My Other Half

Glimpse of Us

Natalia's pov
Today has actually been very mild. Fiona hasn't been complaining as much and Sarah is surprisingly not fussy. Despite the serenity around me, I feel an odd sense of impending dread. There hasn't been a single day where something hasn't gone wrong and it's stressing me out. Audrey and Billie have been kinda weird and unusually quiet recently but knowing how outspoken they both are, if something was wrong they would tell me.

Sar is just about to go down for her nap so I'm making her bottle right now and warming it up a little bit. I can hear her babbling in the swing, over the little clacking sounds of the mobile toys. I smile to myself and check the temperature of the milk, deciding it's warm enough. As I'm making my way over to her, my phone rings and I take a slight detour to grab it.

I sit down on the couch and check the caller ID, quickly answering when I see it's Zoe. I place the phone between my ear and shoulder, carefully picking up the little baby and cradling her in my arms. "Hey" I say after not hearing anything, placing the bottle gently into Sarah's mouth so she doesn't make too much noise. "Natalia? Thank god you answered" I can hear the distress in her voice and I know whatever's coming next isn't good.

"Umm... Miss Cordelia isn't doing too well" everything seems to go silent after she utters those words. It's like those movies where the camera pans out, peripheral gets blurry, and there's a subtle ringing before you're pulled back into reality. "Nat? Nat?!" I flinch a little, looking down to make sure the baby is ok and see her eyes fluttering a bit as she grips onto the bottle. "Sorry, what?" I mumble absently, trying my best to stay present.

"Yeah so I was saying, she doesn't feel well and it's been sorta difficult to take care of her. I was kind of, maybe hoping... that you could pitch in a little bit? You don't have to take care of her but maybe take over a class or two? Just so we can keep the academy running smoothly — since she isn't able to do most things now" the young brunette tells me and I take a deep breath as I think. I know she's scared, she probably thinks the supreme is fading. I wish I could tell her she isn't but I'm not even too sure myself.

I feel terrible because I know the reason for Cordelia's decline. I had asked Fiona if this could be a side effect but she hasn't seen her daughter yet, therefore she couldn't have known. I agree, simply because I feel a responsibility to check on her at least once. She asks if I can stop by today just so I can kinda feel out the state of the place. Her tone is on the verge of begging, wanting someone to tell her what she needs to do, and so I say yes of course.

Putting Sarah in the car when she's so close to sleeping would be self-sabotage so I wait until she's finished with her bottle, and transmutate over. "Natalia? I'm so glad to see you — wow... never thought I'd say that sentence" Madison chuckles and I roll my eyes in response. "Awww who's this?" Mallory asks, "this is Sarah, my daughter" I explain and they all look at me shocked. "We can catch up later but can one of you-" a crib suddenly appears and I smile gratefully.

I ask Mallory if she can watch her for a bit while I find Zoe and she agrees, pointing me towards the greenhouse. I head over and the brunette turns to me as soon as I enter, "thank you so much, you're a lifesaver!" she exclaims. "Don't get too excited, I haven't done anything yet" I chuckle and she hurriedly guides me back into the house and upstairs. We halt in front of Cordelia's bedroom and Zoe sighs deeply. "So... there's something I didn't tell you" she whispers and I nod, anxious for her to go on.

"She'll barely let us in the room. You know how prideful she can be sometimes and it's even worse now that she's sick; I honestly think she's just scared. That's why it's been so difficult to care for her, on top of the amount of work we now have to do" I listen intently and nod as I take in the information. "If it's possible maybe you could convince her to come down for dinner? I think being around people might make her feel a bit better — at least she won't be so lonely" Zoe mumbles wearily and I tell her I'll handle it.