Chapter 6
I’m holding Kean’s hand as Monica walks with us into the hospital. To say both Kean and I are still in shock is an understatement.
We arrived at the office in just over three hours, which included getting drive-thru and Kean feeding me.
Then Monica dropped her surprise.
“Kean, it's lovely to meet you. I’m Monica Chaney,” she held her hand out.
Kean shook it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She waved us to the seats in front of her desk before sitting down. “I’m sorry to make you both come here this late in the evening. Titus, as you know, Reggie and Doris both died last night. Reggie died straight away, and Doris lived long enough to give birth to their little boy.”
“Is the baby alright?” Kean asked.
Monica nodded. “Yes, thankfully. Their little boy, Lyric, was also in the car, but his car seat saved him.”
“The poor thing, though, he must be so scared and confused,” I said, still confused as to why she was telling us this.
“He is, bless him. Neither Reggie nor Doris had any other family. I was their emergency contact and had power of attorney if it was ever needed, and guardianship of the children. I’ve already spoken to the Paranormal Adoption Agency and told them the children are to be placed in your care.
The adoption paperwork will only take a few days. ”
I’m in shock. I look at Kean, pretty sure my face is wearing the same expression as his. Of all the things Monica could have called us in for, never did I consider this situation.
“We’ll take the boys, of course we will,” Kean said, without the least hesitation.
I take his hand and look at Monica. “We’ll love those boys, of course we will.”
It looks like Monica breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll sort out the house and everything and place all the money in trusts for the boys for when they are older.”
“That makes sense,” I said.
“Is there a way we can collect, Lyric is it? Kean asked her.
She nodded.
“Collect Lyric’s things; they should offer him some comfort.”
“And any pictures, so when the boys are older, we can tell them about their birth parents.”
Monica smiled. “I knew the two of you would be perfect. Your case worker from the adoption agency is waiting at the hospital to meet with you both.”
“You said the boys were fine,” I pointed out.
“And they are, but the baby’s birth was traumatic, and Lyric, they wanted to keep Lyric under observation, just to be on the safe side.” She stands up. “Let’s make our way to the hospital. We’ll take separate cars and meet at the front of the hospital.”
We follow Monica to a waiting room. We see our case worker stand up and walk over to us, holding out his hand.
He is a tall man, at about six feet eleven and has muscles upon muscles.
He looks more suited to being a sportsman rather than someone who works for an adoption agency.
I was shocked when we first met and Justin told us he was a Bison Shifter.
“Kean, Titus.”
We shake his hand.
“Justin, have you met Monica?” I ask.
He nods. “Yes, earlier today. As you’re here, I take it Monica explained everything.”
“She did, the poor things,” Kean says.
“Let’s go and see Lyric first. Physically, he’s fine, but he can’t understand why he can’t see his parents,” Justin leads us to a lift.
We arrive at the children’s ward, Justin leading us into a room with three other small children, two of whom are asleep, and the other is sat up looking at a picture book with a woman by his side. They both look up before going back to the book.
Justin leads us to Lyric. He looks like a mini Reggie. He has a mop of black hair, sad brown eyes and is lying on his bed, sucking his thumb.
“Lyric, this is Kean and Titus. I told you about them earlier, remember,” Justin introduces softly.
Lyric sits up, his eyes filling with tears.
Kean moves and drops the bed safety bar before he sits on the side of his bed, close but not touching. “This is all scary and confusing, isn’t it?” Kean asks him quietly.
Lyric nods and sniffs.
“We promise to look after you and your brother. We have a large family with other children in it that you can play with.”
As Kean is talking to Lyric, a doctor walks into the room and over to us.
“Dr Glore, this is Titus Compton and his partner Kean Stone, I told you about them earlier,” Justin introduced.
“You did. Hello, Mr Compton. Lyric has no physical injuries; we just want to keep an eye on him. He had some jelly earlier but didn’t want to eat anything else. Don’t force him to eat; his little body is still in shock.”
“I understand,” I say.
“We can release him tomorrow morning.”
“We need to get some car seats,” I say, thinking of everything else we’ll need.
“My husband has picked two up, both age-appropriate, plus everything you’ll need for a day or so,” Monica tells me. “If you give me your keys, we can sort everything out for you.”
I hand them over. “Thanks, Monica.” I watch her leave, then look back at the doctor. “Do you know how the baby is?”
“I checked on the baby before I came here. The little boy is perfect, no injuries or lasting effects. I can say with ninety-nine percent certainty the baby would have been born yesterday anyway.”
I nod. “I’m pretty sure their accident was on the road that leads to the hospital.”
“Then chances are her contractions had started, and they were on the way here. Such a sad loss of life. I’d like to keep the baby in tonight as well, and all being well, I can release him in the morning.”
I nod and look back at Kean and Lyric, to see the boy sat on Kean’s lap, holding his hand.
“Can we see the baby?” I ask.
“You can. Follow me.”
I look at Kean and Lyric. “Lyric, Kean, would you like to come and see the baby, your new brother, Lyric?”
He nods his head, and Kean stands holding Lyric close as we follow the doctor.
He leads us into a room and over to a baby cot. Lying there asleep is the most perfect baby, wrapped up in a blue blanket, with a little white cap on his head. Even wrapped up, he looks small and delicate.
“Can I pick him up?” I ask the doctor.
“You can. He is five pounds and seven ounces, and as I said, there is nothing physically wrong with him.”
I gently pick the baby up, cradling him in my arms, remembering to support his little head. I turn so both Lyric and Kean can see him.
“This is your brother, Lyric,” I say softly. I look at Kean, and he has a look of awe on his face.
Lyric reaches his hand out, so I move closer, and Lyric touches his cheek. “Baby.”
