Beginnings and Endings
It started with a pregnancy test.
James was sitting outside the bathroom door, his head leaned back against the painted brick wall and his walkie talkie in hand.
He looked at his watch and then put the walkie up to speak.
Anything?
I haven't looked yet. It says to give it two full minutes.
He could tell Dorcas was nervous by the waver in her voice. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything would work out... but James wasn't a liar. He didn't know.
Marlene was offered a 2 week choreo job training professional dancers out in Houston. It was an amazing oportunity, but she would miss the test this month. When she offered to turn the trip down, Dorcas wouldn't hear it. This wasn't new, and if they were honest neither of them were really expecting this time to be different. It had been 2 years of let down after let down.
Dorcas was starting to think they just weren't meant to be moms.
She just wanted to take this test, have a good cry about it, then go back to work. Business as usual.
Alright I'm going to check now.
Ok. I'm right outside the door.
.....
Dorcas?
The door opened and James stood up so quickly it made his head spin.
Dorcas was smiling. Tears were pouring down her face, and her cheeks were blood red, but she was smiling like he hadn't seen in nearly a year.
She held the little plastic stick out for him to see.
"There are two lines there, r-right?" She sobbed. "Tell me those are t-two blue lines, James... I'm not seeing things?"
"You're pregnant." He breathed. "D! You're pregnant!"
Her legs went week and she went down to her knees. James was crying too, patting her on the back as she let it out. It had been hard to see them struggle with this for so long. It had been hard to bring Harry around, and to think about having more kids of his own. Hard to see Marlene's typically positive outlook on life turn to shit, and Dorcas take shots every day that made her physically sick.
As hard as it had been for him, he knew it was a million times worse for them.
She video called Marlene right there in the hall, sitting on the floor where James had been waiting before, crying openly. He gave them privacy by guarding the hall and threatening anyone who dared try and have a pee.
Marlene was sitting in her hotel, waiting for the call, expecting another heartbreak. James could hear her scream from down the long hallway.
They deserved this moment. They deserved this joy.
-
They did go back to work after, but it wasn't business as usual. For years they had talked about leaving the force and applying for federal jobs. James liked the FBI. Dorcas was intrested in Homeland Security.
The police had never really figured out what to do when an officer got pregnant anyway, so they talked it over with Lily and Marls and put their notice in 4 days later. They applied for college on a grant program for former officers, and scheduled out their classes together. They would need degrees to work at that level. So they settled on Criminal Justice and figured they could branch out from there if they wanted.
Marlene and Lily both made more than enough to support them chasing after their goals, and being in classes instead of the field meant a smoother pregnancy for Dorcas. It was the best timing.
There was a chance they wouldn't always work together on their new career paths; a chance they might not get to be partners anymore. But that was part of growing up. Things change. Priorities shift and you make space for new dreams and new goals to fit your new life, and you just have to hope your friends are there by your side for the ride.
They always would be.
They were the two best friends that anybody could have, after all.