Page 44 of First Comes Orc, Second Comes Baby
Charlotte dropped her duffel bag on the floor and wandered to the loveseat, flinging herself down. Which was a mistake. When her stomach was settled again, she focused on Brahnt, who watched her, hands laced over his knee.
“You fainted today. In the middle of rehearsal. In the middle of a lift.”
Charlotte sighed, closing her eyes, and settled her head on the back of the couch.
“And I guess you're going to go all Orc on my ass now. I didn't mean to faint, Brahnt. Can you cut me some slack?”
She would not open her eyes. She would not open her eyes.
Charlotte opened her eyes.
Brahnt stared at her, gaze laced heavily with disapproval. “I thought we had an agreement. If the nausea and vertigo affected your ability to dance safely, then you would sit the rest of the season out.”
Charlotte shoved, carefully, to her feet. “I know what we agreed. And I'll abide by it. It's not that easy to walk away from something I've spent my entire life doing. I don't know what else to do with my time.” That was also somewhat of a dirty lie.
Brahnt rose as well, and drew Charlotte into his arms. “I understand. I appreciate and respect your focus. But this is a health issue, and if you don't abide by our agreement in a timely manner, I’ll have to insist.”
Charlotte drew back a little, glaring. “What, you'll get me fired?”
“That would be a little over the top. But I can make a few phone calls.” Brahnt caressed Charlotte’s bottom lip with his thumb. “Isn't there something dance adjacent you can do? Teach? Or volunteer? Why don't you write, like your sister?”
“God no. She's insane. You've never been through a new release week with her. She doesn’t sleep, she doesn’t eat anything but chocolate, she chugs alcohol by theliterand rants as the reviews come in. I’ve had to talk her out of hunting down some of her readers. I hid her laptop and smartphone once for two hours—for her own good—and she threatened me at knife point. We didn’t talk for six weeks after that.”
Brahnt pursed his lips, looking a little skeptical.
Charlotte sighed, leaning her forehead on Brahnt's shoulder. “I'll figure it out. Give me another week. They say this type of sickness goes away eventually.”
But it didn't go away, it only got worse, and the second time Charlotte fainted, this time clinging to the railing of a set of stairs in the wide hallway, she woke up in an ambulance.
She was lucky it was only three stairs she'd fallen down, but company policy dictated an ambulance be called and that Charlotte not be allowed to move—an insurance and liability issue.
Oh mygaaaahd. She was glad Brahnt wasn’t listed as next of kin yet. Caro would be more calm. Scathingly insulting—but calm.
Once Charlotte arrived in the ER, she was examined. Of course nothing serious was wrong beyond a few bruises, but they insisted on putting her in a room, gowning her up, and doing an IV. As soon as she'd said the word “pregnant” it was like everyone lost their minds. She wasn't having a miscarriage. She'd fainted a bit, damnit.
It happened.
But then Brahnt showed up.
Brahnt showed up furious, taking in Charlotte's appearance in one look and began to quietly froth at the mouth.
“Look, I'm sorry your work got interrupted,” she began, already sitting up in the hospital bed.
Brahnt cut her off. “You think I give a damn about work? They called me to tell me you had been taken away in an ambulance. Then started bleating all that bullshit about next of kin. Do you have any idea who I had to threaten to get a status updatebecause we aren't married yet?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “The ambulance is an insurance thing, and the next of kin thing. . .I don't know what to say.”
Brahnt leaned on the edge of the bed, staring at her with hot, fuming eyes. “What you can say is, ‘This is the day I want to get married, Brahnt.’”
“I could say that. But I'm not yet. Look, I'm fine.”
“Fine is when you fainted again? We don't understand that word the same way, Charlotte.”
Charlotte grimaced. She might as well sit back and prepare herself for the rant, because there was absolutely no way they were going to go on with their lives until Brahnt got it out of his system.
“. . .communication and trust. . . Responsible thing. . . Not taking my concerns seriously.”
She listened with half an ear because she pretty much knew the gist of the lecture, and also because she'd already decided Brahnt was right.
