27. Special Delivery
Chapter twenty-seven
Special Delivery
The muffin I ate earlier was about to make a comeback, which was a shame because it was actually quite good. Jason is her brother ? Everything started to fall into place as I began recalling clues that I had collected so far but that had never quite fit together until now.
The first clue that immediately comes to mind was when Derek and I had friends and family over. There was a moment when Derek mentioned Jason’s sister, but who would have thought it was Mina in the end?
The second clue was the fact that Mina seemed to have given up too easily. Despite breaking Derek’s heart, she still had the nerve to visit him at both his office and his home. That told me that she had a stubborn streak and was determined to get what she wanted. The way that we haven’t heard a peep from her all these months was suspicious in itself.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I had heard from her, but from an anonymous number, and I had no clue who was behind it until now.
I leveled a stare at Jason, disgusted by the fact that I fell for his charming good looks and friendly nature. How long has Derek known they were related? Did they know each other from the very beginning, ever since The Hub?
“Were we ever really friends, or did you approach me because your sister told you to?”
“Damon wait, I can explain—” Mina laughed, cutting off whatever Jason was about to say.
“Aww, that’s cute. Why would someone like him ever approach a recessive omega like you unless he had an ulterior motive? Talk about being pathetic.”
“The only pathetic one here is you!” I stood, my chair falling to the concrete as I got up into her personal space. Jason moved to stand up, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins gave me strength, strength enough to leverage the advantage I had against him. It was easy to push him back down in his seat.
Mina’s smile slipped for just a moment, the only crack in her facade telling me that she was probably having second thoughts.
“You know what, Mina? I feel sorry for you. Instead of moving on with your life, you’re stuck chasing a man who doesn’t want you and bullying a fellow Omega. I would love nothing more than to slap some sense into you—and I mean that in the most literal sense—but I’m not going to ruin my life just for that satisfaction.
“I guess I’ll have to settle with finally realizing why you did what you did. You’re jealous . Deep down, you regret letting such a good man go, and it’s eating you up inside. You can’t stand the thought of someone else living the life that should have been yours, can you? Well, tough shit. Derek’s mine.” I felt the confession settle deep in my bones, a possessiveness I was shocked to have found within me. I welcomed it with open arms if it got Mina to take a hike.
I was about to launch into another monologue, letting her know exactly where she could stick her superior attitude when it felt like my stomach convulsed.
I cried out, my legs nearly giving out on me. Jason reached out to catch me, but I knocked his hands away. It was probably a stupid idea, as I could barely stand on my own, but I didn’t want to be near him, didn’t want him touching me, none of it.
“Get the fuck off me, Jason.” My body went through another bout of pain. Jason ignored me and cradled me to his chest, taking most of my weight on himself.
“Damon please, at least let me help you.”
“I don’t need help, not from you.”
“C’mon, please . I think you’re going into labor, and I could never face Derek as a man if I don’t help you when you need it the most.”
Derek. The mention of his name snapped my brain into focus. Trying to ignore the pain, I pulled out my phone, fumbling with the screen until I was able to call him. As much as I hated Jason right then, he may have been right.
I was going into labor, and Derek was out of town.
“Perfect timing, little one,” I grunted, another spasm taking over my body. “Your Papa is out of town.”
“What?” Jason said, the question echoed by Mina. “Well, where is he?” Mina asked, hands on her hips. I was about to tell her to go to hell when the phone finally connected and I heard Derek on the other end.
“Hey baby, everything okay?”
“Derek,” I said, relief evident in my voice, “the baby—coming.”
“What? Fuck! Are you sure?” I nodded, forgetting that he wouldn’t have been able to see that.
“Yeah. I’m sorry if this interrupts your meeting.”
“Fuck the meeting! I’m stuck in traffic right now, but I’m gonna make it there, I promise.”
“I believe you,” I said. I had no doubt that Derek would do anything in his power to see the birth of his firstborn child. “Just try not to get pulled over for reckless driving, okay?” Derek growled in frustration but eventually accepted my request.
“Where’s Mom and Dad? Can they drive you to the hospital?”
“No, I’m not home. Derek, listen. There’s some—”
Now, one would think that after all that is happening and the current situation, Mina would finally give up and cut herself out of our lives. But no. She just had to give it one last try.
Snatching the phone from me, she walked a couple of feet away, putting the phone to her ear. Jason made to move, but he had his hands full with me in one arm while he had his own phone to his ear. I was dimly aware of Jason requesting an ambulance, but I didn’t care about any of that.
“Give me my phone!” If I wasn’t currently pregnant and hours away from giving birth, I would tackle her to the ground and slap the shit out of her. Hell, I’d probably body-check her, pregnant or not.
“Derek? It's me, Mina. When are you gonna—” She trailed off, as whatever Derek said had her face going pale. She briskly walked over to me and jerked her arm out, handing me the phone before walking off at a fast pace, not sparing Jason a second glance.
I put the phone back in my ear, wondering what Derek had said to make Mina run off like that.
“Derek?”
