A Moment in the Cabin

Tobias

"Stupid, stuck up, two-faced princess!"' is what I hear from inside the bedroom before the muffled sound of clattering.

My conversation with our neighbours Kaitlynn and Daniel screeches to a halt. Looking towards the door before excusing myself and venturing to find my heavily pregnant, hormonal wife. Thankfully, whatever she threw in her moment of aggravation was not glass, and simply one of the many pregnancy books Rose has purchased.

"I take it that conversation didn't go well," I say as I come to crouch in front of Rose as she sits on the bed, her hands over her faces. Rose grumbles into her hands before she pulls them away, her cheeks flushed as her eyes find mine.

"No. She refuses to even acknowledge that she reacted badly and refuses to let us visit or meet Lydia. She went as far to say that I had no business ever coming back to court because there wouldn't be a Moroi that would take me. So much for eighteen years of friendship," Rose explains, her hands moving in wide gestures the more she speaks. I catch her hands and squeeze them gently before moving them down to her thighs, rubbing the sides of them soothingly.

Only being three weeks away from her due date, her doctor has warned her that she needs to keep her blood pressure down and to stay relaxed as much as she can. This phone call has thrown a monkey wrench into that plan.

"I'm sorry, Roza. Remember, you need to stay calm for Toby," I placate in a hushed tone, knowing that bringing our son into the conversation would calm her substantially. A small smile graces her lips when she hears the nickname she has given our son. Tobias is what we have chosen to name him, but she loves calling him Toby as well. I give her another small smile while she takes a few deep breathes before reaching her hands out to help her to a standing position.

Rose stretches up on her toes and I duck down to meet her lips, giving her a lingering kiss as my hand finds its place on her distended belly. "Are you ready to go back out?" I ask and she nods her head. I cup the back of her neck as we head back to the living room, Rose blushing in embarrassment as we sit on the couch across from our friends.

"I'm sorry about that," Rose explained, clearing her throat as she sips from her glass of Iced Tea. Daniel snorts a laugh and leans back into his chair. "Rose, it's nothing. Honestly, I have heard and seen worse at work."

Kaitlynn chuckles at her husband and nibbles on the breadstick in her hand. Daniel works at the local police station here in Portland, and Kaitlynn is a preschool teacher. When Rose and I were given the option of where to relocate while raising our child, Rose jumped at the opportunity to go to Portland.

"How has work been for you Dimitri? Things getting any better over there?" Daniel asks, swiping the last olive right from under Kaitlynn's hand. Kaitlynn glares at him before picking a piece and moves to tuck her feet under her legs.

I groan and rest my arm along the back of the couch, letting my fingers tangle into Rose's hair. I got a part-time job working as security at a private club a few blocks over, and the fights that have been happening are starting to get out of hand.

"Not great. I think Bobby is worried that the police are going to get involved, and they should be. It's getting excessive. Dwight and Charlie are having a hard time keeping up with it."

I turn to look at Rose with a tender expression as she leans into my side, her hand rubbing circles over her stomach. More than a few times I've come home with a busted lip and bruised cheekbone from work, and the idiocy of the club is becoming a bother to her.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you're built the way you are. Think of the damage that could be done if you weren't," Daniel sighs, catching my eye.