A Woman's Heart
<center>A Woman’s Heart</center>
By
Lady MoonHawke
“My heart is low.
My heart is so low
As only a woman’s heart can be.”
Only A Woman’s Heart - Eleanor McEvoy
November 1995
Krysten whispered a tiny prayer as she stepped from the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She resolutely ignored the small white stick on the shelf above the toilet, focusing instead on drying her hair and dressing, She heard the phone ring, but made no move to answer it, knowing Michael would get it. She dressed meticulously, forcing herself not to look to the shelf where all her dreams could be waiting for her. Finally, hair and clothing no longer giving her an excuse, she picked up the bit of white plastic and examined it. Her face fell as she read the results: not pregnant. Again.
Krys sighed as she cracked the used test in two and let it fall into the trash to join its packaging. She crumpled a paper towel and tossed it in as well, concealing most of the evidence. Michael didn’t know she frequently tested herself, or, if he did, he certainly didn’t mention it. She jumped slightly when he knocked on the door.
“Krys? You ‘bout done in there?” he asked.
She plastered a happy look on her face and opened the door. “I sure am,” she answered brightly. “Who was that on the phone?” She slipped out past Michael.
“Aurora. Care to guess where they are now?” It had become a running joke, as the newlyweds’ honeymoon kept getting longer and longer as they found more things in Europe to enjoy.
“Madagascar?” Krys asked listlessly. Though she loved Aurora dearly, her friend’s luck in life seemed extraordinary: wealthy, loving husband, huge, beautiful home, and an exceptionally gifted daughter. It was the last that Krysten envied most. Though the doctors swore her corrective surgery couldn’t have gone better, and she should be patient about becoming pregnant. She was young, they said. She had many years before they needed to consider further intervention. Still, every week she tossed another negative test into the trash took her that much further into the black hole looming on the edge of her vision.
Michael’s quizzical expression dragged her back from her musings. “I’m sorry. I was somewhere else. So where are they this week, or month?”
“They’re home. Steven finished his business, and they saw enough of Europe, at least for this trip, she said,” Michael repeated.
“Oh,” she responded. “I guess I’ll give her a call in a few days. Let them settle back in, you know.”
“Krys, is somethin’ buggin’ you?” Michael asked.
She quickly shook her head. “No. Nothing, really.”
Michael frowned. “You’re tellin’ a pretty tall tale there, girl. I know how you’re feelin’.”
“You do?” she asked, astonished.
“Sure. Your best friend in the world goes off globe-trottin’ with her new husband, and you feel left out. That’s where the best part of Aurora’s call comes in. She asked us to come for Christmas. You two can catch up and things will be fine.”
He looked so pleased that she had to smile, if only to please him. “Yeah. That will be good. I’ll be glad to see her again.”
“And she said they had some good news for us, but we have to hear it in person.”
Her smile felt stretched to breaking, but she kept it up. “Great. I can’t wait to go.”
December 1995
Krys tried to curl deeper into her corner of the limo, staring sightlessly out at the snowy peaks and valleys around her. Colorado was a picture postcard for Christmas; pine, holly and fresh powder creating a seemingly irresistible portrait. And yet, despite the joyous season, Krysten felt as cold inside as Pike’s Peak looked.
The car rounded the last curve, and the majestic fieldstone mansion came into sight, dressed for the season in evergreens and frosted like a cake with a layer of snow. Krysten sighed to herself, careful not to let Michael hear, and allowed herself to be helped out of the car. She looked up the steps to see the door opening, and Aurora standing on the landing before the door. Krysten plastered back on her smile and approached her friend.
Aurora’s smile was dazzling as always, but there was some other element in it, something more that seemed to light up her whole person more, if that was even possible. In a moment, Krys felt the coldness that had settled on her recently start to melt. Perhaps this trip had been a good idea after all. She could pour her feeling out to Aurora, and together, they would find some way to deal with it. Her smile warmed and finally reached her eyes as she reached the top step, and she found herself wrapped in a hug.
“How you doing, Girlfriend?” Aurora asked when she finally released her.
Krys nodded. “I’m okay, I guess. Maybe we can talk tonight?”
“You bet. After dinner? It should be ready soon. All right?” Aurora’s radiance warmed Krys even more. Of course they would find some cure for the yawning black spiral before her.
