The Phoenix listened closely to what Eliza said, trying to discern any hidden meanings, conscious or unconscious, that might be relayed in the explanation. She found none, it appeared that Eliza was being open and honest, that was always a good thing.
She wracked her brain for a mutant named Yoshi, and couldn't bring up anyone who might even have a name close to that. But when Eliza mentioned he had sons, she knew she didn't know these people. She had never met another set of mutants who had children. Shoot, if she had, she'd have been in their grills like white on rice! Kids who had parents would have been a way better choice of companions than kids in a gang!
But, she didn't know them, and Eliza was obviously very trepidatious of them. However, everything she had explained was not unreasonable. In fact, for most of the mutant community, it was perfectly normal! It seemed, not from a place of fear of being hurt for being there, but fear of being hurt by disobedience. That would mean that this Yoshi was highly unyielding. She squashed down annoyance, it wasn't her place to judge how someone ran their life. This was a hard enough life as it was, the man probably had very good reason to be unyielding, despite the fact that The Phoenix may portray that same character trait from time to time. She squashed that thought down too.
"The desire to not be detected is normal," she said slowly, "among mutants. We don't want people to know we exist, and that is difficult to do if we are detected." She blushed slightly as she admitted, "You are the first person I have ever invited to my house."
She turned her face to the side, and her face got even redder and shamefaced, "And I would agree with Yoshi. You aren't the best at not being detected." She grimaced as she said it. "I wouldn't be too harsh on him for being…careful." She chose the last word carefully. The man sounded more than careful. He sounded controlling. She remembered her own learning curve with controlling men, and it wasn't fun. Perhaps he was showing Eliza more about 'life' than just giving her a place to live, if he was so determined to keep her put. It sounded like he afforded her human daughter much more freedom. That worried her. It was not as if her being human made her safer. She was in just as much danger of being mauled as Eliza. How many homeless people had she tended who had been hurt, on purpose, by other human beings? Gwyn would just be less noticeable than a mutant, not safer. Perhaps he'd been removed from the human world so long that he had forgotten that.
She wanted to tell her, 'If you like, you can tell him about me. Most mutants know how I am,' but she got the feeling that might make the situation worse. If he was as controlling as he seemed, then he would not want The Phoenix interfering in his lady's affairs, whether she was pregnant with another man's child or not.
She also wanted to say something about her fiance', Lee had she said his name was? But, what could she say? Eliza couldn't tell him she was now a giant ferret. Who knows how he would react. The humans who didn't run and scream were few and far between, after all, who in their right mind wants to be confronted with a monster?
"Meeting in a 'neutral location' will be just fine. I meet all of my patients in neutral locations," her face changed from guilty to a wide, knowing smile. "Besides," she assured her, "there is whole lot to do for quite a while yet." She put her eyes up and to the side, a tell tale sign she was thinking. "I think."
The ferret-woman ducked her head as Phoenix supported Yoshi's position. A small part of her had hoped that he had gone beyond his reach, but apparently his tendencies were in the norm amongst the mutant community. So much for her assumption that it was a ninja thing.
She was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to come back here again until things were squared with Splinter. That was assuming that the rat sensei ever trusted her again after her escapades came to light. He was not completely unreasonable she knew, but it was still going to be a sore spot. Even if the revelation about her pregnancy would color the fallout.
Eliza was flattered to hear that she was the first person, relatively speaking, that Phoenix had invited to her home. She enjoyed the medic's home. It was expansive, bright and open. Granted a fair amount of that could be attributed to being above ground, but there was also a welcoming spirit most likely because of the family that inhabited the home. Beyond that there was a feminine feel to the space that she hadn't realized she had missed so much until being exposed to it again. She did not have a talent for home decor in general but living in a boys club had blossomed a newfound appreciation for softer ascetics.
