to go?"
"I'm not sure." Agent Bering hesitated. She didn't know how Helena would feel about any of this but one of their resolutions was to talk more about their thoughts, whether they be for the past, present or future. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to travel the world." She laughed softly. "Why settle for a classroom when the entire planet is out there to explore?"
"Hmm," Helena contemplated the idea, trying to imagine the scenario. "It would be nice to see more of the world with you when we're not playing cat and mouse. London, Paris, Egypt. We could make better memories. How would we live?" She wondered aloud. "Six months here and there? Longer? Or do we come back home to stay for a while after a month or so away?"
Myka was quiet for some time. She closed her eyes while Helena rinsed the conditioner from her hair. "The water's beginning to get cold," she mentioned once the inventor was finished. "We have to take a shower next time. I miss being able to wash your hair." She reached for the edge of the bath and carefully climbed out, accepting the hand that reached out to help her. She began to dry off as HG disappeared briefly beneath the water. While sitting on the lid of the toilet, drying her hair, she got lost in the sight of a knowing smile and her fiancée's hands running through inky locks. "I think maybe Christina would benefit from being around more children, so maybe we look at somewhere near the city? But we should travel more."
"We don't travel already?" HG asked, amused by the American's train of thought.
Green eyes twinkled. "We should travel more as a family."
Helena's warm smile followed her lover around the room. She imagined them on beaches, strolling through historic towns, rediscovering lost civilisations and generally enjoying each other's company while they explored the world. Perhaps they would never get that far, but it was fun to dream.
The inventor picked up the showerhead to wash the last of the conditioner from her hair as her fiancée pulled on a robe and handed her a towel. "Thank you. Darling, do you think much about what you would like to do if you were no longer an active agent?"
Myka shrugged. "It's hard to imagine what else I'd do. Do you think about being a field agent again?"
"I did think about it." Helena pulled the plug from the tub and started the water draining. "I enjoy inventing. I hope to have my shrink-ray perfected before long. That and the research I'm occasionally commissioned with keeps me entertained." She wrapped the towel round her hair and wandered over to slide her arms around Myka's middle. "Running around Hollywood made me realise how little I like being away from my family now. I spent more than enough time wandering the world searching for artefacts back in the nineteenth century." She brushed a lock of damp hair from her beloved's face and kissed a tooth-worried lip. "That's not to say that you should hand in the towel yet, love. We can figure all that out when the time comes."
Glancing down between them, the brunette's furrowed brow relaxed slightly. "I suppose now would be an opportune time to try something different and see how it feels. Being at home all the time makes me restless," she confessed.
"Hence the thoughts about travelling?" HG watched her partner nod and followed the gesture. "Perhaps now is the time to talk about trying something new then?"
"What about our friends? What about Christina? You have your workshop set up just the way you like it and you've only just finished the nursery," Myka started to worry as her brain listed all the possible obstacles. She was about to open her mouth again when she found a finger over her lips.
"Darling, there's no harm in just talking. We'll work out any kinks as they come." Hands caressing round hips, Helena pulled her lover closer and covered any further concerns with a slow kiss. Releasing the agent, she turned toward the bedroom and allowed the towel to fall away from her body. A mischievous smirk appeared on her face as she said, "Now, unless you want to be caught in a compromising position, I suggest we make ourselves presentable."
Myka watched her fiancée wander back into the bedroom, her gaze following twin dimples at the small of Helena's back, murmuring, "Do we have to?"
Myka embraced her daughter as she tumbled into the house and then relieved her sister of her nephew. He was growing fast. His bright, expressive eyes fixed on anything and everything that grabbed his attention, his head swivelling from side to side with each sound and movement. Myka was enamoured, her smile radiant as she wandered into the living room, chatting to him along the way with Christina following behind, her voice adding to the stimuli.
Helena's dreamy gaze followed her fiancée, unaware of the eyes that watched her.
"If I ever doubted your feelings for my sister, that look right there would have me convinced." Tracy removed her boots and placed them neatly on the rack. "How desperate is she to have that baby already?"
HG finally realised that somebody was trying to talk to her and turned to meet an amused gaze. She quickly reviewed the few words she'd passively heard and grasped the gist of their meaning. "Desperate is perhaps not the adjective I would use yet. Eager would be more accurate. She has really enjoyed having Daniel here."
The younger Bering sibling nodded, her expression somewhat careworn. "Oh sure. He gets all the attention these days." She smiled and shrugged. "Not that I can blame anyone for falling in love with him. I know I have."
"It's difficult to imagine experiencing anything else. After feeling that life growing inside of you for months and then finally holding them in your arms." Helena thought back to the moment the midwife had placed her baby girl in her arms. "I know that not every woman's experience is the same after giving birth but for me, it was a feeling like almost no other. Utterly over-whelming and breath-taking. It completed a part of me that I didn't know I was missing. Very much like meeting your sister actually," she added after a pause.
