Baby Fever

by Landish, Lauren

  Stefan laughed again. “You know I’m just joking, babe. I’ll get it for you, no problem. Don’t want that baby to go hungry.” Stefan, who had already treated me well before, had started treating me even more like a princess since that climactic day. Anything I asked, he got it for me, no matter how irritated it made him or even if he didn’t feel like it.

  I smiled back at him. “We sure don’t.”

  For the rest of the ride to the seafood place, I was filled with thoughts of a happy future with Stefan. A big house, a white picket-fence, and two kids, one boy and one girl. Maybe I was just fantasizing, but fantasies were free, after all. I tried not to think about our parents, who would probably miss out on their grandchildren’s lives.

  At least they would have Grandma Em, I thought.

  I was filled with so much happiness from knowing my baby was healthy and that everything seemed to be going so well that I couldn’t contain myself.

  “I love you,” I blurted suddenly to Stefan, placing my hand on his arm as we approached an intersection.

  Stefan looked over at me, and my heart jumped in my chest at the love reflected in his eyes. “And I love you too—”

  “Stefan, watch out!” I screamed, my heart going off like a battering ram.

  As we entered the intersection, a car came from the side street, running a red light, heading straight toward the driver’s side of the car.

  “Shit!” Stefan yelled, his veins standing on his neck and biceps as he jerked the steering wheel about violently, with only seconds to react.

  Our car went into a violent spin and I became dizzy, but not dizzy enough not to see the car still hurtling toward us.

  I let out a blood-curdling scream a moment before impact.

  The next thing I heard, as my body was jerked violently against the seatbelt, was screeching metal, shattering glass, and a crunching sound.

  And then nothing.

  Bella

  My eyes fluttered open. I let out a groan. My body felt sore all over, especially my lower body and my belly. Every second that I was awake, the pain seemed to magnify until I could hardly stand it.

  “I’m glad you’re finally coming to,” said a voice in the background. “You’ve been out for a while.”

  I tried to look at whoever spoke, but I was still groggy and the room was just a blur. After several moments of rapid blinking, I could make out a few shapes. A chair there. A white-coated figure there, standing over me.

  Where was I? What had happened to me? Why was I in what seemed to be a hospital room?

  “We are so lucky to have you with us.”

  I looked up into a white-haired man’s face and then down at the name tag on his white coat. Even with blurred vision, I could make out the words Dr. Warner.

  A doctor.

  Suddenly, everything came back to me and I remembered everything right before the accident.

  “My baby,” I cried, not caring about what was going to happen to me. I clutched my stomach, feeling all over it, but I immediately pulled my hands back at the sharp pain that greeted me. For the first time since waking up, I felt something beyond the pain. Emptiness. I somehow felt empty inside.

  Oh, no.

  I was suddenly filled with overpowering dread that made me want to vomit at the doctor’s feet.

  And what about Stefan?

  I didn’t want to think about it. We’d been through so much, only to have everything ripped from us by a cruel, tragic twist of fate.

  The doctor looked at me gravely, and I swear that I felt like I would die in the hospital bed at that exact moment.

  “I am very sorry, Bella,” the doctor sad sadly. “But we had to perform emergency surgery. The accident caused you to go into premature labor.”

  Unable to control myself any longer, I burst into tears.

  Stefan

  I came awake with a gasp. I felt like shit. My body was sore all over, but as a trained athlete, I was used to aches and pains. I shook off the effects of whatever drug I was under and sat up.

  I was in a hospital bed, hooked up to a machine. I was naked, garbed in one of those shitty hospital gowns. There were several wires attached to my bare chest and an IV feed going through my arm.

  At the foot of my bed, there was a nurse who had a guilty look on her face, and I realized that I’d been lying with my legs spread and I’d somehow kicked my sheet down. I can guess what she’d been looking at, and while I’d normally be flattered, I didn’t have time to worry about that.

  “Where am I?” I asked her, shaking my head to try and get the rest of whatever they’d injected me with out of my damn head.

