The Not-So-Happy Couple

Writers: Anwen, Eimi
Date Posted: 10th April 2007

Characters: Maiz, T'nac
Description: T'nac and Maiz spend a night together
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 10 of Turn 4

T'nac rolled over and gently lay a hand on Maiz's belly. It was getting bigger. That thought made him smile into the dark. His baby was in there. _Their_ baby was in there. He wondered what it looked like now.
The healers had tried to explain what it would look like, but the drawings surely didn't look much like a baby. It looked like... a bean or something. It looked kind of misshapen and strange. That couldn't _really_ be what his baby looked like. He was sure his baby was beautiful, like a perfectly shaped little person. But even if it did look like a weird vegetable, he loved it. He truly loved it.

"Maiz," he whispered quietly, "are you awake?"

"Yes," she whispered back, though she wasn't entirely certain why she was keeping her voice low. There was no one else in the room to wake up certainly. "What is it?"

"Do you hope it's a boy or a girl?" he whispered back.

She shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it. What do you hope it is?"

"Well, I suppose every man kind of wants a son that he can teach the finer points of manhood to." Perhaps it was the Holder in him - a son to carry on the family line. "But I know you have two sons already, so perhaps a daughter might be even better. I can't decide."

"Boys are easier, or so I've heard said," Maiz told him. "Only having boys, I wouldn't really know if it is true or not..." "Why don't we bring your sons for a visit after the baby's born? I'm sure they'd like to meet their new brother or sister." And he knew Maiz missed them too.

"Maybe," she said, noncommitaly. As much as she loved her sons, the situation was a difficult one. And they were so little... how would they understand that their mommy couldn't be with them, but this new baby could?

He could tell in her voice that she was uncertain, and he wasn't sure why. "You know, I'd like to meet them someday."

"I think that might... confuse them."

"Well, I wouldn't... try to take anyone's place," he assured her.

"They are just too little... to understand... understand everything." How had a pleasant conversation about their unborn become so difficult?

"Maiz, what are you so afraid of?" His tone wasn't accusatory, but he was trying to understand and not take the fact that she seemed reluctant to introduce him to her children personally.

"I'm not afraid of anything," she told him defensively.

"I don't know, Maiz. Sometimes I get the feeling you're a little afraid of me."

"You are asking more of me than I can give!" she accused, rather than actually answering him.

There she was again, shutting him out. "All I've ever asked is that you let me be a part of your life. Is that so sharding much to ask?"

"Yes!" the greenrider replied impulsively. "There are certain parts of my life that I'm not willing to share! And if you can't accept that, you know where the door is!"

"I know exactly where the door is, Maiz. You've pointed it out to me before, if you recall." The bronzerider pulled his hand away from her and rolled over onto his other side. Shards, but she could just be so difficult sometimes!

"I'm sure I've also pointed out before that you shouldn't ask me for things I can't give!"

"Which is pretty much anything. I'm tired of fighting. Let's just go to sleep." If that was possible now.

Maiz remained quiet. She shifted a bit further away from him, tugged the furs up over her shoulders and closed her eyes.

Last updated on the April 11th 2007

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The Not-So-Happy Couple