THE CAVERN OF DEEP HARMONY

PART NINETY:

"You look nervous," Eden said, smiling at Marshall. He'd moved the single chair in the small room next to the examination table where she sat, her legs dangling.

"I've never been to an obstetrician before."

"Get used to it, big boy," she chuckled. "I like you here with me."

The door opened and an attractive, brown-haired woman in her late 40's came in. "Hello, Dr. Pratner," Eden greeted. "This is my husband, Marshall Sinclair."

Sophie Pratner had been Eden's gynecologist since before her marriage to Miles and she smiled as she greeted Marshall, who had risen and extended his hand in her direction. Ah, he was blind, she noted, taking the proffered hand firmly in hers.  She sat on a little, rolling stool and they chatted briefly, with her going over some basic pregnancy preliminaries.

"She's fainted...twice," Marshall said, his voice low, rather grim.

"Not unusual for early pregnancy," Dr. Pratner said. "She'll be getting her sea legs before you know it." She turned to Eden. "I'd like to do some bloodwork, get a urine sample. When you get further along, we'll do a sonogram. It's too early for that right now."

She left and a nurse came in, taking Eden's blood, then showing her to a restroom for the sample. She was also weighed then taken back to the room where Marshall waited. When Dr. Pratner returned, she did a pelvic exam. "Yep," she smiled, "baby's on its way all right." She
caught Eden's quick look at her husband, noting it was mingled with joy and concern.

"Is that good news?" Pratner asked.

"Very good," Marshall replied, but his smile was just slightly tremulous.

"Ok, guys, what's up?"

"He...he's concerned about being blind and having a baby in the house."

"I lost her a few days ago," Marshall sighed heavily. "She'd fainted in the corner of our bedroom and it took me a long time to find her. I...," he pressed his lips together, "I want a family more than anything, Dr. Pratner, I truly do. I'm just...concerned."

"Ah, I see," Pratner said, studying his face.

"That's the problem," Marshall added wryly. "I don't. What if the baby is crawling and I...."

"What if, Marshall, you take the 'what if's' as they come? A person can 'what if' themselves into a chasm and get buried alive by them."

Both Marshall and Eden snorted loudly. "That was...funny?" Pratner asked.

"It's how we met," Eden supplied. "He'd fallen into a chasm and was drowning in liquid mud."

"I've heard of interesting first dates, but that one takes the cake," Pratner said, shaking her head. "Well, look at it this way, um, take it this way...you know from experience what that's like then, yes? So don't do that again. There's a lot of help and advice out there for just this situation and if you take it one step at a time, you can deal with one aspect of it at a time. That way it doesn't become a mudslide."

"I understand that," Marshall said softly, "and it's what I want to do. It's just...."

"You don't feel quite...adequate? Is that it?"

Marshall nodded, lacing his hands tightly in his lap.

"Dr. Pratner, I can't begin to tell you how more than adequate my husband is. He's saved my life twice now, both times at great personal cost."  Eden reached out, curving a hand over his shoulder, pressing her fingers firmly into it. He unlaced his hands and put one of his atop hers.

Dr. Pratner smiled again. "It seems to me the two of you have a good foundation going between you to build a life on, to build a family on. Let it come. Enjoy it. Wring every drop of joy you

can out of every single moment."

The corner of Marshall's mouth began to twitch. "Did you ever think of coaching for the NFL?"

Pratner laughed. "Too sweaty! Now then, back to the pregnancy. From what I can tell so far, you should be due around mid-September. Looks like you got pregnant somewhere near New Year's."

"We got married New Year's Eve," Eden volunteered.

"Ah HA!" Sophie Pratner chuckled. "That may explain it, then."

"She's all right, though, doctor, even with the fainting?"

"She's quite healthy," Pratner affirmed. "She'll do just fine."

"What about him?" Eden asked. "I'm not so sure he'll do just fine." She was flooded with a clear image of Marshall gripping the bathroom sink, blood streaming down his face. That couldn't happen again.

"There's a lot of modern technology out there these days," Pratner went on. "Explore around, see what you can find, what works for you."

"What do you think she meant?" Eden asked as she drove them home.

"I imagine she meant I could bug you."

"What?"

"Some sort of small electronic device that could send a sound signal if...if you...."

"If I fainted again?"

"Would...would...."

"For your peace of mind, my darling, anything, absolutely anything."

"I'll make some calls this afternoon," he said, letting out a long breath of relief.

