Chapter 35

A year had passed since Nemesis was dealt with and Brooklynn couldn't have been happier. She and Mark decided to leave the mansion behind and ventured to Texas, where they had a new house built, in Dallas, though it was nowhere as big as hers in Wyoming. It was a huge ranch, though they didn't have any animals, except Bastet. They both agreed Texas was the place since that's where Brooklynn first met Mark and she honestly loved the heat.

Steve and Trish lived in Dallas while Glenn ventured to Tennessee and Melina headed to Washington D.C. They were both in relationships that were promising, deciding to just remain good friends after the whole Nemesis fiasco. John and Mickie were married and had a beautiful baby girl named Milayna. As for Randy, Brooklynn hadn't seen him since they all left the mansion a year ago and she often thought about him. He would always hold a piece of her, though Mark completely had her heart.

She smiled, watching him pull up on his black Harley, looking delicious in a black leather vest and black skintight jeans, his dark red hair pulled back in a tight braid with black shades over his incredible green eyes, a black bandana around his head. After leaving Wyoming, Mark had dyed his hair to its natural hair color, but went a little darker since fiery red didn't appease him. Brooklynn was irrevocably in love with him in any color of hair he had. She finished up the dishes, wearing just a pair of blue jean shorts with a black tank top, her hair pulled up on top of her head in a messy bun of sorts. After parking his precious Harley in the garage, Mark strode into the house, his boots making deliberate thudding noises with each step. Knowing damn well it both annoyed and amused her when he did it. His way of letting her know he was home, even though she had undoubtedly seen him.

"Mmm..." He rumbled when he saw her, wrapping his arms around her waist and rested his chin on top of her head, watching as she drained the dishwater, having just put the clean dishes away, apparently. "Barefoot and in the kitchen... there's a part missing to that old sayin', you know that?"

Brooklynn rolled her eyes playfully, turning around as he lifted her up to sit on the sink, standing between her legs. "That's not funny." She kissed his lips softly, running her hand down the part of chest exposed, her eyes never leaving his. They talked about having kids, but Brooklynn was scared to death her gift would be passed onto the offspring, not wanting that. "Since when do you want kids anyway?" She asked lightheartedly, still not believing he actually managed to settle down with her for the most part. Mark had a local motorcycle shop in town he ran, so she knew he was only home for lunch, having it already prepared.

"Well darlin', when I saw you, it just came back to me. Barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen; it's really sexist, actually." He knew she had mellowed out a lot because a year or two ago, she would have probably knocked him on his ass. "I didn't mean it Brooklynn, I was just teasin'." Mark knew how scared she was of passing on her gift; they didn't know if any of her ancestors had it, besides Julia, so there was no way to know if it was some type of genetic... disorder.

"Oh I know, I'm not mad at you, Mark."

She hopped down from the counter, walking around to the fridge and pulled out his sandwich, which had four layers the way he liked it, along with some chips. She also knew Mark had been hinting at the pregnancy bit for a while now, having seen how happy John and Mickie were with their bundle of joy. Their mother wasn't a freak though; she just knew how to perform Wiccan magic and whatnot. It wasn't inside of her the way it was Brooklynn and, having a child go through what Brooklynn did, was just too much to even think about.

Mark lifted the top piece of bread up and piled chips on top of the fixings before putting the top back on and crushing it all with his hand, shrugging when she made a face. "I like it this way."

He grinned when she placed a beer in front of him, feeling... a bit weird. He would never get used to the way they had settled down. It was surreal considering, only a year ago, they had been discussing the best way of crossing a spirit over. It was like THAT world had never existed. Brooklynn had crossed spirits over here and there since they'd found her in Dallas. They'd always find her, but that didn't stop her from trying to have a normal, happy life with Mark. That's all she ever wanted, all she needed, though she also wanted him to be happy. She sat down beside him, chewing her bottom lip nervously, not sure how to go about talking about this.

"Do you want to have a baby?" She finally asked, causing him to slowly raise an eyebrow, cracking a hesitant smile. "I'm just asking, I'm not pregnant right now or anything, I don't think..."

