 Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash  Chapter 1
ARIC I’ve had a lot of days in my life so far that could be considered the best day of my fucking life. When I was made Vice President of the Wild Hawks - that was up there. The day I met Lena, the most gorgeous woman in existence. The day I claimed her. The day I proposed to her. The day I married her. The day she told me she was pregnant - all fucking amazing days. I never imagined what is actually the best day of my life would also slowly turn into the worst. Doc Menzies squares off with me, standing between me and the gurney they’ve just loaded Lena onto. “Get out of the way, Mr. Shaw,” he warns. Not fucking happening. “I go where she goes,” I growl, my hands closing into fists. “This is pointless,” the doc snaps. “We’re wasting time. Time they don’t have.” “Then stop wasting it. Give me a fucking cap and gown, and let’s get this done.” The door behind me slides open. Fucking finally. Let’s go. Hands close around my arms. What the fuck is this? I start to shrug them off, but they tighten, more hands grabbing my wrists. Fuck that. A glance down tells me exactly who has grabbed me. One hand on my wrist reads WILD, the other FIRE. Killer and Bruiser. Those traitorous cunts. They wrestle me out of the room as Doc Menzies watches. “Let me the fuck go!” I howl, struggling against the tight hold they have on me as they drag me away from the door. As Doc Menzies and Doc Livingstone wheel the bed out, my eyes lock on the doorway. Lena is fucking pale, her eyes closed, her rounded belly sticking up like a mountain, covered in a white hospital sheet. “Calm down, man,” Killer grunts. “She’s in safe hands. Let them do their job.” “Easy for fucking you to say,” I spit at him. “You didn’t get dragged away from your fucking wife.” “That wasn’t what Hope needed,” Bruiser rumbles. My head snaps around, and my heated eyes meet his calm, icy blue ones. I stare him down. “How the fuck would you know. You aren’t having kids.” Bruiser nods sharply to me. “I know because I listen to the doc.” I start to struggle again as Lena’s gurney disappears through swinging doors. I know those ones lock. I need to find a nurse with a key card and take it off them. “Aric.” It’s said quietly, with authority. I fucking hate that my body automatically responds to the command, freezing under the hands still holding me. Dad comes to a halt beside me, Mom, Nan, and Strafe flanking him. “What did the doc say?” I’d clock the fucker, but I can see the worry etched on his face despite his quiet tone. “Placental abruption,” I grunt and am met with six blank faces. “Fuck load of blood came out. Doc says it means the placenta tore away from the uterus wall.” “So, what next?” Mom asks, her voice shaking. Nan’s arm snakes around Mom’s waist, and they cling to each other. “Cut the baby the fuck out of her, stop the bleeding, give her more blood.” Killer’s hand tightens on my shoulder while Strafe’s hand clamps down on Dad’s shoulder, and Mom and Nan let out matching whimpers. “She’s going to be okay,” Bruiser rumbles, sounding like he’s assuring himself just as much as the rest of us. “The doc is the best.” Mom recovers first, her eyes narrowing on Bruiser as she continues to hug Nan. “Should you be here? Mono is very contagious. You shouldn’t be near a newborn baby or Lena.” Bruiser shifts uncomfortably. I’m just glad something is here to distract me from whatever the fuck they’re doing to my wife. The cunt doesn’t have mono. I’ve seen people with mono. He just needed an excuse he was willing to give for why he couldn’t ride. “All cleared up,” Bruiser says gruffly. “Ask the doc. He’ll tell you I don’t have mono.” A smirk crosses Strafe’s face, his eyes landing on Bruiser. “You’ll be okay to ride then.” Bruiser shifts again. “Just waiting to be given the all-clear,” he evades. Killer nods, completely fucking clueless. “Good. You must be going stir crazy after a month being benched.” Bruiser shifts again, a flash of something crossing his face. “Definitely going stir crazy,” he mutters. I share a glance with Strafe, whose lips are twitching. He’s going stir crazy for Wren’s pussy. Strafe didn’t give me the details, I don’t know if Nan gave them all to him, but the man had something done to his cock at the tattoo parlor. I don’t want to think about that shit. It sounds painful. But Wren wore the fucker down. Dad ignores the looks flying around, brushing Killer and Bruiser’s hands off my shoulders, replacing them with his own. “Let’s go get a cup of coffee, son.” He squeezes my shoulders, and I trail after him. ARIC “Aric Shaw?” My head snaps around, my eyes locking on the tall, dark male nurse standing in the cafeteria doorway. I’m on my feet before the rest of them even look up. “That’s me.” The nurse nods warily, gesturing for me to