As she made her way toward the bathroom door, she heard a clink, and then a thump coming from inside. She ran to the door, and jiggled the handle again. "Eliza?" she asked, in a slightly panicked voice. "Eliza?!" Recieving no answer, she rushed to the stairs, and flew down them to the workshop below.
It took her only a moment to find the screwdriver in Aries' toolbox. She prayed that Eliza had not taken anything into the bathroom with her that she could hurt herself with. In another moment, she was back up the stairs. She tried the handle again, and then said something rather unbecoming in French. Screwdriver in her fist, she began to turn the large screws that held the hinges to the door.
Taking the screws out was agonizingly slow. Of course, this kind of thing would happen when one of her children wasn't here. Any of the three of them could easily tear the door off of the hinges. Here she was, wasting precious minutes trying to unscrew the darn thing.
She hadn't had to do this since the children were very little and Ailurosa had locked herself in the bathroom and been unable to unlock it. She wanted to be a big girl, and go to the potty all by herself. She had locked the door to make sure that she was allowed to do so. When she was finished, she was couldn't get the old, rickety lock to release itself. Phoenix had to unscrew the door, while the other three kids watched, in order to get her oldest child out of the water closet. She should have taken the knob off back then. If she had, she wouldn't have this problem today.
She unscrewed the bottom hinge and quickly jumped out of the way to make room for the door. It didn't move.
Years ago, the door had been painted. Or more precisely, Arcos had painted the door. In doing so, she could see now, that he had painted the door to the hinges, the thick paint keeping them attached to each other. Arg, she thought, trying not to be annoyed. If Aries had painted it, he would have been careful enough to tape off the hinges!
She took the screwdriver, and wedged it between the door and frame, and began to pull on it, using it as a lever to lift the door from the hinges. It worked, and the door fell to the hallway with a bang.
Phoenix dropped the screwdriver, and ran to the prostrate form of the ferret on the floor. Softening her eyes immediately, she saw no places where the woman was hurt, and sighed loudly with relief. She'd only fainted.
She had a suspicion why, but looking on the sink counter confirmed it for her. Eliza had used two of the three tests she'd bought, and they were both positive. Phoenix let out a slow breath, her feelings conflicted. She wanted to be happy that something so fabulous had happened. But then, Eliza's reaction did not bode well for anyone who happened to be involved in her life.
She sat down next to Eliza's head, and began to stroke her ears and muzzle, as she would a pet who was not feeling well. She'd only fainted, she'd wake up very shortly. There was no need to panic. Yet.
Eliza floated up from the gentle darkness that had surrounded her, she became aware in increments that someone was talking to her gently and touching her in a soothing circular pattern. A low rumbling chuckle brought her to further awareness and though her eyelids were still heavy she blinked slowly till she was finally able to keep them open.
She found herself cushioned in a familiar bed, alternating layers of fluffy and firm pillows propped her up in a semi-upright position and a light sheet draped across her outstretched legs. Eliza smiled as she recognized the form before her. Grant turned slightly to give her a toothy grin of his own before going back to lavishing attention on her heavily pregnant torso. That smile still had the power to make her heart flutter, even as her exposed swollen belly performed matching maneuvers.
"There there now little girl." He cooed as he rubbed her spasming stomach. "No fair waking mommy up already. She's only been asleep for an hour or so."
Eliza laughed as she put her arms out, indicating that she wanted to be helped up and her husband lovingly obliged. "Might as well get used to it. Pretty soon neither of us will be sleeping through the night." She waddled into the bathroom to get a drink of water, taking the sheet with her as an impromptu robe, a viable option since her own robe no longer closed. Once there she paused a moment to examine herself in the mirror, noting her stretch marks, she then called back towards the other room. "Hey Grant, did you put my lotion in the overnight bag already?" Silence meet her query. "Hunny?" still there was no response and as she turned towards the door she became aware that the room had changed.
She was in a different bathroom, no longer the bright white of her apartment, but softly lit with fixtures so old that some would consider them antiques except they seemed to have been in use since the day they were first installed. An Asian man, on the younger side of middle aged, in nothing but boxers, appeared in the doorway.
"Did you call me?" His smile seemed shy and uneasy, though he tried to appear casual as he leaned against the door frame.
Eliza was suddenly desperate to hide her body and clutched the sheet that she was wrapped in closer to her breast and quickly turned away from him, hoping to shield her obvious bump. Her breathing increased and a weight settled in her chest as she felt his approach. He laid a hand on her naked back and she shivered as his calloused fingertips traced her curves while he placed a soft kiss on her exposed shoulder.
"It will be ok. I promise." She felt him smile into her skin before pulling away. "You will make a beautiful bride." He whispered into her ear before stepping away, and she shuttered down to her core. "Comin back?" she heard him say from the door and finding herself unable to speak she nodded vigorously, his warm laughter drifted away down the hall.