They sat at the huge table in the grand dining room, clustered at one end to facilitate conversation. Steven and Aurora took turns telling anecdotes about their European honeymoon, laughing over stories that must have been funny to people who had lived them. Adryanna had met them halfway through the trip, and she told more stories, beginning mostly with, “ Remember when...?” and finishing the story with a punch line in some foreign language. After the first couple, Aurora shot her a look that would rapidly cool lava, and made some comment in another foreign language.
Adryanna flushed and nodded. “I’m sorry. So what have you two been up to lately?” she asked her ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’.
Krys glanced quickly over at Michael. “Nothing much, really.”
“Did you get in that trip to Hawaii?” Aurora asked.
“You bet,” Michael answered. “We loved it, didn’t we, Krys?”
Krys mumbled softly under her breath.
Steven was shaking his head, but Aurora asked anyway. “What?”
“I was seasick on the boat to the other islands,” Krys repeated.
Aurora looked pained. “Oooh. Bad call on my part there. I’m sorry.”
Now Krys shook her head. “You didn’t know. I just wish we could have planned our own itinerary. You know.”
Aurora nodded. “Okay.” She turned to Steven. “Remind me of that for next time, okay?”
Krys picked at her dinner. “That’s hardly necessary. You don’t have to send Michael and I to Hawaii or anyplace like that.”
“I just wish you’d had a better time. Especially since I wanted to make up for hauling you two back up to the station. But it could have been worse, right? We could still be there.”
Bernard collected Krysten’s plate and replaced it with a slice of rich layer cake.
“Only half a slice for me,” Aurora requested.
“Yes, Madam. I anticipated as much. And no champagne, I assume?” he asked.
“That's right. I'm off all of it for the duration.” She accepted a champagne flute filled with club soda instead.
“So did Aurora tell you we have good news?” Steven asked as Bernard finished serving the cake.
“She said something like that,” Michael agreed. “But she said you wanted to tell us in person. Made another million?” he asked facetiously.
Krysten felt the tell-tale prickling on the back of her neck; a sign that whatever was coming would somehow upset her. She steeled herself to take the news.
“Better,” Steven replied. “We’re having a baby.”
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Krysten looked woodenly around the room Steven and Aurora had led them to. The walls were blank, a clean, primer white, and swatches of cloth and paint samples hung from the walls, and carpet samples lined the floor.
“We’ve almost decided on these,” Aurora was saying, pointing to a set in light and dark blues.
“So when’s the big day?” Michael asked.
“First week of June,” Steven replied. “Still a way off, but we wanted to have everything absolutely ready in here.”
Catching Krys’s despondent expression, Mike corralled her around the shoulders with a hug. “Well, we sure wish you the best of everything, don’t we, sugar?”
Nodding, Krys pasted on her smile again. “Of course we do. It’ll be a lovely room; you’re always so clever with that sort of thing, Rorie.”
Steven drew Aurora into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “She certainly is,” he grinned, kissing her cheek. ‘Well, shall we all troop downstairs for some Christmas cheer? Bernard’s outdone himself, you’ve got to see it to believe it.”
“Sounds right nice,” Mike commented as they did so.
Later that evening, Christmas carols drifted softly into the formal living room, piped in by a stereo system Krys was sure cost more than her house in Mojave. Sipping from a cup of hot cider, Krys stared out at the graying evening, watching the snow drift onto the stone porch, turning the stone lions into shapeless lumps.
She heard the pile carpet squish under Aurora's Italian pumps, but didn't turn from the window as her best friend stepped up beside her, wrapped in a nubbly gray cardigan over her velvet dress.
“Well, when I said we'd have a white Christmas, I wasn't joking, was I?”
Krys kept her hands wrapped around the cup, swiveling gently back and forth in an unconscious fidget. “Mmmhmm,” was all she said.
“Hey.” Aurora nudged her elbow, jolting Krys out of her reverie. “Are you okay?”
Lowering her cup, Krys sighed and shook her head. “No, I'm not.” She looked up at Aurora, wanting to tell her everything, but still unsure. “I just need to talk to you.”
Her best friend turned to face her, arms folded across her sweater. “So talk,” she said, smiling gently.
Krys smoothed her fingers across the shiny porcelain of the cup. “I'm worried, Rorie. I--I'm not pregnant yet, and sometimes I think...”
