The House of the Undying [30% Complete]

[Claudia Nix]

Prompt List

• Snow
• Everything
• Hate
• Perfect
• Spiral
• Heal
• Fairy Tale
• Beloved
• Words
• Seeing Red

[Claudia Nix]

• F A I R Y  T A L E •

"Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom there lived a beautiful princess. How beautiful was she? Well, let's see. Her skin was the colour of ivory, while her hair was the fine sheen of a raven's wing. Her eyes were big and brown, just like a doe, and she was slender and graceful and when she smiled, she radiated a warmth so bright that, if they'd had sunglasses back then, they'd have worn them. Don't laugh, I'm telling the story!"

"So, back in this kingdom, there was this beautiful brunette belle, and she did what all princesses do which is pretty much hung out in the castle - actually, that's not fair. No, our princess, we'll call her... Claudette, was something of a philanthropist. What's that mean? Well, it means she liked to help the people in her kingdom. She was very involved with the affairs of the people, from the small troubles to the large ones, and - basically, everyone loved her. Everyone, except one person... an evil wizard."

"So, this wizard really decided that he didn't like her, probably because he was pretty much the root of everything bad happening in her kingdom, and she was getting in the way of that. So, on the night of the big costume ball where all the people of the other royal courts far and wide came to visit, the wizard sneaked in - no I meant sneaked. I know it doesn't make any sense, but that's the way it is. Well, I don't make the rules. Do you want me to finish the story or not? Okay. So, the wizard slipped by all of her guards because he's a wizard, and managed to get close enough to her to cast a spell that made her fall over, dead."

"What happened after that? Well, the wizard didn't anticipate on one of the people at the ball being rather attached to the princess in her living state, and so after he gloated for a little, he left, thinking he'd done the job. Her kingdom couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again, and so they had her encased in magic crystal on her throne, hoping that one day, someone could figure out a way to bring her back to life - and make the wizard pay for what he'd done."

"I think I know how this story ends," Claudia said, leaning against the doorframe. She watched on as Eli tried to tell a made-up on the fly story to their six-year old during bedtime. "The wizard tries to manipulate the princess' friends, but doesn't anticipate the hero who loved her being smarter then he is. He tricks him into making a deal, except that it's really the hero who tricks the wizard... and in the end, the princess is freed, the wizard is banished, and everyone lives happily ever after. Right?"

Eli raised his eyebrows. "Pretty much." He turned to his daughter. "Sorry kidd-o, your mom ruined your story. That means she has to make one up, now," he said. "Otherwise... " and he trailed off, leaning in to his daughter very slowly before roaring and grabbing at her sides wildly, causing her to jump and squirm to avoid being tickled.

"You're going to wind her up," Claudia warned, but she found herself dodging him with a surprised shriek, as he suddenly leaped off of the bed and went after her, their daughter in the background cheering, 'Get mommy! Get mommy!'

Twenty minutes later, after Eli had thoroughly chased Claudia around the apartment while their daughter cheered him on, they finally got her tucked back into bed. "So, this means I get a new story, right? Since you spoiled it?" she asked hopefully.

"Whoa," Claudia laughed. "Very clever, but not tonight. Tomorrow night, I promise," she said, shushing her protests. She and Eli both were sitting on the edge of the small bed (somehow), and after Claudia gave her a goodnight kiss, she stood up to let Eli have his turn. As she made it to the door, she heard her daughter ask, in a very quiet voice, 'How did mommy know the end of the fairy tale?'

"Because," Eli said softly, "it's not a fairy tale, honey. Once, a long time ago, before you were born, someone really did try to hurt your mom."

"What happened?" she asked, her eyes wide and her voice hushed with fear.

Eli smiled, brushing some of her hair away from her face. "I made sure it could never happen again."

She looked pensive for a second. "What if someone tries to hurt me?"

His smile sort of froze on his face for a moment, and despite how relaxed he appeared, Claudia could tell that he was very serious. "If someone was stupid enough to try to hurt you, or your mother, ever again? I'd just have to make sure they couldn't."

