Chapter Thirty-eight

 

Doc felt a little bemused as he watched Rosa, Lia, and Jesamin get dressed. Jesamin had been in bed with them when Doc woke up. Before he could say anything, Lia kissed him passionately, and things went exactly the way she wanted at that point. Jesamin didn’t get any of Doc’s semen, so he wasn’t worried about her having a second child with him. The only reason he was okay with it was because Lia had been there with him.

 

“He is very attentive,” Jesamin smiled over her shoulder at Doc. “You have a wonderful husband, Lia.”

 

“He is in so many ways,” Lia agreed. “Doc, you’ve had enough of a show. We’re going to have company soon.”

 

“Right,” Doc said, getting out of bed. “Lotus and Jasmine should be over.”

 

“We’ll be downstairs,” Lia said, taking Jesamin by the hand. “Rosa, come along. Otherwise, you’ll distract him again.”

 

“Yes, mistress,” Rosa pouted as she went.

 

Chuckling as he watched them go, Doc grabbed his clothing. He would see his friends, and possibly more of his kids this morning. The elders would want to see him by this afternoon, he was sure. He’d need Nicole to stop by just to check in with her, too. In addition, Sophia was having her mother over at some point. Today was going to be busy, and it needed to be; tomorrow morning, they’d be heading back out again.

 

I’d love to stay for a week and just spend time with all of them, but the church has to already be heading back to Furden… I’m sure that someone spotted us on the way out, at least. The train is too new to avoid being noticed, Doc thought. Maybe the rail line between Grandeur and Heartwood’s Tears is done, or near done? We should be able to take the train most of the way… might need to get a mule to bring just in case we need to hoof it.

 

Lost in his thoughts as he left the bedroom, he failed to notice the voices coming from downstairs until he was almost to the kitchen. A sad smile came to him when he stepped out of the hall to see who was there.

 

Lotus and Jasmine sat at the table with babies in their arms. Both of them were smiling brightly as they chatted with his wives. Ayla and Sophia were sitting beside them while Jesamin and Lia were in the kitchen. Rosa wasn’t in view, so Doc figured that she was outside. The shock was the man at the table between Lotus and Jasmine.

 

“Geno?” Doc asked.

 

The man stood up, turning around to face him. “Doc! I, uh… wasn’t sure if I should come, but… well, with my wives being here…”

 

The words hit Doc in the gut— he hadn’t expected what he’d heard. “Uh, yeah. If I’d known, I would’ve made sure you were expressly invited. Congratulations on the nuptials.”

 

Stepping away from the table, Geno shook hands with Doc. “I’ll treasure them both, Doc. They’re precious. I… when they asked me to court…” He stumbled over his words, flushing slightly.

 

Doc clapped him on the shoulder. “I thought you were a good man before I left. If they asked you, it means they thought so too. It’s fine… about the children… you’re okay with it?”

 

“Their children they had with nameless strangers?” Geno asked, but met Doc’s eyes. “I’ll raise them like my own. I’ll call them my own daughters if I’m ever asked. Only those close to us know they were pregnant before I married them.”

 

Lotus and Jasmine had gotten up, coming over with their daughters in their arms. Their bright smiles helped ease Doc’s turmoil.

 

“Doc, this is Chrysanthemum,” Lotus said. “I’ll be calling her Chrys, mostly.”

 

“And this is Aster,” Jasmine smiled brightly.

 

Doc kissed each one on the head, wearing a trembling smile as he looked down at the little girls in their arms. They cooed at him, reaching up to grab at his face. Tears fell from his eyes as he let them poke, pinch, and grab at him. “I’m sorry, little ones…” Doc whispered. “Your mothers and father will take good care of you. You’ll likely never know just how special you are to me…”

 

Lotus and Jasmine let out small sniffles as they moved a little closer.

 

“I’ll take them,” Geno said gently. “You stay and catch up. I’ll make sure they’re both okay until you two make it home.”

 

Doc nodded, stepping away so they could hand their daughters off. Pulling out his handkerchief, he wiped his face before folding it and putting it away. When he’d composed himself, he turned to be hugged by his two former lovers.

 

Arms tightened on him as the pair held him, crying into his shoulders. They both felt terrible for having moved on, but they also knew it was for the best. The fact that he came back to see his daughters was both joy and sorrow in a tight ball. Doc held them, starting to cry again himself.

 

“You all love each other, but Doc is very happy that you have Geno,” Rosa said, having come in when Geno left. “The fact that you have a good husband and that he is accepting of what came before is good news.”

 

Doc squeezed them a little tighter. “She’s right.”

 

It took a few moments for them to calm down enough to separate. Jasmine and Lotus went together to the bathroom to clean their faces; Doc would’ve changed his jacket, but perfectly presented had it looking pristine right after they’d left. Doc gave his wives hugs and kisses, accepting their love and soft words of happiness for their friends. He was seated by the time Lotus and Jasmine returned.

 

“When did you marry Geno?” Doc asked as they sat.

 

“A couple of months ago,” Lotus said.

 

“It was just us, the judge, and a couple of witnesses,” Jasmine said.