Before she could fully comprehend what was happening the room shifted again and now she was in a bathroom with an industrial feel, concrete floor and all the facilities utilitarian though functional. The sheet fell away and looking down she found herself covered in silvery grey fur. With an increasing sense of dread Eliza lifted her gaze to the mirror and was confronted with a triangular animalistic face. Panic gripped her till she thought she had lost the capacity to breathe. That was until a violent contraction rippled through her abdomen and ripped a scream from her throat.
Sinking to the floor she rocked back and forth, strange furry arms crossed protectively over her rounded belly, as desperate tears welled up from deep inside. She felt alone, lost, guilty and betrayed. In time once again soft words drifted across her mind and the impression of being comforted started to push away the fear and pain. Eliza woke with a start, breathing quickly as her brain tried to determine what was reality as she tried to divorce herself from the visions that clung to her mind.
Rolling her eyes she saw Phoenix above her, a look of worry and relief on her face, she gave Eliza's muzzle a few more soft strokes before holding her firmly, hand propped under her lower jaw. "Are you ok?" Eliza didn't really know the answer to that so she just blinked but said nothing. "I'm going to check you over." The healer went through several tests before allowing the ferret to sit up.
By this time Eliza was more aware of herself and remembered the moments before she passed out. She tried to avoid dwelling on Lee, the memory of their night together too close to the surface for safe examination. She could see the pregnancy tests still on the counter and her clawed hand rested on on her typically curved but still soft stomach. Soon there would be a detectable firmness, apparent despite her naturally curvy body, that would continue to grow until her condition would be obvious to everyone. She thought back to when she had been carrying Gwyn. How Grant had doted on her. He had worshiped her body as she nurtured the child they had prayed so desperately for. It was one of the most joyous times of their marriage.
Now a new life was growing inside her. But they would greet the world wrapped in guilt and uncertainty rather than anticipation and joy. She looked in Phoenix's eyes, grasping, desperate, searching for a lifeline to help her break away from this miasma of negativity she felt trying to wrap itself around her heart. "I…I'm pregnant."
Eliza was fine, Phoenix could see that easily, despite feeling the need to poke and prod in the usual places that one pokes and prods when one faints and falls. She put her hand on Eliza's head, very much like one would a beloved pet, and swept it down to her neck, smiling kindly. She knew there was an excitement, a joy, in her eyes, and she knew that Eliza did not share it.
She didn't care. She had lived a great deal since she had died, and the rules that the rest of the world played by no longer applied. When survival was the ultimate goal, when friends were few and far between, or nonexistent for some, when pleasures were hard come by and sweet when they were, she would be joyous for whatever she wished, even if the rest of the world would judge it as damnable.
Damnable was mutable, Phoenix felt, despite what people liked to think. What might be considered an atrocious act in one situation was an honorable one in another. She put that criteria to her own life, and her own actions, and it was the criteria that she put to everyone else's also. Human morality might say that getting pregnant out of wedlock was a bad thing. In her world, a world much closer to the one that actually existed, she felt, in all realms of existence, love and love, whatever form it came in. If both parties were agreeable, then if it came in the form of sex, that was fine. If she needed to make an excuse, which she didn't, Eliza had said herself that the father of the baby was her fiance. Why would they not express the love they felt for each other physically if they were willing to proclaim it to the world in a more formal way?
Comfort was comfort, whatever form it came in. And the Phoenix never thought that comfort was damnable, bad, or inappropriate. There was precious little of it in the world of humans, there was even less of it here. Her heart ached on a regular basis, tears were shed in the night after she'd come home from clinic, and kindnesses she would never had extended when she was alive were given with little thought of return because of that very fact. Comfort in this world was more precious than gold, and she was well aware of that.
And so, she would not deny it to anyone, she would not deny it to Eliza VonHertz, not now, or ever.
"I know," she said, her voice sounding much like a mother's does when a child has found out about a surprise.
Eliza could see the joy in Phoenix's expression, it was impossible to ignore. While last week she had been upset about the healer's positive attitude towards a possible pregnancy, now that it was a confirmed fact she found it slightly comforting. She was still completely terrified and upset over the reality. Still a part of her was glad that at least someone was excited for her child. Her child. The words caused the familiar warm swelling within her bosom that occurred when her soul recognized a truth. This wasn't just some pregnancy, this would be HER child.
The ferret leaned slightly into Phoenix's hand, recognizing the gesture as comforting as she tried to make the mental shift. It was not an easy thing to do and she suspected that it would take many months, which thankfully she still had before the birth, to fully accept and ultimately embrace all the aspects of her life that would have to change to make room for the new little life. But every journey, even emotional ones, must begin with a first step and seeing that Phoenix was joyful and excited helped her place a first tentative foot on the road to acceptance.
"I know." Phoenix said with an indulgent and bemused tone.
Eliza gave a short abbreviated huff of a laugh, needing some sort of relief. "A baby." She said with disbelief but a sense of awe creeping in. "I'm gonna have a baby." She repeated looking into her friends' eyes while she felt tears prick her own and the beginnings of a smile stretch her mouth. She closed her eyes to stave off the waterworks and took a few halting breaths to attempt to regain control. She could tell that it would not be an easy effort but shortly she felt on more even emotional ground. Looking around, she was done with this room and felt the need for a change of environment. "Can we go sit in the other room?"
