by Bonnie Lamer
I put my hands up to ward off her next words. “I’ve certainly never done it before. I wouldn’t have the first clue what to do.”
Dad has joined us. “I don’t like the idea of anyone trying to do it blind. Worse comes to worst, I can do a C-section.” When he gets a blank look from Tabitha, he explains, “Cut the baby out.”
Tabitha waves him off. “No need to go to such extremes yet. We’ll try something else first.” The only problem with that is she doesn’t seem to know what that something else is.
After a moment’s deliberation, an idea comes to Dad. Turning to Tabitha, he asks, “Do you think you could unwind the cord if you were able to see it?” Tabitha stares at him blankly, wondering if maybe he lost his mind.
His meaning is slowly starting to sink into my brain, though. “You want me to make it possible for you to see the baby without doing a C-section.” Dad nods. Great, no pressure. Turning to Tabitha, I ask, “Um, any idea how I’m supposed to do that?”
Shaking her head, Tabitha admits, “I do not have a clue.” Guess there’s not an existing spell for it.
Great. I glance over my shoulder to the scared couple on the bed. “Do we have time to wait for the midwife?”
Dad grimaces. “If she is delivering another baby, we have no idea how long it will take for her to arrive. It could be too late.”
Alita lifts tear filled eyes to me. She and Kegan heard every word of our conversation. The room is not big enough for them not to have. “Please,” she begs.
Well, there’s no saying no to that plea. Squaring my shoulders, I march toward her. Hopefully by the time I get there, I’ll have a clue as to what I should be doing. When I am next to the bed, I reach a hand out to lay it on Alita’s stomach. Before I can touch her, Kegan grabs my wrist. “Are you certain you can do this?” There is an undercurrent to his words. A threat. If I do anything to harm his child or his wife, he will find a way to harm me.
I try really hard not to smile. I like seeing this protective side of him. It’s sweet. “I will do my best,” I assure him solemnly. He nods and lets go of my wrist.
I push Alita’s gown aside so I can place my hand directly on the skin of her swollen belly. As soon as I touch her, the spell is there on the tip of my tongue. “Tiny, new life faced with a hapless fate, poses the need for magic and technology to conflate. To guide a savior’s hand, this precious womb must be scanned. Show us now the internal workings of nature’s most wondrous blessings.”
The room was already dim. Tabitha had pulled the sheer drapes closed to keep the bright light of the sun from Alita’s eyes. But now, the room grows dark as the walls around us blacken. All except one. The wall at the head of the bed begins to shine. In the light, a picture forms. It’s like an old fashioned home movie playing out on the wall. And there, in the middle of the frame, is Kegan and Alita’s baby inside the womb in perfect color. There also is proof that Dad is right. The umbilical cord is clearly wrapped around the baby’s neck.
“That is better than an ultrasound,” Dad says in wonder.
Tabitha doesn’t waste any time. She bustles to the bed and lays her hands on Alita’s belly, pushing mine aside in her haste. She doesn’t notice and I don’t mention it. I just step back and let her do her thing. The older Fairy’s eyes are glued to the picture on the wall. Pulling magic, she gently sends it into the womb, guiding it toward the umbilical cord. Ever so slowly, she is able to unwind it. It feels as if it takes hours. I’m glad it doesn’t because I am holding my breath the entire time and that would be bad for my necessary oxygen supply. It probably takes only a minute or so.
I would expect Kegan to be watching the wall, but his eyes are glued to Alita’s. He is murmuring encouraging words and keeping her eyes focused only on him. He doesn’t want her to watch in case something goes very wrong. I suspect he also knows Tabitha will be even more nervous than she already is if the parents are watching her work and gasping each time the cord moves. She already has sweat dripping down the sides of her face. I would use one of the many towels in the room to wipe it off, but I’m afraid of breaking her concentration.
There is a collective sigh of relief when Tabitha removes her hands from Alita’s belly and steps back. She turns to Dad. “Check her.”