“...that you never will be?” Aurora finished for her. At Krys' miserable expression and tremulous nod, Aurora took her friend by the shoulders. “Krys, you've got to give it time. Don't worry about it so much; you'll make yourself sick.” She drew Krysten into her arms, giving her a comforting hug. “Everything's going to be all right.”
Krys pushed back from the embrace. “But how can you be sure? I have to KNOW everything will work out.”
Aurora looked her full in the face, brown eyes locked with cerulean. “Because I believe in universal justice. It brought Steven back to me. And it will give you the child you deserve. Of this I have no doubt whatsoever.”
Clenching her hands around the cup, Krysten closed her eyes against flashes of memory, of foolish days and nights she would have rather forgotten. “I hope not. I think I've already had three of those.” Suddenly there was a cracking noise, and a small explosion of porcelain shards as the cup gave way to the pressure of Krys' hands.
“Good Lord!” Aurora took the fragments from her before she could further injure herself. “Don't talk like that. You've had a string of tragedies, but it can't last forever. Something good is just around the corner, I know it.”
Momentarily stunned, Krys stared at her hands, then brushed them against her skirt. “I'm sorry. You're right, things can only get better from here.” She managed a smile. “Hopefully if I tell myself that enough, I'll believe it.”
Aurora led Krysten away from the litter of china. “Come and sit down. I'll have Bernard see about your hands and clean up the mess.”
Krysten looked down abruptly. “Oh, God. I'm sorry. Was it very expensive? I'll replace it. Just tell me where to get another one.”
Aurora shook her head, pulling her away from the mess. “Don't worry about it. The cup isn't worth your time or trouble, honestly.”
“If you say so.” Smiling at her friend, Krys obeyed and let herself be led into the kitchen, where they found Bernard tidying up the dinner dishes.
“Bernard,” Aurora began, “I'm afraid we've had a casualty.” She sat Krysten at the butcher-block table, palms up.
“Of course, madam,” he began, drying the last dish and tucking the towel in his apron string. “What is the--Oh, my heavens!” He rushed to Krysten examining her wounded hands. “Mrs. Merino, are you all right?”
Krys had to chuckle. “I'm all right, but I can't say as much for the cup.”
“I'll be just a moment; I need to fetch the antiseptic. Don't move,” he warned, and was gone.
“Not that it's serious enough to keep you pinned down,” Aurora whispered. “But I make it a habit of doing anything he happens to say.”
Krys grinned. “His rule is absolute, I suppose.” Sighing, she looked at the well-appointed kitchen, then back at Aurora. “I AM happy for you, Aurora. No matter what I say or do, promise me you'll remember that?”
“Are you likely to lose your mind and start saying strange things? 'Cause that's the time to head for the doctor's office, I'll warn you,” Aurora chuckled.
Tipping her forehead to meet Aurora's, Krys smiled. “Just as a precaution, anyway.”
January 1996
Three weeks later. Aurora’s office intercom buzzed. “Yes?”
“Krysten Merino on the phone for you, Mrs. Landon,” said Denise, Aurora’s assistant. “Shall I ring her through?”
Aurora finished her sentence and laid down her pen. “Yes, please.” There was a small click, and Aurora’s gaze went to the framed snapshot of the Merinos and Landons on the grand staircase of the mansion. “This is Aurora.”
“Rorie!” Krysten gushed excitedly. “Rorie, guess what? I’m pregnant!”
Stunned for a moment, Aurora finally regained her voice, winding the phone cord around one finger. “And the test came out positive?” she asked.
“We-ll, not exactly. I missed my period, though, and I'm sure this time's the one.” Krys put her hand against her belly. “I can feel it, Aurora. I can feel it with everything I am, that its the right time.”
“Get thee to the doctor's, then. Don't play games, Krys. You know the risks. Good luck.”
“Thanks, Aurora. Listen, I'll call you in a few days after the test results come in, okay?” The back door opened, and Krys could hear Mike whistling 'Darling Clementine' in the hallway. “Oops, Mike's home. Gotta tell him the good news! Buhbye!”
“Best to Michael. Bye.”
“I will, same to Steven and Adry. Bye!”
The line clicked off, and Aurora hung it up slowly. Sighing, she gazed into the depths of her mug of herbal tea, seeing for a moment Krys' face on the surface. “Please, let it be good news.” Outside, the swirling January snow did not sound encouraging.
The answer came by email three days later. Ominously, it was absent of a subject line, and Aurora felt heartsick as she clicked on the message.
