Chapter 21
Beryl
The Lake House at an Undisclosed Location
With Jade’s morning sickness came an urgency to return home.
More than anything, I wanted to toss him over one shoulder and Jondi over the next and speed back to the GGB where there were doctors.
Sure, a doctor would’ve gladly flown in to see to my mate, but I had a feeling Jade wanted to see the doctors and midwives he was familiar with and I didn’t blame him.
Pregnancy and birth were such personal and intimate things.
A life was growing inside his body and it affected and changed everything inside him from his hormones to his organs moving around to make more room for the baby.
“We still have to pack,” Jade said. “If you’re up to it, you should still take Jondi down to the lake for a bit today.”
“How am I supposed to be at the lake and pack?” I asked him.
“I’m not helpless. I feel better now. Morning sickness comes and goes. It’s not an all day event for every pregnant person,” he sighed.
“I don’t want to leave you alone right now. You could get sick again. You could faint. You could.. I don’t know a bear could find the house and break in through the window and try to fight you…”
“What is going on inside your head, alpha?” he asked, leaning back on the sofa.
“I… I need to protect you and the baby,” I said, knowing how idiotic it sounded. He was safe here. We all were.
“From some mystery bear who wants to bang his head through glass to pick a fight with me? What? Does he want my gummies?” Jade said, letting out a little laugh.
“I don’t want you to have to do this alone,” I said. “Not just the packing, but the whole thing. I don’t want to be one of those alphas.”
“You’re not one of those alphas,” Jade flashed me a soft smile. “If you were, you wouldn’t be trying to figure out how to pack and take Jondi to the lake. Seriously, I’m going to pack us up and take a nap. I’ll leave out dry clothes for Jondi and when I wake up, we can go home.”
“I can call around and see about getting a wheelchair…” I started but Jade held up his hand.
“I can walk,” he said.
“It’s such a long walk.”
“Do you want to use the wheelchair, alpha?” he teased me.
“Mate,” I groaned.
“He’s not going to make taking care of him easy,” my dragon chimed into my thoughts.
“I don’t need taken care of right now. I’m not broken. Being pregnant doesn’t mean I sit in one spot and do nothing. Actually, sitting in one spot and doing nothing would probably contribute to upping my risk factor for preeclampsia and stuff.”
“I’ll take Jondi to the lake, but I need you to not overdo it while I’m gone, okay?”
“Beryl, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“But I do. It’s—I want to wrap you in bubble wrap and carry you around until you have the baby,” I said and Jade laughed.
It wasn’t until Jondi and I were walking down to the lake that I realized taking Jade home to the GGB meant taking him back to the place where people sent him death threats over his playroom.
“Are you mad that dad is pregnant?” Jondi asked me, looking down at his little bare feet as we walked across the grass.
“No, buddy,” I said. “What makes you think I’m mad?”
“I heard you two arguing over whether or not we should go to the lake.”
“I just want to make sure he’s okay and safe.”
“It’s okay if you want to hang out with your actual baby more than me,” Jondi said, his little voice flat.
“Buddy,” I knelt down. “You’re ours too. None of this actual talk, please.”
“It happens. People adopt kids and then when they have babies they don’t want them as much. I don’t think Dad will do that but you’ve only just met me and stuff,” he toed at the ground.
A little kid had never said anything that had cut me that deep. My eyes misted over and I sat down on the grass.
“Jondi, it’s not like that. We’re a family.
You, me, your dad, and now probably a new baby.
We won’t know for sure until your dad sees a doctor, but our family is growing.
We’re not switching out one kid for another.
You’re not going anywhere. None of us go anywhere without the others. You’re going to be a big brother.”
“I know, but…” his words trailed off.
“But what?” I asked him.
“Babies are cute and little and people like them.”
“People like you too,” I said. “And even if they don’t they can jump off a bridge, because we’re family.”
He hugged my neck for a long time and I worked on not crying.
My life had done a one eighty since meeting Jade and Jondi.
I’d gone from laying on my back in a field harassed by lions to not being able to imagine my life without them.
This is why Jade was so determined that Jondi have his promised last trip to the lake.
“What am I supposed to call you?” Jondi asked. “I’ve been calling you Beryl because I didn’t know what else to call you and I have to call you something. Dad says it’s rude to shout ‘hey you!’ at people.”
“What do you want to call me?” I asked.
“Well, Dad is Dad and I don’t want to get confused or confuse the baby. When I first moved in with Dad all the names got jumbled up in my head and I couldn’t remember anyone’s,” he said.
“You can call me Beryl if that’s what you want to call me.”
“What will the baby call you?” Jondi asked, sitting down next to me on the grass.
“We haven’t talked about that yet. Some people call both of their fathers ‘dad’, though.”
“You’re my dad too now, huh?” he asked, looking up at me.
“I am,” he nodded.
“I might call you Dad Two,” he laughed.
“I’d answer,” I nodded.
“You’re silly,” he fell back in the grass laughing and then promptly decided it was the best mode of transportation to take the rest of the way to the lake.