Post by carcinoGeneticist on Oct 2, 2009 18:54:29 GMT -5
Words: 3638
Characters: Seth, Bernard, Heilyn
Warnings: None, really
Please comment if you read this. <3 I don't have much to say about it other than that it was hard to write.
When the test came back positive, Seth couldn't help but laugh.
Weeks of stomach upset combined with weight gain and moodiness? Really, he wasn't sure why he'd bothered. He should have just known; after all, how many times had he seen Heilyn go through the same bloody symptoms? He supposed he'd just been curious, and he'd rather be 100% certain that he was in fact pregnant and it wasn't some other ailment that he'd need to get taken care of.
It was still a bit of a shock. After all, Heilyn'd undergone fairly serious proceedures in an attempt to keep it from happening. Seth himself had gone ahead with a vasectomy, deciding it would be better than potentially siring children on some poor unsuspecting person that had joined them for a threesome. He'd thought that it would be the end of it. It should have been the end of it, at least. After all, they were just getting too damn old to deal with children. It would be a relief when the most recent group, the ones he'd had with Peaches, were grown and self-sufficient. He'd thought he could spend the rest of his days in relaxation, dealing with children only when he became a grandfather. He should have known better, should have realized that sometimes it was just impossible to judge what the future would bring. After all, when Xiven had told him that Pale was pregnant, he'd laughed harder and longer than almost anyone else.
The bat almost felt badly now, as he glanced down at his body.
"Seth, are you even listening to me?[/b]" The man glanced up, blinking, and stared at the doctor. The look on his face must have told him everything, because the other man sighed irritatably and spoke again. "I reccomend you look into having an abortion. You're too old to have children. If you follow through with this, it could kill you.[/b]"
Seth felt his eyes narrow, and he stood rather abruptly. "Oh, shut up. Who the hell do you think I am, anyway?[/b]" the man grinned, despite himself. "I've done this before, remember? I know how hard it's gonna be.[/b]" Granted, those had been eggs, meaning the time he'd had to actually carry them was far shorter, but Seth's self-confidence was boundless. "Besides, I'm not that old. I guess I'll be by later for another checkup, then.[/b]"
So saying, the big man jammed his hands into his pockets and left the room, his head abuzz with thoughts. Children. Was it wrong to feel so excited about it, even with those dark words hanging over his head? The doctor was probably just blowing steam, anyway. He almost certainly didn't feel like dealing with any more babies. Seth couldn't exactly blame him, but he wanted these babies. After all, he felt like Heilyn deserved it, especially after he'd inadvertantly gone and filled the court with children that weren't hers.
He wanted to give her this.
Yet, for some reason, his feet didn't take him to the room they shared. He found himself walking upstairs, down the hall that he'd walked down time and time again. Usually, Heilyn was hanging off his arm, but today, the Solandrian felt like he needed perspective. Bernard was good with perspective. Bernard could tell him what he needed to do and how he needed to go about doing it. It would also give him the opportunity to check in on the King, to make sure that he was remembering to eat no matter how deeply entrenched he was in his work. Seth knocked lightly at the door, a familiar pattern that would tell Bernard exactly who was waiting for him on the other side of the hallway.
~~~
"Listen to me, Seth, he wasn't kidding[/b]."
The look on the older man's face actually caused the Bat to pause, blinking in surprise and leaning back a bit. He did his best to mask the movement, leaning back in the chair and resting his arm against the chair. He hadn't necessarily expected that kind of bluntness from Bernard. What struck him even more than the man's words, however, was the look on his face. Seth did his best to shrug. "Come on, Bernard. I'm gonna be fine. Aren't you looking forward to a whole new set of little mes running around?[/b]"
The look on Bernard's face answered that question better than words ever could. Seth sighed, glancing down at the glass of water that rested in front of him.
