Chapter 16
“Just a minute, macushla,” Kieran said, steering his mate into Dakota’s hospital room.
“Hi Kota, how ya doing? I’m here for my ultrasound cause the doc wants to make sure our squirt is doing okay but I already know he is though I wish he would kick because I really want to feel him.
Have you felt your sprout kick yet? I bet you’re excited too.
Macushla said we’ll get the first picture of our squirt today and I can’t wait to put it in his baby book that I bought in Scotland.
It has a place for it along with loads of spaces for all kinds of other stuff, including a place for a lock of his hair, footprints and his first newborn picture.
Have you thought of any names? We haven’t settled on one yet, but we’ll tell you as soon as we pick one, so you don’t choose the same one.
Huh, wouldn’t that be funny if our pups ended up with the same name? Don’t you think so, macushla?”
Logan chuckled. “It would be, babe, but I’m sure there are enough names that we won’t run into that problem.” Looking at his brother and Slate, he asked, “Hey, everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” said Dakota. “I’m just waiting for Ian so I can get up,”
“Babe, we agreed yesterday you’d stay in bed for a few days,” Slate said.
“But I feel fine, and besides, I already told Steel I’d be reclaiming my chef’s hat from him this morning,” replied Dakota.
“No way, bro,” Colton said, walking into Dakota’s room. “Ian’s orders state you are to have complete bed rest for two more days. And Jackson won’t let you anywhere near the kitchen unless Ian agrees.”
“Where’s Ian now?” asked Dakota, anxious to settle the issue.
“Up with Oracle, and no, I don’t know when he’ll be back,” said Colton before asking, “Kieran, Logan…ready to see your pup?”
“Will you be doing an ultrasound on Dakota, too?” asked Slate.
“It’s scheduled for tomorrow,” Colton said. “In the meantime, get some rest, bro,” he said to Dakota. “Kieran and Logan, follow me.”
Waiting until they were out of his room, Dakota said, “Babe, bring me my clothes. I’m not staying in bed anymore.”
Shaking his head, Slate sat down in the chair next to Dakota’s bed.
“Yes, you are, babe. We agreed to Ian’s terms last night when you wanted to see your mother…
several more days spent resting. I know it’s a pain in the ass, but how would you feel if something happened to our pup that you could have prevented?
Would you be able to live with that? Don’t bother answering because I know you couldn’t.
” Reaching over to the bedside table, Slate opened the drawer, sliding out his laptop.
“Last night, while you were sleeping, I downloaded a bunch of cooking shows you mentioned you wanted to see. I know it’s not the same as being in the kitchen, but I was hoping they’d help you pass the time. ”
His mate was right about everything. Throwing back the covers, Dakota moved over, smiling. “I’ll enjoy them more if you’re next to me.”
Slate grinned—his mate wasn’t angry at him. Settling in, he placed his arm around Dakota’s shoulders and started the first video.
~/~/~/~/~
“Oh. My. Gods!” Kieran exclaimed staring at the ultrasound picture Colton handed him. “Look macushla, he has your nose!”
“How can you tell?” asked Logan, studying the picture, not even sure what he was looking at.
“Here.” Kieran pointed to a dark spot. “See? Just like yours. Oh I wonder if he’s going to have your hair color too and maybe your eyes and mouth and…”
“Babe, trust me, our squirt isn’t going to be a carbon copy of me.”
“Why not? You are the mostest gorgeous man alive and it would be so cute to have a mini you following you around, can’t you see it now?
I could even buy you matching onesies and pajamas and t-shirts and jeans, but I don’t think I can do shoes because they don’t make baby shoes big enough for you.
But I can do matching everything else, oh my gods, we could name him Logan Junior, and wouldn’t that be just perfect?
Although I would have to come up with a really cute nickname because otherwise if someone said ‘Logan’ neither of you would know who they wanted.
Oh my, this is the bestest idea I ever had! ”
Colton was shaking with laughter as he wiped Kieran’s belly clean. Then looking at his brother, said, “Now I know what to get your pup as a gift…matching onesies.”
“Fuck off,” Logan said, helping his mate up from the exam table.
“Make sure they’re pink,” Kieran said to Colton.
Then, taking his mate’s hand, he said, “Macushla, I have to stop in and see Theo first so will you go get Queenie from our bedroom and take him to your studio? I’ll be there shortly but Theo and Quin need my help with something top secret…
oh, and let Queenie out of his cage cause I think he needs to stretch his wings…
oh, and don’t forget to keep the door closed and maybe the windows, too, or otherwise you’ll have to shift and fly after him to make sure he gets home safely.
