This one is longer. Hope you enjoy!
4
"Oh my God! Steve, what did we do?!"
I bury my face in my hands to give myself a moment to try and put my thoughts into order. I lean slightly forward and rest my elbows on my knees.
I hear Mother deflate somewhat at my reaction. I feel her hand cupping my head and I feel momentarily comforted by her touch. She gives me a kiss on the top of my head.
"I'll give you two a moment. Come look for me and Epione when you are ready to talk."
I hear the echo of her footsteps as she leaves Steve and I alone.
A child?! What was I thinking?!
It's my fault. It's all my fault. We live in the 21st century for crying out loud! You have to be incredibly careless to let such a thing happen! This complicates everything. How am I going to do my job properly with a baby growing inside me? How am I going to do my job properly with a child at home waiting for me? How could I possibly be a good mother with the duties that I have?!
I feel Steve's hand on my back and he says something but I don't quite catch it.
"What?" I ask lowering my hands from my face.
He's looking at me and I can't help but notice how very blue his eyes are and how alive they are with excitement. One thought is very clear to me in this moment: I hope our daughter has his eyes.
"We can do this. We can do this, Diana,"
"But Steve our duties -"
He shakes his head and holds my hands. "We'll find a way. We always do. I've always believed things happen for a reason. Sometimes I've found it hard to find the reason and often times I've yelled at the skies in frustration trying to understand the how and why. But today is not that day. Today, we know the how."
He laughs and I laugh with him despite my panic.
Actually, I think to know exactly when the how was.
"And the why is simple. We love each other and we've created something that represents it. I know what you're thinking, but this baby -" He rests his hand gently on my lower stomach and in that moment, I feel the life growing inside me and by the Gods, it's wonderful. "Our daughter is meant to be here."
I honestly believe that if Steve had wanted to, he could have been an excellent writer. He just has such a way with words... Which is why I find myself crying and also, I guess I'm hormonal.
"This is just so unexpected. We've never talked about having children. I don't even know if you wanted them,"
He seems to think his answer for a second, "In all honesty, no. I didn't want children. I never did. You know how I grew up. My parents and I never had much, and after my mother died, it was hand to mouth for a while. Then the war came and I don't have to tell you, you were there. All that death and suffering - all the children who had their worlds turned upside down. I can still hear their screams in my nightmares sometimes. Why would I want to bring a child into this world? It's so violent and cruel. But then there was you."
I smile and touch his cheek.
"You reminded me that everything was not lost. I was being sucked into this black hole and you pulled me out with your questions about marriage and why wouldn't I sleep with you?"
I laugh again and slap him on the shoulder softly.
"I didn't want children before. But I want them now because it's you. I wouldn't do this with anyone else."
"Steve, you really need to stop saying those things because I'll never stop crying,"
He laughs and throws his arm around my shoulders to pull me closer to his chest. "Okay, okay. I'll stop... for now. How about you then? You love children."
"I do, but I never thought about having them. It was as an adult, living in Man's world that I noticed that I'm not like other women. It wasn't a goal of mine to become a mother. I guess that has to do with how and where I was raised. But even if I did, you would've been the only one I would have wanted to have a baby with and you weren't here."
I feel his arm tighten around me. "Well, it seems all the pieces where were they were supposed to be, because angel, we're having a baby."
I slap my hand against my forehead and look up, "Oh God, we are!"
Steve kisses me and I melt into him. Right now, I put all my worries and fears aside and try to let the happiness of the moment wash over me. We lie down on the examination table with my head on his chest and his hand on my waist. We let the minutes pass by, letting the news fully sink in.
I'm not sure how much time passes by before Steve says,
"You're awful quiet,"
"Sorry. Now that my mind is a little clearer, I'm starting to have a lot of questions,"
"Yeah, me too. We should go look for your mother and Epione then,"
"Yeah, let's go."
We stand up and Steve immediately intertwines his fingers with mine. We climb the stairs of the infirmary and we walk through a hall that connects directly to the palace. We find Mother and Epione talking at the base of the stairs that lead to the main chambers.
"Oh, there you are. I was about to go see if you two were still breathing. How are you? A little better I hope," Mother asks.
"Yes, Mother. It was all very surprising, that's all. I think we both just needed to let the news of your granddaughter sit for a minute,"
I don't think I've ever seen such a big smile on my mother's face before and I can't help but smile with her.
"Well then, I will leave you two with Epione. I do not wish to impose."
