A Bear's Baby

by Vanessa Devereaux

  She looked at him. “I’m …”

  Before he could get the words that he’d tried so hard to get right, she passed out. She slipped off the chair and now lay on the floor.

  “Jenna, Jenna. Are you all right?” Brady rushed to her side, and then Bear came running over and knelt beside her.

  “She’s out cold,” he said. “Let’s get her upstairs and I’ll take a look at her.”

  Brady lifted her into his arms in one easy swoop. The place was humming with everyone’s chatter, and everyone watched as he, Bear and Hannah went out of the café, and then up the stairs to the apartment above it.

  “Lucky there’s still a bed in one of the rooms,” said Hannah.

  Brady set her down. “I thought she didn’t look well, and she hardly ate anything.”

  “Okay, let me take a look,” said Bear. “Honey, can you go fetch my medical supply bag out of the car?”

  “Sure thing,” said Hannah.

  Brady paced back and forth while Bear checked Jenna’s pulse.

  “Does she have a cold or flu or anything?” he asked Brady.

  “Not that she mentioned to me, no.”

  Hannah returned with the bag and handed it to Bear.

  Bear got out his stethoscope and placed it on Jenna’s chest. “Her heartbeat sounds okay.” He pushed up the sleeve to her sweater and put the blood pressure cuff around her bicep.

  “Her blood pressure’s too high for my liking,” he finally said. “Jenna, can you hear me? It’s Bear McWilliams.”

  She didn’t respond at first, but then she started to open her eyes. “Where am I?”

  “You’re in the apartment above the Starlight Café. You fainted. You remember?” asked Bear.

  Jenna shook her head.

  “Your blood pressure’s really high. You take any medication for it?”

  Jenna shook her head. “I just felt lightheaded.”

  “I think you might have a bug or a virus so I’d like you to admit you to the hospital and run some tests.”

  “No, no. I’ll be fine.”

  “No, I think I’m going to have to insist that you…”

  Bear didn’t get a chance to finish what he was saying as Jenna passed out again.

  “She needs to go to the hospital,” said Bear, turning to face Brady. “Let’s get her into the car and take her to our clinic.”

  “You think that’s wise? I mean what if she asks questions when she wakes up?” asked Brady. He wasn’t much worried about her stumbling up on their secret, but he needed to be the one to tell her the story. It had to come from his mouth first.

  “No problem. You’re one of the main benefactors. It’s some of your money that keeps the shifter hospital running so we’ll tell her you wanted her to go there.”

  Brady nodded and put his arms under Jenna’s body and picked her up. He followed Bear back downstairs.

  “Is she okay?” asked Hannah.

  “We’re taking her to the clinic and I’ll call you from there,” said Bear.

  “Here’s her coat, and yours too, Brady,” said Hannah.

  Bear took them. Brady followed behind and opened the back door of his car so Brady could put Jenna on the back seat.

  Brady sat in the passenger seat, glancing behind to look at Jenna.

  “She’s going to be okay isn’t she?” asked Brady.

  Bear patted his shoulder. “I’m going to take good care of her.”

  That was good to hear because he always seemed to lose people when he grew close to them.

  ****

  Jenna grimaced as she felt something sharp going into her arm.

  “Welcome back.”

  She opened her eyes and focused on Dr. Bear McWilliams. She glanced around, but nothing seemed familiar to her. She remembered being in the Starlight Café, waking up in a room, and then nothing.

  She glanced at the bag of solution hanging over her arm and watched as it dripped into her.

  “It’s okay. It’s just some saline. You were dehydrated and your blood pressure’s high.”

  “I’m…”

  “Pregnant,” said Bear. “I ran a blood test. I take it you haven’t told Brady yet. Well, that’s assuming it’s his baby.”

  “Yes, yes it is, but he doesn’t know that I…”

  “That you what?”

  “That I purposely got pregnant. But not for the reasons you’re probably thinking.”

  “What would I be thinking?” he asked.

  “Rich man and I trick him into marriage or at least supporting a baby.”

  “I wasn’t thinking that at all.”

  “I’ve ruined things between me and Brady, haven’t I?” she said.

  Bear pulled up a stool and sat beside her. “I wouldn’t say that. We all make mistakes. That’s what life’s about.”

  “So you think I passed out because I’m pregnant?”

  “I think it’s the blood pressure which is because you’re pregnant because…”

  “Because what?” asked Jenna.

  “I going to recommend that you stay in overnight so we can give you something to bring the pressure down, and then you’ll need to use this clinic for your prenatal visits.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I have my own doctor.”

  Bear looked down. “I think Brady should come in and talk to you now. He needs to tell you something.”

  “Does he know that I’m having his baby?”

  Bear shook his head. “You need to tell him, Jenna.”

  Bear stood and left the room.

  She heard Bear and Brady talking and then he walked into the room.

  He looked so tired, and when she glanced at the clock on the wall, she saw that it was fourteen minutes past midnight.

  “How are you feeling?” asked Brady. He sat on the stool that Bear had just vacated. He took her hand and rubbed the back of it.

  “Bear said you have something to tell me.”

  “I’m pregnant,” she said. There it was out.

