Changes in Death: Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Arrrgh! I had intended to update waaaaaay before now! I am so very sorry guys , the last month has been severely hectic. My grandfather was in hospital, a friend's sister passed away, and I've been beating my brain against the wall dealing with problematic neighbours! No excuse I'm afraid, so again SOOOOORRRRY!!!! I promise not to leave chapter 4 so long xxxx xxxx


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Eve laid on her side staring over toward the small cot, where she could see movement of a small pink blanket, a little hand and she could hear the odd snuffling coo as the child slipped in and out of sleep. Her child, God help her, it was her child. She had completely unawares carried a life inside of her for almost nine months. Those off days when she felt sick, the weird cravings that involved mixing certain food groups that shouldn’t be mixed, the constant fatigue, it now all made perfect sense and frightened the ever loving crap out of her.

She, Lieutenant Eve Dallas was a mother!

Her stomach churned and with a groan, Eve buried her face into her pillow. She cringed a little when certain areas twinged painfully.

This just couldn’t be happening and she half hoped she’d wake up, curled in beside Roarke and this would’ve all been a bad dream. Christ, how was she going to tell Roarke?! With another pitiful moan, the Lieutenant burrowed further into her bed, stiffening when the door to her private room opened. No doubt it was Summerset returning with another attempt at getting her to eat, or worse, hold the baby.

“Listen, I told you I—“

The words died in her mouth when she turned and found, not Summerset, but Roarke standing in the entry, looking somewhat unsure of what to do or say to her and yet he was clearly brimming with excitement.

“Eve,” he whispered gently, blue eyes warm and gentle.

And damn it all to hell, all it took was that electric blue stare and she came undone. Cursing her feminine urges, semi blaming it on screwed up hormones, Eve fiercely scrubbed her eyes, but it was no use the tears escaped anyway and the sobs were quick to follow. Roarke was across the room in a second, bundling her carefully into his arms.

“No baby, don’t cry,” he crooned gently, rubbing her back to calm her down.

“I didn’t know Roarke, I swear I didn’t,” she whined against his chest, chest heaving the sobs were choking her that bad.

“Ssh, baby I know, I know you didn’t.” Roarke told her doing his best to sooth her.

Her broken hearted cries quickly calmed down to somewhat contained snuffles and as her weeping ended, their daughters begun. It began with a few whines and whimpers, only to become a full blown tear fest. Eve moved away from Roarke and wasn’t the least bit surprised when he got up and went to her. His movements were cautious and when his eyes eventually fell upon the wailing infant his handsome features were momentarily transformed, a brilliant smile lit up his face and reaching into the hospital cot, Roarke carefully lifted the tiny bundle, holding her in tight against him.

The baby settled down, looking up at her father through misty blue eyes and with a great coo, she reached out a promptly shoved his tie into her mouth, chewing quite vigorously on the dark green satin.

Roarke chuckled shaking his head, and drank in every one of her features. She was the absolute spitting image of him, except for the eyes. They were shaped like Eve’s and Roarke had a feeling in six months they’d be identical in colour also.

Looking up with a grin on his face, the happy expression faltered when he caught the look on Eve’s face. She was eyeing their daughter as if she were a bomb about to go off fear bright in her whiskey irises.

“Eve,” he began, unsure of what to say to her, “I know we never planned for this, I know you think you’re not ready, but I have faith in you. You’ll be a wonderful mother.”

Eve shook her head, pulling her knees up to her chest and settled her chin on her folded arms.

“Sucks to be that one percent, I should do an advertisement for the screen on how birth control is in no way perfect.”

Roarke’s heart stuttered and it felt as if barbed wire had been wrapped tightly around his lungs.

“We may not have had a say in this Eve, but she’s hardly a mistake, look at her. She’s our perfect little girl.”

But Eve couldn’t bring herself to look at her, because despite what Roarke thought she was a mistake.

“I never wanted this Roarke,” Eve told him meekly, “I’ll never be able to be a mother to her, because that part of me was taken and broken. Don’t ask me to this, please.”

Roarke could scarcely believe what he was hearing. “You can’t possibly mean that Eve, she’s our child, yours and mine, we made her!”

“Making her doesn’t mean I have to want her!” Eve snapped back in a blaze of temper.

Roarke stiffened all of his muscles locking one by one and sensing the sudden tension the baby let go of his tie and began to cry, legs and arms pin wheeling as she quickly became hysterical. The hard look on his wife’s face positively broke his heart and for once in his life, he didn’t know what to say, he had no quick fix or witty remark.

“Don’t be her Eve,” Roarke finally said his words barely audible, “Don’t do what Stella did and abandon her.”

Eve looked sucker punched and jerked back at the mention of her long-gone-cold-in-the -grave mother, eyes widening. When Roarke turned to leave, she reached out, tempted to make him stay but God that hurt, it had truly hurt and so she let him go, curling in on herself with nothing but her misery and self doubt for company.


***


Peabody looked up from her coffee—well what passed for coffee—just as Roarke stepped into the hall and walked toward the waiting area, with the tiniest bundle she had ever seen in her life. The baby’s angry squall could be heard quite clearly, but Roarke was quick to calm her, looking over when the Detective approached a tired smile curving his lips. Obviously things hadn’t gone down as he intended, but Peabody didn’t pry.

Placing down her Styrofoam cup she held out her arms timidly.

“Can I hold her Roarke?”

Roarke happily handed her over, feeling tremendously proud when Peabody gushed over her, letting the child grip her index finger tightly.

“Oh, Roarke she’s absolutely perfect!” Peabody exclaimed while grinning foolishly, she always did have a soft spot for babies, “what will you call her?”

