Gen 3 - Chapter 10: Not Quite a Fairytale

I wasn't going to tell Marcelo until I was sure. I spent those first few months, when I wasn't getting sick, distracting myself with Marcelo, or fixing things. Or upgrading things. I didn't want to think about possibly being pregnant - I mean, I wasn't ready to be a Mom. I mean, if I was a human I would have been a full-blown adult for a while now, but.. still! In vampire years, I was still a young adult and had years before I had to worry about having babies. I did notice that I was more emotional than usual, because when I would think about being pregnant sometimes, I would burst into tears. But that could be from anything. Right?

Eventually, I finally gave in and bought a test. It was positive. Not knowing what else to do, I put on a dress that I'd gotten for myself ages ago but had been too big before, and then went to tinker with the sink. I don't think I had fully processed anything yet. Baby. I was have a baby. I was having Marcelo's baby. Everything spun around my head for hours, until it finally all hit me, and I broke the sink. I didn't care, though - I completely ignored the water spraying me, as I placed my hands on my tummy and cooed to it. "Baby.. I like that idea. Mommy loves you, little one. I can't wait to meet you." 
Why had I ever been nervous? I was excited - more excited than I think I had ever been about anything, even when Marcelo told me he loved me. I was also scared, but that just added to the excitement in a strange way. I knew how to be a Mother - I'd had two examples. Now, the really nerve wracking part was how to tell my koi..
Oh. And my siblings. Especially my brothers. I hoped they wouldn't kill Marcelo for getting me pregnant before marrying me..

At least I was pretty sure that Quin wouldn't kill Marcelo; he was far too distracted with his own love life to worry much about mine. He still was confused and trying out girls, this time Kristy Harden had caught his eye. She was related to a girl that Mom Lyr had been interested in when she was a teenager, somehow, but I wasn't sure how. Daughter or niece, I think. But anyway, Quin had decided that he wanted to fall in love with her. I told him that it wasn't exactly something someone chose to do with a particular person, but he didn't listen, and rushed off to meet her at Smuggler's Cove. 
He told me bits and pieces of what went on, he was - again - too smitten when he got home to understand or even speak much. He did mention turning her, and I smacked my forehead. He was going to be publicly disgraced for that, I just knew it, but I was going to be publicly disgraced for having a child out of wedlock, so I said nothing. We could be stupid together.
But at least I'm not in love with the idea of being in love, I have true love. Even if my true love is too stubborn to admit it sometimes.

My baby bump developed far more quickly than I would have liked. I was going to wait as long as I could before I told my siblings about my pregnancy, but only a couple of months, they had all pretty much guessed it. I could tell, because they just started having conversations with me about the baby, and what I was going to name it, and what Marcelo and my living situation was going to be. I told them I really didn't know, and they told me that I should probably figure it out. They were right, I knew, and one day while I was reading, I just kept thinking. I was going to name my baby Rosella if it was a girl, and Eider if it was a boy. I had that much down. But as for living arrangements.. Marcelo and I hadn't seen each other since I'd started growing, and had only chatted online or over the phone, so he didn't even know I was pregnant. I know, I know, I needed to tell him, but it just seemed like something that should be told face to face. Not over the phone, text, IM, or email. And he couldn't visit right now - Jamal and Candy had had another baby, a little girl named Alicia, and she was a handful. I could have visited him, but my siblings didn't want to let me out of the house while I was pregnant. Bah.

At only seven months, I looked like I was going to pop any day. I felt like I was going to pop any day. I decided it was high time that I told Marcelo. I hoped that when I told him, he would immediately drop down on one knee and propose to me, but I knew that there was no way. We'd never talked about marriage - he was too busy helping out at home to think about getting married to me yet, so there was no way he'd have bought me a ring. I could dream, though.
I called him up, and waited. And waited, and waited. Finally, he answered, "Hiya, Dahlia."
I smiled nervously, trying to tell my nerves that I was going to have to do this sooner or later, and sooner was better than later. I wasn't going to wait until our baby was a teenager. "Hi, Marcelo. I'm going to get straight to the point - can you please come over?"
"Um.. I don't think I can right now, Dahlia. Candy really needs me-"
"I really need you, Marcelo. I really, really, really need you right now, okay? Tell your sister it's a matter of.. of life or death. Mostly life, but.. oh, please, if you need to just bring Alicia with you. I need you."
He was silent for a few moments, then I heard some voices on the other end. I felt tears gathering in my eyes - I was afraid he wasn't going to come. I needed to tell him - I finally had gotten the courage to tell him, I had to do it now. After what seemed like an eternity, he came back on. "Okay. I can come - she says she has plenty of help here. I'll be there in a few minutes, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, so much. Tell Candy thank you for me, too."
"I will. I'll see you in a few minutes - I love you."
"I love you, too, koi."
Upon hanging up, I told Drazen to tell Marcelo to come downstairs when he got there. I was so big I could barely go up and down them, and if I didn't have to, I tried not to. I sat on the bed, and waited for my love to show up.

