Surprising (Deirdre, Giles, Dylan, Finian)

[deirdre-ionuin.livejournal.com]

Deirdre was lying on her little brother's bed and he was watching her with some concern while he discussed the greater points of his history essay and she shifted around, trying to find a comfortable position. She finally decided that there wasn't one, and gave up.

"I do believe that it is the very height of arrogance to declare one's country the greatest in the world," Dylan exclaimed. "For once you state that, you will only eventually be proven wrong. This was true with Rome and England. And it shall be true for the colonials as well."

Deirdre finished her Popsicle and she pointed at him with the stick. "So true, little brother. So true."

"Your lips are chartreuse," Dylan informed her with a smirk.

"It was lime!" Deirdre protested. "And so fucking good. I want ten more."

Dylan's eyes grew wide and horrified. "You're not going to eat me are you?!"

"You do look tasty, but you're not as small as you used to be," Deirdre winked at him. "You'd taste better than Sean or Erin though. Yuck!"

"Yes. Pot and anorexia don't sound like dishes to appease one's appetite. Well...both of them may exacerbate one's appetite, but the results may be singularly horrifying."

"I so agree," Deirdre said sagely. "I hope these children are born today. Being pregnant sucks balls, Kid."

Dylan moved over to pat her arm while he offered her a sympathetic look. "I do find it fortuitous that I shall never find myself in your place. I am not, however, unsympathetic to your plight. I shall go fetch for you your hideous Popsicles! A baker's dozen!"

"My hero!" Deirdre called after Dylan as he rushed from his room to fetch her frozen treats. And in a lot of ways, he was. Dylan was amazingly good at cheering Deirdre up and she needed that right now. Though the next events were good for her overall demeanor as well.

Finian stuck his head around the corner of Dylan's open door, and he smiled at Deirdre. "Hi there, Gorgeous. This joker here came to the door. Says he's the babies' father?" Finian stepped fully in to view and then Giles followed him, looking slightly terrified. "Should I kill him?"

"No!" Deirdre laughed. "He's a good absent baby daddy. Hi, Giles!"

Giles stared at Finian while he addressed Deirdre. "Is your dad going to kill me?"

"Well I don't know...he is Irish and we're a feisty bunch..."

Finian jerked forward and Giles squealed and jumped out of the way. Finian turned back and winked at his step-daughter. "That was fun. I'm right downstairs if you need me."

"Okay!" Deirdre called after him cheerfully as he left them alone. Giles turned to look at her, his eyes wide and frightened.

"Wh...why?"

Deirdre chuckled, though she did feel a little bad. "He's just protective. And he's not my dad, he's my step-father. Though I suppose...he's more awesome than my real father ever was. He only beat me up..."

Giles was looking like he had regretted coming here, and Deirdre threw him a bone. "It's nice to see you, Giles. To what do I owe the honour?"

Giles smiled, and he moved a little closer, though he still didn't look all too thrilled. "I'm uhm...I heard the babies hadn't come yet, and I wanted to see how you are. I mean you look-"

"If you say fat, I will end you," Deirdre warned him.

"...pretty?"

"That I'll take!" Deirdre beamed at him. She felt disgusting and fat and uncomfortable, but she could tell he was trying. He was a sweet guy, and she hadn't tried to get pregnant to him for his suitability as a father. The exact opposite, actually. She didn't mind in the least that he had no intention on being in her children's lives. "It's nice to see you."

"You too," Giles smiled widely then, and he dropped down to his knees so she wasn't staring up at him. "I heard about Kait. And about Renee. Fuck, I'm so sorry, Deirdre."

Deirdre's stomach felt like it filled with lead and, unconsciously, both her hands clasped over her heart. "Heh. A year ago? I had two amazing women who loved me, and I pushed them away because I thought I needed to to find myself. It was stupid... Only one came back, and I lost her. I was lucky enough to still have the other as a friend and now I feel she's gone forever too. Renee's...she's comatose, but I can't talk to her. I can't see her. I had two girls and now I'm going to have two babies and...it's kind of scary, you know? Doing this on my own?" Deirdre looked away from him, but a second later she felt Giles' hand on her cheek.