From: skyednzr@uesc.gov
To: Amanda@landon.com
Not pregnant
--End of message--
Aurora sighed as she deleted the message. It didn't surprise her at all that Krysten hadn't called. _She must be crying her eyes out at home,_ Aurora thought. _I'll have to call her when I get a chance._ She glanced at her watch, then pulled the rolling chair back from her desk. “Denise, I'm on my way to Dr. Walter's office,” she said, pressing the intercom. “If Steven calls, tell him I'll stop in on the way back.”
_Definitely have to call Krys later,_ she thought on her way out the door.
April 1996
Krysten trudged across the fresh-watered grass of the cemetery, eyes on her feet as she made her way between the stones. She had been here last in January, when the winter rains had made the saturated ground squish underfoot. Now the ground was firm, and the drops of water from the sprinklers appeared jewel-like on the emerald blades of grass. It was the grass that seemed strange to her. In most of the city, desert-style gardens were the rage, with carefully sculpted dunes and sandplants. But here the grass was bright and green, almost painful to her eye.
Or maybe the pain was from the unshed tears. _You’d think after seven years I would be used to this. Or maybe you never get used to visiting your child’s- children’s, graves,_ she thought. Diana and Robert in tiny caskets under their markers. And a marker for Marie next to them, though there had been no body to bury.
Krysten could see the tree that marked the plots she and Michael had selected, and the marble bench at the base that Aurora had purchased, part of a Shakespearean sonnet carved into it, “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings/ That then I scorn to change my state with kings.” She and Michael had protested when Aurora picked it, citing expense, and Aurora had simply waved her hand and credit card, and everything had gone her way.
_Everything always goes Aurora’s way,_ Krysten ruminated. _Handsome husband, plenty of money, beautiful daughter, and weeks away from another healthy baby. It just doesn’t seem fair._
As she approached, a figure resolved itself on the bench, and Krys sighed to herself. She should have known. Aurora never missed remembering Diana’s day with flowers and a visit. Now a bundle of white iris tied with a chiffon ribbon lay on the little girl’s grave, the ruffled petals almost translucent in the sunshine.
Krysten passed the bench silently and knelt on the grass near the marker. Carefully, she lowered her bouquet of white daisies into the cup set in the ground. She brushed some grass clippings and leaves from the brass and granite marker, tracing out the letters of the name; Diana Michelle Barter.
“It’s a nice day,” she heard behind her.
Slowly Krysten rose to her feet and retreated a few steps to sit on the other end of the bench, poised on its edge. “Yes. It is,” she agreed. “I’m a little surprised you came.”
“Last trip for a while, it’s true. And I have to go back tonight, or my obstetrician will read me the riot act. But I told her it was important.” Aurora was silent for a moment. “We missed you at the shower.”
“Couldn’t get away from home,” Krys replied, knowing it for a lie and hating herself for it. She hadn’t even tried to take time off from the small magazine where she worked. “We were swamped at work.”
“I love the pictures you take for them,” Aurora confessed. “Calm down,” she muttered, rubbing one side of her rounded belly with the heel of her hand. “He kicks now like nobody’s business,” she explained.
“Oh,” Krys returned hollowly. “So when are you leaving?” she asked after a few minutes.
“As soon as Bernard gets back. Steven made me bring him along. Ridiculous, isn’t it?” she chuckled.
“Yeah.” A smile ghosted across Krys’s face. The sound of a vehicle crunching up the gravel drive came to her ears. “Must be him now.”
Aurora craned her head around to look at it. “Nope. Some florist truck. Must be a service out here this afternoon.” They watched idly as the truck slowed to a stop and the driver emerged. He retreated inside for a moment, then returned with a bouquet of white roses. From where Krysten sat, she could easily see more than a dozen blooms. The driver approached them slowly, his boots leaving wet footprints in the grass.
“Are you ladies here for Miss Diana Barter?” he asked.
Krys and Aurora exchanged a puzzled look. “You could say that,” Aurora allowed.
“Great. Are you Mrs. Krysten Barter Merino?” he asked Aurora.
“I’m Mrs. Merino,” Krysten replied, standing up.
The delivery man handed her the flowers. “These are for Miss Diana Barter, to be delivered care of you.” He stood there a moment, waiting.
Aurora levered herself awkwardly from the bench. “Thank you so much for your trouble,” she said, tucking a bill into his hand.
