Chapter Fourteen #2
“Here,” they sat on the edge of the bathtub and reached down for one of my feet.
I sank into the silence as they worked their fingers into the sole of my foot and then did the other one when the muscles in the first relaxed under their affections.
“I know baby showers are all about gifts, but I didn’t expect one before the shower,” I let it slip.
“Oh, you heard them?” Treg asked, still massaging my foot.
“Not them. You weren’t here and I had to figure out where you went. Not like I can sprint downstairs right now,” I shrugged.
“If you needed me, you should’ve said something. We have everything up downstairs, but we can move it up into the nursery if that’s easier for you or I could carry you downstairs.”
“I think I can do it,” I said, wiggling my toes and turning my ankles this way and that now that both of my feet were free. “Though, once I come back up, I’ll probably be up here until the baby comes. Though, maybe I’ll stay downstairs. That’s where the kitchen is.”
“It’s whatever you need,” Treg said, standing up to grab me a towel.
More people came into the house and a sense of being naked overcame me. There were people I never met before downstairs, and I was up here naked and pregnant and…. Someone knocked on the bathroom door. I growled and snarled before realizing it was only Chasten.
“Uh… Sorry,” the bitey wolf said. “I brought up some of the mini-cupcakes in case you wanted a snack before coming down. I remember how hungry being pregnant made me. These are the ones with real sugar too. None of that sugar replacement stuff for you right now. Magic is a sugar eater. At least that’s what they said up on the mountain. ”
“On the mountain?” I called through the door.
“Yeah,” Chasten said. “Kirk went up there after dropping off the pizzas last night. He wasn’t being nosy, I promise. He wouldn’t have made them—”
“He or anyone else couldn’t make them do anything they don’t want to do,” I said, wrapping the towel around me and wishing I’d brought clean clothes into the bathroom instead of coming straight here from the nursery. “I… They didn’t hurt him or toss him down did they?”
I wasn’t sure which was worse. Kirk bugging them in the middle of the night or them dismembering them. Why couldn’t anyone be normal?
“They remembered him,” Chasten said.
“Hey, Chas? I left some clothes on the edge of the bed in our room. Can you grab them?” Treg asked and I sighed in relief. I wasn’t sure of a nice way to tell someone who brought me up cupcakes that they needed to go away because I was too naked to see them right now.
“Yeah. I’ll set the cupcakes down on the dresser…” his voice trailed off as he walked away.
“They didn’t eat Kirk,” Treg assured me.
“I was going to tell you after the shower. He went up there and they remembered him. They thought he was coming to tell them that you had the baby already and that worried them a bit. All of the older people were glad to answer his questions and excited to see the new sonogram. I told him he should’ve asked you before showing them but…
I don’t know. At the same time, none of them ever got to see their babies like that and… ”
I leaned awkwardly over and gave Treg a quick kiss to stop their rambling.
“I don’t mind. I’m glad they got to see the baby. They don’t usually have problems but maybe they’ll call Kirk if they do. You’re their family now and that means your family is their family too. That includes Kirk even if you want to bite him.”
“Uh… Let’s not do that but I have your clothes,” Chasten said, back outside of the door.
I hid behind Treg while they cracked the door and got the clothes. Their hand came back inside with a cupcake instead. I thought he said they’d be on the dresser, but I grabbed up the little chocolate bite with the pile of bright pink and yellow frosting and gobbled it up.
“There are more on the dresser,” Chasten said, handing off my clothes for real that time.
Getting down the stairs took some effort and made Treg more nervous than they wanted to admit. They stayed in front of me as if I might topple down head over feet but I managed to get down in one piece.
“Yeah. We live down here now,” my wolf chimed off in my thoughts and the four-legger was right. No more steps until after Baby Festival was here.
Everyone was in the kitchen except for Chasten who waited at the bottom of the stairs with a mock-tail and more cupcakes. He even brought in one of the kitchen chairs for me to sit down and rest in at the foot of the stairs. I prayed that I wouldn’t break it and sat down gingerly to eat.
Treg considered asking Kirk to bring a wheelchair and I almost swatted them playfully but then thought about it for a minute.
I would probably make it without one but maybe I’d get a nice one for next time.
There wasn’t any prizes given out for the carrier who pushed through the most minutes of being the most uncomfortable that they’d ever been.
After I was situated, Chasten disappeared back into the kitchen with the others, leaving us alone.
Treg put on their earmuffs and I almost told them that we didn’t need a baby shower.
If everyone and their big mouths were going to stress out their sensory processing, then we could just lay down on the sofa and leave them to party on their own. Treg spoke before I could.
“I can’t skip everything that’s too much,” they shrugged.
“If I did that, I’d never do anything. Seriously.
Nothing. I’d do nothing. Later, I’ll be tired.
Later I’ll just want to cuddle and do nothing but that’s the trade off for getting to enjoy this for a little while.
Besides, you’re not exactly comfortable either.
In fact, I’ll be right back.” They kissed me on the forehead and started toward the kitchen.
“Mate! Don’t send them away!” I called after them.
“I’m not!”
Muffled voices were followed by the scraping of what I assumed to be furniture getting shuffled around.
A few seconds later, Kirk appeared out of the kitchen with Grina on his heels.
Treg held the door open as they lifted the sofa and carried it off into the kitchen.
Together they maneuvered it into the kitchen.
Then Treg came back for me. I still didn’t let them carry me because moving around would keep me from freezing up entirely.
As soon as I walked into the kitchen, Chasten opened the back door, letting a cool breeze into the house. I sighed as I sank into the sofa and the breeze ruffled my hair. After a quick round of introductions to Kirk’s hospital work friends, I heard a familiar giggle outside and tried to stand up.
“You---! You! You managed to keep a secret from me!” I said, my eyes growing into saucers as Loop and Sawe walked into kitchen. “Did you have them waiting outside all this time?”
“No!” Loop laughed.
“Don’t be silly! We were in here helping with the food! We just hid outside to be a surprise!” Sawe said as both of them bent down to hug me. “Kirk told us about your baby party, and we didn’t want to miss out on it. We’ll even stay to help you until Yule, if you’ll have us.”
“Of course, we’ll have you!” I said and then glanced at Treg to ensure I wasn’t asking for too much.
“They’re your family,” they grinned. “They’re always welcome here.”
I almost cried but got hold of myself at the last minute and hugged my sisters again.
After a few more hugs and cupcakes we played baby shower games like guess what flavor the baby food is, pin the binky on the baby, and the one where you’re not supposed to say baby or they take your stickers.
That latter was strange but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.
Then we decorated onesies for the baby, and I made a mental note to send out thank you cards.
Though, if our baby stayed in pup form like most of my people did, I didn’t think we’d get much use out of the little clothes.
Still, it was nice that everyone wanted to paint our baby indirectly.
Everyone stared at me while I opened gifts for the baby.
I wasn’t sure what to do or how my face should look.
Even when I was excited or really liked a gift (a little contraption that sanitized the bottles for you) I wasn’t sure my body language matched up to ‘gratitude.’ Sawe and Loop stayed on either side of me as buffers between me and the new people.
It was fun and by the time everyone went home I had relaxed a bit.
Chasten and Kirk hung out a while to help clean up after the party.
I finished up the leftover cupcakes and chips while they loaded paper plates and empty disposable cups into trash bags.
Other leftovers went into the fridge, but they weren’t going to last long.
Sawe and Loop went upstairs to explore the nursery while we said goodbye to Kirk and Chasten.
They’d have to share a room, but they also shared a cave for as long as I could remember.
I thanked Kirk again before he left for bringing my sisters to me.
Life was going to be interesting over the next few days.