Gee, I think I got the hang of being a parent, don’t you? ”
“Uh-huh. You’re going to be a great father, babe,” Logan said, kissing the back of his mate’s hand.
“Thanks, macushla! C’mon, I can’t wait to show Theo and Norm our squirt!”
~/~/~/~/~
“Hey, this is a pretty cool set-up,” Sawyer said, prowling around Zane’s computer room. “Are all of these set up for gaming?”
“Nope, that’s for my gaming,” replied Zane, pointing across the room. “The rest I use for programming.”
“And research,” David said.
“Oh yeah? What kind of research?” asked Sawyer.
“Right now, Jackson wants me to find mom’s friend,” Zane replied.
“How can you do that if you don’t know her name?” asked Sawyer.
“Well, in this case, I’ll try to access mom’s phone records for that day and go from there.”
“Holy shit!” Sawyer exclaimed. “You can do that? I thought that stuff was private.”
“It is…at least on the Internet, but I use the dark web,” said Zane, pulling out a chair for David. “Here, babe, this is your new computer.”
After sitting, David watched Zane fiddle with the laptop, then squeaked when a picture of him appeared on the screen. “How did you do that?”
“I made your photo the screen saver,” Zane smiled.
“I don’t know what that means, but why can’t I have a picture of you instead?” asked David.
“You can but let’s do that later, huh?” Zane said, while opening up a program.
“This is a program I wrote for you to learn how to use a computer. Using the mouse…this is the mouse…you move the cursor on the screen around…that’s the arrow…
and when it’s on the ‘start’ box, you click the mouse…
like this. Now the program will take you through the basics, showing you how to use the computer. ”
“You wrote this for me?” asked David. “When?”
“While we were in Scotland,” Zane chuckled. “You’re sort of the guinea pig…”
“Guinea pig? You mean like Móndaslu?”
“No, no,” laughed Zane, “not like your pet. I mean like a test subject. When I was doing it, it occurred to me that it might be useful for the boys in Cody’s home.
It’ll give someone who’s never used a computer a good basic understanding of it and what it can do.
I’m pretty sure I covered everything but if something isn’t clear to you, then I’ll know that part of the program needs some tweaking. ”
Nodding, David said, “Okay, it’s nice to be able to help you out.”
Giving his mate a quick kiss and handing him headphones, Zane replied, “You’ll be a big help, babe. Use these to block us out.” Then heading for his gaming computers, he said, “Sawyer, c’mon, are you ready to have your ass kicked?”
“You wish,” Sawyer chuckled, sitting down next to his cousin on the love seat. Taking the game controller from Zane, he leaned back, staring at the big TV screen mounted on the wall. He smirked, knowing there wasn’t a chance in hell his cousin could beat him.
~/~/~/~/~
Leaving his mate, Jackson went downstairs to the hospital. Spying Colton and Ian outside Dakota’s room, he headed over to them. “Hey, got a minute?”
“Sure,” Ian replied. “What’s up?”
“How’s Dakota?” asked Jackson.
“Pissed at me,” Ian said chuckling. “But otherwise he’s fine.”
“Our brother doesn’t want to follow Ian’s orders, but Slate is insisting he does,” Colton said. “So instead of getting angry at his mate…”
“Dakota’s blaming Ian,” Jackson grinned. “A doctor’s life is tough.”
“Goes with the territory,” chuckled Ian. “You can go in, if you want.”
“In a moment. How’s Mom this morning?”
“Slightly better than yesterday, but still in a coma. I hate to say it, but she needs Kieran more than me or Colton,” Ian replied.
“Have you decided it’s safe for Kieran to do more sessions?” asked Jackson.
“Not yet,” Ian said. “I wanted to wait until he had his ultrasound to make sure his pup was okay.”
“Okay, just keep me informed about it,” said Jackson. “Have you talked to Oracle yet?”
Nodding, Ian said, “Was just telling Colton about it.”
“Do you have a problem with Mac taking over for a while?” asked Jackson.
“His credentials are impeccable,” Colton said.
“I didn’t expect anything else from Oracle,” replied Jackson. “After all, she was the one who picked Ian.”
“Best decision ever,” Colton said, smiling.
“Ian, what about you? Any concerns?” asked Jackson.
“Professionally? No. Personally, only about Mac finding out about Dakota’s uniqueness.”
Colton turned to his mate. “Babe, Mac would lose his license if he violated a patient’s privacy.”
“I know, but still…for the right price, someone can always decide the risk is worth it,” muttered Ian.
“I hear you,” Jackson concurred, “but there’s something else you should know that may change your mind about that. Fionn is Hunter’s mate.”
“No fucking way!” exclaimed Colton.
“Fionn? Are you sure?” Ian asked.
