Chapter BLUE
BLUE
The contractions start during a weekly meeting with my directors.
I don’t let it show, though, and I finish the meeting anyway, although Gabriel’s eyes, from where he’s sitting in the opposite corner, keep widening more and more because he can feel my pain.
The moment the meeting ends, he walks over, wraps an arm around me, and quickly leads me out of the conference room.
Against my will, a wave of stress rises inside me, and Gabriel seems to sense it. He wraps both arms around me and lifts me into the air.
We’d already agreed earlier that the birth would happen at Malden General, where a special room is waiting for me.
"Everything’s going to be fine," Gabriel whispers against my hair, and even though I know it will, I’m forty-two years old. I have waited a very long time for this moment, and now that it’s finally here, it feels overwhelming in a way I can only partially process.
We ride the elevator and head straight into the limousine. Gerard’s eyes go wide the moment he sees Gabriel carrying me in his arms, but, like any classy chauffeur, he doesn’t comment.
We drive to Malden General.
Thankfully, it’s not too far, only about thirty minutes away. Meanwhile, Gabriel pulls out an app that diligently tracks the timing between contractions.
It’s strangely comforting how seriously he’s taking all of this. I watch him while, with a furrowed brow, he carefully records every contraction in the app, making sure we have the timing correct.
When the next wave hits me, he shifts immediately, placing his hand on my lower back. His pressure feels grounding, right where the pain coils, and I realize he’s not just guessing what to do. He’s actually paying attention to my energy through our Bond.
A few seconds after the wave subsides, I let out a shuddery breath, unsure if the absence of pain is going to hold, but as long as he presses his hand to my back, it’s good.
Wow, does the touch thing work on me too? I remember it helped soothe Gabriel’s pain after he was shot, and it seems to have the same effect. Perfect.
"Jaw," he says quietly, leaning over me from behind, still kneading my back. "Unclench your jaw. Shoulders too."
I try to follow, but another contraction builds and I worry the pain will be back, but… it’s not. I let out another shaky breath, still not fully trusting how long it will last, checking, slightly tensing. My inner teenager coils a bit in stress deep inside my fortress.
"Hey," Gabriel whispers, reacting immediately, "Breathe calmly. In. Hold. Out."
I do, because there is something in his tone that makes it easy to surrender to it. His own breathing sets the rhythm, and I find myself matching it despite everything pulling at me from the inside.
His hand stays on my back throughout the contraction, applying steady pressure, making small adjustments as needed. It feels like he’s anchoring me to something solid.
As the contraction starts to fade, I feel his fingers briefly ease, then return, as if checking whether I’m still holding together.
"You’re doing fine, Blue," he says after a moment. "So very well."
And for some reason, I believe him, as his soft, caring energy embraces me and… my inner teenager too, who’s still a bit unsure of what’s going on but is finally beginning to relax. As his energy stabilizes, a soft sense of calm spreads with surprising force through my whole system.
Wow, it’s incredible how much comfort Gabriel’s tender hands bring.
I actually start to believe it will be easy, and the teenager believes it too, basking in Gabriel’s soothing aura.
I’m grateful that he’s caring for both of us… and…
I open my mouth to tell him I love him.
I’ve tested it many times, standing in front of a mirror, tuning into the energy of those words and analyzing my state of mind whenever I felt inclined to try.
I waited for the moment when they would resonate with me in the most natural way possible.
Eventually, they did; my body was saturated with that warm feeling every time my gaze landed on Gabriel.
But I… I still keep holding myself back.
Maybe I’m saving it for that one perfect cheesy moment?
But just now, I’m afraid of how the words would sound, maybe artificial, maybe he’d think it’s only because of the emotions and tension of the moment.
So instead I just reach out and gently run my fingers through his rust-colored hair.
"This is the day our two become three," I whisper.
Gabriel breaks into a smile. "Yeah, and I’m absolutely ready. I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life."
Gerard stops the limousine. We step out in front of the hospital.
Gabriel immediately gets a wheelchair for me, and I’m taken upstairs to the room where the doctors and nurses are already waiting.
The entire time I keep expecting this labor to take forever. It’s my first birth after all, and technically considered a geriatric pregnancy on top of that, but apparently I underestimated the strength of True Mate magic. And the uniqueness of my body.
