His Wife, His Family

Writers: Bree, Eimi
Date Posted: 3rd April 2006

Characters: Miryene, Jio
Description: After a long day spent doing rescue work, Jio comes home to see Miryene's new son.
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 11, day 2 of Turn 3

Jio was so exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally that he felt as
though he was walking through sinking sand, every step a battle of will
versus fatigue. But he couldn't sit, he couldn't eat... he had to find his
wife. It was the only thought that had carried him through the day. He had
not yet even cleaned off the dust and the dirt and the blood and the soot.
The journeyman knew he must looked a fright, but if he stopped he would
collapse.

He looked in every class room, searched each face. None of them were the
one he wanted - the only one that mattered. "Where is she? Where is my
wife?" he would ask any healer that walked by and they would all shrug and
run off to their patients.

Finally he found the face he was looking for. "Miryene?"

"Jio!" Miryene was tucked on a mattress in the corner of the room, a
blanket-wrapped bundle nestled in her arms. "I was getting so worried about
you!"

Her husband could feel tears threatening to fills his eyes. **You have no
idea how worried I've been for you,** he thought, but he couldn't get any
words past the lump in his throat. She was there, and she looked all right.
Tired, but all right. And it was all over now. He walked towards he and
kneeled down beside her, reaching out for her hand.

She pulled him down next to her, leaning against his side for a moment in
spite of the mess on his tunic. "I have someone to introduce you to..."

He his voice was hoarse and constricted as he whispered, "I'm so sorry,
Miryene. I wanted to be here..."

Pulling the blanket back from her son's face, she shifted him so Jio could
see him. "Mio... this is your father."

"Mio..." he whispered, looking down into the tiny face. "A boy?"

"A boy," she agreed, smiling at him. "But you have to wash up before you can
hold him."

Jio's eyes filled with tears as he looked down at the little child snuggled
peacefully in her arms. A small whimper escaped his lips. There was his
wife and little Mio. Safe and warm. But so many people were not. He knew.
He could hear them screaming. He could hear them calling out for help. The
sounds had grown quieter when he was told it was time to leave, but there
still people alive in there, he was sure of it. Alive, and cold, and
terribly alone. And there were even more dead. Crushed, lifeless, colder
than their stone tombs...

Miryene's face fell as she looked at him. "Jio... shards, it's bad, isn't
it? No one will tell me... they keep telling me to rest and not to worry,
but I _knew_ it was bad..."

He could only nod. No words would come. Jio had spent all day seeing only
Miryene's face and wondering if she and her baby were all right. Now he knew
she was safe and the baby was beautiful and healthy and alive... And all he
could think about were the faces he had pushed to the back of his mind all
day.

Shifting Mio to one arm, Miryene slid her other around his shoulder. "I'm so
sorry, Jio."

"I wanted... to be happy... for you and... and for Mio," he whispered,
fighting back the tears and sobs that threatened.

She'd wanted him to be happy, as well, but she didn't let that show on her
face as she smoothed a gentle hand over his shoulder. He seemed terribly
young suddenly, though she knew he was only a few turns her junior. "It's
all right, dear."

A couple tears escaped his eyes as he shook his head. "There are more down
there. I know there are. We can't stop. We can't wait for morning.
They'll die tonight. It's so cold and dark out there..."

Miryene shuddered, the images rising all too easily in her mind. It made her
feel faintly queasy, and her heart jumped when she realized there were still
so many friends from the Hold who she hadn't seen yet. But they'd kept her
isolated from anyone who might upset her...

"I need to find another shirt," he muttered, looking down at the rag that
had once been one of his finer tunics. It was now ripped and stained with
all manner of things. "I can't wear this anymore."

"Our things--" She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound more
normal. If Talrian thought she was going to panic, he was more than capable
of drugging her to sleep. He'd already threatened to do it once when she'd
pressed too hard for him to tell her what was going on. "They should be in
our rooms. You might be allowed to go up and fetch what you need, as long as
you're careful."

"Miryene, it's going to take some more time to dig through the rubble. Some
people need to stay behind and help." He swallowed the hard lump in his
throat. "You need to go. You and Mio must go."

"What? Go where?" Miryene's voice rose somewhat sharply, with a clear edge
of panic. "I'm not going anywhere alone! You can't send me away by myself!"

"Shhh, it's all right," Jio said as he took her hand and tried to sooth her.
"You wouldn't be alone. Everyone will be leaving, not just you. Amethyst
Cliff and this Hall are in ruins. We are all being moved."

"But you're coming with us, aren't you?" she asked, her fingers digging into
his arm painfully. She'd run out of courage for the day.

"I..." Shards, how could he let her leave with her brand-new baby, _their_
new baby, alone to a strange new Hold. But how could he deprive them of a
pair of hands to dig through the rubble when someone somewhere may still be
alive? He had seen a few flits fluttering around the wreckage, looking
almost as if they knew theirs was in that pile somewhere that they couldn't
reach. And yet it seemed that Miryene needed him. How could he leave her
when she needed him? She was his wife. This was his family now... "I will
talk to Fielton and Daigoro. I'm sure they will let me go with you."

The panic in her eyes faded a bit. "I can't be alone any more, Jio. I
can't."

He nodded. Yes, he belonged with his wife. The others would just have to
keep looking. He was just one more pair of hands. One more pair of eyes...
But he had a responsibility to the living now. He had to think of Miryene,
and their beautiful Mio. Jio looked down into the tiny babe's pink face. "I
think he looks like you."

Miryene smiled at him, shifting the child enough so that she could slide her
hand up to cup his cheek. Ignoring the dirt and blood and things better left
unexamined, she leaned into her husband and for the first time, gave him a
warm, gentle kiss.

Last updated on the April 9th 2006

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

His Wife, His Family