"So you'd protect us?" she asked.

He glanced back up at Claudia for a second, making eye contact with her. "You'd better believe it, sweet pea," he said firmly. He looked back at her, handing her the stuffed bunny she slept with. "Now, no more questions. Bed. Tomorrow, we'll go to the park like we planned, okay? You can probably talk your mom into seeing if Liam can come, too," he informed her, then leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead. As he got up to leave, he gave her a last look before shutting her door part-way, then cleared out into the hall where Claudia stood.

"Didn't think I'd have to answer some of those questions so soon," he muttered, raising his brows as he took her by the waist and walked towards their room. He smiled a half-smile as Claudia rubbed his back lightly and offered him a little comfort.

"Well, you didn't have to tell her that they were true," she said, though she didn't really think lying to their daughter was a good habit to get into. Especially given how powerful he was; she'd figure it out sooner or later. She pushed into the bedroom, switching on the light, and broke away from him as she began changing into her sleep clothing (short shorts and a tank-top; sexy, yet practical).

"Yeah, I did. But, at least she'll learn to trust that we'll protect her. Can't say I had much in the way of support growing up. I didn't trust adults for a long time," he said, a rare moment where he delved into his past. "I just don't want that for her, you know? I want her to know that she can always count on us."

"Oh, Eli," Claudia said softly. She crawled up onto the bed, sitting with her knees tucked beneath her while he walked around the room, picking up the clothing on the floor and shoving it into the dirty clothes hamper. He never picked up around the room before bed, so he was obviously bothered. "Stop, stop!" she urged, slapping her hand down on her thigh to get his attention. "Come here, lay down," she commanded.

He sighed, then stopped what he was doing and moved to the bed, managing to fall face-first across it. "I just want to get this right!" he said into the comforter, which caused her to sigh as she ran her fingernails lightly up and down his back.

"You will. We will. It's not rocket science. Why is this just now coming up?" she asked. "You haven't seem this stressed out since she was born."

He sat up a little on his arms, unwilling to roll over because that would mean Claudia would stop scratching, and he couldn't support that idea. "I don't know. I just worry that it's all going to get... I don't know, fucked up somewhere, and I won't see it coming until it's too late. Is that normal, or am I paranoid?" he asked, looking over at her.

"It's normal," she said, nodding sagely. "But we're pretty capable people, and I sincerely doubt things are going to get fucked up. Eli, you do just fine, so stop worrying. Jesus, no more storytime for you," she said to herself, shaking her head.

"Yeah, in hindsight the whole.. Lucifer into a bedtime story was probably a bad idea," he said, smiling in spite of himself.

"You think?" she shot back. "Come on, stop freaking out and come snuggle with me," she demanded.

He sat up so slowly and hesitantly that Claudia started to retract the offer, then suddenly jumped on her and began grabbing her sides, making the 'tickle monster' noises. She screamed in spite of herself, then pulled a pillow over her face to muffle her laughter. It crossed her mind that if she would have known how bi-polar Eli would be sometimes with their daughter, she might have spoken to him at length much more about it, but honestly, it probably still wouldn't have changed anything. She had no regrets. She just hoped he didn't, either.

[Claudia Nix]

• H E A L •

Claudia lingered outside the large house, taking a deep breath. She'd been avoiding this one for a while, mostly because she wasn't one-hundred percent sure of what exactly she'd need to say. It wasn't until after Sonia's spirit had brought the destructive nature of her daughter's path to Claudia's attention that she realized she'd need to do something. So, here she stood, invisible to the people who passed her on the street, walking their dogs and checking their mail, just standing there in front of the wooden fence and thinking about what exactly she'd say.

It had rained that morning, and it was cool, still. The sky was bleak and uniform in its dark gray colour, the clouds covering so much that it all seemed uniform. The house seemed dark, too, against the murky backdrop, and if it hadn't been for the light that Claudia could see from the upstairs area, she'd think that nobody was home at all. She had made up her mind about how to approach the two girls when a movement from a window caught her eye - she looked up to see Rook standing in the bay window of the upstairs hall, curtain pulled back. And Rook was staring at her - like, right at her.