"You had Christina on your own? Her father wasn't around?" Tracy asked as they made their way into the kitchen. Helena had volunteered to make dinner to give Myka more time with Daniel and the new mother had offered to help in an attempt to get to know her sister's partner better. This particular question had niggled at her of late.
Helena struggled with her thoughts for a moment. Now that she knew the truth, she wanted everyone to know that Myka was Christina's other biological parent. Not because it changed the dynamic between her daughter and her fiancée, but because she could hardly contain the joy of their personal miracle.
Clearing her throat, she tried to play on the assumptions she had believed were true for the longest time. "The man I assumed to be her biological father died years ago. She has no father to speak of."
Tracy stared after the Brit, feeling taken aback by the woman's nonchalance. "You don't know who her father was?"
HG's shoulders shifted in imitation of a shrug. "I was not exactly a nun in my youth. My parents expected me to marry well, birth the next generation and present the picture of the perfect wife to society. I rebelled."
"I didn't know that sort of thing still happened." Tracy said sympathetically.
"I imagine many cultures continue the practice," Helena responded ruefully. Though her own experience was over a century ago, she had seen enough of the modern world to know that some things didn't change no matter how enlightened people believed themselves to be. "Power begets power, or so many dynasties would have us believe. Arranged marriage is often the go-to answer for maintaining exclusivity in the upper echelons."
"And now you're half way across the world, living in a tiny town in North America with an illegitimate child and you're engaged to a woman. Way to rebel," the guest commented, impressed by the older woman's guts. "What do your parents think to that?"
Helena smiled at the summery, but she couldn't miss the hint of concern behind her future sister-in-law's words. "My parents are no longer with us either; I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself. We are richest when we have love. I cannot help but feel like the wealthiest woman alive with your sister in my life."
"Damn, HG," Tracy blurted after a moment of silent awe. "You should write or... something."
A small smirk lifted the inventor's features. "It has been suggested."
Early the next morning, the house was awake, dressed, fed and ready to leave exceptionally early. They gathered by the front door with backpacks full of supplies for the day and one by one, piled into Kevin's people carrier. With the road into the city thankfully light on traffic, the family reached their destination just in time to find the attraction opening.
A crisp, clear-blue sky hovered overhead, the straining spring sun doing very little to warm the people gathering at the entrance to The Reptile Gardens. The adults pulled their coats tighter and Tracy checked that Daniel's blanket was wrapped securely around his body.
Christina bounced around, avoiding the hands that reached for the open top button of her coat. She giggled and leapt behind her Mama as her Mummy growled playfully and made a grab for her. "I'm not cold, Mummy," she snorted with laughter.
The line moved along and Myka smiled challengingly at her fiancée. Their eyes met briefly and sparkled with shared amusement. Green signalled to one side as her voice said, "Looking for something?"
Helena stepped closer and reached around Myka's left side. She heard a snicker and grasped nothing but thin air. Her eyes narrowed at the smirk on her partner's lips. Reaching around the right side this time, she ducked under an arm and managed to snag the back of her child's coat.
With a cackle of triumph, she wrapped her arms around the girl's figure and picked her up. "I've got you," she mumbled and blew a raspberry against the back of a neck. Spinning her captive around, she held the child on her hip and pushed disarrayed curls from a soft, brown gaze. They grinned at each other for a moment before HG gently lowered the increasingly heavy figure to the ground. She fingered the girl's collar for a moment before her voice turned more serious. "I'm sorry if I'm fussing too much, my love. You will tell me if you get cold, won't you?"
Seeing her mother's pleading expression, Christina became serious too and nodded. "I promise, Mummy. How much longer must we wait?"
"How long do you think?" The inventor threw the question back.
The eight-year-old assessed the length of the line and tried to work out how long they'd been there already. "Ten minutes?" she guessed.
Myka nodded in a manner that said 'that's not a bad estimate' and glanced at the line herself. "I think it'll be closer to five."
The girl sighed. Five was better than ten but it still seemed like too long. "If only we had a time machine," she joked matter-of-factly and then blushed as both her parents burst with startled amusement.
"More trouble than they're worth," HG commented as Myka continued to chuckle.
Behind the two agents, Tracy Bering stood arm-in-arm with her husband and couldn't help but marvel at her elder sibling's complete contentment. Neither Myka nor Helena seemed aware of the interested stares they were drawing. Some people smiled at the obvious happiness in their midst but one or two frowned. For a moment, Tracy the cheerleader rose up inside her and shuddered at being part of this party of social pariahs, and then Tracy the sister, the wife, the mother and aunt collectively beat her back and raised their heads in defiance.
What were Myka and Helena doing that other families didn't do? They weren't bickering or screaming at their child to behave. They weren't whining about the wait or the chill in the air. They were happy, affectionate and understanding.
What the hell is everybody's problem? the young mother thought to herself angrily.
Once they were all inside, there was no time to feel concern for anyone else as Christina's enthusiasm, Myka's bladder and Daniel's stomach kept them moving constantly from one destination to another. After the tropical temperatures in the Sky Dome, the chilly outside air had seemed colder than when they first arrived. By lunchtime, the entire family was relieved to finally be able to sit down in a warm place while they re-fuelled.
