Misadventures in Parenthood

Telling Varian

    Cassandra walked into the barn laboratory, her nose wrinkling at the foul sulphuric scent in the air.  Varian was stood at the big table that was covered with burn marks. He looked up at her pulling his goggles off and giving her a wide smile, that faltered when he saw her apprehensive expression. 

  She felt as if there was a heavy stone in the bottom of her stomach, she started to feel slightly breathless with the nerves. She had to do this, she had held onto the knowledge herself for too long, at first thinking she was mistaken and then just filled with various anxieties. Now she had to tell him. 

  "Varian, I'm pregnant."

  Varian's eyebrows crinkled slightly. "Okay. Hey,"  he picked up the two jars on his table "do you want to see something awesome, I think I've made a glow in the dark paint. I thought it would be useful for marking out exit routes in tunnels, you know, in case your lantern goes out you can still find your way."

  Cassandra stared at him in shock. She had actually told him she was pregnant right? And, he was talking about work? That was not the reaction she had expected.

  "Varian we have accidentally created a small person who isliving inside of me stealing all my energy and making me puke! And that's not the scary part! The scary part is that he's one day going to come out! To wreck chaos and destruction upon our lives. "

  "Yeah, was I not supposed to know... It was kinda obvious."

  "Then why didn't you say anything?"

  He shrugged. "I'm glad you finally told me though."

  "You're glad I told you?" She said exasperated, he had known, how long had he known? Why had he not said anything? What was he feeling? So many questions were running through her mind.

  "Well, what do you think about it?"

"Well, it was going to happen at some point wasn't it. " Varian said slowly. "We got married, we share a bed, we don't sleep much in it, I mean, it's obvious it was going to happen."

"Not to me."

He raised a sassy eyebrow at her, giving her a pointed frown.

  He was right, they had got married, they had briefly discussed starting a family before they had got married. She just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

  "Okay, maybe it should have been. Maybe it was. But now that it's real..." 

She hesitated, she didn't know how to put into words all the thoughts that had been running around her head since she'd discovered she was pregnant. All the doubts she had. 

"I'm scared Varian."

His eyes widen,  he pulled her into a firm hug. 

"I'd never let anything had happen to you Cassie, either of you. Everything is going to be alright."