"Deirdre, that's why I came. Look...I feel like a shitbag for telling you I didn't want anything to do with these babies."

Deirdre looked back at Giles then, in complete shock. The lead in her stomach twisted and then exploded into thousands of little leaden butterflies and she looked like she might vomit. Luckily, she did not. "Wh...what?"

"I...I wasn't lying when I said I don't want to be a dad. I still don't. But when I said that, you were with Kait. Shit, Deirdre, I'm not going to let you go through this alone. I know you want these children to be yours and that's fine. I'm not so good with decisions that impact other people's lives, and considering I put myself in mortal danger as a job, I'm not so sure I'm equipped to care for anything fragile like a baby. Not by myself. But if you need help, I'll help you. I can be there. You know...if you need it."

Deirdre stared at Giles for a long time, trying to figure out how she felt about that. To be honest, she knew she wouldn't really be alone because she had her mother and Finian, and she had Peter, and she had all of her friends at Vic Lane. But almost all her friends at Vic Lane had kids, and so did Peter and Spectre and her mother and Finian. And Flynn had his shelter and Quinn had that and his studies. Giles had a girlfriend, but he was strangely cagey whenever Deirdre mentioned her. Maybe if he was offering, she shouldn't say no. He was right, and Deirdre didn't want to share her babies. Not with him. But maybe that wasn't what this was.

"It'll be...4 am feedings and diapers and bottles."

"And I'm not going to stay at your house until 4 am...what I mean is I can be there during the day if you've been up all night. So you can get some sleep. I can make the runs to the shops. And I'm pretty sure if I can get out of a straight jacket, I can learn to handle a diaper."

Deirdre chuckled and then she reached out to grab his hand. "There...do you feel it? They're moving."

"Jesus Christ..." Giles looked slightly terrified and Deirdre watched him carefully.

"You're freaking out because you did that, aren't you?"

"Little bit," Giles admitted, slightly pale-faced.

"I know the feeling." Deirdre reached forward and she ran her fingers through his hair as he rested his hand on her belly and felt their children move under it. "And Giles...if you want to be there? I am so not going to stop you."

Giles looked up at her and he smiled. Deirdre warmed a little when she realised how beautiful he was when he smiled. "Good. Then I'll be there."

Dylan entered the room slowly, and he gave Giles a wide berth. "Sister, I brought you your vaguely citrus-flavoured frozen confectionery..." Dylan waved at Giles, knowing very well who he was. "Hello, sperm donor."

"I'd retort, but I don't feel like being mentally squashed by a thirteen-year-old today," Giles said to Dylan, though his tone was entirely fond. Giles liked Dylan.

"I trust you are enjoying the feeling of my niece and nephew moving around?" Dylan asked as Deirdre ripped into a lime Popsicle. "Enjoying it enough to take part in their lives after they are present in the world?"

Giles nodded. "That's why I'm here, Dylan."

"Good," Dylan said with a nod, though he was clear his approval was on wary ground. "Or I shall dispatch you expediently and feed you to the dogs!"

"Fair enough." Giles stood and he leaned down to kiss Deirdre's head. "I'll leave you with your family, Deirdre, but I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Right on!" Deirdre said, her mouth full of frozen goodness. She waved at him and then she turned to Dylan. "I love you!"

"I love you too, Deirdre. Don't talk with your mouth full, you cretin."

Deirdre giggled and she poked Dylan in the arm. Dylan squeaked and poked her back before charging across the room out of her reach. "Hah!"

"After I give birth, I will so get you, you little cheeky thing."

Dylan laughed and Deirdre felt safe and happy there with him. "Bring it on, Amazon Deirdre. I'll be waiting!"