"That's... Seth, that isn't the issue.[/b]" Bernard finally said, clearing his throat. The court was swarming with children, and rumor had reached far and wide that Apocalypse had made it his own personal goal to get Xiven pregnant, a fact that unsettled Seth quite a bit. The Highland King rose to his feet slowly, waving Seth's offer of a steadying hand aside. He walked to a bookshelf, hands laced behind his back as he looked it over, finally pulling a thin tome out. He flipped it open, indicating a page of medical diagrams. "Pregnancy for a man of any age is riddled with complications. Do you know what the chances of survival are? Even if you don't...[/b]" he gestured, not wanting to say the words. "...You run the very real chance of shattering either your pelvis or spine. You'd be crippled, spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair. Don't be an idiot.[/b]"
It was quite the outburst, and Seth didn't move an inch as Bernard spoke, simply kept his eyes on the man. He could see what the chances of survival were.
He sighed, resting his head against the back of the chair. "Please. I don't want diagrams or numbers or information about something that probably isn't going to happen.[/b]" When it looked like Bernard was going to say something, to argue, Seth waved a finger, jutting out his lower lip and shaking his head. "Shh. No. Don't talk to me about probabilities or whatever it is you're gonna correct me on. Let me finish. Bernard, I want to have these children, and that's the end of it. Now,[/b]" he grunted, pushing himself to his feet, hands resting on his hips as he looked the frail man over.
The Solandrian couldn't help but smile. This was just proof that the other man did give a shit. He reached out one hand, ruffling the Highlander's golden hair and laughing. "Stop worrying so much. Shit works out, right? I'm gonna go tell Lyn, but...[/b]" he paused, searching for the words. "...If she comes, you can't tell her about.. All that other stuff. I'm gonna be fine, so I don't want her to worry. You know how bad her paranoia can be.[/b]"
Silence fell around them, and when Bernard finally gave a small nod of agreement, Seth reached out and pulled the thin body close, hugging him.
"It's going to be fine. I promise.[/b]"
~~~
That promise wasn't enough to keep Seth from making sure his life was in order, in the meanwhile. He was getting to be old enough, pregnancy or no, that he felt like it would be a smart thing to do. He knew he wasn't going to be around forever, regardless of how certain he was that he wasn't going to have any issues with bearing Heilyn's children. He had to make sure that if he got hit by a buggy or anything that life could go on. He'd told that to Bernard, doing his best to ignore the look the man gave him.
It had nothing to do with the pregnancy. It was just the smart decision. He told Bernard that, too, several times. Each time his volume got a little bit louder, more insistent.
The first thing he needed to do was in regards to the children he'd had with Peaches. He worried about them all the time, wondered if they'd be okay. The world scared them both so badly, and Vaska didn't deal with his worries very well. Being alone was the worst for them, he knew, and it made him wonder what would happen to them in the event that... well, that something happened to him. Peaches was busy, he couldn't expect her to have as much time to dedicate to keeping an eye on them as they needed to keep their crazy little heads on straight.
The thought came to the man in the middle of the night, and he accidentally woke Heilyn as he scrabbled for a piece of paper to write it down on so he didn't forget. It was obvious, as soon as he'd thought of it, obvious and perfect.
He bought them an Ace. Days of shopping turned into weeks, but he wasn't willing to just jump into it. When he finally found the bird for sale in the Bazaar, he knew he'd found what he needed. It had wings, so it could fly with Vaska. He was fairly certain that the Villa words would delight the bat, and that the boys would have no trouble at all linking them to how their pet was supposed to be treated. He wasn't pleased with the Suit of the thing, but it was clever. Clever was good. Clever meant that it would understand the importance of keeping close to his boys. He hoped that an extra companion would mean that some of the pressure was taken off Benedict. Falks was delighted; Vaska was skeptical at first, afraid a moment later, and beyond thrilled after that.
As he watched the trio get to know their new pet, Seth couldn't help but smile. They'd grow up fine, he was sure of it, weird as they were sometimes. If nothing else, they had Ben to keep them in line. The Ace - Alex, the pet store owner had called him - adapted rather quickly, finding delight in accompanying the boys. It became rather common to watch the three - four, whatever - of them in the back gardens, playing until the sun started to set. They were hardly ever alone, and Seth knew he'd made a good choice there.
