14. Caspian

Chapter 14

Caspian

I t was obviously going to be a difficult day when unease in my stomach woke me, and I barely made it to the bathroom in time before the nothingness that was in my stomach decided to exit it. I was hugging the toilet, trying to calm my shaking body, when I heard Dimitri call out to me. At first, I had thought it was through our bond, but I realized he was actually here at the cabin with me when I heard stomping on the stairs.

Moments later, he was there with me, which was not only a surprise but a relief. This morning seemed as if it was so much worse than any other, and yes, I was an adult and capable of taking care of myself, but at the moment, I really wanted my One. He was here, and I didn't know why, but I suddenly became even more emotional about the entire thing.

"Shh," he told me. "I'm here. What do you need for me to do for you?"

I couldn't answer, though, because my stomach was too busy revolting on me. It took several minutes before I was able to relax, and when I did, I felt something cool rubbing along the back of my neck. It took a moment to realize that Dimitri was gently wiping my neck with a wet cloth.

"That feels good."

"It is supposed to. Are you finished with the sickness?"

I wanted to say yes, but I couldn't. Not for certain. "Perhaps for now. I'm not sure about later."

"Later will not matter nearly as much as now. Let me get you up and back into bed after we clean you up."

Honestly, I wanted nothing more than to have a shower. I suddenly felt grubby, and it wasn't a refreshing feeling. "I want to shower," I told him.

Dimitri stopped while helping me stand. "Are you certain? Do you feel strong enough for one?"

I wasn't sure if I was or not, but either way, I still wanted a shower. "I don't know. But I feel icky."

Dimitri nodded, and after he helped me sit on the now closed toilet, he turned the water on in the shower. The bathroom was absolutely gorgeous, and I wondered, honestly, why did one need such a bathroom? We spent so little time in it, really.

"Did you need me to join you?"

I took a deep breath to try and calm my emotions. Why did he have to be so amazing and wonderful? I was feeling wretched, and he was being the sweetest.

"I love you," I blurted out. This absolutely was not the most romantic time to tell him, but I did. I loved my sexy and caring dragon. He was not who I was expecting when I'd thought about my One, but he was, without a doubt, exactly who I needed. Dimitri's smile had me grinning, despite how terrible I felt.

He cupped the side of my face. "I love you too. And I'll still love you if you don't want me in the shower with you. I know you are feeling poorly."

I couldn't help it; despite how horrid I felt, I laughed. It was exactly what I needed, but my stomach started protesting, so I stopped laughing. "I'm sorry," I told him as I grabbed my stomach.

"Why?"

"I'm not laughing at you or because you told me you loved me for the first time too. Just that despite me having just puked nothing into the toilet, you still love me and are offering to be near me."

Dimitri tilted his head to the side. "I love you. I will take care of you no matter what. If you are feeling poorly, I'll take care of you. It is what alphas do for their fated mates. Dedushka, to this day, still takes care of Yéye." Dimitri placed his hands on my sides and pulled me close. "I'll always take care of you."

"Yes, Dimitri. I would very much like for you to join me in the shower. I'm feeling absolutely terrible and not like myself in the least."

Dimitri pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. Instead of removing his boots though, he tugged on the T-shirt I'd been sleeping in—one of his—and pulled it off me. Then, he reached for my sleep pants and pushed them down.

"You get into the shower. It's hot, and if you are feeling weak, sit on the seat. I'll be in as soon as I get my boots and pants off."

I nodded and did as instructed. I made it to the bench and sighed. My body felt achy, more so than it had been, so I sat on the stone bench. I was starting to feel dizzy, so I thought it was probably best that I wasn't standing, especially in a slippery environment.

"Would you rather have a bath?" Dimitri asked as he joined me in the shower.

I looked up at my One and wanted to cry. I couldn't tell you the last time I had done so, but in that moment, I was incredibly emotional and truly wanted to cry.

"I'm not sure. I think if I can just have you help me stand under the spray for a few minutes, I'll feel a little better."

