House Call
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Georgia slapped the beside table on her side in an attempt to silence the alarm on her phone after being jerked out a perfectly fine REM cycle. She slapped her hand against the screen impotently, as if it was an alarm clock, before her reflex kicked in and she actually picked it up. While initially confused as to how her alarm could be going off that early when it was scheduled in advance to wake her up at the same time all week, Georgia was even more worried at the realization that it was a phone call that woke her up at three in the morning. A call from Daph.

“Mm...” Georgia mumbled, thumbing the answer call button on the screen. “Hhllo?”
“H-Hey! Georgia! It'th Daph!” came her friend's voice from the other end of the phone. It was louder than usual, with an odd cadence to her speech, as if she were talking from far away. “Were you, uh, were you athleep? I woke you up, didn't I?”
“...Yeah, I was...” Georgia said, rubbing one of her eyes and re-checking the time. She huffed angrily and fell back to the pillow. “It's almost three-thirty...”
“Yeah, okay, I guess I did. Thorry about that, Georgia! But...do you have a minute? To like...catch up? I gotta tell you how much the baby wath moving today, it wath crazy. She's really goin' to town in there, yknow?”
“Daph...I have work tomorrow,” Georgia said, letting the phone lie flat against the side of her face. “We'll talk about it later, okay?”

She reached on top of her head and took the phone away from her ear, but before hanging up, she heard Daph's voice pleading, “Wait, wait! Hold up! Hang on!” Sighing again, she brought the phone back up to her ear.
“I have work tomorrow morning, Daph...” Georgia said, firmly. “I can't talk right now.”
“Just….wait….pleathe...” Daph's voice cracked, followed by a sound that could have been either a sneeze or a sob. “I….I jutht….I really need to talk to you, okay?...I wanna….I jutht gotta hear...fuck...”
“Daph?” Georgia frowned, then sat up in bed, barely disturbing her dead-asleep husband. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“I'm okay...we're okay...” Daph sniffed again, with Georgia realizing she may be fighting back tears. “But...c-c-can you come over?”

“...Now?” Georgia blinked. She glanced at her phone, checking that it was indeed as early as she thought it was.
“...Y-yeah,” Daph said, stammering. “I know, I-I know it'th really late and you gotta...you-you gotta get up and thtuff...” She paused, silence over the line, before finishing. “B-b-but I really gotta thee you, okay? I need you...And I promithe I won't do thith ever again but I jutht...I...I can't...”
Georgia heard a click as the phone was set down on a surface, with the sound of Daph swearing to herself in the background. She was about to call out, before Daph picked up the phone again.
“...I'll see if I can find a cab,” Georgia sighed, curling her tail in her lap to fiddle with it. “I'll get there as soon as I can.”
“Okay...th-thankth...a lot.”
“You're welcome,” Georgia said calmly, right before Daph hung up on the other line. She dropped her phone into her lap, its light nearly swallowed up by the fur of her tail. Taking a deep breath, she set it aside and stepped out of the warm comfort of her bed to get dressed.

Georgia only put on what she needed to keep relatively warm in the cold December night and crept silently out the front door to avoid waking Darwin. Snow hadn't yet fallen, but the outside air was still bitter and cold, the wind cutting angrily through her thin layers. She stood on the street corner, eyeing what few cars she could even see on the street at that time of night, hoping that at least one of them was a taxi. After five minutes, she pulled out her phone in a move to gamble and call an Uber. Fortunately, at the very last second, a yellow cab with its light on turned around the corner at the end of the block. Relieved, Georgia sighed out a plume of warm breath into the air and flagged it down, ensuring a quick trip to Daph's apartment complex.
The building wasn't far and in a relatively nice part of town, but it was an old and crumbling brownstone that hadn't received the renovations its neighbors had gotten long ago. As much as Georgia hated it and hated that her friend was forced to live in such conditions, the reality was that it was the best Daph could afford. Georgia and Darwin had floated her rent for her more than once and it was only recently that she'd begun to make enough money to pay it consistently. Georgia found herself worrying for the sake of her baby as she stood on the steps of the antiquated apartment building, hoping they at the very least had a working elevator for when Daph was too far along to safely take the stairs.