"No, Mother. Stay. Please. You're the only one in this island who knows how I feel."
She looks at me and then at Steve.
"We could use all the help we can get, Your Majesty,"
She nods her head, "Let's go somewhere more private. Your chambers perhaps, Diana?"
"Perfect," I say.
We climb the stairs up to my chambers and once inside, we sit. Steve's fingers are still intertwined with mine.
"You have questions. Hopefully I will be able to provide the answers." Epione says sitting in front of us.
I look at Steve and he nods, signalling me to go first.
"The symptoms I described to you earlier, about my senses. What is that exactly? And when will it stop?"
She smiles, "Those are your senses adjusting to your new condition. You are going to find that during the duration of your pregnancy, you will be more sensitive to external stimuli. You have already been experiencing this. It will focus completely in about a month. It is still early on in the pregnancy."
I nod taking the information in.
"How early is it? My pregnancy, that is,"
"I would say you are two months pregnant, Your Highness,"
I nod. "Your turn," I tell Steve.
"Okay, um. Should she continue fighting bad guys? I don't think that's the safest thing to do. What if she gets punched a little too hard?"
Epione laughs softly, "Your Majesty, I think this is a question better answered by you."
"There is nothing for you to worry about in that sense, Captain. During my pregnancy, absolutely nothing changed in terms of my training, albeit I was not fighting 'bad guys', as you said, but her enhanced senses will help her immensely."
Mother and Epione are making it sound like I'll have Superman level senses. Now I'm kind of looking forward to that.
"But what if they don't though? What if she gets poisoned or something?"
I roll my eyes. "What if a bus lands on me? What if I suddenly develop a shellfish allergy and go into anaphylactic shock? My powers, my senses have never failed me, Steve. Why would they now?"
There's another side effect of pregnancy apparently - Steve becoming the kind of man who constantly thinks of the 'worst case scenario'.
His eyes widen a little at my lack of worry over what may or may not happen to me.
"I'm serious, Diana! Murphy's law. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,"
I turn on my sit, so I'm fully facing him, "Steve, why does Murphy's law suddenly applies now and not before we found out I was pregnant?"
I'm pregnant. Wow, that's going to take some getting used to.
"Because if they punch you, they punch her, a tiny defenceless child. That doesn't worry you at all?"
He says it as if I'm slow and I take offense at his accusatory tone. My eyebrow lifts slightly and I look at him dead in the eyes.
"No, I'm not worried because I'm not going to allow anyone to endanger our daughter's life. And the fact that you're implying that I would is offensive and hurtful."
What in Zeus' name...? How did an innocent Q&A turn into an attack on my maternal instincts?
He closes his eyes and exhales deeply. "I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry. I'm just worried. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm afraid something bad will happen. I know you'll protect her. You'll just have to give me some time to adjust. I'm sorry."
I feel my anger boil down and I remember what Steve told me a few moments ago. A child suffering, our child suffering plays right into his fears. I can't promise him nothing bad will happen, that's impossible. But I can promise him that I will do my very best to protect our child and myself.
"I know I'm not all powerful and you're right to be afraid. I am too. But getting punched is not something that happens often and even if it did, an average human punch doesn't even cause me to bruise. And with this new upgrade to my senses, I don't see why that would change. Besides, now I have two reasons to get home safely. I'll be damned if I let anyone lay a finger on me,"
He nods and exhales in relief. I look at him for a moment longer to make sure he's okay and turn again to face Mother and Epione who, for a moment, totally forgot they were here.
"The anxiety you are feeling is normal, Captain. It happens with big changes and it will take some time, but you will make it your new normal. So will you, Diana."
I nod and so does Steve.
"There are a few things you will have to be aware of, Diana. Your centre of gravity will change, therefore I recommend to increase your training. This will help you understand the changes that are occurring to your body and that will be incredibly helpful for when you are engaged in hand-to-hand combat."
Steve huffs and says, "I'm sure a doctor in Paris would tell you to take your vitamins and keep your normal routine. It still surprises me how different things are here,"
Mother smiles, "But this doctor would not know their patient is Wonder Woman and her normal routine is to fight people with dark intentions. So, in a way, Captain, Epione is telling her what any doctor in Man's world would."
Steve scratches the back of his neck and laughs, "Well, you got me there, Your Majesty."
"Anything I should change? Should I take any vitamins?", I ask Epione suddenly forgetting everything I know about human biology.
