by S S Bazinet
With his hands out in front of him, Arel gave the men a gesture to remain where they were. Tim didn’t move, but he squinted back as if he was viewing someone who was headed for a padded cell. Michael maintained a look of concern.
Arel didn’t care what they might be thinking. He backed up a couple of steps and turned towards the doors leading to the birthing room.
I won’t let Carol down.
His intent was rock solid, but he was having trouble navigating. He couldn’t keep his gait steady, and his vision blurred. It didn’t matter. He’d force his body to do what he wanted.
I can’t let anything happen to her.
The thought spurred him on when he had no reserves left. Before he got very far, Michael snagged his arm.
“Arel, you’ll never make it to Carol’s room in your condition. You have to calm down or you know what could happen.”
Michael, an angel who had taken on physical form, was a couple of inches shorter than Tim. His frame was lighter and less muscular, but he had a definite air of strength and vitality about him. Yet he’d never been anything but Arel’s gentle friend and mentor. He had also shared his untainted blood with Arel, offering him a way to escape the curse of being a vampire. Yet the gift could also be a curse when Arel’s negative emotions were in play. If Arel lost control, his physical vessel was put at risk.
Michael was very aware of the danger that Arel faced. “Before you can help anyone, take a moment and—”
“How can I take a moment when I know what can happen in childbirth? So many things can go wrong. I’ve studied the facts for months.”
Michael’s crystal-blue eyes filled with understanding. “I know what you’re saying, but that doesn’t mean Carol is in danger.”
“You didn’t hear her! She’s in terrible pain!” Arel’s brain was yelling out orders, demanding that he do something before it was too late. He had to find a way to save Carol from some horrible fate. Unfortunately, it was everything he could do to remain upright.
Michael came to his aid, taking hold of him, and leading him in the opposite direction. “You don’t want Carol to see you like this, do you? Let’s go find a place where you can get yourself together.”
It was a reasonable request, especially with the world spinning and Arel’s legs feeling like they forgot how to walk. “Okay, but just for a few minutes.”
“Yes, yes, for just a few minutes.” Michael’s voice had the tone used by mothers when their child has lost touch with all that’s safe in the world. “But you also have to find a way to relax a little. Your body is overheating.”
Arel tugged at his collar. “I know. This place is a death trap. There’s no air. And they keep the thermostat at about a thousand degrees.” He was rambling on in his croaky voice, not making sense. He could hear himself saying crazy stuff, but his brain had taken a bad turn in the birthing room. “I had a vision, Michael! I saw Carol hemorrhaging. There was so much blood. It was everywhere. In the end, the doctor couldn’t save her.”
As he related the vivid images, he stopped in the middle of the hallway. Searching out Michael’s eyes, he was able to stand up straighter and reinforce his point with more steadfastness in his voice. “That’s why I have to go back. I figured out how I can help. Remember when Kevin was in the hospital, and I kind of sucked up all the negative energy in the room? I’ll do that now. I’ll get rid of whatever might hurt Carol.”
“My friend, I think you’ve had enough negative energy already. That’s why you’re in this condition, but it’s not your job to try to fix everything. Carol wants to do this on her own. Try to respect that.”
“After what I saw happening to her?”
Michael let out a knowing sigh. “Your vision resulted from your worries and the negative energy you’ve taken on. It’s clouded your reason. If you keep going like this, you know the consequences.”
“I don’t care about me! It’s Carol who’s important!” Blurting out the words, Arel turned and started to stagger down the hall. He barely got three feet when his gut flared again, sending out a shooting pain that crippled him in his tracks. He sunk to the floor, barely able to move.
No, not now!
Arel’s gut was a fiery repository for all his fears and nightmares. He’d been fueling those terrors all day, letting a lifetime of misery prove that he couldn’t trust that things would work out. Minute after minute, hour after hour, he obsessed about how much danger Carol might be in. He should have been more prudent about the adverse effects he was having on his own wellbeing, but he was in full blown fight mode. Like a soldier, he battled to protect the life of a woman who’d been there for him in his darkest hour.
