“Okay Emma, that baby is in the right position, but I think you need a little help. Dalton, I need you to get up on the Exam table behind Emma,” Mia directed. “Emma is tired and she’s going to need your help to get this baby out. Sit behind her, placing her legs over yours and scoot down as far as you can towards me on the table without knocking her off. Then I want you to put your hands-on top of her belly, lying back while she’s at rest. When a contraction hits, I want you to push down on her stomach, curling up behind her like a sit up. Do you understand?”
Dalton didn’t, but shit, Mia was the doctor.
“Emma, I need you to push every time you have a contraction. Now, Dalton is going to help you with his hands and curling you up. He’s going to be your muscles. I know you’re tired, but we need to get the baby out, okay?”
Emma pushed with Dalton's help for over an hour. She was so tired and was barely helping at this point, Dalton was doing most of the work. He had been whispering encouraging words all along, but Emma had checked out. She was so tired. Every time she came back down from the pain of the contraction, Dalton rubbed her rounded belly, providing her with comfort and strength.
“Listen,” Mia started whispering to Ryleigh, “you don’t have any forceps or suction for me to get this baby out. If Emma doesn’t manage to push the baby out in the next few minutes, we’re going to have to do a C-section. This place isn’t set up for that kind of surgery, but I need you to start getting everything you can find together.”
Emma could tell by the worried looks on Mia and Ryleigh’s faces that she needed to dig deeper; something was wrong with the baby. Dalton sensed her panic.
“Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to meet your little girl really soon. I can’t wait to meet her. I bet she’s going to look like you, honey. Like a little pixie. Emma, I know this suck, and I know you're tired, but I’m here for you and your baby. It won’t be long now.”
“Okay Emma,” Mia interrupted, “I know you’re tired. Having a baby is the hardest work you will ever do. But Emma, we need this little one out. The baby’s heart rate is dropping. If you can’t get her out vaginally, we’re going to have to figure out another way. And Emma, I truly don’t want to go that route, it’s not safe for you or the baby.”
“Come on we can do this. I’m going to give you everything I got. Can you do the same? I want to meet your little girl, Emma. Scream and fight for that baby,” Dalton pleaded.
Emma pulled on everything she had, and when Dalton brought her forward with the next contraction, she pushed with everything that was left in her body. Dalton encouraged her every bit of the way, saying sweet, nonsensical things, but making her believe she absolutely could do this.
“Good Emma, the baby is crowning,” Mia announced. “Not long now. One more really hard push, okay?”
Dalton wanted to pass out. He wasn’t made for this. Seeing a woman’s pussy had always been one of his favorite things, but watching Emma’s bits bulge and contract back wasn’t something he wanted to see. He was a fucking guy, he wasn’t supposed to see things like what was happening in front of his eyes. The stuff that was coming out of that area was downright disturbing. On the other hand, he also knew he would do whatever this woman needed, and right now, she needed his strength. He would think about all the other crap later. However, he sure as shit would never look at a woman’s pussy the same way again. Dalton felt the contraction starting and encouraged Emma.
“Come on, honey. Here we go with another one.” Curling forward Dalton pushed on Emma’s stomach. He had been so caught up in the move that he hadn’t noticed she’d delivered the baby’s head. When he looked down, he saw the most amazing sight, the little baby was still within its mother, but it looked as though it was staring right up at him.
“Good job, guys. Looks like you got a sunny side up baby,” Ryleigh said. “Take a look.”
With Dalton holding her up from behind, his voice, thick with emotion, brought Emma out of her daze.
“Look, Emma, there she is.”
And that’s when Emma got her first look at the most beautiful baby in the world; her dusky blue eyes were checking out everything around her. Sure, Emma knew she didn't actually see anything, but she thought, you never knew. After all, up until today, she didn’t even know there were people who could turn into an animal. Why couldn’t my child be the most intelligently aware child ever born, right? She noticed that her baby’s tiny pixie nose was the same nose she looked at every day in the mirror. With this identification, Emma knew that this little one was her child.
