by Teagan Amici
“Hello?” I queried, worrying that something might have happened to Bram or Cole. Where were they? I heard puffing on the line, and was about to press the off button, thinking it was an obscene phone call, when I heard Lesley’s panicked voice.
“Diane? Are you there? Is this voicemail again?”
“No, Lesley, it’s me, what’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry to call you now, I was going to do this on my own, but it hurts so much, and I’m scared. Can you come to the hospital and hold my hand?”
I snapped to attention and reassured Lesley that I would get dressed and drive straight there, finding out where she was and asking her to keep her phone on her. I quickly dressed, stumbling through the empty house, realising by the absolute silence that I was alone, even before I went outside to see that Bram’s truck was missing. I jumped into my car, put my phone on speaker, and dialled Bram before I started the car. As I drove down the dirt road, I thinned my mouth when the call went through to voicemail.
Knowing that I shouldn’t be using my phone while I drove, I nevertheless dialled Cole next, not surprised that his phone wasn’t being answered either. I fumed as I drove, knowing that the two of them were up to something, and then realising that our marathon lovemaking session had obviously been designed to tire me out and make me sleep soundly. Once safely on the freeway, I looked around to make sure that there weren’t any police cars nearby, then dialled Lesley. She answered, puffing and then pausing to moan in pain.
“How long have you been in labour? I only saw you a few hours ago. What did the doctor say?”
“I started getting little pains at your place, but thought I was only tired from being out all day, but on the way home they got worse. I didn’t go hooooome – ooh that was a big one – but came straight to the hospital. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up, but I can’t do this by myself. Are you alone or are the guys with you?”
“No, I’m alone. I’ll be there as soon as I can, at least there’s no traffic at this hour on a Sunday morning. Does the doctor think you will have her today? You sound awful”.
“Thanks, Diane. I knew I could count on youuuuuuu for a compliment. Probably today, the last time they checked I was halfway dilated, it’s moving along fast, she must be in a hurry. Don’t rush, I don’t want you having an accident, I’m sure there’s time”.
As I ran into the hospital later, I called Blair. I grimaced as his phone went through to voicemail too. Whatever they were up to, they were doing it together apparently. I left a message for Blair telling him what was happening and urging him to get his butt to the hospital. If he was hoping for a future with Lesley, it wouldn’t hurt to start now, I thought to myself as I impatiently waited for the elevator.
When the nurse showed me to Lesley’s room, I rushed to her side, hating to see her in pain.
“Oh, Lesley, you poor thing. You should have called earlier, you know I would have come”.
“I didn’t want you to see me like this, knowing you were going to go through this soon enough yourself. At least you won’t be alone”. Lesley started laughing hysterically at this point. “I just realised that you’re going to have one holding each hand as you deliver, isn’t that going to raise some eyebrows amongst the medical staff”.
I looked at the nurse, shrugging at her quizzical glance. Lesley didn’t know that I planned to have my baby at home, but come to think of it, I hadn’t thought through the details either. I didn’t really like the thought of my mother in law delivering my baby, but who else was there?
After another couple of hours, the nurse examined Lesley and pronounced that she was fully dilated and that she could expect the pushing pains to start soon. She left the room to call the doctor, then popped her head back in.
“There’s three men out here saying that they belong to you ladies. I don’t know how that works. Diane, can you come out here to sort them out while I call the doctor?”
Lesley waved me off, so I left the room to find Cole, Bram and Blair waiting outside, Blair rushing up to me as soon as I stepped over.
“How is she going? Is she ok? The baby, is she ok too?”
“Blair, she’s fine. The nurse says the baby appears fine too. It’s all going to start in earnest soon, so I’m glad you’re here. I’m sure when Lesley’s delivered her daughter she will want to see you” I turned to my men, crossing my arms and trying to look stern. “Now, you two have probably got a little time to get your story in order. I’m going back in there to support my friend while she gives birth, when I come out, you two had better have an explanation for going missing in the night without saying anything beforehand. The three of you have obviously been up to something, and I don’t know if I’m going to like hearing what it was, but you’re going to tell me”.
