How Green Becomes Wood

"All of us?" Dark asked, unsure if Xander was hoping to get the three of them to leave so he could stay behind, or if he wanted all of them to go, or only some of them, and he didn't want to make any assumptions and trap the kid into an activity he didn't actually want to do.

"I'm sure Enkidu wants the dog to be taken for a walk," Daizi replied, a little surprised by the sudden change in topic, but she had felt the bed bouncing slightly, so she didn't question it.
 
Xander shrugged and hopped up. "One of us, all of us, I dunno. Figure it's about time Enkidu gets some fresh air, right?" In actuality, he just wanted - needed - to move and get some energy out. The emotions competing in his head and heart had him twisted and anxious. If he didn't get some exercise soon, he was going to burst! It'd be nice to have Alec or Dark or even Daizi along, but he'd go alone, if needed.

Alec scrambled to his feet, careful not to jostle Daizi too much, and straightened one of his shirts. "I think some fresh air and a walk sounds nice," he agreed. "Daizi, do you need to not walk and put up your feet? Maybe a hot bath?"
 
Daizi stood, chucking good naturedly at Alec, "I'm okay, I promise. You're very sweet, but I am only in my second trimester. I feel great. Exercise is good for me and the baby, and, for what it's worth, hot baths aren't. I'm limited to merely warm ones, these days." She gave a few loving pats to the fetus, and waited for Dark to stand up and put the chair away.

"I suppose we may as well all go," He said, procrastinating, "Enkidu will like that."

As they left the room, Daizi swiftly took his arm and held him back to tell him... something--she chose not to speak in English--but what ever it was, it seemed to immensely please the usually stoic man, and both of their voices sounded excited during their brief conversation.
 
Alec glanced back curiously at the pair and made a note to try to learn Arabic. Then he had another thought: Maybe he really didn't want to know what they were actually saying. He scrapped his first thought. Maybe it was better to remain in ignorance. "Enkidu! Enkidu, are you ready for a walk?" he called.

Xander went toward the door then stopped, hesitating. A sudden thought sprang unbidden in his mind. What if they were still out there? What if they were waiting for them? He shook his head, trying to physically knock aside the thought. What a stupid thought! If Declan or Ciara, whoever they were, wanted to kidnap them, then they wouldn't have come and introduced themselves, would they? He was beginning to get paranoid in his old age. He found his shoes and waited for the others to catch up.
 
Enkidu, hearing both his name and "walk" scrambled up and came running towards his family, happily wagging his tail. Dark gave him a command in Arabic to get the dog to calm down, and couldn't resist making the same lightly teasing comment he had made probably a couple dozen times already, "Look, my dog is bilingual. Or, trilingual, if you accept dog. Is that not so sad for those who are monolingual to know?"

This time, Daizi followed it up with, "In two weeks, the baby will start being able to hear me, then she'll start learning two languages, too," feeling a more gentle, motherly mood, though, she followed it up with, "but it's easier to learn languages from infancy."

Dark noticed the brief pause Xander had taken, but didn't think much of it. There was a lot they had been through that day, uncommon behaviors were to be expected.
 
"Wouldn't it be a survival instinct to be able to learn languages quickly?" Alec asked curiously as he tried to get his shoes on without falling over.

Xander clipped the lead onto Enkidu's collar and gave him a quick ear scratch. "Good boy," he mumbled. Then he stood and opened the door for them all.
 
Daizi thought about it for a few moments as she exited the house, bringing Dark along with her, "It could be, but those sorts of traits evolved back when human populations were very low, so I don't think the ability to learn many languages had a lot of evolutionary pressure, but I could be wrong. Neurology never really interested me, but I could ask some of my biological anthropology friends. I think learning language in youth is just so babies could communicate with their families, and learning multiple languages is just a pleasant benefit, because your brain is still figuring everything out."

"I am left handed when writing Arabic and right handed when writing English," Dark said, although it wasn't exactly related, it was just an interesting little fact, "and sometimes I accidentally write English backwards."

"And I can't write at all. At least, I can't handwrite. I've tried, it's completely illegible. Dark says my attempt at my signature is cute, though." With the exception of when she had put on her shoes and her sunglasses, she had pretty much not removed her hand from her abdomen since she had suddenly put it there while still in the twins' bedroom, and this did not change when they went outside.
 