“One more push, guys, and we can meet the first baby of the Alpha Team,” Mia encouraged.
Emma didn’t need to gather her strength. Seeing her little baby’s face was all she needed to push her way out of her body into the world.
The next thing Emma knew, Mia was placing her daughter right on her stomach. Looking down at the little angel in her arms, Emma couldn’t believe how utterly sweet the baby was. Her cherub cheeks were slightly tinted pink and her tiny lips made the perfect cupids bow. She had a little tuft of dark hair that Emma couldn’t resist stroking, laughing a little when it made the perfect Mohawk. Emma thought about all the movies she’d ever watched where the parents look to make sure their newborn had all their fingers and toes, but Emma didn’t need to do any type of inspection on her daughter, she was simply perfect. Brushing her finger down her daughter’s cheek, she fell in love, all over again.
"Who would you like to cut the cord, Emma?" Mia asked, breaking the momentary spell.
“Please?” She asked in a weak voice, looking up into Dalton’s equally moist eyes.
“It would be my honor,” Dalton said, equally choked up.
Dalton was dumbfounded; the child was a girl. The look of sadness and pity on Mia and Ryleigh’s faces only darkened his own mood. All children should be celebrated and cherished, but this little girl had the weight of the Shifter race on her tiny shoulders. She could birth a new generation. She could represent the future. It was all too much. If her DNA proved true, every child she gave birth to in the future would be a Shifter. The uncertainty that had followed his race for so many years would be gone. The evil people, like Pandora and Davis Defense, would want her to birth armies. The Association would want her to help produce their master race, and damn, his clansmen would even seek after her. It was all too much for a tiny baby.
Chapter 19
Dalton wasn’t normally an emotional guy; as an Enforcer, his job was to remain as unemotional as possible. Conversely, watching Emma’s strength throughout the delivery was heart melting. Then considering the babe’s future and all the implications that implied, he was overwhelmed. When Mia and Ryleigh had to change the position of the baby, he thought he was going to pass out, but Emma had shown a strength that astounded him. He could see her fear and the pain she was in. Bruising had developed on her extended stomach from how hard Mia and Ryleigh were pushing and prodding. Emma had only screamed out a couple of times; Dalton didn’t think he would’ve been that strong if he was in the same position. When she was able to push, she again showed her strength of will to have the baby. He tried his best to be supportive and encouraging when she could barely move. Because of her exhaustion, Dalton took over, helping the best he could. Doing a hundred sit-ups a day hadn’t prepared him for those minutes. It tore him apart every time Emma screamed when he pushed down on her extended belly. He knew he was doing what was best, but he didn’t want to be a cause of her pain. The thoughts he’d before seeing the little angel’s face were long forgotten. Dalton realized how special the moment was. He had helped bring a beautiful little girl into the world. Dalton Hayes, the Alpha Team’s Enforcer, was mush in the light of everything that had happened.
After the delivery, all the pain and fear had left, seeing her daughter's little face made it all worth it. Ryleigh and Mia had helped her into a hospital gown, removing the robe she’d been wearing throughout the delivery. They had also put the bed back to rights,
making it more comfortable for her. She was beyond tired, but didn’t want to stop looking at her baby. Mia stopped at the bed.
“You did excellent, Emma. That wasn’t an easy delivery, and you handled things better than most. Your daughter is beautiful.”
“Thank you, Mia, and you too, Ryleigh. I had no idea I was about to deliver. If it weren’t for the both of you and Dalton, I don’t know what I would’ve done,” Emma said exhausted, yet euphoric.
“No need to thank us, Emma,” Ryleigh said. “You did the hard work. We’re going to give you guys a couple of minutes to get to know that precious little girl. But first, if you’re okay with it, I would like Mia to take some blood samples from both you and your baby. We need to check some things out.”
