Jason Low
as
Project HEARD
presents

A Dimension Out Of Range Interlude

THE GIFT

15 AUGUST 2001
11:54 PM

METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL

 Theodore and Julia Diggers were in the waiting room just down the hall
from room 5205. Theo was sitting in a chair, but Julia was up and pacing
constantly.
 "I hope she's okay," Julia said, leaning towards the door to look down the
hall.
 "Dear," Theo said, "She's almost 30 years old. She can--"
 "She's my BABY, Theodore!" Julia shot back, pacing some more. "I can't
bear to not be with her at a time like this."
 "Julia.." Theo said softly. He reached out and caught her wrist the next
time she passed by, guiding her to a chair beside his. "She'll be okay."
 "How can you be so sure?" Julia protested, but it was obvious the majority
of her anxiety was spent.
 "Because she's our daughter," Theo comforted his wife, giving a smile and
an embrace. "She's been through a lot worse than this."
 "But I.." she began, but then let out a deflating sigh. "You're right,"
she finally acknowledged.
 Theo nodded. "This is a normal delay at a time like this.. you know that."
 "But think of all the things that could go wrong.." Julia complained.
 "Why?" Theo said. "Why not instead think of all the things that could go
RIGHT? Brian is there with her in case anything happens."
 "And I'm sure Brianna and Jason, and Britanny and Stryyp'Gia would've all
rushed to be here had they known," Julia pointed out. "So they stay at
home, blissfully unaware, while we sit here and agonize over every passing
moment."
 She glanced at Theo, who was regarding her with a bemused expression.
"Okay, while *I* sit here and agonize over every passing moment," she
amended.
 "Forgive me, dear, but I'm having a hard time understanding your continued
alarm. You're an armsmaster.. you have stared down elder dragons in your
time.. yet this bothers you."
 Julia answered after a long moment, "I was about to ask you something
similar, except why you WEREN'T so concerned about it. Maybe you can see
the outcome or something, subconsciously, using your magic.. but here *I*
am, feeling like I'm in the dark, knowing my little girl is just down the
hall."
 "And in safe hands," Theo finished for her. "You know the doctors here are
exemplary.. she'll receive the best attention here, leaps and bounds beyond
any other place she could be."
 They were both silent for a short while, then Julia forced a sigh out and
continued to speak in a strained, hurried voice.
 "Maybe it's my upbringing on Jade, without any hospitals or such. Anything
that happened was left to the whim of nature and, if you were lucky enough
to be within hiking distance, a local healer. THAT was the best care
available there and then."
 "I know," Theo nodded again, still holding on to her for her comfort. "And
there isn't a thing wrong with how it's done on Jade. This is how it's done
on Earth, though."
 Julia laughed a little in spite of herself. "You sounded like you were
trying to reason with my mother just now."
 "Mm-hmm," Theo acknowledged with a half-smile, leaving it at that.
 After a pause, Julia continued quietly: "I see your point. Maybe I have a
lot of the old ways in me still."
 "Does that matter?" Theo countered. "You have every right to be however
you want to be. I've never said there's anything wrong with being uptight
about this.. I simply said there's no reason to be. This will be finished
one way or the other tonight, and life will go on. Our daughter will still
be our daughter, and we'll still love her with all our might."
 "And then some," Julia nodded in agreement.
 "I remember her childhood like it was yesterday," Theo said softly. "She
took her first steps out of my arms into yours across the bathroom floor in
the house in Auburn. How happy she looked then."
 Julia answered with a nod, then: "And her first coherent words came not
long after," she said. "She was such a smart girl."
 Theo chuckled. "Yes, indeed," he agreed with a smile.
 "'Dada poof'," Julia smiled, thinking back. "I was trying to explain where
you had gone, one night when you went to a mage-guild meeting," she
recalled. "And that was the only thing I could think of to say.. and she
picked it up straight off."
 "How many times did I have to step through a dimension door in the
following weeks for her entertainment?" Theo asked rhetorically, still
smiling.
 "Quite a few," Julia acknowledged. "Then she started walking on her own."
 "EVERYWHERE," Theo responded. "What about the time we found her two-thirds
of the way up the stairs?"
 Julia laughed out loud. "Yes," she said, "That was when she wanted to
play, but Britanny was in her crib in our room, and you were engrossed in
your studies, and I in cleaning house.. so she decided to go get Britanny
from her crib."
 "She grew up rather quickly," Theo nodded. "Especially after you were..
sent away by Father. She figured she had to be the woman of the house
then."
 "I'm sure she did a good job," Julia smiled, leaning against Theo.
 "I gather you never saw the video she and Britanny made?"
 "The what?"
 "Oh, my.. it must've been left in storage after the move. All while you
were away, she and Britanny kept a record on film of what was happening in
their lives, so you'd be able to catch up when we found out how to bring
you back. I can't believe you hadn't seen it.. we'll have to find it when
we get home."
 Julia nodded. "I'd love to see it."
 After a pause, Theo said, "We're very fortunate to have had Gina. I
wouldn't trade the experience for anything."
 "Mm-hmm," was Julia's response, after which she became rather silent and
still, leaning her head against her husband's shoulder.
 "Anything wrong?" Theo asked after a few moments.
 Julia smiled, still looking around at the room. "I just had a vivid memory
of being here--well, not in this room, but down the hall--almost thirty
years ago."
 Theo squeezed his wife's hand again. "There you go," he comforted her.
"Everything turned out all right with you back then, didn't it? So this
will be no diff--"
 The door to the hallway opened just then, and their son-in-law Brian
quietly came in, unable to remove the grin from his face.
 "Well?" Julia asked him excitedly, sitting upright.
 "Seven pounds, six ounces," he beamed. "A girl."

 Brian led them both back into the room. Gina was lying in bed with her
eyes closed, holding onto a tiny bundle wrapped up in a blanket and held to
her chest.
 As the three gathered around the bed, Gina woke up and smiled. "Mom," she
said, tears welling up in her eyes, "You're here."
 Julia nodded and put a hand on Gina's cheek. "I wouldn't miss it for the
world, baby."
 "You're a gramma again," Gina said, looking down to the child in her arms.
"Mom.. dad.. meet Megan Kimberly."
 "She's lovely," Theo said. "Looks just like her mother."
 "Hello, Megan," Julia whispered. "You are the most beautiful baby."
 Gina woke up again, having fallen asleep briefly. "Sorry," she said weakly
with the same smile as before. "I'm really tired."
 "That's okay," Theo told his daughter. "We'll come back in the morning."
 "Take care, .." Julia began, then said, "I guess I can't call you my
little girl any more, huh?"
 "Sure you can, mom.." Gina answered before drifting off again. A nurse
arrived and offered to Brian to take Megan and put her to bed. He agreed,
and as that was being done, said to Theo and Julia, "I gotta go call my
parents, and Jay and Brianna, and then get some rest myself."
 "We'll be back when visiting hours open tomorrow," Theo said. He turned to
go, but Julia stayed where she was, and bent over her sleeping daughter to
kiss her forehead.
 "Megan is a special, special gift," Julia told Gina quietly. "Always
remember that."

END