said ‘his’?” Kee turned to Dian, his eyes filled with tears. “I’ve given you a son, mate. A son of your own. I’m so happy. Please tell me you’re happy too.”
“Oh, babe.” Dian shook off his worries – or at least shelved them for five minutes. “I just can’t believe it. You’re so truly special and I love you so much. And our little one…” Dian inhaled shakily. “I’m going to be a damn sight better father than mine was, I promise you.”
“Times were a lot harder when you were born, Dian,” Doc said. “Those of us who were different, we had to hide who we were and that can leave scars on our insides that persist for life. I worried for years that people wouldn’t come to me as a doctor if they knew what I could shift into. I was proven wrong in this town. I know you worry about how people will react to your shifted form, but no one has kicked up a fuss about that either. Think about the opportunities your little one has for increasing awareness of gargoyles, even if it’s just in this corner of the world. Kids don’t care what their peers look like, and if your son is raised to be decent, honest, and friendly, he’ll have friends. Face it, he’s going to be the only kid in Arrowtown born with wings. Annabelle is going to be so jealous.”
“And we can teach him to be proud of who he is,” Kee added. “No one has to hide here, and he won’t have to, either. Besides, everyone says how beautiful a baby is, even when they have a face like a sunburned turnip. Our son will be accepted here. Accepted for who he is. Just like you have been, and I have too.”
Dian nodded. His mate was right. He still felt like crying, but they were happy tears. “So, we’ve worked out how many, we’ve worked out how soon, we’ve identified the species, shit. We’ve got so much to do.”
“Go and see Mrs. Hooper,” Doc suggested as he pressed the wand up and down and around Kee’s stomach. “The ladies around here have a system of helping out, especially hapless males who haven’t got a clue about planning a nursery. Ask for her advice and then stand back and brace yourself for a stampede – she’ll take care of everything. Now, one last thing. Did you want to hear your son’s heartbeat?”
“Please.” Dian reached for Kee’s hands, holding them both in his. Kee was almost bouncing in excitement.
Flicking a switch on his machine, Doc held the wand steady on Kee’s chest. The rhythmic sound of a heart beating filled the room. “Okay, Kee, that’s yours. Then we move lower,” he slid the wand down and everything sounded garbled for a moment, and then another heartbeat could be heard – faster, but just as loud as Kee’s. Dian grinned at his mate – We made that.
But Doc was frowning. “Hmm. We seem to have an echo. Hang on. I’ll just…” he wiggled the wand around. “Er…” he moved the wand down until it was almost sitting on Kee’s hip bone. “Well, will you look at that. Another tiny foot. Look down here.” He pointed to the bottom of the screen. “Your gargoyle is blocking his much smaller sibling from being seen. That’s why the heartbeats sound as if they’ve got an echo. Their heartbeats are in sync with each other.”
“Aww, he’s a protector, just like his daddy.” Kee beamed. “Isn’t it exciting, babe?”
Two babies? Dian felt his head start to spin and his breath started coming faster. His gargoyle form who was always lurking under his skin appeared frozen, whether from shock or fear, Dian didn’t know. Dian couldn’t believe it either. We’re gargoyles – gargoyles who rarely have children at all. And we’re having two of them. TWO of them. He swayed in his chair as the weight of his shifted form’s inertia hit him and felt a thud on the side of his head as he slid sideways off the chair. Then everything went black.
/~/~/~/~/
“Ouch, that had to have hurt.” Kee looked over the side of the bed at his prone mate. “He hit his head on the bed leg.”
“It happens.” Doc came around and knelt down, checking Dian’s pulse. “He’s fine, he’s just fainted. Has he spent any time in his rock form lately?”
“No. He worries. A lot.” Kee reached for the tissues Doc handed him and wiped off his