follow him. He leads me up through a set of locked doors to an operating theater door. Doc Menzies is standing there, holding a small blue bundle of cloth. My heart is in my mouth. “Doc?” “Congratulations, Mr. Shaw. It’s a boy.” My hands are trembling as I take my son off him, automatically cradling him the way Lena taught me with Killer’s son, Simon. I don’t even glance down at him. “Lena?” I croak. Please be okay, angel. I can’t live in a world she isn’t in. “Mrs. Shaw has lost a lot of blood. We’re giving her a transfusion now. The surgery went well, with no damage. She should be fine for future pregnancies if that is something you both wish to explore.” My shoulders sag. “She’s going to be okay?” Doc Menzies smiles, nodding. “She’s going to be okay. I’m going back in. Once she’s had the all-clear, we’ll bring her to the private room. Calvin here will take you there now.” The nurse nods at the sound of his name. I follow him, feeling both relieved and numb. I don’t think I’ll fully relax until Lena is in my arms, and I can see she’s okay with my own two eyes. Calvin, the nurse, takes me to a comfortable-looking private room, similar to what Hope was in after giving birth to Simon. I sit in the armchair, still cradling the baby. My son. There’s a rustling of papers, and Calvin stands there, a pen poised. “Baby’s name?” “Ethan Mitchell Shaw.” Lena picked it. Mitchell was her daddy. Ethan was a nice name. She should be here for this. Calvin runs through some more questions, and I answer mechanically, rocking my son absently. My son. Looking down, my eyes drink in his little red face. His head isn’t misshapen like Simon’s was. He’s perfect. A little red and scrunchy, but perfect. My heart thumps. I was wrong. Losing Lena would be like losing a limb. Like losing most of my heart. But a part of my heart will always beat for Ethan, my son. I would be in a world of pain without Lena, but I would drag myself on in life for Ethan. I’d do anything for Ethan. “Mr. Shaw?” Calvin is hovering. “Usually, we recommend skin-on-skin contact, but Mrs. Shaw isn’t here.” I stare up at him, blinking in confusion. Calvin bites his lips as he gestures to the baby. “I’ll hold him while you take off your shirt.” “Take off my shirt?” “Yes. I’ll take his blanket, and you hold him on your chest. Skin-on-skin. He’s a little premature, not enough to worry about, but enough that skin-on-skin contact will help him.” Fucking hell. I let him take the baby, reaching behind me to grasp the back of my T-shirt, pulling it off in one smooth motion, and dropping it on the floor. Calvin has laid Ethan on the bed, unswaddling him. He crosses back to me, laying Ethan’s little body on my chest, covering us both with the blue blanket. Ethan nuzzles against my pecs, my hand automatically raising to cup the back of his tiny head. “My wife will be brought here soon, right?” “Yes, Mr. Shaw. I’ll go check on the timing.” Calvin disappears, and I lean back into the armchair, looking down at Ethan’s little face. He’s gone to sleep, looking completely safe. Blinking, I can feel the wetness of tears on my cheeks. Please be okay, Lena. We need you. Chapter 2 ARIC The door swings open, pulling my gaze from Ethan’s sleeping face. Doc Menzies appears, nodding to me as two orderlies wheel in Lena. They move her onto the bed, and Doc Menzies tucks the crisp white sheets around her. The last time Lena was in this place, unconscious and swaddled in those sheets, was the worst time of my life. I’m having painful flashbacks right now. Doc Menzies leaves, telling me he will be back to check in soon. The door swings shut, and I start to move slowly, not wanting to wake Ethan but needing - with a primal urge - to hold Lena’s hand. A sound has me freezing. “That’s the most beautiful sight in the world.” My eyes snap to Lena’s face. Her eyes are open, and she’s smiling faintly at me. She looks pale and so god-damn fucking beautiful. “Angel,” I croak. “How are you feeling?” “Fuzzy. Empty.” Empty. No baby. I surge out of my seat, the blue blanket fluttering to the floor. Ethan shifts his head, letting out a tiny cry at being disrupted. He has drooled on my blood-red magnolia tattoo. Crossing to the bed, I lower him into Lena’s waiting arms. “He’s perfect,” she whispers, her eyes drinking him in. “Skin-on-skin?” She glances up at me, a question in her eyes. I duck down, snagging my T-shirt and tugging it back on. “The nurse said it was good for premature babies. He’s okay. He doesn’t need any other help.” “Okay. Help me?” Nodding, I ease my hand under her shoulders, lifting her and helping her take off the top half of the hospital gown. Ethan is nuzzling her breasts, and she giggles. “Do you have my bag?” It’s sitting on the small table under the TV. I cross to it, my eyebrows raising. “I need a nursing bra,” Lena laughs. “I’m