By now, his stomach had swollen to the point that he just wasn't comfortable in human form any longer, and he'd switched to using his bipedal form on a day-to-day basis. He could tell Heilyn was worried - something about his morning sickness being worse than she thought it would be - but he shrugged it off. No need to worry, right? He'd kissed her forehead and nuzzled against her neck with his leaf-nose, giving her a wide smile and patting his own gut. "They're just active, is all. Bet we've got another Club in there. That'd suck, huh?[/b]" If he could joke about it, it meant there was no need for worries.
The next step involved his finances. He roped Bernard into that, as well. For all that the man seemed happy to see Seth was taking these things into consideration, he didn't seem at all... Well. Happy. He could see the sadness in his eyes, and it pained him. He'd grown rather close to the King over the last few weeks, and if you took the occasional drunken screw-up out of the equation, he rather enjoyed the man's company. It bothered him to see him look so upset, and the Bat knew that it was really eating at him to keep some of the information about his condition on the down-low.
He found himself staying in Bernard's room later and later. Discussions of his finances often went by the wayside in favor of general gossip, storytelling, and occasionally reminiscing about a good time they'd had in the years before. Seth often added notes about the fun they'd have in the years to come, too.
"Remember the first time Lyn and I got you to try Weed?[/b]" the bat remarked as he leaned back, resting his head against his fluffy forearms and grinning from ear to ear. "I almost thought we'd killed you, you coughed so bloody hard. I was getting ready to call down to Temmin, did you know that?[/b]"
Bernard made a face, his eye narrowing in exasperation. "I had no idea that you cared at all. You were laughing too hard for me to think you cared about much of anything at that point.[/b]"
Seth flew into uproarious laughter at that, and he grabbed the man in a rather abrupt bear-hug. "Awww, come off it, 'nard. You know I always care about you.[/b]" Keeping his arm slung around Bernard's neck and shoulders, Seth sighed, almost wistfully. A dark cast went over his face and he stared up at the ceiling. "...Do you think it's gonna be okay?[/b]" he asked, turning to glance at his friend, normally bright expression almost dulled.
"I... don't know, Seth,[/b]" Bernard finally answered. Then he cleared his throat, worming his way out of the man's grip and shuffling the paperwork. He smoothed over his upset expression, replacing it with a rather neutral one. "Anyway, your katars... What about them?[/b]" That made Seth pause. The weapons were, in fact, his greatest treasure.
He patted his distended abdomen, nodding. "One of the kids can have 'em. I trust you and Lyn to figure out which one.[/b]"
Silence filled the space between them, and Bernard scratched down a note on the paper. Then he set it to the side, glancing at the Bat. "That's... everything, unless there's anything else you can think of.[/b]"
Was there? Seth considered the last several weeks, twiddling his thumbs as he did. It seemed like between the various arrangements he was making and the time spent at the doctor's, he hadn't had a real chance to just sit on his ass and breathe. Not that it was a bad thing, just a bit of a change of pace. He'd bought an Ace. He'd written a will. He'd heard the tiny heartbeat of the children growing inside of him, had seen Heilyn's delighted flush when she first heard it, too. It had been a wild ride, but when he really thought about it... He'd had fun. Now it was time to focus, to make sure that the really important things were taken care of. He glanced up at Bernard, the words catching in his throat.
"...There's one thing. I'll be right back.[/b]"
~~~
The palace was silent. He should have expected that; he and Bernard had a habit of completely losing track of time. It was no surprise that when he stepped into their room it was dark, the lights long since put out. He could make out the form of Heilyn's body curled beneath the blankets of the bed they shared, the light coming in from the windows casting a delicate play of lights and shadows across her face. His heart seemed to catch in his throat as he looked at her, sprawled out across the bed, as beautiful as she'd ever been.