  “You’re having a baby?” asked Brady. “Is it my baby?”

  Jenna nodded. She waited for any sign of emotion. Joy, anger, anything

  “Well, I guess accidents happen even when you’re on the Pill.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve never pictured myself as a father.” He took another deep breath. “I guess I know why Bear told me I had to tell you about us.”

  “About us?”

  “Me, the group.” He took off his jacket and laid it across his lap. “Please don’t be scared, but I’m a bear shifter.”

  Jenna looked up at the solution running into her veins. This had to be making her hear stupid things.

  “For a minute I thought you said you were a bear shifter.”

  “I did say that. I’m one, Bear’s one, most of the guys you met are either bear, wolf, cougar or lion shifters.”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “I wish I was.”

  “How can you possibly be a bear shifter?”

  “Because we’re not from here, not from Earth. We crashed landed here about twenty seven years ago when our planet exploded. Most of us landed in this area. Only half of us survived.”

  “Wait a minute. Twenty seven years ago? An asteroid crashed close to Glacier National Park and another one near Yellowstone. They said it had something to do with the geothermal quality of the place.”

  “Maybe, but it was us, not asteroids.”

  Jenna put her head back on the pillow. If he was a bear shifter, then she was carrying a bear shifter.

  “Is that why Bear told me I had to come to this clinic for my prenatal care? Because I have a shifter growing inside me that you don’t want anyone to know about?”

  Brady grabbed her hand. “I know this must be scary, but the baby’s going to be fine.”

  “I wouldn’t have done this had I known the truth. I’m so stupid to have wanted to get pregnant by you.”

  “Wanted to? You mean this wasn’t an accident?”

  Jenna didn�
��t answer. Brady stood. “You told me you were on the Pill and you lied?”

  “I didn’t mean to. It’s just I thought we weren’t going to have a relationship, just a good fuck, and that this might be my last chance. I was going to find a sperm donor and then you came along.”

  “You are one crafty human.”

  “You think I kept secrets and lied. How about you Mr. I’m From Out of Space?”

  Brady frowned. “Don’t expect me to support you or the baby in anyway. I won’t be used for stud purposes.”

  He grabbed his coat and left. Jenna burst into tears. How had her life gone from fairly complicated to a downright fucking mess?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brady wanted to throw something. Punch something. Kick something. However, he was at home and didn’t want to break anything he loved or would have to clean up the mess.

  He threw a pillow across the room and hoped that would get it all out.

  He’d been used by a woman. A woman he’d trusted. She’d just wanted his sperm and nothing else.

  A baby. A child was the last thing he wanted. He was happy to be a Spirit Guardian and nothing more. He wasn’t daddy material.

  He threw another pillow. He guessed she was hoping that he’d weaken and propose. That was the last thing he wanted to do. When, and if, he got married, it would be to someone he could trust. Not a woman who lied over simple thing like birth control. This wouldn’t have happened if he’d stuck to having sex with his own kind. When they were in their mating cycle a male knew it by the fully closed mark around their navel. A male could smell their scent change, too.

  Sneaky human. Maybe the anti-human fraction of the group was right. He couldn’t trust them.

  He threw another pillow. What if this had cost them everything? If Jenna didn’t go to the clinic, went elsewhere and told everyone she’d been knocked up by a bear shifter.

  Nah, they wouldn’t believe her story. He never wanted to see her or the baby. He’d never wanted to talk to her again.

  He threw another pillow this time it hid the photo that Jenna had given him for Christmas. It fell to the floor and shattered.

  ****

  Jenna hoped Bear would make his rounds soon so she could be free of this drip. She wanted to go home and bury her face in the big squishy pillow on her bed. Instead, Charlotte Renner was the person who first came through the door the following day.

  “Hi Jenna, you feeling better this morning?”

  “I guess. I don’t feel so hot now.”

  Charlotte sat on the edge of the bed.

  “I guess you’re a bear shifter, too.”

  “No, actually I’m all human but married to bear shifter, and I’m also mother to a half human, half bear shifter daughter and that’s why Bear thought I should come and talk with you.”

  “So what happens to me?”

  “Nothing really. Probably all the weird stuff already has, like the bad cramps and sweating when bear shifter sperm and human egg meet and make a baby. You mind if I check your belly?” asked Charlotte.

  “Go ahead.”

  Charlotte lifted up Jenna’s gown.

  “And you have the start of your shifter ring which is a good sign because it means the baby’s doing well.”

  Jenna looked down at the brown mark near her belly button.

  “That will close all the way round and by the time it does, you’ll be close to giving birth.”

  “And the baby?” she asked.

  “Will look like a human with just a little shifter mark on the base of its spine.”

  “And this is the reason I have to come to this clinic?”

  Charlotte nodded. “Bear’s the best doctor and delivers all the babies. Ash assists him now so you’ll be in good hands.”

  Ash…holy shit, Ash. She’d known him the longest of the entire group, and she would never have guessed that there was anything different about him.

  “Is Chloe a shifter?”

  “No, she’s a human. So are my sister-in-laws Lilly, Hannah, Melanie, Lucy, Ava and Emily.