Claudia just stared back, not convinced that Rook could see her entirely, because the gypsy didn't really react. She let go of the curtain and vanished, and Claudia brushed it off, assuming it was just that sixth sense she had, but then as she held her hand out to push open the swinging gate and let herself in the yard, Rook was back at the window, and she'd brought Raven with her. Claudia looked up again, sort of freezing at the gate, letting it slam shut behind her. Both of the sisters seemed to confer amongst themselves, and Claudia finally decided that they probably could see her after all. With that in mind, she was at least glad dropping by wouldn't be a surprise, and went to the door.

She yanked her hand back in surprise as it flung open before she even hit it, revealing both of the girls.

"Who are you?" Raven asked, eying her critically. "Do we know you?" It had occurred to the older Boswell that this woman could actually be related to them in some way - she looked a lot like them, and she stank of death. That had gypsy written all over it.

"Not entirely," Claudia said. "Can I come in?"

Rook seemed to be observing something Raven wasn't, though, and it was probably due to her dabbling dangerously close to the edge of the black magic. "She's a Reaper," she said abruptly, putting her hand in front of the doorframe to block Claudia's entrance. "And she's asking to be invited in after standing outside the house for an hour." She set her jaw. "Are you going to be leaving with anyone?"

"You mean am I here because one of you is about to collapse from a stroke?" Claudia clarified. "No. I actually came as a favour to someone. She asked me to check on you," she said, though she was still ready for a surprise burst of magic from either of the girls. She couldn't blame them for being on edge.

Rook's gaze softened a little, and she let her hand slip from the door. "Who asked you to come check on us?" she said. She stepped aside, and Raven did the same, which Claudia interpreted as invitation in. She walked through the doorway and smiled to herself a little; seemed that one or both of them had been learning how to ward recently. She could feel some of the same elements pass by her that she often encountered at Eli's apartment, though obviously these had been infused with a different type of magic behind them.

"Your mom, actually," Claudia said.

Raven stared at her for a long minute, then cleared her throat. "I'll let you two talk," she said finally. "There's tea in the kitchen. Rook, I'll be upstairs," she added, giving Rook's shoulder a squeeze before she rounded the stairwell and climbed the old, wooden stairs. Claudia watched her until she disappeared around the corner, then looked back at Rook.

"Shall we?" she asked. She had the feeling that Raven had already dealt with their mother's death, especially given that Raven was employed by the guilds, and she had to purge herself of her emotions more rapidly in order to do her job. It may not have been healthy, but she also knew that Raven worked for Onyx, and that Indrani Rashana would have no doubt contacted her over it. No, Sonia had left her with the distinct impression that Rook was her main concern.

Rook was uncharacteristically quiet, leading the way to the kitchen and offering Claudia some of the tea Raven had talked about. Claudia said no a little too emphatically, which gave Rook a reason to raise her eyebrow, but she didn't comment any further on it. Claudia hadn't had any tea since she'd accidentally drank Eli's date rape mixture or whatever the hell it had been that had caused her to nearly break his coffee table on her sudden drop to dreamland. She sat down in a chair while the gypsy helped herself to some tea, then nodded as the girl sat down across from her.

"So, " Rook said, her voice carefully neutral. "Mom sent you, huh?" She didn't sound skeptical so much as guarded; Rook had done a very good job of turning her pain into something powerful, and she wasn't entirely sure that she trusted anyone right away if they had any designs to try and make nice with her. But, this was a Reaper, and Rook knew that they weren't in the habit of lying - they were servants of Death, so mostly, they played it pretty neutral.

"Yeah, she did. She was actually pretty insistent, too, after your... display against the four who wronged her. I would have come sooner, but I've been experiencing some complications, lately," she muttered, in reference to the ongoing hiccups with Eli, who was now Eli Minus Heather, and still recovering.

Rook looked down at her tea mug. "They deserved it," she said, her voice harsh, but quiet.