He couldn't ignore that, even with her limbs stretched out as far as they could, the bed looked far too big when hers was the only body in it. Seth eased himself in beside her, sighing as she pressed against them, their bodies meshing perfectly even with his belly as big as it was. He could hear the confusion in her voice when she rolled to look at him. A wing stretched out, covering the pair of them in a tent of his own making, and Seth took a deep breath. "..'mthing wrong?[/b]" the woman murmured, one eye half-cracked. Seth simply shook his head, touching her cheek with a finger and giving her a half-smile.
"Nope. Nothing at all. I was wondering if I could borrow your ring for a bit. I'll bring it right back,[/b]" he swallowed. "Bernard wanted to... uh, check something on it. Something about the smith.[/b]"
The woman eased the band off slowly, her expression questioning. She didn't ask, though, and he didn't answer. He simply closed his fingers around hers, taking the small piece of jewelry and kissing the bridge of her nose. He held her until sleep found her again, her body going still in his arms, her breathing regular. It was hard to pull himself away when the time came, but Seth slipped out of the bed carefully, not wanting to interrupt her rest any further. He stood in the doorway, looking at the bed, the woman, the room. Then he glanced down at the ring in his hand, and slowly closed his hand around it.
~~~
It was always fascinating to watch Bernard work. Seth's eyes were bright and curious as the man tinkered with the piece of jewelry, but what the Bat really found to be interesting was the play of expressions across the sharp features of the Highlander. It was amusing, and Seth had to work hard to keep from laughing. He knew that Bernard wouldn't appreciate it. Occasionally, he'd ask what the man was doing, curious as to exactly what the ring would do when he was finished. He hadn't specified anything, just told his friend that it should be something to remind Heilyn of her husband.
Finally, it was finished, and Bernard turned to hand Seth the ring. Seth accepted it gladly, staring down at it and then shifting awkwardly. "That's it, Seth.[/b]" Bernard said gently, reaching out to clasp one hairy shoulder. The Bat jumped at the touch, raising his head to stare at Bernard. He swallowed, trying to form the words.
"Bernard, what's... What are my chances?[/b]" he asked, mouth feeling dry. He knew he must have looked ridiculous, but he needed to know. It was too late for him to turn back now, too late for him to worry. He figured that it was a good time to know.
Bernard's expression was lost. "Seth, I don't...[/b]"
"Please, just... tell me.[/b]" One furry hand found a human hand, held it tight. "I need to know.[/b]"
Bernard shifted, then sighed. He looked at the ground. "22 percent.[/b]"
Silence fell upon them, thick and heavy, and Seth closed his mouth as he considered the percentage. It was honestly worse than he'd expected, but from the way he was showing so clearly, it made sense. Either he had quite a few children growing inside of him, or he had a biped. Both would complicate things quite significantly. Should he feel mad? Upset? Sad? Truth be told, Seth didn't feel much of anything, simply an overwhelming sense of truth. He knew it was going to be bad. He'd always known. "Seth?[/b]"
Bernard's voice was soft, but it cut through the haze of the man's thoughts. He blinked, raising his head, and smiled. Was he afraid? No.
He only felt regret. Regret that having this meant that he stood a very good chance of losing so much. If he was one of the 78 percent that wouldn't make it, he'd never stay up too late with Bernard again, joking and laughing. He'd never see another grandchild, or a great-grandchild. He'd never walk into his bedroom, never cuddle up beside Heilyn, his wife, the love of his life. Seth swallowed awkwardly, trying to press back the emotion that was running through his limbs. So he stood, masking fear with bravado, and gave Bernard an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"I've made bets on worse odds, and you know better than anyone how good my money situation is,[/b]" he said, a wide grin spreading across his batty face. "'sides, I made a promise, didn't I? Anyway, I'm gonna get to bed. But I'll see you tomorrow. We should probably look over it all, and I wanna get your opinion on some name ideas. If you're gonna be an uncle again, I want you to have a say.[/b]"
22 times out of 100, Seth would survive the pregnancy. He only wished that he could have all 100 tries rather than simply the one that was fast-approaching.
