"King Wyrnn respectfully requests Goddess Elunara and General Jordan come to the Keep."
Elunara and Jordan stared at each other. "Since when does he send official requests?" She blinked.
The man shrugged. "I'm just the messenger."
Jordan linked his fingers with hers, as they walked up the pathway. "Well, whatever it is, we'll find out soon enough."
"It's just so strange of him."
"Well, he doesn't often call us at the same time."
"True."
"Ah, there you are." Varian motioned his head. "Please follow me."
"Varian..."
He held up a hand. "Forgive the summons, but this is an extremely delicate matter." They entered his office. Once the door was closed, he sighed. "You remember your little pain in the ass, Cindy?"
Jordan tensed up and tightened his hold on Elunara's hand.
"She's dead."
Jordan let out a sigh. "Oh, thank the Gods."
Elunara ran her hand down Jordan's back.
"It doesn't end there."
Jordan tensed up again. "What do you mean?"
"Elunara, you remember Barbara?"
"Bradly's womb, how could I forget that bitch?"
"Yes, well, it was decided, that putting Cindy in the same cell as Barbara was quite fitting, as both women's past antics synced up rather nicely. It seems the two women became quite close. So close in fact, that no one knew the truth until it was too late. You see... Cindy was pregnant."
Jordan jolted and stepped backward. He clung to Elunara like a life line.
"Apparently, Barbara helped Cindy hide the pregnancy, fearing, rightfully so, that once the baby was born, it would be taken from her. They had a plan to raise the child, perhaps escaping with her, and raising her away from here. However, the Stockades aren't an ideal place to give birth. Cindy lost too much blood." Varian rubbed his neck. "Even then, Barbara continued to try and hide the secret, claiming that she had stabbed Cindy. One of the guards heard the baby cry..."
"And here she is." Ina stepped into the room, holding a bundle.
"But it can't..." Jordan's voice was hoarse, and his throat closed on him.
Elunara gestured to Ina. Ina walked over and tugged the blanket back. Putting her hand on the newborn, Elunara concentrated her energy into both of her hands, forming a bridge between the child and Jordan. With a sigh, she straightened up. "She's his."
Jordan jerked backwards, and backed into a table. "No! No, no, no. This... this can't..."
Elunara clamped a hand down on his arm. "Can we get a few minutes?"
Varian bowed his head and motioned to Ina. The pair left the room with the newborn.
"Jordan, stop panicking." She grabbed him by both of his arms. "You will calm down."
Tears streamed down his face. "I can't do this."
"No one is saying you have to."
"But..."
"We have several options here, and I want you to calm down and listen to me. Not one person here is going to judge you for this. Your family doesn't actually have to know about this. She's not our blood. She is yours. You are our family and we will always support whatever you decide. We can send her away, so you never have to see her again. I'm certain I could find a family to take her. Or, you could send her to the orphanage here, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure she is taken care of from that point, but again, it would be YOUR option to look in on her ever so often. I could find a family here and they could keep her. I bet Chrissy would still love that baby she wanted so badly. Or, we could take her. She is yours, so she is ours. I can make any of these options work; you just have to tell me."
"I... I..."
"If you want a few days to figure it out, I could ask Zelinnia for help. She wouldn't ask me why."
He buried his face in her neck and hair. "You think this stuff through too fast."
"Sweetheart, mission specialist... top of the top? I've been training people to see the angles I see instantly in my head. If you want, we could have Ina bring the baby back in here... spend a little time with her, or you can never see her again." He crumpled to the floor, and she knelt down. "Oh, Jordan..." She tugged his head into her lap and ran her fingers through his hair. "You get into the worst messes."
Tugging a sheet of paper off the table, she scribbled on it, before wadding it up and letting it burn. Ina stepped in shortly after.
"Jordan's out for the count. I just wanted to see her."
"Of course." Ina handed the baby over.
"Oh, look at her." Elunara sighed. "She's going to look just like her daddy."
"How could you know that?" Ina shook her head. "She's hardly a day old."
"Because..." Elunara trailed off. "Shit. I'm doing it again."
"New power?"
