[Fiction] Understanding [Complete]

[z-Carver]

Mythic's hand was warm in Carver's as they followed the maitre de to the table. Even from this far away, Carver could see Ruth's hair, her soft blonde shining in the dim lighting. Her sister's back was to them, so Carver was able to sneak up on her and slip her arms around her shoulders. "Hey, Ruthie," she said.

"Hi!" Ruth said, standing up and giving her a hug. Carver held her sister tight for a moment, the pure love she felt for the baseline nearly overwhelming. Nearly losing her to CoMA had been rough and since recovering from that fanatic brainwashing, Ruth had become even more precious to her sister.

"So," Carver said after she'd released Ruth and sat down, "I understand you have some news for us."

Ruth was silent for a moment as Carver picked up her water and took a sip; when Carver was about to swallow, Ruth said, "I'm pregnant."

Carver choked and spat her water back into the glass; Mythic, though still wide-eyed with shock, reached over and patted her on the back. *Honey?* he asked worriedly.

For once, Carver ignored her boyfriend. "WHAT!?" she shrieked, her voice unfortunately loud. Conversations died as the other diners looked at the shouting nova in their midst.

"Jay-Jay," Ruth said, her voice soft in volume but hard in tone. "Please don't shout. I'm a woman; it shouldn't be that hard to believe that I'm going to be a mom."

"Ruthie, last I knew, you weren't seeing someone," Carver said just as softly. Her hand found Mythic's under the table and squeezed it tight. "Unless the father's name is God or John Q. Donor, I think I'm allowed to be a little surprised."

"Honey, I'm sure she's going to explain," Mythic said comfortingly, his calm spreading mentally to Carver and taking the edge off her anger.

"Well, my boyfriend-" She stopped at the look on Carver's face. "Yes, I have a boyfriend, and you'll meet him once you've both calmed down. But we just decided today to not abort. We're going to have the baby, and probably get married later."

"I'm calm, really," Carver said, her voice tense. "Besides, all I want to do is choke him a little."

"Honey," Mythic said warningly, but Ruth rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I fucked him just as much as he fucked me," Ruth said intently. The curse words more than anything else showed Ruth's insistance on this issue. "It takes two to get knocked up."

"Yes, you're right, and I'm sorry," Carver sighed, rubbing her forehead. "This is just a shock. Finding out that you have a boyfriend that you haven't told me about at all, and that you're going to have his baby... How long have you been with him?"

"I met him in June; we've been dating since December," Ruth answered.

"So he moved to New York to be with you?" Mythic asked, his thumb rubbing Carver's hand softly.

"I moved to New York to be with him," Ruth replied. A trickster's grin crossed her pretty lips. "You ready to meet him?"

"Sure," Carver said, warming up a little to the idea. Mythic would have a brother-in-law eventually; their family would have two new members. Even with the slight distress of thing happening in the 'wrong' order, Carver found herself liking the idea.

Ruth pulled out her phone and dialed it. "Yeah, come to the table. They wanna meet you."

"Wait, he's here?" Carver said, frowning.

"He's been waiting in the bar," Ruth giggled as she snapped the phone shut. "We wanted to surprise you."

"The baby was enough of a surprise," Carver replied.

Behind her, a voice said, "Hey, guys."

Carver stiffened at that familiar voice, along with Mythic. Slowly, in one eerie motion, they turned as one, a single name rolling between them.

Erick grinned at them sheepishly. "Sorry, the whole bar thing was Ruth's idea," he said, moving around the table to take his seat. "But, um, yeah." His fingers curled around Ruth's. "I'm in love with your sister, Carver."

[z-Carver]

*This is not happening. This cannot be happening,* Carver moaned to Harry.

*Sorry, honey, I think it is,* Mythic told her. She could feel the mixed reactions from him; the joy that Erick might really be happy fighting with his concern for her. "Congratulations, Erick, Ruth," Harry said, reaching over the table to shake's Erick's hand.

