Thick as as Thieves

By Dixxy Mouri

Chapter Sixteen: Girl In Trouble

Dario was enamored.

It had been four months since he and Rachel began their little affair, and it was still just as exciting as it was the first time they made love – the first time for both of them. Whenever there was a moment they could have alone, they would kiss or Dario would whisper something sweet into her ear. Mostly, they stuck to subtle flirting – something that would be expected of sixteen year olds anyways – or holding hands behind the bar. Sometimes Dario would sneak into Rachel's room at night, although that meant he would need to wake up early so he was able to get back into his own room before Mr. Sparks woke up and found him in a very compromising position with his daughter.

If they were caught. . . they would be dead.

Well, Dario would be dead at the very least.

Sometimes it was just nice to be with her. They still did everything they did before they began their romance, although they would hold hands when they thought no one was looking as they went on their errands and Dario’s training sessions sometimes ended with the two embracing and kissing under a tree. Sometimes Dario would sneak her little presents, like flowers or bits of candy – nothing that would last for very long, but frequent enough so that there was usually something around.

“What do you think of me, love?” Rachel asked, rolling onto her side to look at Dario. Her father was away for a few days visiting an old friend, which the two lovers were taking full advantage of. This was Dario's second night in a row he'd been able to spend the whole night in Rachel's room, and dawn would bring the second morning in a row he would be able to simply lay in bed with her without any rush to leave. No making a mad dash for his pants if he heard his employer outside his daughter’s door. No hiding under the bed if there was no time before the man came in and trying to stay quiet as his employer started to converse with his daughter about one thing or another while he was busy sweating bullets.

“Hmm?” asked Dario asked in response. He started to play with her hair a little. She looked contemplative and curious and kind of irresistible. “What do you mean what do I think of you?” He frowned. “This isn’t like that time you asked me if that dress made you look fat, or is it? There was no good answer to that question, Rachel.”

“Do you love me?”

Dario pulled Rachel closer. “That’s a silly little question, Rachel. You know I love you. You’re the kind of girl I'd like to be with.” He sighed, kissing her. “I like being with you. You make me feel safe and that things are going to be okay. I love that and I love you.” He frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Rachel sighed. “I’m just thinking a bit.”

“You know I enjoy spending time with you even when we aren't naked, although I must admit those are some of my favorite times with you.” She stuck her tongue out at him. He kissed her forehead and traced circles on her collarbone. “You’re probably one of my favorite people ever, Rachel.”

Rachel smiled and giggled at the prospect. “Oh?”

Dario rolled her onto her back, resting his forehead against hers. “Yes.”

“So you're serious about us.”

“Very.” He kissed her. Rachel giggled. “I love you.”

Rachel wrapped her arms around him. “I love you, too.”

Deep inside of Rachel, there was a flicker of new life.

Two weeks later, Dario woke up early in his own bed, ready to start the day. He'd promised he'd help Mr. Sparks bring a few more barrels of beer to the bar that morning, and they would need to prepare a wagon and horses for the trip to the distillery. It was a kind of boring job, really, but it was usually pretty simple and over with quickly. All in all it was the makings of a more or less uneventful day.

Maybe Rachel and I can make the day more interesting. . .

After dressing and stepping out of his room, he heard a terrible sound from the bathroom down the hall. Pausing, he turned and headed back towards the noise and knocked on the door. He heard Rachel moaning from the other side. Needless to say, she didn't sound like she was doing very well.

“Rachel, are you all right?!” Dario asked.

He could hear her whine a little on the other side of the door. “Dario, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me – is everything okay? You don’t sound too good.”

“I don’t feel so good, either.”

Dario frowned. “Do you want me to go get your father or something to drink?”

“No. . . I've been sick like this for the past couple of days,” she said. Rachel whimpered and he heard – and felt – her lean against the closed door. There was a sliding sound and the shadows at the bottom of the door changed. “No one’s noticed yet and I didn’t want to say anything – you’re the first one to say anything.”

Dario's eyes widened. “Rachel, that's not good. Why haven't you said anything about this? If you're got some kind of a bug you might be getting the customers sick, babe. You probably need to get some rest – I'll make sure you're well taken care of until you feel better, okay.”
“Um, Dario?”

“Stomach bugs are nasty, but I'm sure Dr. Rose has something for a bug.”

Rachel grew silent. “Dario. . . I don't think it's a stomach bug.” He heard shuffling and the clicking of the doorknob turning. Rachel stepped out with her hand on her stomach, looking up at Dario with an uncomfortable look on her face. Worried, Dario placed his hands on her shoulders, afraid that something was seriously wrong.

“Rachel?”