Sure, he joked about it with her, occasionally tried envisioning what any child of theirs would look like, but truth be told, Mark wasn't even sure if they SHOULD have a baby, let alone consider it. There were always going to be spirits coming to Brooklynn, some of them good, some bad and some benign. Some of them powerful enough to harm her, not to mention a baby she would carry. Or possibly even harm a newborn, he couldn't begin to fathom it.

"What do you mean, you don't think?"

"I'm late on my period, but it happens sometimes, so I'm not going to panic yet. Four days late to be precise." Brooklynn hadn't even thought about it until she looked at the calendar, realizing she hadn't been moody at all lately, which was very out of sorts for her. "Look, don't freak out, okay? We'll handle it; I just want to make you aware of what's going on." She needed something to drink and stood up from the table, walking over to grab a bottled water out of the fridge.

His sandwich didn't taste so good suddenly and Mark reached for the beer, taking a long swallow to ease the sudden dryness in his throat. He mentally searched out Bastet, asking her to keep an eye on Brooklynn for him, report anything... unusual. "Okay." He said after a moment, in the most normal voice he could muster up, forcing himself to finish the sandwich before standing up, looking at her intently. "You all right?"

"Besides being scared to death, I'm peachy."

Brooklynn hadn't been sleeping well lately and it wasn't due to spirits either. It was due to dreams of having a Demon come out of her womb, ripping her to shreds. The dream was recurring, though she refused to tell Mark about it, having kept it to herself.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I honestly didn't realize I was late until today. I looked at the calendar... I guess I just haven't let it sink in fully that I could be pregnant..." She exhaled shakily, gripping the water in her hand, swallowing hard. "We'll figure this out, we've been through worse before."

"Worse? Being pregnant isn't... a bad thing; it's just... awkward, given our... situation." Mark stood up and rinsed off his plate, his back to her while he sorted through his own thoughts, finally turning around and surveyed her. "If you haven't started in a day or so, maybe a trip to the doctor is in order." He suggested, walking forward to stare down at her, wrapping his arms around her lovingly. "Is there anything else you... you might have forgotten?"

"You know birth control isn't 100% effective, Mark." She sighed heavily, burying her face in his chest, trembling slightly as she closed her eyes. "I've already made a doctor's appointment. I'm not waiting, but it's not until Monday." It was only Friday afternoon, so they had a few days to wait. "I'm also going to the store to pick up some pregnancy tests. Mickie suggested a few to me that I'm going to scoop up."

Brooklynn had to keep a level head, knowing getting overemotional or flying off the handle wasn't going to help matters. Mark didn't know what to say to that, feeling like the bottom of his world had just dropped out and he was hanging onto a ledge, ready to fall into nothing. He didn't know if he wanted to know how she was feeling, knowing it was probably amplified by ten compared to him.

"I... I have to get back to the shop." He kissed the top of her head. "Unless you want me to just call them and have it shut down for the day and stay here with you?"

"No, no of course not. There's nothing you can do here, Mark. I'll be fine, I just have to take the tests and go from there." Brooklynn had an assuring tone to her voice.

Honestly, she wanted to do this alone because, if the test came back positive, she was going to freak out. She didn't want Mark here to see that, afraid he was going to leave her and she'd never see him again. Brooklynn immediately pushed that thought out of her mind, kissing him softly and hugged him tightly around the neck.

"I love you; now get going before you're late." She winked and watched him leave the house, having to guide him because Mark looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Even as she was ushering him out the door, he was informing Bastet to let him know how the results of those tests came out.

Bastet wound herself around Brooklynn's ankles, meowing loudly. She wanted a lot of cream for this.

Brooklynn knew Mark was having Bastet keep an eye on her and made sure the cat was locked out of the bathroom while she did the testing. She could feel Bastet scratching at the door while she did her thing, having gone to the store right after Mark left, and now she was pacing back and forth nervously waiting for the results. She bit her bottom lip, raking a hand through her hair and closed her eyes because it was time to check the stick. Brooklynn blinked as huge tears slid down her cheeks, seeing the pink plus mark in the tiny square and immediately dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself. She was pregnant with Mark's baby and Bastet was probably informing him, right at that very moment, because Brooklynn let out an ear piercing scream.