"I don't disagree, and neither does she. That's not the point of my visit. Rook," Claudia began slowly. She reached out for the gypsy's hands, taking them in her own, which seemed to confuse the girl because it was a gesture that was more reminiscent of Sonia then of the Reaper. "Your mother misses you, very much. And she loves you, more than I can adequately express. But she's worried that you're on the wrong path. The magic you're delving into isn't allowing you to heal; it's eating at your wounds, causing them to fester, and using the pain from them to fuel itself." She paused. "She wanted me to warn you that eventually, the power will become greater than you. She says it's why she had 'all that power, but never used it', and she said you'd understand that - because I don't."

Rook shifted uncomfortably. "Leave it to mom to make me feel guilty even after she's dead," she muttered. Still, she didn't miss the message. "I understand," she said. "It's just... it's been really hard," she said, pressing her lips together so she wouldn't cry.

Claudia let her have her hands back, resting her arms on the table; she wasn't surprised when Rook withdrew them and thrust them into her lap below the table, probably twining her fingers together to help get a grip. "Believe me, nobody understands more than I do." Her eyes closed for a moment, then opened again, and she spoke. "Do you know how a Reaper comes to be?"

Rook shook her head. "I thought you just kind of always existed," she said.

"No. It's a common belief. We try to stay pretty low key, so it isn't as though there's much about us. We're just dead souls, nothing special about us. But Death chooses a handful of us to stay behind, to learn. It's not an easy process, having to act as the ferryman for so many people, especially because when your card is up, it's simply up. Men, women, children - they all die eventually. I should know. My own husband and child died very shortly before I did. And since I chose not to cross over, since I chose to become an agent of Death, I don't get to see them. I'll never get to see them," she repeated, as though reminding herself.

"But the pain, the sadness? It goes away. Time really does heal all wounds, Rook, and I know it sounds cliche, but take it from me, it's only said a lot because it's true. Don't make the mistake of becoming so consumed by your grief that you just keep ripping yourself open over and over again. I've seen it a thousand times, it always ends the same. This is probably why your mother contacted me; I speak from a place of experience. I was a lost soul until someone helped me cross over, and I experienced a death echo every night for three years because I wouldn't let go."

"You didn't become a malevolent spirit, or poltergeist, or something?" Rook asked, obviously curious despite hearing the lesson within the story.

Claudia shook her head. "No. I wasn't angry; just sad. But sadness and grief are still pretty powerful. I haunted a good bit of city block before I was able to go." She smiled a little. "But after I let go, I felt... amazing. And I'm dead. You're still alive. And you do have a lot of power, Rook. The power to do with whatever you choose, but if you keep giving into the hate, it will take you over and you'll still be alive, but your quality of life will - it will suck," she concluded, being frank. "And, it's not what your mother wanted for you. Your ability is dark, but you still keep a balance. You should always strive for a balance."

"I did balance things out - I took out the people who killed my mom, and probably a bunch of other people," she said defensively.

"You know what I mean," Claudia chastised softly.

Rook sighed, letting her arms hit the table with a loud thump so she could rest her chin in her hands. "I know," she muttered. "It's just hard. I miss her so much. And Raven's been around, but it's not the same. My sister doesn't really get me," she said, glancing up at the ceiling.

"Well, Sonia suggested I tell you to try talking to Raven for a change instead of just accusing her of not caring," she said hesitantly.

"Well, she should act like she does," she snapped. She sighed then, rolling her eyes. "She has those fancy psychologists at the guilds where she can talk about her feelings, so she doesn't need me to talk about them. Who am I supposed to talk to? I mean, I can talk to Claire, but.. it's still not the same."

Claudia raised her eyebrows. "Maybe you should try telling Raven all of this. I would wager she thinks you don't need her at all."

"I don't," Rook said defensively, but Claudia could tell it was because she didn't want to appear needy or infantile. "I mean, I do, but.." she trailed off, realizing that one was just lost. "I guess maybe I could try," she said finally. "If mom wants me to. And I could probably ease up on the hate magic... at least, until I calm down. I'm good with curses, just like Raven is good with love magic. It's kind of what we do. But, I guess I could, I don't know, try not to make it so personal."

