Book IV: Avi Dragon

Painful Goodbyes

Congratulations broke out, which eventually snapped them out of their temporary spiritual union. The baby was passed around, which Angel kept a wary eye on. Shelly made a mental note to ask her son about it again, when they had a moment to themselves.
   Esther told her brother, when she hugged him, that she bought him some more time with his girlfriend. "I told her the baby was sick, too," she murmured.
   "Thanks," he said into her shoulder.
   "What are sisters for?" she chuckled, not as quietly. The others could reasonably assume she was referring to the wedding arrangements.
   Angel was overwhelmed, meeting the entire band, and the rest of her children. She couldn't go far without unplugging her IV, which would alert the nurse, so she had to stay by the bed and let them come to her. With so many tall people, it was often hard to keep an eye on the baby. She tried very hard to trust the impression she'd gotten of these people. They wouldn't take her away, she repeated in her head.
   :No, they wouldn't. Relax, I can see her from here. Scott is making the cutest faces at her.:
   Angel really wanted to see, but Kevin was just too tall. He seemed to be more familiar with her than the others, which was odd, to her.
   "I'm happy to see you back to yourself. You know, even if you can't remember anything, you just look... I don't know, more at peace? Take good care of him for me, 'kay?" He hugged her like he'd known her for years, his eyes suspiciously moist.
   She was trying to listen to him, but it was hard not to look around him to see what Scott was doing.
   Avi heard her wish, and pulled out his phone. It stayed in his hand until the nurse came in to take her vitals. Knowing he would show her the photos later, she was able to focus on Kevin better.
   "Okay, you've had your fun," the nurse said. She had to say it twice, because Angel couldn't see her come in. The Bubble of Silence needed to be taken down before anyone could hear that they were being shooed out.
   The band took their time saying goodbye, trickling out more slowly than the nurse wanted. She scowled as sternly as she could while holding the thermometer under Angel's tongue, but it was all for show. She saw the new rings on her patient's hand when she reached up to hold her own thermometer.
   Dan was understandably confused by the people filing out of Angel's room. He knew who they were, of course. Having been exposed to Angel and her unique dragon eyes, he could see the hatchlings on their shoulders. He didn't know they were her children, but they were the first dragons he'd ever seen. He was forgiven by most of them for gawking like a country bumpkin.
   Angel and Menolly were both beyond overstimulated, by the time the room emptied of everyone except Dan and the Kaplans. Angel was glad of the relative respite, pun intended.
   Dan hugged Angel, questions brimming almost visibly. He caught sight of the rings, when her arms lowered from the hug. His broad face tightened with suppressed pain.
   "These are Avi's parents, and that's his sister Esther," Angel said, awkwardly gesturing to the elder couple and their daughter, behind him. He nodded at each, shook their hands, in turn. When he plucked at one of her braids, his thick fingers shook so bad that it was hard to separate the plaits.
   "They didn't make you do this, did they?" he asked near her ear, while unraveling her hair--and her fragile composure.
   "Sort of," she murmured back. "It's all happening so fast. I'm nervous, maybe even scared. Promise you'll keep coming back?"
   "You know I can't promise, but I'll try." In a normal voice, he bemoaned the state of her hair as he brushed it. "Aren't they letting you in the bathroom yet?"
   She forced a laugh. The roughness was more pronounced, from all the talking she'd been doing. "Yeah, but it's only been a day. It'll be awhile before they let me in the shower."
   The nurse entered the numbers in the computer, and told her OT should be in within the hour. Angel didn't groan, or complain. She merely nodded, temporarily foiling Dan's unsteady weaving. The nurse left with a fond smile on her face, none the wiser.
   Kapa told his family that his siblings took the band home. He wouldn't say that they'd teleported, in front of Dan, but it was understood. Angel was sad that she wouldn't get to properly meet the rest of her children, but she knew that the band was probably jetlagged.
   The Kaplans caught up on personal things while Dan braided her hair. When she was neat and tidy, Esther handed Dan the baby. She didn't know he was anything more than a friend. She was a proud aunt showing off her niece.
   Daniel's eyes met Angel's, over her daughter's head. She knew what he was thinking: This could've been their future, had she not become a Vessel on that fateful night.
   But if she hadn't volunteered, she could never have borne him a child.
   Avi understood their haunted eyes, though no one else did. His family pretended not to notice when the baby fell asleep in Dan's arms, and Angel teared up.
   Then his phone rang. He sighed heavily and handed the sleeping child to her father. He  hugged Angel one last time. She held him extra tight, asked him, again, to return tomorrow. "You know how scary new things are," she whimpered into his thick neck. Her arms trembled on his broad shoulders.
   He didn't answer her, but he did answer his phone. He waved an apology, and darted out the door before talking to the person on the other end.
   Angel was painfully certain she would never see her best friend again.