I turned and walked back into the delivery room before anyone answered me, picking up a sponge and wiping Lesley’s forehead.
“Blair’s outside. I told him you’d want to see him after you delivered. Was I right or do you want to see him now?”
“I don’t want him to see me like this, Diane. I don’t think I’m at my best right now”.
I laughed.
“You know, if you two get together, you will probably be doing this again at some point, I don’t think you’ll be able to keep him away then. But I understand that it’s too soon for you. But he is worried about you AND the baby, so that’s a good sign for you guys I think”.
The doctor came in shortly afterwards, and after a bit of pushing and straining, Lesley pushed her daughter out into the world. I cried as the doctor placed the squalling bundle on Lesley’s stomach, and she quickly counted fingers and toes. The doctor jabbed Lesley’s thigh with something to make the delivery of the afterbirth quicker, then took the little baby to weigh her and perform his medical checks, while the nurse began bustling around gathering supplies to clean up the baby and Lesley as well.
Once the afterbirth was delivered, I watched with interest as the doctor inspected it to make sure that it was entire and that fragments had not been left behind in Lesley. Knowledge was a good thing to have, particularly as I would be going through this shortly myself.
Once Lesley and her daughter were clean and ready for visitors, I let myself out of the room and looked for Blair, finding him pacing the hallway. He saw me and rushed over, hugging me when he could see from my face that all was well.
“Go in to see her, Blair. She’s tired and you won’t get long, but she’d like to see you and to introduce you to Melody. We’ll wait for you”.
As Blair went into the delivery room, I turned to look at Cole and Bram, who took my arms and led me into a nearby room. It must have been a break room for expectant fathers, as it had a couch, a microwave and there was a TV running. I stepped into the room and crossed my arms, staring at Bram, then Cole, and seeing them look from one to the other. Just as I was getting impatient, I saw them glance over my head, appearing transfixed, and turned to see what was so important that it could get their attention right now. The early morning news was on, and there was an image that explained everything. There, in a city laneway, was wedged a car. It was wedged sideways. Somehow, someone had turned a car to its side, and rammed it into a space where it barely fit, it must have been either pulled or pushed. The news show was making a big joke of it, because the licence plates of the car had obviously been removed before the car was jammed in the laneway, and were propped up in the side windows, so that everyone could see them. BIGJON. I turned to look at Cole and Bram.
“You did that, didn’t you? You promised me you wouldn’t”.
“No, actually Diane, we promised you we wouldn’t damage the car. We haven’t. We unscrewed the plates, and put the screws in the console. We didn’t damage anything. We didn’t even scratch the car, as you can see, there’s a tiny bit of clearance between the car and the wall at each end, we haven’t damaged it at all. Now, it might get damaged when they try to get it out, particularly since we’ve wrapped some chains around the ax
les and welded them shut, but we didn’t damage the car. We haven’t broken any promises to you”.
I tried to stay angry, really I did, but a little puff of laughter escaped me, followed by another, then another, until we were all three laughing together. We were still like that when Blair rejoined us.
“Ah, so all is forgiven then?” he asked, his eyes suspiciously bright.
“Yeah, bro. She gets the funny side. He shouldn’t have scratched Bram’s truck up the way he did, one act of childish behaviour deserves another, I say. How’s Lesley?”
“She’s really good, but tired. They’re moving her to her room, and told me to go away so she can have some sleep, she’s been awake all night. Can you drop me at home? I’ll get a couple of hours and then I’m coming back in.”
Cole took Blair home in Bram’s truck, Bram came home with me in my car, grumbling the whole time about how tiny it was and vowing to buy a bigger car for me to use when our baby was born. Sensing my quietness, he reached over to take my hand as I drove.
