Chapter 56: It’s A Girl!

Luckily for them, Doc Hawkins happened to be in the crowd. They picked him up and drove to his clinic, where he put Darlene in a bed, checked her vitals, and declared that she was, indeed, going into labor. And with that discovered, Wil was promptly kicked out and left in the waiting room, while Sharon and Darlene’s mother Angelica were inside with her.

Wil discovered something, sitting in the lobby for hours: waiting was a special form of torture. At first it was almost a relief, not having to be in the room. It was tradition, after all, for the fathers to wait outside. Early on it had been a time to socialize, as friends and family came in and out of the clinic with their well wishes.

“Does it drive you crazy to have to sit out here and do nothing while your girlfriend does all the hard work?” Sarah asked him during one relatively quiet lull.

“Yes,” said Wil. “Although it’s worse with you asking that question, so thanks for that.”

“Of course,” said Sarah. She smirked at him and then looked around the clinic. At the moment they were the only ones there. Bob and the fae were showing Bullworth around town, and Bram had to represent their team while Darlene gave birth and Wil did, as his sister so kindly pointed out, sit around being useless.

“Since they’re only letting women in, do you want me to go in and draw a picture of the scene for you? Since you’re missing out, and all.” When in doubt, tormenting one’s siblings was always a great way to pass the time.

“I could peek in at any time I wanted,” said Wil. He grinned wickedly at her and continued, “just like I could ever since I was a teenager. Scrying isn’t too hard. I saw you steal money from Dad before I left. What did you spend it on?”

Sarah looked away, her lips pursed. Wil didn’t know if she was holding back laughter or embarrassed, but he guessed the former. Either way, it bought him a little bit of peace and quiet. At least until he heard Darlene scream and he stood straight up, staring at the door to the back.

“There it is,” said Sarah. “Must be starting for real. Only took, what, five hours?”

The hairs on the back of Wil’s neck stood up. He was tempted to send a spying eye in there to make sure she was okay, but he was told to wait outside for a reason. They didn’t need his help, no matter how much he wanted to give it. There wasn’t much he could do, medically.

“Sit down, it’s going to be a while still. Probably.” Sarah motioned with her hand for him to get down. Wil did and sighed.

That first scream wasn’t the last, although Wil took some small comfort in knowing it sounded like pain but not fear. It was a very small comfort, and it wore out within minutes. Just as he’d been ready to charge in there and at least hold Darlene’s hand, the door to the clinic opened up. Inside walked the first and last person Wil wanted to see.

“Um. Hi,” said Thomas as he stood in the doorway. “I can…I can leave if you’d prefer. I wanted to stop by and pay my respects. And my well wishes.”

Silence.

“Well, this is awkward,” said Sarah as she stood. “I’m going to let you two have fun. But if you hurt my older brother again, I’ll convince my dad to convince the president to let me break your knees.”

“That’s reasonable,” said Thomas. He stepped out of the way to let her leave and then paused, the question obvious.

“Come in,” said Wil. “I needed to talk to you anyway.”

Thomas took Sarah’s seat. Both were right next to the door leading to the back. Another cry of pain made Thomas twitch. “Wow. It’s happening. Are you doing okay?”

Wil chuckled. “I think I’m doing a lot better than Darlene right now. I’m just nervous for her. I hate feeling helpless. You know, like when finding out that promises mean nothing to certain people.”

“As much as I deserve that and whatever barbs you could send my way, you’re not the type to be petty or cruel.” Thomas smiled crookedly and leaned forward, hands clasped between his knees. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

There were a million different ways Wil could’ve approached it. He considered taking his time, letting a bit of silence simmer while he picked the right words. Instead, he went for the one that meant the most to him. “Were you serious about being sorry and willing to make up for what you did?”

“I was. I am.” Thomas undid his bowtie and left it hanging around his neck. “Just so long as that doesn’t involve backing down and not claiming credit for my work and the work of the bastards I tied myself to. I’m not throwing that away.”

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

“Believe it or not, I'm not asking you too anymore,” Wil chuckled. “You deserve credit for your hard work, and if you help me out, I’ll sing your praises louder than I’ll complain about your follies.”

Thomas smiled. “Well, then I feel like I have to. What would you have me do, Wil?”

Again, he laid the cards directly on the table. “Finish my final project for the presentation. I got about ninety percent done, and then I pushed myself too hard, right before I finished. If I’m able to finish, then your weapons will be nothing in comparison.”

He whistled sharply. “As an apology, you want me to make it so you win our little pissing match?”

“If you like.” Wil laughed. “I’m not concerned with beating you so much as wanting to go all the way. The fact that it will one hundred percent beat your weaponized car is a bonus, though.”

