by V. A. Dold
Still deep in thought, he walked to the bar and mixed him and his mother a drink, a whiskey sour for her and a scotch on the rocks for himself. Then he grabbed a bottle of water for Rose. He set the drink on the coffee table before his mother and kissed her cheek. “Thank you again for helping Mark,” he whispered in her ear.
“You’re welcome, cher.”
Rose accepted the water Simon offered and snuggled close to him when he sat next to her on the love seat. “Do either of you have any idea how we can help her?”
“Don’t worry. Lois will be fine. If the hospital tries to press charges, Isaac will force then to back down. His donations keep their doors open, not to mention he paid to build two of their specialty wings. They would never go against him,” Emma snarled.
Simon took a sip of his drink. “Do you think she’ll be able to keep her job?”
Emma sighed. “Yes, but I’m sure she won’t want to stay there. Rumor of what she did will spread like wild fire. Not even your father’s influence can stop that. I’m sure she’ll move on and find something else.”
Rose frowned. “Do you think she’ll stay in the area?”
Before Emma could answer, Lois walked into the room. “No, I won’t.” Then she looked at Emma. “I knocked, but you didn’t hear me so I let myself in. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. You know my door is always open to you. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable? Simon will make you a drink and we can figure out a game plan for you.”
“That sounds good to me. I’m exhausted.”
Lois chose a chair while Simon went to the bar. “What would you like, Lois?”
She glanced to him, a hopeful expression on her face. “Do you have Patron?”
Simon checked the bar. “Sure do.”
“I’ll take a double.”
Emma raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say a word. She waited until everyone was seated again and then asked, “How did it go?”
Lois took a sip of Patron and raised her eyes to Emma. “Not very well. I was caught returning the equipment, fired, and escorted out by security.”
Emma leapt from her chair. “Bastards! Did you tell them it was for the Le Beau family?”
Lois shook her head. “I didn’t want to drag you into it.”
Emma spun around. Her eyes alight with anger. “Well, you should have. Are they pressing charges?”
Lois shrugged. “Maybe. I heard someone mention the police as I left the building.”
Isaac walked in and paused. He looked at Emma and asked, “What’s going on, mon amour?”
“Lois assisted with Mark’s conversion and now has a bit of trouble with the hospital.” She told him the entire story. When she finished you could have heard a pin drop.
Isaac’s eyes glowed and angry energy swirled in the room. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He turned on his heel and left the room.
Lois looked at Emma, eyes wide.
“Don’t worry, cher. He’ll handle the hospital and police, and be back before you know it.”
Simon shook his head, chuckling. “I’m sure glad I’m not the hospital director. He isn’t going to know what hit him.”
“I have to agree with you, cher, not that he doesn’t deserve whatever your father dishes out.”
Lois quietly sipped her drink, unsure what to expect when Isaac returned.
Rose fidgeted. “All this waiting is nerve racking.” She took a sip of water and looked at Lois. “I never heard how it went during the conversion before we joined the room. How did Mark do with the ketamine?”
“He did really well. Although, I had to stay on top of his dosage because his shifter abilities kept burning through the ketamine but we made it through. I have to admit, it was a bit sketchy once or twice when he burned through it too fast. Poor Sharon was a wreck.”
“I bet she was. Poor thing.” Emma agreed. “It’s so difficult to watch your mate suffer and be unable to ease their pain. With all of our gifts, it’s even more frustrating to find yourself helpless in the face of such a situation.”
“I know, I just about went crazy when Rose went through her conversion. I can’t imagine how it was for Sharon. And I sure don’t want to think about her going through labor.”
Rose giggled and patted his knee. “I think you’re way past having a choice on that one, sweetheart.”
Lois leaned forward, her drink in both hands and elbows on her knees. “Did I miss out on an announcement?”
“Yes and no,” Emma cooed. “Rose is pregnant. We told Sharon and Mark when they asked for my help, but we haven’t made a formal announcement.”
Lois jumped from her chair, and rushed to hug Rose. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you. We only just found out. We’re still perplexed over how Emma knew before we told anyone.”
Lois grinned at Emma, “She has her ways. Grandma, you must be over the moon.”
“You know it. I’ve been waiting for babies to call me grandma. Isaac is worse though. He’s been itching for grandchildren for quite a while.”
Isaac wandered back in, still in a bit of a black mood. “Everything is settled, Lois. You don’t have to worry about criminal charges.”
Lois relaxed into her chair for the first time since she’d arrived. “Thank you, Isaac. I appreciate that more than I can say.”
“You’re welcome, cher. It was a small price to pay for your assistance, and the risk you took to help us. Mark might have died without it. I’ve been giving the situation some thought. We really need to have someone with your abilities on call. I doubt we’ll need your help often, but I would like to know we have it available. Would you be willing to fill that roll if I secure the equipment and necessary medications?”
Both Rose and Simon looked from Isaac to Lois and back as he walked to the bar to pour a scotch.
Simon looked closer at Lois and saw tears forming in her eyes. He took Rose’s hand as they waited.
Silently, Isaac returned to his seat next to Emma and sipped his scotch, patiently waiting for an answer.