He nodded and touched the brim of his cap. “Don’t forget the card,” he said, handing it to Aurora. “Have a nice day, ladies.” In a minute, he was gone.
“Who do you suppose they’re from?” Aurora asked.
Krys set them on the grass near the marker. “Let me see the card,” she said.
Aurora handed the envelope to her, and Krysten opened it. She was silent for a moment, studying the contents. Finally, she slid the card back in. “I kind of thought so,” she said softly.
“Who is it from?” Aurora pressed. “The twins?”
“No. They’re from Jonathan,” Krys said softly.
A furious glint filled Aurora’s eyes. “That bastard,” she spat, and made to kick the flowers away from Diana’s grave.
“Don’t,” Krys directed. “It’s his right. She’s his daughter, too.”
“It’s his fault she’s here,” Aurora stormed.
“As much as it is mine,” Krysten replied. “I got into the relationship with both eyes open. It was a dumb thing to do, and I did it anyway.”
“He took advantage of you!” Aurora’s voice carried across the grass. “It was a low-down, dirty thing to do to get back at me, and he did it anyway!”
Krysten’s patience broke. “Will you please drop it? I am so sick of hearing it. ‘Jonathan this’ and ‘Jonathan that.’ I don’t even talk about him that much and I’m the one who slept with him! I don’t know why it’s such a big deal to you now!”
“The only reason I didn’t end up in the same boat is because I knocked him out when he tried it!” Aurora shouted back.
“Don’t I know it?!” Krys shouted back. “I know what everyone says. I didn’t have your brains or your guts, and got all the misery that should have been yours. You got the house and kids and the happily ever after and I got shafted!”
Aurora was stunned. “What?!”
“You heard me! ‘Mrs. Landon, wife of mega-zillionaire Steven Landon, otherwise known as Starlight, son of Zeus, or whatever you want to call him!’ Is there anything you don’t have?”
“A real friend, it seems. I think I should go,” Aurora said softly.
“I think you should, too.” But Aurora was already walking away, cell-phone in one hand and tissue in the other.
June 1996
Krysten rushed through the automatic doors of the hospital and practically flew forward into the reception desk. “Aurora Landon’s room, please,” she gasped.
“Are you family?” the nurse on duty asked. “It’s after regular visiting hours.”
“I’m her sister,” she replied, clutching at the first thing to come to mind.
The nurse looked at her. “Really? I’ve met Mrs. Landon, and you don’t seem to resemble her very much. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather wait for the formal press statement in the morning?”
“Aurora’s father was my legal guardian when I was 15,” Krysten replied hotly. “Why don’t you just call her and ask if I can come up?”
“Now look here young lady,” the nurse began, ”the Landon baby has been attracting media attention all day, and I am not about to let some fly-by-night, tabloid--” Her rant was cut off by the sound of the elevator arriving and Adryanna exiting it.
“Aunt Krys! Great! Mom was afraid you might not come.” She turned to the nurse. “Put the Merinos on the list, Susan. I’ll vouch for them.”
The nurse, Susan, nodded. “If you say so, Miss Landon. Room 308,” she said, addressing Krysten.
Krysten wasted no time following Adryanna back to the elevator. “We caught the first flight out this morning,” she said as the ascended slowly. “Why’s your mom still here? I thought she would have gone home by now.”
Adryanna shook her head grimly. “They’re not releasing her yet. There’s been a slight problem....”
Krys tuned out the rest of Adryanna’s explanation as her heart stuttered. _Oh, Lord. I knew I was selfish before, but please don’t take it out on her, Lord,_ she thought frantically as the elevator crept to a stop.
Adryanna led them out and down the hall, disappearing into a room in the corner of the building, past the nurses’ station and a guard seated outside the door. Her head popped back out as the guard challenged them, and he scrupulously took their names down on a short roster. Krysten flashed back for a moment to the Academy, where around every corner there had been a guard waiting for someone to attempt an unauthorized access.
“It was like this at the Academy,” she whispered to Michael as they passed through a small vestibule, then through another door into the hospital room proper. He only nodded in agreement, glancing toward a small camera set high in the corner, covering the door to the main hallway.
The room itself was large, more than roomy enough for two beds. But there was only one set up, and Aurora was perched on it, dozing. She was pale, and her hair, usually carefully coiffed, was pulled into a rough ponytail at the nape of her neck, making her face appear drawn and tired, even in rest. Krysten’s heart went out to her. Even at her most stressed, Aurora had never looked this run-down. Had the harsh words between them two months previous so preyed on Aurora’s mind to leave their mark on her face? Now Krysten would give almost anything to have those words back again, especially if Aurora wasn’t recovering as she should.
