Honey I'm Home|Rivenway | Ronduin

[Devon]

Darin rushes through the streets of Ronduin heading straight for his home. He had hoped he wasn't late an Pandora hadn't started without him. In his arms he shuffled the gifts he had got for his soon to be born baby and for his wife. Pushing the door open he panted, "Hey!"

[Kender Bard]

Pandora was resting; she felt sore today, all over, but her moodswings had gone away since his mother had shown up. She appreciated profoundly the female companionship and a mother figure to help her through this. "Darin!" she cried out in delight, starting to get up quickly. Alita gently but firmly pushed Pandora back into her seat.

"You can't jump up like that dear," she scolded in a patient but almost tired voice - like it was something she'd been saying to her for a long time now.

[Devon]

Darin made his way over to Pandora, but was stopped short by his father. Brandon glared at his son and pulled him aside for a moment. "Geez, I know your mother at least taught you better than this. You don't leave a woman's side when she is pregnant with your child."

Darin sighed, he had no good excuse or rebuttal. "I know I know, I just thought the extra money would help. I didn't expect to be gone this long."

Brandon for once instead of bickering with his son, put his hand on Darin's shoulder. "You get that from me, your mother calls it stupidity. I call it good intentions with no thought. You'd better have a good gift for her if you don't expect to be chewed off for the first five years of your kid's life."

Darin smiled at his dad and teased as he walked by, "Getting sentimental now that you're going to be a grandpa old man?" Setting down his bags he went to Pandora's side. "Sorry I'm late Pandora, I promise I'll make it up to you and the baby."

[Kender Bard]

"I'm just glad you're here," she sighed and reached for him, snagging him in her and pulling him down tight. All her anger, her hurt, any of it was gone in a great flood of relief. "I was so afraid you were hurt or worse."

While her moodswings had mostly faded away, she was still emotional. She actually cried a little on his shoulder. "If you had died..."

"There," Alita replied, sourly, crossing her arms and giving her son a dark look. "See what you did? Darin Clancy Hayes, if you ever do something like this again and I hear about it, you will be in so much trouble, death will look like a pleasant option!"

Pandora giggled, quietly, and dried her eyes. "C-clancy?" She giggled again and sniffled.

[Devon]

There was no way around feeling like a jerk. If it wasn't the guilt and remorse Pandora gave him for scaring her so much, it was the guilt and embarrassment his mother gave him by revealing his middle name. "I'm sorry mom, I only did it so I wouldn't have to work again for a while. I shouldn't have left and I know that now." Kissing Pandora on the lips he smoothed her hair for her and sighed. "Clancy is my middle name."

Brandon stands in the doorway with a grin. "I told your mother it was a silly name."

[Kender Bard]

Alita ignored Brandon and simply resumed an air of superior indignation some mothers could achieve.

Pandora smiled more and kissed Darin back. She still clung to him and her grip tightened rather than loosened. She whimpered softly, but this time the tone had changed every so slightly; not sorrow, but one of pain.

Alita looked slightly alarmed at that. "Pandora dear?"

"I... it was just a spasm," she murmured.

[Devon]

Darin gritted his teeth, after talking with Talon this grip was something he had prepared to brace himself for. "Um, Pandora you aren't carrying any hidden knives on you right?"

Brandon glanced at Alita and retreated into another room, he had seen this once and didn't want to see it again. Instead of warning his son about the sight he was going to witness, he decided it'd be best if Darin got a surprise. "I think it's starting dear," he called out to Alita.

[Kender Bard]

Alita had to fight not to grin at Brandon's retreat. "Coward," she scoffed, and gently pried Pandora off of Darin. It wasn't hard. "Come with me dear."

"It was just a spasm," Pandora protested.

Alita gave her The Look. "Then at the very worst, you'll get to lie down and talk to Darin."

Feeling a bit foolish, Pandora let herself be led to the bedroom where Alita then began to gather up materials for what was coming. Pandora gripped the bedsheets tightly as 'just another spasm' passed over her.

"Darin," she whispered, and sounded frightened.

[Devon]

Darin followed Pandora and Alita into the bedroom and pulled up a chair beside Pandora. Sitting in it, he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm right here Pandora, I'm going to be here the whole time I promise."

[Kender Bard]

"What if something goes wrong?" she whispered.

Alita placed a large, soft white cloth nearby. "You're in Ronduin, darling, you couldn't be anywhere safer if something went wrong."

Pandora gulped and nodded, and pulling Darin's hand closer to her face so she could nuzzle the back of it. "Soon you'll be meeting your daughter it seems. Are you excited?"

[Devon]

Darin grinned at Pandora and kissed her hand. "Nothing is going to go wrong and I keep telling you, you're going to give birth to my son. We'll see who is right in a little while." Glancing up at his mother he questioned, "So what do we do next?"

[Kender Bard]

Alita flashed her son a little, almost nasty grin. "Hold tight."

---

I've never been so tired in my life, Pandora thought fuzzily. She wanted nothing more than to slip into a healing sleep. No, scratch that, she wanted to be with her sons before she slept.

"How's your hand?" Alita asked Darin, trying not to laugh, as she cleaned up the babies.

[Devon]

Darin rubbed his sore hand and wiped away a bit of the blood from where Pandora's nails had been. "My hand is fine, how are my sons?" he asked of his mother, still in disbelief. He had expected a son, but twin boys was something he had never imagined. "I knew I was going to have a son, but two at once."

[Kender Bard]

"What can I say?" Alita laughed quietly, carefully balancing both babies, one in each arm. "Hayes blood will let out. Your father was correct in his prediction and so were you. Sorry dearie."

"Nothing to be sorry about," Pandora sighed, smiling as Alita carefully lay a son in each of her arms. She bent her head over them, hair like a curtain around her sons as she softly nuzzled them, the picture of motherly bliss. "You two better not be quite such huge pains after this."

"Did you pick out names yet?" Alita inquired.

Pandora thought about it. She looked at the baby to the left and then to the one on the right. She looked back to the baby on the left who frowned until she looked back at him. "This one... is Seth. Darin may name the other one."

[Devon]

Darin glanced at the other boy who oddly enough had a very blank express on his face. "I think I'll call him Sawyer. What do you think about that Sawyer?" The baby on the right who was just named Sawyer stared back at Darin and slowly blinked. "I think he likes it."