Georgia hopped up the steps two at a time, desperate to get out of the cold, and hammered the buzzing bell marked under Daph's apartment number. After an agonizing minute, a responding buzz and click announced the front door unlocked and she frantically scurried inside. Though rickety and claustrophobic, she was relieved to find the elevator functional and rode it up to Daph's room on the seventh floor.

She barely rapped a knock against the door before letting herself inside, embracing the warm rush of Daph's many space-heaters that did the job the sub-par insulation did not. Georgia shut the door behind her and sighed at her relief from the cold, leaning against the wall and into her fuzzy tail. Daph's apartment was barely more than two rooms large, with a kitchen in the corner of the living room and a tiny bedroom in the back. The clutter and clothes that were piled on every surface was enough to hide the carpet. The thick sofa was covered in a collection of blankets that looked more like a nest than a piece of furniture and sat across the room from an old television. Georgia was surprised to catch a glimpse of a brand-new laundry basket and vacuum in the corner of the living room alongside a few extra trashcans. At least Daph was making the effort.
Daph herself stood in the middle of the living room, evidently having been pacing back and forth. One hand was buried inside a bag of 'Sqrl Blend' and crumbs clung to the fur around her mouth. She was wearing a pair of stained and baggy sweatpants marked with holes and tears below a long white t-shirt that was tented up by her belly. She spun around as Georgia came inside, her tail flicking anxiously, then sighed in relief at seeing her friend's face. Daph's hair was shaggy and disheveled with the rest of her fur. Most tellingly, her eyes were bloodshot and puffy.

“Yo! Hey-Hey!” Daph said, a good deal louder than she should have. She plastered on a buck-toothed grin that didn't match the look in her eyes. “What'th up, dude!? I didn't think you wath gonna make it over!”
“Hi Daph...” Georgia said, wearily. She slipped off her jacket and draped it over a chair next to the door. Rubbing her eye, she shook herself to stand in front of one of the space heaters. “What's going on?”

“I...” Daph paused, her mouth hanging open while her eyes glanced away nervously. She laughed again and shrugged, cramming another handful of nuts and seeds into her mouth from the bag. “I had to get up 'cauthe the baby was going the fuck crazy in there, dude! I guess she getth hungry or thomethin in the middle of the night and just flipth out kickin’ everywhere to wake me up and get her thomethin.” She laughed again, resting a hand atop her belly, which had grown out even larger in the past few weeks, with her navel finally starting to push out from the pressure in her womb. “She'th smart ath fuck, huh? Knowing to do that?”
“She's that strong, huh?” Georgia said, smiling drowsily despite her annoyance.
“Oh fuck yeah,” Daph nodded, her expression relaxing. “Yknow how it wath, like, jutht little poketh and wiggleth? Well now it'th like...POW!” Daph mimed a hard punch into her other hand, her belly shaking a little with the impact. “Little girl can punch like a boxer, dude. Thometimeth, you can thee her moving from the outside!”
“You'll have to show me that sometime,” Georgia smiled, unfolding her arms as the warmth began to finally creep back into her limbs. She looked up at Daph with a tired frown and shook her head. “Look...I've got work early in the morning, Daph. I'd love to talk about the baby all day, but...” she sighed and folded her arms again. “What's this about?”

Daph paused, like she'd been caught staring into the beam of a flashlight, and blinked. She swallowed, her tail flicking again. She chittered nervously in the back of her throat, then ate another handful from the snack bag.
“You uh...you ever have any of thith?” Daph asked, her cheeks full. She held it up and shook the bag in front of her face. “I thtill don't know if I should be, like, offended or thomethin', but it'th awethome. I love putting hot sauce on ‘em and thtickin’ them in the microwave, but that'th like a weird craving, tho you might not like that...” She fell quiet at Georgia's displeased expression.

