Page 17 of Arthur

I reached out and wiped away Patrick’s tears. “Nobody is upset, my love. William either. He loves children and gets great joy from seeing them thrive and grow, but it’s the delivery that he gets emotional during. I probably should have mentioned to him how we were going to give him his name.”

Patrick’s eyes widened. “I didn’t even think.” Patrick looked at Father and Dad, who were quietly standing near the doorway. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause him upset.”

“You didn’t. Neither did Arthur,” Father said. “William is truly happy for the two of you. As Arthur said, he gets emotional right around delivery. I’ve talked to him many times about it, and his comments are always the same. He feels bad that he couldn’t save his wife. If he’d had the abilities then that he did now, he most likely would have been able to save her. He will always have that bit of guilt, even if it truly was no fault of his own.”

“He plays with the wee ones all of the time. If ever there was someone who loves children, it’s William. I’ve never seen him upset because someone else had bairns and he didn’t,” Dad said.

I looked down at Patrick and wiped his tears again. “It’s all right,” I told him.

He nodded before he pulled William closer and kissed his forehead. Then he held him out toward Father and Dad. “Would one of you like to hold him?”

I chuckled because if you knew anything about Dad, it was that he loved children. He and Father only had two, which was a bit sad. Dad was born to be a parent. He was amazing with them, and children seemed to love him in return just as much.

Patrick’s smile didn’t falter as Dad carefully took little William from his hands. Immediately, Dad tucked the baby close to his chest and started cooing at him. It was always a sight to see. Dad was rather intimidating when needed, but put a baby in his arms and he became complete mush.

“Do you need anything?” I asked Patrick.

“Is it all right if I have a little snack?” he asked. “I didn’t feel like eating much earlier, but now I’m hungry.”

I glanced up at Father. “There is plenty. I’ll be back in just a moment with a full tray.”

“Thank you, Father,” I said.

“Of course.”

“He didn’t have to do that,” Patrick said.

I looked down at my One and smiled. “He wanted to, I’m sure. I could have gone but didn’t want to leave you just yet. I know I can become a bit much, but I’m going to stick close to you for a bit longer.” I knew I needed to give Patrick space, but it was difficult. He’d been carrying our child and couldn’t leave the house and now had just given birth. I was going to try my best to not be suffocating, but I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t still get looks from Patrick because I was hovering too much.

“There’s stew,” Dad said. “Of course, fresh bread. More honey, as well as berries. Fresh cream as well.”

“That all sounds wonderful,” Patrick said. He sighed and leaned back against the pillows I’d put behind him.

“He’s a beautiful wee bairn,” Dad said as he passed William back to me. I smiled down at our son, who was sleeping soundly. I would imagine being born was a tiring experience. Well, and the fact that babies didn’t have the ability to do much other than sleep.

“Thank you, Dad. That all comes from Patrick, I’m sure.”

Patrick snorted. I glanced at him, then at Dad who shrugged. “I believe he’s sayin’ yer a handsome fella as well. I would agree. Ye have looks. Get them from yer father.”

I chuckled at that. I guess. I had just sat down beside Patrick with William when Father returned. He had done as he’d said he would: he’d returned with a full tray. It all looked and smelled wonderful.

“Oh, that’s so much more than I expected.”

“What you don’t eat, I’m sure Arthur can help with. Oliver said to send his congratulations, and he cannot wait to meet your son.”

Patrick swiped at his eyes again and nodded. I knew he was emotional, not just from the pregnancy but because everyone had been so welcoming and accepting of him. He’d not expected it to the level he had received, which I found sad because Patrick was an amazing and wonderful person.

“We will leave you. Enjoy your time with your son, and if you need us, we won’t be far,” Father said.

“Thank you,” I told them. They quietly left while Patrick continued to swipe at his eyes. “Are you all right, my love?”

“I am. Just emotional. It’s been a lot today. I never thought I would be here, with you. I am, and it is more than I could have ever dreamed of.”

“You deserve the world, my love, and I hope to be able to give you everything.” I had started, but there was so much moreto give. We had only been together a short time though, and I knew we had a very long life ahead of us. My hope was that one day, Patrick would finally realize and understand that he was deserving of the life he would have with me—with our coven.

Patrick picked up his mug and took a sip of what I knew was tea, but not the pregnancy one. He then started in on his meal before I focused my attention on our son in my arms. He was so very tiny, but I knew he would grow and would one day become an amazing man and warlock. I wouldn’t put nearly the stress on him that I myself had faced as my father’s firstborn. Our situations were a bit different, but at the same time, William was Patrick’s and my firstborn, and one day, he, too, would most likely run a coven. Would it be this one? Another? Would he decide he wanted nothing to do with our way of life? I had no way of knowing the answers to those questions, and they truly didn’t matter at the moment. William was only minutes old still. We had plenty of time.

“Did you want to share some of this?” Patrick asked.