Rachel rested her head against his shoulder, sighing heavily. “This has been going on for about a week now and I haven’t felt like myself much – and I’ve been really tired on top of it,” she said. Dario thought about this – she had been taking a lot of breaks when the tavern was open. “Dario, I’m a little scared right now.
“Of course you’re going to be tired – you’re sick,” said Dario. He put an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get you back to bed – I can cover the tables and the bouncing today, you rest up. I’m sure your father will understand you’re sick – he loves you very much and he’s not going to make you work when you’re not feeling well.”

“Dario. . . I’m also late.”

Dario raised an eyebrow. “Late for what?”

The girl he loved shook her head. “I'm late.”

Dario's eyes widened. “You. . . don't mean. . .”

“Dario. . . I think I'm pregnant.”

A baby.

It was much later that night, well after the tavern had closed for the day. Somehow, Dario ended up sitting on the edge of the fountain made for his ancestor, feeling sick to his stomach. He'd gotten into some of The Mad Griffon's harder liquor, a decision he was now regretting. He laid himself out on the edge of the fountain, lazily draping one hand into the water.

They'd been to Dr. Rose that afternoon when it slowed down to a crawl and Mr. Sparks gave them the afternoon off. The old doctor ran a few tests and told them to come back in an hour – it was probably the longest hour in both of their lives. Dario held her hand and had an arm around their shoulder as they returned to his office, awaiting the news.

Sure enough, Rachel was around two weeks pregnant.

And Dario was not ready to be a father.

Well, they had a while before Rachel actually had the baby. Eight and a half months could be a long time, but he had a funny feeling that they were going to fly by faster than he wanted them to. If he'd WANTED the baby they might have gone by slow, but since he wasn't prepared to this. . . he dreaded the coming months.

Dario's head was still swimming from the idea. . . or from the alcohol. He wasn't sure which one it was. He didn't consider himself a drinker, and certainly he wasn't quite old enough to be drinking it, but something about the news from the doctor that afternoon just made it seem like a really “good idea”. He was regretting that “good idea” now, but maybe the haziness he was feeling was a good thing.

He looked up at the face of the knight. “You would be so disappointed in me,” he said, pointing at the statue. “I suck! I really suck, don't I? I couldn't get my friends back to Guardia. Is’ my fault Norris has that wanted poster, huh? If I got him back to my dad and Viper they would have brought him home with us and he woulda been safe. And it's probably my damn fault Glenn's dead! And now I've gotten a girl pregnant. I'm doing fucking fabulous, aren't I?! Huh!? This is your legacy! Me! Some drunk ass horny teenager with a dead brother and a baby on the way!”

“Dario. . .”

Dario turned his head to see Rachel standing over him. She had a shawl over her shoulders and a frown on her face as she kept her hands protectively over her stomach. She sat next to his head, sighing heavily as she looked him over. “Rachel. What’re you doing out so late?” he asked. “You should be in bed.”

“You got into the liquor, didn't you?”

“No kidding,” he snapped. Dario laughed, probably louder than he should have. “What does it matter?” he said. “Before all this happened, you know what would have probably happened to me? Do ya? I would have probably been one of tha Dragoons back in El Nido by now. Following in my dad's footsteps, making him proud and all that. If he saw me now? He'd fucking disown me. I was a damn thief, Rachel! And what have I done now? Screwed around and got a girl pregnant. I'm a REAL shining example of what my father would have wanted, aren't I?”

Rachel swallowed. “I'm not dealing with you when you're like this.”

“This isn’t your fault!” he snapped. Rachel turned, eyeing him in surprise. “This is my damn fault! I’m a royal fuck up! You’re just a victim in all this! I should’ve known everything was too good to be true! If you’d never met me you wouldn’t be pregnant right now! You could’ve gotten a little older, met a nice guy and got married and had a nice little house somewhere with a dog or something. But then I-!”

Rachel put a finger to his lips and gently shook her head. Dario quieted, looking at her in interest as she cupped his chin and tilted his face towards her. She looked so calm and at ease, much more than he would have figured a sixteen year old girl should have been the day she found out she was pregnant. “Dario, let me try to put this nicely. . . shut the fuck up, sweetie.”

Dario hiccupped, tried to get up, and ended up in the fountain. Rachel stepped away from the splash as he tried to sit up, looking over the end of the fountain at her. Not all of the water dripping down his face was from the basin. “I'm sorry,” he said. He sat back down in the water. “I just. . . I just feel like I'm not allowed to be happy.”

“I don't make you happy?”
Dario shook his head. “Of course you make me happy. Rachel, I love you and you know that,” he said, leaning against the stone as he struggled to his feet. “Rachel, we're sixteen! Raising a baby isn't going to be easy! I love you but neither one of us is prepared for this!”

Rachel looked at him, with concern “You're not leaving, are you?”

Dario paused for a second. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, I can't do that.”

Rachel stepped closer, extending a hand. “I would have thought you would.”

Dario sighed heavily. “I. . . I'm not ready for the baby. I'm really not.” He closed his eyes. “But. . . what if I left, and then I woke up one day ten years from now and realized that I had missed out on something? Walked out on something important and special and stuff. . . I don't think I'd be happy with myself if I did that.”