“I'm going to leave,” Georgia warned, pointing to the door behind her. “We can talk tomorrow if you really want-”
“No, no...wait,” Daph said, throwing out her hand and shaking her head. She swallowed more than the food in her mouth, then clutched it with both hands in front of her chest. Glancing down at the little bit of her paws she could see past her belly, she crinkled the bag in her hands and bit her lower lip. Daph tossed the bag to the side and wrung her hands together. “I...I uh...” She dropped her arms to cradle her baby belly, gripping her shirt in her fists. With a few dark stains falling against her stomach, Georgia realized that Daph was crying.

“I….I had a nightmare...” Daph sniffed, her voice cracking. She didn't look up, shuffling her feet against the carpet instead and wrapping her hands around her belly in what looked like an awkward self-hug. While mostly silent, a few chokes and sobs broke through. Daph turned and waddled to the couch, dropping onto it heavily. She pulled her legs in as close as she could and buried her face in her hands, her tail shaking and her back jerking.
Georgia stood on the threshold, her mouth half-open. She'd seen Daph cry before, albeit on very rare occasions, but never like this. She was almost afraid to watch as her strong and fearless friend broke down in front of her.
It took only a few seconds for Georgia to regain herself. She crossed over to the couch and sat down beside Daph, pushing her tail out of the way first. She rested a hand on her heaving shoulder, then pulled her in for a full hug. Daph pulled herself into Georgia's shoulder, as if she'd waited years for someone to hold her that way, and freely cried into the crook of her arm. Georgia rested her head against Daph's shoulder, smoothing down her hair with her free hand like her own mother used to do. She couldn't help but notice that Daph was so warm, so much softer than she used to be.

They held each other until Daph's muffled sobs turned into weak sniffles and she pulled away on her own. The fur around her eyes was dark and her eyes themselves were red. She sniffed again, staring down at the couch. It seemed to take a great deal of effort to wrench her eyes up to meet Georgia's, who responded with a warm smile of her own. She thumbed a strand of hair out of Daph's face.
“...Could you...” Daph sniffed, her voice quiet. “Could you get me thome water?”
“Sure.”
Georgia stood, leaving her hand on Daph's shoulder as long as possible, and crossed in front of her to the small fridge in the corner. To her surprise, the inside was packed mostly full with food and tupperware containers of pre-made meals. Pinned to the outside with a magnet was a list of recipes in Daph's handwriting, some of which she recognized as Darwin's creations. On the inside door was a collection of cheap water bottles, some of which had been re-purposed and filled with other liquids. Georgia grabbed one that looked unopened and carried it back into the living room.

Daph was sitting where Georgia had left her, but sat back in the cushions, no longer slumped over herself. She stared at the ceiling, one hand gently petting the belly that filled her lap. Georgia picked up the bag of Sqrl Blend she had dropped and pulled over the coffee table from the corner of the room. She set both down on the table and gently lowered herself beside Daph, her hands clasped in her lap.
“Thankth,” Daph said, popping a few more nuts in her mouth to chew on slowly and methodically, as if just to have something to do with her mouth other than talk. She washed it down with a sip from the water bottle, which turned into a few more desperate gulps as she swallowed half of it in one breath.

“You need anything else?” Georgia asked. Daph, panting, shook her head and capped the water bottle. They sat quietly for a few more minutes before she asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Daph looked at her stomach, feeling the few quiet shifts and pokes from the baby.
“I dunno,” she finally said. “I don't but...”
“You don't have to,” Georgia said, squeezing her shoulder.
“Yeah, I know...” Daph nodded. She shifted on the couch, moving into a more comfortable position for her sore back and shuffled her paws against the carpet. She took another sip of the water bottle, draining it completely, then crushed it into a small disc a fraction of its normal size and threw it across the room.

“I never have dreamth like thith...” Daph breathed, shaking her head. “I...I wath at the hospital. I wath...it wath time,” she nodded, patting her belly. “And...I dunno, it was weird...we were like, in the lobby at first and then we were like in the room later and I wath on the hospital bed.” Daph put a hand to her head. “And...and we go in and the doctor'th are like yelling and screaming at me to push and it'th like...I can't, I can't do anything, I'm jutht laying there and it hurts but I can't even move and…fuck...” Daph swallowed and took a deep breath.