Characters: Seth, Bernard, Heilyn
Warnings: None, really
Please comment if you read this. <3 I don't have much to say about it other than that it was hard to write.
When the test came back positive, Seth couldn't help but laugh.
Weeks of stomach upset combined with weight gain and moodiness? Really, he wasn't sure why he'd bothered. He should have just known; after all, how many times had he seen Heilyn go through the same bloody symptoms? He supposed he'd just been curious, and he'd rather be 100% certain that he was in fact pregnant and it wasn't some other ailment that he'd need to get taken care of.
It was still a bit of a shock. After all, Heilyn'd undergone fairly serious proceedures in an attempt to keep it from happening. Seth himself had gone ahead with a vasectomy, deciding it would be better than potentially siring children on some poor unsuspecting person that had joined them for a threesome. He'd thought that it would be the end of it. It should have been the end of it, at least. After all, they were just getting too damn old to deal with children. It would be a relief when the most recent group, the ones he'd had with Peaches, were grown and self-sufficient. He'd thought he could spend the rest of his days in relaxation, dealing with children only when he became a grandfather. He should have known better, should have realized that sometimes it was just impossible to judge what the future would bring. After all, when Xiven had told him that Pale was pregnant, he'd laughed harder and longer than almost anyone else.
The bat almost felt badly now, as he glanced down at his body.
"Seth, are you even listening to me?[/b]" The man glanced up, blinking, and stared at the doctor. The look on his face must have told him everything, because the other man sighed irritatably and spoke again. "I reccomend you look into having an abortion. You're too old to have children. If you follow through with this, it could kill you.[/b]"
Seth felt his eyes narrow, and he stood rather abruptly. "Oh, shut up. Who the hell do you think I am, anyway?[/b]" the man grinned, despite himself. "I've done this before, remember? I know how hard it's gonna be.[/b]" Granted, those had been eggs, meaning the time he'd had to actually carry them was far shorter, but Seth's self-confidence was boundless. "Besides, I'm not that old. I guess I'll be by later for another checkup, then.[/b]"
So saying, the big man jammed his hands into his pockets and left the room, his head abuzz with thoughts. Children. Was it wrong to feel so excited about it, even with those dark words hanging over his head? The doctor was probably just blowing steam, anyway. He almost certainly didn't feel like dealing with any more babies. Seth couldn't exactly blame him, but he wanted these babies. After all, he felt like Heilyn deserved it, especially after he'd inadvertantly gone and filled the court with children that weren't hers.
He wanted to give her this.
Yet, for some reason, his feet didn't take him to the room they shared. He found himself walking upstairs, down the hall that he'd walked down time and time again. Usually, Heilyn was hanging off his arm, but today, the Solandrian felt like he needed perspective. Bernard was good with perspective. Bernard could tell him what he needed to do and how he needed to go about doing it. It would also give him the opportunity to check in on the King, to make sure that he was remembering to eat no matter how deeply entrenched he was in his work. Seth knocked lightly at the door, a familiar pattern that would tell Bernard exactly who was waiting for him on the other side of the hallway.
~~~
"Listen to me, Seth, he wasn't kidding[/b]."
The look on the older man's face actually caused the Bat to pause, blinking in surprise and leaning back a bit. He did his best to mask the movement, leaning back in the chair and resting his arm against the chair. He hadn't necessarily expected that kind of bluntness from Bernard. What struck him even more than the man's words, however, was the look on his face. Seth did his best to shrug. "Come on, Bernard. I'm gonna be fine. Aren't you looking forward to a whole new set of little mes running around?[/b]"
The look on Bernard's face answered that question better than words ever could. Seth sighed, glancing down at the glass of water that rested in front of him.