She felt the subtle touch of Adryanna’s mind against hers, and did nothing to impede it, wanting Adryanna to know without words how much she regretted the falling out between herself and Aurora. She felt Adryanna’s awareness fade gradually, though reassurances were left in its place.
“Why don’t I take you to see Dad, Uncle Mike? He’s in the nursery, admiring the latest model,” Adryanna suggested, gently steering him to the door. “I’ll just be a minute in here.” She waited until the door was closed, the turned back to Krysten. “She wanted you here more than anything. I’m glad you came.”
“So am I,” Krysten replied, almost without thinking.
“Good.” Adryanna touched her mother’s arm gently. “Mom. She’s here.” Before Aurora could completely awaken, Adryanna was out the door, leaving Krysten alone with Aurora.
She watched as the brown eyes fluttered a few times, taking in the scene and company present. “Hey, you,” Aurora whispered at last.
“Hey, yourself.” Krysten dragged a chair closer tot he bedside and sat down. “How are you feeling?”
“Run through the wringer,” Aurora replied. “Didn’t seem this hard last time. And second children are supposed to be easier, not that I noticed.” She tilted the head of her hospital bed up several inches. “So did Adry explain why I’m still a guest here?”
Krys’s mouth quirked into a half-smile. “She did, but to be honest, as soon I even heard there was a problem, I couldn’t hear anything else. Are you going to be okay?”
Aurora let out one weak chuckle. “Ouch. Oh, yeah. I’ll be fine. Probably go home tomorrow. It’s my temperature, of all the dumb things. It was up all last night, and now it fluctuates. So at the moment, I’m burning up, but in half an hour, I’ll be freezing. Funny, huh?”
“Rorie, are you sure?” Krys asked anxiously. “You look awful. You’re so pale.”
Aurora tried not to laugh again. “This used to be a very glamorous look, you know.” Then she turned more serious. “I’ve been worried about you, but I had the feeling you didn’t want to talk to me.”
Krysten’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Rorie! I’m so sorry about those things I said. I didn’t mean them. I wasn’t even angry at you. I was just so mad at the whole situation. I don’t know where it all came from.”
“I think I do,” Aurora replied. “Here I was, with everything I really wanted, and I had to show the whole world how happy I was. I’m afraid I didn’t take the time to really hear what was bothering you. I wasn’t being a very good friend. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“No. I’m the one who should ask for forgiveness. I was so jealous of you that I forgot what wonderful things I have in my life,” Krysten sniffled.
“Ladies, forgive each other and let’s get on with it,” came a chuckling voice from the door. They looked over to see Steven’s head peeking through, and could hear the voices of Adryanna and Michael in the vestibule. “I have a little visitor with me,” he bantered.
“He better be doing a damn sight more than visiting,” Aurora mock-groused, wiping her misty eyes with a tissue. “The thought of his returning where he came from makes me want to scream.”
Krysten laughed as she dabbed at her face. “I can appreciate that sentiment.”
Steven led the parade into the room, followed by a nurse pushing the bassinet, and Michael and Adryanna bringing up the rear. Aurora sat with a patently false smile plastered on her face while the nurse explained to the “new mother” how to best hold and feed the hungry infant. Once she was gone, Aurora was able to settle back and nurse her son, a light blanket tossed over them for modesty, and a small smile on her face.
“Content?” Steven asked from where he stood watching.
Aurora looked to her daughter, then down to the noisy, squirming infant that was her son. “Getting there.” She leaned her head back. “Don’t stop talking on my account,” she said. “I’m just resting my eyes.”
“Have you picked a name yet?” Michael asked from near the window. The matter of Aurora breastfeeding had made him feel the need to find something else, anything else, to look at.
“That’s a story and a half,” replied Aurora, eyes still close. “The long and short of it is, half. We still need a middle name.”
Krysten saw Aurora’s eyes open, and sensed the flow of communication between Steven and Aurora, reaching some agreement quickly.
“We’d like to ask you and Krysten to be godparents, again,” Steven said, joining Michael at the window.
Krysten looked automatically to Adryanna, who smiled in return. “It’s okay, Aunt Krys. I can manage on my own if I need to. I’m willing to share.” She then looked over to Michael, who nodded in return.