As soon as he walked in the bedroom door, I know that he knew what I needed him. I mean, who could miss a belly the size mine was? Even though I didn't need proof that he knew, I still got it, because his eyes widened a bit and his mouth dropped open a little as well. I stood, and waddled over in front of him, nervous again. "Hi Marcelo.. so I bet you'll never guess why I wanted to talk!"
He just stared at me with the same expression he'd had when he walked in, and said nothing. His eyes wandered down to my belly.
"Yep, you're going to be a Daddy."
He squeaked. I giggled. Then he looked back up into my eyes, his eyes still wide, but he was grinning now. "You're.. you're pregnant. Really pregnant. I'm going to be a Daddy? You're going to be a Mommy. This is GREAT news! Oh my gosh!" he gasped, and then pulled me in for a passionate kiss. I shouldn't have been worried - why had I been worried, again? I kissed him back, deeply, and the next thing I knew we were on the bed. Evidently he was really happy to be a Dad. I knew we probably shouldn't have while I was as big as I was and as far along, but at the time I was too happy to think about it. And nothing happened, so it wasn't a big deal anyway.
The rest of the night we spent cuddling together, sleeping a little, but mostly cuddling. When I woke up, he was gone, but there was a note telling me he loved me.

It was only days away from my due date when it was finally decided what the housing situation would be. I was not a fan of the idea, at all, but my siblings were insistent. They had decided that as soon as I had the baby, they would move out, so that Marcelo and I could get married and move in together. I tried telling them, several times, that I needed them around for a while after the baby's birth, but they kept telling me that it would be better if they let me get on with my life. I cried about it. I was sure that if I cried, they'd listen to me, but they didn't. So instead of moping about it, I tried to get as much time with them in as I could. 
I watched them - I felt like they were going to disappear of the face of the planet. I know it was just the hormones, but I still burst into tears whenever I thought about them moving out. They'd all already packed most of their things, and now it was just a waiting game. Drazen made me a sketch to cheer me up, but I didn't cheer up. I knew I should be happy, I was about to gain a husband and a child, but I was going to lose my siblings. Some may not look at it that way, but us Parodis.. once we moved on, we really moved on. Oh, sure, we called each other, sent emails, kept everyone in the loop, but we never really visited each other. I vowed that I would, but would I really?

To keep me from moping me too much more, finally Drazen told me I could get out of the house. In fact, he commanded that I go to the spa and get a massage for my aching back. I didn't argue, at all, because it had been aching more than usual that day. 
I had barely entered the doors, though, when my water broke. "Aaaah!" I gasped in pain, and gripped my belly. The receptionist, a teen boy, didn't seem to know what to do and started to panic, so I finally just told him to call the hospital and tell them that I was heading their way. He nodded and did as I told him, then I told him to call Marcelo's number and tell him to meet me at the hospital - then I headed out. The hospital was quite a ways away, but the receptionist had also told them to send an ambulance, so they got there within minutes and then I was at the hospital. Marcelo showed up shortly after I was ushered into a room.
The labor was.. long. Very, very long and painful, and I found myself crying a lot. I know it was at least twenty-four hours, before I could finally relax. Marcelo had left at some point, because he was needed at work. And then at home. I cried harder at that. Angrily, not just from pain. I shouted a lot about what sort of a person he was to do this to me, not marry me, and then abandon me. My poor babies, brought into the world hearing that..
Oh, yeah. Part of the reason it took so long, and was so painful, was because it was twins. The first baby was born, a little girl, and I named her Rosella as I said I would. And then about ten minutes later came her twin sister, Wren. 

