7. Arthur

Chapter 7

Arthur

P atrick groaned as he tried to roll over on the bed. He'd been doing that since last evening, and with the accompanying pain in my lower back, I was certain he was in labor. He'd not said anything to me as of yet, but I wasn't going to get far from him just in case. I had let William know that Patrick was most likely in labor and to please check in if at all possible. William, being the amazing person he was, immediately let me know he would check in.

"How are you feeling?" William asked as he entered our bedchamber. I was certainly distracted because I'd not heard him enter the outer room.

"I'm tired. And my back hurts something fierce," Patrick said as he tried to smile at William. It looked forced though, but that was expected if he was having labor pains.

"That's a good indicator that the baby is ready to join us," William said before he looked at me. "Has he been up recently? Perhaps a little walk about the room would help get things going," William said.

"Or maybe just a walk around outside? I've been cooped up inside for a month now. I'd love to see the fresh spring flowers," Patrick argued.

"Soon," I told him. I felt terrible. Patrick had been so accepting when it had been decided that he needed to remain inside, but I didn't think he realized just how stifling it was going to feel. He was correct; he'd not been outside in almost a month.

Patrick sighed in frustration. "Fine. Around the room it is. If that's the only walk I'm to get, I'll take it." Patrick flung the blanket back that I had kept tucking around him. It was still chilly, and my need to care for him had only increased as his pregnancy progressed. I knew he desired to care for me, even if he couldn't like he wished to because of his pregnancy's late stage. His smiles were all I needed.

With my help, Patrick was able to slide from our bed. He grabbed his back and cried out. When he did, I felt a strong pain in my own back. Immediately, I grabbed Patrick and got him back into our bed.

"It's time," William said loudly. After I had Patrick in our bed, I moved close to his head and took his hand to offer support.

"I love you, Patrick, and I'm going to be right here through it all," I said as I ran my fingers through his messy hair. I glanced up when I felt the presence of others, Father and Dad walking into the room. Our baby was to be their first grandchild, and I understood their eagerness to welcome a new warlock to the coven. The fact that this time it was a family member made it extra special.

I met William's gaze, and when I nodded, he returned the gesture before his hands started to glow green as he passed them over Patrick's stomach. As he did, the pain Patrick had been feeling must have eased because it completely disappeared from my own back. Patrick sighed and offered me a sleepy smile.

"Good?" I asked.

"That is so wonderful. I didn't get much sleep last night. Every move seemed to cause a sharp stab in my back."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Because I didn't want to disturb you."

I was going to let it go for now because there were more important things to concern ourselves with at the moment. But Patrick needed to realize that he would never disturb me. Besides that, I didn't sleep even a wink last night. I had lain awake, holding him when he wished, rubbing his back on and off to help ease the discomfort.

"Master Edison, do you wish to deliver the baby?" William asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"I'll assist. You're the coven doctor, and you've delivered many babies over the centuries," Father said. William smiled and nodded. Father moved to stand next to me while William readjusted Patrick's hose down below his stomach. He placed an older blanket on his lower body, covering my One, and the anxiety could be felt in the room. It would only be moments before we heard our son take his first breaths. Warlock deliveries were quick as there was no pushing required. We were not born omega or alpha and thus had no omega line. All of our deliveries required magic, and it made for not only quick deliveries but also shorter recoveries.

"Okay then. By the fates, I pray all goes as deemed," William said before his hands glowed a brighter green.

"Oh. I feel as if I'm floating in water," Patrick said.

"That is so you feel absolutely no pain from the delivery," William said. I watched, holding Patrick's hand in one of mine while I absently rubbed the other through his hair.

William made the incision and then parted the opening with magic. I watched, completely transfixed, while he carefully reached in and tugged. When his hand emerged with a round object in it, I realized it was our son's head. I held my breath, waiting. It would be any moment now that our son would take his first breath, and I hadn't realized just how wonderful this moment would be. As soon as William had the baby completely out, we heard the most beautiful sound—the loud wail of our son letting everyone know he had arrived.

"William. Our little William," Patrick said as he looked down at the baby that was crying in William's hands.

"William?" he said, looking at me immediately. "I'm…" Our son's namesake cleared his throat. "I'm deeply honored. He looks quite healthy, and his lungs most certainly are in perfect order," William said before he handed our son to Father, who after a few moments passed him to me.

"He's perfect," I said as I held our son for the first time and got my first look at him. He was absolutely beautiful, and already, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between our son and Patrick.

"You look perfect holding a babe," Patrick said. Immediately, I looked down at my One and knelt so he, too, could see our son.

