Marie smiled as she hugged Candace, who was struggling to accept their new reality. The therapy sessions were helping, giving her an outlet and a supportive shoulder to cry on. Candace’s gentle, optimistic nature contradicted with the violent nature of this world. Candace’s steps seemed lighter as she left the room, and Marie herself to relax. A soft knock came at the open bedroom door. Adam entered, followed by Michele.
“Time to see how the babies are doing.” Adam gave a gentle smile.
Michele joined Marie on the bed, and they both relaxed. Marie and Michele exchanged mischievous glances and snickered like sisters, while Adam rolled his eyes playfully. He approached Michele’s side of the bed and placed his hand on her belly. “Bioanalysis.” He muttered.
Bioanalysis was an ability that scans the body to determine their physical and magical condition. Used to identify injuries, ailments, and any magical effects currently on the body, providing information so that the most effective treatment can be determined. All this came with a nice little window that showed their status screens with an enhanced.
“Hmm,” he muttered, “The baby looks fine. Are you taking your pre-natal vitamins?”
Michele had a guilty look on her face. “No, they make me nauseous.”
“Come on, Michele, you need to be taking them. The baby needs them. Talk to Linda. Maybe she can help make them palatable.” Adam pleaded.
“Okay, fine.” She grumbled.
Adam walked around and repeated the process for Marie. “Bioanalysis” His face turned to a frown, then he looked from her belly where his hand was placed to her face, then to Michele. “Honey, will you excuse us?”
Marie felt her anxiety ramp up and her heart started thundering. Instinctively, she cradled her hands around her growing baby bump. Michele gave Marie a look of concern before she sat up and left the room, pulling the door shut behind her. Adam watched her carefully as she left, then redirected his attention back to Marie and sat down next to her.
“You baby is exhibiting stress, and not just a little either. Your baby is not good. My impression is that you are not very far from a miscarriage. The baby’s body is fighting itself. Its cells are attacking each other. Almost like its body is at war with itself. Your body is significantly short of vitamins and your cortisol levels are extremely high. The baby is even worse off.”
Adam took a deep breath. “Judging by the quest information, the cells expressing Derek’s draconic heritage are at war with the cells expressing your nymph heritage. Causing the baby’s already weak immune system to fight both. The war is consuming a lot of your vitamins and energy as the baby struggles to grow.”
“You need to up your daily dosage of vitamins significantly. Start with at least five vitamins twice a day. Of course, this will only empower the war, but at least they will grow with additional nutrients. That’s not all. You need to relax more. The mental strain of your class is adding to your own cortisol levels and consuming more of your body’s resources.”
Marie’s heart skipped a beat as his words sank into her soul. Guilt and fear welled up in her. Her mind raced. Her fingers tightened around the bed sheets. She looked up at Adam, tears brimming. “You know I can’t. If I don’t, we could all die.”
“I understand, Marie. It’s only my professional opinion. I understand your struggle, but miscarriage at this point is very likely. Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t already.”
Marie felt a wave of helplessness wash over her. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “You want me to choose between our family and my baby?” Her voice trembled.
Adam reached over and squeezed her hand comfortingly. “I’m just telling you what I see. Hopefully, Derek will retrieve the crystal soon.”
Marie nodded, but her mind was still in turmoil. She glanced at Adam, seeking reassurance, but knowing deep down that the decision rested on her shoulders alone.
----------------------------------------
After arriving home and changing out of his wrecked armor into some work clothes, he got an earful from Jenny about another set of ruined equipment. He updated Marie on the day’s events, and she shook her head at more deaths. She seemed off, but obviously didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering her.
Marie frowned at the thoughts of the grim world outside the boundary of their home returned. “Surely with you culling the monsters, the death rate will slow.”
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Then he was outside with John, who was guiding the work crew on the construction project. Candace was forming stone around a beam that had been placed, leveled, and held secure until it could be concreted in. Leroy was placing the beams next to their respective holes, but he was moving pretty slowly. Carson, Adam, and Phil were around the side of the house, working on the addition by building walls. They were moving slowly, but that was likely due to the near empty case of beer.
“Grab those beams and drop them into the holes.” John ordered, like a maestro. “The holes are ten feet deep and lined with solid rock.”
“How deep is your rock foundation?”
“It’s anchored to the bedrock four feet below. Not even a tsunami can rip this building out of the ground.” John said proudly.
It was obvious how much effort he put into creating this building using modern magic and existing construction methods.