She looks at me confused.
"I am not sure what you mean, Diana. All the minerals and vitamins you need to maintain homeostasis are found in food, and as long as you have a balanced diet, there should be no problem. The only thing I would tell you is to increase your daily calorie intake in around 300 Kcal and stay hydrated."
Right. I forgot. There are no corporations selling lies here. I try to explain to her and Mother (who is also puzzled by my question) why I asked such a thing.
"In Man's world, you can find minerals and vitamins isolated from their natural vessels. They sell it by telling you all the benefits and how you're not getting enough of it. A lot of people don't realize that these vitamins and minerals are found in your everyday food."
The stunned faces of both Mother and Epione are quite funny. I wish I had my phone so I could snap a picture. After a few seconds, they shake off their surprise and Epione says,
"It is a shame that men can be so easily deceived. Although not surprising,"
"I'll try and not find offense in that." – Steve says as he points at both Mother and Epione – "But joke's on you. Our daughter is ¾ human,"
Epione narrows her eyes at that. "No, she's not. She's a demigod,"
He looks at me and his eyes jump from left to right, doing the math in his head.
"No, she's not. I'm a full human. Diana's half human, half god. That's ¾ human and ¼ god,"
Right. Steve doesn't know how your status as a god or demigod is determined.
I smile at how cute he looks when he's confused. "Your math is right. But demigod is as diluted as it gets. You're either a god, a demigod or a human. You can't be ¼ god. It's not how it works. Our daughter is a demigod."
He narrows his eyes a bit, "How do you know she's not full human?"
I frown at that. How do I know she's not a full human?
We both turn to look at Epione.
"We know she's a demigod because of Diana's symptoms. If she were pregnant with a human child, her powers would not have been affected the way they are being affected,"
I breathe a sigh of relief. Our daughter being human would've been hard, to say the least.
Steve's jaw goes slack and I never thought I would enjoy watching it hit the floor so much.
"Oh no," He says, his eyes as wide as saucers.
"Oh no, what?" I ask suddenly thinking of a million scenarios in which Steve has a problem with our daughter being a demigod.
"What if she misbehaves and I tell her she's grounded and she decides to not be grounded and she blasts me into oblivion?!"
Hestia, give me strength. And here I thought he had some real concerns about our child being a demigod.
"Steve! She won't do that because 1) she's going to know better and 2) if, and that's a big if, she ever does that, then she'll have to deal with me. And by the way, just because I can call upon thunder doesn't mean she will be able to do the same."
"Oh?" Steve says, his face morphing from mild panic to curiosity. "I assumed that because you had the same powers as your father, then our daughter would have the same ones too."
"I don't have the same powers as my father. I can manipulate thunder and that's about it. He can do a lot more than that."
I'm glad I don't have the same powers as my father. The responsibility, the burden - no. I wouldn't know how to cope. I don't know how he does it.
"Only Zeus knows what powers my granddaughter will have, Captain. But you can rest easy. He will not give her more than she can handle. And we will all help her understand them and how to use them to protect, to help. I am not worried. She is going to have two wonderful parents to guide her and love her."
Yes, she will have an amazing support system, but I'm still worried. When I first discovered I had powers, I was petrified of what I might do, of who I could hurt. Seeing Antiope being blasted back like that by me, it almost made my heart stop. And then choosing to leave the island almost immediately after; I had to learn about my powers on the fly, by trial and error. After defeating Ares, there were many times when I almost got seriously hurt. There were times when I almost killed others because I didn't know how much damage I could cause.
Father didn't give me more than I could handle and he knew that, but I didn't.
"Anything on your mind, Diana?" Epione asks me seeing the pensive look on my face.
I huff at her question. "There are many things going through my mind, Epione. But right now, I need something to distract myself with and I think that's training."
"You should go then. If you come up with any more questions, or you Captain, you know where to find me,"
"Thank you for your patience, Epione." I tell her gratefully.
"Yes, thank you." Steve says after me.
"You are very welcome," Epione stands up and bows her head towards Mother.
"Your Majesty."
Mother acknowledges her bow tilting her head forward and smiling.
Once Epione leaves Mother turns to look at us. "Now that you two seem more collected, stand-up"
I stand up obediently, so does Steve.
She takes a few steps closer to us and says,
"Congratulations,"
I smile and throw my arms around her. "Thank you, Mother."
Mother.
I'm going to be a mother.
AN:
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