Dimitri nodded, and then without even being asked, he pulled me to my feet and moved us to where we were both standing under the relaxing rain shower spray. I sighed and let my head fall forward onto his shoulder.

"I know you feel poorly. I talked to Master Edison a little while ago. He is going to be having Dr. King come by to see you. Dr. King will be bringing you the other tea, as well as checking you out for the pregnancy."

I nodded a little. I had assumed I would be getting the other tea. I'd heard about it from Drew, and although I didn't really fancy the idea of spending so much time sleeping, I was already sleeping quite a bit and still felt like shit. If I could sleep and feel better while awake, I would gladly guzzle the stuff.

"Do you know when he'll be here?" I asked quietly. I knew that Dimitri would hear me though, so I wasn't worried about it too much.

"Master Edison did not say. Just that he would have him check his schedule and then come to see you. I was sent home for at least the day to take care of you."

I lifted my head and gave Dimitri a tired smile. "That's so sweet. I feel bad though. I didn't want for you to have to take more time off work because of me."

Dimitri gave me a look. It wasn't really a glare, but it wasn't a smile like before. "You do realize I will get time off when the baby comes, do you not?" I nodded. "And did your brother not get time off to take care of his own One?"

He had me there. "Yes. I just feel bad. I have magic, and I could use it to clean myself and make myself a snack if I really needed to."

Dimitri nodded. "Ja. I am here for the day. Let me take care of you. I was sent home because everyone at the council knows my dragon wouldn't allow for me to stay there if you were in need of me."

I shook my head. "What will your dragon do if you are out on assignment?" It was easy enough for someone like Sebastian. He could simply use magic to get himself home to Drew. But Dimitri didn't have that ability.

"We all have at least one warlock or hellhound on our teams. Benjamin would make sure I was brought home to you if needed."

"There are that many with magic?"

Dimitri nodded. "More have arrived. I did not get a chance to meet them yet, but I was told we now have more fae as well. The council is growing. More are becoming aware of its existence, and more assignments are happening. Some small, some much larger."

"Will you be going out on assignments?" I had to ask. I knew he'd been frustrated because he hadn't been on many since he'd become an enforcer. He'd been on a few shorter ones, but for the most part, Dimitri had filled a support position here at the council.

"If they send me, I will." Dimitri rubbed up and down my back. "I will miss you while I am gone, but I came here to join the council and help others."

I tried to smile again. "I will have support. I have lots of family here, and when Father joins Master Edison's committee, Papa will be here. Don't think for even a moment that he won't be by as often as he can so he can visit with the baby." I had talked to him more than once since we'd come back from my very short trip to Madrid. He was keeping himself busy deciding what to bring and what to leave behind. It was going to be a drastic change for him, but Papa was more than ready for it.

"I will still miss you. Even knowing you have help here, that does not change the fact I will miss being here with you and our baby." Dimitri placed his hand on my lower stomach, which caused me to sigh. How was he so incredibly sweet?

"Do we need to talk about anything?" I asked.

"I do not know what you mean. About what?"

I shrugged. "Have you changed your mind about going back to work?"

"Did you wish for me to? We can easily find a cabin off the mountain if you would like to be closer to where your parents will be living. Even if I choose to leave the enforcers, we do not need to leave this cabin. It is ours for as long as we choose to live here."

I nodded. I knew I was being a bit irrational. Normally, I was very levelheaded and didn't have these rambling thoughts. I was completely blaming it on the pregnancy.

"Ignore me," I told him.

"I can do no such thing." Dimitri placed a finger under my chin and raised my head. When I looked up at him, I sighed.

"I think the lack of sleep, the ickiness I'm feeling, it's all making me irrational. I don't wish to leave. I know you love it here, and I do too. Even though I've only been here a short time, I've always loved visiting Sebastian—even before he met Drew."

"How about this…" Dimitri said. "We wait a month or two, then revisit this conversation. We'll see if we still wish to be here or if we feel it would be better if we went elsewhere." I stared at Dimitri for a moment before nodding. "Good. Now, we need to get you cleaned up and then back into bed. I'll make you a tea and bring some crackers or something of that sort."