"He's beautiful," I told him.

"He might want dressed, no?" Patrick suggested.

"He might. It is a bit chilly in here. I should have started a fire for you earlier," I said and nodded toward the wall, a fire coming to life in the hearth against the far wall. I then had our little William wrapped up with a cloth on his bottom and then a sleeping gown on him before carefully holding him out next to Patrick. He still couldn't quite sit up, but that didn't mean I couldn't bring our son down to him so he, too, could get a good look at the baby.

"You fret so," Patrick said. "I'm fine. But the little one might have been cold, yes?" Patrick asked. He reached out and tried to touch the baby, but the angle simply wasn't the best for such movements just yet.

"Yes, most likely. He was wet, but no longer." I moved little William over to where I was holding him in front of Patrick and my One could get a very good look at the baby he'd carried. He was also able to reach him, and when Patrick touched his cheek, William stopped crying altogether.

"He's adorable," Patrick said.

"Did you have doubts?" I asked. "He's your son. How could he be anything but?" Patrick was by far the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. There wasn't a day that went by in the past several months that I didn't thank fate that he was my forever gift.

"I never knew I could love someone as much as I do you, but I was wrong." Patrick looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "We have a son," he whispered.

"I feel the same, my love. I cherish every moment we have together, but you have given me an amazing gift. I love you all the more for it, but I love him too. How could I not? He's part of you."

"He's perfect," Patrick said and ran a finger down our son's cheek.

"Just like you," I told him.

A throat clearing pulled our attention away from one another. I couldn't help but smile at William, who looked embarrassed.

"I apologize for the interruption. I simply wanted to let you both know that Patrick's incision is closed, and he can sit up now if he'd like." William's eyes moved to Patrick. "You will slowly regain the feeling of your lower body over the next hour or so. You should remain in bed until then. After that, make sure you have Arthur help you for the next several hours if you feel you need to get out of bed and walk around."

"Of course," Patrick said. "Thank you, William." Patrick smiled. "Would you like to hold the baby?"

William looked like he wanted to say yes, but in the end, he shook his head. "Perhaps another time. For now, I will leave you to bond with your son. Congratulations on the healthy baby."

William turned and left. Once we heard the outer door close, Patrick looked at me with worry in his eyes.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, my love. William gets emotional around babies. It's understandable after what happened to his wife." Years ago, I couldn't understand William's love and devotion to his wife. Now, looking down at Patrick as he held our son, I did. I was fortunate that I had my love and our child. William had lost both his wife and their child. I knew he still blamed himself on some level. He'd been the one tending to her and hadn't been able to save her after days of labor.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I don't know nearly as much about him as you do. I wasn't here for long before, and my parents kept me fairly isolated."

I reached out and wiped away Patrick's tears. "Nobody is upset, my love. William either. He loves children and gets great joy from seeing them thrive and grow, but it's the delivery that he gets emotional during. I probably should have mentioned to him how we were going to give him his name."

Patrick's eyes widened. "I didn't even think." Patrick looked at Father and Dad, who were quietly standing near the doorway. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause him upset."

"You didn't. Neither did Arthur," Father said. "William is truly happy for the two of you. As Arthur said, he gets emotional right around delivery. I've talked to him many times about it, and his comments are always the same. He feels bad that he couldn't save his wife. If he'd had the abilities then that he did now, he most likely would have been able to save her. He will always have that bit of guilt, even if it truly was no fault of his own."

"He plays with the wee ones all of the time. If ever there was someone who loves children, it's William. I've never seen him upset because someone else had bairns and he didn't," Dad said.

I looked down at Patrick and wiped his tears again. "It's all right," I told him.

He nodded before he pulled William closer and kissed his forehead. Then he held him out toward Father and Dad. "Would one of you like to hold him?"

I chuckled because if you knew anything about Dad, it was that he loved children. He and Father only had two, which was a bit sad. Dad was born to be a parent. He was amazing with them, and children seemed to love him in return just as much.

Patrick's smile didn't falter as Dad carefully took little William from his hands. Immediately, Dad tucked the baby close to his chest and started cooing at him. It was always a sight to see. Dad was rather intimidating when needed, but put a baby in his arms and he became complete mush.

"Do you need anything?" I asked Patrick.

"Is it all right if I have a little snack?" he asked. "I didn't feel like eating much earlier, but now I'm hungry."

I glanced up at Father. "There is plenty. I'll be back in just a moment with a full tray."

"Thank you, Father," I said.

"Of course."

