22. Dominic

From day one to the present, my pregnancy had been nothing but a breeze. My due date was two days from now, but the contractions that I had started to feel were telling me that I was not going to make it until then. Not that our son couldn’t come at any point and it not be a concern. But I had experienced nothing and now all of a sudden, I had sharp, painful contractions that started on the side of my stomach before moving to the center.

Five weeks ago, Marco had finally been caught and had been served punishment. Frederick had changed five weeks ago. He still smiled, and when he cradled my stomach in his hands, I felt nothing but love from him. But I knew that the fact that Marco had killed his own One had deeply affected him. It was something that he had talked to Dr. Bennett about several times since then. It truly was tragic, and unfortunately, we could not bring her or their child back. I just hoped that it did not negatively affect Frederick’s love for our child.

It had been revealed that Malorie was just barely pregnant, and the only way anyone knew was because Master Edison had revealed it to the council members. I wasn’t sure why, except that he wanted to share the depravity level of Marco. But she had only been days pregnant, and it was too early for either her or Marco to know. If he had known, would he have reacted differently? I honestly didn’t think so. No matter, that didn’t change the fact that unfortunately she the baby were gone.

I felt another sharp pain on the side of my stomach, and this one had me taking a deep breath. I breathed through the contraction, but I realized that one had been sharper than all of the previous ones. It was time to call my One and get him and the doctor here. I was a bit surprised that Frederick hadn’t felt that one through our bond.

“Was that what I thought it was?” He asked through our bond.

I chuckled—I’d spoken too soon apparently. “That depends. Did you think it was a contraction?” I asked back through our bond. “If so, then yes. It was exactly what you thought it was.” Another contraction hit just then, and I was forced to take another deep breath and breathe through it.

I was trying to walk over to the counter so I could grab it for support when I felt a sudden gush of fluid between my legs. I sighed. Well, there was absolutely no denying that I was in labor.

Frederick suddenly appeared beside me, and I gave my One an imploring look. “I think it’s time to call the doctor,” I told him. I pointed down to the floor below me and when Frederick glanced down, he looked back at me with worried eyes.

“Did your waters break??

“Yep.”

“Why didn’t you reach out earlier?”

I glared at Frederick. “Probably because the contractions only just started moments ago. I was trying to shuffle my way to the counter so I could hold myself up. My waters broke seconds before you appeared. Would you please call Dr. King? And then help me to bed?”

Frederick nodded and then instantly seemed to spring into action. I was whisked away and up off of my feet. Moments later I was carefully placed on our bed. Frederick was sitting beside me, holding my hand, while he pulled out his phone. He touched the screen a few times, and then held it up to his ear.

“Yes Dr. King. Apparently our son will be arriving very soon.” Frederick went quiet for a moment and then responded to whatever it was that the doctor was saying on the other end of the conversation. “Yes, we are in the bedroom.” Frederick looked at me and nodded. “He’s having some contractions?”

I gave him a look, but I’m not sure he completely understood. Some? I grabbed my stomach and took a deep breath while another contraction washed through me This one was the strongest yet and it felt as if it was ripping my stomach apart. I couldn’t keep in the groan of pain.

“Yes. He is certainly having contractions and they appear to be fairly strong and close together.”

I nodded in agreement. The contraction, although strong, was thankfully not long in length. I sighed in relief when it finally released me.

“Is he coming? Please tell me he’s going to be here soon.” I said.

Frederick pulled the phone away from his ear and tossed it toward the bedside table. He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze before he took his other and touched the side of my face.

“Hello!”

I smiled at Frederick. “And there he is,” Frederick said as he smiled back at me. I was so happy and relieved to know that Dr. King was here. Then the thought hit me. In what was probably going to be minutes, our son would be here with us.

Dr. King entered the bedroom and despite the fact that I was mated to Frederick, I was incredibly happy to see another man in our bedroom.

“Oh. I know that look,” Dr. King said.