At the beginning of Arel’s transformation, Michael’s blood became a powerful purging agent that targeted Arel’s psyche. Arel soon learned how much pain he’d hidden from himself. He was overwhelmed by so many agonizing memories surfacing so fast that he nearly despaired. Carol was the first person to befriend him in that challenging time. Michael was around long before Carol, but Michael was an angel, he didn’t count.
Yet, in Arel’s eyes, Carol was almost as caring. She was kind and sweet and utterly forgiving. Even when he lied and deceived her, her heart was open and always ready to see the best in him. Of course, there were reasons why he needed to deceive Carol in the beginning. He couldn’t tell her the truth about himself. In fact, he never told any of his new family the whole truth, that he had been a vampire, that he was well over a hundred years old even if he looked like a young man. He didn’t need to. He wasn’t a parasite who lived on blood anymore. He wasn’t a simple human being either. After Michael’s contribution, Arel had some amazing and very potent abilities. Even if he was still unsure about using those gifts, he had to find a way to help Carol, no matter what the cost.
I can do this for her. I have to do this.
He tried to force back the pain as he groveled on the hard tile. He knew it was a hopeless effort when another massive wave of fiery heat made him cry out.
Michael was instantly there to help him. "Arel, please, you have to stop thinking the worst."”
When he looked up and caught a glimpse of Michael’s face, he knew he needed to heed Michael’s advice. Normal people didn’t have to worry about killing themselves with an emotional eruption. He did.
“Clear your mind,” Michael whispered. “Let everything go, at least for the moment.”
“How?” Arel’s eyes were imploring, fluid orbs in a wasteland of dry, unbearable heat. Once his gut engaged, once it started heating up, it became its own master. “You know I haven’t learned how to control any of this.”
With Michael helping him up, Arel got to his feet and staggered to the wall. He fell against it, hugging the cool surface, hoping for some relief from the heat that was overwhelming his body.
Michael tried his best to reverse what was happening. His soothing blue energy could be a powerful, healing balm that counteracted Arel’s escalating temperature. But things were moving too fast, and then there was the other problem.
“Arel, you have to let me in. You need to trust me.”
Arel blinked back with wide, staring eyes. He’d been determined to handle the situation himself. He’d walled himself off from the angel’s earlier efforts. Now, with his smoldering core headed towards a full-blown firestorm, his mind was paralyzed with fear. Trust was a word that made no sense. “I think it’s too late,” he whispered as he thought about the first time he’d had this problem and how he’d almost incinerated himself.
“Don’t give up now,” Michael said in a strong, encouraging tone.
Before Arel had a chance to reply, a loud voice called out to them from the other end of the hall.
“Arel, Michael! Great news! It’s a boy!” Tim shouted out his announcement as he jogged over to where they stood.
Arel could barely acknowledge Tim’s presence or hear what he was saying. He was trying to resign himself to the lethal force he harbored in his core. It threatened to have it
s way once and for all.
“You’re not passing out again, are you?” Tim asked as he grabbed Arel’s shoulder. He administered a brisk slap to Arel’s flushed cheek. “Arel, pay attention! There’s a new baby boy in the world!”
The younger man’s stinging blow and eye-to-eye contact were enough to finally interrupt Arel’s raging emotions. In the small pause that followed, he blinked back, trying to focus his attention on something besides his misery. “What?”
“It’s all over, Arel. Carol had the baby!”
Tim shouted out the message a second time as if he was talking to someone who was hearing impaired. His insistent voice penetrated the buzzing in Arel’s ears. Coming back to reality for another brief moment, he mumbled out a couple more syllables. “Baby?”
Tim shook Arel’s shoulder again. “Yes, that’s right, Carol had a little boy, and they’re both doing great.”