“We’d be honored,” he accepted solemnly, shaking Steven’s hand firmly.
Steven clapped him solidly on the back. “Great. I’m really glad.” He looked over to Aurora. “Are we ready to introduce him, then?”
She nodded, and held out their son as Steven came to collect him. “Go ahead. I’m just going to straighten myself out here a bit.”
Krysten marveled at the infant, wrapped in a blue flannel blanket. Blond fuzz covered his head, and he cracked one sleepy eyelid to regard them with an eye as blue as Steven’s.
“Clear as crystal who he takes after,” Michael said. One fist smacked solidly into Michael’s palm. “Now that could come from either side.”
Krysten tried not to laugh while Steven held the baby out formally. “Michael and Krysten Merino, allow me to introduce you to my son, Jareth Michael Landon.”
Krysten reached out. “May I?” she asked. “I need to get in some practice.”
Aurora’s head snapped up. “What?!”
Krysten cuddled Jareth to her shoulder, one hand carefully bracing his head. It was clear that the nurse’s lecture had not passed her by. “That’s why I had to come. The doctor just confirmed it for me yesterday afternoon. I’m pregnant.”
Aurora looked stunned for a moment, then chuckled. “I should have known,” she said.
“Known what?” Krys asked.
“Of all the crazy things. You know how the same stuff is almost always happening to us. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be too long for you once Jareth was born.” She popped the snap on her hospital ID bracelet. “Here. For good luck.”
“That some kind of superstition I haven’t heard of?” Michael asked.
Adryanna laughed. “If it isn’t, we should make it one. Here,” she said, unsnapping her own. “I was a healthy baby without all this junk. So mine should be double luck.” She held it out to Krysten, who accepted it gratefully.
“I don’t know what to say, you guys. I came here to comfort you, and here you’re comforting me.”
“Say ‘thank you,’” Steven jested. “And forget about getting mine. I still need it to get into the nursery.”
“Like you’d let that stop you,” Aurora quipped.
“Ordinarily, no. But I’m not playing games until he’s home safe. The crazies are out.” Steven’s tone made it clear what would become of those crazies should they get too near.
Aurora yawned mightily. “Sorry about that,” she apologized. “I’m still catching up on my sleep.”
“There’s an invitation to leave if I ever heard one,” Michael stated. “Let’s vamoose and let the little mother get her beauty sleep.”
Krysten handed Jareth back to Steven only a little reluctantly. “Here you go. He’s wonderful.”
“For the moment,” Steven temporized. “Try my again in 16 years or so.” He set the sleeping infant gently back into the bassinet, them leaned over to kiss Aurora. “See you in the morning,” he promised.
“Okay,” she agreed. “Wake me early.”
Steven cast a quick glance to Adryanna, who nodded, then left, pushing the bassinet before him.
“Why don’t I drive you guys back to the house?” Adryanna offered. “We can drop your rental back on the way.”
Krysten stood up. “That sounds great. Honey, can you go down with Adry and switch the bags now? I’ll just be a minute.”
Michael looked at her, but didn’t comment as he leaned over to peck Aurora’s cheek. “Good work there, Aurora.”
She smiled tiredly. “Thank you, Mike. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He slipped out the door quietly.
Adryanna hugged her mother gently. “Get well,” she instructed.
Aurora caught her daughter’s cheek and brought their foreheads together in a moment of silent communication. “Good girl,” she said finally, releasing Adryanna.
“I’ll see you in a few minutes, Aunt Krys,” Adryanna said, then she too was gone.
The silence was deafening for a moment. Finally, Krys broke it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Aurora replied. “What did I do?”
“Back in December. You said that you knew something good was coming. I let myself forget that for a while. But you always understood, even when I didn’t myself.”
“What are friends for?” Aurora asked, then yawned again. “Listen, I hate to be a pain, but I have to get to sleep.”
Krys hugged her, mindful of the IV still taped to Aurora’s hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow. You get better. Don’t make me call up the spirit of your father to get on your back.”
Aurora laughed tiredly. “Deal. Tomorrow morning I will be out of here. I’ll see you then.”
“Count on it.” With one last wave, Krysten left the room, her heart lighter than it had been in months. The black pit on the edge of her consciousness was receding fast. Good things were coming; she just had to be patient and wait for them.
*THE END*
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