leaking.” Shit. I didn’t know that was a thing. I dig through the bag, holding up two bras. She points to the creamy one. Dropping the other, I cross to her, helping her into it, snapping the clasp at the back. “Usually, I’m doing that in reverse,” I mutter. “Feels wrong to be putting clothes on you.” Lena rolls her eyes, leaning back as I use the remote to lift the back of the bed for her. Ethan is happily latched. I drop a kiss on her lips and perch on the end of the bed, my eyes drinking in the sight in front of me. I was ambivalent about having a baby. Lena wanted one. I wanted Lena to be happy, so we had a baby. But now, this is all I want. This right here, in front of me. This is fucking perfect. LENA Ethan lets out a little cry as my nipple slips out of his little mouth. Ouch. Hope said it kind of hurt until your nipples toughened up, but still… ouch. I shift him to my other side, fumbling a little, shooting Aric an embarrassed look as he lounges on the end of the bed, watching us, love and pride blazing out of his eyes. “You’re doing amazing, angel.” His hand caresses my foot through the sheet, and I blink. Aric is beside me in a second, leaning over and brushing away my tears with his fingers, pressing kisses to my forehead. “I love you so much, angel,” he murmurs. “You’re fucking superwoman.” Aric cradles me until Ethan is finished. He steps back so I can burp the baby and reaches immediately to cradle him, swaddling him and placing him carefully back in his little wheeled bassinet. Kicking off his shoes, Aric helps me into my sweatpants and a loose cotton T-shirt - I don’t want to be in a hospital gown anymore - and climbs into bed with me, covering us both with the sheet and pulling me down on top of his chest, his lips finding my hairline. “I was so fucking scared I was going to lose you, angel.” His voice is filled with emotion, and my heart thumps. “I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper back. Aric’s arms tighten around me. “That better be a fucking unbreakable promise,” he rumbles. I snuggle down in his arms. “It is. Has anyone else met Ethan yet?” “No.” Aric’s mouth is still against my forehead, his fingers stroking through my hair. “I wasn’t letting anyone meet our son before you did.” I don’t think it’s possible to love him more than I do right now. “They can all fucking wait. We’ll let them in when you’re good and fucking ready.” Huh. Maybe I can love him more. Chapter 3 ARIC Lena let me help her shower - I’m glad since we got married, she has been less picky about letting me help her with shit - and I’ve brushed her hair into a ponytail. It’s not very neat, but I’ll work on that. She’s perched in the bed, Ethan in her arms, and nods to me, smiling and relaxed. Grinning, I cross to the door, opening it and sticking my head out. Six faces lift to look at me, from where they are scattered around the wide, white corridor. “All right. You can fucking come in now.” Mom is first through the door - because of course she is - followed closely by Nan. Dad follows them in, and Strafe pauses, grinning, his eyes darting over my shoulder into the room. “Never thought I’d see the day those two turned to each other for comfort.” I glance over to where Mom and Nan are both bending over Ethan and Lena, Dad standing at the end of the bed watching them with rapidly blinking eyes. “I guess they needed reminding that there is something more than bad feelings.” I eye Strafe carefully. Nan isn’t the only one with bad feelings. “How about you?” Strafe shrugs, lifting his backward baseball cap, rubbing his short, dark hair, and setting the hat down. “Whatever Nan needs.” Of course that’s his fucking answer. That’s always his answer. That’s the only reason he isn’t dead for touching my sister. Clapping him on the shoulder, I shove him into the room. Killer and Bruiser are hanging back but take a step closer. “We good?” Killer asks, eyebrows raised. I shoot them a glare. “I won’t be forgetting you cunts held me back when they took my wife away.” “You can thank us whenever you’re ready,” Bruiser rumbles. Fucking prick. Flipping him off, I jerk my head at the room with a grin. “Come meet my son, you fuckers.” Two matching grins break out, and they shoulder past me into the room. I snap the door shut, standing in the doorway, my eyes trailing over the room. Everyone I would consider family is here right now, all eyes glued to my son, who Mom is holding, Nan standing so close their sides are touching as she coos in his face. Strafe and Dad stand side by side, grinning and chatting, their eyes locked on their wives and Ethan. Killer and Bruiser are leaning down over Lena, talking while she smiles up at them. Her eyes lock with mine, and my heart swells. Life is pretty fucking perfect. The End. |
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