by Kathy Lyons
“It is the law, though. You made a bargain.” The director was looking at Bruce.
“We’ll make another one.”
“No!” Laddin said loudly. “We’re done making fairy deals!”
The director grimaced. “You weren’t supposed to make the first ones.”
Laddin was about to argue, but Bruce cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Old news,” Bruce said. “Do you know of any way to keep the child?”
Aaron was starting to smack his lips, and the director set his pinkie finger near the child’s mouth. The baby rooted on that, opened his mouth, and started sucking on the director’s fingertip.
“Definite human instincts,” the director whispered.
And an unsanitary finger. But Laddin wasn’t going to say that aloud. Meanwhile, Bruce was pressing for a solution.
“Anything you could do to help—”
“I can’t,” the director said with a sigh. “I can’t break the Accords. It would mean war with Fairy, and nobody wants that.”
“But—”
“The fairies are legalistic creatures. Letter of the deal and all that. That’s how they usually screw people.”
Laddin already knew that, and he was getting uncomfortable with Aaron going to sleep in the director’s lap. That was his child and Bruce’s. If anyone was going to cradle the boy while he slept, it would be one of them. So he scooted forward in his seat and gestured for the return of his child.
But the director didn’t immediately hand him back. Instead he looked up, his eyes serious. “Are you sure you want him back?” he asked. There was a weight in his tone that meant so much more than the words themselves. But in case Laddin didn’t understand, he pressed his point. “The more you bond now, the harder it will be tomorrow. If you want, I’ll keep him for the night. I’ll make sure he’s—”
“No!” Laddin said, but to his shock, Bruce put a warning hand on Laddin’s thigh.
“Hear him out,” Bruce said softly.
Laddin didn’t want to. Hell, he already knew what the guy was going to say. But he forced himself to sit still and listen, not because he wanted to hear what the man had to say but because Bruce obviously did. Then the director continued.
“If we can’t find a way out, then the baby has to go to the prince. We can’t go to war over this.”
“I will—” Laddin said firmly.
“But I won’t,” the director countered. “You may be fierce, Laddin, but you can’t take on all of Fairy on your own.” He grimaced. “The whole of Wulf, Inc. couldn’t either.”
“So help us find a solution,” Bruce said, much to Laddin’s relief. Bruce was hoping for an answer, not a way out.
The director looked at Bruce. Then he took a long stare at Laddin. It was like he was weighing their resolve, testing their intent, or measuring their manliness. When it was done, Laddin didn’t know if they’d passed or failed.
At least until Bruce held out his hands. “I want the baby,” he said firmly.
“I do too,” Laddin said.
The director nodded and gently passed the child back to Bruce, who cradled the sleeping baby in his lap.
“Okay,” the director whispered. “You’re committed to this path. To this child.”
“His name is Aaron,” Laddin said.
“Then let’s figure out a way to keep Aaron away from the royal asshole.”
THEY FAILED.
They went over everything with the director. Then, when they got to the pizza farm, they went over it again with Wulfric and his mother. The others listened and made good suggestions, but they didn’t know the Accords like Wulfric and Lady Kinstead did. After all, they were the ones who had drafted it, and they had two centuries of experience with the fae.
No one could find a workaround. By midnight Laddin was exhausted. Bruce looked no better, but Lady Kinstead was the one to call it quits. She glided forward, pressed a kiss to the child’s forehead, then another to Laddin’s and then Bruce’s.
“You should sleep now. Maybe it will look better after some rest.”
“We have to keep trying,” Laddin said, but Bruce shook his head.
“We’ve been at this for hours. Sometimes rest is the only way to find a solution.”
Wulfric and the director nodded their agreement, but rather than leave, they smiled wearily at them.
“We’ll keep trying,” Wulfric said.
“Until the last moment,” the director said. “We’ll keep at it.”
There wasn’t any hope in their voices, but they were sincere in their words, and the others—Wiz, Stratos, Nero, and Uncle Josh—echoed them. Even Yordan and Bing had stuck around.
“Thanks,” Laddin said to everyone. Then he and Bruce went to their room.
They set the sleeping Aaron in a crib that the B&B had provided, and then they held each other while looking down at the sleeping child.