“You’re checking to see if my baby is a Shifter, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Emma, that’s one of the tests that Mia is going to run,” Ryleigh said. “I know you don’t understand the significance yet, but your little girl could be the first of her kind in over a hundred years. You and your daughter could be like me and the others that Franklin created, but your baby could also be more. We need to know as soon as possible if either of you only hold one set of Shifter DNA. Right now, we’re running on theories and suppositions, we need to find the answers. I hope you understand.”
The impact of those answers could be staggering, Ryleigh thought. Only one person, Cassie Larson, had tested having only one strand of Shifter DNA. And Pandora went to elaborate lengths to kidnap the teen. Ryleigh and the others, products of the first generation of the breeding program, had several strands of different animal DNA. None of them, including Cassie Larson, were able to shift. If Emma’s baby was able to shift, then the danger would increase exponentially for the child. Even after determining if Emma and the child had Shifter DNA, it would be years before they knew if the child could shift. Shifters, to their knowledge, didn’t exhibit any signs until puberty. Then again, none of them had any idea whether Emma or the baby had been medically altered in any way.
The only thing Ryleigh knew for certain was they needed to know what was going on. The team would help Emma regardless, but they needed to know exactly what Davis Defense had done to Emma. Finding Emma and now having the baby within their home only fueled Ryleigh’s fire. She was already obsessed with finding answers for her and the Team’s benefit, but now that need had escalated. She needed to know more to help protect not only the teams, but Emma and her baby, too.
Damn, she wasn’t thinking rationally. Ryleigh knew that she needed to take better care of herself and her baby. There wasn’t enough time; they needed answers and they needed them now. Shit, even her own child was in jeopardy with all the unanswered questions. She didn’t know what to do and how to cope with everything that was coming at her.
First on her list, before Emma had shown up, was to talk with Jacks and explain her fears. She thought that she had time to come to terms with everything. Forty weeks was plenty of time to come up with answers, run tests, and work through her fears, but now she only had about sixteen. Even worse, those answers needed to be sought for Emma and the child. Ryleigh was convinced that Franklin’s notes would provide them with some, if not all, the answers they needed. He was the person who spearheaded all of this. She had to find those answers. Ryleigh had no clue on how she would go about doing that.
For the first time in her life, she felt like a failure. She couldn’t decode the data fast enough, she wasn’t finding the patterns quick enough, and she didn’t know how to process all the failures that were mounting up. To top it all off, she knew she would’ve killed Emma and the baby if Mia hadn’t been there to save the day. All because she didn’t have the training she needed. Ryleigh could feel the tension in her body. She also knew that if she kept up this pace, she wouldn’t do anyone a damn bit of good. But what else was she supposed to do? Everyone was relying on her for the answers, and she didn’t have any to give them. Top all that off with that her biggest failure could be her own child. Eli told her she was tainted, a failure, and all those seeds he planted had taken root deeply, embedded, and strong. She would do what she could, but she was afraid she wasn’t equipped to handle any of it. She felt utterly and completely inadequate.
Emma didn’t honestly care if her daughter was human, Shifter, or both. What she did know was that if her daughter was a Shifter, her life was in even more danger. She almost didn’t want to know. Did it really matter? She also didn’t want anyone hurting her child and taking blood would hurt. but Emma knew not knowing would hurt more in the long run. She never thought about being a mother, but she had to admit, even if only to herself, her connection to the little baby was absolute. She would do everything within her power to protect her daughter, even if she had to suck up her emotions about her getting stuck with a needle.
“Emma,” seeing the fear in Emma’s eyes, Mia broke into the conversation with Ryleigh, “that’s not all we’re checking for. You aren’t in the best condition and I would be remiss as a doctor if we didn’t check out the basics for you and your child. I’m also going to check you for infection, organ function, and a few other things. The baby as well. Regardless of having Shifter DNA, you and your baby are my patients, even if you are only plain humans,” Mia quipped with a smile. “Shifters don’t get preferential treatment in my book.”
