Iris slept soundly all night. She awoke to find herself in an unfamiliar room laying on a hospital bed. She was alone. Iris tried to adjust forward and get up. She quickly realized that she was attached to an IV drip and felt the poke of the needle.
"OW! Ouch that hurts."
Her exclamation was fairly quiet for being in the far corner of the castle, but she still didn't know about the vampire nature of her baby daddy and his family. Whereas, they had heard her voice and quickly returned to her room. Antoine first opened the door and walked in.
"You're awake."
"Yes, I am. What happened? I do not remember anything."
"You still could not keep any food down. That's why we put you on an IV drip. Hopefully you will start feeling better soon."
"Yeah. Great," Iris said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "I feel like a prisoner in my own body. No memories at nights, a baby, and I don't remember the last time I slept in my own bed."
After everything Iris had been through recently, her sense of sarcasm had increased and she was less reserved and quiet than before. Her shell had been taken away and sarcasm quickly became her new shield. She wasn't sure if she could trust Antoine but she knew he was kind and seemed to have good intentions towards her.
Antoine continued his conversation with Iris, "Iris, I know you have been through hell recently. I know you still know very little about me. However, I want to promise you that I will always do whatever makes you happy. When you have this baby, I will do anything for you and the child. If you want nothing to do with me, I also understand. Please know that my family and I will be here for you. It is your choice."
Despite the revelations last night, the Gastropfs had not actually determined whether to let Iris remain a part of their world and the child's world. Antoine had vigorously argued for allowing Iris to make her choice. Martinique did not actually have a side. Martinique had seen firsthand the troubles of bringing a human-vampire into their world. He also loved Gina more than anything and would fight that battle again. Gina and Teresa listened and provided feedback as the feminist points of views. By the time Iris had woken up, no verdict had been reached. Needless to say, Antoine's decision to allow Iris her own choice, even a choice to raise the baby on her own as human, was a shock. Yet, none of the others dared to enter the room and say otherwise.
"Antoine, I don't know what my choice is. I have barely had time to think. I only know that I am going to protect this baby with all my heart and soul. If you want to join me and allow me to be a part of your family, I might say yes. I feel bad that I left a bad first impression at dinner," Iris replied.
"Well, let's try again. How about joining us for breakfast?"
"Okay. Does Teresa have some more clothes I can borrow? I don't want to be a walk of shame."
Antoine laughed and nodded then called for Teresa. Teresa came in, "Let's get you something nice to wear. Brother, will you please remove her IV needle?"
Within a minute or two, Teresa had led Iris down the hall to her room.
Teresa opened the door to her room and led Iris past her bed to the giant walk-in closet.
"Take your pick. If none are to your liking, then I will call my favorite fashion designers and they will be here promptly."
Iris gasped. It was a little girl's dream closet minus everything pink and tutus. It was the Dallas style with shelves of different styles of jeans. Bootcut, ankle, skinny, boyfriend, bedazzled, embroidered, painted, patterned jeans and even corduroy in all varieties was stacked like a store amongst the wooden shelves. There were plenty of blouses and T-shirts hanging on velvet hangers. Light jackets hung nearby the tops. Towards the end of the closet was an entire section devoted to shoes/heels. Boots had their own placement as well.
Iris quickly found a pair of bootcut jeans with flower embroidery down the left leg. She matched it with a pink peasant blouse and some flat heel boots. Teresa walked out of the closet to allow Iris to change her clothes. Within a few minutes, both women walked back to the dining room to enjoy breakfast. The room smelled like hash browns, bacon, and pancakes. Iris heard her stomach growling and she quietly wished to keep down her food and make a good first impression. She really needed just one fantastic day.