by Ryan Gray
“You should probably keep breathing,” I said trying to loosen him up, “I prefer you alive.”
“Sorry, I’m just… nervous. I know how important this is to you. I want them to like me.” Lucas said, and my heart dropped. I had been hyping this up all week and now the one person I cared about the most was petrified over a silly little party.
“No I’m sorry. This is supposed to be fun Lucas. Sure, I hope you all get along, but you and that baby are my family now. I love you, no matter what anyone else thinks,” I said, rubbing his back tenderly as I spoke.
Lucas leaned in and pressed his soft lips chastely against mine. The tension practically melted off of him with my reassurance. I had to be more careful, it was easy to forget how much impact a few words could have.
“Next time I stress you out like that, just punch me or something” I said with a grin.
“I’m going to take you up on that you know,” Lucas grinned back at me.
The chime of our doorbell broke the moment, and I got up to welcome the first guests. One by one my pack arrived, all with smiles and gifts. Of course it wasn’t as bad as Clark had made it out. I never thought I would say it, but I needed to listen to Alexa more often.
Lucas followed me like a shadow, and I introduced him to each arrival. Before long the place was down to standing room only. As small as my pack was our apartment was just that much smaller. It was going to get a little cramped once the baby got here, but we would manage.
“Lucas, this is Bradley.” I said, finally on the last introduction.
“Lucas, glad to finally meet ya. I don’t know why Rex has been hiding you away for so long,” Bradley said with a laugh, wrapping his arms around Lucas in a welcoming hug.
“It’s good to meet everyone, next time we might need a bigger venue though,” Lucas returned the hug.
“We should open presents!” Alexa called out, and the others began to take seats and stand to the side to let the bouncing party planner through.
Lucas and I took our seats center stage and Alexa sat to my left, eclipsed by a towering stack of presents. One by one she passed them to us, and we unveiled everything from diapers to outfits to bottles. It was all becoming very real, very quickly. The baby stuff was already overtaking the apartment and he wasn’t even born yet.
“This is all amazing,” Lucas said after we unwrapped the final present, “Thank you so much for welcoming me, no both of us, to the family.” He smiled with his hand on his round belly.
With the gift opening concluded the party returned to small group conversations. Only now Lucas was in the mix, laughing and joking with the others. I was grinning like an idiot as I watched him interact with my pack. Everyone was getting along even better than I could have hoped.
‘Rex, bring out some more of those little sausage things,” Lucas directed me.
With a nod I left to retrieve the ‘little sausage things’ as he had so eloquently put it. I wasn’t going to deny a pregnant man and his snack of choice. My trip to the kitchen quickly turned from mundane to baffling when I found Alexa surrounded by what appeared to be dirty diapers.
“Alexa, this is disgusting.” I scrunched my nose, and pulled away. Just what the hell was she thinking?
“No Rex, the actual diapers you are going to be changing in a couple weeks will be disgusting. These are just melted candy,” She replied with only a touch of sarcasm.
True enough. I probably hadn’t given enough thought to the difficulties this baby would bring with him. Lucas was still in school for another year, so a lot of the care would have to fall to me. I had to make sure Lucas could finish school, which meant I also had to get used to this grossness, and quickly.
“Candy?” I asked, skeptical of her explanation.
“Yeah it’s a game. Everyone is supposed to guess the candy. But really, you should probably be getting ready for this stuff. Lucas isn’t going to want to hear that changing the baby is gross. You have to do this too.” Alexa said with a raised brow.
“I know, this is all just happening so fast,” I admitted. It was easy to day how excited I was, but hard to admit how terrifying this whole thing could be. I had to be strong for Lucas, but sometimes I wondered if I could really handle a baby. His whole life would be in my hands, and I couldn’t bear to disappoint him.
‘Well it’s not like you get a full nine months to prepare. I can tell how much the two of you care about each other though, you’ll be fine.” She tried to soothe over my worries, but I had to admit how unprepared I was.
“I hope you’re right,” I said, running my hand through my hair. There were only weeks left at most. We would have to be ready.
12. Lucas
The summer sun hung high in the sky, and its heat beat down on us mercilessly. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, but despite the sweltering heat I was perfectly content. Flowers and trees stretched out as far as I could see in every direction and Rex laid sleeping at my side. The chirp of birds and hum of insects floated on the gentle breeze. My eyes closed and I breathed in deep, letting the fresh forest air fill my lungs.
When I opened my eyes the scene had shifted, the sun was obscured by dark clouds, but the hot haze of summer still clung to the air. My skin crawled and I could feel dozens of eyes watching me, but no matter how quickly I scanned the surrounding forest there was no one to be found. Quick, sharp movements kept catching the corner of my vision, but by the time I looked nothing was there. Rex was tossing beside me, but no matter how I shook him he wouldn’t wake. An ominous presence filled the air, and the hum of life that had been present only moments before turned to dead silence. Out of the dark woods an angry pack of wolves emerged.