This is the first word I’ve heard Lyric say. “Yes, your baby brother.”
I look at the doctor. “Can we move the crib into the same room as Lyric, so we can keep them together?”
“I can move them into a private room for you, then you four can start bonding. I can already tell you’ll make incredible parents,” the doctor replies.
I smile. “Thanks.”
“Follow me and I’ll take you to a different room and have the crib brought in,” the doctor says, leading us out of the room.
Justin closes the door behind the doctor as he leaves our room. “I have some paperwork for you to sign, and more information to tell you.”
“I thought you would,” Kean says, sitting Lyric down on the room's sofa.
This room is big. Along with the sofa, there is a child’s bed, a changing table, and a couple of cabinets along one wall. It also has its own bathroom.
I pass the baby to Kean and sit next to Lyric. He looks at me and then climbs onto my lap, leaning against my chest, sucking his thumb. I gently wrap my arms around him.
“So Reggie Lee was a Kitsune, Doris was human.”
“A Kitsune?” Kean asks. He looks like he’s thinking hard. “That’s a fox, isn’t it?”
Justin nods. “Yes, with nine tails.”
“Wow. We’ll need to do some research,” he remarks.
Justin opens his bag and pulls out some papers.
“Here, this will tell you everything. Apparently, male Kitsune genetics are strong, so even though Doris was human, the boys will be full shifters,” he puts the papers on the bed.
Then pulls out some more. “I’ll need your signatures on the adoption paperwork.
We can get everything done in a few days. ”
“I thought it would take longer than that,” I say. Lyric has fallen asleep in my arms, and the baby is sleeping in Kean’s.
“Normally, it would, but Monica helped push things through quickly. I’ll leave the paperwork here, so when your arms are child-free, you can sign where I’ve marked.”
“Thanks, Justin,” Kean says.
“I’ll leave you now and come back in the morning.”
“Thanks, Justin, night,” I add.
“Night,” and I watch as Justin opens the door and leaves.
He’s left the door open, and we see Monica walking back in. She sees Kean and walks into our room, carrying a baby carrier and two baby bags.
“Look at you four. I want to say congratulations, but that feels wrong if you know what I mean.” As she talks, she puts the baby carrier on the floor and the two bags on the bed.
“Yeah, we know,” I reply.
“Here are your keys,” she says, putting them on the bed. “Everything is installed in your car. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to show you how to do the baby carrier.”
“Thanks. As for the baby seat, our brothers have a baby, so we know how to do them,” Kean tells her.
“Perfect. So, in these bags are clothes for both boys, nappies, formula for the baby and fruit juices for Lyric.”
“Thanks. Monica, do you know if Reggie and Doris had picked out any baby names?” I ask. It would be lovely if they had.
Monica nods. “No matter if the baby was a boy or girl, they were going to be called River.”
Kean looks down at the baby. “Then that will be your name. River. River Lee Compton-Stone.”
Monica sniffs.
“Monica, if you can send me the total you and your husband spent on baby paraphernalia, I’ll transfer the money over,” I say.
“Nonsense. This is our gift to you. Now I’m going to leave you, but I’ll be back in the morning. Titus, you’re on three months' leave, starting tomorrow. Night.”
“I need to message Daniel,” I say as Monica leaves.
“Wait until the morning, it’s after midnight,” Kean suggests.
I gently stand up, trying not to move Lyric too much, and walk over to the bed. Thankfully, the baby bags are at the bottom of the bed. I one handedly pull the covers open, gently lay Lyric down, and cover him just as a nurse walks in pushing the crib.
Kean is about to put River down when the baby starts fussing.
“In the cupboard there,” the nurse says, pointing, “are nappies, the first pile are the baby’s size. Do you need me to show you how to change a nappy?”
“No, we have a large family and have all taken turns changing nappies,” Kean replies.
“In that case, I’ll go and make up some formula as the baby is due a feed.”
“Thanks, also this is River,” Kean says.
The nurse touches the baby’s cheek. “Hello, River. When you put the new nappy on, make sure you don’t cover the umbilical cord stump.”
“Noted, thanks.”
The nurse goes off to get the formula while I get a nappy. The side also has wipes and nappy sacks. Thankfully, we both know how to change a nappy. I put the bits on the changing table and let Kean change the nappy, because new baby nappies are rank.
“Gah, I forgot this part,” Kean gripes, as he undoes the nappy.
I grin his way. “I didn’t.”
Kean makes quick work of cleaning River and has just picked up the new nappy when River pees, hitting Kean on the chin and covering his top.
“Put the nappy over it,” I suggest, trying hard not to laugh.
“I can’t believe he waited until his nappy was off.”
“River’s first surprise pee attack,” the nurse says, grinning, walking in with a bottle.
“Yeah,” Kean grumbles, wiping his chin on his sleeve, before putting the nappy on. “You’d think I would have remembered from changing Cam and Alfred.”
Kean redresses River, just as the baby lets out a loud cry. “It’s okay, Baba, your food is here.”
The nurse hands the bottle to me, then looks at Kean. “The cupboard at the end has basic t-shirts, all new and in different sizes. You’d be surprised how many people have surprise pee attacks. Help yourself.”
“Thanks,” Kean says, handing me River.
“If you need anything, I’m Jess, and I'm on all night.”
“Thanks, Jess,” we both say.
I give River his bottle as Kean finds a new top and goes to wash his face. I can’t believe I’m feeding our day old son. He’s so tiny and cute. Lyric starts to stir, so I sit gently on the bed. “You’re safe, Lyric, go back to sleep,” I say, touching his back, and to my surprise, he does.
I feel Kean come over and place a cloth on my shoulder. He leaves his arm around me, and I lean into him.
“We have two sons, honey,” Kean says softly.
I look up and smile at him. “We do.”