“Are you worried something’s wrong with the baby?”
He nodded. Looking down at the ground.
“Because you’re from the past?”
His nod was barely perceptible, but he looked me in the eyes. “What if there is a price I have tae pay?”
“Magnus, there is no price. There is just me and you. We love each other, we made a baby, and we're going to do everything we can do to make it a happy healthy baby. We’re no different from any other couple. They won’t know you’re from the past. We won’t tell them. We’re going to go upstairs. You’re going to nod and smile and look handsome. And listen. I will ask questions. They will poke and prod me and we will both accept that as expected and then we’ll go home and have a dinner to celebrate. And tell our staff we thought it was easy. Easy. Okay?”
Magnus nodded. “Okay, mo reul-iuil. I’m following you.”
We went up the stairs to the office.
And emerged an hour and ten minutes later.
We turned the car on, air conditioning full-blast, and sat there. Breathing. Occasionally looking at the photo Magnus held in his hand. It was from the sonogram. A photo of the clump of cells that made up our baby. Our baby.
Magnus stared at it long.
“Tis a miracle.”
I wasn’t sure if he was thinking about the technology that made it possible for us to have a video of a beating heart, a still photo of our baby, or that he got me pregnant past my pill, or that me and him, Kaitlyn from now, Magnus from the long ago past had somehow combined our genetic history and would be passing it down through our descendants. He was thinking about all of that maybe. And me too. It was a miracle through and through.
“You ready to go home?”
“Och aye.” He said, so I drove us home.
Chapter 45
The next morning with a lot of fanfare and fuss we said goodbye to our staff and house and loaded ourselves up into an RV. It was called a Thor Chateau, and the name was half the reason I rented it. The other half was that it had seven foot high ceilings.
I pulled from the driveway, our staff waving goodbye from the garage, and said, “Well, let’s see if I can drive this.”
Magnus chuckled and closed his eyes.
My plan was to take us to Orlando. We had a camping spot at Disney World reserved and we were going to spend tomorrow at the park. I knew it was going to be insanely crowded, very hot, and mostly impractical, but it had been on my list of things to show him. So I was making it happen. I wouldn’t put it off. Couldn’t.
After Disney World we were headed south to a camping spot outside of Miami. I thought we would go out to dinner, somewhere fun and possibly glamorous, and so we had our nice clothes hanging in the RV’s closet. And then we would drive all the way down to Key West. I had never done that part of the trip and we only got a camping spot because of sheer luck and a lot of cash. But that was fine. Zach offered to fly down, whenever and wherever we needed, to make us dinner. Which was really sweet but totally unnecessary.
Quentin offered to drive but we left him at the house as a guard. We talked it over the night after we visited the OB and decided to take the time-travel vessel to the bank and put it in a deposit box. It was tracking us, we had no doubt. Lady Mairead wasn’t going to follow us, but we decided to be safe.
At first, as we drove, I excitedly pointed at things out the widow. “Have you ever seen one of those trucks?” Or “Okay this is a treat, check out this bridge.” Magnus would force his eyes open and try to seem interested, then would clamp his eyes shut again.
Finally I listened to the radio, loud, singing along to Ed Sheeran. I glanced over at him. “You cool?”
“We are goin’ verra fast.”
“True, compared to the average speed on the Island which is 20 miles per hour, yes...” I looked at the speedometer. “Of course my speed right now is only fifty-five.”
I stole some glances at him for a moment. “Try this, open your eyes and I’ll explain a little about what I’m doing, that might help.”
“I know what ye are doin’, you are hurlin’ this big car down the road at a verra fast speed.”
I giggled. “Open your eyes buster, I’m going to show you.” I started with the steering wheel, then the gas pedal, and the brake. I explained about putting it into drive. And how my foot was pushing down to give us forward momentum and my foot was at the ready to stop us. I actually couldn’t believe I hadn’t shown him any of this before. I slowed us down and sped back up. And the whole time he was watching me and not the road. Finally I said, “See, all that time and you forgot to have your eyes shut.