I wanted to respond to him, but I could only grimace as another contraction hit me. Apparently, my smooth sailing pregnancy was going to completely end when it came time for labor. I wasn’t going to complain though, because I truly had had a wonderful pregnancy up until this point. If my delivery was going to be painful, I had no room to complain.

“Frederick, if you would move to the other side, I will make Dominic comfortable, and then we can get your baby delivered,” Dr. King said. I watched as Frederick did exactly as told. He first leaned down and gave me a kiss before he got up and moved to the other side of the bed. Frederick crawled up beside me, and settled in the middle with his legs crossed in front of him.

“That will work.” Dr. King looked at me and offered a smile. “Are you ready to meet your son?”

“Yes. Is it going to be terribly painful?” I asked. Drew and I had talked about everything, and one thing he had mentioned was that Dr. King could take away the pain, and I would feel nothing. That sounded like absolute heaven at the moment.

“In just a moment you will no longer feel a thing. Then the two of you can celebrate your new baby being born one day after than his cousin.” Dr. King told us.

I looked at Frederick confused.

“I delivered Caspian and Dimitri’s son yesterday. Had you not heard?”

“No. We’ve been quite preoccupied with other things,” Frederick said.

“Yes indeed. And in about ten minutes, the two of you will be even more preoccupied.” Dr. King smiled at me as he held up his hand. A light green light started emanating from it, and when he slowly moved it down my body from my stomach to mid-thigh, the pain that I was experiencing suddenly dissipated. In its place was most certainly that wonderful floating feeling that Drew had raved about.

“Ahh. So that’s what he meant,” I said I felt my body relax for the first time in a little while.

Dr. King chuckled. “All of the omegas and carriers talk about that floating feeling,“ Dr. King said. “And now it’s time to deliver your son.”

I reached for Frederick, and when he grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, I felt peace. I also felt movement and then a bit of pressure but no real pain. Frederick brought my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “You are doing amazing, my love.”

“I’m not doing anything. Dr. King is doing all of the work.”

“A little bit more pressure,” Dr. King said. “Let me just get the cord out of the way, and then your little Enrico will be here.”

I continue to stare at Frederick while Dr. King did what it was that he needed to do. Frederick kissed my hand again, but when we heard a sudden and loud cry, Frederick looked toward the doctor.

“Obviously his lungs work well.” Dr. King said. “Congratulations, you two are now fathers of a very lively little boy with a head full of dark hair.”

I wanted to look down my body to see our son, but I could not break away from staring at the emotions that were running across Frederick’s face.

“Frederick, if you could take your son and show him to his daddy, I can get the placenta delivered and then get him closed up.”

The look of wonder on Frederick’s face grew as our son was held out to him. He gently set my hand down on my chest before he reached for our son. I had expected Enrico to be naked, but he was swaddled in a blanket. Dr. King hadn’t been joking when he said our son had a head full of dark hair. He really had a head full of dark hair.

Frederick pulled in Enrico close, his mouth slightly parting in awe. I watched, fascinated as Frederick smiled at our son before he expertly turned him in his arms to where he was facing me and I could get a look at our son.

I gasped at my first good luck at the tiny being that we created. He honestly looked like a perfect combination of the two of us. He had my darker complexion, but all of that dark hair was certainly curly like Frederick’s.

“Are his eyes blue?” I asked.

“They are at the moment,” Frederick told me. “I don’t know if they will stay blue or not, but they are blue for now.” He moved the baby again and held him closer. I reached out and touched the side of Enrico’s cheek. It was so soft. When I did, Enrico suddenly went quiet. I felt a moment of a panic until I realized that he was still very much breathing.

“He knows your touch,” Frederick said. I looked up at my One in wonder.

“How? He was only just born.”

“It is not uncommon for children, especially paranormal children, to know exactly who their parents are at birth,” Dr. King said. I looked away from my One to the doctor. “You are all closed up. I will help you get situated and then I will leave the two of you to bond with your little guy. I will hang out downstairs for a few hours, just to ensure there are no complications or issues with either you or the baby.”

“Thank you, Dr. King,” I said.

“Yes, thank you,” Frederick added.

