How Green Becomes Wood

"Because the ends still break if your hair is long, which is why her hair is so much thicker at the roots than it is at the ends." Dark replied, and then walked over to Daizi to play with her hair, "I apologize, darling, I do not mean to criticize you. I do love your hair exactly as it is."

Daizi rolled her eyes, shivering slightly as the touch of his fingers at the ends of her hair tickled her scalp, but she smiled, "It's okay, I'm not upset--I know that you're right, I'm just lazy. I'd get my hair cut more if you did it and I did not have to go anywhere."

"Absolutely not, I cannot take the pressure of it. If I made a mistake I would never recover." Dark replied, kissing the top of her head. Then he straightened himself up and pointed at both of the twins, "Your hair, her hair, the baby's hair, Cooger's hair: Nobody I care about. One wrong move and you will look stupid for a month."
 
"It's just hair," Alec commented. "It grows back, and hats are very stylish."

"Or you can just shave it all off," Xander smirked.

Alec gasped, insulted. "Never! Very few people actually look good bald, and most of them have much darker skin than I."

"True. You would look like a fortune teller's crystal ball if you were bald," Xander mused. While Alec pouted, he said, "So when are we leaving?"
 
"Sir Patrick Stewart looks good bald, and he does not have a darker complexion than you," Dark suggested, knowing what Declan had said about balding being in their future. He didn't want to break that news to them quite yet, but one day they'd have to learn and come to terms with it.

Daizi finished her tea and with a bright grin said, "In just a few minutes, I think. And the baby is thrilled, she must know it's her day to show off. She's been doing backflips all morning."
 
"Yes, but he's not shiny, and he's a sir," Alec countered. "It's much easier to pull off any kind of look you want when you are a sir and the captain of an intergalactic spaceship!" He paused and said contemplatively, "Maybe I could just go with it and give my head an extra shine and only wear black."

Xander shuddered at the news but said nothing.
 
After Alec finished his cup of tea, they all got into the car and drove to Daizi's doctor's office. On the way there, her excitement gave way to nervousness, just like it always did. Even though she knew the baby was alive, she was still afraid they would find something awful in the scan.

Dark held her hand in the waiting room while she bounced one knee, trying not to imagine the worst. The office itself didn't set off her fears like a proper hospital did, because it had soft chairs and they lit soothing candles in pretty much every room. It specifically catered to people like her, who had struggled with infertility before, so they did their best to keep the environment especially calm and soothing.
 
Alec sat on Daizi's other side, being still and quiet as he looked around curiously. Occasionally, his hand would brush Daizi's arm, just letting her know he was there. This wasn't anything like anything he'd ever seen before. He was curious and wanted to explore, but one did not explore waiting rooms. It simply wasn't done.

Xander slouched in the chair next to Alec, head back, eyes often closed, his arms folded tight over his chest. He ignored the glances the other waiters were giving them, though he did briefly wonder what they thought of this group. A blind giant mother, an even bigger giant father, a budding fashion model, and a juvenile delinquent. Quite a group! It also helped to keep his mind off of why they were here. The nice, calming atmosphere was helping him, too, but he still had the true purpose of their visit nagging in the back of his head.
 
"We get to hear her heartbeat again," Dark murmured, making his wife smile. He was intimately familiar with the things to say to distract her from conjuring up doomed thoughts. Except now he was also trying to do it for Xander, and had intentionally sat them right by the fishtank, to make waiting around the many pregnant people more bearable for him.

At last, they were called back. Dark had called ahead, and the staff had actually agreed to leave the chair outside the exam room for Xander. However, at first they only let Dark and Daizi into the room, and had both twins wait outside, because it was a antenatal appointment, which meant there were going to be questions asked that the twins wouldn't want to hear the answers to. Or the questions themselves, really. So they were set out to wait while the nurse went through those questions and got all the basic measurements of health one would expect.