"That's... Seth, that isn't the issue.[/b]" Bernard finally said, clearing his throat. The court was swarming with children, and rumor had reached far and wide that Apocalypse had made it his own personal goal to get Xiven pregnant, a fact that unsettled Seth quite a bit. The Highland King rose to his feet slowly, waving Seth's offer of a steadying hand aside. He walked to a bookshelf, hands laced behind his back as he looked it over, finally pulling a thin tome out. He flipped it open, indicating a page of medical diagrams. "Pregnancy for a man of any age is riddled with complications. Do you know what the chances of survival are? Even if you don't...[/b]" he gestured, not wanting to say the words. "...You run the very real chance of shattering either your pelvis or spine. You'd be crippled, spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair. Don't be an idiot.[/b]"
It was quite the outburst, and Seth didn't move an inch as Bernard spoke, simply kept his eyes on the man. He could see what the chances of survival were.
He sighed, resting his head against the back of the chair. "Please. I don't want diagrams or numbers or information about something that probably isn't going to happen.[/b]" When it looked like Bernard was going to say something, to argue, Seth waved a finger, jutting out his lower lip and shaking his head. "Shh. No. Don't talk to me about probabilities or whatever it is you're gonna correct me on. Let me finish. Bernard, I want to have these children, and that's the end of it. Now,[/b]" he grunted, pushing himself to his feet, hands resting on his hips as he looked the frail man over.
The Solandrian couldn't help but smile. This was just proof that the other man did give a shit. He reached out one hand, ruffling the Highlander's golden hair and laughing. "Stop worrying so much. Shit works out, right? I'm gonna go tell Lyn, but...[/b]" he paused, searching for the words. "...If she comes, you can't tell her about.. All that other stuff. I'm gonna be fine, so I don't want her to worry. You know how bad her paranoia can be.[/b]"
Silence fell around them, and when Bernard finally gave a small nod of agreement, Seth reached out and pulled the thin body close, hugging him.
"It's going to be fine. I promise.[/b]"
~~~
That promise wasn't enough to keep Seth from making sure his life was in order, in the meanwhile. He was getting to be old enough, pregnancy or no, that he felt like it would be a smart thing to do. He knew he wasn't going to be around forever, regardless of how certain he was that he wasn't going to have any issues with bearing Heilyn's children. He had to make sure that if he got hit by a buggy or anything that life could go on. He'd told that to Bernard, doing his best to ignore the look the man gave him.
It had nothing to do with the pregnancy. It was just the smart decision. He told Bernard that, too, several times. Each time his volume got a little bit louder, more insistent.
The first thing he needed to do was in regards to the children he'd had with Peaches. He worried about them all the time, wondered if they'd be okay. The world scared them both so badly, and Vaska didn't deal with his worries very well. Being alone was the worst for them, he knew, and it made him wonder what would happen to them in the event that... well, that something happened to him. Peaches was busy, he couldn't expect her to have as much time to dedicate to keeping an eye on them as they needed to keep their crazy little heads on straight.
The thought came to the man in the middle of the night, and he accidentally woke Heilyn as he scrabbled for a piece of paper to write it down on so he didn't forget. It was obvious, as soon as he'd thought of it, obvious and perfect.
He bought them an Ace. Days of shopping turned into weeks, but he wasn't willing to just jump into it. When he finally found the bird for sale in the Bazaar, he knew he'd found what he needed. It had wings, so it could fly with Vaska. He was fairly certain that the Villa words would delight the bat, and that the boys would have no trouble at all linking them to how their pet was supposed to be treated. He wasn't pleased with the Suit of the thing, but it was clever. Clever was good. Clever meant that it would understand the importance of keeping close to his boys. He hoped that an extra companion would mean that some of the pressure was taken off Benedict. Falks was delighted; Vaska was skeptical at first, afraid a moment later, and beyond thrilled after that.
As he watched the trio get to know their new pet, Seth couldn't help but smile. They'd grow up fine, he was sure of it, weird as they were sometimes. If nothing else, they had Ben to keep them in line. The Ace - Alex, the pet store owner had called him - adapted rather quickly, finding delight in accompanying the boys. It became rather common to watch the three - four, whatever - of them in the back gardens, playing until the sun started to set. They were hardly ever alone, and Seth knew he'd made a good choice there.