"He didn't have to do that," Patrick said.

I looked down at my One and smiled. "He wanted to, I'm sure. I could have gone but didn't want to leave you just yet. I know I can become a bit much, but I'm going to stick close to you for a bit longer." I knew I needed to give Patrick space, but it was difficult. He'd been carrying our child and couldn't leave the house and now had just given birth. I was going to try my best to not be suffocating, but I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't still get looks from Patrick because I was hovering too much.

"There's stew," Dad said. "Of course, fresh bread. More honey, as well as berries. Fresh cream as well."

"That all sounds wonderful," Patrick said. He sighed and leaned back against the pillows I'd put behind him.

"He's a beautiful wee bairn," Dad said as he passed William back to me. I smiled down at our son, who was sleeping soundly. I would imagine being born was a tiring experience. Well, and the fact that babies didn't have the ability to do much other than sleep.

"Thank you, Dad. That all comes from Patrick, I'm sure."

Patrick snorted. I glanced at him, then at Dad who shrugged. "I believe he's sayin' yer a handsome fella as well. I would agree. Ye have looks. Get them from yer father."

I chuckled at that. I guess. I had just sat down beside Patrick with William when Father returned. He had done as he'd said he would: he'd returned with a full tray. It all looked and smelled wonderful.

"Oh, that's so much more than I expected."

"What you don't eat, I'm sure Arthur can help with. Oliver said to send his congratulations, and he cannot wait to meet your son."

Patrick swiped at his eyes again and nodded. I knew he was emotional, not just from the pregnancy but because everyone had been so welcoming and accepting of him. He'd not expected it to the level he had received, which I found sad because Patrick was an amazing and wonderful person.

"We will leave you. Enjoy your time with your son, and if you need us, we won't be far," Father said.

"Thank you," I told them. They quietly left while Patrick continued to swipe at his eyes. "Are you all right, my love?"

"I am. Just emotional. It's been a lot today. I never thought I would be here, with you. I am, and it is more than I could have ever dreamed of."

"You deserve the world, my love, and I hope to be able to give you everything." I had started, but there was so much more to give. We had only been together a short time though, and I knew we had a very long life ahead of us. My hope was that one day, Patrick would finally realize and understand that he was deserving of the life he would have with me—with our coven.

Patrick picked up his mug and took a sip of what I knew was tea, but not the pregnancy one. He then started in on his meal before I focused my attention on our son in my arms. He was so very tiny, but I knew he would grow and would one day become an amazing man and warlock. I wouldn't put nearly the stress on him that I myself had faced as my father's firstborn. Our situations were a bit different, but at the same time, William was Patrick's and my firstborn, and one day, he, too, would most likely run a coven. Would it be this one? Another? Would he decide he wanted nothing to do with our way of life? I had no way of knowing the answers to those questions, and they truly didn't matter at the moment. William was only minutes old still. We had plenty of time.

"Did you want to share some of this?" Patrick asked.

I shook my head. "I'll eat later. Right now, I'm enjoying holding our son." I glanced back down at the baby in my arms. He was so precious. His hair was lighter in color, so perhaps he would end up with Patrick's blond hair. What I'd seen of his eyes, they were blue, but again, it was possible that would change at some point. Patrick had the most mesmerizing blue eyes I'd ever seen. Mine were hazel, and I had to wonder if our William would end up with mine or his other father's eyes. Time would tell for certain. What I did know was that he was already loved and would never wonder how much he was wanted.

"How long do you think he'll sleep?"

I met Patrick's gaze again before I stood. "From what I understand, they will sleep for a couple hours before needing to be changed and finally being hungry. I remember holding George right after he was born. He was quiet for a long time. Several hours, actually." I carefully placed William in the cradle that had once been mine, and then my brother's. It had been brought to us when we were preparing our things for William. I wasn't aware that it was still around, but the fact that Father had kept it this long made it special that I could now place my own son in it.

"Do you think George will be back before long?"

I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. "There is no way of knowing. I left not long before he did, from what I was told. He's still not back and doesn't know that I've found you, nor that we have a baby now. When he does finally return, I'm sure there will be many surprises all around." I joined Patrick on the bed, and when I realized he was no longer eating, I tore off a piece of bread before dipping it into the honey. "Please eat? Or are you no longer hungry?"

Patrick opened his mouth and took the bite. "Just distracted." He grinned while chewing. I then picked up the spoon and carefully lifted it toward his mouth. If I needed to feed my One, I would. It was important for him to eat. He'd been through a lot today, and taking care of him made me feel like I was doing something for him.