“Positive.”
“Holy shit! Does Fionn know?” asked Colton.
“Maybe.” Jackson said. “If he does, maybe that’s the reason he fled to his hoard.”
“That must be driving Hunter’s wolf crazy,” mused Ian.
“That’s putting it mildly,” said Jackson. “This morning Hunter looked like he was going to explode before Kieran worked his magic on him.”
“Wait!” Colton exclaimed. “Does this mean Hunter will be staying with us?”
“Probably,” Jackson replied. “Which brings us back to Mac or any of the other cousins divulging our secrets. As Fionn’s mate, Hunter is now a member of the pack and, as my mate pointed out to me, he has a right to know everything about us, including our gifts.
But before I do that, I just want to hear of any concerns anyone might have about it. ”
Colton exchanged glances with Ian before replying, “Ian invited Mac to join us tomorrow to brief him about Dakota, Kieran and, of course, about Ian’s own pregnancy. Then, if everything went okay, we were going to ask him to do Dakota’s ultrasound.”
“Checking his skills out?” Jackson smiled.
“Maybe,” replied Ian. “We want to see how he reacts to an Alpha being pregnant. If he can handle that, then we’ll feel better about him having access to everyone’s medical records once he takes over.”
“As for Hunter knowing about my gift, I don’t see an issue with it,” Colton said. “After all, he’s one of us now.”
“Good to know,” Jackson said. “Let me know how it goes.” Then, entering Dakota’s room, he smiled at his brother. “Hey, howya doin’?”
“Pretty good, but…”
The rest of Dakota’s words were lost to Colton as the hospital room door closed behind Jackson. Studying Ian’s face, always alert for any indication his mate was under too much stress, Colton asked, “Babe, any reservations about Mac taking care of you? Delivering our pups?”
“Not really!” Ian smiled. “At least not anymore, knowing his brother is a member of the pack.”
“Good,” Colton said, taking Ian’s hand. “Let’s go and get set up for the rest of Mom’s tests.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
~/~/~/~/~
“Where are you going?” Mason asked Quin, who was headed for the door.
“Theo’s waiting for me. He’s going to show me his collection of romance novels,” said Quin. “I’ll be back later.” Then, checking himself in the mirror one more time, he left the motorhome.
Shaking his head, Mason asked Hunter, “Did you ever imagine a bear shifter would become Quin’s friend?”
His brother snorted, “Fuck no! But if I’d known how good it would be for Quin, I’d have gone and dragged Theo back to us years ago.”
“Too bad he isn’t your mate,” Mason said, slyly.
“Uh, no thanks. Bears mate in threes and that’s just not my scene.”
“Have you ever tried it?”
“Uh-uh. Have you?” asked Hunter.
“Yup.”
“Fucking A! Did you like it?”
“It was interesting,” Mason smirked. “Moving on, what were you saying about Jackson?”
“He wants to see me.”
“About what, now?”
“Don’t know.”
“Maybe Fionn is back,” Mason said.
“No, not according to my wolf.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” said Mason, “weren’t you surprised that Logan didn’t go ballistic when Kieran hugged you this morning? I expected a blow out, but…it was so weird.”
“Yeah, I sure as shit don’t know what that was all about. No one seemed to care diddly about me getting touched by Logan’s mate.”
“You’re wondering too, aren’t you?” asked Mason.
“Wondering what?”
“Oh for shit’s sake…stop answering my questions with a question.
You know damn well there’s something strange about the Blackwood Pack.
Mac was talking about it yesterday. I mean c’mon…
Jackie’s Alpha power, Kieran saving Aunt Hope—and look at that place,” Mason said, pointing to the pack house.
“Where the fuck did Jackie get the money to build it? Hey, our grandparents left trusts for them just like they did for us, but no fucking way was there enough money to build this place, even if they put all their dough together.”
“Smartass,” Hunter said, running his hand over his face as he stared at his brother.
Then he growled, “Fine. Yes, I have questions that I don’t have answers for.
And yes, I agree something is very weird with Jackie’s pack, but hopefully, I’ll get some answers when I claim Fionn.
Even though Kieran calmed my wolf…and that was a good thing…
I know my mate’s in danger and it’s fuckin’ driving me crazy that Jackie’s hiding stuff from me. ”
“Wait…what did Kieran do?”
“This morning, when he hugged me. I felt his hands heat up on my back and then my wolf went to sleep. I know you won’t believe me but that’s what happened.”
“Holy fucking shit! Mac told us yesterday Kieran did something like that to Aunt Hope. He said it saved her by removing some of her grief and sorrow.”
Hunter’s eyes widened. “Oh my gods! What kind of pack is my mate in?”