3.10--Uther the Wise & Dasia

Cedric hit a stalemate with Harper.  Even though they talk, it's never about what he wants to discuss. Harper being in her pregnant state makes everything more difficult, as he doesn't want to upset her by bringing up unpleasant topics. But he also doesn't like allowing their feelings to fester.


He decides to take his frustration out on the appliances, if only for distraction. "Damn sink. WHY.WON'T.YOU.WORK?" 

Despite the circumstances, Uther can't help laughing at Cedric's angry mumbling throughout the house.


"Having trouble?" He asks.

Cedric doesn't turn when he mutters an impatient "no" and then resumes his abuse of the sink.  


"Just thought I would offer my aid." Uther sighs.  

Cedric drops the wrench in the sink loudly and then leans on the bar, staring out the window. "Why won't she marry me?" He blurts. "She should know by now that I'm not going anywhere." Cedric passes his hand over his brow, before looking over his shoulder at Uther. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"


Uther let's the question hang in the air, choosing his words carefully. "No..." He says gently, "under normal circumstances, your intentions would be seen as rational; but Harper is a complicated case."


"Tell me about it." Cedric smirks. "I just don't know what to do.  I want to continue being patient with her, but I love her and I want her to have the family she never had."

Uther quirks his brow. "Are you sure you love her?"


"Of course I do.  My constant flirting with her should be a tell-tale sign.  Oh, and the fact that we're having a baby and I asked her to marry me." He adds, sarcastically. 


"You've flirted with me too." Uther retorts.


"I just like to see you blush."


Uther shakes his head, as if admonishing a child. "The point I was trying to make was; if you love her, as you say you do, then you'll wait.  I know Harper will come to her senses eventually, but you need to be patient.  What you two have..." He stops, sighing; "... She loves you just as much as you love her. Harper just needs more time to put things into perspective."


Cedric looks down at his feet, absorbing Uther's advice. "You're one smart twelve-year old." He says with a lopsided grin.

Uther turns his attention back to his homework. "And you are insufferable." He smiles. "You two truly deserve each other."

Cedric laughs. "Thanks, I guess."


----------------------------

Cedric takes Uther's advice to heart and drops the marriage subject for now.  When he plops down on the couch with her, Harper is surprised to see Cedric back to his old self. "So I was thinking," he smiles; "if we have more kids, we're going to need a bigger place."


Harper frowns.  She's just trying to get through this pregnancy. "More kids? How many are we talking about here?"

"Hmmm... I was thinking of seven?  And we can train them to do the stuff around the house for us.  What are the child labor laws here anyway?" He muses.

"Very strict, I imagine." She smirks. "I was thinking four would be perfect.  A nice, even number and all of them would have someone to grow up with."


"That's a reasonable amount." He nods. "All right then, deal. Four kids for us and no more." Cedric smiles suggestively. "We should probably get started on the baby makin'."


Harper looks down at her stomach and back up at Cedric, quirking her brow. "Uh... I believe we're ahead of the game on that front, sweetheart."


Cedric shrugs. "Details. Besides, practice makes perfect."

Harper agrees. 


I have their autonomy on low, because I'm controlling, and I forgot to have Ced shower for over two days and somehow didn't notice. Hence, why they went straight to the shower. Whoops.

Harper finds herself alone the next morning when Cedric heads off to work.  She's due to explode at any moment, but shrugs it off.  Her pregnancy has transformed her into a busybody; mostly due to the fact that idleness makes her hyper aware that there will be another life joining the household soon... and then she panics.


So she wakes up a little after Cedric leaves and begins cleaning the house.

But not before promising that she won't let herself become the household maid. "You hear that, little one?" She smirks. "Mommy and Daddy are not going to be your personal cleaning service. Nope!" The baby kicks and she laughs. "I'm just going to assume you agree for now."

Harper is invited to a little gathering by one of her co-workers, Abigail Salinger.  Normally, she would have declined; but she hasn't been out of the house much and needs a reason to lug her pregnant belly around town.

Abigail is the only other woman working in the theater besides their boss and Harper finds the female company strangely comforting.  After an awkward start to the conversation, Abigail asks Harper to show her a few new strings and Harper obliges.


"Wow." Abigail smiles. "Leliana told me you are good, but you're better than I thought."


"Hardly.  I've just had more time on my hands recently to practice." She says, motioning to her belly.


"Yeah, and you're more pregnant than I thought as well.  How long until the nightmare birthing scene?"


Harper laughs, appreciating Abigail's humor. "Not long.  A matter of days, maybe?" 


Abigail shakes her head.  "I don't know how you do it.  My boyfriend has a few kids and I'm never sure what to do with them when they visit. Not to mention Foster's horror stories about seeing his ex give birth." Abigail shudders. "Yeah, not happening for this girl."


"I can cement that for you by sharing my own tales..."


"No!" Abigail interrupts. "No... thanks, but just no.  I have enough nightmare material to last a lifetime, trust me."


Harper shrugs. "Suit yourself.  I do have some pretty good ones if you're ever interested."


----------------------------

Harper ends up spending the rest of the day with Abigail, before returning home with stomach cramps.  It's only a matter of hours before she realizes that they're contractions.

Uther has lived a long life and seen many things, but even then doesn't know what to do when Harper goes into labor.  So he panics...

...while Cedric rushes Harper to the hospital. 

They return home with a baby girl.

Cedric offers to make them both a late dinner (i.e. cereal) while Harper puts their new addition to sleep.


"Goodnight, Dasia." Harper says softly. "And welcome home."


What is Harper looking at?! 

Harper takes advantage of the time she has alone while Cedric "cooks" to take a quick shower.  Abigail was right, giving birth was certainly an experience, to say the least. Harper shudders. "At least I'll know what to expect next time." 


She joins Cedric in the kitchen for a quick meal, before they both head off to bed.  Before she can leave however, Cedric stops her.


"So... should we get working on baby number two?" He smiles.


"I'm way too tired for that."


"Me too." He admits. "Tomorrow?"


Harper laughs. "Definitely." 


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UPDATES!

--Harper now has friends guys! She is BFF with Abigail, and is best friends with Bea (I'm actually not sure how that one happened) and Leliana.  And Ced is best friends with Foster and Alistair; so that makes things a bit innnerestin'.

--Dasia's traits are Excitable and Brave.  She'll be getting Virtuoso (to fulfill the Runs in Family requirement) once she ages up.

Also, after getting confirmation from calisims (thanks Melissa!) about some questionable rule derailing, I can say that I'm really excited to get my generation four plot in the works. : D