“I did, I may get used tae it after—” Just then we drove up and over a bridge and his eyes clamped shut again. I giggled, turned the music up, and continued to sing.
* * *
Parking the RV was not easy. But I accomplished it.
Cooking dinner in our tiny kitchen was ridiculous, but we laughed through it.
Sleeping in the tiny queen bed cramped tight against two walls was laughably not the worst bed we had ever slept in. Magnus said, “This car has a better bed than my whole century.” And it was funny because it was true.
Chapter 46
The following morning we sunscreened our noses, packed our water bottles, stuffed some protein bars in our pockets — reminding me of going back in time — and met the boat to ride into the amusement park. All of this was new. Going somewhere like this. Crowds of people. Awesome, ridiculous Big Civilization Stuff, together.
Magnus stood firm and straight, protective, close. I watched the side of his face, his expression calm and uninterested, though his eyes flitted, checking the boat deck, watching the people, assessing the crowd, always hyper-aware of his surroundings, watching, thinking, learning. The crowds were awful. Pressing, jostling, pushing. Magnus found the whole thing unbelievable. And a lot too much to take in.
Once I hit the park and had the map in front of me, I couldn’t think of a single thing he might enjoy. I went for the It’s a Small World ride first. The line took an hour. I talked him through getting in the tiny boart and with a rush we were gestured in. I held his hand and we were off — Magnus’s first amusement park ride.
It was dark and the small animatronic figures sang the song relentlessly. It was all glowing and overly happy and Magnus’s face was very amused. He actually looked a little thrilled when the cart swung around to see the singing characters on the opposite side. When we stepped out I asked, “What did you think?”
“Twas extraordinary.”
“For that you get Space Mountain next.”
The line took two hours and fifteen minutes. There were many moments where I second guessed the wisdom of this whole exercise. But then with a rush we were pushed through to the seats. “Magnus, hold on to this bar, okay? Just go with it, it’s going to be f—” and we were off. I clutched his hand. My style on roller coasters was a full blown giggle with squeals the entire time. It must have been infectious because Magnus said something like “whoa!” and then he was laughing, big belly laughs. The opposite of my high-pitched giggles but equally close to hysterical. His boomed from his chest and the sound followed us the whole way
We climbed from the cart at the end, Magnus’s cheeks were flushed, his smile wide. “Did you keep your eyes open the whole time?”
“Nae, but twas a verra fine ride.”
“We should have had lunch already but instead I want to introduce you to a Pineapple Whip and then...” A wave of nausea rose from my knees, through my core, and threatened to drop me to the ground. I clutched my stomach. “Ugh.” I fanned myself.
“Are you alright, Kaitlyn?”
“No, I’m fine, I... Let’s get something to eat and drink.”
I led him through the pressing, jostling crowd to the closest food stand and bought two big Pineapple Whips for way too much money. Magnus ate his ravenously, standing beside a bench we were hoping someone would vacate so I could sit down because there was some v
ery serious nausea happening now. I was hot. Sweaty. And about to throw up. I needed to lie down. Probably now.
I ate two mouthfuls of the dessert then said, “I think I need to go back to the RV.”
“What do ye think tis?”
“I don’t know, maybe morning sickness, a part of pregnancy?”
I closed my eyes with a groan as a wave hit me again.
Magnus said, “Show me the map.” I passed it to him and gave a faint point toward the area we were standing in. “We have tae get tae the dock?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, follow me.” Magnus led me through the crowds across Disney World to the dock for our ferry to the campground. I was no help at all, I stared at the ground, the back of his legs, and trailed behind trying to keep my insides from coming up all over my outsides.
On the ferry I held on around his chest with my eyes closed. Sort of sleeping. In the RV we cranked the AC and I collapsed on the bed. “I’m sorry we left Disney World early.”