By now, his stomach had swollen to the point that he just wasn't comfortable in human form any longer, and he'd switched to using his bipedal form on a day-to-day basis. He could tell Heilyn was worried - something about his morning sickness being worse than she thought it would be - but he shrugged it off. No need to worry, right? He'd kissed her forehead and nuzzled against her neck with his leaf-nose, giving her a wide smile and patting his own gut. "They're just active, is all. Bet we've got another Club in there. That'd suck, huh?[/b]" If he could joke about it, it meant there was no need for worries.
The next step involved his finances. He roped Bernard into that, as well. For all that the man seemed happy to see Seth was taking these things into consideration, he didn't seem at all... Well. Happy. He could see the sadness in his eyes, and it pained him. He'd grown rather close to the King over the last few weeks, and if you took the occasional drunken screw-up out of the equation, he rather enjoyed the man's company. It bothered him to see him look so upset, and the Bat knew that it was really eating at him to keep some of the information about his condition on the down-low.
He found himself staying in Bernard's room later and later. Discussions of his finances often went by the wayside in favor of general gossip, storytelling, and occasionally reminiscing about a good time they'd had in the years before. Seth often added notes about the fun they'd have in the years to come, too.
"Remember the first time Lyn and I got you to try Weed?[/b]" the bat remarked as he leaned back, resting his head against his fluffy forearms and grinning from ear to ear. "I almost thought we'd killed you, you coughed so bloody hard. I was getting ready to call down to Temmin, did you know that?[/b]"
Bernard made a face, his eye narrowing in exasperation. "I had no idea that you cared at all. You were laughing too hard for me to think you cared about much of anything at that point.[/b]"
Seth flew into uproarious laughter at that, and he grabbed the man in a rather abrupt bear-hug. "Awww, come off it, 'nard. You know I always care about you.[/b]" Keeping his arm slung around Bernard's neck and shoulders, Seth sighed, almost wistfully. A dark cast went over his face and he stared up at the ceiling. "...Do you think it's gonna be okay?[/b]" he asked, turning to glance at his friend, normally bright expression almost dulled.
"I... don't know, Seth,[/b]" Bernard finally answered. Then he cleared his throat, worming his way out of the man's grip and shuffling the paperwork. He smoothed over his upset expression, replacing it with a rather neutral one. "Anyway, your katars... What about them?[/b]" That made Seth pause. The weapons were, in fact, his greatest treasure.
He patted his distended abdomen, nodding. "One of the kids can have 'em. I trust you and Lyn to figure out which one.[/b]"
Silence filled the space between them, and Bernard scratched down a note on the paper. Then he set it to the side, glancing at the Bat. "That's... everything, unless there's anything else you can think of.[/b]"
Was there? Seth considered the last several weeks, twiddling his thumbs as he did. It seemed like between the various arrangements he was making and the time spent at the doctor's, he hadn't had a real chance to just sit on his ass and breathe. Not that it was a bad thing, just a bit of a change of pace. He'd bought an Ace. He'd written a will. He'd heard the tiny heartbeat of the children growing inside of him, had seen Heilyn's delighted flush when she first heard it, too. It had been a wild ride, but when he really thought about it... He'd had fun. Now it was time to focus, to make sure that the really important things were taken care of. He glanced up at Bernard, the words catching in his throat.
"...There's one thing. I'll be right back.[/b]"
~~~
The palace was silent. He should have expected that; he and Bernard had a habit of completely losing track of time. It was no surprise that when he stepped into their room it was dark, the lights long since put out. He could make out the form of Heilyn's body curled beneath the blankets of the bed they shared, the light coming in from the windows casting a delicate play of lights and shadows across her face. His heart seemed to catch in his throat as he looked at her, sprawled out across the bed, as beautiful as she'd ever been.
