Witchy Days 26: Green Babies and Ghosts

That evening, things were getting hectic at the Aramis-Sidheins household. Between the two of them, Barron and Sylvia have called in Sage and Iverson and were hoping things won’t go too explosively with them.

Then again, who knew? Maybe those two were used to garden-grown babies?

“I’m sorry I didn’t call to tell you the evening plans are off. We have a bit of a situation,” Sylvia apologized. They were supposed to discuss the oven issue tonight, but with everything, she has completely forgotten about that.

“That’s fine, life happens. What’s the issue, though?” Vladimir asked, surprised at how she was behaving.

“A surprise baby.”

“Ah, yeah!” he chuckled. “Then really, life happens.”

“Here she is.”

As soon as Sage and Iverson have arrived, they wanted to know what Sylvia was freaking out about. Somewhat to Sylvia’s relief, Sage was just as amazed about the baby. Iverson, as a doctor, was more curious than anything.

“And until you pulled her out, thinking the plant was a weed, you had no indication at all that it was a baby?” he asked. “How very curious!”

“Do you know of anything like this?” Sage asked him. “Maybe someone in your family does?”

“Because we’re green? No, I’m afraid we don’t. I would’ve known it. Where did those seeds come from, I wonder?”

“From the wild. Maybe from somewhere around the pond,” Vladimir chimed in. “I have a pretty good idea of what happened here. Your kids must’ve accidentally planted a Dryad spore. If they’ve been looking for wild seeds in the woods, it’s not completely unlikely. Just rare.”

“Wait, Dryad?” Jamel asked, remembering his mythology books. “Aren’t those mythical?”

“Aren’t vampires and witches?” Vlad winked. “I’ll be honest, however, they are quite rare these days. I doubt there are many out in the world. And not around here, to the best of my knowledge.”

“So, where are her parents?” Laurel asked.

“That would be whoever picked the plant,” he explained.

“We did,” Xander looked at Laurel. “We both did.”

“Then, you’re both her parents. I don’t know much about Dryads, but to the best of my knowledge, they take on the genetics of the person or people picking the plant.”

“So, we’re not going to have some displeased adult dryads on our doorstep demanding their baby back?” Sylvia asked.

“If you do, they’re scammers of some sort. Tell them to buzz off.”

“That’s a relief, I suppose,” Barron leaned back. “I guess it’s a good thing Terra and Bristol moved out, eh?”

“We’re gonna need an extra crib,” Sylvia agreed.

“You know, they seem to be naturals at this,” Barron told her as the teenagers cooed over the baby. “Remember how many times we’ve screwed up when Terra and Bristol were newborns?”

“Don’t remind me. They woulds start wailing like we were Enemy #1. You would think we were trying to harm them. But this little one is super calm. And you’re holding her well, kid.”

“Thanks, Mom. She’s pretty light.”

“For now,” Laurel smiled. “Collin keeps getting heavier by the hour.”

“Do you think they need any extra food?” Xander asked.

“No, but they need lots of sunlight and water,” Vlad chimed in. “And they are vampire-proof, if any of you worry about that – they basically smell like plants to us.”

“Interesting,” Sylvia consumed this piece of information. “So, what’s her name?”

“Uh, we don’t have one yet,” Xander admitted.

“Not like we’ve had nine months to chose one,” Laurel joked. “But we’ll pick something.”

“Thanks for sticking around and helping us figure it all out,” Sylvia told Vlad as the evening drew to a close. “Your knowledge was highly appreciated here.”

“I just told what I knew. Honestly, I’m excited to see where this kid goes. I’ve only known a couple of Dryads, but neither of them closely or so young. It’s kind of wild to me as well,” he admitted.

At the same time, Xander felt the need to apologize to Sage.

“We really weren’t planning to grow a baby, just so you know.”

“Oh, I know,” she reassured him. Truthfully, she was a bit surprised they haven’t made her a grandma yet in a more traditional way, considering their lifestyle.

“We weren’t planing to have a baby this young. Or at all, to be honest,” he admitted. It was true. They were thinking of living together, but just the two of them. Kids seemed like an extra add-on they didn’t need.

“At all?” Sage did want grandchildren, thank you very much.

“Or at least, not until we were way, way, way older.”

“Hey, Dad. Do you think it’s cool if I stick around here from now on? At least, until we can figure some way to properly live as a family?” Laurel approached Iverson.

“Like, here, at Barron’s house?”

“For now, yeah.”

“Considering the situation, I can’t really say no. But ask your Mom too.”

“Sure will. And just in case, I can come to you guys for advice, right? I have no clue what we’re doing here.”

“Join the club, kid, no one ever does. But of course, your mother and I will help you in any way necessary.”

“Thanks.”

“Alright, let’s get down to business,” Xander landed on the couch next to her. “Names.”

“I think we should stick to plant-themed ones,” she suggested. “There’s already kind of a theme going in my fam. All three of us, Mom, Grandma, and I have floral names. And with this little one…”

“Super fitting, yeah. How about Heather?”

“Like in the movie? Where they kill a bunch of people? Pass.”

“Poppy?”

“Isn’t that a type drug?” The kid seemed to agree, because she shifted in an unhappy manner.

“Clover? Willow? Holly?” Xander continued.