It was several days before I was allowed to go home. I hadn't heard from Marcelo since he left the hospital, and I was kind of worried. Why hadn't he come to see me and his baby girls while we were recovering? All of my siblings had come to see me, and tell me that they had bought a house, they were working on moving their things there while I was recovering. Some of my cousins I'd never even met came to visit. Raul even came to see me and I didn't even like the man! I made sure to give him a piece of my mind about breaking my little brother's heart, and if I could have gotten out of that hospital bed without getting scolded, I would have beat him to a pulp.
Finally, when I got home, I dazedly snuggled my little Rosella, wrapped up in her sea foam blanket. The only one left in the house was Quin, and he was busy sending his computer files to his new computer. While I waited to be able to tell him see you later - not goodbye - I called Marcelo. I only got his voice mail, so I left him a message, "Hey, Marcelo.. I haven't seen you in days. You have two daughters, Rosella and Wren. I thought I would let you know. Where are you? I miss you.." I sighed, and then looked over at Quin, who was standing now, and avoiding looking at me.
"So.. I guess this is it."
"No, it's not it, Quin. It's not like you're dropping out of my life forever, or vice versa. You're just moving next door." Luckily for me, they literally lived right across the road from me. I looked down at Rosella as I spoke to him. "Feel free to visit. A lot. Please, visit as much as you want."
"I will."
"And tell me how things work out with Kristy."
"Oh, Kristy dumped me shortly after she turned.. she found a new guy. Then a new guy after him, and a new guy after him.. like Amaranth, she's not easily satisfied." he sighed deeply, then walked over and hugged me, careful of Rosella. "I love you sis, I will keep you informed of my love life."
"Good. I love you, too. And I'll keep you informed of mine, too." I kissed his cheek, and he kissed Rosella's forehead, before he left. I tried not to cry, but failed pretty miserably. So I snuggled Rosella closer to make myself feel better. "It's not like I'll never see them again.."

Being a single mother to twin girls wasn't nearly as difficult as I was afraid it would be. I'd heard horror stories from Mom that Grandma had told her about when she'd had Aunt Dee and Aunt Naomi. Maybe my little girls were just better behaved than my Aunts had been at their age? The first several months went by in a blur, and I never even got the time to think about calling Marcelo. Sure, I said it was easier than I imagined to take care of them, but I never said it was downright easy. When one would calm, I had to immediately go to the other one to take care of her.
The times I was able to take for myself, I got as much sleep as I could - it wasn't much, but it was something. Thankfully, I had Quin constantly calling me and updating me on himself and everyone else. Eulalie had finally found herself a guy, Willie Thirtytwo, and they were pretty committed to each other. Quin was still having troubles with what gender to like, and Zach wasn't helping matters because he'd gone a couple of dates with Kristy. And then there was Jere, my little unflirty one, had started seeing an old vampire, Brigit Hemlock. Here I'd thought he was asexual.

It was getting incredibly close to the girls' first birthday by the time Marcelo finally got in touch with me again. My phone rang, and I looked at it strangely, before answering it. "Hello?"
"Um.. hi Dahlia."
Irritation was the first thing to rush through me. How dare he take so long to get in touch with me? He hadn't even seen his baby girls, and here they were almost toddlers. I pressed my lips into a thin line and looked down at Wren, who I was holding, to calm myself. She cooed up at me, and I smiled, mouthing, 'Daddy's on the phone'. 
".. Dahlia, are you there? Listen, I'm sorry I've been gone, it was really sudden, we had to go away and visit family.. how is the baby? Was it a boy or a girl?"
"Twin girls. Their names are Rosella and Wren. So you left because you were visiting family? You could have waited before you abandoned me in the hospital."
I heard him sigh, in what sounded like relief. Well, understandably, he probably thought I wasn't going to talk to him at all. "Rosella and Wren.. I can't wait to meet them. And.. well, it wasn't exactly just a regular visit, it was more complicated than that. It was a family emergency, you know? I'd tell you more, but.. I'd rather not. Listen, I was calling to invite you to our welcome home party. It's formal. Would you like to come? Please?"
I hesitated for only a moment, before suddenly getting a wonderful, brilliant idea. I had Grandpa's wedding band hidden somewhere downstairs in Mom's dresser.. I beamed brightly. "I would love to come. In fact, I'll come early. See you in a few minutes."
"Great! I love you, and I'm sorry I abandoned you."
"It's okay. I'm forgiving. I love you too, Marcelo." He didn't deserve to be called koi right now. He was Marcelo until further notice.
As soon as I hung up, I called the babysitter, got my formal wear and Grandpa's wedding ring, and waited for her to arrive, before speeding off towards the Swan/Knowles residence.

