( Volume: 4 Arc: "not this again" 7 Issue: 2/5 )

Chapter 146 : don't shoot the messenger

During the time following the test, Julian began to relax. Laura seemed fine—just fine. No vomiting, no illness, no complaints—fine. Dr. McCoy had told him he would have the
results the next day; then a situation requiring the senior team occurred, and it was pushed to the next day—and the next.

By the time Dr. McCoy finally asked him to come see him (a message transmitted by Emma), Julian was positive that there was nothing to worry about. He headed down to the
doctor's office, thinking about how they should probably go back to their house that evening and take the Shrimps with them, now that things were quieting down a bit. The Legacy
attacks had lessened gradually; either the attacker was biding his time, or the goal had been accomplished.

If the goal was Laura, then it had.

He realized, as he knocked on Dr. McCoy's door, that he hadn't thought about Brian for the last night or two. He felt guilty, but felt his friend would not have blamed him.

Past tense. He swallowed.

The door opened, and Dr. McCoy looked at him grimly.

"Ah," he said. "Mr. Keller. Come in."

Julian stood rooted to the floor in shock. No. He'd just seen something in Dr. McCoy's face that he'd decided wasn't possible.

"Please, come in."

Julian slowly unlocked his limbs enough to comply.

…

"No, no, no. Not now. No…"

"I'm afraid so."

"She's not healthy enough," Julian said pleadingly.

"You might have thought of that then." Dr. McCoy's voice was stern. "It is too late now. Now, you must cope, no matter how hard it may be."

Julian sat with his head bowed.

"You will need to break the news to her. It is entirely possible that Laura is unaware of her unconscious actions in her conscious state. The two persona may be entirely separate."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm afraid I'm not."

"I am not telling her that she's pregnant. She can find out for herself!"

"Mr. Keller."

"I swear to god!"

"Mr. Keller. She must be alerted."

Julian bit his lip.

…

"God…" Laura groaned, leaning her head back on the sofa. She ached all over, and her limbs felt like lead. She was vaguely uncoordinated with all her moves, as her bones were now
slightly heavier; however, she seemed determined to not let it slow her down.

They had moved back into their house; the Shrimps were in their cribs, sleeping deeply after a bouncy reunion with their mother; James's snores could be heard from the bedroom.

Julian hovered in the kitchen, unable to look at Laura and drop the next bomb of shit on her, after what she'd just been through.

Just do it, he thought angrily, playing with his keys in his pocket. It's not going to go away. She'll notice it eventually. How do you think they find these things out?!

Let her find out on her own.

He teetered. After all she's been through? That's unfair. And how are you going to act surprised? 'Oh, SHIT! Really?' It'll be totally fake. He knew from experience that he could not
replicate the shock of learning he was responsible for yet another creature. He'd experienced it twice now—three times if he counted the discovery that he was James's guardian—
and it was just something he couldn't do without genuine surprise. Laura would smell the lie, too.

"Bring me a beer," Laura said from the couch, sounding tired and drawn.

He froze. Things had just gotten even more urgent.

How did he end up in these awkward situations? He cursed his luck silently.

"Laura…uh…we have to talk," he said, rubbing his neck.

"Yeah, sure. We can talk over beer. ROOF!"

"Fuck that. You're clumsier than a bear right now. I'm not taking you up on a high structure so you can fall and break all your bones."

"Hello? I think that was the point of the adamantium thing," Laura said. "My god, Keller, do you even think before you open your mouth?"

"Apparently not," Julian said, feeling stupid. "Well…I don't feel like going up there right now. I have to say this now, while I've got the nerve." He paused.

"I…um…you're…apparently, I knocked you up again. I mean, for the first time."

A giant pause. Laura turned her head and stared at him. He gripped his keys till they almost cut his skin. "Yeah," he said lamely.

"I don't even know how to respond to that," Laura said, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. "First of all…what the eff are you talking about? I feel just fine, I'm definitely
not…we haven't even—"

"Oh, we did. Apparently you weren't there," Julian said, looking away.

"…" Laura drew back. "…what?"

"Frost explained it all to me. You…um…you have some funny shit going on with your wiring right now. From all the trauma. I get that. But, uh, I totally couldn't tell…and your
little friend seemed to only want one thing."

Laura digested this. She hadn't come to terms yet with the entire experience; it was so large and overwhelming that in her mind it was sealed up, like a parcel; she'd added
it to the memories of 'when she was five', which were unrelated to her current existence. Logically speaking, she wasn't surprised to hear that she had developed a different
method of coping with the trauma during the past few weeks.

But she was surprised that Julian hadn't noticed something was up.