  She blushed deeply and quickly said, “St George’s Hospital.”

  “Where is Bella?”

  The nurse lowered her eyes. “The woman you were in an accident with is fine, but . . .”

  “But?” I demanded, feeling more agitated by the second, my abs clenching from anxiety.

  “We had to do surgery.”

  That was all I needed to hear.

  “Sir, what are you doing?” the nursed demanded as I began ripping the wires from my body. The IV hurt like hell coming out, but I didn’t give a shit. “You’ve been in a horrible accident and need rest. I need you to lie back down—”

  I shoved the nurse’s hands away and hopped out of the bed. I stumbled when I landed, off-balance, pain shooting up my side and dizziness threatening to overtake me.

  With great effort, I shrugged it all off. Then, ignoring the nurse’s protests, I stumbled out of the room. I half-ran, half-stumbled down the hallway. I had no idea where I was going, but I was determined.

  I had to find Bella.

  I tried to round a corner and lost my balance, crashing into a food cart and groaning as my side was pierced with pain again, so blinding that I sagged to the tile floor, staring at the linoleum and trying to just breathe.

  Someone knelt beside me, and I heard a calming, gentle voice. “Stefan, I’m Dr. Jackson. I’m your attending. Listen, you’ve got two cracked ribs. Running into food carts isn’t going to help you.”

  “Don’t fucking care,” I whispered, the loudest sound I could make. “Where’s Bella?”

  “You really should go back to bed,” Dr. Jackson started, but I pushed his hands away and tried to get to my feet.

  “Fuck you, Doc. The woman I love, the mother of my child, just had surgery, and you’re telling me to go to bed? Fuck you.”

  I staggered to my feet, but Dr. Jackson was with me, gesturing with a free hand to someone. “Fine, be that way. I’ll help you to her, just . . . sit down in the wheelchair, okay?”

  I did, slumping into the chair that was being held by a nurse as Dr. Jackson talked with someone on a intercom phone, then whispered in the nurse’s ear. She pushed me to the elevator, taking us up to the ninth floor, which I noticed was listed as OB/GYN-NICU. I’d seen enough medical shows to know what NICU was. “What’s wrong with Bella?”

  “I don’t know,” the nurse said soothingly. “I just got a room number. Don’t worry, it’s in the regular OB area. I’ll get you to her.”

  I sagged against the chair, trying not to cry. I was so worried as the elevator seemed to take forever and a day to get us there. When the door opened, we turned right, the nurse pointing out the room to me. “Stop,” I said, holding up my hand. “I can walk into the room. I insist.”

  The nurse looked like she was about to argue, but she stopped the wheelchair, helping me to my feet. “I’ll wait right here if you need assistance.”

  I nodded gratefully and opened the door. The first sound I heard was sobbing, and my heart stopped in my chest as I saw Bella bent over something, a nightmare flashing through my head in an instant. “Bella? Oh no, baby, what happened?”

  Bella looked up, tears streaming down her face, but instead of looking sad, she looked . . . joyous.

  It was then that I noticed the doctor and two nurses in there with Bella, and all of them were smiling too.

  “Look
, Stefan,” she cooed, holding out the bundle of joy that she held in her arms. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

  I stopped, all my pain forgotten as I saw a squirm and then a sleeping little face surrounded by swaddling clothes in her hands. I stepped forward, taking him in my arms and looking into his face. “You mean . . .?”

  Bella nodded, sobbing and laughing for joy. “Say hello to your son, Daddy.”

  Bella

  “He’s gorgeous,” my mom murmured, peering down into my arms.

  “Little Rylan Livingston,” I said proudly from my hospital bed, beaming so hard that it felt like my face would crack.

  Just before Stefan had shown up in my hospital room, the nurses had arrived with my baby wrapped up in blankets, and I was shocked to find out that he’d survived the crash. Apparently, the impact had induced labor, but other than that, he was fine. He was a fighter, just like his dad.

