Chapter 12 #2
I turned at the sound of the other voice. I could only nod slowly at Thomas and Canyon as they now stood there in the middle of our house. It had been Thomas who had spoken though.
“Fantastic,” he said seconds before Aspen, Mason, Maelie in her high chair, and the children’s bags all disappeared.
I looked to Monroe and then over at Dr. King. “You know, it’s nice being around those that have magic, but at times, it seems really unfair.” I grabbed my mate’s outstretched arms and held on as yet another contraction hit, this one even stronger, and I actually gasped at the intensity of it.
Monroe used magic, and although normally my stomach would flip, this time it did nothing because I was too busy being in the middle of a contraction.
“Did you know before your water broke?” Monroe asked as he helped me lie down in our bed.
“No. I had nothing. A little bit of a backache, but my back has been sore for weeks.” I looked down at my stomach. It was huge. It didn’t take much though. I wasn’t a large man.
“I’ll get everything assessed and see where you are in regards to how far along you are in the labor,” Dr. King said.
I gritted my teeth when another contraction hit.
“He’s in pain. I should take his pain away,” Monroe said.
“Let me look first. If he’s far enough along, which I assume he is since his waters have broken, I’ll give him what Constantine has dubbed that floaty feeling.”
I latched on to that phrase. “Oh, I’ve heard about that.
Yes. I want that. Chase and Eli both mentioned that.
I want to float.” I grabbed Monroe’s shirt and yanked on him.
“It hurts, Roe. Make it stop,” I said, ending on a tiny sob when another pain shot through my stomach and centered on the back right on my spine.
“That certainly explains things,” Dr. King said. He gently moved Monroe closer to the headboard and met my eyes. “Your omega line is fully open and has actually torn a bit. I’ll heal that once the baby is delivered, but for the moment, let’s take some of that pain away, shall we?”
“Yes,” I said. I had been fine while sitting at the table.
But now, only minutes later, I felt like I was about to split in two.
Dr. King’s hand started glowing green, and as he moved it slowly down my body, I sighed in relief when that feeling of floating in the lake suddenly overcame me.
“Ah…yes. That’s it. That was exactly what they described. ”
Dr. King chuckled. Monroe ran his fingers through my hair before leaning down and kissing my forehead.
“What do you need me to do, Doctor?”
“Just support your mate. He’ll need help to sit up a bit when I ask him to push.” Dr. King refocused on me. He had pushed my shirt up above my rounded stomach, and I wasn’t sure if I was still wearing pants or not, but at this point, I didn’t care. I just wanted our little girl to be here already.
“I can do that,” Monroe said. He looked back at me. “Are you ready?” he asked me.
“I am,” I told the two of them.
“Very good. Now, Oscar, when you feel the next contraction, I want you to crunch up and push. The baby’s head is right here and ready to pop out, so it should be a fairly easy delivery.”
I nodded, immediately sitting up and doing as the doctor had instructed.
“Already?” Monroe said. He grabbed my left hand with his, his right arm going behind my shoulders to help me sit upward. I pushed as hard as I could, grunting as I ran out of energy, and I fell lax in Monroe’s arms.
“Good. Very good,” Dr. King said. “Rest for a few moments, and push again when you feel ready and you’re having a contraction.”
I nodded because it didn’t take long. Another contraction hit almost immediately, and I sat up with Monroe’s help and pushed. When I felt like I couldn’t push any longer, I screamed out as I gave it just a little more, and then I felt sudden relief. I collapsed backward, and then we heard it.
“Two very strong pushes and you two have a beautiful baby girl,” Dr. King said as our daughter let her displeasure be known that she was forcefully removed from her warm bedroom that she’d been in for the past four months.
“And she has quite the set of lungs on her.” Dr. King looked to Monroe.
“Would you like to cut the cord?” he asked.
Monroe glanced at me, and I nodded. I had no issues with him doing that if he so wished.
He refocused on everything else going on with Dr. King and our daughter, who was still crying but had quieted considerably.
That was, until it was obvious that Monroe had cut the cord.
That made her cry out a couple of times before she suddenly quieted.
I was concerned at first but was quickly put at ease when I saw Dr. King handing over a now bundled-up baby Ella to Monroe.
“She’s absolutely beautiful, Oscar,” Monroe said. I was so focused on my mate and daughter that Dr. King had to call out multiple times to get my attention.
I tore my eyes away from Monroe and looked to the doctor. “Oscar, I need you to give me one small push. We need to deliver the placenta. Then, after I make sure it’s complete, I’ll help your omega line close and heal the tear for you.”
“Thank you,” I told him. He nodded, and I gave him a little push as he’d asked and then saw a giant blob of slimy darkness come from me. It was quickly gone, and then Dr. King gave me a smile and went back to doing whatever it was he needed to do. I turned my attention back to Monroe and Ella.
“Look,” Monroe said as he held Ella down to where I could see her. Only her face was visible, but it was adorable. She had a cute squished nose and a perfect bow lip. Her eyes were closed now though, so I couldn’t see what color they were.
“Did you see her eyes?” I asked. Not that I cared too much. And I’d know soon enough because she’d be awake in a few hours at most.
“They’re blue, like yours. Her hair is brown like mine though.”
I smiled and reached out for her chubby cheek.
“All right, Oscar. I don’t mean to interrupt your time with your new baby, but your omega line is closed now. There was a tear on your left side, but it shouldn’t cause any issues going forward.”
I looked away from Ella long enough to give Dr. King my attention. “Thank you. Can I sit up? Is that allowed?”
Dr. King smiled. “Of course. I’ll lower the pain blocker, and it will eventually completely diminish.
If you need anything, I will be downstairs for the next hour or so.
Your little lady is quite healthy. She’s seven pounds, four ounces, and is exactly twenty inches long.
She should sleep for a few hours, and then she will need normal tending.
” Dr. King looked at Monroe. “You have experience, you said at one of our appointments.”
“Yes. I’ve raised Mae since she was a few days old. Little Ella here won’t be an issue.”
“Very good. If you should need anything, just call out. And once I leave to go to the clinic at the council, all you need to do is call.”
“Thank you, Dr. King. I appreciate all of your assistance and care,” I told him.
“Yes, thank you,” Monroe echoed. He handed me our daughter and then carefully helped situate me to where I was sitting mostly up.
There were several pillows behind me, and when I leaned back, I discovered they were perfectly placed.
“Be right back,” Monroe whispered. I nodded and took that moment to stare at my baby girl.
I was a daddy now. Not that I wasn’t before because Mason and Maelie were mine just as much as they were Monroe’s.
But we’d done this, together. We created this beautiful little girl. She was absolutely perfect.
The bed beside me dipped, and I looked to my right and watched as Monroe carefully crawled onto the bed from the other side. He moved close to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and gently pulling me into his side.
“She’s perfect, Roe. How did I make someone so perfect and beautiful.”
“Because you did. There’s nothing wrong with you, Oscar.
Don’t think you have anything wrong about you.
Our little fae princess is going to grow up and be strong, just like her daddy and papa.
And her older brother and sister and uncle and aunt.
She will have an amazing life and will never doubt that we love her. ”
I sighed. He was right. She would. “I love you, Monroe. You were right when you said we’d make it work. There have certainly been some bumps along the way, but we’re making it work.”
Monroe kissed the top of my head and then reached out and ran a finger down the side of Ella’s cheek.
“I love you too. Just as I love our little Ella, and Maelie, and Mason.” I sighed and leaned my head against Monroe’s chest. Never did I expect I’d be here.
Not me. But here I was, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.