The house was coming up in the distance, and I felt a bit nervous about that 'surprise' Ditzy told me about. 'What could she possibly have?' I thought, slumping down the sidewalk.
'Perhaps it has something to do with why she's been so nervous for the past few weeks. I haven't gotten the chance to talk to her as much as I liked to.' Every time I came across to her, our conversations were always cut short, and often she ended up taking a B-line home. I remember seeing her entering her home one day, and she looked cautious.
'Could it be something dangerous?' I thought. I doubt it though, that mare couldn't hurt a parasprite; unless they got in the way of her friends or her muffins that is.
At this point, Ditzy would've been able to see me through her kitchen window. I heave a sigh and knock, clutching another bouquet of flowers. Inside there's a frantic scurrying, followed by another scatter.
Eventually Ditzy makes it to the door in one piece, and smiles. "Hey Doctor."
"Hello Ditzy." I say, holding out the flowers.
"Oh Doctor, that's so sweet of you. But I think I'm starting to run out of places to put these. She gestures me inside, and I follow her in. "Now, I need you to be quiet. And please don't freak out." She says.
I can't help but want to freak out at those words. 'Why would I need to be so quiet?" I thought aloud. I clamp a hoof over my mouth, not expecting those words to slip out.
"It's okay, I promise." She says. She then sighs and leads me to the next room, where I hear a faint giggling. She extends a hoof out in front of her, motioning towards the little foal rolling around on the floor.
She stops when she spots me, and immediately looks up with a curious glare. Her happy little grin turns into a frown, and for a second, I spot a look of fear in her eyes. She freezes, I freeze, and for a second, only Derpy is the one doing anything at all.
"Doctor, I want you to meet Dinky. She's a few weeks old at the moment, and she doesn't like new ponies very well." She says.
I manage to tear my eyes away from Dinky. "Ditzy, is she-"
"I can explain. Come on, let's talk about this over some muffins and tea." She says. The little foal reaches her arms out to her, and Derpy happily hoists her up.
"Before you say something crazy, no, I'm not her birth mother. "
"Mother? But you said you were watching your niece for a while." I say.
"I know what I said." She replies, "But I didn't want to bring any more unnecessary attention; at least until I signed the adoption papers."
"So all those times you were in such a rush, and the reason you'd finish you're work so fast, was for her?" I say.
"Yes." She sighs.
We're all silent for a moment. The little filly's eye's stare up at me, as in any moment I'd do something terrible. Derpy stood up. "Would you like some tea? I may not be the best with it, but it's something."
"Yes Please." I reply.
She sets Dinky on her back, getting out a box of tea and filling a tea pot with water.
"How long have you had her?" I ask. She turns and smiles. "For about three weeks." She says.
"How old is she?"
"When I found her, she was about three weeks. So a little over a month." She says, setting in the tea bags.
"Have you been taking care of her all by yourself?" I ask curiously. She pauses for a moment, possibly debating on what to say.
"Yes. I had to leave her here to get to work. And no pony else knows about her, save for Child Services and you." She breathes.
"Am I asking too much?" I say, feeling a bit of unease in the air.
"No, it's okay. You deserve to know." She says.
"How about you start from the beginning?" I suggest. She looks up to me and smiles her bubbly smile. She then shoots into how she found Dinky, and bringing her home, taking care of her. She mentions adopting her, and starting to call herself a mom. We could've bee there for hours, drinking our tea and speaking to our hearts' contempt.
"So that's what you were hiding huh?' I say, propping myself up onto one hoof.
"I'm sorry Doctor, I should've told you sooner."
"It's quite alright, I might've done the same." I admit. "Are you sure you can handle this?" I ask her. She looks down to the yawning foal in her arms.
"I know it won't be easy. That's for sure." She adjusts the foal's mane a slight bit, getting a golden lock out of her eyes. "But who else could do it? I don't want to send her off to an orphanage. I'm all she has at the moment. And we've both grown on each other." She pauses and matches her golden eyes to mine.
"I couldn't tell you how many times she'd just cry out of nowhere, or in the middle of the night. I have a feeling that she's afraid of being abandoned. I hate leaving her alone all of the time. The look in her eyes if she wakes up just a little bit before I come home, or discovers that I'm not there, it's just....unbearable." She restrains herself.
Eventually, Dinky falls asleep in her arms, sucking on her hoof.
"I should put her to bed. I'll be just a moment. I promise." She says. I smile back at her warmly. Truthfully, I'm not sure what to think, all of this was happening to fast for me to process. I'm just relieved that Ditzy is okay. I felt quite a bit of tension from that little 'surprise' she mentioned.
I hear the light click of a door closing and Derpy walks back in. "I'd love to help you." I say quietly. "About Dinky, I mean."
"I couldn't let you do that, it wouldn't be fair to you."
"Trust me Ditzy," I take her hoof in mine and stare at it. "I want to make this work for us. If we're going to be close," I can tell that she was blushing. "then I want to be close with your daughter as well. She needs some sort of father figure."
"Doctor..." She seemed to have her words caught in her throat, with the way she struggled with what to say next. "You're so sweet, have I ever told you that?"
I smile. "Only a thousand times."
"Well, expect it a thousand more, if we're going to make this work." She leans over and kisses my cheek, I feel heat rush to them as I smile dumbly, causing her to giggle.
"Guess that's becoming a habit of mine." She says.