With Dr. King’s help, I was able to somewhat sit up in bed. I was positioned upright enough to where I was both sitting and yet lounging.

“The blocker that I used to take away the pain will start to dissipate over the next hour. Do not get up from the bed until you have complete feeling back in your legs,” Dr. King told me.

“No, I won’t.”

“Good. If you need anything, just call out. But I won’t be leaving until you are up and walking about. If anything seems out of sorts, call out and I will come check on you or the baby. Congratulations to both of you.”

Dr. King left the bedroom, leaving me with Frederick and our son. “Do you want to hold him?” Frederick asked.

“I’m not sure. He looks content and you will look so perfect holding him. I understand that you’ve had a lot of experience with holding new babies, but I don’t think I really understood how much of an effect seeing you holding our son for the first time was going to have on me.

“Is it a good impact? Hopefully it’s not something that you never want to experience again,” Frederick said.

“No. I just was not expecting all of the feelings that are racing through me at the moment. You truly look as if you are completely at ease holding him. And honestly, the thought of me doing that is a bit terrifying.”

Frederick smiled at me. “You’ve been carrying him around for the past several months. Trust me when I say that it is absolutely a wonderful feeling to hold our son. And I have no doubt that you are going to be a pro at it.”

Frederick readjusted the baby once more, and then he held him out. I tried not to freak out when he gently placed him in my arms. Once I took his slight weight from Frederick, I pulled him close to my chest and stared at our son in wonder.

“If anyone looks perfect holding a baby, it’s you.”

I looked up at Frederick, but realized that I couldn’t quite see him. My eyes had filled with tears once again because not only was our son absolutely beautiful, but Frederick was undeniably wonderful.

“I love you,” I told him.

Frederick smiled at me. “I love you too. And I will for all of eternity.”

I had no doubt that he would, as I would do the same. I looked down at our son who had fallen asleep, and said a silent thank you to the fates for the gifts they had given me. Never had I expected to be here, but now that I had experienced this type of love, I couldn’t imagine going on without it.

“What are you thinking?”

I glanced over at Frederick and grinned. “That this is heaven.” I leaned my head down and kissed the top of Enrico’s curls. I couldn’t believe that I was a dad. I kissed him again before I sat up and leaned back to get comfortable.

“Are you comfortable? Do you need anything? Want anything?”

I turned my head toward Frederick and sighed. “You know, lunch might be good. And we should offer something to Dr. King. Surely it’s lunch time by now.” Since coming to Montana, my schedule had changed so much. It had been an adjustment when I moved to Amherst. Moving even farther west was a whole other level of adjustments.

“I’ll get you something to eat. What are you in the mood for?” Frederick asked. “Seafood ravioli?”

I moaned at the mention of seafood ravioli. It was probably my favorite, but despite all of the seafood in Massachusetts, I’d not found anything comparable to Remy’s. There was something they had put in it that I couldn’t replicate, and trust me, I’d tried.

“As much as I would love that, I was actually thinking maybe we could have burgers and fries from that place down in Timber Valley? Are they open and available?”

Frederick gave me smile. I loved to be on the receiving end of them. He didn’t smile often, but I’d noticed he seemed to smile at me frequently. That made me feel special to him.

“They are. We can certainly have celebratory burgers and fries,” Frederick leaned in and gave me a soft kiss before he sat up. “I’ll go ask Dr. King if he wants anything from there as well before I place the order.”

“Thank you. You are the best,” I told him.

Frederick leaned in and gave me another kiss, then gently kissed Enrico’s curls before he sat up and then crawled off of the bed. “You’re the one that is amazing. Don’t ever forget that.”

I didn’t know what to say in response, so I smiled at him. Frederick left the room, leaving me with Enrico and my emotions. I had never been an overly emotional person, but that had changed when I became pregnant. And if that was the only real pregnancy side effect I had, there wasn’t anything to be complain about.

I snuggled with our son; the fact that I now had a child of my own still sinking in. He was the sweetest little one, and already I was so in love. It had brought me such joy to be able to carry our son.

