Not so sure about herself as a good mother. But maybe that’d come with experience.
She kissed Kieran on the nose, stroked under his chin with one finger. “I’d like to take things as they are, keep going. Maybe we can be together. Maybe we won’t. But right now, in this moment, I don’t want you to leave.”
“That almost sounds like a confession of love to me,” Kieran said, with a growing, joyful smile.
“Maybe,” she said, noting that his smile was damn well contagious. It had a way of lighting up the room, swelling into beauty.
Damn it, he was a fucking awesome guy.
Slight family issues, of course, but pretty much everyone had some slight family issues.
“What would you want to call the child?” Tegan asked, curious. Though she still wasn’t sold on the idea of being a mother, that didn’t stop her from coming up with some names on the side.
“Depends if it’s a girl or boy. I’ve thought of a few.”
“Me, too. I’m thinking unisex names, so it doesn’t matter what kind of child it turns out to be.”
“Oh!” Kieran’s eyes widened. “Right. You have names that fit everyone. Like what?”
“Well… Alex. Jamie. Theo. Charlie. Chrissy. There’s more, but I’m kind of dancing with those ones.”
“I like them all. Mine were more… the traditional dragon names we have, but they’re probably weird for the types of names you hear. Like for a girl, we’d have names such as Kazul, Zura, Avarek, Voirrey. For a boy, Broxar, Hazen, Garrien…” He scrunched up his face in an adorable way. “Those ones are more traditional. But since I don’t want the child to be associated with the dragons, I’d pick a more human one.”
They discussed a little further, before eventually settling on perhaps an Alex or a Theo. He seemed particularly taken with those two, and though the name wasn’t set in stone, Tegan highly suspected she’d be seeing one of those on the child.
“Thank you,” she said then, kissing his neck this time. “Thank you for helping to secure a better future for me.” Though she felt sure she’d have worked towards it herself, the joy of being helped out lingered with her as well.
“No problem. You deserve it.”
They spent the rest of the day watching the television, eating bad food, and lounging in bed. A full day of recovery, since he stated his muscles still ached from all the flying beforehand. The next day, they found out, via another one of those creepy phone calls from Broxar, that he understood the deal Kieran made, believed it, and would not disturb them again. Along with a threat that if Kieran backed out of the deal for any reason, he’d have his head.
Dragons liked threatening one another, apparently.
“He was a little intense, but we won’t be having trouble from him again,” Kieran said, though he also deflated in obvious relief. “I never know with him sometimes. He can have some pretty wild mood swings.”
“If you’re sure he’ll stick to his word…?”
“Our father’s word, yes. He’ll do whatever Father says, no matter what. He just thought I was deliberately tricking him. Since no way would our father ever agree to such a thing.”
“Did you think he’d agree?”
Kieran shrugged. “I had to try, didn’t I? I had to give him something he wanted, to get him off my back. Our backs. It’s not ideal, but if you ever want to do anything… there has to be compromise. Hasn’t there?”
Yes. Compromise. The only real way for people of vastly different opinions and lifestyles to ever reach common ground.
She patted her stomach, thinking about all the chaos that came out of the situation. The child had no idea, of course. Why would they? She smiled at Kieran, picturing them together in her head, a happy couple.
I can’t wait to meet you, she thought, thinking of the child.
Well, she didn’t have to wait long.
Epilogue – Kieran
Kieran beamed, a proud father. The moment the nurse handed over his newborn son to him, his arms trembled from the momentous occasion. His son squalled like a little hellion, face red and contorted. Healthy lungs, at least. He calmed down after the doctor showed Kieran how to soothe the child, and he followed the instructions, rocking and crooning to his son, heart swelling so big it felt as if it’d burst on the spot.
My son. He wanted to cry, but kept it all contained within as best as able. Tegan lay on the hospital bed, exhausted but grinning, watching them together.
“Look at what you made,” he said to her. “Amazing.”
“You helped a bit,” she said, and the doctor snorted. He handed the baby back to Tegan, who cradled the child with a curious expression on her face.
So far, they’d stuck together through the months. Exploring the murky, confusing emotions that transpired between them, though it wasn’t always easy. He’d helped her start building on the property, renovating the cabin so it became somewhat livable, and planting the first seeds towards the business she hoped to foster. He helped her get into contact with beekeepers in the area because she wanted to look into making her own mead, invested in a greenhouse, and felt that growing satisfaction of a project slowly blooming into reality. She kept one spot for a plant salvaged from her wrecked plot, saying that this was how it all started.
What an amazing woman. His heart continued to beat with sheer pride and joy, sending a delicious warmth and satisfaction within.
Life took some strange turns at times. No one ever had eyes to the future. They speculated, they guessed, but there was always a surprise waiting around the corner. A surprise like Tegan, and this child, and a realization of what he’d been missing all along.
A part of him always thought he’d eventually have to bow to the will of his father, or die resisting it. He wanted to taste the freedom for as long as possible until getting dragged back, kicking and screaming. He never once considered that there would be a solution beyond him or his family dying.
He never considered that his freedom might finally be real.
He approached Tegan at the doctor’s encouragement, and rested an arm around her, so they both gazed into the face of their child together.
“He’s an Alex, I think,” she said.
“Totally a Theo,” he replied.
She glared at him. “Put the names in a hat and pull them out?”
“I’d probably cheat and write just Theos in there.”
She laughed, and he couldn’t resist the urge to lean forward and kiss those lips gently. The doctor herself looked like she was about to melt from their happiness.
He certainly felt like melting from it.
Because he was happy.
Happy for the future that awaited, with Tegan, and to give the child the best life they could ever hope for.
He’d make it happen.