“Okay, please make sure that my baby is okay.” Mia’s attempt at humor went unnoticed, the only thought on Emma’s mind was her child.
“We will, Emma,” Ryleigh assured her “We’ll be right next door, call us if you need anything. Dalton has to stay, but if you need a couple of minutes of privacy, I’m sure we can arrange something.”
Emma hadn’t even thought about Dalton leaving, she felt safe in his presence and didn’t want him to go. She had the comforting feeling that he had no intentions of leaving her side and nobody was going to convince him otherwise. After drawing blood from both of them, Mia placed the little baby back in Emma’s arms. Emma had expected her baby to be wailing at having her blood taken, but she’d only let out a little cry. So, focused on her baby, she barely noticed that Mia and Ryleigh had left the room.
Dalton had made a place for himself on the bed, holding Emma while Mia had taken the baby’s blood. He knew she wasn’t comfortable with the procedure, but he’d seen her resolve after the delivery. He needed to feel close to Emma, so it was natural for him to hold her on the bed, his arm around her shoulder, cradling her. He had never been much of a cuddler. When he was with women, he generally fucked them and left; with Emma, he wanted to feel close, no, needed to be close to her.
Emma had noticed that Dalton had cradled her once again, and she was thankful. “Would you like to hold her?” looking up at Dalton Emma asked.
“I would love to,” Dalton smiled, “but I’m afraid I’m going to break her, she’s so tiny. Damn, she’s exactly what I told you she would be, as beautiful as her momma; look she even has your tiny little nose. She’s so small, I’m afraid if I breathe too heavy, she’ll break. I promise you, Emma, regardless of what happens, I’ll always protect her. She’s a special little girl; she might not be mine by blood, but I helped her come into the world, so she holds a very special place in my heart, like her momma. I’ve been in the military and have worked for NAC for years, and I have to tell you, the strength you showed bringing this little one into the world was amazing. You fought through the pain and fear and did what you had to do. You’re amazing, Emma.”
Emma smiled. Dalton had been with her every step of the way during the delivery and his slightly sweaty, disheveled appearance showed how much work he’d put into the process. He was so cute looking at the baby, trying to be as gentle as possible, only using a fingertip to brush against the baby’s cheek. What pulled at her heartstrings was the look of awe in his eyes and his kind, loving words. She loved that he looked at her little girl as if she were the most amazing thing he’d ever seen. Emma knew she was taking everything a little too far, but she’d always longed for a man
to look at her with such love in his eyes. She was happy, even if her daughter didn’t know she had someone to look at her that way. Emma vowed to herself that she would do whatever it took to make sure her little girl always felted loved and cherished, even if she was the only one who would show her those things.
It worried her that Dalton saw qualities in her that she didn’t see in herself. She wasn’t strong or amazing, she was just herself, and she was afraid she would screw up and shatter the illusion that he had of her. She had no idea how to be a mother, let alone anything else.
“What are you going to name her?”
“I hate to say it, but I honestly don’t know, I never let myself think of her actually being born,” Emma started to cry, cradling her daughter, “but here she is.”
“Yes, she is, and she’s the prettiest little girl I have ever laid eyes on, like her mama.” Dalton said giving her a wink. “I know what you went through was horrible, Emma, but this little girl is a beautiful gift.” He wondered to himself whether Emma would be able to deal with the possibility that her child was a shifter and the ramifications of that fact.
“Are you ready for this?” Dalton hoped she would say yes, but he couldn’t blame her if she said no. He’d never understood such a deep love. His father knew he was his child, and he couldn’t have cared less. Emma didn’t know, but if his suspicions were correct, she cared and cared deeply.
“Dalton, I can honestly say I don’t care if she shifts or not, this is my daughter. I don’t know how I’m going to keep her safe and keep running from those people. I’ve been terrified since this whole ordeal began. Before she was here, I could deal with myself being in danger, but now everything has changed. How do I keep running with a newborn, how do I protect my daughter?”
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 39
