A Bolt from the Blue

by Ev and Donna

    Ev frowned as she fixed breakfast. She was starting to be more than a little uneasy. There was no way she was going to mention anything to any of the guys just yet, but it had gotten to the point where she would have to talk to somebody.

    Making sure she was smiling first, she brought in the tray of pancakes and other things she had been fixing. If any of the guys had noticed her mood lately, none of them had said anything. Good.

    She smiled and joked with Mac and Wally. Danziger was working on plans for something and keeping up a running discussion of it with the rest of the guys. Rayden was distracted about something, but didn't seem to be noticing her. So far, no one seemed to suspect anything.

    After breakfast was over, all the guys were off. That gave Ev the chance she had been hoping for. Once everything was cleaned up from breakfast, she picked up a basket and a piece of paper, pretending to have a shopping list and headed over to visit Katherine. She would know what was going on.

    It was a lovely spring day. The trees were starting to blossom, and flowers were starting to bloom. Ev could have gotten a horse and cart from the livery, but she wanted to walk. After all, it wasn't that far. She spotted Marie and Carol out digging up their garden, getting it ready to plant, and waved at them. Katherine's was the next farm down the road.

    She smiled. Spring was one of her favorite times of the year. She loved watching seeds sprout and flowers bloom. That was pretty appropriate, considering. Finally, she was at Kat's. It would have been so easy to keep right on walking, but she needed to know. Taking a deep breath, she turned up
the drive and walked up to the house.

    "Hello," came a voice from above. Looking up, she saw John Clayton sprawled out on a sturdy tree limb. "Are you here to see Kat?"

    Ev couldn't help giggling a little. "Yes I am. Is she around?" She loved the way he looked and couldn't help asking, just to keep him talking, "Why are you up in the tree?"

    "I'm keeping watch," John said simply. "Connor is gone right now. He and the others are trying to find someone. Go up to the house, Kat is there with my daughter."

    "All right. Thank you!" Smiling, Ev went on up and knocked at the door. Some men were so sweet about being fathers, it made her very hopeful. She mentally crossed her fingers. Katherine opened the door after she knocked. "Hello Ev," she said with a bright smile. "Come on in, I have to catch the escapee." Behind her, a little girl was going lickety split on her hands and knees down the hallway.

    "Oh, she's beautiful!" Ev smiled. "Need some help?" She didn't really have much experience with babies, but they were adorable and she supposed sooner or later, she'd have to get used to them.

    "Just head her off at the pass if she gets past me," Katherine chuckled as she took off to catch her daughter. Seeing that she was being chased, Doireann squealed with joy and if possible, moved even faster!

    Ev chuckled, seeing how much the baby loved being chased. Once she had been scooped up, Ev had to ask, "Is she always so fast? It looks like she loves being chased."

    "She does. Comes from having four fathers to play with. I'm afraid she is just a little bit on the spoiled side already," Katherine said as she nuzzled her, making her giggle and squeal some more. "Now that she is mobile, nothing is safe. John is even teaching her to climb trees, Lord help us all!"

    Ev giggled. "He's out in front in a tree right now. He says he's keeping watch. He's so cute!" She sighed. Now that she was here, she wasn't sure how to ask what she came to ask. "The guys are all out on that search party?"

    "Yes," Katherine sighed. "Some of the men on the other side of the river have apparently built a boat, and are raiding the coastline. I'll have someone take you home after our visit. It's not safe right now for women to be alone. Come, lets have some tea."

    Ev blinked. "I guess I haven't been listening to what's going on. I didn't know about all that. Maybe I should pay more attention."

    "They haven't spread it around too much, but I'm sure you have noticed all the soldiers hanging around town.," Katherine said as she put her wiggling daughter into a highchair and gave her some toys to chew on. "She's teething. Don't let her get hold of your finger. You might draw back a bloody
nub. Cream or sugar?"

    "Just cream for me, thanks. You know, I was wondering about all the soldiers. Rayden probably knows what's going on. He seems to hear everything." That reminded her of the reason she had come. She paused and tried to put her thoughts in order.

    Katherine put down the cup of tea and a plate of English style biscuits in front of her. "How late are you?" she asked, guessing the reason that Ev had come.

    Ev chuckled. "You guessed! You probably get a lot of that, hm? Two weeks. I'm not regular enough to set a calendar to, but never this late." She sighed.

    "Any unusual stress in your life lately?" Katherine asked. Ev shook her head no. "It might be a little early for any of the usual symptoms. Nausea, especially in the morning, tenderness of the breasts, constant fatigue..."

