CHAPTER SIX

"She's a special girl, Brix. Beautiful, refined, educated," said his father.

"Yep. Too good for me," he laughed.

"No, son. She's perfect for you. She's the woman you were meant to have, meant to be with. I like her a lot, and I couldn't have chosen anyone better for you."

"Thanks, Dad."

"You know, the women always talk about finding the right person for their son or daughter, but we husbands don't talk a lot about it. I don't know why, really. I suppose it's just the usual male bullshit of not wanting to talk about shit that matters. We worry about it as well. We just don't talk about it. I worried about you for a while."

"I know. I'm sorry, Dad. I wasn't acting like the man you raised me to be, that's for damn sure."

"You were acting like a young man who wasn't clear about who he was and what he wanted. Men tend to use sex to ‘discover' themselves," he said in air quotes. "Women do as well, sometimes. They get ridiculed for it, but men seem to get away with it. You had an experience that changed you and put you on a different path. The right path."

"It did. Absolutely. I never felt racism like I did that day. The way that woman made me feel was horrible. Then I realized it wasn't her at all. I did things to make others think of me that way. I happened to be blessed with your physical attributes," he smirked. "I took advantage of that, and I'm ashamed of myself for doing so."

"Don't be. Many young men do the same thing. You figured it out and changed. That's what's so great about maturing. Now, the aches and pains and shit aren't so great." Brix just laughed at his father.

"You're not ninety, Dad. You could still take me in a fair fight. You're as big and strong as you were when I was a kid. I think it's incredible."

"Thank you, son. Is she still worried about the children thing?"

"Yep. Can't seem to get her head away from it. She thinks I'll leave her because of it. It's ridiculous. I mean, I want children, but if we can't have them, there are millions of kids we could adopt."

"You should have her speak with Alexandra, maybe a few others who went through the same thing. Hell, you never know. She swam in the pond. Maybe Gray could help."

"I didn't even think about that," said Brix. "I'll mention it to her." His father gripped his arm, shaking his head.

"No. I'll speak to your mother, and she can mention it to her. If you do, she'll think that you really want to know about kids. Don't do that to her."

"Right. Thanks, Dad."

With the wedding celebration done and three days locked in their cottage, Brix and Daphne were finding their new normal. That's when Daphne decided to take the advice of her new mother-in-law and see Gray.

"I'm glad you decided to come and see me, Daphne," smiled Gray. "There might be something we can help you with, or perhaps the pond already has helped you."

"I appreciate it, but forgive me for not expecting much. I saw a number of specialists in England, and they all said the same thing. I couldn't bear children."

"Yet they never told you why," said Gray.

"No. No, they didn't. My mother always commanded the floor and spoke with them privately. Things like this aren't discussed openly." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I was usually asked to step out of the room so I wouldn't get overly emotional about the situation. I don't know why I let my mother manipulate me that way, but I did."

"Well, let's do an exam on you and get some x-rays, perhaps an ultrasound, a few other things, and see what we're looking at."

It was several hours of tests, blood work, x-rays, and more tests. They were efficient, fast, and made sure that Daphne was always comfortable and always told her exactly what they were doing.

"Do you want me to have Brix come up here?" asked Hazel.

"No. No, I don't want him to get his hopes up or be disappointed," frowned Daphne. "The truth is, I don't want to be disappointed. I want to give him a baby."

"If it's meant to be, it will happen, but just know that he loves you, not your ability or inability to have a child," said Hazel, kissing her forehead.

They were seated in the conference room of the medical building, waiting for Gray to return with the results. When she walked in, she had a stack of papers in her hands.

"Well?" frowned Daphne.

"Well, I'm not sure what the other doctors were looking at, Daphne. You're perfectly fine. Yes, your cycle is irregular, but that's not uncommon. Your uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, everything looks normal. There is no reason you can't get pregnant."

"You can't be serious?" she gasped.

"I'm as serious as I can be. You are more than capable of having babies. I won't lie to you. There was some trauma done by your attack, but it won't affect a healthy pregnancy. We'll ensure every precaution is used."

"I don't understand. Why would they tell me that?" she asked Gray, then looked at Hazel. It was she who decided to take on the question.

"Daphne, why did your mother always give you the news? Why tell you to provide an heir and then have the doctors only speak to her? Why do you think that was?"

"I-I don't know. I mean, I really don't know," she said, getting flustered.

"What would your mother have to gain by doing that?" asked Gray.

"I'm not sure. Control? Me under her thumb all the time? I really don't understand any of this. If she would do this to me, what if, what if she did something to my sister?"

"I can check for you," said Gray. "I can have the tech team look into the hospital records and see what the diagnosis was at the time of death. Was there an autopsy?"

"No. My mother refused to allow them to do one. She said it was an appalling practice. Was she trying to make me believe I was sick? That I wasn't good enough? I mean, honestly, that's something my mother would do."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Gray. "Let me see what the hospital records tell us, and then we can go from there."

"But what you're saying is that I can get pregnant. Right now," smiled Daphne.

"That's what I'm telling you. You are in the perfect place to get pregnant with your ovulation cycle. Now's the time," smiled Gray. Daphne jumped up, hugging both women and laughing.

"Gotta go!" She ran out the door, headed back to the main property. Gray laughed, smiling at Hazel.

"I think you're about to become a grandmother."