  They’d all found love with an animal shifter. Maybe if she hadn’t been so foolish she could have done the same.

  “Bear said to check your blood pressure again,” said Charlotte. She pulled down the cuff and placed it around Jenna’s arm and began pumping it.

  “Do you know Brady well?” Jenna asked her.

  “Just met him socially a few times, although he is one of the major contributors in keeping this place up and running.”

  “It’s your own hospital?”

  Charlotte nodded. “Your pressure is still a little high, but a lot better than last night. Once you’ve eaten, I can give you a lift home so you can rest for a few days. Okay?”

  “But I have a work to do. I have a court appearance on Thursday.”

  “You have a paralegal that can help you out?”

  “No, just an assistant and another attorney,” Jenna said.

  “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind picking up some work for you to do at home.”

  She had to tell them that she was pregnant. How was she going to explain it to everyone? “You think Brady will forgive me for getting pregnant?”

  Charlotte sat on the side of the bed. “I’ve been married to a bear shifter for almost two years now and let me tell you they’re stubborn through and through. But there’s a little hole you can squeeze into to break them of their ‘I’ll do things my way nature’. Find that hole, and you’ll win back Brady.”

  ****

  Maybe she wasn’t like the other women who’d captured a bear’s heart because it had been four months since she and Brady had parted company. It was spring and her belly was growing at a faster rate than she could have ever imagined. Tomorrow she was going for her first ultrasound. She was petrified. She guessed every woman was, but she was scared not for any abnormalities they’d stumble upon, but the baby would be all bear with no human qualities.

  She had no idea how she’d handle it all by herself. Bear had promised that he’d talk Brady into coming along so he, too, could see the first images. Jenna wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. She so wanted to see him again, but when she did, she knew she’d miss him even more when he gave her the cold shoulder.

  She hurried into the care home. She’d not forgiven herself for thinking David crazy when he’d accused Brady of being a bear. Her brother had been right all along.

  She turned the corner and went into his room. He was watching TV. She’d have to tell him he was going to be an uncle one of these days because she couldn’t hide the bump for very much longer.

  “Hi sweetie,” she said, hugging him and kissing the top of his head.

  “You smell like a bear,” said David. “You’ve been with a bear.”

  She closed her eyes. She wondered if he could smell the baby inside her. David remembered the smell of that bear so vividly that she hated to think how he’d deal with his niece or nephew. Yet another hurdle to face all by herself.

  ****

  Brady saw Bear’s number flash on his phone. This was the third time he’d called him today and he knew what it was about. He was going to ignore it, but instead chose to answer it and give the doctor a piece of his mind.

  “Bear, I do not want to be present at Jenna Paxton’s ultrasound.”

  “Planned or not, it’s your baby,” said Bear. “Do you really want to miss out on seeing him or her for the very first time?”

  “I’m not interested whatsoever.”

  “You know how selfish you are? We have so many shifters who can’t reproduce and they’d love to be in your position. Mia and her husband have been trying for ten years.”

  “I wish I’d been one of the ones who couldn’t get someone pregnant. I might even get myself snipped and cut just so this never happens again.”

  “You don’t mean any of this,” said Bear.

  “I do not wish to be present and I do not acknowledge the baby.” Brady ended the call.

  He lo
oked over at Maggie, clearly forgetting she was inside his office watering some plants. Word was all around town that he’d gotten a human pregnant, and that said human had tricked him into knocking her up. Some of the anti-human shifters had laughed at him and mocked him for being such a fool.

  “You’re acting like a typical male,” said Maggie, deadheading some of the spent blooms.

  “Maybe that’s because I am one.”

  “It’s a baby and it can’t help how it was conceived. It’s innocent.”

  “But the mother is guilty. I shouldn’t even be discussing my personal business with you.”

  She poked her tongue at him

  “You know jobs are getting hard to come by these days.”

  “Bully,” said Maggie.

  “You’re walking a fine line.”

  “I liked Jenna. She’s beautiful and I know you really like her, too.”

  “You want to go pack your things and leave my employ?” he said.

  “You need me.”

  “Yeah, like a kick up my ass.”

  Maggie burst out laughing. “Remember you’re babysitting Sophie again tomorrow afternoon.”

  He’d almost forgotten.

  “I’ve arranged for a high chair and toys to be brought in,” said Maggie.

  He really couldn’t do without his assistant.

  “And are you still going on your date with Daisy?”

  His dance instructor. Yes, he had to get back on the dating horse after being thrown off by Jenna. “Sure, and I need you to send her some flowers for me.”

  “I think you’re making a mistake.”

  “What, by sending flowers?”

  “No, dating anyone but Jenna.”

  “Maggie is this isn’t any of your business. Do I tell you who to date and who not to go out with?”

  “But I’m not having a baby. I’m not the one in love.”

  He looked up at her.

  “That’s the reason you’re so angry. You love her. Admit it you old fool bear.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Looks like you’ll have to put up with me,” Ash told Jenna. “Bear’s with Ava because she went into labor this morning and delivery is imminent.”

  “Should we wait for Brady?” she asked as Ash helped her up on the table.