 

“We didn’t need a big wedding, and with the babies, it was easier this way. Thankfully, we have a wet nurse and a nanny to help us. That’s made it possible to keep the Springs running the way it should.”

 

“Speaking of, the gems have been very happy. It cut our rooms by a third, but we’ve had the wealthiest gamblers in many times. One of the gems asked about leaving behind her old profession; Ruby’s a bright one, and we’ve started to teach her how to manage a hotel. She wants to apply for a position at Heartwood’s Tears.”

 

“She’s a good woman,” Doc smiled. “Thanks for letting her, and I’ll tell Kitanashan when we head back that way.”

 

“We heard about Fiala,” Lotus smiled brightly. “I’m so glad she has a daughter, too.”

 

“And Sonya is pregnant, too,” Jasmine giggled. “I recall her coming in to find you when you were setting up your mine.”

 

“She was so eager,” Lotus joined her wife in giggling. “I’m glad she got her wish.”

 

“Both of them are happy, but sad that they stayed behind,” Ayla said. “We’re the same. We wish they were here, but we’re glad they’re having children.”

 

“Breakfast is almost done,” Lia said.

 

“Doc, Otto came by. The elders will see you after breakfast,” Rosa said.

 

“We only have a short time to talk with you,” Doc told Lotus and Jasmine, “but I’m glad we got to see each other again.”

 

“We understand,” Jasmine nodded.

 

“It’s okay. We’ll look forward to the next time you come back. By then, we should have children with Geno.”

 

Doc smiled softly. “I can ensure that, if you want?”

 

Both women held their hands out to him. Doc quickly increased their fertility, happy that they truly were moving on with their lives.

 

“He’ll be so happy,” Jasmine said. “Do you mind if we tell him?”

 

“That’s fine. He won’t think we…?” Doc trailed off.

 

“No. We promised him when we married that, even if you came back, we’d be loyal to him. His taking the girls home is him showing his trust in us. We’ll explain that you made us more fertile… we just hope the children get to take after him. Both of your daughters are just like us, except they both have green eyes.”

 

“That’s a trend…” Doc murmured, thinking about Courage.

 

“It is,” Lotus added. “Gretchen’s son is dwarvish and has her hair, but he has green eyes, too.”

 

“Huh… Luck must’ve helped me there,” Doc said.

 

“To make it harder for anyone to single them out,” Jesamin said as she brought a fresh kettle of coffee to the table.

 

“A good point, and she likely did.”

 

“Food’s ready,” Lia said. “We can chat while we eat. Doc needs to be going soon.”

 

~*~*~

 

Doc walked with Rosa beside him. Lia stayed at the manor because none of them had felt like he needed extra protection in Deep Gulch. Doc was thinking about how Harrid would be striding just ahead of him if he was here. It’d only been a couple of days, but Doc found that he already missed his friend.

 

“He’ll be setting up the templars for you. Harrid was very proud of you for trusting him to do that, Doc. It’s close to how happy he was that he could be there for Ginger and his soon-to-be child.”

 

“I’m happy for him. It was just a moment of melancholy.”

 

“It took him a while, but McKenzie finally made it to Hibernia. Yew has joined him, and he is starting to spread the word of Luck to the tribes there. Part of the boosts you had was from his brothers and the enclaves here in Emerita praising Luck.”

 

“I’m glad he made it home,” Doc said. “He’ll have a hard time if the church pushes to find him.”

 

“No. The church in Avalon will lose their foothold on the island when they make an overt move on you. He wanted you to know that he will make sure the tribes are calm until it is time… then, they will show them that hunting you is a mistake.”

 

Doc smiled at that. “I’m glad he isn’t acting right away. I’m not sure I’ll ever ask him to do that.”

 

Rosa stayed quiet; Doc was sometimes a little too nice for what would come. Mother knew that the Darkness would not stay passive with the world regaining some of its light. It would force its minions— the church— to find and remove him.

 

~*~*~

 

When Doc got far enough away from his old home, he used holy ground once more to spread the coverage in the town. Part of today was going to be using that gift as much as he could, with Rosa’s help, to ensure that every building currently built was covered. When it came time to leave, he was going to pause the train at the cliffs to do the same for the graves there.

 

The dwarves near the clan hall stopped when they saw him. They gave him big smiles and happy greetings. Doc returned them as he kept moving into the hall and toward the elders’ chamber. The door guard knocked, then opened the door, announcing him before he got there.

 

Koch and Becker were at their desks while the third was empty. Seated before them were Greta and Otto with two more seats empty near them. Doc took one of the seats while Rosa knelt at his side.

 

“Elders, you requested me,” Doc said.

 

“We did, Shaman,” Becker said. “Elder Redblade came to us last night with a story. We believe her, but would like to hear it from you.”

 

Doc nodded. “This’ll take a while. Do you want everything since I left last year?”

 

“Everything from you leaving Furden will suffice,” Koch said. “We were updated on everything before that.”

 

“Very well,” Doc said, then cleared his throat. “I headed to see the Molteneyes clan in Unaweep Canyon first…”