Alec frowned at Daizi, noting the position of her hand, but if she was going to insist she was fine, what choice did he have but to accept it? Surely if something were really wrong, Dark would put his foot down and make her rest for both their sakes or even get help if needed. He'd just have to pretend he didn't see it. He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Whatever his actual reason for wanting to walk the dog, Xander was right. It was nice to get some fresh air after all of that tension. Tomorrow would have to look after itself. Right now, he just wanted to breathe.

Xander felt a little better once they were out and walked with Enkidu, taking him around in circles or running short distances with him just to get them both moving. The air, the movement, and the rush of blood help to push away the dark thoughts trying to crowd into his brain. He didn't need to think about it right now. He wasn't really paying attention to the conversation, either. Just the dog.
 
Enkidu loved it anytime Xander ran a bit, and always seemed a bit disappointed when the run stopped. Unlike some dogs who get too excited and bite their leash when their owner starts running, he ran nicely by his side. He was a clearly well trained dog to begin with, but also most of the time, if the weather was nice enough for Dark to run outside rather than on his treadmill, he took Enkidu with him, so he was well accustomed to what to do.

Both Daizi and Dark walked peacefully. Since it was their own neighborhood, and somewhere they had lived for a long time, instead of holding onto his arm, Daizi simply held Dark's hand, and that wasn't to do with her blindness. At some point, Dark caught Alec frowning at her, and he bent down to whisper something. Immediately after, she said, "Alec, why don't you come walk by me for a little while."
 
"Okay," Alec agreed immediately. He moved to her other side, touching her arm lightly so she'd know where he was. "You can probably hear Xander running with Enkidu," he told her. "Enkidu likes it, and he gets the most confused and disappointed look on his face when Xander stops so he won't get too far ahead. The professor has him too used to running non-stop, I think."

Xander walked a short distance ahead of the trio, keeping a loose hold on the leash. It seemed to him that the leash was more to make others feel safe rather than keep this dog controlled. He was tempted to do as he'd seen a few people on social media do and see what happened if he dropped the leash. But with how stressful things had been lately, he decided not to risk it. "Think you can beat me in a race?" he asked Enkidu instead.
 
"Oh yeah, he loves to run," Daizi grinned, and after a second added, "both of them. When we decided we wanted to adopt a dog, one of the first things Dark started talking about was how nice it would be to run with them. Thankfully, we didn't end up with a lazy dog, I think it would have broken his heart."

"It would have done," Dark agreed, "and I am very excited for when our baby is able to hold her head up and it is safe to use a running stroller with her, too. I am going to exercise with her strapped to my chest, too."

Daizi rested her head against Dark's shoulder, and after taking a deep breath of the rejuvenating spring air said, "Good, then you'll wear each other out, hopefully. She's already so active," At last she turned down towards Alec, "I felt her, today. While we were upstairs, talking about family. And a few times since then. I didn't want to say anything and distract from you and your brother."

Enkidu did not fully understand the words Xander was saying, but when Xander started running, Enkidu happily took off too, with a big, happy, stupid dog grin on his face.
 
Alec didn't know the first thing about babies other than they cried a lot and wore diapers, so he had no idea if the idea or running and exercising with a baby was a good thing or not. He did vaguely wonder why Dark had never actually invited either he or Xander to excise with him. He'd mentioned it in passing and had never indicated that they couldn't join him, but he'd never invited him, either. Maybe because it was a personal thing and babies weren't really people yet? Well, they were people, but not understanding people who offered up weird distractions like teenagers did. Or maybe he didn't think they wanted to and was waiting for them to ask him. Alec had no real interest, but Xander might. After all, he was apparently interested in martial arts, or might be after he had a chance to try them out. Xander would totally run with Dark, but he was too proud and, in a backward way, too shy to ask. Maybe Alec should suggest he try that.

Then he got distracted by the news of the baby's movement. "Oh! Is that good? Is that a good thing?" he asked, trying to gauge how he was supposed to react. "What does it feel like?"
 
