Generation 1, Chapter 5

It had been 4 days since Marrick had seen his grandmother, each day harder to get passed the more and more he thought of Sadie. Marrick had jury duty early that morning and when he got home, he decided against changing his outfit and brought Archor outside, grabbing a random stick and coaxing Archor into playing fetch. They played for roughly twenty minutes, Archor not getting as tired of the game as Marrick had, following the retrieve-throw-wait-retrieve-throw-wait pattern he had accustomed himself to as he got lost in his thoughts. Marrick was beginning to lose hope in ever seeing Sadie again, figuring that she had taken his warning seriously and kept her distance; after all, I did warn her that she shouldn’t get involved with me, he thought to himself. Marrick popped out of his trance when Archor failed to bring the stick back, barking towards the street and Marrick soon saw a car pulling up in his driveway.

Marrick looked inside of the car but the windows were tinted and it hindered his vision, starring menacingly at the vehicle and wanting it to leave his property. “Archor,” he called towards him to get away from the car but he ignored Marrick, wagging his tail and barking happily towards it. The car door opened and Marrick’s face went relieved when he saw the long, gleaming blonde hair that he liked so much. Sadie was greeted by Archor first and she bent down slightly to pet him, talking to him and Marrick watched as Archor whimpered in excitement, licking her hands. Marrick’s eyes widened when he then noticed that his assumptions were correct as he looked to her growing tummy. Sadie looked towards Marrick and her smile faded to a smirk, standing to her feet and looking back to Archor.

Marrick stepped up closer towards her and stopped a few feet from her, watching as Sadie looked to the ground as she walked closer as well and put her hand over her stomach, “I came to get my pocket watch back.. I-I realized I had left it here.. A while ago..” She spoke softly and he looked to her face, Sadie soon looking up to him as well and keeping her uneasy expression.

“Is that all you came here for?” Marrick asked, Sadie watching as he looked to her stomach and back up to her eyes.

Sadie was reluctant to speak, but she soon realized she had to come clean, “I’ve only been with you, so..” She finally gave in, looking towards the ground once more as Marrick walked closer and stood before her. Sadie looked up, watching then as he hesitantly brought his hand up and felt her tiny baby bump, causing his mouth to twitch into a smirk and he looked to her, Sadie soon smiling in return and relieved by his expression.

Marrick was.. Happy. He pulled her into his arms slowly as to not frighten her like he had done once before and Sadie let him hold her, relaxing within his arms, “Why didn’t you come to me sooner?” He asked, feeling her rest her head against his collar bone.

“I.. I don’t know, I thought you didn’t want to see me again.. But, I wanted you to know, so here I am.. I guess I just waited until I was ready, and whenever I felt you would be ready, too..” She replied, Marrick feeling her pull away from him and he withdrew to look to her face, “Are you ready?” She asked, pausing a few moments before continuing, “I’d, like to keep it,” she finished and Sadie witnessed for the first time Marrick giving her a genuine smile, causing her to do the same.

Marrick brought her back into his arms and nodded against the side of her head, “Yeah, I think I am,” he answered and he felt her wrap her arms around him now and hold him tightly against her. “Come inside,” Marrick requested and he pulled away from Sadie, placing one of his hands upon her back and escorting her inside as Archor followed excitedly.

They entered the home and Marrick wrapped an arm around the front of her and pulled her back against his chest, placing his hand over hers upon her stomach and she looked up to him curiously, “How do we.. How are we going to do this?” She asked, slightly worried about their future and Marrick gripped her wrist gently with his other unoccupied hand, bringing it up and putting her palm against his face.

“We just have to be strong. I’ll try my hardest to give it a better life than I had,” he replied with a serious tone and she smiled, Marrick looking to her, “Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to,” he concluded, holding her tighter against him as she placed her forehead against the side of his jaw.

Sadie soon felt slightly faint and she brought her hand up to her face, feeling how warm she was and Marrick felt as if her knees grew weak by how she sank gently within his grasp. He quickly scooped her up within his arms and looked to her with a serious expression, “You’re dehydrated, you need to drink more water, a lot more, especially when you’re not just caring for yourself now.. When did you last eat?” he asked sternly.

“I know.. I’m sorry, I’ve been rather busy recently, I must’ve been losing track of things.. The last thing I ate was dinner last night around six,” she replied and Marrick walked her over to his bedroom, opening the door and bringing her inside.

“You should get some rest, I’ll make you something to eat later when you’re better,” he answered her and he felt Sadie’s grip upon him tighten slightly.

Marrick laid her upon his bed and brushed the hair from her face, “There’s nothing wrong with the baby though, right? I’m just stupid and am forgetting to feed myself?” She asked with a worried tone and looked to Marrick, him giving her a slight smirk.

“You’re not stupid, and the baby’s fine,” he replied, placing his hand over hers in a comforting manner. Marrick was overjoyed that his grandmother was correct with her judgement, Sadie had came back, even though it was solely because she was pregnant, would she have came back if she wasn’t? Marrick thought to himself, questioning why he began to grow angry with her.

“Are you sure?” She asked, Marrick sighing but keeping his slight smirk.