She nodded and gave the healer's hands a final squeeze before extracting her own. "Thank you for understanding. And I guess I owe Yoshi more than one apology when I talk to him. Learning about other mutants has definitely given me a new perspective on what 'normal' is." She shrugged in a nonverbal admittance of her own ignorance. Deciding there was little else she could say until she actually knew how Hamato Yoshi would take her news she decided to move on. "Anyway, you know the city much better than I do, maybe you could show me someplace that would be appropriate later. Preferably a space with a bit a privacy. It may not be strictly 'necessary' for a while yet but I'd like the option if at all possible. In the meantime have you thought about how you'd like to track things now that we know that we're dealing with a pregnancy?"
Eliza moved to the table and started to gather up the plates as the medicine woman thought. She snagged another piece of garlic bread and popped it in her mouth as she set to the task, piling the dishes near the sink and giving Phoenix a smile that was mostly a squinting of her eyes when she joined her by storing away what little leftovers were remaining. The healer proposed some ideas as they worked, Eliza occasionally commenting when she had an opinion on the matter but found that most of them made common sense and agreed without too much debate.
The smell of the cobbler was starting to waft through the kitchen and she peeked in to legitimately check on the progress of the baking this time. It was just hinting at a tan and would be ready to pull out in another couple of minutes. She adjusted the timer to reflect the new estimate and leaned back on the counter, taking in her host once again. There were so many things ahead of her but just knowing that this small woman was willing to stand by her made some of them not nearly as scary as they had been just a few hours ago.
"This was nice." She waved her hand at the room in general indicating the time they had shared. "I hope we'll get to do this again someday. Though maybe with a little less drama." She laughed at herself, knowing that she was the cause of it. "I'd like to say that I'm not normally this high maintenance but," the ferret woman smiled patted her stomach twice "no promises on that front when it comes to preggers."
Phoenix felt her heart strings pull at the look of Eliza's face as she came to terms with the little piece of mutant life known as secrecy. It was an aspect of all of their lives, all the time, and it needed to be taken seriously. The fact that ferret-woman admitted this, even if only for the moment, was a step toward accepting her new life as not-entirely-human-being. Another tiki mark for Eliza.
"Where to meet?" she went through 'private' places in her mind. "There are a few places. The docks are private at night, and when they aren't they don't tend to be filled with…ahhh…" she smiled and blushed, "reliable witnesses." She chuckled. "Or, there are lots of old warehouses, however, they do tend to get taken over by undesirables for permanent living places occasionally. Now, none of them are reliable witnesses either, but," she shrugged, "they're more permanent if we happen to run into them. Or," she opened her eyes, and nodded, "there are many abandoned apartments in the city, buildings that are flat out empty where no one goes. Now," she looked a bit embarrassed, "there is a reason why no one goes to them, but that doesn't mean we can't clean them and shore them up."
She watched the ferret in a kind of sweet haze bustle about the kitchen, putting food away and clearing the table. It was so nice to see someone swish and clean the place, with a waggle of a tail and strides of strong legs. She smiled, thoroughly contented, especially in the aftermath of the previous storm. "I think that, if you've been pregnant for the past few months, then you're probably going to have something closer to a human pregnancy than a ferret one. Of course, what that means exactly, I am not sure. I am thinking of going with signs of the pregnancy, rather than an actual amount of time…I think that might be a safer bet as to where you are in the pregnancy itself."
She felt that she was giving such inadequate information, all 'I thinks' and 'maybes'. But she didn't want to lie to the woman. She really had no idea what she was doing, she was as much in the dark as the ferret was. And it wasn't happening to her. She didn't have room for messups, but the entire situation was taunting at her that there were thousands of them waiting to be launched at her.
"So, if you wouldn' t mind, it might help if you keep a diary..sort of a pregnancy journal." She felt like an idiot suggesting it, but she couldn't think of another way to have an accurate record without being there herself. "Each day, maybe even more than once a day, you can write down how your body feels, how you feel emotionally, if you have any cravings, or aversions…that sort of thing." She scrunched her lips together. "It will give us an idea of where you might be in the pregnancy at any given moment. Other than that, my only other suggestion would be to keep your iron levels up." She turned bright red, and smiled abashedly, "I wouldn't take the nasty stuff I gave you," she admitted. "I'd tell you to buy some iron pills and take them."
