by V. A. Dold
Dr. Marjorie looked from Simon to Rose. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes. Yes, everything is fine,” Rose quickly said.
“Good. This is a prescription for prenatal vitamins and I’ll see you in a month. Congratulations again.”
Rose was quiet on the ride home. Too quiet. “Cher, everything’s going to be fine.”
“Then why do I have a bad feeling about it?”
“You’re just worried. Like I said we’ll talk to my mother.”
Simon’s cell phone rang out interrupting their conversation. The caller ID said Mark. “Hello?”
“Hi, Simon. Are you home?”
“Not yet, but we’re on our way.”
“Is it okay if we come by in a couple hours?”
“Sure, come on over.”
“Great, we’ll see you then.”
Simon glanced at Rose. She was still twisting her fingers in her lap. “I hope it’s all right that I told Mark he and Sharon could come by.”
“Yeah. Sure. I like Mark and Sharon is great.”
Simon drove past their house and went straight to his parents. Rose shot him a nervous look, but didn’t say a word.
The door opened as Simon reached for the knob. “Tell me…tell me everything! When is my grandbaby due?”
“Damn, Mom, you’re really scary.”
“Phooey, I’m not scary at all.” Emma pulled Rose in for a hug. “Sweetheart, you look like you need a cup of tea.”
“I need more than that,” Rose mumbled.
Emma pulled back and took a long look.
Simon’s heart ached when Rose avoided his mother’s eyes. Her fear worried him. It couldn’t be good for her or the baby.
“Okay, everyone in the kitchen,” Emma ordered.
They sat quietly at the table while Emma made tea. “Are either of you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
Simon took Roses hand. “If a shifter is born on Halloween are there implications?”
Emma paused mid-stride, and then walked the rest of the way to the table. She looked from Simon to Rose. “Are you due on Halloween?”
Rose nodded.
Emma giggled and clapped her hands. “Goddess be blessed.”
Simon’s brow furrowed. “Is that good?”
Emma clapped again. “Very, very good. A shifter born on Halloween is born with extremely strong powers.”
Rose groaned. “I’m having a super shifter?”
Emma raised her brows. “Basically, yes. But, dear, that’s a good thing.”
“Is there anything we need to be concerned about?” Simon asked.
“Oh, goodness, no.”
Simon let out a breath. “Good. See, baby, nothing to worry about.”
Rose smiled. “At least until super baby is born, and you have to deal with him.”
Simon frowned and took a gulp of tea.
*****
Two hours later, Simon and Rose sat on their front porch with Mark and Sharon, laughing. Rizzo was chasing squirrels from tree to tree desperate to catch one.
“It looks like she’s having a good time.” Simon laughed.
Mark grinned. “That dog has a thing about squirrels. Speaking of Rizzo, she’s why we came over.”
Simon turned his attention to Mark. “What’s up?”
“I’m very happy to say, I no longer need a service dog. Not that I won’t miss her like crazy, but I think she should be put back into training with a new serviceperson. Someone she can help. We have a bond, but I can tell she misses the work.”
Simon’s brow creased. “How is that possible? People don’t just snap their finger and recover from PTSD.”
Sharon leaned forward to look past Mark at Simon. “We think it happened during his conversion. After that night, his nightmares and panic attacks disappeared.”
Simon rubbed his chin. “Huh, I had no idea that could happen.”
“I didn’t either,” Sharon agreed. “We waited a while to make sure, but he seems to be perfectly fine. It’s as if his conversion not only returned him to perfect physical health but affected his emotional health as well.”
“Are you sure you want to give her up?” Rose asked.
Mark shook his head. “I don’t want to give her up, but it’s the right thing to do for her and for a serviceperson who’s waiting for a dog.”
Sharon rubbed Mark’s knee. “I promised him a puppy to fill the void. He visited a breeder and picked one out yesterday.”
Simon looked hard at Mark. “If you’re absolutely sure about this, we can put her into training as soon as you’re ready to drop her off at the compound.”
