At Odds

Writers: Anwen, Eimi
Date Posted: 19th November 2007

Characters: Maiz, T'nac
Description: Maiz and T'nac talk about the upcoming birth of their baby.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 20 of Turn 4

Maiz was quite certain, as she walked with her tray of food, that the last few sevendays of pregnancy had to be the worst. Her feet hurt, her back hurt, she could never find a comfortable position to sleep in due to her huge belly. Yes, she thought as she sat down in the dining cavern, she would be very happy when the baby came and her pregnancy was over.

T'nac scanned the cavern for an empty seat. The company he had been eating with as of late had Search duty that day, so he was left to find his own seat. His eyes locked on Maiz's face and invariably drifted to her stomach which acted as a buffer between her body and the table. She was getting big... It wouldn't be long now. He frowned slightly.
Perhaps he should go over and talk to her. But he actually wanted to keep his appetite, and Maiz had a way of making him lose it. But he would feel like a total wherry's ass if he avoided her. Sighing he steeled his resolve and made his way over. **We can have a simple meal together without fighting. We can act like adults...** It wasn't as if they hated each other, but things had certainly not turned out the way he had hoped.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked with a friendly if not slightly forced smile.

The greenrider looked up from her plate, a bit surprised to see who was standing next to the the table. "No, its not taken," she assured him, working up a smile of her own.

"Then would you mind if I join you?" he asked politely.

"No, I don't mind."

He set his tray down and slipped into the seat across from her. "How are you feeling?"

"Big and clumsy," she said with a small laugh. "I can't see my feet anymore and you'd be amazed at how often a big belly can get in the way."

T'nac smiled as he picked up his fork. "I can only imagine. You know if you wanted to I could bring your meals to your room for you. Or at least make arrangements."

"Its a sweet gesture," Maiz replied. "But its good to get out of my rooms every once and a while. And even if I'm a bit unwieldy, the exercise is good for both me and the baby."

"Sure. Of course," the bronzerider nodded, his tubers already starting to taste like dirt in his mouth.

She was certain she had said something wrong, but Maiz wasn't exactly certain what she should have said differently. Should she have agreed just to make him feel better? Absently, she pushed around the vegetables on her plate.

T'nac grabbed the pitcher of juice and refilled her glass before filling his own, wishing there was something much stronger to lace it with.
"You know, I was talking to Riona's sister the other day. She's a foster mother here. She's really great with her kids, and she said she'd be willing to take care of the baby if you needed."

Maiz fought the urge to say what she _really_ thought about that idea.
Trusting _her_ baby to his girlfriend's sister? Never going to happen.
"I have a few friends in the lower caverns with children of their own who have agreed to help me with the baby." she replied instead.

"Oh, I see. It was just I thought. I didn't know if you'd made arrangements..." So much for trying to help. He should have known better. "But that's good. That's fine."

He was trying, she had to give him that. "They are both very nice women and devoted to their children. You'd like them, I'm sure. I can introduce you sometime if you'd like."

"That would be nice. But... you know... if you trust them that's fine..." He reached for a spoon and began stirring his bowl of soup absently. Since this lunch was already so very comfortable, he figured it was the perfect time to ask a question that was really on his mind.
"So have you decided if you want me to help? With the birth I mean. Or do you want me to just be a... observer?"

She stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth, then carefully lowered the fork back to her plate. "Observe? Like you be outside the room, right?"

T'nac sighed and set his spoon down. Why even bother pretending he still had an appetite? "It's my baby too, Maiz. I want to be there.
In the room."

"You know, its not a pretty thing like harpers make it out to be. Its long and difficult, sweaty and gross and I'll probably be screaming most of the time."

"I may be a man, but I'm not completely ignorant." Shards, he knew she would be difficult. He just knew it. Why should he think this would be any easier than the rest of their relationship. "I am saying I want to help you, Maiz. I don't want to just sit back and watch, I want to be involved."

"Giving birth isn't exactly a team sport," Maiz retorted sharply.

"Well, _making_ the baby was." **Calm down,** he reminded himself with a long sigh. "It could be a team effort if you would let it be. I even talked to the healers about it. They told me its good for you to have someone there to support you. I _want_ to support you, Maiz." **If you would just stop sharding _fighting_ me all the time!**

Maiz was getting very worked up about this. Why did she have to go through this? "We're not together anymore! You're seeing someone else!" she reminded him. "We can't even have a calm conversation- how can you 'support' me?"

"Yeah, well maybe I could support you if you would just let me in just a _little_, just the tiniest bit. Shards, maybe we would have still been together too." He pushed himself back from the table and grabbed his tray. It was obvious trying to reach her was like trying to reach the Red Star.

As always, she simply didn't know when to keep her mouth shut. "We'd have never worked out anyway."

It hurt because he was starting to believe she was right. "You're never going to let me be part of this baby's life either, are you." It was a realization more than a question.

"I don't have much of a choice, now do I?"

"You know, sometimes I used to wonder just what I ever did to you to make you hate me so much. But other times, like right now, I just don't give a flaming tunnelsnake's turd." It was time to leave before he said something truly cruel. Faranth he wished had never seen her sitting there. Turning to head towards the kitchens he wondered for that matter if he didn't regret ever laying eyes on her in the first place.

Maiz felt guilty, as she watched him walk away. He'd never done anything to her, not really. He was just unlucky enough to come along after a man who had, one who she feared had damaged her irreparably.

Last updated on the November 28th 2007

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At Odds