Thank goodness, she thought. Something. Anything.

And, so, by the next afternoon Eden was wearing a rather attractively-wrought silver bracelet that had a bit of complicated electronics tucked away beneath a pearl setting. If Marshall were trying to find her and she, for some reason, were non-responsive, he could press a button on a little device in his pocket which would activate a loud buzz that would lead him to her. He sat beside her on the couch, his fingers exploring the bracelet.

"You don't mind? It's not too...."

"I don't mind at all. It's really quite lovely." And it would certainly help to keep the bathroom mirror intact. Not to mention his head. She touched his cheek. "Have I told you lately how much I love you, Dr. Sinclair?"

"Yes. But you can always, um, show me." He grinned. "I like that, you know."

"So I've noticed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

February passed rather quickly. They decided that, come spring, they'd add a new room onto the back of the house just off their bedroom. That way the nursery would be right there, and

not upstairs. Marshall was very pleased about that. They were also rather enjoying not knowing if it were Horatio or Cindy Lou, not that they were actually going to use either of those names, so decided in case they continued with the not wanting to know, to do the nursery in creamy yellow, spring green, and white. Marshall and Eden talked at some length about the meaning and connections with those colors and he felt he had somewhat of a concept of them, especially liking the connotation of the light green with the first sprouting leaves of spring, tender, delicate...like a baby. It was going to be a big nursery, with room for two rocking chairs and a play area so when the child was a toddler there would be a place for it to play close by that didn't involve stairs.

"You see?" Eden said. "No mudslides. We're taking the 'what if's' one at a time." She looked at her husband, who was stirring the waffle batter. "You are more peaceful about it, aren't you?"

He held the large wooden spoon up high, letting the batter drip back into the bowl. "Peace, like a river..." he sang with a bit of a chuckle.

"A river of waffle batter? Just, um, how peaceful is that?"

"It's a peace that will shortly solidify and not only that, will taste good."

"Mmmmm, peace that tastes good. Nice concept."

"Is the waffle iron hot?"

"Yep."

"Give it a try then." He put the spoon back in the bowl and pushed it toward her. When he heard her move the bowl and then the sizzle as she poured batter into the waffle iron, he added, "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, I'm more peaceful."

Leaving the waffle to its cooking for a moment, she came around the kitchen island and kissed his lips lightly. "Your peace is my peace," she whispered, then kissed him again. It was true.

Her worry about his well-being had been greatly subsumed by her worry over his worry about her well-being. Which, actually, come to think of it, WAS worrying over his well-being, was it not? Ah, it sounded too complicated when you tried to put it into words like that. But there had been no more incidents, no fainting, and with his knowing he could find her, with the decisions they were making about the baby, a steady, quiet peace had begun to radiate from him again.

~~~~~~~~~

Ryan had finished helping his friend set up the travel agency in Cleveland and was now in Pittsburgh. A new mall had opened last fall out toward the airport, not an enclosed or even a strip mall, but one designed to look more like a street with shops on both sides. He and Connie had rented there and were busily engaged in getting their very own travel agency running. It was a dream come true for the both of them, that being able to design it the way they liked.

"So it's just a little over a month, right," Ryan asked, "that you two head for England?"

"April 5th, yes," Eden affirmed. "Flying into Manchester then making our way to the Lake Country."

"I presume Waddy here's traveled overseas before?" At Marshall's nod, Ryan continued, "So he's micro chipped already?" Marshall nodded again. "Has he been into the UK?"

"Germany and Switzerland," Marshall supplied, "oh, and Spain, but not the UK."

"We were checking the State Department guide for access policies for service animals into the UK for you," Connie said. "He'll need a blood test and proof he's been treated for ticks and tapeworm and is free of rabies, but I imagine you have most of his documentation."

"Right," Marshall smiled, knowing she meant Wadsworth's certificate of training from the guide dog school. His documentation would be sent by fax ahead of their flight to the Animal Reception Center at Manchester and when they arrived, a sticker would be attached to the dog. At least Wadsworth wouldn't have to spend time in quarantine.
 

"It seems like a lifetime since Christmas," Eden sighed. "And now England is finally getting close." She touched Marshall's arm. "And your birthday."

"And my birthday," he repeated, "...in England...with you."

"Waffle batter," she whispered.

He smiled. "Yes, waffle batter."

Ryan cocked an eyebrow dramatically.

"Peace...becoming solid," Eden said. "Don't ask. I doubt I could explain."

 

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