Blood from Stone [AU]

[GamesMaster]

[Continued from Imprints In Stone]


Bethany hadn't been feeling well lately. She knew her body twicefold: knew it from the inside, as an inhabitant of this shell for the past nineteen years, and knew it from the outside, as any healer would. These aches, this bloating, this nausea and heartburn, weren't normal things for her. Something had diverted her body's usual course, and the only prudent thing to do was to see a healer to determine what it was.

She nearly went alone. Carver was working, picking up a seasonal job filling out guard shifts; it was meant to be something open to adventurers, to help with the crime wave the summer heat often brought along with it, but his training with Aveline met the qualifications, and he fancied himself an adventurer-in-training these days anyway. At the end of it, when he was released from duty, he and Vallen would be going on one of their annual adventuring trips: Carver's favorite time of the year. He'd been pushing to make them biannual, or better yet, seasonal, but she had too much work to do. Someday he'd decide to go without her, but not yet. It was too soon.

Merrill was half the reason he didn't go. She was still doing her therapy; they'd gotten her a floating chair she could use to get about, but Carver still sometimes watched her with a wounded look in his eyes, a clear mark of the guilt and shame he's feeling about getting her injured in the first place. Mostly, they'd adapted. Mostly, he'd forgiven himself. But mostly wasn't all the way, and it was a hard thing to handle for a young man.

Bethany had considered asking Marian to come with her. They got on well, now that Marian was in treatment, now that she was starting to feel like a person again. But asking her would have meant asking Cindy, who arranged her schedule. And Cindy was... standoffish, sometimes. She didn't seem to desire a sister the way Marian did. She often disagreed with Bethany, and she disliked the two-legged cats, though she doted on her four-legged pet. If it were bad news, Bethany wasn't sure she wanted Cindy there to take charge of the situation, and if it were good, she wasn't sure Cindy would appreciate it as well as Marian would. Better to tell her sister the news when they got together next, when they continued their baking experiments.

Thankfully, one person was available to go with her to her appointment: Seeker Helene, Bethany's step-parent. Varric was busy with Light business, but the Seeker arranged their own schedule, and so it was a small thing to put off some of their research until later and walk Bethany downtown to the healer, hold her hand through the appointment.

Squeeze her hand when the news came that she was pregnant.

[Bethany]

Bethany had suspected of course. Those symptoms, all at once, without any other symptoms to a young fertile woman? Still, she'd... be willing to welcome other explanations. But.. we've not yet... I mean, I was with him during his last two heats, but I'm still not ready-ready for penetration there. She stares at the wall, hand still tightly gripping Helene's. I'd stopped taking preventative measures, to make sure my system was flushed clean by his next heat, if I was ready but that- gods. Right, right, I know better. Don't need penetration for... pregnancy. Fluids drip and travel and the anus isn't that far from the vaginal shaft. Gods. Stupid cat-cats being so damned virile during their heats. Gods, why didn't I wait until after his heat to go off my medicine. Because it gives me indigestion for days and I was eager to stop taking it. Well, that worked out just great, didn't it? Gods. Am... I'm only nineteen, even if I feel older sometimes... am I ready to be a mother?

At Beth's feet, Silence presses against her leg and gives Helene a worried look.

[Helene Dakesh]

"Congratulations are in order," says Helene, but their tone is hesitant, unsure. They had long since stopped having hallucinations -- thanks to Varric's money and ability to rework a ritual -- and they felt secure in their place in the family. Still, at times, it was unclear what their role was. When is advice welcome? When are things to be celebrated?

[Bethany]

"What?" Bethany asks absently, head slowly turning to look at Helene. Her mind scrambles to reply what her ears heard and fails. "Sorry, I was... drifting in my head." She swallows weakly, trying to keep her breathing even.

[Helene Dakesh]

"This one..."

Helene studies Bethany's face for a moment; then, letting go of her hand, Helene moves to press nimble fingers to Bethany's wrist instead, feeling for her pulse. Facial expressions being notoriously difficult for Helene to read, the little Seeker has developed a few helpful tactics for gauging when someone is truly upset and when they are mildly perturbed.

"Breathe deeply," they instruct the girl, a moment later, falling into familiar instructions.

[Bethany]

Bethany automatically complies, being very willing to take steps to ensure Helene feels properly connected to their family. Having to offer her wrist for Helene to hold or breaking the ingrained habit of expecting eye contact during conversation aren't really that much to ask for. "Sorry, I'm feeling pretty stunned," she says after a few breathes. "Don't think I'm shocky or anything, just... gods. I'm pregnant."

[Helene Dakesh]

"Is this undesirable?" asks Helene, leaning forward a little, clearly anxious.

[Bethany]

"...I don't know," Bethany whispers, leaning forward so her hair covers her face a little. She wears it up in neat, tight styles at work, so on her days off she's almost militantly opposed to even a tie, instead letting her waist length, thick and curly hair go as it likes. "Maybe? No. Gods. I think it's not. But what if- I was- Gods, what is Carver going to think? I know he's already uneasy about me being with Don without being married..."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene hesitates, gently putting a hand on Beth's shoulder. "Perhaps... this one suggests traveling home and obtaining a hot beverage. This one suspects it will be easier to make plans at that point."

[Bethany]

A hot... "Tea... tea does sound... good right now," she replies, mustering a weak smile. "Please- please don't tell anyone?" she pleads suddenly. "Not even Dad? Not yet, I need to..."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene winces. "Alright," they say. "A desire for privacy should be respected," they recite, as if from a memorized passage. "May this one encode the information in this one's diaries? There is a chance that they could be read and, if so, the code broken, but this provides a reasonable assurance of safety..."

[Bethany]

Bethany grins, just for a few seconds. "Yeah, that's fine, Helene," she says softly, leaning over to give them a quick one-armed hug. Expression dimming again, she sighs. "I will tell him, everyone, just... I want to think a bit first. And... and Don deserves to know first, I think."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene nods. "Do you wish me to contact his assistant and arrange an appointment?" they ask, smiling a little. This is more familiar territory -- they've been acting as zi'Tethras' contact person for some time, arranging his diary and handling a lot of his correspondence. 

[Bethany]

"No, I'll talk to him at work tomorrow," Beth replies, shaking her head. "Probably get take out and... have a stay-in date." She frets at her lip. And pray he takes it okay. Gods. I thought I'd have months, seasons even, to slowly work my way up to this conversation. Fuck!

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene frowns, feeling Beth tense slightly. "Bethany... if this is... ill-timed... there are procedures..."