At the mention of the word 'preggers', Phoenix burst out laughing, a high, girly sound. "Oh!" she breathed, "it's been so long since I've heard someone say, 'preggers'!" She then realized she was standing in the middle of her own kitchen, letting her first guest ever put her dishes away and cook food, and the guest was pregnant no less. She'd been standing there, doing nothing!
She shook her head, a look of embarrassment on her face, "Sit down," she said, waving her hands. "We can get everything else! I can get the cobbler!"
"I think that an abandoned apartment sounds like a viable option." She had more than one reason for gravitating towards that particular choice. The idea of having to contend with other down and outs was in no way appealing. Plus she knew that Gwyn would most likely insist on accompanying her on visits, something that she really didn't mind, but it meant that anyplace they met regularly had to be safe or could be made safe. Docks and frequented warehouses did not fit that criteria. The privacy and peace of mind would be worth the effort and extra elbow grease. She knew how to use a hammer and nail and, given the expertise she had seen in Aries' work area, had no doubts that it would be a small thing to fix up a workable space for her needs.
In the back of her mind the ferret-woman also noted that having a safe spot of her own might be a good thing regardless of the circumstances. Phoenix had shown her that it was possible for mutants to live above ground. Had spoken of many more besides herself that made a go of it. Eliza may be lacking in all the skills needed at the moment, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn them. The small but deadly woman had offered to teach her. The idea of sun, fresh air and peace was enough to allow the concept to sink into her heart and mind. To be saved for further examination when the future was less fluid and such options could be considered beyond wishful thinking.
The idea of a pregnancy journal was sound and she readily agreed to it. Inwardly she was comforted by the idea that her pregnancy seemed to be advancing along human parameters. It was no guarantee as to what her child might look like, there was no guarantee in any aspect of this whole thing, but it did give her some hope. If nothing else she could be prepared for the different stages, not only because she had been through it once before, but there was a multitude of resources to draw from, both in print and online.
"I'd actually already had April pick me up some iron pills when she got the honey, along with some general multivitamins." It was Eliza's turn to look abashed. "Along with some other general 'supplies'. When I claimed to have run out necessities she didn't really question any of my other additions to the grocery list." The ferret sighed. "The sweet dear even brought me back some chocolates and a pint of ice cream. Yet another person I owe an apology to but I don't think that she'll hold it against me for too long. I hope." She turned back to her friend. "But if you don't mind I'd still like to take the tea. I think that it might make a good option to have in the fridge with a little sweetener. Besides Yoshi likes his tea as much as he likes his cheese and it might go over well as a peace offering." she smiled when Phoenix nodded her permission.
Eliza liked the sound of Phoenix's laugh, it was high and tinkling, not faked or polite, but one of genuine amusement. I made her feel good to have been the cause of such a happy sound. It was sad that she ended it so quickly and shifted into hostess mode. Or perhaps it was more a motherly instinct. Eliza couldn't quite tell. Still, she felt a tiny bit of annoyance at being told to sit and hand over the duties she had claimed as her own. However they were said with good intentions so she let the moment pass.
"It's no trouble, really," she tried to maintain her place but when the healer started to make actual 'shooing' motions at her Eliza knew it was a battle not worth fighting. She tossed in the towel, literally. "but if you insist, I guess I could use a break." She smiled and walked out of the kitchen leaving her cleaning rag on the counter next to the oven.
She twisted her head to look over her shoulder as she leisurely made her way back to the couch. "It needs to cool for another 10 or 15 minutes before it can be served." She turned back to see her way clearly to the couch. "I'm gonna put my feet up till then if that's ok." She heard vaguely affirmative noises and proceeded to stretch out the sagging but still comfortable furniture.
She was thinking about nothing and everything at the same time as she lay there looking up at the industrial ceiling high above. The sun was setting, throwing warm mixed colors across the wide open space. Without being conscious of the movement she found that her hand had gone from laying lax at her side to gently probing her abdomen and lower, trying to find something different, something unusual. She even pulled her shirt up enough to expose her midriff, thinking that maybe there would be a visual indication of her confirmed condition. She gave up and resumed her contemplation of the now orange tinted ceiling, but continued to run her claw tipped fingers through her own exposed pelt, wondering about the miracle growing within her.