I was all for that. Right now, tea sounded delightful. Crackers did as well. "That would be nice," I told him. That was all it seemed to take for Dimitri to reach for the shampoo. He lathered my hair, and after he gently rinsed it, he took a clean cloth and ran it with bodywash over my body. There was absolutely nothing sexual about what Dimitri was doing. It was completely caring and nurturing, and by the time he was finished, I was completely relaxed despite the fact I still felt terrible.

"Did you want me to dry you? Or are you feeling up to doing it yourself?"

"I'll do it," I told him. I was still feeling wretched, but my magic worked just fine. Yes, I could have used it to clean myself, but I wanted to stand under the spray and feel its relaxing capabilities rain down on me. With a little magical thought, I had not only myself but Dimitri dried off.

He suddenly seemed to be on alert and looked at me with urgency. "Would you mind dressing me? There is someone knocking on the door."

My eyes widened, and seconds later, I had Dimitri redressed, and he took off running. I wasn't upset that he left me behind, although that was exactly what he had done. I dressed myself in clean pajama pants and another one of Dimitri's T-shirts and followed at a much slower pace.

I was just starting down the stairs when Dimitri appeared at the base of them with someone else. I assumed it was Dr. King from the description I'd been given by both Sebastian and Drew. Unsure if I should come down or not, I decided to start that way, but when Dimitri rushed up to me, I stopped.

"You should lie down," he told me.

"I was going to rest on the couch. I know there are more things for you to do downstairs."

"Nyet. To the bed," Dimitri said. "You will be more comfortable, and if we are to have other visitors, then you will not be disturbed."

I smiled. He was once again right, but that didn't change the fact that I still wanted to be on the couch and near him if at all possible. Dimitri took the choice away from me when he carefully spun me on the stairs and stepped up to the rung below me. "Up you go," he whispered.

It didn't take long to go back up the three steps I'd managed, and once at the top, we went back to our bedroom. I heard the footsteps of a third person, and when I turned, I saw the other warlock.

"Hello. I'm Dr. King," he said in greeting. "Congratulations on your mating and upcoming baby."

"Thank you," I told him. "I wish I were meeting you under different circumstances though."

Dr. King chuckled. "Funny, they always say that." Dr. King gestured not to the bed but to the side of the room with the small sofa. "Shall we sit? I'm told you are experiencing sickness that goes beyond the usual inability to keep foods down."

I nodded but didn't really like the sound of that. "I guess that's the case," I told him. "On and off, even with drinking the tea regularly, I'm not feeling well. Just a bit ago, I woke up because my stomach decided to revolt." I sat, and when Dimitri stood off to the side, I looked up at him instead of at the doctor.

"And your other symptoms?"

When I stared directly at Dr. King, I noticed he was now sitting in a chair that wasn't ours. Warlocks could do that, but that wasn't what he was here for. "Aches. Weakness. Constantly tired. All the time. I cannot seem to get enough rest."

"He also gets dizzy spells."

I glanced up at Dimitri. "Oh yeah. Those too."

"Very good. What about eating? How is your appetite?" I made a face, and Dr. King chuckled. "I understand."

"I try. I have better luck with dry things. Crackers, toast, or just plain rolls or other breads."

Dr. King nodded. "Yes, they can tend to be calming to the stomach. We will get that all sorted though, and you will be able to keep other things down soon enough."

Dr. King held out his hand, and in it was a large mug of steaming liquid. I already knew it was the tea that would make me sleepy.

"We're going to start you on this tea three times a day. If needed, you can drink it up to four times a day. If it still doesn't help with the symptoms, we might have to try something else if you feel you need to."

"Such as?" Dimitri asked.

Dr. King focused on Dimitri. "There are certain meds that are often prescribed to human women when pregnant that can help with severe morning sickness. Luckily for us, whatever is in these particular tea leaves from the fae realm seems to be all that are needed in most cases. We will give this a try first before looking into other routes though."