“They start yelling that thomething's wrong and they...I can hear you and you're thomewhere, but I can't see you. And you're crying and thcreaming, like, the whole time and I can't do anything. And they...the doctor, he...he just starts pulling pieces out of me...” Daph's lip quivered as her eyes began to well up again. “And...and th-the doctor keepth telling me to push and I try becauthe I think that'th gonna make it better somehow, but I can't. And he'th pulling out pieces of the baby f-from inthide me and you're yelling and I'm yelling and I thee like blood and feet and her head and the rest of the baby in a...in a tray beside the hospital bed and...and...and I...”

Daph choked another sob and wept into her hands again. Georgia leaned over and wrapped her arm over Daph's shoulders. She gently began to rock her back and forth while patting her on the back.
“It's okay...” Georgia whispered. “It's okay...it was just a dream...just a dream...”
Daph sniffed, wringing her hands together and fighting against more tears. She shook her head and wiped her eyes clear on her arm.
“I'm thorry...” Daph mumbled. “It'th...it'th stupid...it wath just a dream...but it wath like...I don't know...”
“I would have cried, too,” Georgia nodded.
“It wath so god damn intense...I've never had a dream like that before...” Daph said. “It wath like...it hurt...like it really hurt in the dream. And it wath...fuck...”
“I know,” Georgia said, shifting closer. “I've had dreams like that...”

“Thankth for coming over…” Daph sniffed, leaning over to lay her head on Georgia's shoulder. She paused, then asked. “...Do you think it, like...meanth anything?”
“What do you mean?” Georgia asked.
“I mean...I don't know…” Daph shrugged under Georgia's arm. “What if it'th like...like bad luck or whatever? What if it'th like...”
“A vision?” Georgia said, glancing at Daph incredulously.
“I don't know!” Daph said. “I just wanna know if it'th, like, my body tryin' to tell me thomething. That somethin' might go wrong.”
“I'm not that kind of doctor, Daph,” Georgia said, bringing her hand up to smooth down Daph's hair. “But if dreams tell you anything, it's about what's going on in your mind, not your body.”

Daph remained silent, rubbing a crease in her shirt between her fingers.
“Are you afraid?” Georgia asked. Daph snorted.
“I ain't afraid of shit.”
“Clearly…” Georgia said, cutting through her friend's bravado.
Daph sat back up, laying her arms atop her stomach. She smoothed her shirt down to get a better look at her own round body, as if she were seeing it for the first time.
“Okay...I'm...I'm not afraid...But I'm nervouth,” Daph said. “Like...I've never had a baby before...I don't know what'th gonna happen. And like...I'm not thcared for me...” Daph pressed a hand into her gravid middle. “I'm thcared for her. How do I know I'm not gonna fuck somethin' up?”

Georgia nodded, having been quietly stewing over the same fear for months. She leaned in closer and put her own hand against Daph's stomach. Her belly was so warm on the cold night, almost hot to the touch, a tiny biological furnace hard at work making a new life. The baby began to squirm uncomfortably in Daph's womb, kicking against Georgia's palm. She smiled, spreading out her hand to make sure she felt the next movement.
“You're right,” Georgia said. “She's gotten stronger.”
“It even hurts thometimes,” Daph said, laying her arms aside to let Georgia have full access to her tummy. “Not a lot, but like, a little bit. It thtill feelth so weird.” She laughed quietly as the baby began to flip over, pushing out against her belly and distorting it into a bean-shape. Georgia was mesmerized at watching the movement happen from the outside.