Doctor Jovan approaches and examines me under Gabriel’s watchful gaze, his brows slightly furrowed as he watches the doctor’s hand checking cervical dilation. I can almost sense a growl arising in his chest, but he reins it in.
"We’re already past seven centimeters," Dr. Jovan says with a smile.
"Wow… that’s a lot."
Apparently the labor is progressing quickly. Dr. Jovan nods while pressing the ultrasound probe against my stomach.
"Everything looks good. The baby’s heartbeat is normal, so now we wait."
I glance at Gabriel and notice him typing rapidly on his phone.
"My parents really want to come," he says a little shyly. "This is their first grandchild."
"Sure, let them come. I’d just rather they not stare between my legs."
"I’d prefer that too," Gabriel grins.
An hour later I’m already at nine centimeters.
When Gabriel’s parents arrive, his father stays out in the hallway, but his dad comes into the room for a moment. I immediately notice his eyes are full of tears.
First he says something in Russian to Gabriel, which my glasses instantly translate on the screen as:
"Is everything alright, child? There aren’t any complications?"
Gabriel answers him in Russian too, and well, I discover I like listening to him speak that language.
Then Gabriel’s dad walks over to me and reaches out his hand. He’s holding something, and I glance at it uncertainly.
It’s a small pendant with a crystal stone in a cyan shade.
"This is my talisman, Blue. When I escaped from Russia, I held it in my hand and bad situations always seemed to pass me by. During every childbirth I held it too, and everything went well… But I wasn’t wearing it the day Marlow…
" His voice falters. "But when he was in the hospital afterward, I wore it again. Maybe it’s foolish, but I believe this little stone helped me. It’s been in my family for a long time. It belonged to my grandfather."
"The one you called Obroten?"
"Yes, that one exactly." Gabriel’s dad blushes slightly.
I take the talisman. It’s just a small stone on a gold chain. I don’t want to hurt this older omega by refusing it, even if I don’t believe in superstitions.
"Thank you. Of course I’ll give it back once everything’s over…"
"No," Gabriel’s dad whispers. "The time has come for this stone to pass on to the next descendant and bring him luck too."
"It has a beautiful color," I say with a faint smile. "Such a pure, deep cyan."
"I think so too. I’ve always loved that shade."
Gabriel’s dad glances toward Gabriel before quietly saying, "I won’t disturb you. We’ll wait in the hallway. This is such an important moment for the new parents…" and he wipes away a small tear.
"No," I say suddenly. I can sense how unbelievably much this means to him, and all at once I stop caring that someone extra might witness the birth.
I tense slightly as another contraction hits, but Gabriel’s presence behind me immediately takes some of the pain away.
Dr. Jovan lifts the edge of the blanket and says, "I can already see the head. This will only take a few more minutes."
Gabriel squeezes my hands while his dad closes his eyes and clasps his own together. I hear him murmuring something in Russian that sounds like a prayer.
A strong contraction rolls through my entire body, and I can feel my ring working too.
At moments like this I appreciate having traits similar to rose omegas, because the muscle capable of widening my passage is working intensely now too, and a moment later I feel a slippery shape slide through my entrance.
Dr. Jovan smiles and nods. "One more second and the body will slip out too."
And he’s right. Seconds later, carried by the final wave of contractions, my first son slips into the world.
Dr. Jovan lifts him up and places him against my chest.
Gabriel immediately leans down and lightly brushes his fingers over the baby’s damp head.
"Welcome to this world, son," he whispers, and his voice trembles slightly. I’ll admit my own throat tightens too with an unexpectedly powerful emotion.
Gabriel’s dad leans slightly over us. I notice he’s put on a mask, but I can still see tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Look at his hair," he says in a shaking voice.
Dr. Jovan wipes off the baby’s head, and all of us stare at the tiny tuft of hair there.
"It’s exactly the same color as my talisman!"
And it really is. The delicate little strands have a fluorescent cyan glow, somewhere between luminous blue and green.
My throat tightens slightly when I speak.
"I think I already know what we should name him. I think we’ll skip the classic names my father mentioned and go with something different, something that’s ours: Cyan."
Gabriel smiles broadly. "It fits perfectly. Blue and Cyan."