Roarke flinched, after all there was obviously no we in this equation, not as far as Eve was concerned.

“We haven’t decided yet,” he stated simply.

Peabody wasn’t fooled for a second, after all this time she could easily read both Eve and Roarke.

“That doesn’t fly with me Roarke, what happened?”

Roarke gave a shaky sigh and dropped his weight down on a random chair scattered about the room. He looked as if the whole universe had settled on his shoulders and for that Peabody pitied him. Sitting next to him, she shifted the infant’s weight and had to smile when she realised the child was sound asleep, snuffling little breaths leaving her slightly parted lips.

Finally Roarke spoke.

“Eve doesn’t want her and for the life of me, I don’t know how to convince her otherwise.”

Peabody’s expression grew grim, her jaw locking in temper. Of all the daft things Eve had done, this by far was the worse.

“How can she think that,” she asked eventually, “I know you guys didn’t plan this but still!”

“She’s just too afraid. Too afraid that she will become what her parents were,” Roarke answered feeling suddenly drained.

Looking down at the oh-so tiny being in her lap, Peabody ran a slim finger over one perfect round cheek and an idea came to her.

“Call Mavis,” she told Roarke firmly, “if anyone can slap some sense into Dallas it’s her.”

That was actually an ingenious idea and Roarke mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it. Standing, he removed his link from the inside of his jacket pocket and scrolled through for Mavis’ number and punched in a quick text hitting send. He didn’t give her all the details, because it would’ve been a bit much to swallow over a text message. He simply asked her to get here as quick as possible because Eve needed her and knowing Mavis she’d come hell or high water for her friend.

He was in the middle of feeding his daughter when the main doors to the maternity ward were shoved open and in came whirlwind Mavis, in all her glory and colour drawing several stares which was hardly surprising considering the ensemble she was sporting, that glowed with neon brightness.
She was dressed in a tight to the curves micro-mini of florescent pink that was splattered with lime green pokadots, the colour theme was noticeable for the rest of the outfit too, with her hair lime green, eyes pink and her feet sat snugly in lime green stilettos with needle thin pink heels that had to be at least four inches in height.

Clip-clopping her way toward Roarke as fast as she could manage without falling over, Mavis waved a hand dramatically around her surroundings before planting her palms on her curvy hips and glowering at both Roarke and Peabody.

“Okay what’s the deal? Why’s Dallas in the maternity—“

A great happy coo distracted her, dragging her attention to the squirming form in Roarke’s arms and eyes widening slightly, Mavis pointed clearly confused.

“Who’s the kid,” she chuckled a little, “what Dallas had a baby did she?”

Naturally it was a joke, but when Roarke and Peabody exchanged looks Mavis new her little joking observation was actually the truthful situation.

“Well sweet baby Jesus and all his disciples!” She exclaimed before planting it in the seat next to Peabody, hand over her heart for a moment until she straightened and looked straight at Roarke, “How the hell did you two keep it hidden?”

“We didn’t,” Roarke responded sadly, “We didn’t know. Eve was one of every thousand women who had a pregnancy unawares, no symptoms and no signs…”

“You mean—well shit!” Mavis ran a hand through her bouncy curls and didn’t know weather to scream or cry for her best friend, “Christ, I know birth is scary and I knew what was happening, but not to know…who was with her?”

“Summerset found her unconscious after it,” Peabody said filling her in.

Mavis positively blanched and letting out a colourful oath she surged to her feet teetering a little on her ridiculously high shoes.

“I need to see her, God she must be all a tizzy about being a mom, but she’ll be great and—“

“Eve doesn’t want her,” Roarke stated quietly interrupting her, his blue eyes sad and defeated.
Mavis went utterly still and breathing hard she shook her head in denial.

“N-no she wouldn’t, she couldn’t!” Angrier now she clenched her hands into fists, “How could Dallas be so selfishly stupid?”

Without invitation Mavis stalked past them, she didn’t even need her room number because she had already asked for it at the front desk. Eve was awake when the rock star thundered in and wasn’t that just peachy? Stomping across the green linoleum floor, Mavis did something she had never done before, she braced herself and with all the strength she could muster she slapped Eve full force across the face.

Eve knew it was coming, the second she caught Mavis’ livid expression and with her right cheek stinging horribly she knew she deserved it. Roarke and Peabody stood in the doorway, neither interfering which was possibly best; Mavis looked as if she were ready to eat nails.
The dreadful silence dragged on, to the point Dallas half prayed for a marching band to plough on through, but it was unnecessary.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Mavis eventually spat, her words acidic.

Eve couldn’t look at her, she just felt too ashamed so happily made do with talking to her fumbling hands.

“I-I can’t Mavis, I—“

“Oh fuck no, I don’t want you to tell me, tell her,” Mavis barked pointing a perfectly manicured nail toward Roarke and the infant girl, “Have the guts to tell your little girl that you don’t want her and why…”

Dallas lifted her head, whiskey orbs locking on Mavis’ face.

“Mavis, please…”

“TELL HER!”

Eve jerked back at the sharp command, hearing the soft whimpers of her daughter, Mavis’ yelp having startled her. With her best friend fuming and Roarke looking at her so imploringly, Eve felt smothered. Didn’t they understand? She couldn’t do it, she wasn’t a mother figure, the most she had in her was to care for a cat, but that was it. Feeling suffocated, a blind fear clawing at her she looked frantically between them, tears filling her eyes.

Roarke’s heart clenched, he hated to see her so lost and vulnerable, but damn it all to hell Mavis was right.

“Eve,” he eventually said, the one word the granddaddy of pleas.

“No,” Eve whimpered, “No! I won’t do it, take her out of her, now! I don’t want to see her again!!”