Arel took several quick breaths. As he did, Tim’s message became a drizzle of rain on the hot, glowing coals in his gut. The dread that fed his inner fires was slowly replaced by a sense of surprise and wonder. After a long moment of concentration, he raised his eyes enough to look at Michael. “She did it. She really did it.”
Michael smiled. “Yes, she did.”
Arel slumped in relief as a sudden joy started to surface. This was his dream come true. His panic had been in vain, just like Michael said. Nothing was going to destroy a member of his family. It was just the opposite. His family was growing. A child was now a part of it.
As Arel’s mind shifted, as relief began to dissolve his fears, his body responded. The pain eased as his gut began powering down. His physical vessel could be like that, on the brink of catastrophe one moment and able to reverse its course in the next. “Can I see Carol? Can I see the baby?”
He took a step forward, but his body was still weak and his leg gave way. Fortunately Michael and Tim were old hands at keeping him upright. They were quick to each grab an arm.
Tim gave Michael a teasing look as they walked slowly down the hallway. “Can you imagine what it would be like if Arel was having a baby?”
The question made Michael’s steady gaze go wide. His voice was barely a whisper when he responded. “No, I can’t imagine that.”
Chapter Two
KEVIN SHIFTED HIS weight trying to get comfortable in a hospital chair that was too small for his stocky, six-foot-four frame. The chair creaked, but it still refused to accommodate a man of his size. His movements only made the baby he was holding fidget and stretch. His newborn son was so little, the tiniest human being Kevin had ever seen. They were complete opposites. Kevin had been quite a formidable bruiser when he played college ball. Since then, he’d put on a good twenty pounds. So how was he supposed to know how to handle a fragile infant?
He glanced up at Carol with pleading eyes. His pretty wife was sitting in her hospital bed, wearing a faded hospital gown. Her blond hair was wispy and unattended, but she never looked more beautiful to him. She would certainly be a wonderful mother, but would he measure up in his role as a father? When she looked back at him, he had his doubts. “I don’t know if I’m holding the baby the right way. What if I drop him?”
Carol gave him a nurturing smile, already in her mommy role. “Honey, you’re doing fine, isn’t that right, Peggy?”
His sister, Peggy, sat across from them. When their eyes met, Kevin gave her a hopeful look. “What do you think, Peg?”
“Just pretend he’s a football,” Peggy teased. Her face was lined with fatigue after hours at the hospital. Only her voice maintained an assertive tone. “But, seriously, big brother, you did a great job as Carol’s coach.”
Kevin hadn’t expected praise, but it was certainly helpful. “Thanks. When it’s your turn, Tim will be the perfect partner.”
Peggy slowly got out of the chair and ran her hand over her pregnant belly. “I feel like I swallowed a beach ball, but I’m not too worried about the whole thing as long as Arel isn’t around.”
Peggy’s sharp remark was followed by the sound of someone clearing his voice. When Kevin looked up, he saw Arel, embarrassed and contrite, waiting timidly just outside the room. Tim and Michael were his back up, standing behind him.
“Arel, I didn’t see you there,” Peggy blurted out. Her scowl was quickly replaced with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that comment to sound too harsh.”
Kevin gave Arel a welcoming wave. His friend had done his best while Carol was in labor, but the poor guy kept passing out. Of course that wasn’t a surprise. Arel never adjusted well to new circumstances. On the plus side, Kevin looked like a pro next to Arel. “Look who’s here, Carol,” he said with a smile.
Carol’s opinion about Arel was obvious. She lit up when she saw him. “Come in,” she called out with enthusiasm. “And that goes for Tim and Michael too.”
Arel clearly heard her, but he didn’t move. He clutched at the doorjamb with white-knuckled fingers. “Really? Can you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Carol replied in an understanding voice. “You were just worried, weren’t you?”
The question seemed to give Arel permission to move quickly to her bedside. “I was very worried,” he said as he closed the space between them. Like an off-balance sailor in stormy seas, he grabbed hold of the bed rail and steadied himself. “I didn’t realize how tough having a baby could be. You should be so proud of yourself.”