“I’m sure. I’m going to take a day or two to spend time with her and say my goodbyes and then I’ll bring her in.”
Mon amour, I can tell Mark has something else on his mind. From his level of anxiety, I’m not sure he wants Sharon to hear what he has to say. Could you distract her for a minute?
Sure.
Rose stood and headed toward the door. “Sharon, could you give me a hand? I have finger snacks in the kitchen I wanted to bring out.”
Once the woman were out of earshot Simon leaned toward Mark. “Okay, out with it.”
“I have a request in regards to Rizzo’s placement.”
“Whatever you want, man.”
“I’d like to choose the person who gets her. I want him or her to be a good match for Rizzo.”
“You’ve got it. Check with the applications department and look through the waiting list.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. I’ve been going through the applications and I think I found the perfect person. If it’s all right with you, I’ll invite him to meet Rizzo and see if they hit it off.”
“Go ahead, I hope it works out for both of you.”
Sharon came through the door with a big smile for Mark and fed him a cocktail weenie on a toothpick. “Good, aren’t they?”
Marks eyes popped. “Wow, they’re really good.”
Simon grinned. “Rose has a secret recipe for the sauce she uses on them.”
Mark inspected Sharon’s plate. “Are there any more?”
Rose giggled, and handed Mark a plate piled high with weenies. “Here you go. They’re all yours.”
The four of them sipped sweet tea and nibbled on snacks while Rizzo tormented the squirrels.
Rose set her empty plate aside. “Would you like to stay for dinner? Simon’s grilling steaks.”
Mark groaned. “Dang, I love Simon’s steaks, but we need to get back. Sharon has an appointment in an hour. As a matter of fact, we should probably get going.”
“Thank you for the tea and hors d'oeuvres. Would you like a hand cleaning up?” Sharon asked.
“No, we’ve got it. You better go if you’re going to make your appointment.” Simon said as he stood to say goodbye.
Once Mark and Sharon were on their way down the driveway, Simon helped Rose clear away the glasses and dirty plates. He handed her glassware as she rinsed and stacked everything in the dishwasher.
“Mon amour, would you like to request a family dinner tomorrow night and make our formal announcement, or is it too soon?”
She stopped and looked at him. A sad expression flittered across her face and she looked away. “I’m sorry, Simon, I’m not ready for that. I’m still trying to get used to the whole super shifter baby thing. I don’t want to explain it to your family until I’ve had the chance to get used to the idea.”
Simon wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. “I’m sorry, baby. I should have been more sensitive. Take as much time as you need.”
“Thank you.”
“In the meantime, maybe we should do some research about shifters born on Halloween. If we know what to expect it will be less scary.”
“Yeah, okay. And who knows, maybe we’ll luck out and the baby will be born on a different day. Women deliver early or late all the time.”
A week later
Mark paced the floor for about the hundre
dth time. He stopped at the window of his office and grabbed the sill. His life was about to change, right down there on the lawn. In half an hour, he would introduce Rizzo to Jeremy, the serviceman he’d hand picked. Letting Rizzo help Jeremy was the right thing to do, but damn he was going to miss her.
He turned and paced again.
“If you keep that up, there’s going to be a hole in the floor.”
He glanced up, startled. “Hey, Simon.”
Simon folded his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “You seem a little agitated, are you sure you want to do this?”
His shoulders sagged. “No, but it’s the right thing for Jeremy and Rizzo. There’s only one thing left to do before I release her to him for their training.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“I’m going to see how Rizzo likes him. You know, how they interact. I’ll be able to tell once they meet each other if he’s going to be the right one for her.”
“Did I ever tell you that Stefan can communicate with animals? Do you want me to have him down there with you when they meet? He could tell you what she’s thinking when she meets Jeremy.”
“Really? He could do that?”
“Yeah. Do you want me to go get him? He lost another bet and is cleaning kennels. I’m sure he would jump at the chance to get out of that job.”
