by Robin M Helm
“Oh, no!” cried Elizabeth in embarrassment, feeling the warmth running down her legs.
Michael grabbed the drawer with the kitchen towels, pulling it completely out of the cabinet in his haste to get them. He took a huge handful, thrusting them at Elizabeth who used them to mop at the wetness. She dropped the soaked towels to the floor where the amniotic fluid had puddled between her feet, and Gabriel remained kneeling before her, mopping up the liquid.
Xander told the doctor they were on their way to the hospital, shoved the phone in his pocket, and scooped his wife up in his arms, heading for the door.
“I need to change clothes,” she objected. “I’m wet.”
He didn’t slow down, calling over his shoulder as he went through the front door and down the steps, his voice assuming the tone of command. “Michael, bring some towels for her to sit on. Gabriel, get her suitcase. I want both of you to morph back into angelic form so that we can all be in the labor and delivery rooms with her. Elizabeth, it will take us ten minutes to get to the hospital. They will put you in a clean, dry gown there. I am sorry, but we cannot wait for you to change clothes now.”
“But, Xander –” she began, and then stopped short when she looked at his determined face. You are the Chief of the Guardians right now. I will let you do your job, she thought wisely.
Hearing her thoughts, Xander realized that he was in command mode, but he could not help himself. He looked at her large eyes as he put her in the car. “Am I frightening you?” he asked.
Her smile was small. “A little,” she admitted. “I’ve never seen you so focused before, and the whole ‘large and in charge’ thing is different, but it’s growing on me. I kind of like this caveman side of you. Remember that for later,” she laughed. Her laughter was short-lived as another contraction took her.
She instinctively reached for his hand and squeezed as she bent over and breathed through the pain. Dear God, this hurts. Help me not to show it and upset Xander. As soon as she loosened her grip, he started the car and backed out of the driveway, Michael and Gabriel flying overhead with the phalanx of warriors whom Michael had summoned.
Xander drove with his left hand so that his wife could grasp his right hand as the pains came. A nurse waited at the Emergency Room doors as he pulled the car up.
“Here you go, sweetie,” said the nurse, helping Elizabeth into the wheelchair. “Mr. Darcy, you can park the car while I take her inside.”
“No,” he said. “I do not want her out of my sight.”
The nurse looked at him, quizzically. “We’ll wait for you just inside the door.”
Xander took a deep breath. “Thank you. I will hurry.” Michael and Gabriel, go with her.
As Gabriel began to object that he should stay with his charge, Xander nearly growled. He clenched his teeth, working his jaw. I said, go with Elizabeth. Leave a few warriors with me if you must.
His brothers remained silent and did as they were told.
Trying to reason with him now is pointless, thought Michael.
Obviously, answered Gabriel.
As the nurse wheeled Elizabeth into the building, Xander parked in the nearest space, thankful that it was the middle of the night and the lot was nearly empty.
He reached into the back seat and grabbed Elizabeth’s bag before he hurried into the building, relieved beyond measure to see her just inside the door with the nurse. Michael and Gabriel stood on either side of her, faces carefully neutral. Warriors surrounded the hospital and stood throughout the building.
Xander stepped to his wife’s side, and Michael moved to follow them as the nurse pushed her into a room to be examined. Before the nurse could help Elizabeth from the chair, he had lifted her and placed her on the bed. The nurse lifted an eyebrow, but refrained from speaking.
Dr. Neal hurried in, her guardian Alexandra close behind her. “Mr. Darcy, would you please step outside while I examine your wife?” she asked.
Good luck with that, thought the nurse.
She has your number, Xander, Michael thought.
Zip it, Michael, was Xander’s curt response.
“I would prefer to stay with her, Dr. Neal,” answered Xander, trying not to sound threatening.
Elizabeth quickly said, “I want him to stay, doctor. It’s okay.”
Dr. Neal looked surprised, but she acquiesced to the wishes of her patient. “Fine,” she said, lifting Elizabeth’s gown and putting her feet in the stirrups.