“Baby, you listen very carefully to me. If she comes near you ever again, you better tell me, you hear? I’m jumping off the interstate and gonna try the backroads. It’s stupid to say wait for me, but try it anyway, okay?”
Oh, sure. Let me just tell the baby we have to reschedule. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.” Before hanging up with Derek, he made me promise to call his parents so they could meet me at the hospital. In the distance, I could hear the sirens of the ambulance steadily making its way to us. There was a small crowd gathering around us, but I didn’t care.
I was too busy trying to steady my breathing despite the pain.
“I love you, Damon. I’ll see you when I get there. Everything’s gonna be okay.” He quickly hung up, but the last thing I heard was the blaring of a car horn. If my heart rate wasn’t already erratic, that probably would have caused some spikes, but I trusted him to
I was dimly aware of the paramedics asking me questions, and I was just barely able to answer them.
Deep breath in, deep breathe out.
There was a stark contrast between watching an ambulance racing down the streets versus being inside the said speeding ambulance. At least we arrived at the hospital in record time.
Despite me telling them that the baby was coming right then and now, they assured me I still had a couple of hours until they had to step in.
“What the hell are you talking about? The baby is coming now!”
They ignored me, simply repeating their earlier statement and assuring me that they would be nearby and the doctor would be in shortly. As the nurse walked out, Lauren came in, took my hand, and gave me an encouraging smile.
“Lauren! Oh, thank God you’re here. They told me that nothing would happen for a couple of hours. Can you talk some sense into them?” She winched, patting my arm.
“A couple of hours? That’s definitely not right.”
“See? That’s what I was trying to—”
“Since this is your first pregnancy, labor can last anywhere between six to twelve hours. Don’t believe everything on TV.”
“T-Twelve hours?!”
If there is a God, please put me out of my misery.
The only silver lining in all of this was the fact that Derek had plenty of time to race to the hospital in time for the birth. Hell, he could’ve caught a movie and still would have had plenty of time.
When he arrived, I heard him before I saw him, his large frame taking up the entryway before being kicked out by the nurses. Apparently, Alphas were forbidden from being in the room during the birth, as they couldn’t control themselves seeing their Omega in pain. As long as I knew he was here, that was all I cared about.
The next five hours were perhaps the most grueling thing I’ve ever experienced. There was a lot of pain, a lot of screaming, and no small amount of tears. That all faded away when I heard the first wails of my baby being welcomed into the world.
“Good job, Damon. It’s a healthy baby boy.” The doctor handed me a squirming bundle, and as I saw my baby for the first time, I wept, seeing Derek and I’s traits present. It could have been the drugs in my system, but I could have sworn our little baby boy had Derek’s nose and my lips.
He had dark hair with a little bit of curl to it, but only time will tell exactly how curly.
They finally allowed Derek to enter the room, and he made a beeline to the hospital bed. He stopped abruptly about a foot away from the bed, reaching out a hand almost tentatively.
“Do you want to hold your son, Papa?” He nodded, a smile breaking across his face as tears slid down his face. Derek took our son gently, placed him in the crook of his elbow, and rocked him gently.
I scooted over to make room on the bed despite the pain it made me feel. Derek lowered himself gently, wrapping an arm around me and placing a kiss on my head.
“You did good, baby. I’m so proud of you.
The nurse was kind enough to let us bask in our newborn baby glow but then gently cleared her throat to get our attention.
“Sorry to interrupt such a beautiful moment, but have you two thought about a name for your baby?” Derek and I looked at each other in shock.
“Shit, we didn’t. Does that make us bad parents?” The nurse waved the question away.
“No! Trust me, it happens more than you think. I can give you two some time to think about it.” Before she had a chance to fully step out of the room, I called after her. Looking at Derek, I worked up the courage to give up a piece of myself that hardly anyone knew. Not even Sarah knew what I was about to share.
“I have an idea,” I said hesitantly. Derek nodded in encouragement. Taking a deep breath, I laid out my idea.
“If you’re okay with it, I’d like to give our baby my name.”
“You want to name our baby Damon Junior?” I shook my head.
“No. Before I was taken in by OPS, I had a life. I had a name. I always thought it was cruel of them to take our names away from us and give us numbers instead. I understood that they had their reasons, but we already had everything stripped away from us. The least they could do was leave a tiny part that made us us.
“What was your name?” Derek said with a whisper. Even the nurse was leaning in, staring at us with rapt attention.
“Adrian. My name was Adrian Jackson”
“Adrian,” Derek said. “Damon, that’s a beautiful name. Adrian Jackson Dreyfus.” The nurse nodded and congratulated us again before leaving. We saw Lauren and Dimitri at the door, but Derek held up a hand.
“Would you like me to call you Adrian?”
“No, that’s okay. The last time I was called Adrian, I was five years old. Besides, I like Damon because you’re the one who gave me a new name and a new life. I wouldn’t change that for the world.
“Plus, it would be weird calling you both Adrian.” I snorted
“Yeah, there’s that too.
Looking over at the door, I could see Lauren and Dimitri still hovering in the doorway. Lauren was bouncing up and down while Dimitri had his hands on her shoulders.