“Thanks, Simon, I would appreciate that.”
Simon looked at his watch. “He’s supposed to be here in twenty minutes, right?”
“Yeah.”
Simon headed for the door. “I better call the kennels and talk to Stefan. We’ll meet you in the yard.”
Mark turned back to the window. “See you there.”
Twenty minutes flew past much too fast. He knelt in front of Rizzo, scratching her ears, whispering. “I’m going to miss you, beautiful. I’m sure you’re going to like Jeremy and he’ll give you a good home.” Rizzo licked his nose and made him laugh. “You want to get back to work, don’t you, girl?”
“She loves you.” Stefan said from behind Mark.
Mark stiffened and stood. “I thought shifter senses were supposed to be so great. I didn’t hear you guys coming.”
Stefan snorted. “How could you with all the jawing you were doing?”
Simon smacked the back of Stefan’s head.
“Ouch!” Stefan took a step away and rubbed his head.
“Be nice or you’ll be cleaning kennels for another week.”
Stefan scowled at Simon and then grinned at Rizzo. “That dog of yours is a talker.”
Mark looked from Stefan to Rizzo. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah. She’s jabbering on about squirrels and chasing ducks in a pond.”
Mark smiled and scratched her behind the ears again. “Maybe Jeremy will have a pond near his house.”
“Actually, I do.” A man said as he walked toward them.
Simon offered his hand. “You must be Jeremy. I’m Simon Le Beau.” When he noticed Jeremy offered his left hand instead of right, he held out his other hand.
“It’s nice to meet you in person, Mr. Le Beau.” Jeremy raised his right hand, which was more of a pincer. “Sorry about the left hand. This one isn’t very pleasant to shake and I haven’t been able to get a more realistic prosthesis yet.”
Simon gave him a warm smile and shook his head. “Not a problem. This is my brother Stefan Le Beau, and my partner Mark Anderson.”
Jeremy shook Stefan’s hand and turned to Mark. “Mr. Anderson, I’m very honored to meet you.”
“I’m honored to meet you, as well. Thank you for your service to our country.”
Jeremy grinned looking from Mark to Simon and back. “I should be saying that to the two of you. Both you and Mr. Le Beau are legends. If even half of what I’ve heard is true, I’m standing with a couple of national heroes.”
Mark shook his head. “We’re not all that. We just did our job and followed orders like every other man and woman in the service. But that’s not why you’re here. Let me introduce you to Rizzo.”
Jeremy knelt in front of Rizzo as best he could with his prosthetic leg and extended his left hand.
Rizzo gave him a sniff, then stepped up to him and sat.
Chuckling, Jeremy reached out to stroke Rizzo’s head, then ran his hand down her shoulder and scratched her chest. Rizzo looked him right in the eye and wrapped her paw over his arm.
Stefan leaned forward to whisper in Marks ear. “She likes him a lot. She told him she loves you with all her heart, but you don’t need her any more because you’re well now. Oh, she just asked him if he would be her new human.”
Mark brushed a tear from his eye. “Thanks, Stefan. Knowing that means a lot to me.”
Stefan patted Mark on the back. “You’re welcome.”
“Jeremy, I would like to offer Rizzo to you as your service dog,” Mark said his voice choked with emotion.
Jeremy’s head jerked up. “Really? Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. She likes you, and I think the two of you will make a good team. You’ll have to train with her here at the compound for several weeks before you can take her home, but she’s yours now.”
Jeremy struggled to his feet and shook Marks hand. “Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me.”
“Actually, I do.”
Mark turned to Simon and asked. “Would you show Jeremy around and get him settled in?”
“Sure. Come on, Jeremy, I’ll show you where you and Rizzo will be living while you’re with us.”
Mark watched them walk away, silently saying goodbye to Rizzo. It was easier to let her go, knowing she liked her new handler and would be happy in her new home.