And offended.

"You couldn't tell?" she asked.

"No." Julian looked down now, anywhere but at the incredulous, outraged Laura.

"You weren't yourself. I thought you were just…traumatized. I didn't realize what was happening until Dr. McCoy told me something you asked him…you asked him for some shit."

Laura paused. "But…I feel fine. Aside from the all-consuming ache that is my body, I mean."

"Dr. McCoy ran a blood test," Julian said.

"!" Laura glared at him. "I knew something funny was up with that!"

"Well, how did you expect me to explain it to you? It's a pretty awkward situation! Isn't it like the girl's job to announce these things?"

Laura sighed, rubbed her face. Julian's cheeks were beat-red, partially from embarrassment at his mistake, partially from terror—both about Laura's reaction and the magnitude
of trouble this situation could bring.

"I can't deal with this right now," Laura said calmly. "Bring me a beer, and I'll think about this tomorrow. Good enough?"

"Laura—you can't drink." That was the last thing they needed.

"God damnit!" She threw the pillow off the couch in frustration. "Fine! Bring me the most sugar-filled thing we have in the fridge then! Oh, and rub my feet." She swept her
legs up and wiggled her toes in the air.

Julian stared at her, his face frozen in a wince as he was reminded of the months of servitude preceding the Shrimps.

…

Sitting at a café, with mugs of a steaming drink in front of each of them.

"So we're keeping it," Julian said.

"Of course."

"No chance…"

"Forget it, Keller. You broke it, you bought it."

"This isn't just my fault!"

"Is that what you want to name it?"

"Fuck you."

"You kind of did."

Julian looked away, gritting his teeth. "Shut up."

Laura took a sip of the beverage. "Well, look at it this way…I guess we're both equally to blame…and it won't be as hard as the first ones, right? We're already set up to this sort of
lifestyle…and we have all the gear for it."

"You totally want it, too." Julian glared at her.

"I wouldn't have planned it for this exact second if I hadn't been drugged the hell up and driven crazy—and then taken advantage of—but yes, I did want more," Laura said flatly.

"More…" Julian's eyes widened. "Oh, my god, what if you have more than one? LAURA—" he covered his mouth in terror.

Laura looked nervous too. "Shut up."

They both glanced down at her stomach, unwillingly, wondering what horrors it contained for them. Knowing now what they knew about Laura's physiology.

"Well…Angel manages somehow," Laura pointed out weakly. "She's got six."

"We're barely in control of the Shrimps as it is. And you're no help at all right now. You can hardly pick them up."

"Keller, just stop talking. We can't take it back now."

More silence. Then Julian burst into tears, real tears.

"Oh my eff—Keller! Hold it together!" Laura whispered in embarrassment, realizing people were staring at them. She couldn't understand why he had chosen now to break
down. It wasn't as if he hadn't had opportunities. His father had died; his mother had abandoned him; then his friends had become the victims of horrible hate crimes,
one by one. She had nearly died, the victim of a horrible experiment.

Yet this was the incident he chose to break down over. Laura was mortified now, too, and very conspicuous, sitting at a café on a busy street with a slightly hysterical boy.

She kicked his shin under the table.

"It's t-too much," Julian groaned, covering his face. At least he seemed calmer. "I don't understand…how it could possibly get worse."

"Shut up. I think we should look at this as a good thing," Laura said firmly. "A happy thing. I know you loved it when the Shrimps were tiny."

Julian grimaced. "Aside from having my hair pulled? And my sleep interrupted every freakin' night? Laura, they didn't puke on you, they waited till I picked them up. I only like
them now, when they're starting to respect me as a human being." He paused. "And I have a team to lead. I can't be home every second with you like having a baby will
require. I can't just quit, it's my duty, especially now, with the shit that's been happening lately."

Laura was silent, her face downturned.

He felt bad. "…look, I didn't mean it the way it sounded…I wouldn't give the Shrimps up for anything, you know that. And what I went through for them was totally worth
it. But…I mean…this is going to suck, and I'm not happy about it."

"You just said it," Laura said urgently. "What you went through for them was worth it. Don't you see? After a while…you'll have something—someone—to show for all your hard work."

Julian examined his mug. "Maybe. I can't really say right now."

Laura paused. "I think…I don't know for sure…but I think this might help. Help me deal." She examined his mug too. "Maybe if I keep busy, I won't need to poke at it
much. Something along those lines."

He considered this. "We'll certainly be busy."

Laura reached over the table and took his hand. "You told me a while ago…we're in this together, right?"

"Yeah."

He looked at their joined hands, then at her, and they traded uneasy smiles.