Claudia stood up, nodding to the door. "I think that's all she's asking, Rook. Just that you try. As for your magic, I think you know when you're throwing things out of balance. Just don't cross that line, or I'm sure Sonia will find a way to contact you herself. It seems she has quite a following in the afterlife. Her spirit seems to put out a lot of comfort for others."

Rook opened the door for Claudia. "Yeah, she was pretty good about that. Listen, thanks for stopping by. I'll try not to show up on your radar anymore, or hers, I guess," she frowned. "And I'm sorry. About your family, I mean. It sucks."

Claudia nodded. "Yeah, it does. But, we heal, and we move on." She paused. "I hope you don't show up on my radar anymore, either. Your mom is pretty persistent, when she wants to be. I'm pretty hard to get an audience with, but she managed."

"She was pretty good about that, too," Rook said, actually laughing a little. She blinked a few times, then, and held her finger up, coming off the porch after Claudia. "Wait, hey," she called.

Claudia, who was halfway down the front walk, turned, surprised to see the gypsy coming after her. Usually, people ran the other way from her - but at least the talk had gone well. Still, she had a strange look on her face, one Claudia couldn't read. When Rook caught up to her, she reached out and took her hand, looking down at it, then frowned and looked back at her.

"I thought so," she muttered. "Earlier, I thought it was just interference, but.." she trailed off.

"What?" Claudia prompted, confused.

"I didn't think I could get anything off of a Reaper, but I guess I can." She squinted a little, looking at Claudia. "This may not make any sense, but just, hear me out, okay? There's a dark man who will make him choose between two things he loves. Don't let him choose. It's a trick. He's going to take them both anyways. You can't let him." And with that, she let go of Claudia, almost surprised at what had come out of her mouth. "It's really important," she added softly, almost as though she were pleading.

Claudia had no idea that the dark man was Lucifer, and that at some point, Eli would manage to outsmart him in order to both save Claudia's life as well as his own soul. And she had no idea that much later, he would still be angry about it. Neither did Rook, actually - if she'd known that 'dark man' meant the devil himself, she'd probably have been a lot more adamant about the warning, but as it was, she let Claudia leave without any further pressure, and went inside to do as she'd promised and try to talk to her sister, still a little miffed (and happy) that her mother had somehow found a way to scold her from the great beyond.

[Claudia Nix]

• S N O W •

Guilt was something Claudia had not missed experiencing. Now that she was human, it didn't mean her capacity for emoting had changed insomuch that she was suddenly at their mercy, but there were still times when situations would hit her differently because she was no longer an outsider who had no true opinion. No, she was definitely standing in the absolute middle of the shit, at all times, and since most of it directly affected her or someone she cared about, she found it rather hard to be objective. Thus, feelings like guilt were born.

This particular situation, however, she had every reason to feel guilty for. She'd been withholding rather crucial information from Eli for quite some time, and no matter the reason, there were certain things that didn't fly with Eli: lying was one of them. Of course, this wasn't so much a lie as it was simply not bringing something up, and although that was called an omitted truth, Claudia didn't feel like this qualified, because it wasn't a conversation likely to come up, and by simply not mentioning anything about it at all, she could avoid the subject entirely. Unfortunately, much of doing something wrong was simply the way you thought and felt about the situation; in short, it was subjective. And subjectively, Claudia felt guilty, which meant that whether she liked it or not, this was a lie.

Eli was due back any day now. From the last call they'd had, he had been with a team in Zurich handling some last minute issues for Crimson Europe. It seemed now that demons were on the map, Eli was one of the only people who could really deal with them - of course there were other methods, but if someone wanted it done quickly, and if they had a large enough problem, his phone was always on. It didn't mean he'd take the job, because Eli commanded a high price normally, nevermind when demons came into the picture, but if the situation sounded like one he'd be willing to deal with, he'd give it a go. His team had consisted of a handful of Crimson hunters who were very well versed in demonology and could act as appropriate support, so he wasn't worried. It was just time-consuming, and far. This particular job had required a month of his attention, if only because there were several lurking about and some of them were actually smart enough to run away.

