Chapter Text
“Dutch? Dutch! Hey, Dutch, wait up!” D’avin called as he saw the back of the once-familiar figure weaving through the crowded Leith Bazaar. Even though she was walking away from him, D’avin would never forget the sight of his former partner-boss-lover-friend. “Dutch, come on, wait up!” He yelled as he pushed people aside to try to get to her.
“Not now, D’avin!” she finally called back, tossing the comment over her shoulder as she sped up her pace.
“Hey, I just want to say hi!” D’avin said as he finally caught up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. It was only when she whirled around to face him that D’avin noticed the stroller she had been pushing.
The cover was over the seat so he couldn’t see inside, but after seeing the look on Dutch’s face he didn’t have to.
“Is… I mean, are you… am I?” D’avin trailed off. Dutch sighed and her face was stony as she reluctantly gave a nearly imperceptible nod. D’avin stood there in shock as he tried to process the information. “You’re sure? I mean, I'm not saying it's not, but I just want to know, you know?.”
“Yes, D’avin, I’m sure. John gave a sample to be tested. Familial match. Congratulations Jaqobis, you’re a father. Now please, get out of my way and pretend you never saw me.”
“Pretend I never saw you? Are you kidding me Dutch?” Davin asked incredulously as he matched pace with Dutch who had already started walking away. “Dutch, I have a kid, we have a kid, and you want me to just pretend I never saw you? That’s not happening! I want to be a part of this!”
“I can’t, D’avin. I can’t let you in again. I want to but I can’t. And I can’t trust you with Ko-” she cut herself off quickly before resuming her sentence, “I can’t trust you with my child if I can’t trust you myself. And I don’t. So the answer is no, D’avin. Hell, I’ve been spending most of the past two years trying to forget you, and you want to undo all of that?”
“Dutch, come on. At least tell me the kid’s name. After all we’ve been through together, I deserve that much!”
Dutch closed her eyes and brought the hand that wasn’t clutching the handle of the stroller up to her face and slowly rubbed her forehead, as if that would somehow make the situation just go away. But, when she opened her eyes a moment later, D’avin was still there, staring at her intently.
“His name is Kobee” she whispered. D’avin just stared at her for a moment before a grin slowly began to spread across his face.
“Kobee? Not Kobee as in Kobee Andras? As in the alias I was using when you and I first met? Dutch, you’re not trying to forget me at all!”
“But I wish like hell that I could” she spat. Just then, fussing noises began to emerge from the stroller and Dutch turned her back to D’avin to stick her head under the cover. D’av tried to get a look at the stroller’s passenger, but Dutch had cleverly positioned herself to make that impossible. On the other hand, it did give him a nice reminder of her incredible ass.
A moment later the fussing stopped and Dutch straightened up again. “Look, I’ve got to get Kobee home. It’s past his nap time and he’s going to start screaming if he doesn’t get to bed soon. I’ve got to go.” She pushed past him and he was about to let her go, but not without one last request.
“Can I see him?” D’avin implored, with a hand on her arm. For the first time since Jaegar had ruined him, Dutch looked him in the eyes. It was only for a second before she broke her gaze, but it was there.
“Come by tonight at nine” she told him, her voice full of resignation. “I don’t want him to see you, but you can see him when he’s sleeping. I’m in the apartment above Belus’s office. And if you ring the doorbell and wake him up, you’re dead.”
Content, D’avin released his grip on her arm and nodded in acceptance. Hurriedly, Dutch turned and soon disappeared into the crowd. D’avin followed her with his eyes as long as he could, but when he could no longer see her he turned around and headed for the nearby shop that had been his original reason for coming to the bazaar in the first place. A grin spread across his face and his heart beat faster than usual.
He wouldn’t admit it, but D’avin Jaqobis was still in love.