The doctor asked Elizabeth questions during the examination, stopping when Elizabeth had a contraction. When she was finished with her evaluation, she looked from Xander to Elizabeth, saying, “You are farther along than I thought, and your labor is progressing rapidly. I expect the baby will be born in a couple of hours. I have to see a few other patients, and then I’ll be back to check on you.”
As soon as the doctor left, Elizabeth asked her husband to call her parents.
He did as she requested, advising them that she would probably not deliver for at least two hours and there was no need to rush to the hospital. Lynne told him that they would call Janna and Chance, and then come as soon as they were dressed.
Xander remained by Elizabeth’s side, encouraging her and sponging her face throughout her labor, and Michael and Gabriel took positions at the head of her bed, one at either corner. He obeyed the admonition in I Thessalonians 5:17 and prayed without ceasing, sometimes aloud and at other times in his mind.
A nurse entered periodically to check on her progress, and after an hour of watching his wife bear the painful contractions, Xander asked the nurse if she could bring Elizabeth something for pain.
The nurse looked at Elizabeth. “You’re probably too far along for an epidural. I think you’ll be ready to deliver within an hour. Do you want pain meds?”
He spoke into his wife’s mind. Please, love. You do not have to be a hero.
Elizabeth looked at her worried husband, and then back at the nurse. “I’m tired. I’ve been up all night, and it’s hard to concentrate on breathing through the contractions. Could I have some Demerol?”
The nurse nodded. “I’ll check with Dr. Neal and be right back.”
In a few minutes, the nurse returned and injected the drug into Elizabeth’s IV. Xander listened to her thoughts and could tell that she had relaxed. The contractions were coming quickly, but in her mind, time was stretched, and she seemed to distance herself from the pain.
Thank you, Father. I cannot say all that is in my heart, prayed Xander.
Dr. Neal came in to check on Elizabeth and smiled at her. “I think you’re ready to have this baby.”
As another nurse came into the room, Michael and Gabriel moved to the head of Elizabeth’s bed, and Xander put on the gloves which a nurse handed to him.
Everything happened so rapidly from that point on that it all blurred together in Xander’s mind. As the baby’s head crowned, Dr. Neal called for him to stand by her and told Elizabeth not to push during her next contraction. When the pain hit again, Dr. Neal told her to push, and as Elizabeth pushed a few more times, he watched in amazement as his wife delivered their child. Dr. Neal positioned the tiny boy on Elizabeth’s stomach and handed Xander scissors, instructing him in how and where to cut the cord; he did as he was told. As the nurses wiped the tiny infant clean, Elizabeth lifted her head to see her two men.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, the exhaustion clear in her voice.
“Everything is perfect. You are wonderful, and our son is beautiful. Rest, love,” answered Xander, looking at her with his heart in his eyes. Thank you, Father, for my family. Thank you that Elizabeth is safely through this. Thank you for our healthy son. I love you, Lord.
After a moment, the nurses took the baby to complete the required tests and finish cleaning him as Xande removed his gloves and went to Elizabeth’s side, brushing her hair back from her damp forehead and kissing her cheek.
“I want to hold him,” said Elizabeth, looking up at her husband.
“You’re not quite finished, Elizabeth. When you feel another contraction, push again. You have to deliver the afterbirth,” said Dr. Neal from the foot of the bed.
Xander held his wife’s hand throughout the process, and when she was finished, Dr. Neal left to deliver another child as a nurse massaged Elizabeth’s stomach.
Finally, one of the nurses handed the baby to Xander, and he stepped up beside Elizabeth, laying the child gently on her chest before he leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“You are a champion,” he said, admiring her. “I am indescribably proud of you, my love. How do you like our son?”
“John David Darcy is the second most important man in my life now,” she said lifting her head to kiss her son’s head of dark curls. She turned her gaze to her husband. “He is as beautiful as you are, Xander.” Thank you, Abba Father. My soul magnifies you, Lord. Help us to be good parents to this child.