Shifting clumsily she managed to get to her feet with the healer's balancing assistance and allowed herself to be lead out of the bathroom, stepping over the unhinged door in the process. Phoenix guided her to the couch and helped her settle. However when the older woman made to leave, perhaps to retrieve something, Eliza snatched her hand and squeezed with a sense of desperation. She just couldn't bear to be alone, not even for a moment. She was holding it together, but just barely, and an irrational but strong need to have someone at her side became overwhelming. The sensation lasted for only an instant before she recognize how silly she was being and softened her grip on the healer's hand with a mumble 'sorry' though she couldn't bring herself to let go completely.
She scrambled for some sort of topic but felt at a lost. "um…" she scanned the room and took note of the wooden door laying in the hall. "sorry about the door. Was I out for a long time?" she asked abashedly while not looking in the healer's eyes. The passage of time brought something else to mind and she sat up a little straighter. "Am I late with dinner? Is the sauce ok?"
Phoenix kept Eliza's hand and sat down the couch next to her. She made sure her side was pressed against the ferret's, and the fur of the woman felt good on her skin. Her smell, slightly musky mixed with flowers, came at her in a rush, as if she hadn't noticed it before,though she had. She wasn't sure why'd she would notice it now.
"You were out a little while, long enough for me to take the door down," she said with a laugh. "Aries will be annoyed when gets back," she winked. "He will have to put it back up."
She could feel Eliza's mix of happiness and fear through her grip, while it had softened, she hadn't let go. While she kept the kind smile on her face, a sense of helplessness began to trill through her. The woman was obviously looking to her for help, and there was no reason why she shouldn't be. Phoenix knew she had given the impression that she knew exactly what she was talking about. But, truth be told, she had very little. She did not know how the mutation would affect the fetus, she did not know if the pregnancy would go according to a ferret's schedule, a human schedule, or a mixture of the two. Without that knowledge, she would hard pressed to know what was going on inside of Eliza's belly. She little worries about the midwife process itself, she remembered well the Haitian mamba that Stephane had insisted on when she was pregnant with her own children. She'd been surprised by it, "The doctors don't know what they're talking about," he'd said. "She will know." And so one of his friends grandmother had come to be her midwife, almost directly contradicting everything that her obstetrician had said when she had her doctor's appointments. She never, in a million years, thought that the old woman would come in handy later in life.
She would feel so much more secure if she knew more about Eliza's living situation. She understood why she kept it secret, she kept her own secret. But, if someone ended up pregnant, she always thought it would be a Grey Cat, and she could keep constant tabs on the woman. In this case, it was completely up to Eliza on how many tabs, if any, Phoenix would be keeping. It was as it should be, it was pregnancy after all, but that didn't mean that Phoenix had to like it.
Eliza commented on the sauce, a worried tone in her voice.
"You didn't miss dinner," Phoenix laughed, "but as for the sauce, I don't know. I haven't stirred it in a while." She stood up gently, have a small tug on Eliza's hand. She had noticed that Eliza seemed to calm down tremendously when given something to do. Time to use that, she thought to herself. "You will have to make sure it isn't burned."
With the gentle tug from the healer Eliza rose and followed her to the kitchen, and when she paused by the counter the ferret only had the slightest hesitation in letting her hand slip free and continue on to the pot that was softly bubbling on the stove. She immediately turned the heat off and reached for the stirring spoon set on a small plate on the nearby counter.
The concoction had thickened noticeably and when Eliza stirred there was a hardness at the bottom that could not be attributed to the metal of the pot. The good news was that there was no evidence of black flakes stirred up and when she tasted it the flavors were balanced with no smokey or bitter aftertaste. She added a touch more parsley and enough water even out the consitacy. The sauce was fine but she did not envy the person who would have to scrub the now abused cookware. Though she had to smirk knowing that it would not be her.
She looked at her friend and smiled. "No harm done. In fact, it's ready. I'm going to start the water for the pasta, it'll take a while to get that amount to a rolling boil." She proceeded to add some salt to the water already in the larger pot before turning the heat on. She looked around the kitchen but there was nothing else that needed her attention at that moment. Still she felt more like herself and less emotional. She returned to the counter, where Phoenix was casually leaning, and took up a position next to her but facing the wall, cushioning her chest against her folded arms on top of the flat surface.
"Sooo…" She was hesitant to start this conversation, though she knew that the subject needed to be brokered. Not having to actually look the healer in the face was helpful. "…it looks like I make have to take up that offer of a regular appointment." She laughed though there was nothing particularly funny being said. "I think next time I'll bring Gwyn with me. Once I tell her, I imagine its not going to take long before she'll want to be involved with everything."
Eliza took a breath and blew it out. "There could be a few others that may want to meet you too. But I won't be sure till I break the news. Hopefully it goes well but if not…" She shrugged her shoulders, knowing that it was out of her hands. "… well, I guess I'll figure something out."