Mark had been in the middle of repainting a gas tank for a Titan when Bastet let him know the joyous news. In fact, Bastet broadcasted the scream Brooklynn had let out right into his mind, which in turn made him drop everything and clamp his hands over his ears. As if that would somehow stop the scream that was ringing the inside of his head, paint spraying from the gun onto his legs.

"SON OF A BITCH!" He bellowed, knowing what that scream meant.

It took Brooklynn several hours to calm down, after taking 5 other pregnancy tests, all of them positive. Brooklynn finally just collapsed on the couch and turned on a movie, trying to get her mind off of having a living being growing inside of her. The tears had stopped flowing and Bastet stayed beside her the entire time, which Brooklynn didn't mind. What the hell was she going to do? How was she supposed to bring a child into this world, knowing more than likely they would have her gift? Would Mark want her to get rid of it, even though he'd been hinting at being a father? Brooklynn sighed heavily, her head beginning to pound and popped some aspirin before going to lie down in the bedroom.

Mark now had a migraine from hell, forcing himself to finish his work, which only made it worse as inhaling paint fumes wasn't conducive to ridding himself of a migraine. By the end of the day, his employees had all threatened to quit at least once. He closed shop an hour early, sending everyone home with a case of beer, and was mentally threatening Bastet with skinning her alive, if she didn't stop sending him the mental images of Brooklynn's crying and replaying the scream from hell in his head.

As far as Bastet was concerned, she was just doing what he had asked her too.

Brooklynn had thrown away the evidence, knowing Mark didn't even need to see them to know because of Bastet. She simply lay in bed, running her hand up and down her abdomen, wondering what was going to happen now. Her eyes snapped open when she heard the front door open and close with authority, knowing Mark was not in a good mood. Hell, she didn't blame him and Brooklynn decided to just give him space. This was a lot to digest and, knowing Mark, he was probably downing a case of beer. Brooklynn was scared of losing him, had been for the past year, wondering when the bubble was going to bust. Would this be too much for him to handle? She honestly didn't know.

Brooklynn couldn't lie in the room anymore and went into the connecting master bathroom, shedding her clothes, and started a nice hot soothing bath to relax. She even poured in some lilac-scented bubble bath and lit some candles, trying not to stress herself out so much over this baby situation. A baby... she was going to be a mother. Brooklynn sank into the hot water while it still ran and leaned back, loving her garden tub and closed her eyes, having pinned her hair up on top of her head. She wasn't in the mood to wash it again, having just done it earlier that morning.

Mark was actually taking a shot of whiskey, borrowing a move from Glenn's book, wondering if this even reached the scale of Glenn's most minor of headaches. "Go away..." He growled when Bastet wound herself around his ankles. "You're not funny."

She hissed at him.

"I said let me KNOW, not drive me INSANE. She all right?"

Bastet blinked.

"It's not her I'm upset with, it's your furry, flea-bitten ass." He groaned when she clawed his leg, reaching right through the denim. "Fine! Ouch! I'm sorry, damn!"

Purring, she trotted away, tail high in the air.

Knowing Bastet had drawn blood on purpose, Mark made his way to the bedroom and began shedding clothes, snorting when he saw the scratches. Damn cat, he sometimes questioned his own sanity in having a familiar, let alone one with an attitude. He loved her, she loved him and he'd just have to deal with her sense of humor, which was a bit like his own.

"You in there, darlin'?" He called, hearing the water running, but figured he'd let her know he was in the next room over.

"Yeah, come in if you want." Brooklynn called back, covered in bubbles as she ran the water up her arms, opening her eyes when the door opened as Mark stepped inside. She slowly pulled her gaze away from him, turning the water on again to warm the water, refusing to get out for a while yet. "How was work?" She asked softly, once the water turned off with her foot, staring straight ahead at the wall.

