The ones who live hidden in plain sight (A discovery of witches story)

Here is a heart

I can't explain it but I have to try

If you evapore, the seas will rise

'Til they devour the sky,

By Jennu Owen Youngs

16th October

Marcus returned before the start of his shift, the usual feeling of the emergency room already wearing off. Camille... He frowned. Another heartbeat, fetal, but with Camille.

She greeted him, and he displayed as if nothing had changed, searching for another explanation. It was true. Andrew hadn't been telling the truth and....

Camille was worried, him not hiding his discovery very well. He asked for her week off, she began, talking happily about Andrew, the culprit. 100 bpm. Two choices: Camille would have hidden it, he would have understood, or she would have ignored it.

One secret, Andrew was a sorcerer, became two, even three. This baby could also be a wizard... Problem. He caught up with the conversation.

The questions were going nowhere, and he couldn't approach the question like that. She had no idea how he could know, surprise, I'm a vampire and she'd think he was crazy.

Need for him to have a little discussion with Andrew, the secret is even worse. He was lucky enough to be able to look for a reaction when the idea of pregnancy was broached, but no physiological or behavioural change. Further proof that she didn't know.

The end of their shift arrived, the time to go and have this conversation. He waited at his flat, after warning Phoebe, who told him not to do anything stupid. Of course he wouldn't. It was Camille's personal life, but the situation was forcing him and Andrew.

— Marcus? asked Andrew, more tense. Marcus could hear the concern beneath the facade he was trying to maintain. What are you doing here? He frowned, uncomfortable.

— It's about Camille.

— Is she all right? His heartbeat quickened.

— Yes, but you've got to tell her the truth now. It's been two months,' he murmured, his eyes fixed on Andrew's.

Andrew stepped back slightly, panicking a little more, a nervous hand in his hair.

— I want to tell him, I really do... But I haven't found the right moment. How do you explain to someone that you're a wizard, that their world isn't what they think it is? How am I supposed to do that without... her leaving?

His voice betrayed real anguish, which Marcus had experienced with Phoebe, but... there were far more important things at stake now.

— It's not just about magic and secrets any more. There's something else you need to know, and I'm sure you have no idea. Camille is pregnant,' Marcus admitted, the words falling heavily in the silence that followed.

Andrew stared at him, his mouth agape, as if the world had just shifted beneath his feet.

— How can you? How... how can you be sure?' he asked, his voice cracking with shock.

— I can feel it, Andrew. A different heartbeat, I felt it for the first time today.

— It's not that I don't believe it, but... it wasn't planned.

— I'm sure it wasn't. You can't keep the truth from her any longer. She deserves to know who you are, and about the baby,' Marcus replied, his eyes filled with determination.

Andrew ran a hand over his face, trying to digest this revelation. He'd never considered the possibility, and now everything seemed even more complex.

— But I... How am I supposed to tell her ? How is she going to react?' stammered Andrew, lost in thought.

Marcus put a firm hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look into his eyes.

— You've got no choice now. She has to know, and it's up to you to tell her. You have two days, Andrew. Two days before her next shift. If you don't tell her, I will. But I think it should come from you,' Marcus concluded, before releasing his hold.

Andrew nodded slowly, knowing he had to face this truth. Marcus turned to leave, leaving Andrew alone with his thoughts, his doubts, and the heavy task ahead.

— Do you realise that includes you and Phoebe?' blur Andrew.

— I know he answered without looking back.

Marcus knew he'd done the right thing. Camille deserved to know the whole truth, and Andrew now had two days to be honest, even if how Camille was going to react was a mystery, a very bad one. He just wanted to get back to Phoebe.