SONS OF THE FATHERS

Chapter 2: Womb Rooms

Vaguely he began to hear her calling his name and realized where he was, that she was clutching his arm. He grabbed her, pulling her to himself, his eyes squeezed shut as he rocked with her back and forth. His breath came in great sobbing gasps. He could not, twice in his
life, suffer the loss of all he held dear. He did not think he would survive it a second time.
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When Himself walked in the door of Otto's and Andy rushed up, saying excitedly, "Did you hear that Joimus is having TWINS!?!" he knew he might as well bite the bullet, so to speak, and tell his people what was going on. Both sets of, um, parents were still in their rooms and it seemed likely that neither would show for dinner. Getting their attention, he cleared his throat.

 

"It appears that news of the impending arrival of new epicharacters has, um, leaked out."

 

"Yeah, I just bet it was because of a...leak...!" Ando chortled.

 

Himself silenced her with a glare. The last epi had been so deathly serious he was not quite yet ready for the resumption of any great level of levity. He held his hands up in the air to stifle the chuckles.

 

"Yes," he continued, "there are two babies on their way but, no, only one is Joimus'."

 

Puzzled looks flew from face to face, except for those who had been in the 3rd bridge group. "Who else?" called Colin.

 

Bunny," he replied. "Bunny is also pregnant."

 

Bud and Berti, Alex and Pat exchanged startled looks. BertiWise, her mind a veritable encyclopedia of facts, narrowed her eyes. She was standing not far from Himself, so lowered her voice when she asked, "Is is not true that nanotechs do not, can not, reproduce themselves?"

 

"That is true," he replied, also softly.

 

Jim, however, heard the exchange clearly. "Then...how?" he queried.

 

Himself sighed. "The child is not Sid's...well, not entirely."

 

"Not...entirely?" repeated Jim, now really and truly confused.

 

Himself closed his eyes. How to explain? "You will recall in Bellingen that Sid, um, usurped the General's body for a time?" Indeed, they all did. "It was during...that...time, that Bunny, um, conceived."

 

His words were met with a collective silence as this bit of information
was digested. Finally Biebe summed up all their feelings, "Wow!"

 

Bud narrowed his eyes. "And how did Maximus take the news?"

 

"Not well," Himself admitted, "not well at all."

 

"So, where's Sid now?" Johnny asked.

 

"With Bunny...in the W."

 

Pat just shook her head, looking in Alex's eyes. "Bunny is carrying Maximus' baby," she said, a mixture of wonder and fear in her voice.

Annsmac clutched Terry's arm. "And we thought we had a terrible problem with your bluntness!"

Morning came, as even mornings in places with names as awkward as Woolloomooloo tend to do, and Himself knocked on Maximus' door.

 

"I've got sonograms set up for 11 o'clock," he called.
 

It seemed truly that there was little that countless millions could not arrange. Then he walked to the phone, calling Bunny's room with the same news. When he heard Sid's voice in the background, he added, "I'll send for a separate car." He suddenly realized Maximus was standing behind him.

"Two cars?" the General asked.

 

"Sid is coming," Himself explained, bracing for Maximus' reply.

But the General was fully in control of himself and only the flicker of one eyelid betrayed his emotions. Watching him carefully, Himself could not help but think of Maximus' face when Proximo told him they were going to Rome and he might have the opportunity to stand in front of the emperor. Everything was in the eyes alone, with just the merest suggestion in one corner of his mouth. And so it was that Himself was well aware of the steely inner controls at work in the General in this moment, as well.

 

Maximus inclined his head, just barely, lowered his lids, only a fraction, in acknowledgement of Himself's words, then turned back toward the door to await Joimus.

When she appeared, he took her hand, leading her attentively toward the breakfast table, pulling out a chair for her. Franki thought she looked rather tense for such an easy exam and, so, when Maximus went to fetch her some tea, Franki spoke to her of the nature of sonograms.

 

"It..it's...not mine that concerns me, Franki." Her eyes moved to where Maximus stood, his back turned as he looked for a spoon. "It's how he will respond to Bunny's." She inhaled deeply. "And to Sid's presence."

 

"Ah," Franki replied, understanding. She, too, studied the General as he began his return walk. How very in control he seemed this morning. She wondered would it last. Then she looked at Joimus again, concerned about the emotional toll this must be taking on her. This should be a morning of joy for her, but it was overshadowed by so many unknowns.

