Chapter Twenty Two

Desie

I"m so tired. I knew to expect it, but I didn"t think I"d be this tired. All I want to do is sleep and rest and then go back to sleep. Seth tried to be anxious about it but everyone, including Talia, reminded him that omegas are supposed to be like this at the end of their pregnancies.

I can"t believe it"s almost over. I have enjoyed being pregnant for the most part. There have been so many stressful things that have nothing to do with me or my pregnancy that the time has flown by. I hope next time will be much less hectic.

Ben and Michael are at The Omega House today. They have abandoned any resentful feelings they may have originally had when Devon first asked them to help finish it up. They"re both so happy to be creating a comfortable haven for the rescued omegas. Michael has bought so many blankets, throws, and swathes of different materials and textures, and Ben completely adores Elizabet. He"s completely baffled by everyone"s opinion that she"s difficult and stressful.

Seth and I were having the most blissful nap until Jasper called a few minutes ago. He, Kaleb, and Alex are on their way over. He has a gift for the baby and he"s way too excited to wait another minute to bring it over. He wouldn"t give even a little bit of a hint. So we"re waiting in the living room for them to knock on the door.

We"ve had the windows open since this morning. The air here is completely different from back home. The air on the West Coast smells blue. I don"t know how else to describe it, but when we opened the windows to let the Spring breeze blow through the house back home it smelled clear and blue. The breeze coming through the windows here smells green.

"What do you think it is?"

Seth shrugs and pushes his palm up and down the front of his thigh. He"s sitting on the couch trying to give the impression of being relaxed, but his knee keeps bouncing and he keeps rubbing at his thigh or his neck.

"What"s the matter? Why are you so nervous about a present?"

He shrugs again. "They"ve already given us a bunch of stuff. And for Jasper to be so excited about something that he has to bring it right now, needing two other people to help him bring it, I don"t know. It might be a big deal."

"I still don"t understand why you"re so worried. It"s normal to be excited to give people gifts. I love giving people things. I can hardly stand to wait until it"s the right time to give it to them."

"I know," he sighs. "But it"s Jasper. Things have been a lot different, better, between us for the past little bit, but there"s still a lot of heaviness."

I pull his hand from his bouncing knee and put it on my still one. "Jasper wouldn"t bring anything bad for our baby, Seth."

"No, I know. I just don"t know how to treat him sometimes."

That"s the problem? "I don"t know, maybe like a friend? Aren"t you and Jasper friends?"

"I..." his brows slam together and an almost stricken expression takes over his face. "I don"t know. I don"t know if Jasper is able to be my friend."

"Well, he"s my friend," I lift his palm up for a kiss. "And you"re my alpha. Therefore he"s your friend by default."

Before he can say anything else someone pounds on the door and Seth jumps up to answer it.

"It"s going in the living room," Alex announces as he backs into the room. "You can put it where she wants it after we bring everything else in."

Kaleb winks at me as he passes by Seth with the other end of the crib. "This is a nice one. A family heirloom."

"I got a new mattress." Jasper grins at me as he carries in a brand new crib mattress wrapped in plastic. "The old one was almost thirty years old. Talia washed the blankets. One of them needed to be mended, though. Corso did that himself. There may be a drop or two of blood on one of the squares, but that just gives it character."

He settles the mattress into the crib after Alex and Kaleb put the frame down in the center of the room, then he goes back out for a smallish wooden trunk with an intricate H engraved on the front. He places it on the coffee table then straightens up, crossing his arms over his chest as he smiles at me, pride and happiness pouring from him.

"This is," Seth starts, but he can"t finish. He swallows thickly and tries again. "How did you..."

Kaleb goes to his side and puts an arm across his shoulders. "He almost didn"t. Your mom was worried it might upset you and she wouldn"t come off it. He convinced her, though. It took him three months."

"Open it," Jasper urges, motioning toward the trunk. "Hurry. I"m about to die, Desir"ee. Open it."

"What does H stand for?" I ask, tracing the delicate design.

"Hunt," Seth rasps.

I slide the latch to open the trunk. "Hunt?" Inside the trunk I find a stack of hand-sewn and knitted blankets that smell like Talia"s babies. Some of them look much newer than others, but they"re all hand-made. I immediately love every single one of them.

"My mother"s family name. That"s her hope chest. I wasn"t allowed to touch it."

Jasper laughs lightly. "Probably for the same reasons I wouldn"t have been allowed to touch it. Little boys tend to destroy family heirlooms if they"re given half a chance. Don"t let Dutch anywhere near it."

Seth nods and looks at the crib.

He"s going to cry. I can feel it. If he cries, I"ll bawl. "Was that your crib?"

He nods. "And hers. Her grandfather made it. He carved an H on it to match the trunk. I don"t know how old the trunk is." Then he looks at Jasper with too many emotions swirling in his tear-filled eye. "Why would you do this?"

Jasper"s face falls. "I"m sorry. I thought it would be good. I thought it would make you happy to have something of your family for your baby. I can take it back."

Seth shakes his head harshly. "It is good. Thank you."

Jasper"s smile comes back slowly. "Look at the quilt. The green and yellow one. You see that square in the corner? There was a hole in it. Corso replaced it. He"s been very proud of himself."

I lift the blanket from the trunk and sure enough, there are three small rust-colored drops in the center of the bright yellow square. "It"s perfect."

Seth pulls away from Kaleb and comes back to sit next to me on the couch. He runs his fingertips across the blood-stained square and looks up at Jasper. "Thank you. This means... Thank you."

The crib is still in the living room when Ben and Michael get home. They both love it as much as I do and they sit with Seth as he explains what the H stands for. Then they love it even more. We decide to set it up in our bedroom because that makes the most sense. I could never let the baby sleep in a different room from us.

When it"s time, we"ll move the crib into the nursery we"ve set up in one of the other bedrooms. After seeing the beautiful yellow and green quilt, I"ve finally decided on a color scheme for the room. I don"t want to paint it, but I want yellow curtains and a green rug, and bright pictures of flowers on the walls. It"s going to be such a happy space.

Seth stepped out onto the porch a little while ago to call his mom. He"s been out there pacing for about twenty minutes.

"Why is he so agitated?" Ben asks, watching Seth go by the window again.

Michael stands up and starts heading for the door. "Because he doesn"t know how to accept good things. He"s stuck on the idea that nothing about him or his family is good. But he"s wrong and the fact that Jasper made such a huge effort to do something so wonderful for him has thrown him into a loop of confusion and he"s afraid someone"s going to come along and take it all away."

Ben looks away from the window and at Michael. "Why won"t he tell us stuff like that? We can help him."

"Because he doesn"t want to be a burden on top of a fuck up." Michael opens the door and steps out on the porch.

"Seth isn"t a fuck up," Ben says, obviously offended by the idea. "He has been through fucked up things, but he isn"t a fuck up. He"s made mistakes, but so have we. And he"s done so much to make up for them. He needs to quit with all this self-loathing and being miserable."

I nod but before I can say anything Michael is dragging Seth back inside. He pushes him down onto the couch between me and Ben.

"Hey Mom," Seth says, looking up at Michael. "Can I call you back tomorrow? Okay. Yeah, she"s okay. Everything"s fine. I just need to go for tonight. Oh god, no. You"re letting Elizabet rub off on you too much. Oh my god. I"m getting off the phone. You too."

Ben smirks at the blush crawling up Seth"s face. "What did she say?"

"That I better not cause Desir"ee to go into labor early."