Mistaken Consequences

Chapter 20: Thirty-nine weeks

Vera lay in bed, unable to sleep. It was early, the sun wasn't even close to rising, but she'd always been a difficult sleeper. She'd been startled awake nearly an hour before and every time she thought she had a chance of drifting off again, she was interrupted.

Another wave ran through her belly, the muscles tightening to the point of pain, and Vera wrapped her arms tighter around her pillow as she blew out a slow breath. The contractions weren't that bad and they weren't close together, so Vera was refusing to think too much on it. She'd been having sporadic contractions for weeks. There was still a chance this was nothing.

She just wished she could go back to sleep...

By sunrise, she'd given up trying. The contractions were still mild and far apart, so she wasn't feeling overly anxious about rushing to the hospital to be checked out, but the thought of sleep had passed. She spent some time in the nursery. Bitsy had put together her rocking chair weeks ago and it had become one of Vera's favorite places to sit and read.

The nursery was exactly what she'd been picturing when she first started imagining her baby girl in this room. It was bright and airy, maybe not quite as spacious as one of the actual bedrooms upstairs would have been, but it worked perfectly for a nursery. Bitsy had laughed when Vera had decided on all white furniture and had volunteered to provide the paints and markers that would surely mar the pristine white in years to come but Vera just couldn't bring herself to put anything darker in the room. The Order was where Vera dwelled in the darkness. This baby was meant to be all light, her reprieve from the rest of her world.

Once the sun started rising and she didn't feel like it was too early to call, she phoned her midwives and filled them in on what she was experiencing. A midwife was put on standby and would be waiting for her whenever she arrived and the birthing suite she'd requested was put on hold – Vera might have helped that one along to make sure everything went as planned. All she had to do now was wait.

She made herself a heavier than usual breakfast in preparation for the day ahead. Half of it got dumped in the trash, then taken to the garbage outside, before it even ended up on her plate as her stomach rebelled at the smell. She forced down a few bites of what was left but found she didn't have the appetite for anything more.

Vera made it another hour before her increasing impatience had her getting in her car. The contractions were staying at about 10 minutes apart and mild, so a final trip to the Temple didn't seem like a bad idea. Philip had mentioned some paperwork he wanted to go over with her anyways and she didn't think he'd mind if she started on her own. She needed the distraction. She needed something to do instead of just sit and wait, alone.

There was nobody at the Temple when she arrived, but that wasn't a surprise. Philip had always preferred to come in the evenings, when classes were over for the day and he was able to work or talk at a more leisurely pace with any disciples that had questions, and over half of the students would have gone home for the summer. Or more likely on some expensive destination vacation. Those that remained had classes still or jobs. And were probably still sleeping.

But it was fine. It let her work in peace. No interruptions, other than the cramps that were slowly growing stronger and closer together. Nobody to hover, or even notice. Just her, her baby and her Temple.

A little after nine, the door to the reliquary was suddenly pushed open. Vera's head snapped up in alarm, but it was only Hamish. Because of course he'd be the one person to show up on a Monday morning in June.

He looked just as startled as she felt.

"I didn't realize anyone was here. I'm sorry. I'll just..." He gestured back the way he came. "Um, Grand Magus," he added as an afterthought.