“Wild, huh?” Daph smiled, wiping a tear out of her eye. “She's alwayth doin' that in the shower. I think she can feel the water.” The little squirrel kicked again, a small buldge suddenly rising up under Daph's shirt. “Thee?” Daph pointed to the spot. “Toldja you could thee it.”
“I think that's all the answer you need, Daph,” Georgia nodded, looking up at her. “She's doing okay in there. She's telling you herself, after all.”
“...Yeah...” Daph said, thinking. “The first thing I did after I woke up wath to check if she wath still moving.”
“She's fine, Daph. If you really want, we can go to the doctor's office this week to check up on her, but I don't think there's anything to worry about.” Georgia said. “I think you'd know if there was something wrong.”
“Yeah but...I don't know,” Daph shrugged. “The birth ith comin' up, yknow? I wanna jutht...be ready for it.”
“You still have time,” Georgia said. “Both of you do.”
“I guess,” Daph said, unconvinced.

Georgia sighed, twiddling her fingers in her lap. Daph mulled quietly beside her, meditating over the baby's squirming movements inside her. As an idea came to mind, Georgia smiled to herself and tapped Daph on the shoulder.
“Hey,” she said, excitedly. “We've been thinking about names.”
“Yeah?” Daph asked, her expression lifting slightly.
“I wanted to run a few by you to see what you liked.”
“Why?” Daph shrugged. “It'th your baby.”
“We just think you have a say in it.”
“...I kinda don't though.” Daph frowned.
Georgia sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Alright...You can be more of a bitch than me sometimes and I trust you to tell me which names are stupid or not.”
“That'th more like it,” Daph grinned at the honesty. She sat up slightly and rubbed her hands on her belly. “Maybe she can give us a hand in deciding, yeah?” She winced, the chuckled. “Or a paw...that'd work too.”
Georgia smiled, then pulled out her phone, scrolling into a page of name ideas that she and Darwin had brainstormed one evening together. She cleared her throat and started at the top of the list.

“Jenny.”
“No.” Daph shook her head. “I don't know a single Jenny who ain't a huge bitch. Plus, that'th like a little girl'th name only. What kind of adult ith named 'Jenny?'”
“Okay, point taken...Mary.”
“Basic ath fuck,” Daph frowned. “Next.”
“Margret.”
“Soundth like a landlady.”
“Susan.”
“Fuck, that'th just ath bad.”
“Alex or Alexis.”

“Okay, I don't hate that...but you gotta know that she will grow up to be a lethbian with a name like that.”
“Duly noted...Sarah.”
“Ugh, okay, okay,” Daph waved her hand and rolled her eyes. “Skip past all thethe boring nameth, we both know you don't actually want them.”
“Well I like Sarah!” Georgia defended.

“Sure, it'th fine, but that'th the best it'th gonna be: fine.” Daph patted her stomach. “You gotta act like your baby ith gonna be fuckin’ President one day! A goddamn movie thtar or whatever. Thomething great! You don't wanna go through all the bullshit of raising her jutht for her to turn out 'fine.'”
Georgia rolled her eyes, but silently admitted that Daph had a point.
“Okay fine...uhm...Darwin really likes Abigail.”

Daph grunted and leaned over her belly to grab the bag of Sqrl Blend from the coffee table. She popped a couple seeds in her mouth, pondered on the name while she chewed on them, then shook her head as she swallowed.
“It'th not awful but...I don't feel it.”
“My favorite is Savannah.”
“Eeeeeeeeehhhh,” Daph said, wobbling her hand back and forth. “It'th...not bad, but people named after places are alwayth kinda weird.”
“A-hem,” Georgia said, pointing to herself.
“Oh...well,” Daph shrugged. “You got a weird name, Georgia. Thorry.”
“Thanks for the input, Daph-o-dille,” Georgia said, mispronouncing it like 'crocodile.'
“You want my goddamn advice or not?”
“Okay, fine fine fine,” Georgia said. “Those were all runner-ups. Darwin and I already have a name picked out that we both love. I just wanted to make sure you didn't like any others more.”

“Sweet, most of those thucked, anyway.” Daph shifted in her seat with a grunt. “Okay. Lay it on me.”

“...Tabitha.”