Carol reached out to him. “Thank you.”
“Women know what to do,” Peggy insisted as she stepped forward. She targeted Arel with a questioning frown. “What about you, sweetie? Are you okay now?”
Kevin sucked in a breath. He hoped Peggy wasn’t going to start grilling Arel. She meant well, but she could be a little overbearing. “Arel looks okay, right Arel?”
Arel’s face reddened again as he let go of the bed rail, pushed his shoulders back, and adjusted his body into a more self-assured stance. “Yes, of course I am.”
Tim walked over to Peggy and took her hand in his. “I think Arel would like to see the baby.”
Arel looked back eagerly. “Yes, if it’s okay with Carol and Kevin.”
“Of course,” Carol said. “We all know that it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for.”
Everyone in the room laughed. They all understood that Arel had waged an eight-month campaign prior to the baby’s birth. His focus had been on the health and wellbeing of mother and child. Now his vigilant watch was at an end.
Arel walked over to where Kevin sat. With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked over Kevin’s shoulder and smiled. “He’s so small.”
“I know,” Kevin agreed. He was happy that he wasn’t the only one who seemed to notice the size of the baby. He pulled back the blanket a little so Arel could get a better look. “Have you been around many newborns before?”
Arel cleared his throat. “This is my first, up close that is.”
“Well, let me introduce you formally. Arel, meet your new godchild.”
Arel grabbed the back of the chair. “Me? You want me to be his godfather?”
“That’s right,” Carol said. “And do you know what we named your godchild?”
Arel shook his head. “You and Kevin have been very secretive about names.”
Carol gave Arel another affectionate smile. “His name is Ariel. It’s a little different than your name, but it’s basically the same.”
Kevin glanced back at Arel. “Carol told me that it’s the name of an angel.”
Carol sobered and smoothed out her bed sheet. “Kevin and I have talked about it, and we feel that you’ve been our angel. If it hadn’t been for you, we might not have gotten through everything.”
Arel hesitated. “I didn’t do that much.”
“Oh, come now, that’s not true,” Tim said as he moved in closer to check out the baby too. When he looked up, he pounded Arel’s back in a friendly but solid manner. “We’ve all heard the stories about Hotel Arel and how you
took care of these two through thick and thin in those early days.”
Arel seemed to take the enthusiastic body blows with a minimum of discomfort. “Thanks, but I was just being a friend.”
“You’ve been the best friend,” Carol said. “So, dear friend, would you like to hold Ariel?”
Arel’s golden eyes flared with momentary confusion. “Hold the baby?”
Peggy pointed to a chair. “Maybe you should sit down first.”
“Yeah, relax,” Kevin said. “Carol and I want you to get used to this type of thing in case we need a babysitter one of these days.”
Arel quickly seated himself, breathing in deeply as if he was readying himself for a marathon. “This is all so unexpected. I’m going to be a godfather . . . and a babysitter?”
Michael stood behind Arel, looking pleased. “Would you ever have imagined all of this a year and a half ago?”
Arel gasped in some air. “No, not at all.”
“I’m really glad things have turned out like they did,” Kevin said. He remembered a very different Arel. When they had first met, Arel was extremely sensitive and guarded. Just the simple act of Peggy putting her hand on his had been a violation. He reacted with horror, as if her hand had the power to burn him. Afterwards, when Arel tried to shut them all out, Peggy’s stubbornness came in handy. She made sure that the others remained adamant in their commitment to help him. It wasn’t easy to convince the frightened man to widen his self-contained circle of trust. It had taken time and patience on all their parts to finally come together as a family. Yet, here Arel sat, no longer skeleton-thin, but handsome and flourishing. He had also proven to be the best of friends when Kevin went through a very rough patch of his own.
“Here you go,” Kevin said as he handed over his newborn son to Arel. “It’s nice to know that my boy will always have someone he can depend on.”
