Gifted

21: Newest Member

Charles

I stormed into the prison and rattled Gerard's door. He wearily rolled over on his cot.

"So you thought you could get rid of us that easily?" I snarled furiously.

"I see he didn't finish the job," he replied cockily.

"If you try one more time, then I swear you will hang faster than you can claim innocent, do you hear?!" I shouted. I suddenly heard soft footsteps.

"Charles, please don't yell." I turned and sighed.

"Hera, what are you doing down here?" Gerard's expression perked.

"I heard you shouting," she replied, glancing in at Gerard. He stared at her, and I stepped in front of her.

"Go back upstairs," I suggested.

"Stop trying to hurt us," she whispered, and I saw her teary eyes fixed on my cousin. "You're only hurting yourself and others around you. That man you sent is dead, Gerard, and he could've lived. Why are you so fixed on hurting us?" He was silent, and I took her hand gently to lead her upstairs.

"Hera," he suddenly called. We both turned and found him leaning on the cell door. He gestured for her to come closer, and she hesitantly obeyed, and I followed closely, but he shooed me away.

I watched, heart clenching in anxiety, as he gripped her arms gently and pulled her closer to whisper in her ear. I saw her stiffen, and was about to pull her away, but I saw her fingers wrap around his. Her eyes were teary as she pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and what was left of his countenance faded, and she hurried past me to the stairs. I followed after a glance in my cousin's direction, noting the angry sadness engraved on his features.

Later: Hera

I sat by my window in my mother's rocking chair, staring at the sunset as Charles sat on the sofa reading.

"Where are we going to live?" I asked suddenly. He looked up.

"What?"

"When we're married. Where are we going to live?" He was quiet for a minute.

"I suppose we need to think about that, don't we?" he chuckled. I smiled at him as he turned back to his book. "We could fix my father's house up..."

"Speaking of, where is he living?" I asked.

"With the governor," Charles replied. "Until his wounds are completely healed."

"How did he survive?" I murmured. "Those shots hit him right in the chest."

"I don't know how," he replied. "But he did. And that's what's important." The last bit was whispered, and I looked up at him. He was looking at the book in his hands, but I could tell he wasn't really reading. His eyes weren't moving. I got up and walked around the sofa behind him, sliding my arms around his neck from behind. He kissed my forearm.

"Tell me about your perfect family again," I whispered. "It's so beautiful."

"I would like four sons," he said quietly.

"No daughters?"

"If we had one, I'd be no less happy, but sons are my dream. We'd live in my father's house, and as they grew up we would teach them to play and read and compose, and they would grow up to be great protectors and artists." I sighed.

"What do they look like in your mind?"

"Two look like you, and two like me." I heard him smile, then he turned and pulled me over the back of the sofa with a cry of delight. I quickly straightened my skirts as they flew up a bit, flushing furiously. He simply laughed and attacked me with kisses.

Moments later I heard a knock on the door, and straightening my suddenly messy hair and hitching my rumpled dress back into place, I got up to answer it. When I opened the door, I found no one there as the rain thundered on the roof over the porch. I looked down at a soft sound and gasped.

"What is it, Hera?" Charles called, coming up behind me as I picked up the bundle from the ground, turning to show him the tiny hands and sleeping face of a small baby. He froze. I noticed a note and pulled it off.

"Please take care of her. She's only a few weeks old, and I don't have the means or ability. I know you are a good family. Give her the life I couldn't." I looked up at Charles.

"Oh, we can't just not keep her!" I whispered. "Someone is counting on us!"

"But I don't know how to take care of a baby!" he whispered back. I looked down at the little girl's face. She was precious, with little rosy cheeks and soft skin. Thin dark hair dusted her head, and suddenly she yawned, opening bright green eyes.

"Oh, Charlie, she looks like you," I whispered.

Just then my mother and sisters, Artie holding her own newborn Delilah. Persephone gasped when she saw the baby girl in my arms.

"What is that?" Mother asked in shock. I turned to face them.

"Our little girl," I said proudly. They looked at Charles in alarm. "No," I laughed. "Not really ours. But she is now." He looked down at the baby with an uncertain curiosity, and with a smile I let him take her in his arms. I saw his expression light up as he looked at her, her big eyes taking in her surroundings, finally staring up at Charles. Then, as if recognizing a father figure, she smiled, causing all of us but Charles to coo in adoration. He just smiled back, and I knew his heart was completely won from him again.

"What are you going to name her?" Athena asked quietly. I looked up at Charles.

"Evangeline," he whispered. "After my mother." I nodded, turning to my family.

"Evangeline Jane Bradford," I said. My mother's eyes welled up. "After her grandmothers." Mother gently took the baby, after Charles hesitantly allowed her, holding her gently.

"Your family has begun," she said to me. "You're a mother now, dear." I smiled.

Later that evening, I stood by Evangeline's cradle, one my father had dug out. I felt Charlie's hand on my back.

"I don't know how to take care of a baby," he whispered.

"Don't worry," I whispered back. "We'll make it. She'll be a good girl. You'll do fine." He was quiet, staring at her.

"She's beautiful," he exhaled.

"Yes, she is," I replied. "And she's yours."

"Ours." He took my hand. "Suddenly a wedding seems more important, doesn't it?" I smiled.

"A family," I giggled gleefully. "We're going to have a family."

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