"We finally got the last one yesterday. The accounts are all squared; I can't believe this guy paid me the number I threw at him. I quoted him so high because I didn't want to go to fucking Switzerland in winter, but he jumped on it like it was the deal of a lifetime. I guess I should have charged him more," he muttered. "But, I made out like a bandit anyways. Man, I'm getting really sick of being the only person who can clear out demons this effectively. I know it's good, but at the same time, I'd like to have a life." He rolled over on the over-sized bed of his hotel room and glanced out the window. At least Zurich was nice to look at.

"Well, you have a talent. What I find funny is that you spent most of your life being shunned because of that talent, and now it's like the coordinators of the supernatural world want to call you for every new problem that crops up - it's like you're their poster boy for cleaning house," she said, standing over a salad in the kitchen.

"Yeah, well, they need to find someone else, because I'm officially on vacation after this," he said, not even bothering to argue the point about his youth. "What did you do today, anyways?" he asked curiously. "I feel like I haven't been able to talk to you very much while I've been here. This job had me busier than most. At least the people they hooked me up with knew what they were doing. I even saw Kes while I was at Crimson," he added.

"It's funny you should mention a vacation, because Zurich was somewhere I'd wanted to go. I guess that's out, now," she said with a little laugh. She dropped down on a stool at the counter, poking at her food with a fork. She didn't want to tell him how her day had gone, because it was all part of those things she wasn't telling him, and really, over the phone was the worst type of delivery at this point - although when he came home, he'd kind of find out for himself. She withheld a momentary wave of nausea as she realized that there was a single cherry tomato hiding under some lettuce, then grabbed it and threw it into the sink to her right, making an angry 'tsk' noise when it bounced out. She watched it roll under the fridge without moving a muscle, then just shrugged and turned back to her food. Gone, now, she thought to herself.

"My day was uneventful. What time is it there, anyways? It's only a little after nine here, but I'm already thinking about going to sleep. Well, maybe. There was talk of a movie, but that was earlier today. There's a blizzard making its way across the states right now, and they're saying we should have a few feet of snow in the next couple of days. I saw flurries on my way home from the store about an hour ago, so that whole idea might get shit-canned. I have to say, I'd rather just stay in. Your apartment is nice and warm, even if you aren't here." The truth was that she had talked to Raven about a movie, but it was while they sat outside Olivia Watkins' office waiting for Claudia's appointment. She hated doctors, but Raven trusted Olivia, even if the old Englishwoman was incredibly dry.

"It's like quarter after five. I think I'm eight hours ahead of you guys, actually," he said, glancing at his watch. He'd remembered to set it to the correct time, which was a first for him. "Look, if it's going to be shitty out, as much as I hate sounding like I'm mothering you, I'd really rather you stayed in. You don't exactly have the best luck with vehicles during inclement weather," he added. "Why don't you have Raven come to the apartment?"

"What, and make her drive in it? Nah. Besides, I'm tired," she said, which was true - she was pretty tired. "I'm already in my pajamas, anyways. And, I've got dinner in front of me now, so  that's already covered."

"Oh, well shit, why didn't you say so? I could have had you call me back after you'd eaten. What's for dinner, anyways? I ended up with some stale bagels when we got back to the hotel, although my flight leaves in a few hours and I fully intend to wreck the buffet downstairs before I leave. At least I got first class, this time. I'm sick of flying home in a C-130 and having to do all the military check point crap. They always ask to see my papers and then get mad when everything except 'the' and 'a, and' are blacked out."

She laughed a little. "Well, I'm just having a salad so it isn't like I cooked leg of lamb and it's currently sitting and congealing from getting cold. What're my carrots going to do, become more room temperature?" she joked. "What time does your flight get in tomorrow?"