“Twas enough.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Emma. “I’m in bed in the RV and I feel like barfing—“
She said, “Of course you have morning sickness.” Like it was the most obvious thing in the world and not an, I don’t know, consequence of dying because of the internal organ damage that being slung over the back of a horse caused a few weeks ago. That’s where my mind went at first — total damage.
I slept and faded in and out of consciousness until later in the afternoon when I thought I might be able to stomach something. Then I rallied and ate a whole bag of Doritos. Half of the bag I dipped in nacho cheese sauce. While drinking a coke. I felt a lot better. We microwaved one of the dishes Zach sent for us, Fettuccini Alfredo, and then we built a fire as night came on and roasted marshmallows for dessert. It ended up being a really lovely night. And late, late we went for a walk and found an open dark space and we looked up at the stars, standing together under another night sky. My head on his shoulder, our hands clasped. “I love you Magnus.”
“I love you too, Kaitlyn.” He kissed the top of my head.
Chapter 47
The next morning we pulled out from our camping spot and headed south toward Miami and made it about three hours before I was so nauseous I had to pull us over into a truck stop. I cranked up the generator to run the AC, stumbled to the bed, and collapsed.
The bed shifted as Magnus sat on the edge of it. “I daena think ye can continue drivin’.”
“Ugh.” I said in answer.
I pulled my arm off my eyes to see him. “But we can’t stay here. I have to drive I...” my voice trailed off. It was true but I couldn’t imagine how it was going to happen. “We can wait until tonight and then I should be...”
Magnus smiled down at me. “You see your list on the wall?” He gestured toward the list I had been making since we got married. All the places I wanted to take my husband. It started with Disney World and NASA and the Keys, but then included the Natural History Museum, Washington DC, New Orleans, the route of Lewis and Clark, Mt Rushmore and Reno Nevada, the PCH and the Redwood trees. Yosemite National Park. “You got me tae the first one. You can check it off as ye do. We have our whole lives to see the list.”
“I guess we do.”
He smiled. “And from the looks of it we’re goin’ tae need our whole lives.”
I fake cried, “That’s why we can’t go slow. We have tae do it all now,” I pretended to pass out with my arms flung to the sides. “Who am I kidding? I can’t do anything but whimper in this bed.”
“In this wee bed,” Magnus corrected and held out his hand. “Give me your phone.” I fished my phone from my pocket and pushed the button for Quentin and passed it to him. Then I lay there doing exactly that, whimpering, while the rumbling voice of my husband handled whatever it was that needed handling. I couldn’t imagine, or suspect, or even think what we were going to do. I could only sit and ‘rest’.
Magnus disappeared a while later and reappeared with a bag of drinks and chips from the truck stop. I watched him for a moment as he stood in our tiny kitchen and opened Tupperware containers peeking inside and sniffing the contents. Then he ate something cold. I don’t think I ever showed him how to use the microwave. It had never been necessary before.
“Do you need help with...” Who was I kidding? There wasn’t any help I could give. I couldn’t even speak in complete sentences.
A while later he climbed into bed and spooned up behind me. He smelled of sweat and heat and that scent he carried deep, spice and musk and ancient old. He wrapped me in it and a long time ago, maybe the moment I met him when I was huddled behind Hayley drunk out of my mind but sane enough to pay attention, I breathed him in, and I kept breathing — him, his thick arms around me, his broad chest pressed to my back, enveloped around. His voice rumbled in my ear. “Quentin is on his way.” I nodded. It was going to be okay. He was taking care of me here, too.
Hours later there was a knock on our door. Magnus rose from the bed and I felt the shifting RV as he lumbered to the cab. A moment later Zach was standing there smiling. “How’s it going there Katie?”
“Not good I’m...” Again with the not finishing sentences.
He joked, “You look great, like this whole vacation is totally agreeing with you.”
Quentin appeared behind him. “So you’ve left the boss stranded at a truck stop, this is not following your itinerary.”
“Keep joking and I’ll throw up on your shoes.”