I was still sitting in our bed, not that I could do much of anything else since my legs were still mostly numb, when Frederick returned. I smiled at my One, always happy to see him.

“Food has been ordered,” he told me.

“All right.” I waited for more information but when none came, I just asked. “How are we getting it? Are you going to pop down? Do they suddenly deliver?” I had honestly thought he was going to do the whole magic thing and get the food that way.

“Rainier is picking it up for us. He’ll be here with it in about ten minutes.”

“Rainier? How did you manage to wrangle that?”

Frederick sat on the bed beside my knees. “Well, Caspian gave birth yesterday, you today, and from what Dr. King said when I asked him if he wanted anything to eat, Eli’s omega line is bright red and he has started having some sporadic contractions, so he’s expected to give birth very soon. I called Rainier to share our news and he offered. He and étienne are waiting, impatiently for news of another addition to the family, and are trying to keep themselves distracted.”

I had only been able to get together with Eli a couple of times since moving to Treasure Ridge. He was always so busy with his and Benjamin’s twins, who were full of energy, that it had been difficult to find a time that worked for him, Drew, and me. In the end, I spent more time with Drew and Flora than I had anyone else.

“I hope he has an easy delivery,” I said. “We should well wishes now.” I glanced down at Enrico. “I’m not sure how long the peace with this one will last.”

Frederick chuckled quietly. “You are probably right. I’ll make sure I send them with Rainier when he arrives with the food. Dr. King said he was going to stop by and check on Eli when he left here.” Frederick rubbed up and down my thigh, but I barely felt it. “How are you feeling? Any sensation back?”

“Some, but I wouldn’t trust myself to walk yet. It’s probably a good thing I can’t feel anything just yet. Although, I really hope I don’t have to use the bathroom and can’t sense it.”

Frederick chuckled again. “I’ll go check about that with Dr. King. Maybe he can help by removing more of the blocker.”

I nodded. “That would probably be good. It’s been a bit eventful today, and I can’t remember exactly when I went last.” New fear unlocked. Being numb from your delivery and not being to sense that your bladder was full. Would my body instinctively hold things? Would it not and just let go? Had I already made a mess in the bed?

“I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll go get Dr. King and he can reassure you.”

I watched as Frederick gave my thigh a squeeze before he stood and left the room. I should have felt it more, so that was my biggest concern. I had some sensation in my legs, but not like I normally did. I stared down at my feet as I tried to move them. They wiggled a little, but not much, and since I was only becoming frustrated and discouraged, I leaned back and closed my eyes.

“Frederick says you’re concerned about needing the bathroom. Are you feeling as if you need to go?”

I raised my head at the doctor’s question. “No, but I can’t feel much of anything, and I’m worried.”

Dr. King gave me a warm smile while shaking his head. “You gave birth…” He glanced at his watch. “Only twenty minutes ago. Give it at least an hour. If I were to completely remove the blocker at this moment, you will feel a great deal of pain. The hour that I provide for the slow lift of it helps your body to heal so you don’t have that sudden immense pain.” Dr. King came over and bent down to look at Enrico. His smile widened.

“Is he all right? I can still sense his heart beating.”

“He’s fine. He’s sleeping because being born is stressful. Your family is growing quite a bit this week. I can’t remember ever delivering three babies to the same family in such a tight timeline before.”

“I know Caspian was certainly over being pregnant, and Eli is more than ready for his new little one. Can you please tell him congratulations for me after he finally delivers?”

Dr. King smiled. “I will pass along the well wishes. I’m pretty sure I hear your One downstairs talking to someone, which means food will be incoming. You are obviously free to hold your baby as much as you wish, but don’t forget to put him down long enough to take care of yourself every so often.” Dr. King left after that, leaving me to take in his comments.

My family was growing. Sure, I’d realized I had my One, and we were going to have a child. But it just hit me at that moment that I had a family now. I was no longer alone in this world. Frederick and his family were all too happy to welcome me into theirs and that thought made me feel something I hadn’t in a long time.