There was a pause as Eli looked for his ticket. "Uhhhh, oh, here it is. Jesus. We have a layover at Heathrow around noon or so, and then we should be good after that. I'm not sure, though, with the time difference. I don't know if this is London time or if it's New York time. I'll just text you my flight number and you can look up the arrivals. I'll probably get a lift home, though, so you don't need to worry about coming to get me."

"Okay, that's fine. Just call me when you land so I make sure I'm here," she said. She speared a cucumber with her fork and swirled it around in a little pocket of dressing she found hidden under the lettuce.

"Alright, I'm going to finish making sure all my stuff is packed and try to bang out this report for the guild before I go. I'm trying to make sure they have enough information for kicking demons out of bodies on their own so they won't be so tempted to call me next go-round. Sleep well, when you do."

They said their goodbyes, which consisted of the usual cute stuff - can't wait to see you, miss you, et cetera - and Claudia concentrated on her food. He'd been gone for nearly a month, once everything was said and done, and it was really, really strange not seeing him for that long. Usually he was only gone for a few days or a week at a time, unless he'd been held up somewhere. The bad part, of course, was when he got home, there was still one small thing Claudia had yet to tell him that was going to sort itself out within the first five seconds of him coming through the door.

It seemed that Claudia's mortal body was fully functional - as in, fully. She hadn't really known she was pregnant until well into the second month, when she'd told Raven what she suspected and the gypsy had just suggested she buy a pregnancy test. She had, taking it at Raven's, because she wouldn't even risk him finding that receipt left on the counter by mistake, and it had come up positive. To be certain, she'd allowed Raven to have her consult Dr. Watkins, who confirmed everything. The circle of people who knew was confined only to the Boswells and to the doctor, but since Claudia wasn't showing, she didn't look pregnant.

And she still hadn't figured out how to tell Eli by month four, when she still wasn't showing. Unfortunately for her, it was now month five, and she wasn't so blessed that she could hide it anymore. No, she had absolutely blown up - not to the point that she would have if she were overweight - Claudia was very petite to begin with, thankfully, but at this point, there was a definite bump where one had not existed, and for Eli, who had literally not seen her in a month, walking through that door and having a memory of his stick-thin girlfriend replaced by one of a girl who looked exactly like her but was obviously "suddenly" pregnant...  That guilt, again, and the debate of lying. She'd MEANT to tell him, though! Several times, in fact, she'd tried, but he was just so oblivious to shit like that - it was strange, for someone as intuitive as Eli, he could still be so totally male, and thus completely unaware of things around him.

She slept poorly that night, tossing and turning as she tried to determine how to handle this. Rationale was always the best bet, but she didn't know quite what she'd feel if Eli reacted badly, or worse, didn't react at all. She ended up getting up to puke all of her salad up, amazed that the nausea of pregnancy hadn't kicked in until Eli had decided to leave (REALLY kick in, anyways - she'd had a few issues with it before, but she could always hide them or make something up). She climbed back into bed after having nearly swallowed the mouthwash she'd used to get that awful taste out of her mouth, sitting there in the dark, and felt genuine fear for how the next twenty-four hours were looking. 'By the way, I'm five months pregnant' didn't have a very good ring to it no matter how she spun it around, and she knew Eli, and she knew he'd be upset that this was the first he was hearing about it - even if he was happy about the news.

What a fucking mess.

She finally fell asleep around three or four in the morning, the television on and the DVD title music for The A-Team playing over and over again. When she woke up, she went about her day, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong, but as soon as he called her from JFK and told her that he was on his way, she felt her blood  pressure go up and her heart start to race. She sat down on the couch with the phone next to her, just staring at her hands and shaking, and then picked it up after about twenty minutes and called Raven.

"I'm freaking out," she cried.

"Well, you were the one that kept putting off telling him, dumbass," Raven pointed out, obviously unsympathetic to the girl's plight.

"So?!" she said, her voice shrill. "I can't do anything about that now!"

