Page 430 of Bride of Choice
The sheet was covering my knees, leaving only the top of Rek’s head visible. There was a long moment of silence before the sweetest little cry rent the air.
Rek’s head popped up. His eyes were watery as he carefully held up a shockingly light purple and grey striped babe with a striking resemblance to Buu and Celuk, as big as those monster babies Rek teased Jeh-kal might one day give me.
“Boy,” Rek announced as he placed the squalling little one on my chest. Four little catlike ears flicked this way and that, a tiny tail slapped about wetly, and little chubby arms flailed.
Rek wiped off our son’s furry head to lean over and place a kiss there.
“More. I go,” he muttered as those pains started up again.
“C’mon, baby girl,” I muttered as I started to grit my teeth at the next fresh wave of pain hitting me. My god, no wonder my belly was so huge with this guy snuck up in there!
More of the crazy of before in that oh so familiar to me now order, and Rek let out a funny but pleased sound as I pushed out baby number two.
“What is it? Does she look just like you?” I asked as he grinned and began wiping down a tiny little body with even lighter white-purple and grey spotted fur and flailing arms.
Quickly taking our big bruiser of a first born from me to wrap him and place him in the bassinet we’d been storing in here, he rushed back to lift up a skinny but long baby with a rather large head with a familiar shape. I burst out laughing as I cuddled our second child, a softly squalling boy, close.
“Rek big boys,” Rek announced, but he was already back to it.
“Baby girl, you are fashionably late,” I joked to my stomach.
“She come, she ready,” Rek mock grumbled.
“What happens?!” Of all the beings to come rushing in, Pepé came slamming into the house, Dace’s limp form in his arms.
He skidded into the room, nostrils working, getting more than an eyeful right as our baby girl decided to greet the world.
“Stop staring at my shit, bitch, and fuuuuck oooooff!!!” I bellowed at Berkr as our perfect little princess came shooting into the world, a screeching bundle of listen up world, here I am.
I should have seen that for the foreshadowing that it was, but how the hell was I supposed to fuckin’ know, you know?
Celuk was the first of those actually invited to this momentous occasion to arrive. “I here!” he came shouting into the house. “Hear horn! Come running! I here! My Jo?! I-”
Berkr and Dace had proven an effective team in helping us get everything settled. Once she’d woken up and he’d snapped out of his stunned stupor.
I wasn’t so perturbed by Berkr seeing my shit once he admitted he had healer training like Lukar and helped Rek and me finish all the ugly after birth shit up.
By the time Celuk came skidding into the room, we’d relocated to the room I shared with Celuk and Rek was cuddling up with the boys as I nursed our baby girl. Dace and Berkr were smart enough to vacate the premises as soon as their services were no longer needed.
“I’m okay. A bit stunned stupid, but okay,” I told him before he could ask.
“Bruiser, Darcy,” Rek announced, holding the boys out for Celuk to see.
Celuk looked positively gobsmacked and a little dismayed to have missed the entire thing.
“Three?” he blurted dazedly. He went from stunned to purring and pleased and rushing closer in two seconds flat.
“We are not naming our sons after the names we proposed for Baby’s babies!” I burst out, gaping over at Rek, who was hearing none of it as he cooed down at his sons and offered our firstborn boy up to Celuk to hold.
“Bruiser,” Celuk whispered softly, then grinned when I harrumphed. “Him big,” he had to point out. “Big bruiser.”
“You wanna name your kid after a dog?” I argued. Albeit an adorbs one, but still!
Celuk shrugged. “Who know where name come from, not watch Leggly Blondies?”
My eyes bugged at his funky sounding mispronunciation. “Never call it that again, ever, and I’ll think about Bruiser,” I haggled.
“We home!” Gopher bellowed.