Daph blinked, staring dazed at Georgia like she'd been slapped. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if she hoped the right words would fall out on their own. With a lack of anything to say, Daph simply began to slowly nod while forcing a smile. She clenched her teeth and sighed through them, clasping her hands together.
“...Yeah...Well...I think...that'th…hm.”

“Daph,” Georgia said, laughing. “I'm kidding. It's not Tabitha.”
“Oh thank fucking God,” Daph breathed, sitting back in her chair. “You were gonna gimme a motherfucking heart attack.”
Georgia cackled and rocked back in her seat at Daph's reaction.
“I wath about to say, 'I don't wanna fuckin' carry a girl named Tabitha inthide me for two more months.'”
“We're not going to name her Tabitha,” Georgia reassured her. “But we do have something picked out we both want.”

“Hit me.”
“Lilly.”
Daph looked away, thinking quietly, then nodded.
“...Lilly...Yeah...Yeah, okay,” Daph looked up. “Lilly. I kinda like that one.”
“We liked it because it she'd be named after a flower,” Georgia smiled. “Like you.”

“...Wh-” Daph stumbled, her eyes widening. “...Wh-Wait, are you...are you gonna name her after me?”
“Well, kind of,” Georgia explained. “We didn't want to totally name her after somebody, but we thought that naming her after a flower like you would be a good way to say thank you.”
“Fuckin' close enough, dude,” Daph said. Leaning over, she pulled Georgia into a thick, powerful hug, pinning her arms to her side. “I'm gonna have a fuckin’ baby named after me!”

“You're...welcome...ghk...” Georgia choked into Daph's ear. After a few more squeezes, Daph let her go and smiled.
“Oh! Wait,” Daph said, raising a finger. “You gotta ask her about it firtht.” She leaned back in her seat and pulled her shirt tight over her belly. As Georgia paused in confusion, she said “C'mon! She'th got workin’ ears now, you can ask her what she thinkth!”

Georgia leaned over until her face was inches away from the surface of Daph's stomach, quivering slightly with her breathing and the subtle movements from inside. Georgia laid her ear against the round surface, growing tighter and fuller every day, and whispered.
“Lilly?” she asked. “Do you want to be named Lilly?”
After a hushed moment, the baby began to squirm, then kick around wildly inside Daph, forcing Georgia to back away to keep from getting kicked in the face.
“HA!” Daph laughed, watching her stomach shift. She poked a finger into her womb. “You like that? You like Lilly?” She glanced up at Georgia and winked. “I think we have a winner.”
“I'm glad the three of us...” Georgia was interrupted by a sudden yawn that shook her entire body. “...agree.”
“Fuck, it'th really late,” Daph said, after catching the contagious yawn. She glanced at Georgia's phone and winced. “God damn, it'th almotht four in the morning! I'm really thorry I called you over.”

“No no, it was no trouble,” Georgia said, suppressing another yawn. “Are you feeling better? Can you go back to sleep?”
“Thanks, I feel a lot better. I'm about to crash out like a motherfucker, too,” Daph said, yawning again. “Do you wanna crash on the couch? I feel bad about makin' you come all the way out here tho late.”
“Thanks, but I should get going,” Georgia said as she stood. “If Darwin wakes up without me there, he'll have a panic attack.”

“Oh fuck, Darwin ain't gonna be mad, ith he?” Daph asked, worried. “That I got you up tho late? Oh shit, I didn't wake him up too, did I?”
“You didn't, it's fine,” Georgia waved her hand. “Stop worrying and go to sleep. It'll all be fine in the morning.” She padded over the carpet and wrapped herself back into her jacket before heading out. “You and Lilly take care of each other, okay?”

The two waved at one another before Georgia slipped out the apartment door before she let out any of the heat. Daph sighed in the quiet and lay sideways on the couch, her belly nearly hanging off the edge. She stretched her legs out over the armrest and laid a hand over her stomach.

“Lilly...Lilly, Lilly, Lilly...” Daph said to herself while feeling the newly-named baby shift inside of her. It wasn't long before the both of them fell back into a deep, satisfied sleep.
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Index