2.04 The Aftermath

Malcolm is remembered immediately in the local press as a hero who was given additional rank (that is, something far above amateur) for his bravery (/moronic idiocy) at the scene in fighting such an aggressive fire alone. His body was only identifiable through DNA evidence, being that what should have been a small fire raged uncontrollably through the open floor plan of the newly built modern mansion. If Malcolm had known to pay more attention to his surroundings, he would have realized that this type of home made of plastic and polyurethane, with little to no natural construction materials in sight, was only able to give a fleeing victim 3-4 minutes to make an exit and escape. The time he needed to fight the fire alone had actually been up the moment he entered as the drive to the Kirke home from the firehouse had eaten that lead time and more.

Not that any of this information matters much in the days after. Nor will it put him back where he belongs.

Jyoti had a hard time processing the incident, and constantly found herself confusing reality with her imagination. She slept rarely but dreamed often, and spent several days in the fog of confusion. Only the changing weather outside proved to her that time was passing.

It's only when she's awake that her life quickly becomes her greatest nightmare. She's not keeping track of days or times. She is also having trouble getting to her prenatal appointments on time. Her alarm goes off, her mom reminds her, her nurse has started sending her home with a hand written card.

It had taken her so long to give her heart to him, and just recently she'd begun to gravitate to their new marriage as the one path in her life she knew she was always going to undertake. Even if she didn't know where they should be going, she knew it would be okay because he was with her, and they would decide all things together. Now, she stood alone and soon would have a little one to guide, even though she had no idea where she was supposed to be going, herself.

Did he know, that morning, that he wouldn't be coming home? Jyoti knows him well enough, that he would have gone out there anyway.

Well, knew him.

For some reason this thought makes her so, so angry. That he would charge in carelessly and put it all on the line even if he wasn't ready- just in case there were a few meaningful seconds that could have saved someone else. What if those were the last seconds that he had needed? And they had been. Smoke inhalation, asphyxiation, all of those words didn't really mean anything other than he waited a little too long and got in over his head working so feverishly to not lose sight of his goals.

If she hadn't told him about their son, would he have been more careful, instead of desperate to succeed...?

Just like the old days, Leila once again begins to receive the majority of Jyoti's free time, and more affection than ever. Jyo focuses on teaching her old dog anything and everything that she can, openly conscious that her closest companion since her youth is already older than her parents in relative age.

She desperately clings to what she can.

On another topic, it appears that Dustin has been reading this little blog.

Very nice work, I hadn't seen this one yet, so thank you. I wonder what Meghan is doing.

...

...seriously?!

This isn't really a nightly occurrence for her, anymore. The family got rid of the giant space rocks around this time too, and yet... Dustin must have just been waiting for this to happen. Instead of in some way trying to help Meghan out of this predicament, he has chosen to satirize it. Well played. This may just be the greatest moment in this blog's history.

You jack@ss.

Okay back to being sad.

Eww a ghost.

Why do I feel like someone incredibly hot walked through the room? I know it's not the new butler, she's hideous.

It doesn't feel real. Malcolm's body was too badly damaged for the family to come and identify him, so even though he was the only firefighter that made it to the scene, it wasn't until lab results came back that a positive identification was made. After all of that, there wasn't really a way to say goodbye. Jyoti moves about in slow motion, only going outside or getting up when she realizes time has passed because she's hungry, or tired, or the sun went down and the air is cold.

“At least we still have you, girl.”

It's silly to think that Leila won't be going somewhere anytime soon. Jyo stocks up on ingredients for holistic, home made dog food items to ensure that she can stay with the Sparrows as long as possible.

It's come out that Meghan is pregnant at the same time as her daughter now, and after Malcolm's incident at work there is a steady silence about the house, despite what should be something to look forward to.

Jyo's wish for spaghetti and ice cream together is turning Meghan's stomach right about now.

At the very least, they grow closer together in support for one anther and there is some comfort to be found in part of the mourning process.

For Jyoti though, she's still pretending that Malcolm's away out of town for some work opportunity and he's going to turn up at their doorstep any minute now.

“No mom, I don't want to build a nursery. The baby and I will be fine. I'll figure something out, I'm an adult."