Dad moves forward with the stethoscope. He repeats his process from earlier, listening to several areas. Finally, a smile breaks out on his face. “There’s a strong heartbeat. The cord is clear.”
“Good, because I’m pretty sure I should be pushing now,” Alita declares.
Dad chuckles and checks other areas without the use of the stethoscope. “Not quite yet, but soon,” he tells her and Alita grimaces. Yup, birthing babies is a long, drawn out process.
One long hour later, Dad is finally holding a very wet and slimy baby boy. “Do you want to cut the cord?” he asks Kegan as he hands the baby into the waiting arms of Tabitha who is holding a clean sheet.
Kegan blanches but replies, “Yes.”
While Dad finishes up with Alita, Tabitha prepares the baby. She cleans its mouth and eyes and gets it to cry to clear its lungs. When she is finished, she hands the baby to Alita. There is not a dry eye in the room as mother gazes at baby. Kegan’s especially.
“Do you have a name?” Dad asks. The pair have been amazingly tight lipped about their list of possible names.
Alita smiles. “His name is Keelan.”
My brow furrows. “Is that a combination of Kegan and Kallen?”
Neither parent bothers to look up from their newborn. “Yes, that is why we chose the name,” Alita says softly. “And it means warrior. He is our little warrior, just like his father and his uncle.” My heart swells. Kallen is going to be so honored. No matter how much he and his cousin tease and bicker, there is a lot of love there.
Speaking of my wonderful husband, there’s a light knock on the door. The crowd that has been waiting in the hall must have heard the baby crying. Smiling, I ask the proud parents, “Are you ready to show off baby Keelan?”
Kegan nods. “Let them in.”
I open the door and several people practically fall through it since they were all crowded against the wood. Isla is the first to enter, followed by Kallen, Mom, Adriel, Raziel, Dagda, Tana, Garren and Alita’s parents. They circle the bed, waiting to be invited closer. Reluctantly, Alita relinquishes her new son to Kegan’s hands. He stands and hands him to his grandmother first.
Isla beams at her great-grandson. She leans down and kisses his smooth brow. “You are the handsomest baby I have ever seen.”
“I will not take that personally,” a voice drawls from the doorway. We all turn toward him. Kegan’s father is standing there, not quite sure if he is welcome to cross the threshold. He and Kegan have not really spoken since the older Fairy demanded Kegan and Alita come live with him when he found out his grandchild would be strong magically. The new parents chose to stay with us, instead. I wonder who sent him a message about the birth. I suspect Isla. I know Kallen wouldn’t have done it. Not without asking Kegan first. My eyes fly to the new father for a sign that I should send his father packing. I get a slight shake of the head from Kegan. He can stay. Part of me is disappointed since he generally causes nothing but grief for the couple. I guess they are too happy at the moment to care about any of that. Who knows, maybe they can move past it all someday soon.
Kegan retrieves his son from Isla and nods to his father who takes several tentative steps closer. He is not quite ready to hold his grandson, though. “I might drop him,” he insists when Kegan attempts to hand his son to him. I narrow my eyes and study him, trying to determine if he is serious or not. I believe he is genuinely afraid he will drop the tiny Fairy.
Dad, still in doctor mode, announces to the room in general, “Alita needs her rest. Perhaps a few minutes with the grandparents, but the rest of us should give them some privacy.”
I am about to suggest that I stay behind and help clean up when Tabitha performs an amazing act of magic. The sheets on the
bed are suddenly clean and dry. All the soiled linens have been collected in a laundry bag, including the ones used to keep the mattress from getting wet and gross during the birth. Alita is dressed in a fresh gown and her hair and skin have been magically cleansed. She is ready for a peaceful night with her new child. The room next door was converted to a nursery long ago with an adjoining door in the parents’ room and it is ready for its tiny new occupant. There is nothing left to do at the moment. So, all of us not in the grandparent category reluctantly shuffle out of the room, everyone trying to get one last peek at Keelan before we go.
In the hall, Kallen wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close. “How was it?”
“We are never having children,” I inform him emphatically.
