Chapter 22: Dogged Darlene

One of the most frustrating parts of starting out was how stop and go it could be. After an initial success of changing the shape of the leyline, Wil and Thomas spent most of the day fiddling with it and kicking up dirt, showing that it could be done. Mostly Wil. Thomas wasn’t as adept at moving the earth, a fact that turned his mood sour before too long.

Bram and Darlene mostly waited by the side, asking questions and marking them down. Their first day ended with a laundry list of tasks they’d need to do before they did anything with their initial success. They parted mid-afternoon, and then the real work began.

Wil got to work on the specialized spectacles that would let Bram observe the leyline, to go with the pair Darlene already had. It wasn’t as clear as Bram’s new pair, but it would remain more versatile. That took nearly two days of his labor.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Bram worked together to catalog and sort the materials they’d requisitioned and split the materials between Wil’s house and Bram’s. Thomas took one of the cars for his own use, and grumbled about the likely necessity of a third or fourth one down the line. Another couple of days of work and that was squared away, ready for use.

By the time Friday rolled around, they were all but ready to actually get moving, with ten weeks remaining in their time limit. It was then Darlene revealed she had other plans that day than working.

“What other plans?” Wil had asked the night before, surprised. They lied in bed together, pleasantly tired after a hard day’s work.

“Something unavoidable and a complete pain,” Darlene said. She sounded embarrassed. “It’s a doctor’s appointment.”

“Well, that’s not so bad,” he said. “Have you been feeling sick?”

She’d laughed and looked at him like he was slow. “For the baby, Wil. I have to get routine checkups to make sure I’m fine.”

“Oh. Right, that makes sense. When is it?”

Darlene huddled under the light blanket, as if she could somehow hide her belly. “Bright and early, nine am. It’s probably going to be the same as last time. I’m fine, I need to eat more, and to rest my feet more. I don’t have time for that.”

“Don’t have time to take care of yourself?” Wil scoffed. “No, you should relax more anyway. Especially now.”

“Especially now,” she echoed with a tinge of irritation. “I hate this. The change part,” she added quickly upon seeing his face. “I have to uproot my entire life and change how I do everything for a year because of a night neither of us remember. It’s crap. I hate feeling so weak and helpless. And my feet and back hurt.”

“I’m afraid of the change too,” Wil admitted. “But I’ll be here the entire time. And I might be able to do something about the foot and back pain. I could make you special slippers that help soothe your aches and pains and make you light on your feet.”

“Right, with what time, Wil?” Darlene scoffed, but she relaxed. “Just…Maybe come with me to the appointment? Doc Hawkins isn’t the judgmental type, but he compensates by being too helpful.”

“Of course.” Wil threw an arm around her and got comfortable in bed. “I’ll drive you there, we’ll get a bit to eat after, and then we’ll do something, just the two of us.”

“...Okay, that sounds good,” Darlene said, slowly turning on her side, pressing up against him. Within a few minutes, she was asleep.

Wil cooked them breakfast and drove them to the clinic the next morning. Doc Hawkins was as energetic and friendly as ever, welcoming them both in with hearty handshakes and an offer of candy. Wil took him up on his offer, but Darlene passed.

“So make yourself comfortable, and I’ll get started.” Hawkins said as he grabbed his stethoscope. Darlene lay down on the examination table, Wil beside her, a disgruntled look on her face as she stared at the ceiling. The doctor slipped the stethoscope in his ears and put the other end on Darlene’s chest.

He listened, humming as he moved it around, and then down to her stomach. Smiling, he looked to Wil. “Everything sounds good so far. Strong, fast heartbeat. Would either of you care to listen?”

“Pass,” said Darlene. “I can feel this thing in me at all times.”

Doc Hawkins chuckled and offered the stethoscope to Wil.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He cautiously took it and slipped the prongs into his ears. As always, he marveled at the way the sound changed before noticing the deep, rapid flutters echoing in his head. Wil jerked, looking at an amused Darlene.

“Baby!” was all he could manage to get out.

“Yeah, that’s what we’re here for son,” Doc Hawkins chuckled.

Wil ignored him and focused on the sound of the baby, his baby, and the strong, indomitable heartbeat. As shocking as seeing Darlene had been when he first got home, being in the clinic made it real. Hearing the heartbeat made it real. His throat dried up instantly. In maybe four months, Wil was going to be a father.

“I…This…I…”

“Yeah, sounds about right,” Darlene said, a small smile slipping past her grumpiness. “You see why I’m so stressed?”

Doc Hawkins laughed again. His lined face was as serene as Wil wasn’t. “One of my favorite parts of the job is that look on your face right now. You haven’t had time to get used to it yet, and coming into it this far along is shocking. But that face makes it worth it. Things are scary, but they’ll get better. You’re lucky the two of you have each other.”

Wil believed it. He swallowed hard, nodding, then slipped the stethoscope off. “I…Yeah. It puts a lot of things into perspective.”