“Holly is nice, but sounds super religious. Willow makes me think of some model with unhealthy body issues, for some reason. Clover is nice though. Like a lucky clover,” she agreed, but the baby made a displeased cry at her words. “Or not. A picky little flower, we’ve got here, don’t you think?”

“Sure seems that way! Hey, how about it? Flower? Fleur?” Xander got an idea.

“You know what, not bad, not bad at all. What do you think little one?”

The baby laughed happily.

“Well, I guess we know what Fleur wants.”

The name was a result of a poll.

---

“Hello! We’re back!” Bristol announced as they came in. “Thanks for babysitting!”

It’s been some time since they got to properly relax since Anthony’s birth and they have finally managed to get a babysitter so they could spend some time out on the town.

Somehow, they didn’t think this girl was going to be working for them again, after she rushed straight out of the house the moment she was able to.

“Must’ve been the cold spots that got her,” Lakeisha chuckled. “Kind of silly, isn’t it? The ones she should be more afraid of are still very much alive and about.”

“People always fear what they don’t understand,” Bristol shrugged. “He seems happy.”

Anthony gurgled and tried to pull on his Mom’s hair to prove just that.

“He’s been fed, I see,” Lakeisha laughed. “Now he just wants to play.”

“Don’t we all?” her husband laughed. “Just wait until he’s older, then it’s going to be a whole different kind of playing we’ll need to worry about.”

“That’s a long way off,” she shook her head. “For now, he’s still our little one. Ouch!”

The kid had no problem pinching her, it seemed.

“Alright, alright, I’ll let you sleep, kiddo.”

“Now that Anthony’s asleep, why don’t we have some play-time of our own?” Bristol winked. “To properly end this date?”

“I’m all for it, but let’s keep it careful this time. Much as I love Anthony, I’m in no mood to give him a little sibling just yet.”

“Likewise.”

---

She woke up a few hours later, aware that someone else was in the house. Quickly moving to the baby’s room, she found Sarah standing in there, seemingly lost in thought.

“Hey,” she greeted her quietly. “Is everything ok?”

“Oh! Hi, I didn’t mean to spook you,” the girl apologized.

“You didn’t. You just seem really upset,” Lakeisha explained, wishing she didn’t say it just as she did. Of course the girl had a reason to be upset. Their presence in this house was probably a big reminder of how wrong things went for her.

“I’ve been worried,” Sarah admitted. “Ever since Anthony was born. Because of that guy.”

“I’ve been hoping you would show up ever since them. I wanted to thank you,” Lakeisha smiled. “If you didn’t chase him out, I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened.”

“Exactly,” Sarah frowned. “I chased him out. I didn’t manage to catch him – he just disappeared. And I’ve been afraid he would reappear once more, since that day.”

“I’m sorry for asking, but is he the reason you’re…”

“Dead? Yes. I’m not sure if he always intended to do it to me or if I just ended up witnessing something I wasn’t supposed to and he wanted to shut me up, but the result is the same, isn’t it?” the girl told her.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Lakeisha told her.

“Don’t be. You’re not the one who did it. He should be sorry. In fact, he shouldn’t even still be around. He’s been using dark magic to prolong his life. That’s what I found out about him and he realized I did,” Sarah explained. “And I was going to reveal him. Just didn’t get to do it.”

“People know now. There’s a wanted segment going around the TV all day. And there are all those posters in the city,” Lakeisha reassured her. “People are on the lookout for him now.”

“Good,” Sarah smiled. “I bet he hates it. He’s used to having the upper hand over others, and now they’re duly aware of his wrongdoings. I never liked him much, even when I didn’t know what sort of a person he is. He did business with my Dad, but I’m pretty sure he was planning to scam him somehow. You know how it is – sometimes you just get a feeling about a person that tells you they’re trouble.”

“Oh, don’t I know!” Lakeisha agreed. That was exactly how she felt when Bristol first started hanging around Darius and the feeling proved to be right.

“But for real,” she told the girl. “You don’t have to worry about him coming in here again. Ever since that visit, we’ve had a much stronger ward put on the house.”

“I know. And it’s a good one, I can feel it,” Sarah agreed. “Does it make you uncomfortable that I’m here with the baby? I’ll stop if you tell me to.”

“No, I just don’t want you to wear yourself out,” Lakeisha told her, wondering if ghosts even could wear themselves out. If anything, after Sarah’s previous behavior, she thought the ghost was better than a guard dog for her son.

“Oh, that’s not going to happen. But to be honest, I get kind of nervous sometimes, and seeing that the kid and you are ok calms me down. Sort of like a visual reassurance.”

“Really?” Lakeisha was surprised. “But we’re practically strangers to you.”

“Maybe, but I know how much time you’ve been spending with Amy, even when you didn’t have to. And you got all those toys for her – even our parents didn’t go all out like this. Plus, you’ve been nice to us since before you’ve even moved in, and that’s, like, a 1000% better than what anyone else in this town did. So I really don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“That’s really sweet, Sarah,” Lakeisha found herself tearing up. “Can I give you a hug?”

“Uh, sure.”

“And you know what?” Lakeisha told the girl. “If you need anything from us, just ask. I’d be glad to help and I know so would Bristol.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sarah promised.

Maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have to be so solitary anymore.