Xander straightened up when an orderly approached, saying, “Let’s get her into the maternity ward for recovery.” He, Michael, and Gabriel followed as the man rolled the bed into another room.
Little John David chose that moment to begin crying, his newborn wail like that of an angry kitten, displaying his dimples.
Elizabeth smiled at her husband. “He has your dimples, and he can already sing, too. I think that’s an F sharp.”
Michael and Gabriel smiled at each other from opposite sides of Elizabeth’s bed.
That is my nephew, Michael thought into Elizabeth’s mind. You have done well.
He will call me Uncle Gabriel, and we will sit on the floor together and play games, said Gabriel to his sister.
She smiled as Xander chuckled and thought, Now you are happy to be Uncle Michael and Uncle Gabriel?
Another Voice spoke to all of them at once. I am well pleased. It is good. The child is a legacy.
As husband and wife exchanged a solemn look, a warrior and a guardian joined them. The warrior, Cahal, was from the highest ranks, a commander of renown. Kenward, the guardian, was well-known to Xander. They had often worked in tandem, protecting husbands and wives. When Xander had guarded Abraham, Kenward had protected Sarah, and it had been the same with Moses and Kipporah, Jacob and Rebekah, King David and Bathsheba, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He looked at Kenward and raised an eyebrow in question.
Kenward raised his palm in salute to his chief and answered his unspoken inquiry. Cahal and I have been sent by the Master to guard your child together.
Xander now knew why his son had not had a guardian from the moment of his conception. God had allowed him to wonder about it so that he would fiercely guard their secret. In doing so, he had uncovered the enemy’s ability to read Amy’s texts, hear her phone conversations, and intercept her e-mails. He briefly thought about how important that information could be in the Master’s plan.
The Chief of Guardians looked at his wife and son as he prayed, Father, thank You so much for Your love and protection. You are worthy of praise in all things, and You have blessed me beyond measure. I love you, Lord.
~~oo~~
Senator Gregory Wickham and his wife Anne sat in an upscale restaurant in Washington, D.C. Several photographers stopped by their table and asked for pictures, and Gregory graciously granted their requests, leaning closer to his wife and smiling.
Across the room, Vice President Andrews was entertaining a group of his closest friends and their wives. Champagne flowed freely, and their laughter carried across the room. Earlier in the day, as President of the Senate, the fifty-year-old Vice President had cast a tie-breaking vote, defeating one of Senator Wickham’s pet bills, and he was celebrating his victory. He had objected to the bill very publicly, calling it unconstitutional and an encroachment upon the rights of the people, and he was enjoying the feeling of power over Wickham, the darling of the media.
Andrews speared a large piece of steak and put it into his mouth, barely chewing it in his eagerness to return to the conversation. He swallowed it nearly whole, and it stuck in his throat. Within a few seconds, the others at the table had noticed that he was choking, and one of the men jumped up to hit him on the back. When that was ineffective, another tried the Heimlich maneuver without success. After five minutes, the Vice President blacked out, though patrons came from different parts of the restaurant, trying to help him.
Within ten minutes, an ambulance had pulled up to the front of the restaurant, and emergency personnel rushed to assist the choking man, but they were too late. Vice President Howard Andrews was dead.
Gregory had watched the entire scene, hiding his smirk behind his hand.
As the Vice President was wheeled from the crowded restaurant, Gregory stood respectfully, bowed his head, and held his wife’s hand. The photographers captured an appropriately shocked and grieved expression on his handsome face.
By the next morning, Senator Gregory Wickham had been nominated by the President to be the new Vice President. There was no doubt that both the House and the Senate would confirm his nomination.
Chapter 16
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.”