3 Chapter
Hunger drives us all downstairs. It is well past dinnertime. In the kitchen, Mom and Dad begin pulling items out for sandwiches. Kallen and I gather plates and knives. Raziel and Dagda pull items from the pantry to go with the sandwiches. Everything is stacked in the middle of the island counter buffet style. “Dig in,” Mom announces when everything is set.
When our plates are piled high, all conversation turns toward the new baby. Details of the birth are requested. I oblige but leave out the gorier parts that would make some in the room not want to finish their sandwiches. Including me if I think too hard about them. Dad tells of the makeshift ultrasound I created, and Dagda is fascinated by the idea. They spend several minutes discussing the usefulness of the magic with Dagda trying to figure out if the magic was too complex for the average Fairy midwife to perform. I personally don’t have a clue but offer to try to teach them the spell.
“Was it really that bad?” Kallen finally asks when he can get my undivided attention. “Do you really not want to experience it for yourself?” There is disappointment lurking in his eyes, but also resolve. If I say I don’t want children, he will accept that.
I smile and touch his cheek. “I want children someday. But, I don’t think any woman ever watches the birth of a child and says, ‘wow, I want to do that right now!’”
Kallen chuckles. “As I have never witnessed a birth, I must take your word for it.” He pulls me into a hug. “We will not even discuss having a child of our own until the trauma of your experience leaves your mind.”
“And then we’ll add a few years to that,” I inform him, not wanting him to get any ideas of starting a family in the near future. “We have a lot to accomplish before we can even think about having kids. Life is too dangerous around me still.”
The kitchen door bursts open. “Is the baby here?” Zac demands, sliding to a halt on the kitchen tile. He is just returning from the palace and training.
Dad ruffles his sandy brown hair. “He sure is. Alita is resting right now, but maybe I can take you up later when I check on her.”
“How were your lessons today?” Mom asks.
Zac makes a face. “I never get to do any good magic in my lessons.”
Dagda cocks a brow, slightly offended since he is the one who devises the lesson plans for the tutors to follow. “What would be considered ‘good magic?’”
Shrugging as he grabs for a piece of turkey, Zac replies, “I want to learn to do the things Xandra can do, like toss people across the room.”
My biological father gives me an annoyed glance before turning back to Zac. “Though that is a useful skill in battle, there is not a lot of practical use for it on a day to day basis.” He shoots me another annoyed look. Geez. Send a few people through walls and suddenly you’re a bad influence. “You also must learn the basics before you can train as a warrior.”
With a long-suffering sigh, Zac pouts, “I guess.” He pops the turkey into his mouth.
“How about if I make you a sandwich?” Mom says before he can grab another piece of meat. “And you can wash your hands before eating it.” Her tone is firm but her eyes are twinkling. She loves being able to do things for him again. Even something as simple as making him a sandwich for dinner even though I suspect my younger brother already had dinner at the palace.
Isla and Garren enter the room, both grinning like proud new great-grandparents. “Why don’t we have a bonfire on the beach to celebrate,” Garren suggests as he begins making sandwiches for himself and Isla. The latter pours them both a cup of coffee.
“Excellent suggestion,” someone responds and several others agree. It’s decided.
Kallen and I head out to the beach to get things going while the others stay behind to clean up the kitchen. Kallen creates a small fire pit in the sand and I gather wood from the bin near the house. There are several fireplaces in the mansion so we always have a supply of firewood on hand. Kallen uses the wood I bring him to make a decent size fire.
We are soon joined by the others who are bearing various beverages. There’s wine, coffee and lemonade available, as well as a few treats Tabitha made earlier in the day before Alita went into labor. Beach chairs are created and we settle in to watch the fire and listen to stories.