  The doctors had been forced to perform an emergency C-section on me. I wasn’t pleased with the large scar it had left. In fact, my stomach and waist area felt like hell, but they’d given me a shot of something that was taking care of the worst of it. The doctors told me if I was attentive to the area when I left the hospital and put a lot of oils and Vitamin-E on it, it would most likely heal and leave very little scar tissue because of my young age.

  My first thought was that I hoped she was right, but then the newer voice, the voice that had been growing inside me since Stefan held me and told me that he loved me no matter what, said that I could live with the scar. After all, it was where the precious bundle in my arms had come from.

  Then, shortly after Stefan had shown up, my parents rushed into the room frantically, worried about our well-being. They received the shock of their life when they saw me, Stefan, and the baby, though.

  Not all of it was me and Rylan, although we were getting most of the attention. The car had hit us on Stefan’s side, which probably saved our baby’s life, as all I got were the effects of a seatbelt being jerked into my body. Still, all the athletic ability in the world couldn’t save Stefan from looking like he’d taken a beating. The list was pretty impressive—a broken cheekbone, a broken nose, a dislocated left shoulder with a torn muscle that I didn’t know how to pronounce, and two cracked ribs. Guess airbags aren’t perfect after all.

  My mother tore her eyes from the baby and nodded approvingly. “That’s a good name,” she complimented. There was the sound of bitter sweetness in her voice. In a way, I knew she was happy that she had a grandbaby, but in another way, she wasn’t happy about how he came to be. Also, it sounded like there was a note of regret in her voice. I hoped it was regret for the way she’d been acting. We couldn’t rewind the past to let her be a part of my pregnancy, but I hoped she could be part of Rylan’s life.

  The best thing about it was that I understood where she was coming from. I’d missed her too. And even though I felt like she’d deserted me when I really needed her, I was happy that she’d cared enough to be here with me now.

  She brought her eyes back to the bundle. “He looks just like Stefan.”

  I nodded, smiling, unable to hide my joy, even from my slightly disapproving mother. I think Mom was hoping Rylan had a few more of my features, but they were there. They were just a little deeper. “He does.”

  “And he’ll be an All-Star athlete,” Stefan chimed in. “Like me. And he’s going to be smart like his mother, just you wait and see.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Terry muttered, eyeing the baby with a stoic expression.

  Dressed in an expensive business suit, Terry stood by Stefan, off to the side and just behind Evelyn’s shoulder. He’d opted not to hold the baby, and instead chose to view him from afar.

  Terry, I thought, was having a harder time accepting it than my mother was, but at least he was here. It showed that he at least cared in some fashion.

  After a moment of cooing, my mother looked back to me. “I’m so glad you two are all right.” She shook her head, tears showing in her eyes. “My heart nearly stopped when the highway patrolmen showed up at my door.”

  “I thought we were dead meat,” I said, explaining to them exactly what happened.

  “Thank God,” my mother said when I was done. Tears came to her eyes, and emotion choked her voice as she put a comforting hand on my arm. “I’ll never desert you again, no matter what happens or what you do.”

  I suppose I should have been bitter that it took this to bring her to her senses, but I wasn’t. I was just filled with happiness that me, Stefan, and the baby were okay and that my parents were here.

  “Thank you, Mom,” I said, nearly choking on my tears.

  “Your grandmother has offered for you two to stay at the Livingston manor while you recover from your wounds,” Terry said, scratching at the collar of his suit. He seemed uncomfortable by the display of affection between me and my mother and was looking for a way to fill the silence. “She knows that you’re going to need a lot of help with the baby while you get back on your feet and wants to help out in any way she can. She said when we called her that she’d be here as soon as she got into town.”

  It should be you guys offering this, I thought. And not her.

  But then again, our parents were going through a divorce. Apparently, despite their best efforts, things hadn’t been that civil, and the house wasn’t a place that was good for a baby right now. That, I could at least understand.