Genesis 3:1
Xander and Elizabeth settled into parenting joyously, taking little John David with them on the SoulFire USA tour in the summer of 2010. Because two of the members of Thorncrown were married and also had a baby, SoulFire Ministries had hired a young woman, Anna Armstrong, to travel with them and babysit the two infants during rehearsals and rallies. She fit so well with SoulFire that no one could imagine what it would be like without her; her guardian, Halvard, was also a welcome addition to the ranks.
Toward the end of the summer tour, Elizabeth began to notice that she was tiring more easily than was normal for her. Xander, holding their son, noticed the dark circles under her eyes following a rally one night and suggested that they forego their training session.
“I don’t think we should skip training, my love. I really think I should keep working at developing my skills in light of what could be happening soon. I also think I’ll feel better if I exercise. Besides, I’ll get a better night’s sleep,” Elizabeth said to her concerned husband.
She is probably right, thought Michael. We will know if she is overly fatigued.
Gabriel added, Training gives her a feeling of confidence, and she is becoming quite adept in her skills. There is a reason God gave you the idea to train her, and I think it might go beyond having to defend herself against Gregory before you married.
Xander frowned slightly. He could not bear to think of Elizabeth truly fighting, having to protect herself against the dark ones. We will always take care of her.
He offered her a compromise. “If I agree to the workout, will you agree to let Anna keep John David tonight so that you can get a full night’s sleep, uninterrupted?” he asked, kissing the baby and bouncing him in his arms.
The hotel had furnished them with cribs for both rooms, and Elizabeth had stopped breastfeeding him just before the tour had started. Anna’s room had everything necessary for their child’s comfort and care, just as theirs did.
She thought a moment. I don’t like to be separated from my baby.
He is seven months old now. You are hardly abandoning him, my love, answered Xander. He will be in the adjoining room, and Anna can get us quickly if we are needed.
Elizabeth sighed and held out her arms. “Okay. Give him to me. I’ll take him to Anna and ask her to put him down for the night.”
Xander smiled at her. “Before he leaves us to go to sleep, we must pray with him.” He kissed his son’s forehead, and the boy’s chubby fingers reached for his father’s ears.
He laughed and knelt, holding his son close to his chest. Elizabeth went to her knees beside her husband and took his free hand, placing her other hand on her baby’s shoulder. Michael and Gabriel stood on either side of their charges, their hands lightly touching Xander’s and Elizabeth’s heads, as John David’s guardians stepped
up behind them for the nightly ritual.
“Bow your head, John David,” said Xander, looking into the serious blue eyes of his boy. John David put his head on his father’s shoulder and closed his eyes.
“Dear Father, thank you for John David. I pray that You will keep him safe tonight and hold him close in Your hands. I pray that he will grow up to be a man who loves You and follows in Your ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen,” said Xander softly.
Elizabeth took her son in her arms and smiled as he gurgled at her, tangling his small hands in her hair. “I’m glad that he loves Anna. He won’t mind sleeping in her room tonight.”
Cahal and Kenward joined Halvard in Anna’s room.
~~oo~~
Back in their room after their training session, Xander stood behind his wife as she faced the bathroom mirror and brushed her long hair. He took the brush from her and put his arms around her waist. As his hands covered her stomach, an idea took root in his mind.
“Elizabeth,” he said, looking at her in the mirror, “have you missed a period?”
She turned in his arms to face him, looking up at him as she concentrated. It was obvious that she was doing the mental math. Suddenly she smiled. “Yes, I missed last month, and it’s time for another one – which I show no signs of starting. Do you think I’m –”
He hugged her to his chest. “I do, but I cannot be certain. There is no guardian, but perhaps God will not supply one until the birth, just as He did with John David. The tour will be over in a week, and you can see Dr. Neal when we return home. The timing is perfect, as God’s timing always is. You would deliver between the short fall Global Tour and the long one next summer.”
She put her arms around his neck, drawing him down for a kiss. “I haven’t felt sick like I did the last time, but Mom says that every pregnancy is different. Maybe I’ll just skip the whole morning sickness routine with this baby.”