I could tell that Dimitri wasn't fond of the idea of me taking any sort of medicine that humans normally took. I knew they wouldn't have the same level of effectiveness on me as they did them, but there was no true danger to me if they were given to human women while pregnant, correct?

"I'll gladly try the tea first," I said as I took a sip. It tasted exactly like the other tea I had been drinking, so I didn't quite understand the difference. "It tastes the same," I stated.

"Yes. It is slightly different, I understand. I'm not sure other than it's fae magic, I believe. One is more for upset stomach, nausea, and light pregnancy ailments. The other"—Dr. King indicated the mug in my hand—"is for much severe pregnancy issues."

"How quickly will it work?" Dimitri asked.

Dr. King looked over at my One. "Previous omegas and carriers usually start to feel sleepy within half an hour of starting to drink it. I did wish to ask about dates—generalized, of course—for my notes for your file so we can know when to schedule scans and when to expect your little one."

I swallowed the tea I'd been drinking before nodding. I glanced up at Dimitri, who grinned and then winked. "He had his fertile period from November thirteenth to the seventeenth."

"Very good." Dr. King was suddenly holding a tablet. "I would say your due date would be around May eleventh. I know that seems like a very long time from now, but it will be here before you know it." Dr. King held out a book that he definitely wasn't holding when he arrived. It wasn't at all a surprise to me though. "Here is a pregnancy book for omegas and carriers. My colleague and friend Constantine put it together because human pregnancy books simply don't cover a lot of the things that omegas and carriers go through."

I took the book and set it beside me on the seat. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure. As for a scan, if you wish for me to do it in the office, I recommend sometime in the first half of February. Call the office and see about getting that scheduled. Also, I can do the scan here if you prefer, although those appointments are a bit longer and can take more time to schedule."

Dimitri seemed like he was a bit lost. I chuckled. "No, I'm good with coming to the clinic. It will most likely be good for me to get out of the cabin anyway." I had no idea how long I would feel as I did or how long I would need to drink the tea, but if I spent the next several weeks sleeping, I was all for it if that meant our baby was healthy and my body was finally on board with being pregnant.

"You have my number on the card in the front of the book. The number to the clinic is on there as well. Call if you have any questions at all. I have no idea when or if Cecil will be back, but he just had twins a couple weeks ago, so it won't be for some time. Todd tries, and he mostly gets things correct, and I haven't missed any messages yet, so perhaps we're getting there."

I couldn't help but smile. I'd had more than one assistant who just never got there and had to be let go. But others, they struggled at first but eventually made it.

"Any questions from either of you?"

I shook my head.

"How do we get more tea?" Dimitri asked.

"I apologize. It's already down in the kitchen. It is in the blue tin, and directions on how to make it are on it."

"Thank you," I told him. I realized I'd drunk over half of it, and although I wasn't feeling amazing, I was starting to feel better. "I think I'll grab some crackers and then take a nap. I know Dimitri is going to fuss over me if I don't." I looked up at my One with what I hoped was love in my gaze.

"I cannot help but worry. You are my lyubimyy, my love, my mate. And you carry our child. My dragon and I need to ensure you are well taken care of."

I was smiling when I looked back at Dr. King. "They are all like that. Call if you need anything. If I don't answer, I'm most likely with a patient if it's during business hours. Leave a message, or text if it's an emergency."

"Thank you again," I said.

"Ja. Spasibo."

Dr. King smiled as he stood. "I'll see myself out," he said. "No need to follow me down." He held out his hand to Dimitri, and after they shook, he held his hand out to me. In it was a plate of various different crackers and biscuits. I grinned and took it.

"Congratulations. We'll get you through this. It just takes time sometimes."

I nodded. Dr. King walked out of the bedroom, leaving me with my One and the plate of goodies he'd given me. I wondered how many of them I would be able to keep down because despite not feeling well, I actually was hungry. I picked up a plain-looking cracker and decided to see.