"New fucking power. Though, I can't guarantee I could do it to someone else's kid. Jordan is mine, and she is Jordan's." Elunara sighed. "Oh, whatever he chooses, I'll do my best to see she has a decent childhood."
"But..."
"It's Jordan's decision. No matter what he chooses, I will follow through. If he wants me to toss her through the dark portal, I'll try to cushion her landing."
"I guess I have to then." He groaned.
"You don't have to do shit, Jordan. Follow your heart."
"But, if I choose to keep her..."
"Then she will be part of our family. You know they will all do what you wish."
"What do we tell people?'
"There's any number of things... from the truth, to a bald faced lie. Unfortunately, it's a widely known fact that both Tulani and I can't give birth. She has to be someone else's."
"Gods, I don't want people to think I cheated on you." He held his hands out.
Elunara put the child in his arms. She brushed a hand over the child's head. "Oh, you silly man. The answer is right in front of you." With a laugh, she kissed his nose. "Simple. Thinking that I could be rid of the tart, I agreed to a threesome, believing that I could intimidate her away from you. So, you DID have sex with her, under my direction. It was just one of my extremely few failed plans, because it made her more obsessed with you, ending in her attempt to kidnap you."
Jordan blinked. "That's impressive."
Shrugging, she grinned. "Only our family needs to know the truth. In the end, no one knew she was pregnant, which is true enough. If she had ANY idea, she would have tried to use it against me. No, this was just poor planning."
He tugged her forward, pressing his mouth to hers. "Thank Elune for giving you to me." He whispered.
"What is your decision, Jordan?"
He looked down at the child, quietly staring at him. "I'll take her."
"You have to promise me, Jordan. You have to promise, that no matter how you feel later, you will not blame her. She didn't choose to be born. She didn't choose her circumstances."
With a nod, he sighed. "You'll keep me together."
Elunara turned to Ina. "Does she have a name?"
Ina dabbed at her eyes. "No. Even Barbara was just calling her "little baby"." She blew her nose in a tissue. "I hate how often you make me cry."
"How about Lulu?" Jordan ran a finger over the baby's head.
Elunara rolled her eyes. "Will I ever escape that nickname?"
Jordan grinned. "Nope."
Ina sighed. "I'll never stop crying now."
Elunara stood and opened the door. She jerked her head, and Varian stepped in.
"I take it you've come to a decision?"
"We're going to keep her."
Varian nodded. "You're a good man, Jordan. Better than most."
"With as crazy as our family is, Little Lulu will fit in fine." Jordan stood up.
"Lulu?" Varian grinned.
"Yeah, Lulu." Elunara snorted. "At last, now if people try to call ME that, it's just weird."
"Might as well explain what Elunara came up with. So we're all on the same page."
They made their way down to the training yard, Jordan still holding the baby. Grogek walked over with some curiosity.
"Cindy was pregnant." Elunara whispered. "I want the whole family to head home."
On the way home, they passed Renwa and Zelinnia walking with their kids. Both looked at Jordan with raised eyebrows.
"They are family." She whispered.
"Yeah, they are."
"Guys, follow us."
"But... you didn't want to."
"Bradly, you of all people know that pregnancy and childbirth have nothing to do with want."
"Yeah..."
"Cindy did a cruel, horrible thing, and Jordan has to live with that. However, we can't hold Lulu's origins against her, or we might as well hold all of our pasts against us. That's just how this works."
"So why did... SHE want to keep her?" Bradly was concentrating on the information.
"Probably spite. She didn't even bother to try and name the child."
Lulu began to cry and Jordan held her out. "I don't know what to do."
Elunara took the child and held her. "I think she's hungry. But, I couldn't do that even for Darguni."
Tulani held out her hands. "I can try again. Though, I think the only way it worked for Darguni is because I was with you. There's a theory about hormones and things that Ina explained." She tugged her shirt down and went through the process. After a minute, she sighed. "No. Not happening."
Elunara frowned. "Damn. That would be the easiest fix."
"Well, I guess I can try." Zelinnia sighed. "I mean, I'm at the end of Nara, so I'm still producing." She held out her hands. All at once, Lulu's crying went from annoyed, to full out hysterics.
Elunara took her back and calmed the child. "Well, that was strange."
"She wants you." Jordan whispered.
