How Green Becomes Wood

"It's the first time you've used it and when I asked about it you didn't shy away from it," Daizi replied sweetly, shifting in her seat, "Have you eaten breakfast, babe?"

Dark shook his head, "No, I have been calling... Oh, and Alec--Make sure Xander is alright, will you? He seemed a bit flustered, not that I can blame him."

"You need to eat, I'll be pissed as hell if you pass out in the middle of this because you were stupid," She huffed, "I need you today. Plus I want to go sit in the living room, but I'm not going unless you're there with me."
 
Alec nodded and scampered up the stairs, face still red, leaving Dark and Daizi to hash out the eating and sitting arrangements. When he got upstairs, he found Xander holding up two shirts in front of himself as he looked in the mirror. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to decide which shirt to take with us to change into before we meet the baby," Xander replied. "First impressions matter. And Da will totally skin me alive if I show up covered in muck and ripped clothes."

Alec gave a small smile. "Fair enough. Are you ready to go?"

Xander chose the shirt, folded it up, and tucked it in his old backpack. "Ready. Cooger on his way?"

"Should be. Are you-" Alec started to ask.

"Don't you dare ask if I'm alright," Xander warned. "I'm nothing thinking about it. Nope. Not a thought." He zipped up his bag with finality and nodded to Alec's. "I packed some stuff. You'll have to pick your own meet-Mini outfit."

Alec did as suggested, and the pair headed back downstairs.
 
By the time the twins came back down, Dark and Daizi were snuggled up on the couch. Daizi had her head on Dark's shoulder with her eyes closed, and Dark was looking at the stop watch, "Nine minutes," he had just finished saying, then he looked up at the twins, "are you two packed? Did you remember to bring toothpaste? Daizi always forget to pack toothpaste."

"That one kind of hurt," she mumbled, eyes still closed, still maintaining her nigh-uncanny level of calm, "and it's because you need to use toothpaste in the morning, too, you can't pack it the night before."

"That is why you keep a travel tube," he reminded her, kissing her temple.

"We need to pack a bag too," She reminded him, but did not move even a little bit.
 
"Got the toothpaste, got the brushes, even got the jammies," Xander said, holding up his bag. "We're only going to be gone for a night, right? We won't die or something if we miss brushing our hair one night."

"Are you sure we shouldn't stay?" Alec asked worriedly.

"Of course they're sure!" Xander said, sounding a bit strangled. "We'll just get in the way otherwise. Right? Right!"
 
"You better only be gone for a night," Daizi chuckled, staying exactly where she was, "hopefully less than that."

"I am still hoping you end up not having the baby yet," Dark said, "if nothing else, Xander, you should go. Do you want Alec h--"

"No." She sat up finally, "You've been very helpful, and I appreciate it, but it's only going to get worse, and I don't think you want to hear it, and I don't want to have to think about anything other than what is happening in the moment." She also planned to be wearing a tanktop at most when she transitioned from early to active labour, and Alec did not need to see her like that, and if he never came into the room, then he would just be sitting alone stressing out.
 
Alec bit the tip of his thumb lightly before answering. "You're right. You're absolutely right. As much as I want to be here, I'll just be in the way. I'll go with Xander and keep him calm."

Xander snorted. "Like I'll need that," he grumbled. But he did. He very much did. Even as it was, he was looking anywhere but at Daizi, and a fine sheen of sweat had started to gather on his brow. He leaned toward the door, body tense. Where was Cooger??
 
Dark looked at Xander, "Go wait outside. Like I said, he has to pick some things up for us, so it will be a minute or two. Take Enkidu for a walk, he is stressed.

Daizi opened her mouth to say she was sorry Alec couldn't stay but then closed it again: If there was ever a time to be selfish, it was during premature labor. Not being comfortable having her teenage son around while preparing to eject a person from her body was not something to feel bad about, "You'll be more helpful elsewhere."

It was about forty minutes after that when Cooger finally arrived: there was much he needed to get on the fly, but he showed up as soon as he was able to, and with the help of the twins, if they were available, he brought all the items inside: shower curtains, an exercise ball, witch hazel, and many more seemingly random items.