They all laughed. Zach put a bag down in front of me. “Emma wanted me to make you Rice Krispy Treats, but I didn’t have time so she made me buy these at the store. It’s all that got her through morning sickness. She says to eat as many as you want. I bought you twenty.” Then he and Magnus and Quentin discussed who would drive what, and they came to Zach would drive the Mustang home. Quentin would drive the RV. I would lay here on the bed and eat Rice Krispies Treats. Magnus would ride in the RV with me. And a few moments later we were headed up the highway home.
Magnus lay on the bed letting me curl up along his side opening Rice Krispies Treat packages and piling the empty packages on his chest because I could only take tiny bites and had to rest between them. “It’s like that night at Balloch when you put the Hershey’s kiss on my belly.” I was beginning to feel a bit better, the treats were practically magic.
“Aye but twas too ordinary. This is an extraordinary moment.”
I pulled my head up and looked down at him. “What? You think that was ordinary? A chocolate Kiss in an eighteenth century castle? And what is extraordinary about this? I’ve just ruined our vacation with my stupid body, which has a way of doing this, being a real jerk when I need to be capable.”
“Kaitlyn we are in a truck moving verra fast down the road and we are in bed.”
I chuckled. “Okay, that is a little extraordinary.”
“You have taken me on a roller coaster and I was born in the seventeenth century.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely extraordinary.”
“Kaitlyn Campbell is carrying my bairn and is about tae be the motherfucking matriarch of my branch of the family tree.”
I giggled. “Now that’s almost unbelievable.” I took a big bite of a Rice Krispies Treat and ate with relish. “I’m starting to feel better.”
The RV rolled and rocked as we traveled down the highway. “Good.”
“So you’ve become a regular modern man, with the rollercoaster, making your own lunch, and that phone call earlier.”
“Is that all it takes then? Much easier than I thought twas.”
“So what now?”
“Now I train. Now we live. Now we wait for a bairn tae be born. I have been thinkin’ on it while ye have been in bed. I will go first thing tae speak tae lady Mairead. Tis time. We want tae have some peace until she calls on me.”
“You’ll still have to be her warrior.” I stated it as a fact not a question.
“Aye. That winna change, but
the end result — I have a bairn. I will come home.”
“Do you think you’ll be here when the baby is born?”
“Aye. Nothing will keep me from ye, Kaitlyn.” And we traveled home in our rocking shifting carriage, driven by our head of security. Headed into an uncertain future but in each other’s arms in a certain present. Together.
Chapter 48
We were through Jacksonville when Quentin got a phone call. He held it to his ear while driving and seemed so intent on the conversation that I sat up to listen. Quentin said, “...she is?” Then he said, “Wait, let me talk to Boss.”
He dropped the phone to his lap letting it slide off his leg to the ground. “Boss, that was Matthew, Lady Mairead is there.”
Magnus stood and walked to the cab of the RV with his hands on the wall to steady himself. “What is she doin’ there?”
“Matthew said she arrived up the boardwalk a few minutes ago. He told her she wasn’t allowed on the property but she said she would wait for you. She’s sitting on the back deck.”
“Kaitlyn, call—“
“I’m already calling her.” I pushed the button for Emma.
“Leave the house,” I said as soon as she answered. “Grab Ben, leave, get to your car and go to — I don’t know, like a coffee shop or something? We’ll be home in...” I looked at the dashboard clock. “Forty minutes.”
Her voice emitted, “What is it Kaitlyn? Okay, I’m headed to the front door, wait, I see — Lady Mairead is here?”
“She is, she’s on the back deck. Please, please get out. We’re almost back. Don’t hang up, talk to me as you go so I don’t freak out.”
“I’m out the door, down the steps. Okay, three steps to the car. I’m there. I’m at the car. Wait — Ben is struggling. Shhhhhh. Shhh baby, get in the car seat.” I could hear Ben screaming through the phone.
Warrior of My Own Page 17