"It's definitely a boy," the tech said, pausing her wand over a revealing area of fetal anatomy.

Joimus' eyes met Maximus'. "I'm glad," she murmured. He swallowed hard a couple of times. She looked back at the greyish blobs on the screen. "Dess," she said, her heart wrapped around the single syllable.

 

"Dess?" he repeated, still dazed by the whole concept of seeing inside her womb, seeing the actuality of his moving child.

 

"Do you think that will be all right?" she asked hopefully. "Ever since I knew the baby was on its way, I've heard 'Dess', 'Dess', 'Dess' over and over in my head. His eyes were glued to the screen, but he managed to pull them away and look at her. She was smiling. "Decimus," she said, "Dess."

 

He looked back at the monitor, reaching his hand out, running his fingertip along the curve of the tiny head. "Dess," he said, then turned back to smile at her. "Yes," he nodded, "Dess." He looked at his son again, very thoughtfully. "Decimus Valerius Meridius."

 

Her eyes glowed and she cupped her hands loosely a few inches out from her face, saying the three names almost under her breath as though they were too sacred to speak with any great volume. He watched as she curved her palms together, looking for all the world like she held the name within them. A tear found its way, unheeded, down his cheek at the sight.

Then, from the examining room next door, came the sound of Sid's triumphal whoop. "A son!" he shouted. He looked at Bunny, beaming with delight, with actual...vindication. "Of COURSE it would be a son!"

 

Unbidden, a sharp gasp burst through Maximus' lips before he could clamp them shut. Tears stung Joimus' eyes, but she whispered, "Go, Maximus, go and look."

 

He stood, his palm resting over Dess. "I will be but one moment."

 

Then he was gone. The tech turned to attend to something at her desk, leaving the last sonogram view still up on the monitor. Joimus slid over just enough so that she might touch it herself with her right hand while keeping her left atop her stomach.

 

"He'll be back," she said, blinking rapidly. "He'll always be back. Don't you worry, little one, don't worry." She knew, though, she was talking mostly to herself.

The door to the next examining room was partially open and, soundlessly, Maximus pushed it wide enough so that he could enter. Bunny lay on the table, Sid beside her, his back to the door. He knew the General had arrived. What was soundless to human ears was not so to his. He smiled. He'd counted on this, deliberately leaving the door ajar. The monitor was set so that there was no way Maximus could see its screen without fully entering the small room and coming within a couple of feet of Sid.

 

Without turning, Sid said, "Welcome, General. You have come to see my son?"

 

Maximus kept his teeth tightly clamped. He would say nothing. Not here. Silently he moved across the room, past Sid, so that he was standing near Bunny's feet. He had not seen her since Himself had revealed the truth and the sight of her jarred him somewhat. He had come to know her fairly well as she and Joimus were friends and often together, but looking at her now, knowing she bore within her his child, his son, was a new experience for him.

 

"Good day, Bunny," he said politely, inclining his head a bit. He kept his eyes on her, not yet fully able to look toward the screen.

 

 

Sid turned, studying the General, aware of his hesitation. Bunny lay
quietly, glancing back and forth between the two men. It was Sid whom she loved yet he had come to her, loved her, known her fully in the form of the General. She reddened slightly as she looked at him now that she knew every part of him...intimately.

 

Inch by inch Maximus let his eyes make their way to the left, toward the wiggling grey marks on the screen. Having studied Dess, he knew what to look for.

 

"Ah, don't be shy, General!" Sid said heartily. "Commodus won't mind if you take a wee peek at him."

 

Bunny looked at Sid, startled, yet not quite so startled as was Maximus.

"C...Commodus?" he gasped.

 

Sid beamed. "Don't you like the name? I thought it would be a great name for the kid."

 

Maximus backed up a couple of steps, banging noisily against a metal stool, almost knocking it over. He had sworn to himself that he would maintain control no matter what. But this...this was abomination beyond bearing! He fisted his hands, breathing deeply, raggedly, the pulse in his temple threatening to burst.

 

                                                                                                                             

Sid smiled. "I was thinking Commodus Sidonius Sextus.Septimus. You'll note the "point" between the Sextus and the Septimus. Just like his Dad."