Dagda tells tales of battles won by the Fairies over the years. Isla’s stories focus around family history. Tabitha’s stories are about helping to raise the King and Kallen and Kegan. Hers are the funniest. Tana tells stories of her life before becoming Queen, and about what it’s like to be married to the King which can, on occasion, be quite trying apparently. There is humor and love in her stories, though. None of them include the dark past they share, thank goodness. Mom and Dad tell stories of life in the Cowan realm. Mom talks about growing up as a Witch, and Dad tells stories of his exploits in college. Even Adriel gets involved, telling us some of the more interesting beings she has encountered as an Angel of Death. She is careful not to give away any Angel secrets out of fear for her wings. All in all, it is a great night.
Our little party finally breaks up when Kegan signals us from the doorway of the terrace. He has brought Keelan down to say good night to everyone, but he doesn’t want to bring him out into the night air. So, the fire is extinguished and we all spend several minutes in the large living room gushing over the beautiful baby in his arms. Tana and Mom are both eager to hold him so the rest of us hang back and give them space. Dagda takes his turn and I smile at the sight. It makes me wish he and Tana had been able to have children together. Being who he is now, not the angry King who was bitter over a stupid feud with a Witch when I was conceived, I suspect he could be a great father to a young child. He does an excellent job with Zac.
Pulling me aside, Kallen wraps his arms around me and kisses me. “Ready for bed?”
I nod and yawn at the same time. “Definitely.”
“Let’s sneak away then.”
I briefly consider how rude it is not to say good night to everyone, but decide I am too tired to care. Besides, they are too enthralled by the baby to even notice we are gone. “Let’s go.” Holding tight to my gorgeous husband, I teleport us to our bedroom. Once there, I make sure the door is closed before teleporting us directly to the bed. Kallen chuckles as we topple on top of it. “That eager for sleep?” he asks, pulling me closer.
“That eager for you,” I purr, kissing him deeply. I may not want to get pregnant yet, but I am certainly up for the practice.
Rolling us onto our sides, Kallen pulls back slightly and tucks a strand of dark hair behind my ear. “I am immensely happy. I would not change a thing about our life together.”
I smile. “Me, either. I was so lonely growing up, and now we have this huge family who love us and we love them. I couldn’t be happier. Even if all of us living together in the same house does drive me crazy from time to time,” I add with a laugh.
Kissing me softly, Kallen says, “Yes, the interruptions on our privacy have tried my nerves from time to time.” He pulls me close again, making our clothes disappear in the process.
I roll him over onto his back, my hands roving over his taut muscles and bare skin. “I don’t think anyone is going to interrupt us tonight.” I cover his body with mine, reveling in
the skin to skin contact.
The time for words has passed. I kiss his lips passionately before letting my mouth and hands wander over the rest of his incredible body. I savor every touch and every sensation, longing for this night to last forever. My desire for him is eternal, just as his is for me. Never will we know anything different.
And doesn’t that just make the universe perfect.
4 Chapter
Why can’t mornings come later? Or weekly. Mornings should come weekly. That way, I could spend days making love to my husband, and then get more than an hour or two of sleep before mornings come along and ruin everything. Then again, is it really morning’s fault that I have a Tasmanian devil sitting on my chest breathing bacon fumes into my nostrils? Not really.
Shoving at the fat little beast, I mumble, “Get off me.” Since I am only able to push him partially off, I decide he is going on a strict, no more than five pieces of bacon a day, diet.
“Something is wrong.”
I scowl at Taz. “What do you mean, something is wrong?”
“The brat is gone.”
It takes a moment for the words to sink into my sleep addled brain. When they do, I sit up so fast, Taz goes tumbling off the side of the bed. “Keelan?”
Righting himself, Taz snarls up at me from the floor, “Do you know of any other brats in the house?”
I consider telling him that I am looking at one, but I need to find out more about what is going on with Keelan. “How do you know he’s gone?” I ask. I glance over my shoulder at Kallen who is beginning to stir. I don’t want to wake him until I know more. No sense in both of us panicking yet.
“Because Alita’s gone, too.”
“What?!”
My shriek is so loud, Kallen is sitting up now. So much for not waking him yet. “What’s wrong?” he demands, sleep erased from his face in a flash.
I turn to him. “Taz says Alita and Keelan are gone!”