After a little while, a woman, how looked to be about in her mid-fifties with grey streaks in her natural hair came up the hallway, with her hands in the pockets of her white coat. She stopped when she saw the twins waiting outside the exam room, which was where she herself was headed, "Hey there," she said, "you two must be Daizi's boys. Alec and Xander, right?" She indicated to each of them correctly, "I'm Dr. Greene, your foster-mom's doctor. She and your foster-dad talk about you all the time, you know."
 
Xander watched the lionfish swim, its movements slow and graceful. It was easy to forget just how poisonous those fish were. Many places had strict rules about who could own them and even for how long, because the older they got, the more deadly they were. That didn't stop them from being hypnotizing. He looked up when the nurse came in, tensing a little in anticipation. Then she mentioned Dark and Daizi talked about them. Really? Why? Or maybe he didn't want to know the answer to that.

Alec sprang to his feet eagerly. "Hello, Dr. Greene. It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," he greeted her. "How is Daizi doing? And the baby? They are both alright, right?"
 
"You'd have to ask her for specifics, but... they're doing fine. They're doing well." Dr Greene replied, "I'll just pop in there and see how they're getting along, and then come out and get," She paused for a moment, squinting at the twins, before eventually pointing at Alec, "You. And you're the one who's staying out here."

After knocking on the door, Dr. Greene went into the exam room, and only a few minutes later popped her head out, "It's all good for you to come in now, if you'd like."
 
When Dr. Greene left, Xander muttered, "Maybe I should go in. I could maybe... just be in the way. No, I should stay out."

Alec smiled and took Xander's hand, squeezing it gently. "It's okay. She'll understand," he said softly. "Stay out here. I'll tell you about it later, if you want."

Xander nodded sullenly, feeling cowardly as he stood by the chair in the hallway. When Dr. Greene said Alec could come in, he followed her into the room, and Xander stood alone outside the door. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and sat down on the chair, scuffing the floor with his heel.

Alec looked around timidly when they entered the exam room.
 
Like the rest of the office, the exam rooms were also somewhat more cozy than typical doctors offices, although they still had the typical furniture one would expect. Daizi was settling in on the exam table and in the process of exposing her belly when Dr. Green brought Alec in. Dark was sitting in a chair beside her, and when the door opened he said, "There is another chair over here if you would like to sit."

"Yeah, you've got to get comfortable for the show," Daizi joked, and after a moment said, "Is Xander okay? I know this isn't exactly his favourite thing in the world."
 
"I think he'll be alright," Alec assured her. It was a strange thing to be able to see Daizi's exposed and rounded belly like this, and he couldn't shake the sensation that he was seeing something he wasn't supposed to. He smiled it away and sat down, scooting the chair around to where he had the best view without being in the way. "Thank you for letting be here!"
 
"I'm glad that you're here. And that he's here too, even though he's not in the room, the fact he came at all is really special." She replied while her doctor finished setting up all of the equipment.

"So, Alec, you're the younger twin right?" She asked, then gave Daizi the warning about the ultrasound gel, before asking Alec her next question, "are you excited to be a big brother for the first time? Or are you dreading being the middle child?"

That was a question neither Dark nor Daizi had thought to ask, and they turned towards Alec awaiting his answer. Dark had once told Alec the baby would grow up thinking about him as their older brother, but this was different.
 
Alec blinked, sitting back in his chair. "I... I hadn't really thought about it," he said slowly. "I mean, I suppose I am happy about it?" It was a strange thought to even be specified as the younger brother. Thanks to their names, most people got them backward and thought Alec was the older brother despite their personalities. It was strange to think of himself as a middle brother. An older brother to a little child. What was that like? He certainly hoped he didn't have to get into any fights because of it! But more than that, calling himself the baby's older brother would cement him into the family, wouldn't it? Did he really have that right? Really? He felt like maybe he did, but a tiny nugget of fear still lurked deep inside. It was irrational, but it still warned him to be careful. To beware of heartache. To beware of being left again.
 