 

It was at that moment that Maximus, for the first time, focused fully on the monitor. The grey looked just like Dess, only a bit smaller. He couldn't keep his chin from quivering at the sight. Then he lunged for the door like a blind man, taking several long strides down the hall, colliding hard with Jack. The Captain had not been able to stay away, wanting to be near in case his support were needed.

In the exam room, Bunny looked a bit sternly at Sid. "If you continue in that manner, you will completely lose any sympathy you might have had."

 

"Ah, BunBun," he replied, "he's just too much fun to play with."

 

Her stern look turned to more of a scowl. She had been truly moved by the General's emotions. Sid realized from her expression that he'd gone a bit too far, perhaps, and vowed to tone his play down somewhat ... at least in her presence.

 

"I need you to be serious," she said, turning her eyes to the monitor. "What do you think of him?"

 

"He is perfect," Sid pronounced, "but, then, he is mine. Perfection is inevitable."

That brought a smile back to her lips. Sid was just so very...Sid. "He is perfect, isn't he," she agreed.

 

Sid leaned against the side of the exam table so that he could be right in front of the screen. She watched as his features relaxed, softened to an extent greater than she'd ever seen before. He ran the three middle fingers of his hand across the screen then brought them to his lips.

 

"Perfect," he murmured, his voice nearly a purr.

Jack led Maximus to a chair, sitting beside him, his hand gripping the General's arm as though he were trying to impart an extra portion of strength to him. Maximus leaned forward, burying his face in his hands.

 

"I don't know that I can bear this," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
Lifting his head, he looked at Jack. "He plans on naming my son Commodus," he said bleakly.

The Captain gritted his teeth. That was low. Even for Sid that was low. "What do you intend to do?" he asked.

 

Maximus just shook his head. "I do not know what to do, not right now."
 

Himself had been seated in the main waiting area, but hearing Maximus' words from just around the corner, got up and approached the two men. He had been thinking long and hard about the "situation". Sitting in the unoccupied chair to the General's left, he said, "I have an idea."

He pointed down the hall. "Your lady is in that room?" Maximus nodded. "Alone?" Maximus bit his lip, nodding again. "She carries within her your son?"

 

The General nodded yet again, then said, "Dess," very softly.

 

"Dess?" Himself repeated.

 

"Decimus," Maximus explained.

Would you like to hear what I think you should do?"

 

More nodding. So Himself presented his idea in great detail.

 

"I like it," Jack said when Himself was finished.

Even Maximus had begun to smile. "You are completely right," he said, looking at Himself.

He stood. "And now I have kept Joimus waiting long enough."

 

Himself and Jack stood side by side, watching as the General walked rapidly down the long hallway. When he turned into the doorway of the exam room, Himself smiled and said, "Well, I'd better call Mum and then see about getting some new duds for Cort."

Joimus lay on the table in the dimly-lit little room. The tech was gone, the monitor turned off. Her eyes were closed and he thought at first she might have fallen asleep. As he stood in the doorway, he could not help but take note of how very alone she was. He rolled the tech's metal stool up beside the table, sitting on it, taking her right hand in both of his.

 

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was gone far longer than I had any intent."

 

She opened her eyes, turning her head slightly to look at him. "You are here now. That's all I need...that you be here...now."

Her words pierced his heart and he knew what Himself had said, that if he truly loved, a man must think first of his lady, must put her good above his own...were true. He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, his head tipped so that she was not able to see his eyes. Then,licking his lips, he lifted it, his eyes locking on hers.

 

"I...I...am fighting this battle inside myself," he began, "and I do not know all the paths down which it may lead me. I do know this one thing, though." He reached out, cupping her cheek. "That in all my life there has been only one path that matters, one path above all others. It is the path that led me to you, the path that you and I together, walk." His eyes brimmed with tears. "It is because of you that my heart is strong again. It is your presence that upholds, that steadies me, that brings joy to my life and makes me dare to hope again."

He helped her to a sitting position on the side of the high table as he remained on the stool before her. Still holding her eyes with his own, he said, "You are my home. If we are in Brazil or Egypt, Canada or... Australia, if you are there, then I am home. You are my beautiful half that was separated from me as I came into this world. It is with you, only with you, that I am whole again, and only with you that I find my completeness."

He stood, pushing back the stool with his boot, then knelt in front of her. "Joimus," he said, taking both of her hands between his, "will you honor my life by becoming my bride?"