“Rex,” I shook his harder, and finally his eyes opened. A sharp pain stabbed me in the gut and I looked down in horror. A knife was protruding from my stomach. Blood gushed from the wound and Rex stared at me blankly. The pain was deep and immense, but I couldn’t even cry out. I croaked out a pained whimper and crumpled to the forest floor.
I woke in a cold sweat, but the pain remained. I screamed and this time the sound came out just fine. Rex snapped awake beside me, his eyes wild and fierce, ready at a moment’s notice to protect us. His fists loosened as he looked over and took in the sight of me.
“Is it the baby? Is it time?” He asked, eyes still wide, only now they were filled with excitement. I wished I could share his enthusiasm, but the pain coming in sporadic increments was all I could focus on.
I nodded, and without a word Rex pulled out his cell phone.
“Zeke, open the clinic. We’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up without waiting and grabbed the duffel bag from my side of the bed.
“Can you walk?” He asked me, all the hash hurriedness gone from his voice. I nodded again, not trusting the words to come out of my mouth without another scream of anguish. This didn’t feel right. Nothing said it should be this painful this fast. I must have slept through the first few hours or something, because now the pain was almost constant.
I inched slowly towards the car, and Zeke held me by the shoulders the entire way. I could see the worry in his eyes, but he didn’t let anything but positivity escape his lips.
‘We’re almost there babe, we’re finally going to meet him,” He said stroking my back, as I carefully lowered myself into the car.
Rex was driving like a maniac, but I was in too much pain to care and didn’t mind getting to the doctor as quick as possible. Plus, no one was out at such an early hour anyways. We got to the clinic in record time, and Rex guided me slowly inside. A fleeting thought that someone might see me, a man in labor, passed through my mind, but I could hardly be worried about something like that now.
Zeke greeted us at the reception desk, and I was relieved to see his calm demeanor. Someone had to keep their head on straight and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be Rex or me.
“How far apart are the contractions now?’ He asked as he ushered us both into one of the exam rooms,
�
�Constant,” I managed through gritted teeth.
Zeke placed his hands on my belly and pressed gently to feel the baby. “How does your breathing feel?”
“Challenging.” It felt like I was breathing through a tiny little straw, but I didn’t have the ability to get that many words out at once.
“What’s wrong?” Rex asked aggressively, glancing between my pained expression and the doctor’s carefully neutral face.
“We need to get this baby out now, Sean is prepping the OR we don’t have any time to lose,” Zeke said, as stern as I had ever heard him. He didn’t have to tell me that something was wrong, it was obvious from his tone.
“Can I come?” Rex asked from my side his voice small and worried. I’d never heard him so scared.
“No Rex, you need to wait here, we’ll keep you updated,” Zeke shot down his request. That meant I had to be alone.
Rex squeezed my hand, and I crushed his in return. The pain was overwhelming. “You’ll do great.” He reassured me. “Zeke is an amazing doctor, you couldn’t be in better hands,” he said before planting a kiss on my forehead. If I hadn’t been worried before I certainly would be now.
Another sharp pain ripped through my belly and I doubled over in agony. Maybe these were the real contractions and the constant pain was something else. Whatever it was I wanted it to stop.
“We have to go now,” Zeke urged me along. He supported me as we left Rex behind and stumbled towards the operating room. All I could do now was hope that my baby would pull through. Even if I didn’t.
13. Rex
Waiting for news to see if my partner and our baby were even still alive was indescribably difficult. The hands of the clock were moving as if through molasses and the slow ticking noise was driving me closer to madness with every passing second. Staying positive was important at times like these, I knew that, but I couldn’t help but imagine the worst. Losing them both would destroy me.
My life had changed completely since Lucas stumbled into it, and I couldn’t lose him. He brought light to my darkest days. With him by my side I could weather any storm. I knew it right from the beginning, we were fated to be together. I clenched my fists at my side, willing myself not to think of it.
They were supposed to keep me updated, but when forty-five minutes had passed with no word my dread only intensified. There should be news by now, they were in such a rush something had to have happened by now. My stomach turned like it was being eaten from the inside. I was powerless to help him this time.
Another ten minutes passed, and finally Zeke returned. Under his surgical mask I couldn’t make out his expression, so all I could do was try and steel myself for the worst. Every muscle in my body tensed as I waited breathlessly for the news.
He pulled down the mask and with a bright smile said, “Congratulations Dad. Lucas and baby are both doing great.”
Tears sprung to my eyes, and relief washed over my body. I was torn between vomiting from the stress and crying from the relief.
“Can I go see them?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Yes, but they’ve both been through a lot. Just a few minutes and then they both need their rest. I want to keep Lucas at least for the night for observation,” Zeke said, but I was already brushing past him. I needed to see my family.
“Ok,” I managed to get out. As long as they were okay we would make it through this.
As we walked down the short hall to the operating room I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. Nerves and excitement tingled down my spine.
“Time to meet your son,” Zeke said as he opened the door.
Lucas cradled our son in his arms. His face was still pale from the delivery, but his smile lit up the room. I sat beside him and brushed my finger across our newborns soft cheek.
“He’s perfect.” All the stress and worry of the last hour transformed into joy as soon as I saw his tiny face, and I couldn’t stop the tear that flowed freely over my cheeks.