"It is good," She beamed, "it's really good. It's wonderful. It means she's getting larger, and stronger. And it lets me know she's alive. And it feels like little flutters, like hummingbird wings. But in a few weeks, they'll stop being flutters and turn into kicks, and then you and Dark will be able to feel them too, from the outside."

Dark made a soft sound, and his eyes spoke volumes about how much he longed for that day. He gingerly placed his hand on her bump, "Oh little hummingbird," he murmured, and then kissed Daizi's cheek, "I hope she gets strong enough quickly."
 
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"That sounds really, really uncomfortable," Alec said, suddenly understanding the way Xander felt about pregnancy. The idea of having another living being squirming around in the vicinity of his belly sounded stomach-churningly bizarre. Still, he smiled and tried to be excited despite the discomforting thought. "I'm so glad she's strong and healthy. That means you're strong and healthy, too."
 
"Nah, she's just little. I'm sure that when I'm nine months pregnant and exhausted and she's seven pounds at least and the size of an actual baby, then I'm sure it'll be uncomfortable, but I'd rather she hardly stop moving than move only occasionally. Like I said, it's how I can be certain she's alive, and it's important for her too," Unlike her twins, she was understandably thrilled and excited about all of it, and she loved the weirdness of it all, "She has to start exercising her muscles, too, because even for someone just developing muscles, if she doesn't use them they'll atrophy. And I'll get to feel her roll over and hiccup, and it's all really special."

Perhaps Daizi was a bit naive regarding how beautiful it was, and would very likely come to regret her hope that her baby would remain extremely active, but she was honest, and clearly more at ease having felt the first few flutters.

"Do you know, Alec, there is a chance that when you and Xander were in your mother's womb that you held hands?" Dark asked coolly. He, too, read the pregnancy and fetal development books.
 
Alec blinked at Dark's addition. "Really? Oh, I guess that makes sense why it feels so natural then," he mused. "But there can't have been much space in there. It seems crowded even with one. No wonder Xander doesn't like being touched anymore. He had nothing but constant squishing!"
 
"That is probably also why you like being touched," Dark agreed, "you were born used to it."

"Space is why I think most multiples are born prematurely. They just run out of space. I don't actually know, though, and I must confess I'm very glad to only be carrying one. Could you imagine the chaos if we went from two to four?" She laughed the way one laughs when a bit frightened. Not that she believed her body, with all of its problems, could support more than one baby, considering it barely could support just the one to begin with.

Dark looked his wife up and down and said, barely smirking, "If we had twins, we would always have someone to ride with at amusement parks. Now one of us will have to ride alone."

"Sure, but that's barely a problem, because you're too tall for most rides to begin with, and it's not like we wouldn't bring Cooger to the amusement park," She shot back, "Do you like roller-coasters, Alec?"
 
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Alec giggled softly at the idea of Dark and Daizi having twins and having two smaller beings running around causing even more chaos than he and Xander did. "I'm not sure. I think I went on one when we were very little, but it was just a caterpillar that gently went up and down. It was boring even as a five-year-old. I wouldn't mind trying one."

Xander came trotting back, panting for breath as he held tight to Enkidu's leash. "What caterpillar?" he gasped.

"That one amusement ride we went on when we were five," Alec told him.

Xander made a face. "That thing was boring. It was a lot more fun when you stood up."

"Which is when they kicked us out," Alec supplied.
 
"We need to go to one then!" Dark said definitely, "There is one about an hour away, but we would need to go to one a bit further, because that one I can ride about half of the rides at, which does not sound like much, but there are many coasters I am too tall for."

"And I will gladly stay behind, there are few things that sound less fun to me than wandering around a theme park multiple hours away unable to participate at all." Daizi sighed, but didn't particularly mind. It was good for Dark to spend time without her, and it was good for him to have time to bond with the twins. And, above all else, having time entirely to herself sounded divine. After this baby came, she had no idea when she would ever be alone again, so if they wanted to take a day out without her, she was entirely accepting of it.
 
"If you're sure, I think that sounds like fun," Alec agreed, glancing between them.

"I think that sounds like a blast!" Xander grinned. "Let's do it! When can we go?"

"Maybe we should consider moving in the direction of home?" Alec suggested.
 
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