"Besides the constant throbbing of my head? Fine, real productive. Everyone about walked out on me I was so damn grouchy." He replied with an easy smile, knowing they were going to have to have a serious talk relatively soon. Raising his leg up, Mark propped it on the toilet and turned on the sink, snatching a hand towel off the rack and drenched it, cleaning his leg. "How're you feeling?"

"Let's just quit the bullshitting and get down to business, Mark." Brooklynn sighed heavily, honestly hating it when they both beat around the bush because that wasn't them. "What are we going to do about this? I'm saying US because we both did this and we're BOTH making this decision." She turned to face him, seeing he was busy wiping away blood, blinking and then saw they were scratch marks. "What did you do to Bastet?"

"Called her a furry, flea-bitten cat." He replied, now holding the towel against his leg to stop the slight bleeding. "And I never said it wasn't US, darlin'. I'm not just going to leave you hanging to make this decision on your own. And unless you can give me at least three very good reasons why not to have that baby, I see no reason why we shouldn't."

Brooklynn blinked at him in absolute shock, wondering if he was messing with her, though his green eyes told her he wasn't. She opened her mouth and closed it several times, finally turning to stare down at the water, drawing her knees up to her chest. She hadn't been expecting to hear that from him and suddenly realized he did want a baby. He wasn't screwing around with her, all those times, he kept hinting for months that he'd love to see her barefoot and pregnant. She smacked him a few times and laughed it off, but now it was really going to happen.

If this baby had her gift, how would they handle that?

"All right." She whispered when he turned the sink water off, exhaling shakily. "We're having a baby then."

Mark frowned, watching her slinking down into the bubbles and moved so he was sitting on the edge of the tub, reaching down to pull her back up into a sitting position above the bubbles. "What do you want to do, Brooklynn?" He asked softly, staring down at her intently. "Forget about me, forget about what you think I want and think about what YOU want."

"I don't know what I want, Mark. I would love to have a baby with you, but I can't help worrying about my gift being passed onto the kid. Do you have any idea how fucked up I was when I was a kid? But then again, I had nobody there to help me through it. I was completely alone, talking to spirits, and I was ridiculed for it most of my life until my parents died." She could feel the tears building and blinked, allowing them to escape. Reaching over to cup his face in her wet hand, Brooklynn could tell he really wanted this. "I'm afraid I'm going to fuck this kid's mind up. I'm not the motherly type...I don't think anyway. But I also can't destroy what we've created together either and life isn't worth living without taking risks. So we're having a baby, I want this baby and I know you do too."

"Look, what happened with you... will be different, darlin'. This baby, it will have us, and an extended family of uncles and aunts and a cousin. Who are ALL special, who can help out explaining this gift, IF she or he has it." He assured gently. "You're not alone anymore, Brooklynn. And as for the motherly type... well, you weren't the settlin' down type either, darlin', and look where you're at now."

"You're right," Brooklynn whispered softly and cracked a smile, sitting up a little more, turning to face him. "You always know what to say to make me feel better." She leaned over, kissing his lips softly, and rested her forehead against his. "You're going to be a father, you realize that right?" When he groaned, Brooklynn giggled as she drained the tub and stepped out, allowing Mark to wrap the towel around her body. He lifted her up and carried her out of the bathroom, setting her gently on the bed. "The reason why I settled down is due to what lies beneath with me and you. It's deep and only comes once in a lifetime; it's something unique and special, just like this baby will be." She kissed him again, sighing in contentment. "I love you, Mark."

"I love you too, Brooklynn." He murmured, settling himself so he was hovering over her, running a hand down her side and then over her stomach, knowing it would be quite some time before she grew round.

What Brooklynn said reigned true because everything that lied beneath her and Mark, they conquered. Through her asking him to bring Taker out of the darkness to try defeating Nemesis, to all the attacks, to Mark finding his way back to her…it was all worth it in the end because they ended up together. No matter what happened in the future, even if this baby did have Brooklynn's gift of seeing spirits, one thing was certain and that was what lies beneath would never die.

The End.