“What’s the matter, beautiful?”
“It was a bit scary, actually. I was putting a brave face on for Lesley’s sake, but I’m not looking forward to it, does that sound wimpish?”
“God no. I think women are amazing. I don’t know how you push a great big baby out of that tiny little hole, but you do. Don’t worry too much, remember you’ll have better healing powers than you would have had before, it will hurt while you’re doing it, but you’ll recover quicker. I know it’s cliché, but if I could go through it for you, I would, and you know Cole would as well. I don’t know what to say to reassure you, but let’s just hope it’s a quick labour, so you don’t have to suffer long”.
I squeezed Bram’s hand.
“But how are we going to do this? Who will be the midwife? There’s no women in your pack, I don’t want my mother in law looking at my vagina, that’s just icky. Is there someone in Cole’s old pack who can take care of the medical side of things? I watched that doctor work, and there’s a lot to take care of”.
“Diane, if you’re ok with it, Cole can deliver our baby. He worked as a medic for a while when he was in the Army, and kept studying medicine afterwards. He knows far more than you or I do, and you know if he felt out of his depth he’d know who to call. If you’re really worried, we can book you into hospital, but then there’s going to be a record of the baby. I’d rather not, but it’s not my decision, it’s yours”.
I thought about that all day. I talked to Cole when he returned, not surprised that there was so much more to learn about either of them. They had lived long lives and had so many experiences that I had quickly learned never to be surprised about anything they had done. Cole was enthusiastic about delivering our baby, talking to me about what the doctor would have done, and explaining some of the things that I hadn’t completely understood. By the time we were turning in for an early night, I had made my decision, and affirmed it sleepily.
“Just so as you guys know, you’re not off the hook completely about last night. You both deceived me, and I really don’t like that. You obviously got together and planned to tire me out so that I’d sleep soundly, not expecting Lesley to go into labour and wake me up. I’d guess you were planning to slip back into bed, and pretend you had never left, so I’m still angry about that. Don’t ever try to trick me or deceive me again, I think I deserve better than that”.
They both mumbled their apologies, and grumbled as I slapped away their questing hands.
“The downside for you two is that I’m really tired now. You wore me out last night, then I only got a couple of hours sleep, and I’m growing a baby you know. I just want to go to sleep, but before I do I want to let you know that I’ve decided that we’re going to have our baby at home, and that you two are going to deliver it”.
I fell asleep to excited murmurs, and whispers over my head about how great it was going to be to have a baby in the house, and how much work still had to be done to get the house baby ready.
Fourteen
Things seemed to move very quickly after that. My bump continued to grow, and I padded around the house organising everything to my satisfaction as tasks were finished off. Luckily we needed less help as most jobs were done, as Blair was a no-show most of the time now, as he was spending all of his free time with Lesley and Melody. Cole told me that his parents were frustrated as they wanted to meet Lesley, but she still didn’t know what Blair was, and it would be too awkward to explain how Maria and Marcos didn’t look old enough to be Blair’s parents.
One day, I was waddling around the house, for I was now large enough to start waddling, when I got a panicked phone call from Lesley asking me to come and see her. After first making sure that nothing was wrong with her or with Melody, I drove to her house, spending the time worrying about what was bothering her. I had a sinking feeling that I knew, and it was confirmed with her first words on opening the door to me.
“Are you one of them?” Lesley screeched at the top of her voice, startling Melody who began wailing at the top of her voice. Lesley tried jiggling Melody in her arms to quieten her, but Lesley was obviously so tense that her mood was being transmitted to Melody and Melody kept crying. I held out my arms to take Melody, and was hurt when Lesley snatched her back, looking fearfully at me. I took a deep breath before stepping in the house and shutting the door behind me.
“What happened, Lesley? You’ve nothing to fear from me, but you need to tell me what’s troubling you, maybe I can help”.