"Alright, y'all ready to go?" Cooger asked, after everything was finally inside.
 
Xander spent the entire forty minutes outside with the dog, pacing, running, and moving as much as possible. He was finally starting to get tuckered out by the time Cooger arrived, but his nerves wouldn't let him relax.

Alec, on the other hand, repeatedly popped his head into the house to check on things only to retreat back out front. He and Xander happily helped bring everything inside, though Xander was determinedly trying not to guess what any of this stuff was for.

"Yep, ready and waiting," Xander said, already moving toward the truck.

"Are we taking Enkidu?" Alec asked. "Should I tell Daizi goodbye or leave her alone?"
 
"Yeah, we're taking the dog," Cooger said, "he better be good to my cats, but lord knows hearing Daizi scream her head off'll give him a heart attack. Everyone knows she's his favourite." He wiped his hands on his jeans, "You can do what you like, but I gotta say goodbye to 'em."

Cooger shrugged his shoulders and loped into the living room with a big grin, "Where're you at, Tarot?"

"Holding steady at nine minutes apart, lasting for about a minute each," She replied. Instead of basically being draped in Dark's lap, at that point she was pacing slowly around the living room with him, trying her best to do everything all the stuff online and books said she should be doing at this point.

"You sure you don't want me to be your midwife?" He teased, "I've delivered a crap ton of kittens, and once, when I was dating that girl with the goat farm, some kids. Shouldn't be too different."

Dark gave him a look, but it was Daizi who said, "Cooger, I love you, but I do not want you anywhere near me."

This made him laugh, and he walked over to slap Dark on the back, "Alright, I get it. I was just kidding anyway, I don't want to see nothing I can't unsee. You holding up okay, brother?"

"I am still hoping it stops entirely. Or at least slows enough that we can get a few extra days to prepare." Dark said simply, but then turned to Daizi and rubbing her lower back murmured something soft and loving in Arabic when she squeezed his hand in a way he had quickly come to understand. Then he looked at the stopwatch, "Still nine minutes."
 
Last edited:
Xander couldn't bring himself to go back into the house, but Alec waited his turn and hurried in to bid Daizi and Dark goodbye. He gave them both quick hugs and assured them that he would keep his phone on him if they wanted to reach him. Reluctantly, he hurried back out to the truck. He knew it made more logical sense to leave, but he so desperately wanted to stay and help! There was nothing he could help with, but that didn't stop the desire.
 
Dark and Daizi made their goodbyes to Alec and asked him not to tell anyone what was happening. If something went wrong, Daizi rationalized, she wanted space to be able to share it in their own time, and not be pressured into it. Besides that, there wasn't much to say, since they were pretty distracted. At the very least, Dark made sure to tell Alec to remember to breathe, and told him everything would be okay and that by staying with Xander and Cooger, he was helping. Somebody needed to hold the fort.

Then Cooger made his goodbyes, which took much longer, because he found it difficult to leave them. He was in the hospital waiting room the last time, now that they were going through it again, having to walk away and not wait there to support his brother and sister-in-law felt... wrong. And Cooger entirely believed this new baby was going to live, and he wanted to be there to meet his niece as soon as he possibly could. But... Someone had to be there for the nephews. So, after hugging both of his closest friends and wishing them all the luck in the world, he followed Alec out to his truck.

Climbing inside he said, "So, what do y'all want for dinner? 'Cause not knowing this was gonna happen, I was planning to make lasagna, but I think that's probably the worst possible choice under the circumstances. We also gotta figure out lunch. Oh, by the way, Xander, if you're gonna hurl, roll down the window and lean out, otherwise you're cleaning up, okay?"
 
Last edited:
"Oh, you're charming, just charming," Xander grumbled sourly, sinking lower down in his seat. "I'm not going to hurl."

Alec nudged him over to get more room. "I hope we didn't interrupt you from a job. Were you busy? Anything we can do to help?"
 