I didn't waste any time when I got there. As soon as I spotted him standing in the yard, getting ready for the party, I approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hi." He turned, and upon seeing me, beamed and gave me a quick kiss. 
"Hi yourself. I'm glad you came. But.. you didn't bring the girls?"
"Well, I don't plan on staying too long. Tonight's their birthday, you know. I just had to come and do something.." I moved around in front of him, holding Grandpa's ring behind my back. He gave me an odd look at the 'do something', and I just grinned at him. I was excited - I had been waiting for this moment. I wanted to get married to him more than anything, now, and I didn't care if I had to ask him.
"Marcelo.. I love you, and I have for ages. You're the only guy I've ever thought about. The only one I've ever kissed, the only one I've ever.. well, you know. The father of my baby girls.. and, well.." I got down on one knee, despite the fact that it was nearly impossible to do in this dress. His eyes bugged out, and I knew he knew what I was doing. I brought the ring around in front of me, and opened it up to him. "Marcelo Edwin Knowles, will you marry me?"
He gasped, and I gave him my best, most charming grin. I figured I knew what the answer was..

.. but I was wrong. His face drooped, and he reached forward, closing the little black box. "Dahlia, I can't.. I'm sorry. Not right now. I'm.. I mean, I want to marry you, but I can't right now."
I stayed there, staring at him with all my heartbreak evident on my face. "But.. Marcelo..." I whispered, unable to quite process anything yet. He'd said no? But.. why had he said no? Not right now? He wants to, but not right now? I looked down at the box in my hands, and stared at it, not wanting to look at him any longer. Now the heartbreak was dissipating, and something else was taking it's place.
"Dahlia, I'm really sorry.."

"YOU'RE SORRY?!" I snapped, and rushed to my feet, my red head's temper flaring up. Oh, sure, I didn't have naturally red hair, but my Grandma's father had red hair, and my Mama Elvy had red hair. So it was there, just waiting to pounce. I also had tears streaking down my cheeks, my teeth gritting. I'm sure that if Marcelo was a human, he probably would have been wetting himself out of fear - as it was, he did seem pretty terrified anyway.
"Dahlia-"
"NO! You are not going to 'Dahlia' me! How dare you?! You have been keeping me at arms length since we started dating, and I just figured it was because of your stupid 'emotions are difficult' thing, but I'm beginning to think you have secret commitment issues! Or do you even love me? And what's worse, you can't even take responsibility for what you've done?! So you're FINE with the fun before getting me pregnant, and you're even okay with me being pregnant, but once it comes to actually taking RESPONSIBILITY for it and marrying me, oh no you couldn't possibly?! You are an immature jerk! There are worse words for what I'm thinking, but there are children around. And you abandoned me! You abandoned me, and don't give me the 'family emergency' excuse because you could have caught up with them after the babies were born! The girls are having their first birthday tonight, Marcelo, and because I came here tonight to PROPOSE to you, I'm probably going to miss their birthdays! So, don't you dare 'Dahlia' me! I need to leave now. Unless you're going to change your answer. Are you?" I pressed my lips into a line, and glared at him.
He seemed for a moment like he was going to apologize again, or give me the answer I wanted, but after a moment he looked away from me and sighed. "You're right, but.."
"That's what I thought. Bye." And with that, I headed home to two little girls that I knew loved me no matter what.

I was just barely in time to see Rosella age up into a perfect mix of her father and me, with my hair and Marcelo's eyes. I could tell right now that she was going to be absolutely stunning, and it was not just a mother's bias. And she was such a happily little thing already, I hoped that she kept that as she grew up.

As soon as Rosella had grown up, it was Wren's turn, and I watched her as she grew into her sister's opposite. Marcelo's red hair, and my teal eyes, with what seemed to be my face shape. Also a beautiful little girl, and I was a proud Mama. 

Since Rosella was already busy with exploring the new world of toys, I picked up Wren and snuggled her close, tears already beginning to come again. "Wren.. I just wish, for once, Daddy would make things easy on Mommy.."
She babbled lightly to me, and attempted to hug me back. I smiled, and wiped at a tear, then kissed her on the top of her head. "But, don't worry. Mommy's not going to give up until Daddy outright tells her he doesn't love her." I had a secret weapon, and that was my wish power. Oh, I felt like giving up, telling him I didn't even want to see him anymore. I was tired of being hurt so much, even if he always had a good excuse - but I wanted to get married, and he was the only one I could imagine being married to. And our daughters deserved to have a Daddy in their lives.


(A/N: I was SO angry at Marcelo when he turned Dahlia down, and then I realized it was my own fault, because I used the 'special..' hopeless romantic ability to propose without getting to 'extremely irresistible'. At least it got more plot! I like plot. Anyway, so, the girls' traits: Rosella has good and excitable, and Wren has excitable and brave. I know there's other stuff that I want to say about this, but.. I can't think of any right now.)