“He’s a monster! That means his brother must be one too! What about Bram, and you? What have I got myself into?”
“Lesley, are you talking about Blair? He’s no monster, none of them are. What happened? Pass Melody to me while you make a cup of tea, you’re not soothing her in that state, I’ll calm her down while you collect yourself”.
Lesley hesitated, but seemed to see something in my face that convinced her that I would not hurt Melody, and passed her to me, hovering nearby while I jiggled and shushed Melody, listening to her slowly calm down and lower the volume and intensity of her cries. Finally Lesley seemed to trust me enough with her daughter, and started pacing.
“My ex – Darren – got in touch with my Dad to find out where I was living and came around this morning. He tried to make out like he had a change of heart about Melody, but really he was just after money. He saw me in this house, with Blair here, put two and two together and came up with five, and said if I didn’t give him some money, he would take Melody away from me and Blair. While we were arguing, I thought I heard some growling, and looked around to see a huge black cat – like a lion or tiger or something – and it knocked Darren to the ground. It had it’s claw raised, like it was going to slash Darren’s throat, when I screamed, and it looked at me, and right in front of my eyes, it turned into Blair. I started screaming and yelling at him to get away from Darren, and after a while he left. What’s going on? You have to tell me who or what I’m mixed up with, I’m scared for Melody”.
I sat down, Melody in my arms, almost quiet now, but sick to the stomach.
“Oh, Lesley, did he see? You know, your ex, did he see Blair as a panther? He’s a panther you know, not a lion or a tiger, and he must have been really angry at this Darren to transform like that and attack him, because that’s not like Blair at all”.
Lesley sat down heavily.
“So you obviously knew? And didn’t tell me? No, Darren didn’t see, he was looking at me and he must have hit his head when Blair knocked him down. He came to after Blair left, and took off out of here as quick as he could. I don’t know if he’s going to go to the police or what he’s going to do. What do I tell them if they come around? They’ll think I’m crazy if I tell them that my friend is some sort of were-cat or something”.
“Lesley, they don’t call themselves were-cats, just panthers. They’re lovely people, you’ve met them. Have you ever felt unsafe around them before today? No? Of course not. Blair wouldn’t hurt you
or Melody, and deep down you know that. If the police come around, just tell them the truth, apart from the bit about the panther. Your ex came around, threatened you and frightened you, and got into a fight with your new boyfriend. I’m sure they’ve heard that a time or two, they’ll probably want to talk to Blair, so he needs to know if that happens. I know it can be scary the first time you see it happen, I fainted, so you’re doing well”.
“So, you’re like me? Human? Not a monster?”
“Lesley, don’t call them monsters, because they’re not. I hope you didn’t say that to Blair, you would have really hurt him if you did. You know he thinks the world of you”.
“I don’t think so, but I was really scared and he must have seen that. But he could have killed Darren, and that still scares me”.
“I’ll talk to Cole and find out what happened with Blair, look, Melody is calmer now, do you want to put her to bed while I call Cole?”
Cole was shocked when I called him, but said that if Blair felt his mate and child were threatened, it was not surprising that he had shifted suddenly and violently, but Cole was still really concerned and would try to reach him. Lesley returned and sat down opposite me.
“So, is Bram a panther too, or like you?”
I laughed.
“Oh, Lesley, Bram would be most offended if you called him a panther. He’s all wolf, and proud of it. If you could only see him, you would see how beautiful he is, how beautiful both of them are”. I had a sudden thought. “Lesley, do you believe that I really care for you as a friend and wouldn’t do anything to hurt either you or Melody?” At her hesitant nod, I continued. “Ok then. It’s getting late, why don’t you and Melody come and stay with us tonight, just in case Darren comes back, and you can see Bram and Cole transform? I promise you there’s nothing scary about it, they’re beautiful, and even when they’re in their animal form, the man is still underneath. You should see them when they’re not angry, then maybe later you can talk to Blair”.
