Chapter 19

Nineteen

Charlie was in agony—his bad shoulder, his ribs, his ankle—and none of that was comparable to the clenching and cramping of his belly.

He was in labor, but fear filled all the places in his heart. What if he'd hurt the baby? What if something was really wrong?

The dogs bounded along ahead of them, clearing the snow out of the way, and the house blazed like a beacon of light to his blurred vision. Every light in the place was on. Kaleb carried him once they got to the more cleared path, and in the distance, he could hear a siren wailing.

"I want to go home." He could see the outline of someone beckoning them inside the house. Which one was that? Ezekiel or Augustus? "I found your cradle! I found it!"

"We're here, baby." Kaleb forged up the stairs to the front door, then closed out the storm. The foyer was freezing, but there was a fire burning in the main parlor fireplace, and that was where Kaleb put him, pulling blankets down to cover the couch and lay him out. "I'll move you upstairs when Mark is here to help, baby."

He wanted to be clean, to have a bath, but another contraction hit him and he screamed, the pain tearing into him. "Kaleb!"

"I'm right here, baby." Kaleb knelt next to him and held his hand. "I promise. I'm not leaving. I love you. They're almost here. I can hear them."

"I thought the dogs were in the shed. The door was open. I thought the dogs were trapped!" He could barely breathe, but he needed Kaleb to know he hadn't been stupid. Not really. He'd been trying to help.

"Oh, love. I'm so sorry. I have no idea how they got in there. I mean, I'll check the security cameras, but I didn't see any evidence that anyone besides you had been in there. Well, and the dogs."

"No. No, it wasn't them. I think I was supposed to find the cradle, but the dogs were outside. They startled me, and I fell." The contraction was easing some. Charlie panted, trying to get his breath back.

"So is the damn ghost trying to kill you? I mean, shit, baby. I was just telling myself he wasn't a murderer!" Kaleb was starting to sound all alpha-y.

"No. I told him that I was trying to find the cradle. I think he was helping. I would have waited for you, but I thought the dogs were trapped."

"I understand, love." Kaleb stroked his hair with his free hand. "I do."

The sound of the police SUV squealing to a stop made him grunt, and he nodded. "Good. Okay, good."

"Let me let them in. I'm just ten feet away if you need me."

He needed this boot off. He needed a bath. He needed?—

Another contraction hit and he jerked violently, trying not to scream.

"Devon is here, baby. Mark is going to help me get you upstairs."

"There's no way we can get down the mountain safely right now," Mark said. "So let's get you up and get you comfy."

"Okay. All right. I'm dirty. I want to be cleaned up. Please, don't tell anyone how gross I am?"

"I won't say a word." Mark got on one side of him, and Kaleb lifted him on the other. Together, they got him up the stairs to the bedroom, where Kaleb held him while Mark quickly fixed the bed.

"Let's get him undressed and showered. He'll be more comfortable, and it'll be more hygienic." Devon had a load of towels, and started the water. "Can you help, Kaleb?"

"I can." Kaleb was so gentle with him. So sweet.

They got him clean, and Mark bandaged his ankle up once he was in bed.

"Once we have this baby and it's safe, we'll head to the hospital, okay? But it doesn't seem broken, just twisted." Mark shook his head. "I'm going to make some calls and get your supplies up here, huh, Dev?"

"Sounds perfect, Mark. Thank you. All right, let's have a look, Charlie." Devon's calm was like a balm.

"Does everything look all right?" Charlie needed it all to look okay. He didn't feel like the whole space was kosher.

"Well, you're going to have a baby. There's no question there. In fact, we are going to have a baby in very short order. Had you been in labor?"

"No, no, I swear. Not even any real pangs. Not until I fell and everything. The cradle and all the bags tipped over on me. Did I hurt the baby?" A pure agony hit him, square between the shoulder blades.

"Stop it. She's going to be fine." There was a quiet peace in Devon's voice, and Charlie took it as the truth. He had to. There was no other choice. Not right now. "She's just ready to be here. She's what? Not even quite two weeks early?"

Charlie shook his head. And that's when Kaleb popped in with, "And we don't know for sure the actual date that you got pregnant, Charlie."

He glared over at his husband. "Did I ask for your opinion?"

"Nope. Not even a bit. Not saying another word."

"Excellent idea." Charlie rolled his eyes as another contraction hit and his legs drew up. "It hurts so much. Is it close? Is it time to push?"

The urge to bear down was huge.

"Almost," Devon said, "Not quite, but almost. I'm going to go get a couple of things from my kit. Kaleb, can you run and get him some ice chips to suck on? It will help."

