"Ah, Cassandra!" David exclaimed as Cass entered his office, "just the person I was hoping to see!"
Cass was kind of shocked- she had heard that sentence before, sure, but never before had it been spoken to her by anyone aside from Varian. And... Was it ever a good thing if a doctor said it to you?
"Me?" she asked.
"Uh, yes, you."
"Okay, then," she said, "what's up?"
"The tests we took on Journey?"
Cass nodded.
"They came back," David continued, "and it looks like you can take her off of her meds."
"And Varian just got the hang of giving them to her, too," she chuckled, smirking, "but, yeah, that's good. That's great, actually. Thanks."
When she didn't leave, David asked, "what's up?"
She took a deep breath before explaining the entire situation: the machine and its ability to rattle off statements, most of which she knew to be true.
"But, you see... If it's correct, I- I'm pregnant again," she finished off, "so... Varian and I were kind of hoping that you could help us here. Kind of hoping you could confirm or deny this for us..."
David smiled kindly. "Of course. Let me see what I can do for you."
~-~
Again, Varian was staying home with his kids, this time for an hour or so until Cassandra got home. Then he'd be able to head up to the castle for work.
He sat on the rocking chair in the nursery, Trystan settled in his lap as he read her a book. The twins were both in their cribs, cooing and gurgling happily.
Varian had just flipped to the next page as Cass came running down the hall and into the room.
"Hey, that was quick," he smiled, "now, too bad we won't ever get answers that fast."
One of Varian's firm beliefs was that someday, things would be there constantly, answers always right at people's fingertips. But, of course, he knew that it would take some time for that to happen. All he could do was hold onto the belief while making jokes.
"Actually, that's not the truth," she interjected suddenly, "I mean, sure, it took about a week for the results to come back for Journey- who, by the way, doesn't need to take her medicine anymore-"
Varian pumped his fist. He wanted to feel bummed about it- he was finally getting better at his job!- but he couldn't. His hardest job was done for. Less baby swaps had to be called... Hopefully.
"But... I've got answers on our... On our other question," she murmured softly, leaning down to scoop Jax into her arms, "I've got answers."
"So?"
Varian was glad that Cass wasn't looking at that moment. He had broken into a visible sweat. As much as he loved his family, as much as he adored his wife and children, he hoped beyond all hopes that it wasn't... That Cassandra wasn't pregnant once again. They already had three children, all two and under... He knew that nobody was ready for more.
She sighed deeply before whispering, "and... Apparently, it's correct."
She turned to face him and he tried for a smile.
Key word: tried.
"I know, Varian," she said softly, making a face at Jax, "trust me, I know."
Of course... It was different for Cass. Why should Varian be complaining?
So he decided to go for a different approach. "So... Does this mean that we're going to have to put off our research? Our project?"
"No," she snapped, "our project is very important. Important to us. Important to anyone else who was, is, or will be in a similar position to the one we were in only two, three months ago. Important to Corona."
He smiled for real now. "My thoughts exactly. So..."
"So... What?"
He seemed to forget this topic completely as he suddenly remembered that he had somewhere to be.
"I'm sorry, but can we discuss this later? I'm already late for work."
Cass nodded and Varian got to his feet, giving Cass and Trystan hugs (and, of course, giving Cass a kiss) and dashing up to the castle.