“Yes, now get some rest,” he requested once more.

“W-Will you lay with me? Just for a little while,” Sadie wondered and he thought for a moment, soon nodding and walking around to the other side of the bed and joining her upon it.

Marrick laid with her for more than half an hour, adoring the fact that she had came back, convincing himself this entire time that she would never lay within his bed again, but he was proven wrong. He hoped that as their new forced life together went on, other things would prove him wrong as well, like his thoughts of him becoming insane and harming her or his unborn child. Marrick had known that she fell asleep only a few minutes after laying with her, but he couldn’t seem to drag himself away the longer he laid there and the more he caressed her stomach. Marrick lost track of time as he laid with her, soon dozing off himself and waking up to the sun beginning to go down when he looked to the window. Marrick slowly pulled away from Sadie as to not wake her and he successfully made his way off of the bed, walking to his door and looking back at her before he exited his room. Marrick looked to her stomach and hoped more than anything that it wasn’t a boy, he wished to anyone and anything that he could think of and hoped he would have a daughter, hoping to finally put an end to the genes passed down in males. Marrick made his way out of his room and Archor greeted him, Marrick putting his finger to his lips as a means to make sure Archor stayed quiet and he seemed to understand fully, not making a sound as he curiously looked into Marrick’s bedroom, wagging his tail as he shut the door.

Marrick made dinner for them and he soon heard Sadie waking up within his room, Archor hearing as well and walking up to the door to wait for her to open it, still wagging his tail. Sadie soon opened the door, looking to Marrick and smiling, “It smelled so good that it woke me up,” she said with a slight giggle, causing Marrick to smirk as he brought what he had prepared to the table.

“I’ll make fish when I’m more prepared, it’s probably what I’m best at,” he replied and sat at the table, watching as she joined him and he loved finally having someone to look at across from him.

“You want to cook me dinner one night, and good fish, something you’re best at none the less..? Does that mean it’s a date?” She teased and he kept his smirk as he began eating, remembering her slightly flirty behavior towards him but ignoring her question and hearing her answer, “Mmhmm..” She teased more, accepting his informal request and beginning to eat as well.

“What do you want it to be?” Sadie questioned, Marrick somewhat not wanting to answer her knowing that the infamous question as to ‘why’ soon followed after the first answer.

“What do you want it to be?” He repeated the question back to her, hearing her giggle and she smiled happily.

“I wouldn’t mind either way.. A girl would be wonderful, but a boy would be fun as well, I don’t know..” She replied excitedly and Marrick nodded to her response.

“I wouldn’t mind a girl.. My family is notorious for having boys.. A change would be nice,” he replied and she only smiled more, Marrick only smirking in return as he looked away from her, finishing his meal and soon Sadie as well.

Sadie took it upon herself without hesitation to get up and grab the dishes, clearing the table and walking to the sink to clean them. “You don’t have to do that, you should get more rest, anyways,” Marrick said with a serious tone, Sadie shaking her head and continuing to clean.

“It’s not a problem, I want to be useful at least if I’m going to be around more,” she replied and looked over her shoulder, smiling towards Marrick and looking back to the sink.

Marrick stood from the chair and walked over towards her, Sadie finishing up cleaning the plates and soon feeling Marrick’s hands wrap around to the front of her, holding her stomach gently. Sadie brought her hands over his and shut her eyes, happy to be in his arms once again, missing him over the past few months. “Are you staying tonight?” Marrick asked and she shook her head lightly.

“No.. I have to go to the stables in the morning and I have to tend to my horse before I go to bed, I gotta go back home soon,” she replied quietly, though wishing she didn’t have to leave.

Marrick turned her around and pulled her closer, surprising her slightly and he felt the need to kiss her after all this time of not seeing her, “Please be careful around those things, they’re unpredictable,” he said with a concerned tone and she smiled sweetly.

“I’ve known my Arnica since she was born, she would never hurt me, we have the same relationship as you and Archor do,” she replied, trying to ease him of his worry and Marrick pulled her into his lips. Sadie gave into him instantly and welcomed the kiss, missing it as much as Marrick had and she was happy with how things had turned out.

Sadie soon left and Marrick walked her to her car as Archor followed, wanting to say goodbye to her as well. Marrick gave her a long kiss goodbye, helping her into her car and Archor put his paws upon her lap, “Archor, watch it,” Marrick demanded, fearing that Archor would paw her stomach unknowingly. Sadie simply smiled at Marrick’s protective behavior and said her goodbyes to Archor as well, Marrick pulling him out of her car and shutting the door for her. Marrick watched her pull out of the driveway and leave, soon bringing Archor inside and Marrick went out the back, taking a seat at his picnic table and pondering his thoughts. He looked up towards the bridge and then towards the city, now getting warmed up to the fact that he wanted to visit her at her home that was within it. Marrick wanted to know more about her, he wanted to do everything within his will to keep her from harm and he wanted to know what frightened her most so he would be sure to never do it. He wanted to be strong, he wanted to hold on to the hope of never succumbing to his insanity; that, and he hoped even more that he would eventually be holding a baby girl within his arms..