“Good man.” Derek smiled. “I’ll get to work.”
Derek moved over to where Leroy was half-carrying/half-dragging the beams into their places. Grabbing one end, he hefted it, allowing both of them to carry it. Derek carrying most of the weight. Leroy sat his end at the edge of the hole as Derek lifted. Leroy rushed around and helped lift. Together they walked the beam into the hole where it slammed to the bottom with an earth quaking crash.
“I always knew you had more brawn than brains.” Marie teased.
Derek grinned, feeling a warmth spread through him at her playful tone. When the beam fell into the hole, he yelled, “Hulk smash” right before the beam slammed into the bottom of the hole. When he turned back for another beam, he saw that he had a crowd watching. He looked at Leroy, who shared a smile with him.
“Nerds.” John complained, shaking his head.
It took another forty minutes to finish the job and both he and Leroy were tired from the labor. John nodded in satisfaction as Derek sat at the edge of the hole looking down at the twelve posts in the ground and the horizontals were placed, but not fastened.
While they took a break, John showed Derek the tunnel to the house. Stepping down into the basement, then moving toward the tunnel, Derek saw that the walls had been formed of stone with trays running down both sides, and while it still didn’t have a top, the floor and walls were completely formed.
John spoke as he pointed out the progress. “James and I ran pipes for water, sewer, and electricity, with an extra for future use. We added radiant heat pipes in the walls and floor. We also lowered the floor to accommodate taller people.”
The basement was now six feet deeper and wider than Derek’s original dig. The garage basement would be fourteen feet tall, with a rock foundation and incomplete walls.
We need to finish the frame before proceeding. Leroy barely managed to place one beam, so we waited for you. The ceiling beams will be sixteen and a half feet high. If we weld two beams together, we’ll have enough for the entire project and a bit extra.
By the end of the evening, the entire framework was finished, and they had the skeleton of a building up. It was late, bordering on the early hours of the next day, and they found themselves at the table eating a late-night snack with some warm tea.
“John, how long do you think it will take to get the building completed?”
“Usable, or completely finished?” John asked.
“Usable.”
“Two days of solid work, if we continue at today’s speed and work full days.” John replied. “We should be able to get the floors finished tomorrow, depending on James and Candace. Then the walls shouldn’t take that long. Spray in insulation is going to be a messy step and I wouldn’t recommend using the space until that’s finished. I saw what you brought in yesterday, but it isn’t going to be enough.”
“Let’s set it up.” Marie said, looking at Jenny.
Jenny grimaced with anxiety. “Uh.. I don’t want to lead missions. It’s too stressful.” She paused, looking at Marie for a moment, then away. “Can I just make things?”
Marie smiled gently and nodded. “Certainly, we need someone to take up the strategist role. Derek could do it, but I think his time is better spent elsewhere. After looking at everyone’s stats sheet. I think Michele would be the best fit.”
Michele looked up from her phone with surprise. “Me? Why me?”
“You have above average physical, high mental, average emotional capacity, and low magical capacity. That makes me think you have a role that is more focused on your mind. Being a strategist should be something that you enjoy and find interesting. After getting to know you, that thought has been constantly reinforced.” Marie explained. “Jenny has more magical aptitude, giving her more of a direction into crafting.”
“I see, well I will give it a shot then. I’ll start planning a trip to get supplies.” Michele nodded.
“I have put together a list of roles within the family to help separate jobs and tasks.” Marie waved her hand, sending everyone a note to their interface. “I’m not forcing you into any role. This is purely my opinion on what direction your personality and stats lead me to believe would be best.”
Role:
Dragon Daddy, let’s practice making babies. ;)
Derek glanced at her, and she coyly gave him a sideways glance and a seductive smile that promised a fun evening.
Linda breathed a sigh of relief, pulling them out of their little world. “Oh, good! I didn’t want to fight. I prefer being here, supporting our family and providing them with a home. I’m happy to be Mom.”
Her husband, John, rubbed her leg under the table. Pleased not to have his wife doing something stressful. “I can be a guard to protect the family and be here with my wife.”
“I have roles for the kids as well, but I don’t think they are ready for that yet,” Marie explained. “I want to get them trained in magic and in some combat before we start leading them into a role where they aren’t ready.”
Marie’s thorough consideration for each role left everyone nodding in agreement. After wrapping up some minor discussions, they called it a night. Derek and Marie retired to their room for some rambunctious cuddling.