“I was so worried…” I managed to get out.
“Hey, we’re fine.” Lucas comforted me when I should have been his strength. He wiped the tears from my face with his free hand, and I felt the intense connection between us stronger than ever. Our bond was unbreakable; that was clear now more than ever.
“Marry me. I won’t lose you, either of you, ever.” I blurted it out with no plan, but it felt entirely right. We were meant to spend our lives together as a family, and I couldn’t wait another day to make this man my husband.
“Yes, Rex. Of course I will marry you.” Lucas said with tears glistening in his eyes.
I pulled my mate, the father of my son, and soon to be husband in for a deep kiss. The baby cooed at our display and I had to laugh as he ruined the moment. I had a feeling we would have to get used to that.
“So what do you think Lucas? Does he look like a little Robert?” I couldn’t take my eyes off his perfect, tiny face. His eyes were already darting around, taking in the world around him.
Lucas scrunched up his nose and looked the baby in the eyes, “What do you think? Are you Robert?”
The baby let out a wail and started bawling, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that a yes or a no?” I asked.
“I think you win,” Lucas said with a dramatic shake of the head, “He’s definitely an Anderson.”
“Anderson Robert Adams-Reed. That’s a mouthful for such a little guy,” I said, still marveling at every movement Anderson made.
“He’ll grow into it” Lucas said with a weak grin, I could see how tired he was. I didn’t want to leave them, but Lucas needed to recuperate.
“Well I had better let you rest before Zeke starts staring daggers at me. I’ll be back first thing in the morning, anything you want me to bring?” I asked.
“A beer,” Lucas said before giving me a quick kiss with his request.
“I’ll see if I can smuggle one in,” I laughed, knowing that Zeke would never allow it. With one last kiss I left for the night, eager to see what tomorrow would bring.
14. Lucas
“It’s your turn,” I grumbled, pulling my pillow down over my head. How many times could he really eat between two and five am? So far a dozen and counting.
“OK, I’m getting up.” Rex said beside me, without making any movement. I could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he calculated how much effort he needed to pull himself from the comfort of our bed.
It hadn’t been so bad the first few weeks. Everyone wanted to see the baby and help out. Plus at first he was sleeping all the time, and couldn’t move much by himself. Shifter babies had a tendency to grow quick during their first year though, and now he was demanding insane amounts of energy to fuel all that growing he had been doing in three short weeks. Which meant an equally insane number of midnight feedings.
Rex rolled out of bed, and stumbled over to the crib. The crying immediately turned to cooing. Anderson always calmed down when Rex was close by. I would have been jealous except that meant Rex did more of the late night feedings. I dozed back off, foolishly hoping that we could make it at least another hour without the next wake up call.
The blare of my alarm went off at exactly 7:52 am and I moved as fast as humanly possible to try and shut it up before it woke Anderson. Too late. Always too late, that baby was better than a watchdog.
“Not now,” I groaned “I need to go to class.”
“You go, I’ve got this.” Rex said as he slid out of bed, eyes still shut. I reached out and squeezed his arm before rushing off to get ready. Rex had been amazing these last few weeks. His semester was already over and all that was left was graduation. I on the other hand still had to make up all the time I lost, and take makeup finals. At least I wasn’t losing any credits. A doctor’s note and a medical emergency really seemed to motivate the school to work with me. Guess they weren’t eager to have a lawsuit on their hands. I would have to thank Zeke for being so convincing with his notes.
I was just about to head out the
door when I heard Rex call to me from the bedroom.
“Lucas, come quick!”
I rushed back to see that little Anderson had sprouted two big fluffy ears, and was giggling as he batted them with his hands. I let out a deep laugh as I watched him struggle to understand his new ears. With two shifters as parents we were almost positive he would be one too, but it was always amusing to watch an adolescent develop their abilities. All the more so when it was my own kid. Anderson pulled hard on his new ears, and the laughs immediately turned to wails. That was one way of figuring out they were attached.
“Looks like he really does take after us,” I said.
“Poor thing,” Rex smiled picking him up and rocking him for comfort. “You’d better get to class.”
“Right,” I agreed, but it was so hard to pull myself away. “I’ve been thinking, maybe I should switch to online courses. I hate leaving you two every day.”
“Lucas, I love you but we don’t have to be your whole life. Go to class, spend some time with your friends. We’ll still be here.”
“Too late, you’re already my whole life.” I said with a cheesy smile. In moments like these I felt immensely at ease. There was no one else in the world that I could show this side to. Rex accepted and loved every side of me, and soon we would be officially tied together forever.
“I know, but you need to study. So go.” He said, still rocking our son on his hip. Yeah, he was going to be a great dad. Already was really. With a quick kiss for each of them I headed out to class. Even if it would be rough until I graduated I knew we could make it work together. As a family.
15. Rex
The big day was finally here, and the mix of excitement and nerves was weaving intricate knots in my stomach. It felt like yesterday that we had become parents, but six months had already passed and the date we had set so long ago was finally here.
“You look great, Lucas is totally going to swoon,” Alexa said at my side, smiling as always.