Chapter 379: 1-3

Dear daddy, Sometimes I wished that I would have left my hiding space where momma left me, not because I think I could’ve saved her but because then they would’ve killed me too and I wouldn’t be around to hurt you so much. Bumblebee. Sighing I closed my notebook, packing a small bag with my pajamas, then I went downstairs and sat next to Aunt Julia, “I found my mate,” I said hiding my face against her arm. Waiting for her response until I started sniffing her. “Kier - what do I smell funny?” she joked and while a part of me noted that she didn’t sound surprised the new scent over road that small fact. “Yeah you smell different,” I went back in for another sniff. I reach for the remote, lowering the television to concentrate, using all the techniques Lux and Chelsea had shown me. “No not just different, you smell…” I sniffed again, “like – like raspberries,” I closed my eyes, listening… “Oh my god you’re pregnant!” I jump to my feet pointing at her stomach, a large smile on my face, while Uncle Grant is confused, his eyes darting between aunt Julia’s stomach and me. “No – no – I – I’m not,” she says lowly. “Yes! Yes you are! I can hear it and you smell different!” I smiled until I realized she wasn’t smiling, in fact she looked afraid. “Do – do you feel different? Have you had any symptoms?” Uncle Grant asks her, she shakes her head. “Well it’s either that or your heart is broken and beating with an echo,” I say. Chelsea can you come to the house please? I think aunt Julia is pregnant, she smells different and there is a slight echo heartbeat that I can hear, its lower than her own, “I called Chelsea, she’s better at listening and those sorts of things.” Still excited, I sat in front of them, bouncing in my place, as the minutes went by. “Are – are you sure Oakley?” Aunt Julia whispered, her voice so low I probably wouldn’t have understood without my enhanced senses. “Aren’t you guys happy?” Uncle Grant opened his mouth twice closing it each time, “I mean you even smell different to me, it’s very strong the heartbeat but the scent is light, but I can still notice-” I stopped when Chelsea and Jack appeared next to me, “Is she right?” Aunt Julia asked Chelsea, but I just snorted, “I mean, if I smell different? How does – she said I smell more like raspberries now?” Jack Chelsea didn’t even sniff, inhaling hard as I had, but she nodded, “Oakley is right… but, since I’m sure you’d like more proof than our nose and extra senses,” Jack stepped forth handing aunt Julia a small box. “And if you want more proof, Chelsea said to offer you a blood test?” Jack offered his eyes serious holding a few tubes and a syringe in a packet in his other hand. “Yes, a blood test and-“ Aunt Julia stood reaching for the box, “I’ll – I’m going-” she said nearly dazed going to the bathroom. “How – no, Oakley said she can hear the heartbeat, it’s distinctive,” he shook his head, “I – I don’t understand,” Grant mumbled. When Aunt Julia came out holding a thin pen shaped object, sitting down next to uncle Grant she held her arm out to Jack, “the blood test too,” her face red, eyes glassy, uncle Grant took her free hand in both of his. After filling three Vacutainers with her blood, Aunt Julia leaned forward taking the stick and lifting it before her and Uncle Grant, “Oh,” her words breathy and surprised, her hand going to her stomach, “I – I – oh no,” she glanced at me, her face apologetic. “Wait – what am I missing?” I eyed them not understanding their reactions. “We wanted to wait, we didn’t want you and Ben to feel that we were not important to us-” “I think this is great!” I interrupted her, hoping she and Uncle Grant knew I meant that. I did, I knew that they wanted to have a baby for a long time, and now they were getting that. “Do you want to see the baby?” Jack asked lifting a thick but relatively small box. “Isn’t it too soon?” Uncle Grant asked him, glancing between him and Chelsea. “I – I mean – can I see?” he turned to Aunt Julia, pointing at her stomach. Nodding she lifted her shirt up to reveal her stomach. Squinting his eyes, he lifted his hand placing it against her lower abdomen. His eyes wide and watery, “Did you – it’s a bit hard – did you feel – I mean can you tell?” he looked up to Aunt Julia, who shook her head immediately. “We brought the portable ultrasound, just lay back and we’ll see, if you want of course?” I moved to sit near Chelsea on the other sofa, while Uncle Grant and Aunt Julia stared at each other, a small smile on each of their faces, “Yeah, we want to see,” uncle Grant says softly. Opening the case, Jack prepares opening the thick case, revealing a twelve by twelve built-in screen, a wand and buttons on the bottom, the whole machine mirroring a laptop. The first thing we hear, or well Aunt Julia and Grant hear is the heartbeat, strong and so much faster than I thought it would be, “Oh – wow – that – so strong,” she murmurs her face euphoric. When an image finally appears on the screen, the small smile uncle Grant wore seems to fade down. “That – this – it can’t be right?” Grant stutters, I glance at Chelsea confused, it looks like a baby, I can tell which end is the head, and legs, “I thought babies were supposed to be dots? I mean on T.V. and movies, they start off as dots…” “Something’s wrong?” Aunt Julia loses her smile as well, eyes darting frantically between Chelsea and Jack. “Oaks right – that baby looks to be about ten maybe more weeks old, this isn’t – it’s not possible,” Uncle Grant said his eyes zeroed in on the image.