"Yeah..." Carver said with as much enthusiasm could manage. "This is great." She stood up and moved around the table to give Ruth a hug. *This is awful! Now we're never be rid-*

Carver's mental voice cut off with a snap, but Mythic didn't need her to finish anymore. He knew her mind and her heart, and he knew what she hadn't said: that they would never be rid of Erick. She didn't mean it the way it sounded; she had just held a deep, silent wish that he would move away after college, or they would leave New York. Seeing him was painful for her, and while Erick had been the slowest to recover from Ghost's predations, Mythic understood that in some ways, Carver suffered more. And now, there was, in her mind, no chance of reprieve.

Ruth and Erick had both stood up when Carver had moved around the table; when Ruth was done with her hug, Erick had opened his arms. Carver hesitated before folding herself into a hug against the gangly red-head. Slowly, a warmth spread through Carver as she hugged him. He was in her life, and here to stay, but perhaps that would be the avenue for healing. If avoidance wouldn’t work, perhaps acceptance would. So when she spoke, it was with full sincerity. “Welcome to the family, Erick.”

[z-Carver]

"So not to be a Nosy Nancy-"

"Too late!" Ruth chirped, chuckling at her wit as she winked at her sister. Erick grinned, his hand wrapped around Ruth's with infinite gentleness.

"Ha ha, you're killing me," Carver said, rolling her eyes even as she chuckled. Harry's arm was a comforting warmth across her shoulders, and she put her hand on his thigh, silently delighting in the surge of heated thoughts that raced through his mind at her casual touch. "But seriously, how are you guys going to manage? Erick, you still have two semesters left, and Ruth, while you're doing ok right now, you'll need to take some time off for the baby," Carver said, getting serious.

*Honey, these are all good points... but do you have an idea here?* Harry asking, his blue eyes catching her gray ones.

*Of course I do,* Carver answered, leaning over to give him a quick kiss.

"You know, it's really unsettling when you guys do that," Ruth said, shaking her head. Despite her light-hearted smile, Carver could see her unease as her sister played with her fork and empty dessert plate.

"Do what?" Carver opted for playing dumb.

"It's like you hold conversations that we can't hear," Erick said.

"Like you guys have been finishing sentences, and making points for each other all night?" Mythic asked casually, but with enough force in his voice to make his point clear.

"Fair enough," Erick grinned easily, holding up one hand in surrender. He and Ruth exchanged their own kiss, after a meaningful glance, even as Carver tried to deal with two sides of her world colliding in such an intimate way. Mythic's thumb rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

"But don't worry about us," Ruth answered her sister after her brief intimancy with her boyfriend. "We'll get by." Her grin deepened. "Though... if you wanna offer to baby-sit..."

"Anytime," Carver said, as Mythic quickly echoed her. As the young baseline couple nodded their thanks, Carver quickly added, "But... I think we can do a bit more."

"Jay-jay..."

"No," Carver said firmly.

Mythic asked, "What are you two asking in secret-sister code language?" He glanced from one sister to another, his gaze curious.

*We don't need the money from that commission.*

Harry understood immediately, and squeezed her hand in agreement.

"Jay-jay wants to give us money," Ruth said, her voice tight.

"Jay-jay is giving her niece or nephew money," Carver said. "Could you two do fine on your own? Absolutely. But this is not for you. It's for your kid, or if you have a litter, kids. Use it as much or as little as you like, and give what's left to him or her when they're grown. I'm transferring ownership of the account to you first thing in the morning. No arguments."

"Jay-jay...," Ruth said, choking up a bit. "Why?"

"Because you're the one that's going to have kids," Carver said, fighting the sinking feeling in her gut when she said that. Until tonight, she'd never considered that lack to be a lack. But it was, at least for this moment. "And I want my niece or nephew to have all the advantages I can give them. Because they are the future of this family. I may live a long time, maybe, but I'll never add to Us. So I want to help you add to Us. Ok?"

Ruth nodded before bursting into tears and rushing around the table to hug her sister. Carver clung just as tightly to her as her sister cried into her eufiber. Once Carver had wondered where her loyalities lay, as a nova. And tonight, she knew. Her loyalities were right here, with the people at this table, both those already here, and those to come.