A loud, guttural cry of pain rising low to a high keening grabbed Wil’s heart and crushed it. He stood before he realized it, breathing heavily. He wanted to run in. Maybe he couldn’t do anything medically, but he could perhaps take the pain away. A simple deadening illusion and maybe…

“We could do this later,” Thomas said quietly. “You have a lot on your mind right now, and I can see that it’s maybe not the best time.”

“No, no,” said Wil. He sat back down, with his hands gripping his knees so tight they hurt. “We don’t have much time, I think. So, you willing to help me, or not? I honestly won’t judge you either way. Well, maybe a little.”

“What do you need me to do?” Thomas asked. “What is it you’re trying to do for your last project?”

“Honestly, it’s doing more of what I first showed you how to do,” said Wil. “Moving earth around and changing leylines. I handled and changed a few dozen leylines in just two days and I burnt out a little. There should only be about six or seven left, and once they’re changed, it should prove Marlowe’s research right.”

At first, Thomas just nodded along as he listened. When Wil’s words registered, he lit up. “You can’t be serious,” he said with a laugh of disbelief. “Did you seriously stumble into that too? I can’t believe you, McKenzie.”

Wil shrugged. “I don’t know if it will work, but I want to try. Are you willing to help me out, even if it screws you over?”

“Well, I kind of have to, don’t I?” Thomas laughed. “A year ago, I would’ve shrugged it all off and moved on, but there’s something about your irritatingly saccharine naivete that makes me want to live up to it. But that’s not the number one reason to help.”

“It isn’t?”

Thomas stood. “It’s a close second. The number one reason is that it’ll piss off Ferrovani. That’s good enough for me.” Another pained cry made him wince. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to be elsewhere. I hate that sound, and you’ve got more important things to worry about. When you need me, I’ll be there.”

And then Wil was alone again, except for the cries, coming sooner and sooner. Wil white-knuckled his grip on his knees and waited. It went on for another twenty minutes, and right as it became too much to bear, there was one last cry, and then a higher pitched squalling. His heart skipped a beat and he was on his feet.

Sharon pushed through the door, dressed in scrubs and an apron. “She’s here! You’ve got a daughter!”

Wil let out a wordless cry of excitement and hugged his mother, who squeezed him back. “Can I come in yet?”

“That’s why I’m here,” said Sharon. She pulled away with a big smile on her face. “Let’s get you dressed for it and back there.”

He didn’t need to get scrubbed up the same as everyone else, but Wil did need to wash his hands and put on an outer coat. When he went through the door, Angelica had her arm around a flushed, sweaty, and exhausted looking Darlene. Bundled up in a blanket and mostly cleaned off was his daughter. His heart skipped a beat, and his throat closed up.

“I’m not too happy with you right now,” said Darlene in a creaky, beat up voice. “But I think I can forgive you.”

Doc Hawkins chuckled. “You’ve got a healthy, strong daughter, Mr. Wizard. How about we all get out and give them some privacy?”

Wil was grateful as people filed past him to go to the waiting room. Each step to Darlene was a thousand miles, towards that adorably wrinkly pink thing in her arms. He sat down in the chair next to the bed numbly, eyes locked onto his daughter.

“I…wow, I…” he swallowed hard, tears rising to his eyes. He didn’t know how he felt, just that it was a lot. “You were right. It’s a girl. I guess that means you get to name her, as per our agreement.”

“Yes,” said Darlene in tired triumph. “And I’ve had a name waiting for months. Wilhelmina McKenzie. Mina for short.”

Wil’s entire face screwed up. “You can’t name her that! Everyone’s going to think we named her after me.”

“Yep,” said Darlene with a twinkle in her eyes. “And no one will ever believe you when you say she wasn’t. It’s a strong name, and I like Mina.”

“Fine,” said Wil. “I get to name the next one, and I at least won’t be cruel to the poor kid.”

“Next one?” Darlene said. “Next one, you can have.” She smiled and then gently raised Mina up. The baby squirmed and gurgled, seemingly just as tired. Wil couldn’t imagine much being more exhausting than being born.

Silently, Wil took his daughter and cradled her against his shoulder. She may have been light in his arms, but with her the weight of the world settled on him once more, but with more joy than responsibility usually brought. “She’s so little,” he said.

“Didn’t feel little a few minutes ago,” Darlene complained good naturedly. “I promise, I only half mean my jokes. I’m…I’m pretty happy,” she admitted.

“Me too,” said Wil. He gently bounced Mina against his shoulder. Silent laughter wracked his body. “Wow, I talked to Thomas and he agreed to help, but I really don’t care too much anymore.”

Darlene laughed and weakly reached for a cup of water that she drained in seconds. “I do. We have our daughter and she’s perfect. Now you and him better go out and earn our happy ending.”

Wil continued to bounce his daughter, buzzing from inside as the strange euphoria colored the world differently. “Gladly.”