Check Up Over

"Thousands of years old and I bet this is the longest hour of your life."

He remarked with a chuckle, it was slightly amusing seeing the vampire elder so impatient, she really was like a child on Christmas eve.

He however occupied his time by picking through the jars of missed match ingredients that he had long forgotten about

"One of them, yeah," she agreed, rolling onto her side and curling up.

"It's warring with the last time I thought I was pregnant and the hour I had to wait before the store opened for me to get a pregnancy test at the moment."

Now that was a long hour if she'd ever had to sit through one.

"Let's hope this hour of waiting has a better outcome than that, eh?"

Artemis nodded and lay on the opposite bed, wrapping himself in his black coat.

"I am sure it will, I have done this many times.
Not with this severity of an illness but I am positive the outcome will be a good one.
I would no have offered to do it if I thought we were doomed to fail."

"Heh, you didn't ask about the pregnancy."

Most people she knew would have jumped straight on that and asked as much as they could.

"Even if it doesn't have a good outcome, thank you for at least trying. I've been suffering through this without anyone knowing up until a few months ago."

"It is your story to tell miss, if you wanted me to know, you would of explained it."

He knew all too well that pregnancy and women were a touchy subject so he chose not to ask her about it directly.

"Your welcome, anything to help someone who is suffering."

She laughed and rolled over onto her stomach, propping her chin up on steepled fingers.

"I thought I was pregnant about...oooh, five years ago now? Could be six... But anyway, Nicio and I were so anxious... And there were no bloody stores in Catania that sold pregnancy test open. We drove around town for an hour checking to see if the stores were open."

She stretched out. "We finally found one and rushed home to see if really was pregnant."

Her shoulders shrugged and she let out a sigh. "I wasn't."

That had hit her hard. That was the time she had given up on trying to have children. Four and a half thousand years of trying and only one child that had lived past infancy. And he was long dead now.

Artemis nodded and walked to her bed, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Supernatural beings were so rarely blessed with the gift of reproduction, yes they could turn humans to expand their species but they did not have the ability to bare their own young.

"I am sorry to hear that my sweet."

"I've been through so many miscarriages and still-births that it's not all that saddening any more."

That fact alone was pretty sad.

No woman should have to give up on ever having a child. Especially not one that craved for a baby like Gacinto did.

Her eyes flickered to the clock and she groaned loudly again. "Distract me until the hours up. Please."

"Then distract you I will miss.
Close your eyes."
He instructed as he sat beside her on the bed, laying his arm hand on her forehead, stroking her hair gently as he sang to her.

She sighed softly but her eyes slid closed obediently.

She focussed on his soft voice singing and the warm hand on her skin.

He smiled down at her, still singing softly.

It felt good tending to someone again, it had been his life caring for those who were unwell.
Granted it had always been human lives he had been saving, still, a patient was a patient.

She fidgeted again, pursing her lips.

When would her damn servant get here? She wanted to get rid of this damned sickness already and every minute she had to wait was a minute too long.

Her hands clasped together on her stomach and she bit her lip.

Artemis chuckled softly, this woman could not sit still.
"You have to be the most impatient person I have ever had to tend to."

She amused him greatly, thousands of years old and unable to eait a few minutes.

"I've spent thousands of years being patient."

She writhed in the bed then crossed her arms over her chest. "How long now?" she whined.

She wanted it done.

Artemis shrugged softly,
"It is your servant, not mine, but I can assure you that as soon as they get here we are good to begin."

He said with a nod, rising from his seat beside her to double check he had everything he needed.

"How long until the next hour?" Last she had checked it had been just after half past.

She hoped she'd wasted more than ten minutes.

She wanted this done. Now.

And that wasn't going to happen until the hour when her servant came to make sure everything was clean and orderly.

"Only 15 minutes left Ma'am."
He replied with a soft chuckle, it really was amusing seein her so impatient.

"Not much longer to wait so please try to relax, your impatience is making you tense."

She moaned loudly and rolled over, burying her face in the pillow.

"Fifteen minutes is forever!"

How was she going to distract herself for fifteen minutes when she knew that something huge was going to happen after those fifteen minutes?

"Oh hush, you sound like a child, the more you complain the longer it is going to feel."
He said, shaking his head at her.

He gathered himself a drink and sat back down watching her.

"The child in me never died."

She curled up on her side, pulling the pillow to her chest and staring up at Artemis with bright red eyes.

She wanted something to do to keep herself occupied.

He looked down at her and chuckled softly.
"That much is obvious.
Just take solice in knowing that your patience will be well rewarded."

He sighed softly, understanding how she must have been feeling.
"What can I do to make your wait easier?"

"Can't really call this patience." She was being far less than patient.

She shrugged and hugged the cushion against her.

"Do something to distract me and keep my mind off the time."

Artemis pursed his lips together, he had no idea what would distract her, he was not one for entertaining.

"Any suggestions?"

He asked, dragging his chair across the floor and sitting down in front of her.

The Succubus gave a shrug.

"If I knew what to do, would I be sat asking you to give me something to do?"

She had no idea what to do and that was getting on her nerves more than the waiting.

Artemis shook his head.
"Now now, don't get snarky miss."

Hmm....
He looked around the room for something to occupy her time but this was an infirmay not a playroom and lacked amusement.