Meghan is not surprised at the acid in her daughter's voice. It's been there for several weeks now. “I know you can handle things Jyo but you don't have to- and you can worry about being self sufficient after the baby arrives, okay? You and I are due so close together that we'll need to plan for it anyways."

“No, mom, I'm not going to just live here with you and dad forever!”

“Okay, sure honey...” She backs down, too exhausted to argue over these little things. She's been Meghan a lot more during this pregnancy than the others, and honestly a lot of what she's going through is new to her again. On top of that, her pregnancy is high risk so she plans on being induced a bit early- matching up with a few days or so after Jyoti's given birth and ensuring that there will be less complications for her. She bites her lip, trying to hold the worries in. “Let us know what you need and we'll get it for you.”

Jyoti's eyes storm over and she walks away angrily. Who she needs isn't here, so why would she ask for anything at all?

Meghan practices some breathing exercises. She's going to need them soon.

Dustin is on his daughter's good side for most of the pregnancy. He doesn't press her or give her concerns for her future, she gets teased as if everything were normal and nothing is broken. On the days that she feels the floor falling out from under her feet, she needs him the most.

Should she tell him that after the baby is born, she wants to start over somewhere new? Would he understand her need to get away from Starlight?

In the end it's a decision she will have to make alone, so she keeps it to herself until she is certain. The desire to leave has always lingered, even before Malcolm left to go on that long trip, but the desire to make something of herself has not solidified into something worthwhile. What if she leaves, then finds out her career path directs her right back to the coast? Maybe she'll join Everet and become a new kind of good crime boss, or something.

All of her ideas are garbage.

“You don't have to know what you want right now.” Her mom tells her pragmatically one day. She has learned to keep her opinions to herself. “Just relax and rest as much as you can. Take a vacation from your problems.”

Jyo shoots her a mom a sarcastic look.

Dustin is invited as a guest Judge at the annual Amateur Entertainers Fair.

He tries to tell himself that he was this bad as a newbie himself, but it just can't be true.

The performer wisely tries to elevate her performance by including her famous senior in the art of magic...

And uses the wrong prop...

Haha. You got it back.

And that's how stabbing the establishment in the gut during a newbie's magic show became a tradition in this city.

And, like magic, time passes.

Jet's the kind of guy that doesn't know he's a side character in someone else's storyline.

Meghan and Jyo are both hyper-pregnant at this point, so they're rolling wishes to do childish things. Also half their clothes don't have preggo morphs.

“If I get more pink eggs does it mean we're having a girl?” Dustin asks, down for any childish thing. His wife shrugs, sure her back is going to hate this idea later.

Days like this are a bright light in the tension that's been in the house lately.

Even if some townie nobody's ever heard of become lord of the dance.

Get out of here, old man.

Dustin works a little bit to iron out his own stress. Jet hides in his room most of the day writing or is out with his girlfriend, so Dustin is practically the only man in the house with two pregnant women. Even the butler and the dogs are all female.

The old venues sure have changed. Nobody seems to want to watch magic much anymore. His big money comes from out of town crowds at the larger places.

He loyally puts the same work in regardless.

Not dead. Okay, great!

Female bonding continues.

Apparently Jet has the good sense to know that now is not the time to be painting his mother however he likes.

Leeets just ignore the clothes for a second, and appreciate that they both just went into labor at the SAME TIME.

“Which one of use is supposed to drive to the hospital?!” Meghan shrieks, forgetting momentarily that she's done this before.

Then she collects her thoughts and takes a bicycle, just in case it helps her get there faster.

But the many things that should have made this a happy occasion...

...were already doomed from the start.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In which I suck at being sad.

Preggo Selfies.

Can we just appreciate that Malcolm showed up at the hospital even though he's no longer living with the family? I've cheated him as a ghost for a few shots because it looks cool, but he's alive in the town IRL. I've NEVER had an estranged partner show up at the hospital when the baby is born.

Well this article on modern house fires was a fascinating foray into fields of fatalities unfathomable (yikes); https://restorationmasterfinder.com/restoration/house-fire-in-modern-homes/

Lots of things nobody really thinks about that pose a risk in the nice, new open houses of more modern developments.