"Exactly," the gypsy said. "So why are you worried? Look. I know Eli. Maybe not well, but enough. He's not going to, like, turn green and rip through his clothes and start drop-kicking innocent bystanders so hard they can see the curvature of the Earth. He might freak out, but that's kind of his right. Just try to stay calm. If all else fails and things do go bad, you could always faint. That seems to shut guys up," she suggested unhelpfully.

"You're the worst friend ever," Claudia hissed. She heard something and looked up to see the knob turning. "He's here, I gotta go," she said. She heard Raven saying 'CALL ME LATER' as she took the phone away from her ear and hung up, dropping it on the couch. She turned so that she could see the door, but she was still sitting, and that meant that it wasn't very obvious she looked like she had a small balloon stuffed into her black thermal. At least she had an excuse to wear those yoga pants, finally - they were all that fit her, now, and she could wear them low enough on her hips that they were still comfortable, with the bump sort of on top of the wide band. At least her shirts were long enough to cover it.

Eli pushed his way in, swearing about how it didn't matter where he went for work, there always seemed to be snow involved, and stomped his boots on the mat, knocking off a few clumps of the fluffy white stuff to prove a point. He yanked his jacket off and hung it up, the heat of the apartment giving his body a very conflicted message about temperature, and tossed his bags down. "Claudi - Oh!" he exclaimed. He hadn't seen her on the couch and had started to yell her name before spotting her. "It's fucking cold outside," he said, smiling (unhappily) about it. "I'm seriously going to suggest that we move somewhere tropical, soon."

When she didn't get up right away, he was a little disappointed - he hated to say it, but part of the reason he liked coming home when he knew she would be there was because she was usually pretty happy to see him. That feeling would never get old, and was a constant reminder that things weren't as sucky as they usually tended to be. He didn't want to say anything about her perceived lack of interest, though, because that wouldn't have been very masculine of him, but he managed to slip in an, "Everything good?" as he stripped off a thick wool sweater in favour of the simple long-sleeved white shirt he had on underneath all of it. Jesus Christ, that was better. How had he gotten so hot, so fast?

Claudia heard him ask, though she didn't answer right away, instead choosing to watch him struggle with the sweater before finally succeeding, and then whipping it accordingly to the back of a chair in the living room. It didn't necessarily matter how she felt or how much trouble she may or may not be in at the moment, she was about as bad as Eli was when it came to suddenly becoming more interested in what one of them was doing rather than what they were saying. In a month, he'd managed to come back looking even more toned then when he'd left. Was that possible? She followed his hands with her eyes as he pushed up the sleeves on the shirt, then reached down as if he forgot his gun was secured to his hip and pulled it out of the holster, checking the magazine, then the slide.

She chose that moment, when he had a gun in his hands and was paying more attention to it then her, to stand up and step around the couch, coming into full view. "Welcome back!" she said, and for some reason, it didn't sound exactly as excited as she usually made it. Instead, her words came out clumsy, not-too-enthusiastic, and with a sense of dread that was only appropriate to accompany the very obvious secret she'd been keeping from him. It was very much like someone shouting 'hooray' after being told they had to take a test they had not studied for.

Eli, who had actually been focusing on the gun at the moment (it felt strange, and as it turned out, the magazine was a bullet low - how had he not filled it right, had he been that tired?), looked up to catch Claudia in his further out-of-focus field of vision, and smiled a smile that clearly said he wasn't paying attention to her right then, but he would be in a second. "There, " he muttered. "Not sure how I managed to fuck that up...." and he trailed off as he put the gun back into the holster, eyes actually clearly registering and focusing on Claudia.

Eli blinked a few times, and tried to process what he was seeing. His girlfriend, with whom he had not been in a month, was pregnant. He hadn't left her that way, or so he thought, but now he was back, and yet, here it was. How should he handle this? What was the best way to react? He looked at her face instead of the obvious, and he could see that she was waiting, completely still and focused, on him to react. What the hell was he supposed to do? He suddenly wished he was back in Zurich with a bunch of demons, because at least that he knew how to handle. With no words coming to him and the need for a shot of vodka tugging on him something fierce, he said the only thing he could think of to say.

"HUH."