On a hunch, he cast a small spell to sense life around him. Doc Hawkins was his usual rocklike presence, and Darlene was fiery and seemed to be flickering wildly. Deep inside her was a small flame, and he realized he didn’t need to use this spell to sense the life in her. If he used his wizardsense, his child was right there. He was so engrossed in it he missed that the conversation moved on.

“...and the like? Any new aches and pains?” Doc Hawkins had a pad of paper and a pen out.

Darlene groaned. “Nothing new, thank the gods. Everything’s bad enough. Only thing that’s been worse is I can’t seem to go half an hour without needing to pee. Please tell me that doesn’t get worse.”

“Sure, I won’t,” said the doctor. He made it three seconds before chortling. Darlene and Wil joined in weakly.

“Then everything seems fine. Come back in a month from now, or if anything changes. Any weird pains that aren’t gas, or any excessive bleeding or discharge, come in before then. Okay?”

“Sounds good, Doc,” Darlene said, fighting to sit up. Wil took her hand and pulled her up.

“Then I’ll see you later. Be safe, and congratulations, Wil.” Doc Hawkins smiled and opened the door for them.

Back in the car, they sat without saying anything or moving for several minutes. All until Darlene winced, and Wil’s jumped to attention. “Are you alright?”

“Of course I’m alright,” Darlene said with a sigh. “She’s moving around and it feels really weird.” She reached for his hand and placed it on her stomach. Wil almost protested, then the first kick against his hand made him freeze.

The second and third kicks had him laughing. “That’s so uncomfortable. I can’t imagine what it’s like on the receiving end of it. Gods, this is real.”

“Yeah,” said Darlene. “It’s scary, right? I don’t feel ready. I’ve got a million things to do, and there’s no time to be slowed down by a baby. I’m…It’s not that I don’t want it, but I don’t want this to define me. I’m supposed to be the smart, organized one. Not the one stuck at home taking care of a kid.”

“You won’t be,” said Wil, taking her hand in his. He stared out the windshield, half-looking at the front of the clinic, half seeing into space. “For one, we make enough money for a nanny.”

Darlene shot him a look. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

“I know,” he said with a smile. “But I thought it might help. You’ll never be stuck at home if I can help it. I need you too much, Darlene. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m kind of an idiot and can’t do things on my own. I may look like I have more power than you and Bram, but I’m helpless without my team backing me up.

“Without you taking care of every stupid little detail, I’d be stuck spinning my wheels endlessly. You’re sharp, you’re driven, you’re fiery. You’ll never just be a mother, stuck at home and living for your kids. I’d never let that happen. I need you.”

Her grip on his hand tightened. She said nothing at first, swallowing in a way Wil knew was to hide a few unshed tears. He understood. After a long, deep breath, she nodded.

“I need you too. But I don’t like it,” she said, laughing weakly. “I don’t want to need anyone. I always wanted to be strong and independent. I was going to own my own business and make it on my own. And while you were gone it…It felt like Bram and I were just holding down the fort until you got back.

“And then this happened,” she touched her stomach again. “And all I could think of was how badly I wanted you home. And the thought of you not coming back hit twice as hard. When I found out…It was the first time I was ever actually scared while you were gone. Thinking of doing it alone, and then being ashamed of that.”

Back when Wil first came back, he’d genuinely thought Darlene to be one of the strongest, coolest people in town, and only now did he see how much effort she put into making that true. In all this time, he’d cared enough to make sure she didn’t work too hard, but he’d never really seen how hard she worked at seeming invincible.

“There’s no shame in needing other people,” said Wil. “Not even for the strong. Everybody needs somebody, right? No one is completely alone. And you should never feel ashamed of being scared, or realizing you can’t do everything on your own. If, for whatever reason I didn’t come home, you would’ve been taken care of.”

Darlene laughed, nodding. “I know. Your parents already made that clear. They’re the best.”

“They really are,” Wil groaned. “But my point is, we’re okay. We’ll be okay. And you won’t lose yourself, or what you’re good at. Without your logistics and planning, we’d be up the creek without a paddle. Even with Thomas here. No one can replace you, and I mean it.”

She thought about it, and then at the vehicle they were sitting in. “It’d be a lot easier, helping you and helping myself, if I could drive myself around instead of having to try to walk or catch a ride off a cart.”

Wil’s lips twitched. “Thomas isn’t going to be happy about needing to order more cars, but clearly we need them to both get around and use for our tinkering. I’ll happily give you the other one. I prefer my Thunderhawk anyway.”

Darlene rolled her eyes. “You can have it. But you have to teach me to drive. Today, in fact. We can get back to work tomorrow. Today is all about making sure I stay as independent as possible, you got it?”

He smiled. “You got it, Darlene. Anything you need, it’s yours. We’ll grab the other car and get you going…right after second breakfast?”

“Yes.” Darlene nodded and took her hand back. “Now let’s get out of here before Doc Hawkins charges us rent.”

Wil laughed and poured the magical car on. He reversed and brought them back onto the dirt road, and onto a good meal. They’d get back to work tomorrow. Ten weeks left, they had plenty of time.