  The news had hit me hard, but I couldn’t let it get in the way of things. Not with Rylan and not with Stefan, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t follow down the same path. I could see in Stefan’s eyes that he was thinking the same thing. Not us. We’re not going to make the same mistakes.

  “That’s so sweet of her,” I replied with a glance at Stefan. “Just so like Grandma Em.”

  Terry cleared his throat. “And I’d also like to tell you both that even though we are going through a divorce right now, we have decided that we're going to start being more civil . . . for your sake and the baby’s. If we would have lost you, we would have never forgiven ourselves. No matter what we’re going through, we will be there for you. Stefan, I can see it in your eyes, and you’re right, we dropped the ball on all of this. Evelyn, I’m sorry. For all of it, but most of all . . . I’m sorry that I wasn’t the man I promised you I would be.”

  Stefan and I exchanged surprised glances. It must have taken a lot for Terry to say that.

  But nobody seemed more surprised than Mom, who took her hand off my arm and looked like she was about to bite Terry’s head off . . . and then she let go of something herself. “Thank you, Terry. I hope . . . I know you’ll be a good grandfather, too. I’ve been so angry that I forgot about the good times as well. But, even if we can’t be married any longer, I’d like to still be friendly. For our children’s sake. And ours.”

  Pushing my feelings aside, I beamed at them both to let him know I was extremely pleased with their efforts. “That’s all we can hope for.”

  “Now,” Terry said, for the first time a half-smile coming to his face as he stepped forward to come over to the bed, “am I going to get to hold my grandson or what?”

  Stefan

  Four months later . . .

  “That was amazing!” Bella cried, her limbs shuddering from the last of her explosive orgasm, her forehead covered in sweat.

  Trembling, she dismounted me and rolled off my still tensed stomach, letting out a contented sigh.

  “It was good, wasn’t it?” I asked her, playfully twitching my cock under the covers.

  After the pregnancy and life-threatening car accident, I thought our sex life would diminish, but surprisingly, it got even more heated. I’m glad I’m a fast healer. My ribs were still aching the first time I woke up in the morning to find Bella hungrily slurping my cock, saying she needed her ‘morning protein supplement,’ as she started calling it.

  Not one to turn down sex, I responded to her advances fiercely, giving her all she wanted and more. While my torn s
houlder meant that I couldn’t hold her up in the shower, there was nothing wrong with my tongue, and Bella found out she had an inner cowgirl who loved to ride me for hours if we could. I lost count of how many times we had adventurous sex all over the humongous manor. She awakened a hunger in me that knew no bounds.

  Like now—despite just draining me, I still could go another round or two. I know what it was, really. After moving into the Livingston manor, we felt not just acceptance but security. Grandma Em and Grandpa Baron had both greeted us warmly. There were no tense conversations and no accusations of ruining the family. Just love.

  I guess having an accepting family was the world’s best aphrodisiac, and the staff had learned to knock before entering our guest wing or risk walking in on two young lovers doing all sorts of things. Like now, a just after lunch quickie that had come over us while I was supposed to be getting changed for my shoulder rehab workout in the pool. Bella just couldn’t resist me once I got down to my underwear, it seemed.

  Bella giggled and then kissed me on the lips, running her hand over my half-hard cock teasingly. “Why, yes. Yes, it was.”

  I glanced around at the big guest room we were staying in. It reminded of an old bread and breakfast inn room, with fancy curtains and furniture. It had a warm, cozy feel. Across the room, there was a door adjoining a smaller guest room. This is where Rylan slept, though after that crazy sex session, he probably wasn’t going to be sleeping for long. Thankfully, babies sleep a lot, and the walls of the manor are thick.

  After the accident, Bella and I had graciously accepted our grandparents’ offer. With injuries that kept me from being able to do heavy physical labor, I’d been forced to quit my job, and I was willing to set my pride aside if it meant that Bella and Rylan were taken care of. Instead of feeling ashamed, though, Bella had made me feel even more like a man, saying that it was the type of teamwork she had mentioned months before.