August

June 18: Sunday

General William Mackenzie sat silently in custody in the most luxurious suite the government had available and wondered why the hell he had done it. There had been nothing in it for him, really. No value in it, no money. But it was as if the whole thing had just come over him - as if it had happened to him, rather than he being a willing participant. Ren had needed his help getting something off of a high shelf. Will had gone into the closet to retrieve the stepladder when there it was - the shovel, still wrapped in the cold gray tarp, brown with dirt and blood in places. And there, the ax. There, the rope. Will had been overcome.

So he had called the CEC and confessed. Told them everything - all of it, every bit. And now he was a pariah. Now Ren wouldn't answer his telephone calls and Sean wouldn't let Adrian speak to him. It was fear, he knew, all fear. All of Woodacre sat trembling in their homes right now, waiting for the walls to come down around them. And surely, they would.

~:~

The tests were positive. Baby Angstrom was a carrier-in-womb. Henrik had congratulated Phidias and toasted him with sparkling water at a midmorning meal.
Phidias tried hard to be as exuberant as his husband, but found himself weighed down with worry instead.
"So what does this mean?"
"Nothing, yet. Only perhaps that there is some new pattern forming, a genetic link between the three of you."
Phidias nodded and picked at his flatbread.
"Henrik?" he asked, quietly, "You won't hurt him, will you?"
Henrik frowned as if considering his answer.
"Who?"
Phidias tilted his head down, indicated his stomach.
"Bebis." he thought again. "Or Cadmus. Either of them?"
Henrik shook his head gravely.
"Phidias, I swear to you - everything I have ever done was to prevent harm coming to my family. Cadmus is my family. And the bebis is my family, too. I will not hurt them."
Phidias nodded, although his worry was far from assuaged.

~:~

Sheridan thought he would go insane in the little room alone. All day, almost every day. He watched the television - government movies, cooking shows, the news, and a few old shows here and there - but it didn't satisfy him. He read books, but they only told their stories and didn't care about his. He listened to the radio, but felt silly talking back.
That morning, they went to the small chapel service that the B&B provided. There were two other couples there, plus a few single men who were passing through the area. Aaron, in a fit of protectiveness, wouldn't let him speak to any of them. Sheridan had tried to smile at another carrier across the room, but Aaron had hustled him upstairs, then gone out to run more house-hunting errands.
That afternoon, Sheridan decided.
"I don't care what Aaron thinks," Sher Soyinka told the empty room, "I need to see my friend."

~:~

At dinner, Caddy was exuberant.
"I had such a fun day!"
"Oh?" Henrik inquired politely. Phidias picked at his poultry and leaned back in his seat. The cooling evening air blew across his skin.
"Yes!"
Phidias sipped his water, watching his son bouncing around in delight. It was the happiest he'd seen Caddy since the Ghali dinner.
Henrik also watched him, with some amusement.
"So what made your day so much fun?"
Caddy grinned and wrinkled his nose.
"Tony and Khalil!" he reported immediately. "They're Mahir's sons, and they're back from...wherever they were."
Henrik visibly relaxed.
"Ah. Of course. Mahir's boys. The two terrors. They are around?"
Caddy grinned.
"Yeah, and they're awesome! And we went for a walk, and we played soccer, and I had fun!" he looked thoughtfully down at his plate. "It's nice to be around people who don't care about the carrier stuff, sometimes."
Henrik smiled sympathetically.
"Well, still, Cadmus, there are rules - "
Caddy bristled, but kept his eyes demurely on his food.
"Yes, I know. And I'm being good. I promise."
Henrik raised an eyebrow.
"Alright. Well, just so. If you promise."

~:~