“I think we should let your parents in. They look like they’re chomping at the bit to hold our baby.” Derek shrugged.
“Eh, let them wait. I want to enjoy this moment, just the three of us.” Derek made a shooing motion in their direction, causing Lauren and Dimitri to gape in shock. Dimitri opened the door, pointing a finger in Derek’s direction.
“Keep that up, and your little boy is gonna grow up with one father instead of two.” Derek rolled his eyes, giving me a wink.
“Alright, I guess y’all can come in.”
“About damn time!” Lauren pushed past Dimitri, coming up to Derek and gently extricating baby Adrian from Derek’s arms. Lauren took Adrian over to a couch in the corner, where both she and Dimitri proceeded to gush over him.
They made sure to keep the noise down, though, of course.
“That baby is going to get so much love,” I said, gazing fondly at the sight of our baby being loved on by such adoring grandparents.
Being held by Derek, while Adrian was safe and secure with his grandparents, I slowly drifted to sleep. All the stress, all the worry that I wouldn’t be a good parent or our baby would grow up to resent me, crumbled away. It was an irrational fear to begin with, but I could rest easy knowing that we’d have all the support we needed. That’s all I could ever have asked for.
After finally being discharged from the hospital, I was surprised to be greeted by our closest friends and family present to welcome baby Adrian home for the first time.
“I have a little surprise for you,” Derek said, gently guiding me to the back of the house where the living room and dining room were located. At least where they used to be.
I gaped in open amazement as I beheld the finished playroom. Despite Derek and his interns working on it day by day, it wasn’t finished yet. According to Derek, it ‘wasn’t good enough’.
The walls were artfully decorated in wall decals, most of them baby-themed, with Ardian’s name smack-dabbed in the middle of a giant oak tree. Looking closer, I could see our names stenciled in some of the leaves, along with everyone else in the Dreyfus family.
The baby toys and other items we received at the baby shower filled the space, such as a changing station and a cubicle where I could see toys were currently stored away until Adrian got old enough to play with them.
The room was also done, although it was sparsely furnished. Its walls were painted a striking blue, with gold accents. It was beautiful.
“How is this possible? I was only gone for a couple of days.”
“I had some of the guys come in to help finish it.”
“Really? How’d you manage that?” He shrugged.
“I gave them overtime with the promise of a fat bonus during the holiday season.”
I guess that was one way to get things done. They did an amazing job, so I felt that I had an obligation to see that they got the bonus that was promised to them.
“C’mere, there’s something else I want to show you.” He took Adrain before passing him to Sarah. As we were climbing the stairs, I could hear an argument about to break out as Lauren demanded she hand over her grandchild. Sarah stated that as godmother, she had first dibs. Whatever else was said was lost to me when Derek covered my eyes as we stood outside my den.
“Why are you covering my eyes? The door is closed.”
“Not good enough, I want you to be totally surprised once you’re inside.”
“Speaking of inside, I can’t wait to have you inside me again.” Derek chuckled, pressing me up against the door and whispering in my ear.
“Baby, you gave birth not even seventy-two hours ago. Once you’re healed, I’ll give you all the loving you need. Now can I show you the surprise, or are you still horny?”
“If loving big bears is a crime, then I’m guilty, Your Honor. But yes, I’m ready.”
Derek opened the door and herded me inside. I heard him kick the door closed and guide me to the couch to sit. I felt him settle against me before removing his hand.
When I opened my eyes, I looked around to see if there were any changes, but there were none.
“Where’s the surprise?”
“What do you mean? This is the surprise,” he said, gesturing widely to take in the room. “I saw your face when we came in and you saw all those people. I thought it would be nice to have everyone over, but then I started having second thoughts. So, I brought you up here to get you away from all the noise.
“I don’t think I tell you how much I love you. You’re the best.” While I appreciated everyone coming to celebrate our son's coming home, I was tired . Matter of fact, I was beyond tired. Haggard would be more accurate
“Give me a kiss,” he said, voice lowering an octave. I pulled his head down and kissed him deeply, inhaling his scent of freshly cut grass, of air right after it had a good rain. Of home.
At some point, I told Derek that Mina was behind everything. She was the one sending me the text messages, and Jason played a part in helping her. I’m pretty sure he gave her my phone number. That seemed to be the only explanation.
He didn’t react the way I thought he would. Quite the opposite, in fact. He smiled, said okay, and left it at that. It wasn’t until later that I found out from Danny that Derek had worked with him to file a restraining order on Mina and her family. He was going to include Jason as well, but I talked him out of it. After learning what kind of a home he grew up in, I had at least some sympathy for him.
Some.
Jason tried to reach out, and we exchanged a couple of texts here and there, but I still felt the sting of betrayal. Until that feeling passed away, I didn’t think I could bring myself to be around him.
As I watched Derek sleeping on the couch, with little AJ on his chest, I felt this strange sort of weight lift from my shoulders. I felt at peace, knowing that there was someone out there for everyone, even a rejected Omega with emotional baggage.
You never know what life may bring; it might just bring you an Alpha.