He couldn't ignore that, even with her limbs stretched out as far as they could, the bed looked far too big when hers was the only body in it. Seth eased himself in beside her, sighing as she pressed against them, their bodies meshing perfectly even with his belly as big as it was. He could hear the confusion in her voice when she rolled to look at him. A wing stretched out, covering the pair of them in a tent of his own making, and Seth took a deep breath. "..'mthing wrong?[/b]" the woman murmured, one eye half-cracked. Seth simply shook his head, touching her cheek with a finger and giving her a half-smile.
"Nope. Nothing at all. I was wondering if I could borrow your ring for a bit. I'll bring it right back,[/b]" he swallowed. "Bernard wanted to... uh, check something on it. Something about the smith.[/b]"
The woman eased the band off slowly, her expression questioning. She didn't ask, though, and he didn't answer. He simply closed his fingers around hers, taking the small piece of jewelry and kissing the bridge of her nose. He held her until sleep found her again, her body going still in his arms, her breathing regular. It was hard to pull himself away when the time came, but Seth slipped out of the bed carefully, not wanting to interrupt her rest any further. He stood in the doorway, looking at the bed, the woman, the room. Then he glanced down at the ring in his hand, and slowly closed his hand around it.
~~~
It was always fascinating to watch Bernard work. Seth's eyes were bright and curious as the man tinkered with the piece of jewelry, but what the Bat really found to be interesting was the play of expressions across the sharp features of the Highlander. It was amusing, and Seth had to work hard to keep from laughing. He knew that Bernard wouldn't appreciate it. Occasionally, he'd ask what the man was doing, curious as to exactly what the ring would do when he was finished. He hadn't specified anything, just told his friend that it should be something to remind Heilyn of her husband.
Finally, it was finished, and Bernard turned to hand Seth the ring. Seth accepted it gladly, staring down at it and then shifting awkwardly. "That's it, Seth.[/b]" Bernard said gently, reaching out to clasp one hairy shoulder. The Bat jumped at the touch, raising his head to stare at Bernard. He swallowed, trying to form the words.
"Bernard, what's... What are my chances?[/b]" he asked, mouth feeling dry. He knew he must have looked ridiculous, but he needed to know. It was too late for him to turn back now, too late for him to worry. He figured that it was a good time to know.
Bernard's expression was lost. "Seth, I don't...[/b]"
"Please, just... tell me.[/b]" One furry hand found a human hand, held it tight. "I need to know.[/b]"
Bernard shifted, then sighed. He looked at the ground. "22 percent.[/b]"
Silence fell upon them, thick and heavy, and Seth closed his mouth as he considered the percentage. It was honestly worse than he'd expected, but from the way he was showing so clearly, it made sense. Either he had quite a few children growing inside of him, or he had a biped. Both would complicate things quite significantly. Should he feel mad? Upset? Sad? Truth be told, Seth didn't feel much of anything, simply an overwhelming sense of truth. He knew it was going to be bad. He'd always known. "Seth?[/b]"
Bernard's voice was soft, but it cut through the haze of the man's thoughts. He blinked, raising his head, and smiled. Was he afraid? No.
He only felt regret. Regret that having this meant that he stood a very good chance of losing so much. If he was one of the 78 percent that wouldn't make it, he'd never stay up too late with Bernard again, joking and laughing. He'd never see another grandchild, or a great-grandchild. He'd never walk into his bedroom, never cuddle up beside Heilyn, his wife, the love of his life. Seth swallowed awkwardly, trying to press back the emotion that was running through his limbs. So he stood, masking fear with bravado, and gave Bernard an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"I've made bets on worse odds, and you know better than anyone how good my money situation is,[/b]" he said, a wide grin spreading across his batty face. "'sides, I made a promise, didn't I? Anyway, I'm gonna get to bed. But I'll see you tomorrow. We should probably look over it all, and I wanna get your opinion on some name ideas. If you're gonna be an uncle again, I want you to have a say.[/b]"
22 times out of 100, Seth would survive the pregnancy. He only wished that he could have all 100 tries rather than simply the one that was fast-approaching.