Charlie shook his head. "I don't want him to go."

"It won't be but a second," Devon told him. "He's just going to run down and get some ice chips. Be right back. You won't be alone but for a minute, I promise."

They left before he could really argue, so he squeezed his eyes shut.

Please,he prayed. Please don't let anything be wrong with my baby. I know your ending was harsh? But please. Help me. I know Augustus didn't kill you. I don't want to lose my baby.

Someone took his hand and Charlie looked up and gasped, seeing a young, lean man standing there. Ezekiel was holding his hand, a tall, broad-shouldered man standing behind him.

They were both nodding and looking at him with very serious expressions.

Look. I tried. I found the cradle. I'll fix it. I'll bring it upstairs. Please, I know that you both loved each other.Another pain hit, and he held on tight as the strange light filled the room, making his eyes widen.

He just needed to hang on. He could do this.

"This is happening very fast."Devon's face was extremely serious.

Kaleb felt his heart drop. "What do we need to do?"

Devon held his gaze. "There's nothing we can do. We deliver the baby. If it's in crisis, we run it as fast as we can down the mountain. You have to understand, though, there is a chance that the baby will not survive."

Kaleb's knees tried to buckle, and it was Mark that caught him, held him up. "No. No. We can't lose either one of them."

"I'll do my best, but it's early, and this is too fast. This is not how labor progresses. There is a very good chance that your daughter will not be born alive." There were tears in Devon's eyes and even Mark's hands trembled. "I'm so sorry, Kaleb. I'll do my best; you know I will."

He shook his head. "What about Charlie? Is my Charlie going to be okay?"

Devon nodded. "He's young; he's healthy; he doesn't seem to be terribly hurt…"

Oh, God. He thought he got what Devon was telling him. Kaleb swallowed hard and forced the words out of his throat. "Save my Charlie. Save both of them if you can, but if you can't, you have to save my Charlie."

Devon nodded, and suddenly a sharp scream split the air even as the image of a huge man appeared in front of him.

Augustus motioned back up the stairs toward the bedroom.

They hadn't gotten far outside the bedroom, but even the dozen steps it took to get back there seemed to take too long. It was like they were running but nothing was happening.

Time had stopped and he could see Augustus standing there. "I didn't kill Ezekiel."

Kaleb nodded. "That I know, Augustus. I believe you. You loved him."

The entire world seemed to shudder, to shake around them. "I did not kill our baby."

Kaleb nodded again. "Please. Charlie's—Charlie needs me. I don't want to lose my baby. Please."

Augustus offered him a sad, sweet smile that made him want to sob, and then time sped up again.

He hit his bedroom door, going ninety to nothing. Charlie was sitting up on the bed, a young, glowing man holding his shoulders as he pushed and struggled.

Devon didn't even hesitate. It was as if he never saw Ezekiel. But Kaleb did.

Kaleb refused to believe for a single moment that this was not all meant to be. His baby was going to be okay, and so was his husband.

"Okay, Charlie, push. Come on. The head is out. Let's go. Come on, man. Let's get this done. Let's bring it home."

"I am home." Charlie grabbed Kaleb's hand, staring into his eyes. "They promised. I am home."

Kaleb looked down and saw the still, quiet red baby in Devon's hands. He shook his head. "No. No. No. I will not lose our baby. Augustus would have said."

"What's wrong with her? Is she okay? Kaleb, you have to tell me she's okay!"

He opened his mouth to lie when she opened her mouth and took this huge breath. Natalia let out a wild, absolutely furious scream that seemed to ring from the rafters. "She's perfect. Right, Devon?"

Devon's eyes were huge. "So far so good, guys. Ten fingers, ten toes. Two eyes, lungs like a champion. Let's get her wrapped up. It's damn cold in here." There were tears on Devon's cheeks, the midwife sobbing quietly. "I think I want to get an ambulance up here, guys. I think I want both of you to get checked out at the actual hospital. Is that all right, Charlie? Just to make sure."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I wanna hold her. As long as Kaleb comes, and I can hold her. We can go get checked out. And then we have to come home. We have lots of work to do."

"I'll make some calls. I'll get search-and-rescue up here." Mark disappeared, and he was sure that Devon hadn't left.

But it didn't matter, because his Charlie was holding their baby.

Kaleb glanced behind the bed to see Augustus and Ezekiel standing there. "Thank you guys. Thank you. I'll get the cradle cleaned up, and I'll get your room set up for you. You have my word."

Then he went to hold his husband. And their little girl.