"Oh no, you didn't interrupt me from anything. Now, that little girl who decided to change the itinerary without giving anyone the whisper of a warning, she interrupted me from a job, but the clients were understanding, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who isn't, given the circumstances," He chuckled, driving up towards the cabin, "and nah, no help needed. Although I guess instead of canceling, I could've just brought you along, got the work done faster. I was on my way to retile some lady's bathroom--she chose the ugliest tiles you could imagine, lime green, but she swears it's trendy. But I think it's better we all let ourselves chill, since we're kinda at the liberty of time and all."
 
"Excellent," Xander said, sitting up. "This'll be an excellent time to ask you questions." He glanced sidelong at Alec, who looked faintly confused. "All the questions we've been waiting to ask you once we got alone."

Alec's eyes lit up as he realized what Xander was doing, but he only nodded seriously. "True, we have a lot."

"Mostly about the secrets to life."

"Perhaps one or two about women."

"Relationships in general."

"Oh, and one or two about tile, I suppose, and how one chooses good colors."

"Babies."

"Oh, yes, definitely babies."

"How to decorate for yourself..."

"... But still be acceptable for the public who may or may not come to your house."
 
Cooger took quick glances at the twins, bewildered, "I'm really not sure I'm the right person to ask about women, I can't stay in a relationship if my life depends on it. And I'm definitely not the right person to ask about babies. Or interior design." He paused, suddenly anxious the twins were about to ask him some really complicated personal questions, and he glanced back an Enkidu (who was somewhat anxious, being for the first time somewhere without both of his adults), "Do you have a bunch of questions too?"

He took a breath and looked out at the road, "Alright, fine, what're your questions?"
 
Alec suppressed a smile, forcing himself to pretend to be completely serious. "If you ask a woman if she's hungry, and she says no, do you still get her something to eat if you stop by a fast food restaurant?"

Xander frowned deeply. "If you describe something as indescribable, don't that mean you've just described it?"

"Why is sandwich meat round if bread is almost exclusively square?"

"Would you rather date someone who is a heck of a lot smarter than you, but ugly as a brick, or would you rather date someone who's absolutely gorgeous, but dumb as a brick?"

"What is the weirdest thing you can say to a baby to make them laugh?"

"Would you rather have a soundtrack to your own life that no one else can hear, or hear everyone else's soundtrack that they can't hear?"

"Who decides what's in style?"
 
"Uhhh for the first one, yes of course you do, but you say it's for yourself, 'cause women love to steal their boyfriend's food, so if you buy food and say it's for her, she'll get huffy and not eat it, but if you buy food and say it's for you, she'll steal it, feel happy you're letting her steal your food, and you won't have to deal with no hangry woman." He nodded, feeling if nothing else, that answers was extremely satisfactory, "And uhhhhh I'm not really one for literature... And I think with bread and sandwiches it's just about physiology, 'cause animals aren't square and loaf pans have t'be able to rest, right? Probably I'd rather date someone who's gorgeous but dumb as a brick, 'cause I'm dumb as a brick too, so we'd get along fine. I think it depends on the baby... I'd definitely rather have my own soundtrack 'cause you ever been out in public and someone's listening to music without headphones? That shit's annoying. And, uhhhhh.... Not me, that's for sure."
 
"Reasonably good answers, yes, I quite agree," Alec said, nodding, "though I am afraid I'd have to argue against you being as dumb as a brick."

"Here's one." Xander twisted to look at Cooger as straight as he could. "If you punch yourself in the face and it hurts, are you weak, or are you strong?" He narrowed his eyes, making the question seem like the most important question in the entire world.
 
Cooger looked straight on at Xander for as long as he safely could before turning to look back at the road, "It means you're stupid. Don't go punching yourself in the face."

He chuckled, turning onto the forested path that lead to his house, "and nah, I'm dumb, kid. I ain't stupid, but I'm dumb. It's like what they say about how you can be intelligent but not wise. I know plenty of people who are more country than me but are incredibly intelligent, I'm just not one of 'em."
 
"Alright, that's fair," Alec agreed. He glanced at Xander, who gave a tiny nod. He watched Cooger drive for a minute, waiting for him to relax a little. "So... where do babies come from?" he asked casually.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top