    Ev considered for a moment. "Well.... I'm a little sore. That doesn't usually happen. Could that be why? I didn't even think about it until I was late. I didn't think anything would happen." She sighed.

    "Ev," Katherine said softly, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "Trust me, I've been there. Finding out I was pregnant with Miss Mischief over there shook my entire world. Do you know who the father is?"

    Ev smiled a little. "Rayden. That's why I didn't think it could happen. I think it's going to be a big surprise to him too, if I really am. I don't know how he'll feel about it."

    "I'll never know who Doireann's father was for sure," Katherine said with a shake of her head. "But it doesn't matter. She has four men that adore her. And she has each one of them wrapped around her chubby little finger, don't ye darlin'?" The baby squealed as if agreeing with her mother, slapping the
tray of the high chair with her little hands. "As for Rayden, you can do one of two things. Give him a heads up now that it might be possible that he is going to be a father, or you can wait till you know for sure. If you miss a second period, I'm sure you can bet on it. In the meantime, I want you to go
on the assumption that you are. No alcoholic beverages. No smoking anything other than a turkey or some fish," she said, her eyes flashing with merriment.

    Ev sighed. "I suppose there are no tests here. I didn't even think about that. I don't know how I'm going to talk to him about this. I don't think he thought it could happen."

    "If you like, why don't you go see Dr Shepherd. He is working on those type of tests. You can wait to talk to Rayden till after you have it confirmed. He might surprise you though." They continued to talk about babies and men while Katherine fed Doireann some cereal and fruit. Afterwards, she
nursed her, and in a few minutes, the little girl was sound asleep. About that time, John came back inside, and took her from Katherine, holding her tenderly to his chest.

    "There is a man with white hair looking for you," he told Ev.

    "He followed me," she smiled. "He really is a sweetie. This just is something we never talked about. It's not supposed to be possible. I know about Immortals, but that isn't why. I promised not to tell." She sighed.

    Katherine walked over to the window, looking for Rayden. To her surprise, she spotted him sitting on John's favorite perch. "John, honey? Why is Rayden up in your tree?"

    John chuckled. "He asked me why I liked to sit there. I told him to come up and see for himself. I think he likes it."

    Ev couldn't help giggling. "He would. Maybe things will be all right. How do I decide about telling him? Would Dr. Shepherd be able to tell me for sure?"

    "He might. But a better idea might be to go join Rayden up in that tree. Believe me, everything looks different from up high," Katherine said with a soft smile.

    Ev smiled back. "I'll do that." She looked through the window and saw him up in the tree. "He's like a little kid sometimes. Other times, it's as though he's been around forever. I hope everything will be all right. Thanks." She gave Kat a hug and John a kiss on the cheek and one last wave to the baby and went out to the tree. "Hi up there! You like it up there?"

    "It's fascinating," Rayden said. "It's like you can see forever. Would you like to see for yourself?"

    "Yes, I would!" Ev climbed up and joined him in the tree. "This is wonderful!" She snuggled against him, as well as the tree would allow and they just sat together enjoying the view for a few minutes. Finally Ev decided to tell him. "I have something important to talk to you about. Is this a good time?"

    He squeezed her tight for a moment. "Yes," he whispered into her ear, the soft spring breeze picking up his long hair and blowing it around both of their faces. "Is there something bothering you? I do not want to pry, but you have something blocked from me."

    "I don't know for sure yet, but it's more and more likely now. I really didn't know how to talk to you about it or how you would feel, but I think it's time to discuss it with you." She looked into his face, still nervous, and saw there only curiosity and concern.  Finally, she took a deep breath and began. "I think I'm pregnant. And if I am, it's your child, Rayden."

    It took a minute for the anvil to hit. "Pregnant?" he sputtered. "I did not believe it was possible! Ev, may I please confirm this?"

    "Can you do that? I would really like to know. Please!" She looked into his eyes. "I didn't know this was possible, either. How can this be?"

    "This world is a special place," Rayden said, a tone of awe in his voice. "I knew it was, but it was not till now did I realize just how much it really was. Lean back against me, and try to relax."

    She did as he said, trying not to giggle when he placed his hand over her lower belly, the barest trickle of electricity tickling her enough to make her want to squirm. After a moment, he lifted his hand and held her tight, and when she looked up, to her amazement, there were tears of joy in his
eyes. "Yes," he nodded. "You are. And it is definitely my son."