Epilogue: Oct 31st
Dr. Marjorie looked up from between Rose’s legs. “Normally, this is the point I would ask the father-to-be if he would like to join me at the end of the bed to watch his baby be born. But I think you need to remain seated. One near catastrophe per birth is my limit.”
“It wasn’t as bad as all that. I remained conscious the entire time,” Simon pointed out.
“Yes, you did, though it was from a prone position on the floor with a bleeding forehead.”
“At least I didn’t pass out like Cade did,” Simon grumbled.
Dr. Marjorie never looked up as she responded. “We haven’t started pushing yet. I would be careful with the boasting if I were you. It has a way of biting you in the behind.”
As if on cue, pain slammed into them like a runaway freight train. Rose squeezed Simon’s fingers until her knuckles turned white and Simon’s mouth stretched in a silent scream of pain.
Once he could speak, Simon panted, “Shit! Did someone take a meat cleaver to me?”
“If they did, they took a swing at me, too,” Rose mumbled.
Simon used a damp cloth to bathe Rose’s face. “Baby, I know you’re exhausted, but you’re doing great. This is almost over.” Then he gave Dr. Marjorie the evil eye. “Isn’t it, Doctor?”
“Simon’s right, you’re doing great.”
Every muscle in Rose’s body tensed as another contraction held her in its grip.
“That’s it Rose, push. The baby’s crowning, I can see the top of the head.”
Simon pulled himself back onto the bed next to Rose from where he’d collapsed to the floor. Again. “You’re doing great, mon amour. If she sees the head, you’re almost done.”
“With this next contraction, I want you to push as hard and as long as you can. Ready? Push, push…PUSH! And relax,” Dr. Marjorie said from somewhere at the end of the bed.
Simon was trembling so badly he almost missed Rose’s lips when he bent to give her a quick kiss. He poured all his love into her through their bond. I love you, mon amour.
“This is it. One last push! Give me all you’ve got. Bear down through the pain.”
Rose scrunched up her face in determination and pushed, with everything she had. Panting and dizzy, she collapsed into the pillows propping her up.
“The baby’s head is out. Just breathe for me, and don’t push.”
Simon leaned in and whispered, “You’re the most amazing person I know. I keep landing on the floor and you keep pressing on. You’re my hero, mon amour.”
“Okay, with the next contraction you’ll meet your baby. Ready? PUSH!”
Rose didn’t think she had an ounce of energy left but from somewhere deep in her belly she found the will to push. Suddenly, the pressure eased and she felt the baby slide free. When she turned to smile at Simon he was right there with her. Somehow, he managed to stay on the bed that time.
“We did it, Simon.”
“No, sweetheart, you did. I only offered moral support.”
Dr. Marjorie smiled at them. “You have a handsome baby boy.”
Simon and Rose watched, enamored as the doctor handed the wet, slippery baby to a nurse who laid him on Rose’s chest. Tiny arms waved and an angry wail echoed in the room.
He gazed at his mate, tears of joy in his eyes. “He has a good set of lungs.”
She grinned back. “He takes after his father.”
Dr. Marjorie cut the cord and one of the nurses stepped forward. “May I take him for a minute?”
They watched as their son was weighed and measured. Then he was wrapped in a blue blanket and brought back to them.
The nurse smiled. “Eight pounds, five ounces, and twenty one inches long. Congratulations.”
Bright blue newborn eyes gazed at them and the cries stopped instantly.
“So, what are we going to name him?” Simon asked. Try as they might, they hadn't been able to agree on a name.
Rose looked at her son and then up at him. A wide grin crinkled the laugh lines at the corners of her eyes. “I think he looks like a swashbuckling hero. What do you think of Malcolm?”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
Simon whooped and kissed her, careful not to squish baby Malcolm.
When he finished his victory dance, Rose asked, “Do you want to hold your son?”
“Are you sure I won’t drop him?”
“Hold him like I am, support his little head and use your arm under his body.”