“So then you will stay.”

“What else am I going to do?” Dario laughed bitterly. “You're all I've got.”

Rachel put a hand on his back. “You need to sober up, Dario.”

“Probably.” He hiccuped. “And marry you.”

“What?”

“I love you and you’re having our baby.”

Rachel’s eyes widened. “Let's get you back to the tavern, all right?”

“Yeah.”

It was a few evenings later that they broke the news to Rachel's father.

Normally, Mr. Sparks was a mild tempered little man who didn't like confrontation. He was well liked by the community, wouldn't harm a fly, and slipped free food to homeless children every so often. He was kind, gentle, caring, compassionate, and peaceful man. Not the kind of man who would point a gun at another man's forehead and threaten to blow their brains out against the back wall.

Unless, apparently, he found out someone was fooling around with his daughter.

“DADDY! DARIO!”

“Mr. Sparks, please put the gun down,” Dario said, his hands up as he slowly backed away from his employer. He was sacred of this man whom he had previously been on excellent terms with. But now, because there were four human lives in Rachel's bedroom and only three immediately visible . . . he was starting to wonder if he was going to die.

“YOU. . . YOU. . . YOU!!” Mr. Sparks said, shoving the gun into Dario's face.

“Daddy, stop it!” Rachel screamed. “This isn't solving anything!”

“I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL DO IT!”

“Daddy, please calm down and listen and don't kill him!” said Rachel.

Never taking the gun away from Dario, he turned to his daughter. “He took advantage of you! When did he do it? Did he take you into an alley to have his filthy way with you, or did he sneak into your room and threatened to slit your throat if you screamed!?”

“Daddy, he didn't rape me!” Rachel said. Boldly, she grabbed the arm holding the gun and pointed it at the floor. Mr. Sparks looked at his daughter, who boldly stared at him in the face. “Dario and I were having an affair – it's been going on for a while, and no one has forced anyone to do anything they didn't want to do. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but we're in love.”

Mr. Sparks didn't completely calm down, but he did drop the gun. Dario sighed with relief, only to choke on it as Rachel's father glared at him. “Don't think I'm not done being angry with either one of you. I'm your father, and I took YOU in off the streets! Of COURSE I’m infuriated with the two of you!”

Swallowing hard, Dario clasped Mr. Sparks hands. “Let me make this right.”

“Oh? HOW!? How can you make this BETTER, Dario?!”

Dario swallowed. “Let me marry Rachel.”

The room went silent. Rachel's eyes were wide, and Mr. Spark's jaw dropped.

Dario closed his eyes. “I love your daughter. Very, very much. And now that's she's pregnant with our child. . . your grandchild. . . I want to be with her as her husband. I don't want them to be alone.” He swallowed. “You know what will happen if I don’t marry her. I love her too much to put her through that. I know you probably think I was just horny or something, but I care about your daughter very, very much.”

“Dario. . .” Rachel said.

Mr. Sparks nodded at Dario, but he was still clearly fuming as he shoved his soon-to-be son-in-law to the side. Rachel grasped Dario's hand the two exchanged a worried look – he was seemingly giving them his “blessing”, but he still didn’t seem too happy about it. He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Dario sat down on Rachel's bed, sighing. “That could have gone better.”

Rachel sat next to him, putting his hand in her lap. One of her hands stayed over her belly, somehow trying to touch her unborn child. “He’s a smart man – he’s just angry right now. Daddy will calm down in a few days, and by the time the baby's born I'm sure he'll be a proud grandfather.” She took a deep breath.

Dario placed his hand over Rachel's still small stomach. “Yeah. He'll be a good grandfather. He's just upset right now, and I can't blame him. You're his baby, and now you're going to have a baby. And you're not married yet.” He took her hands. “It's probably not the best he could have hoped for, but by the time the baby comes, you'll have a husband – if you accept my proposal.”

Rachel squeezed back. “Dario?”

Dario shook his head, still holding her hands. “Please. . . let me at least do this part right,” he said. He bent down on one knee, reaching into his pocket for a small, black ring box. He opened the box to reveal a small silver band without a stone. “I know it's not much. . . I bought it this afternoon. . . but I wanted to do something for you.”

“Dario. . .”

“Rachel. . . I love you. I’m crazy about you. I know it doesn’t seem like it but you saved my life – I put a lot of thought into this. Between the baby and everything I want to do this, but most of all it’s because I love you. Now or five years or ten years from now. . . it doesn’t matter when, because I feel that I would have done this eventually anyways. So why wait? I love you now and I’ll just love you more as we get older. I want to be your husband. Will you be my wife?”

Rachel started to cry as she nodded and fell into her fiancé’s waiting arms.

Author's Notes

Look! A new character is on the way!

It’s also back to the Karsh and Janice show after this!

-Dixxy