The room was uncomfortably quiet and Simon felt Rose’s uneasiness through their bond. She’d told him, her foster father would go very quiet just before lighting into her. Situations like this were difficult for her. He rubbed his mates back and massaged her neck to alleviate her discomfort as he watched his father in action.
Lois closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. After a long minute, she finally spoke. “I would be honored, but I have a question.”
“All right.”
“Do you think you would be able to give me advanced notice when you need me? The medical world is a small community and I don’t feel comfortable staying in the area. If I move away, do you think you’ll have time to wait for me to get back here? What if you have an unexpected emergency?”
Isaac tapped his chin. “El is a medical professional of sorts. Could you train her to administer ketamine like you did?”
Lois gave him a smile and nodded. “Yeah, I think I could. As a large animal vet, El is familiar with the drug. She should both be a quick study.”
“If you’re willing, I would like to have you as our go to professional, and they can be our back up in an emergency when you can’t get back in time.”
Lois smiled brightly. “All right. You have yourself an on call anesthesiologist.”
Isaac stood and offered her his hand. “Thank you, Lois. I appreciate any help you can offer. I have to warn you though, we may need your help sooner than you might expect. I just came from a rather disturbing meeting with the local pack leaders. I was informed that random, unexplained attacks have been happening throughout the bayou. The only common element we could find between each incident was the attacked shifter was human before being claimed. If this situation escalates, there may be injuries the local healers can’t handle. Will returning fairly soon be an issue for you?”
Lois shook his hand, sealing their deal. “Not at all. If you need me, call. If I can get here fast enough to
help, I’ll be here. But don’t worry. I’ll train El before I go. If I can’t get here fast enough, she can cover for me until I arrive.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Lois.”
“No, thank you. Not only did you pull my behind out of a jamb, you also gave me a job of sorts.”
Simon smiled at his father’s ability to solve problems quickly and make it all look so easy. To him, watching his father and Lois was like watching a chess match. His admiration of his father grew each time he saw him in action.
Rose relaxed into his side. Simon felt her unease lessen now that Isaac and Lois had come to an agreement. Then he had a thought. “Lois, would ketamine help the women during child birth?”
Chapter 13
Everyone turned and looked at him. Grinning.
“I’m not asking for me,” he insisted, “I just don’t want Rose to suffer,” Simon sputtered.
Isaac snorted. “Sure, son. Whatever you say.”
Simon scowled at his father, but before he could respond and defend himself, Lois jumped into the conversation.
“Most deliveries are pretty straight forward and don’t require anesthesia. If a woman had trouble and required a C-section, a doctor would have to be called in, and at that point, I would be happy to assist.”
Lois’s answer was definitely not to his liking and when his mother giggled he knew he wore his dissatisfaction on his face.
Still giggling his mother added her two cents. “I’m sorry, Simon, but I have to agree with Lois. During my time as a healer, I’ve only heard of a handful of deliveries that required surgery.”
Simon scowled at the women as he sipped his drink, which apparently amused everyone even more.
Rose rubbed his thigh, giggling. “Women go through labor everyday. I’m sure it’s not as bad as Cade makes it out to be. We’ll be fine.”
Simon smiled at her sweetly and took her hand. “I’m sure we will. Cade’s just a big baby.”
Emma cleared her throat and asked. “Lois, do you have a destination in mind for your move?”
Lois sighed. “Not really. I haven’t had time to think about it.”
Isaac glanced at Emma and cocked his head. “I bet she would like Deals Gap in North Carolina. I heard the town is home to all kinds of shifters and supernatural beings. It’s considered a neutral zone and I heard they were looking for people with medical training.”
Lois perked up. “Really? I’ve never heard of that town.”
Emma smiled at Isaac, and then winked at Lois. “Come by tomorrow morning for coffee, I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Living in a paranormal town could be interesting. I’ll see you in the morning.” Then she smiled warmly at Isaac. Thank you, again. I hate to leave so soon, but I’m exhausted. I think I’ll head home.”
“You’ve had quite a day. I would be tired, too.” Rose said. “Sleep well.”
“Good night, Lois. We appreciate all you did today,” Simon added.
Emma and Isaac got to their feet and walked Lois out.
When the room cleared, Simon stood and offered a hand to Rose. “You’re just as tired as Lois, let’s get you to bed.”
*****
Two weeks later
Rose set a cup of coffee next to Simon and kissed his cheek. “Good morning, sunshine.”
Grinning, he dropped the newspaper he was reading and pulled her into his lap. “Good morning, beautiful. How are you feeling?”
“Great!” Then she nibbled her lip. “I have an appointment with Marjorie this morning, do you want to go with me?”
“Of course, I do! I want to be included in every aspect of our baby.”
She averted her eyes and cleared her throat. “I’m glad you said that. I’m kind of nervous and didn’t want to go alone.”
He felt for her emotions. Damn it, she wasn’t just nervous she was really scared. “Nervous? Why?”
“To tell you the truth, I think I’m the only woman on the planet that knows absolutely nothing about babies. The only friend I have with children is Anna, and I met her when John and Thomas were already in elementary school.”