Dark lightly squeezed Alec's shoulder and smiled at him with his eyes, while Dr. Greene talked a bit about how it's normal to not be totally sure of how to feel yet. But he let go of him and instead held Daizi's hand upon hearing the words, "Alright, let's take a look at how baby is doing, shall we?"

It didn't take long to find where the baby was, and the image on the screen certainly looked much more like a baby than anything Alec had seen before. And the baby was hiccupping, which Dr. Greene pointed out, although she didn't need to. It was obvious when looking at the screen.

"Can you feel that?" Dark asked.

"Yeah..." Daizi sighed, squeezing his hand, "It's cool, right Alec?" As she asked this, the baby squirmed a bit and yawned.
 
"Ooff, hiccups. Can't even a sweet, innocent baby escape the torment that is the hiccups?" Alec said mournfully. He grinned though at the yawn. "Xander would totally pass out if he saw this. This technology is so cool!" Then he frowned. "I hope the baby is okay with me spying on it like this." The thought genuinely concerned him, though he wasn't entirely sure why.
 
"It's actually good that baby hiccups," Dr. Greene explained, "It's how they practice breathing. And don't worry, they could not be any more at ease right now. Do you want to hear the heartbeat, mom?"

Daizi immediately said yes, and then, even though she had heard it many times before, gasped quietly as she heard the sound. It was the only part of appointment where she could really engage with the baby in a way she couldn't at home. Dark kissed her knuckles and bent down lower so he was nearer to her. It was, of course, faster than any adult heartbeat, and even though Dark was mostly focused on the screen and his wife, he still turned to Alec to say, "It is normal for the heartbeat to be so rapid," he quickly glanced at the Doctor for confirmation, "it is because she is so little."
 
"That's really weird," Alec murmured, lost in awe and fascination. "He has such tiny little fists! And feets! And, well, everything! I guess it's a good thing it's tiny, but, wow!" He looked at the doctor. "And everything is good with him?"
 
"Everything is perfect. Although" Dr. Greene replied, and the slight pause made Dark and Daizi quickly look at her while the moved the ultrasound around, "Yes, that's what I thought I saw. Still nothing to worry about, I'm sorry, I should have spoken more carefully. It's just, you are wrong, Alec, I'm afraid. It's a girl."

Dark looked at the screen, and then down at his wife, and back up at the screen, squeezing Daizi's hand just a bit too tightly, "Spider..." He breathed.

"I know, I heard..." Daizi whispered, not even noticing how tightly he was gripping her, "Are you sure?"

After Dr. Greene confirmed she was, Dark mumbled, "We are having a daughter..." for a few moments after that, neither Dark nor Daizi said a word, but then Dark reached over, put his arm around Alec's shoulders, and pulled him in close, "It is good you are here," he said, not immediately releasing him, "although I apologize if you were hoping it was a boy, I know Xander was."
 
"Oh," Alec said in surprise when he heard the baby was actually a girl. He wasn't sure how to respond. In truth, after hearing of the trauma and the uncertainty Daizi had experienced, he hadn't hoped for either. He didn't want to jinx the baby by hoping for a boy or a girl or even a healthy baby. Each time Daizi had had an appointment, he had prepared himself for her to come home with bad news. If he didn't hope for something, then it wouldn't hurt as bad when it didn't work out. Oh, it still hurt, but not as bad. Learning that the baby was alive, seeing it moving about, and being told it was a girl, it was a bit overwhelming. It was so much good!

He watched Dark and Daizi, feeling almost awkward at being there. This felt like a very private moment they were having. Maybe he should step out? And then, suddenly, Dark was there pulling him into a hug, pulling them into their family moment, like Alec was a part of it, like he deserved to be a part of it. He leaned against Dark, stunned, warmth rising in his chest.

"No, I'm not sorry at all," he said quickly. "I'm glad it's a girl. I'm very glad!" He would have been equally joyous it was a boy in that moment, and he smiled up at Dark, his eyes shining with a deep joy that could not be faked.
 
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