In the afternoon, Mr and Mrs Littlewood left the Bering-Wells family to their exploration of the Bewitched Village and pushed a once-again sleeping baby through the gardens. They met with smiles, expressions of congratulations and the occasional comment on their son's adorably chubby features. Tracy felt her husband's arm around her shoulders and swore that she heard at least one whispered 'aww' each time he leant down to kiss her.
Well used to drawing this kind of attention, Tracy felt the warmth that usually filled her. Yet, beneath that pleasant feeling, there was a sense of unease. She felt the weight of inequality on her shoulders as she thought about her sister. Myka should be able to experience this feeling too. The utter idiocy of the world struck her hard and brought a resurgence of her ire.
She was still upset when she and Kevin pushed their son towards their family's rendezvous point and her gaze landed on the back of her sister facing towards the pen of a giant tortoise, using her phone to record Christina petting the enormous creature while HG embraced her from behind.
Looking around suspiciously, Tracy spotted one of the disapproving gazes from that morning and felt her irritation reach its peak. With deliberate steps, she approached her sister's side and glared back at the unwelcome threat, her eyes meeting the challengers' dead on. Seconds passed as the gaze faltered and slowly slunk away. She made sure they were out of sight before turning back to her sister, who hadn't taken her eyes off her daughter long enough to notice anything untoward.
It took Kevin's arms around her to finally brush off her wayward emotions. By the time they were once again on the road, headed home, there was merely a lingering sadness left. Myka had not paid any attention to the onlookers. Perhaps it was a result of experiencing years of ridicule from their adolescent peers and disapproval from their father, but her sister exhibited a tough outer armour that she hadn't appreciated before. In her heart rose a newfound respect for her older sibling.
Evening found two sisters sitting in the living room, their children tucked in for the night and their partners sequestered elsewhere in the house, likely discussing construction techniques in the inventor's laboratory.
Sipping her decaf-coffee, Myka gazed over the mug at her sister, noting the faraway look on her face. It had been a long, tiring day for all of them but even so, Tracy had never been known for her reticence. They had confided very little in each other over the years, but now that they were so much closer, she hoped that she could help with whatever was wrong. "Hey, Trace?" she asked slowly.
It took a few seconds before Mrs Littlewood responded, her mind deep in thought as she reflected on the day's revelations. "Huh? Oh, sorry sis. Did you say something?"
"Christina asked me something while you were putting little Dan to bed." Myka watched her sister's expression carefully, looking for the cracks in her armour. "She wanted to know why you were giving some people the stink-eye today. You'd tell me if anyone was trying to hurt you, right? I'm combat trained and I have contacts with various authorities."
"Christina said 'stink-eye'?" the young mother stalled.
"No," Myka answered as she went along with the segue. "She said 'why did Aunt Tracy appear so untoward with people today?'"
Tracy smiled and then chuckled to herself. "You really didn't notice them, did you?"
Myka tensed, suddenly fearing for her sister's safety. "Them who?"
Sighing to herself, the young mother slouched into her seat and levelled a sympathetic look at her elder sibling. "You know, I couldn't help watching you today, with HG and Christina. I've never seen you so happy. But not just that; I've never seen you so confident and carefree in a social situation." She watched Myka's frown grow and chuckled to herself again. "At work? Sure. With your head in a book? Always. Not like today. She really does complete you."
"I don't understand," the agent grumbled, wondering where the danger was. Had she been so involved with Helena and Christina that she'd missed something vital happening around her?
Tracy rolled her eyes. "The stink-eye was for the idiots who looked at the three of you like you were Hitler and Saddam out on a date with their devil-spawn." Her irritation returned as she recalled the expressions of horror directed at her sister. "You were like the centre of all things good in the world and still, some people looked at you like they were watching their worst nightmare come to life. How can people still think like that when they have something so beautiful right in front of them?"
Myka's expression softened with understanding and sympathy. She had seen the looks but had chosen to ignore them. A tear wavered on the tail of a warm smile. "You really thought that?"
"Absolutely! They're... f-ing idiots!" she insisted as she tried not to shout.
Shaking her curls about, the agent reached out to place a hand on her sister's forearm. "No, I meant, did you really think that I was beautiful?"
Like a mini-tornado running out of momentum, Tracy's anger dissipated as she processed Myka's question and saw the look of hope on her face. It was like being back in their parents' store with her older sister waiting desperately for the approval that she knew would never come. Myka didn't care what most people thought of her; she took her own path and rarely apologised for it, but for the people who mattered to her most, she had always tried so hard for so little return. Well not this time, the young mother thought with determination.
Tracy shuffled closer and wrapped her arms around Myka's shoulders. They had hugged many times, as children because they didn't know any better, as teens when they were forced to, as young adults because it was expected of them, and more recently as they rekindled something that had burnt out long ago. But this genuine show of sisterly love beat them all and both of them felt it to their bones.
"You've always been beautiful, Myka. I just didn't take the time to see it before."