“Didn’t any of the foster families you lived with have babies?”
Rose shook her head and the scent of apprehension filled his nose.
Simon kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry, babe. Everything will be fine. Besides, this could be fun. We can learn about babies together.” He laughed and added, “I’m sure my mother will be ecstatic when I ask her to teach me how to change a diaper.”
The scent dissipated as Rose laughed along with him. “I can’t imagine my big strong mate changing diapers.”
“In about eight months you won’t have to imagine it, you can watch me expertly wipe a poopie bottom. I plan to give him baths and rock him to sleep, too.”
Rose sat up and looked Simon in the eyes. “Him? Do you know something I don’t?”
He shook his head, grinning ear to ear. “No, not really. But most shifter babies are male. So odds are, the baby is a boy.”
“Huh. I didn’t know that.”
Simon cleared his throat. “I know it’s a little soon, but I’ve been thinking about a name. What do you think of Malcolm?”
“Um…no. There’s no way I’m going to name our baby Malcolm just because you love Firefly.”
He stuck out his lower lip and whined. “Why not?”
Rose swatted his chest, giggling. “Now you’re just being silly. We have a lot of time to come up with a name. I think we should each make a list and then compare our choices. You should think about girl names, too. Even though the odds are against it, I still think we should pick one, just in case.”
“Okay. When we go to town, let’s stop at a bookstore and buy baby name books.” His grin widened and he winked at Rose. “Thinking up names is more fun than I expected.”
An hour later, Simon held the door of Dr. Marjorie’s clinic for Rose. He walked with her to a line of vacant seats and gave her a quick kiss. “Make yourself comfortable, mon amour. I’ll let them know we’re here.”
He spoke with the lady at the desk and returned to sit with Rose while she filled out the mountain of forms the clinic required. Then they waited to be called. He felt Rose’s excitement raise and fall each time the door to the examination room’s opened and the nurse announced a name.
The door opened again and Simon braced for her emotional rollercoaster.
“Rose Le Beau?”
He felt her emotions jump from excitement to fear, and back to excitement again.
“Here we go,” he whispered in her ear. They followed the nurse through the door and down the hall to a scale.”
“Okay, Mrs. Le Beau, let’s get your weight.”
Rose gave him a look. Don’t even think about saying a word.
Me? What would I say?
As if. You’re absolutely manic about my weight.
Well, what do you expect? You’re still too skinny. I want you exactly the way you were before the conversion.
She raised a brow at Simon and stepped onto the scale. Whatever.
He craned his neck trying to see what the scale read, but Rose’s glare stopped him.
The nurse made a note and led them to an examination room.
“Mr. Le Beau, why don’t you take a seat while I check her blood pressure.”
He watched every move the woman made as she checked Rose’s temperature and blood pressure.
The nurse smiled at Rose and removed the cuff from her arm. “You have very good blood pressure, Mrs. Le Beau.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m going to draw a little blood. Doing a pregnancy test is standard even when you’re sure of the result.”
Rose looked away as she stuck her with the needle.
Are you okay, mon amour?
Yeah, I’m just not a fan of needles.
“All done.” She held a piece of gauze against the needle prick and added a Band-Aid. “Dr. Marjorie will be in shortly.”
Simon stood a
nd took Rose’s face in his hands. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, I do.”
He bent to kiss her as Marjorie knocked and walked in.
She smiled at them and said. “Don’t let me stop you.”
Simon grinned and finished what he’d started.
Dr. Marjorie laughed when the kiss lingered. “Okay, enough kissy face.”
Simon grinned at the doctor and took his seat.
The doctor looked over Rose’s chart and asked. “How are you feeling, Rose?”
“Great.”
“Wonderful and congratulations, your blood test verified you’re definitely pregnant. I’m going to do an exam and then we can discuss your due date. Do you want Simon to stay in the room with you?”
Simon scowled. There was no way he was leaving.
“Yes, please.”
Rose’s words put a smile back on his face.
“All right, let’s do this.” Dr. Marjorie quickly completed a breast and pelvic exam. “Everything looks great.”
The doctor removed her gloves and picked up a strange looking calendar. “Let’s see if we can pin point a due date. When was your last period?”
Before Rose could answer, Simon blurted. “Exactly seven weeks ago today.”
Both Rose and Dr. Marjorie turned and stared at him. Rose made a face and Dr. Marjorie laughed.
“I love a hands on father.”
Simon puffed out his chest and winked at Rose. “That’s me, Mr. Hands On.”
Rose rolled her eyes and looked back at the doctor.
“This could be interesting. It looks like you will be due on October 31st. We’ll do an ultrasound in a couple of months to verify the date, but for now, it looks like you’re having a Halloween baby.”
Rose stared at Dr. Marjorie for a second, and then looked at Simon. Her eyes were wide with fear.
He just shrugged. It’ll be fine, Rose.
Are you sure? What if being born on Halloween is a bad thing for a shifter baby?
I’m sure it’ll be just like any other day. We can talk to my mother when we get back, but think about it, October 31st is just a day on the calendar.
