Chapter Twenty
Quill
The midwife, Kim, had a portable ultrasound machine which she brought up to the loft for her visit. She had Pierce lie back on the couch then pulled up a chair and set everything up.
I had benefits from Animals, but Pierce was unemployed. Rafe had him added to his company insurance, which was the best insurance policy around. This midwife came rated with five stars. The best…and expensive.
Rafe and I sat on the wide couch by Pierce’s feet and watched her turn on the monitor. For now, it was blank, but soon we would be seeing our babies for the first time. My stomach fluttered. I had barely been able to eat a bite at breakfast.
Pierce had his T-shirt pulled up and his jeans unbuttoned. He grunted as the clear lubricant jelly squirted all over his stomach.
Kim smiled and started her exam.
The monitor lit up. Sounds of the human body came through the speakers like liquid splashing in a container at a regular beat.
Even though he was five months along, Pierce had a small baby bump at this point. It protruded more when he stood up, and he had to get a larger pants size, but when he was lying down, it flattened.
The monitor showed a lot of light and dark shadows. But nothing yet. I held my breath, waiting. Pierce looked like he was holding his breath, too. Rafe took my hand in his.
She moved the device lower and in circles. Finally, an image came through.
“There they are,” she said quietly. “Your children.”
Pierce blinked. “Where? Where?”
She pointed at the screen. Rafe and I leaned forward. “Here. And here. One is lying almost on top of the other here, but there are definitely three.”
“Three?” Rafe and I spoke in unison.
She nodded. “Three.”
Slowly, my eyes made them out. Three little baby shapes all occupying a single dark space.
Kim pointed to the one more by itself. “This one’s a boy. See?”
“Oh my,” I breathed as Rafe squeezed my hand.
Kim moved the device a little and the picture slightly tilted. “There’s a girl right there. But the other is more hidden. Also, their skeletal shapes tell me they are all shifters.”
We were having a litter, but were they cubs or porcupettes?
“What kinds of shifters?” Pierce asked.
Kim tapped the screen until some readings came up. She looked from me to Rafe and lastly to Pierce. “Two wolves, one porcupette. And they all look healthy.”
We all let out yells of delight.
Pierce grinned, plopping his head back on the pillow in relief. “I’m so happy.”
I tried to imagine three toddlers running around the loft. It was huge. We had plenty of room. But we had some remodeling to do. We needed a nursery first. Then at least one more private bedroom. And a play area. There were going to be three of them, which was a lot.
After Kim left, we all huddled on the couch, laughing and talking excitedly, making future plans. We had four months and a lot of work to do.
***
Since I worked nights, I could be home during the days Rafe was at work and help Pierce oversee the construction crews. For several weeks, there was a lot of hammering and buzzsaw noise. We had little peace except at night when they left. Then I’d have to go to work.
I wasn’t getting as much sleep as I liked in the mornings, but I didn’t care. My excitement for the coming of the little ones gave me excess energy.
The new, enclosed rooms started on the window side from one corner. We put in three then added a wall and large door to our own bedroom area. The children’s rooms were painted peach, blue, and yellow. With the added rooms, our loft was still huge. They took up less than 25 percent of the space.
Beside the living area was another huge open space where we could have playpens, baby swings, fuzzy rugs, and other wonderful things.
I turned to Pierce, whose baby bump was much bigger now. “I love how all this is turning out.”
“Me too.” He embraced me, breathing heavily onto my chest. “I love you so much. And Rafe.”
“I love you, too, honey. This is our new life now and I’m so happy.”
“Let’s set up some of the furniture we have, so Rafe can see when he gets home.”
Now that the workmen were gone for good, we set about building cribs and changing tables. The room closest to our bedroom would be the nursery, although for the first weeks of their lives, we wanted our children in our room with us. We had a large bassinet that would fit all three, already built and waiting in our room. But they would quickly outgrow it. Then we’d graduate to the nursery. As soon as they started walking and talking, they would each get to move into their own room.
We started in the nursery, building side by side. It took time. Cribs weren’t easy. We also began setting out stuffed animals and other toys and organizing the changing table. We’d had closets built in each room. The nursery closet was barely big enough to hold all our supplies. For three infants, it was a lot of stuff. Rafe had given us a no-limit spending allowance. And we spent a lot without any remorse or guilt. We all wanted the best for our incoming sweeties. I never once took for granted how privileged we were to give it to them.
That night, which was one of my nights off, when Rafe came home, he put down his briefcase and sniffed the air. “Everything smells like fresh sawdust.”
“Is that good?” Pierce asked.
Rafe ruffled his hair then embraced him. “Yes. Oh yes.”
“What’s left do is furnishing the play area and the rooms,” Pierce said.
“We got a good start today,” I added.
“Show me everything.”
Rafe followed us around as we pointed out the new stuff as well as the things we still had to build.
“I love it.” Rafe turned to us. “I’m taking time off starting next week. I’ll still be working some, but all of it remotely. I’m going to help with everything.”
“Plus, we have a wedding to plan,” I said.
Rafe stroked the side of my face. “I knew I was needed.”
In truth, we’d already gotten most of the wedding stuff done. But we still all needed to be fitted for tuxes.
What a whirlwind the last few months had been. I had no complaints. All the things we were putting into place was for our future together. A future all three of us desired.
I still went to work five days a week, and my cohort let me sleep in. But otherwise, I was 100 percent engaged in family preparations.
One day, I confessed that the number of times I’d held a baby could be counted on one hand. I was woefully ignorant on the subject.
“Don’t worry,” Pierce told me. “When they’re your babies, it’s all different. Instinct. You’ll want to hold them all the time.” Then he added, with an exaggerated look of horror, “I hope.”
“I just don’t want to do anything wrong, like drop them.”
“No, no, you certainly don’t want to do that.” Pierce ran to the nursery and, when he came out, he was holding a small item in a baby blanket. It was a stuffed bear.
“You’re going to teach me how to hold a stuffed bear?” I asked.
“Here. Take it. I’ll teach you how not to drop our precious children.”
As Pierce gave me my lesson, Rafe laughed from the sidelines. But when it was his turn to learn, he got very serious.
“So, my right hand goes here and my left hand here?” he asked, hugging the bear a little too tightly.
“No, you got it all wrong,” Pierce said. “Like this.”
It was my turn to laugh, but, by the end of the evening, we alphas got all As from Pierce’s baby-holding class. We were secure in the knowledge we’d never ever come close to dropping a child.