Ten fingers, ten toes. Dimpled cheeks and chin. Long straight nose, and the hint of hair as dark as Laddin’s, though it might lighten up to be the pale brown that Bruce had. Laddin had done the inventory at every diaper change. He’d smelled Aaron’s baby fresh scent and felt the pull on his heart whenever the child had grabbed on to his finger and held tight.
He couldn’t imagine losing the baby. Not now. Not when he was already so important to them both.
“What are we going to do?” Laddin whispered, agony in every word.
“I don’t know,” Bruce answered as he stroked his callused index finger across Aaron’s cheek. “I can’t believe this is happening. I have a child.” He leaned his head against Laddin’s. “We have a baby.”
For a few more hours at least. And that brought him right back to the question at hand. What were they going to do?
“Tell me again,” Bruce said as they stood beside the crib. “Tell me about that future you saw.”
“We both saw it.”
“Yeah, but tell it to me anyway.”
“We’ll get a two-story house near the state park behind the Wulf, Inc. mansion in Michigan. I’ll still work for Captain M, and you’ll—”
“I’ll be a medic for someone. Probably Wulf, Inc., but firefighters are needed everywhere.”
Wulf, Inc. really needed Bruce, but that wasn’t important right then. “I’ve got the steady nine-to-five, and I love to cook. I’ll be the one making lasagna for you when you come home.”
“And I’m going to love every bite when I make it in the door, even if I have to microwave it.”
Laddin mock shuddered. “You do not microwave lasagna.”
“I’m not going to eat it cold.”
Laddin smiled. “I’ll keep a plate warm for you in the oven.”
Bruce wrapped an arm around Laddin’s back. “That sounds like heaven.”
It did. Except that neither of them had mentioned Aaron, and Laddin couldn’t keep the boy out of their story. “You’re going to teach Aaron how to play ball, and I’m going to teach him how to blow up his toys.”
Bruce snorted. “You’re going to regret that, you know.”
“Probably.” Then he chuckled. “Definitely.”
“And someday maybe we’ll give Aaron a brother or a sister. We’ll take them to baseball games—”
“And go running as wolves in the park.”
Bruce waited a beat before asking, “What if Aaron isn’t a werewolf? Or his brother or sister?”
Laddin shrugged. “Then we’ll take turns running in the park. Or maybe they’ll be able to do something else.” He’d seen the files when he’d organized Captain M’s filing cabinet. “Adoption of magical babies doesn’t have the red tape normal adoption does. Magical orphans happen, and they need magical parents to raise them.” He looked at Bruce. “You okay with that?”
“We turned a demon into a son. If I wasn’t okay with that, I would have bailed back by the lake.”
Laddin smiled. “I love you,” he said, the words feeling like the most natural thing in the world.
“I love
you too,” Bruce returned. “And in case you’re wondering, I’m in for the long haul. If you want. Even if things go south tomorrow morning—”
“They won’t.” Of course, that was a bold statement, given that neither of them had any idea how things were going to work out.
“But if they do, I want to try us anyway. You and me with a two-story house and lasagna. Kid or not, I want to give it a shot.”
“Me too.”
There it was—a commitment to each other, not just their son. And their kiss was, again, the most natural thing in the world. A kiss. Then another. And then Laddin whispered a question.
“So… you want to fool around before the 2:00 a.m. feeding?”
“Hell yes.”
The move to the bed took no time at all. There was no space in the room anyway, so they both fell over onto the mattress. They were nearly silent as they undressed each other, and barely spoke above a whisper afterward. Aaron slept through it all as they took comfort in each other’s caresses. And kisses. And hot, breathless orgasms.
And then they held each other and looked at the crib.
“That was weird,” Bruce whispered. “Doing that with a baby in the room.”
“Yeah,” Laddin agreed. “Let’s get separate rooms in the house.”
“And a baby monitor.”
“Deal.”
They fell silent, and Laddin nearly slept. He was about to drift off when Bruce rolled over and fiddled with the clock. He was setting an alarm for their dawn meeting with Bitterroot. Except he didn’t set it for before dawn. He set it for two hours earlier than that.
Given that it was well after midnight, they weren’t going to have much time to sleep. Especially if Aaron woke in the middle of the night to be fed. But when Bruce saw him looking, he shrugged.
“I’m not giving up,” Bruce whispered. “I’m leaving us enough time to come up with a solution.”
Laddin didn’t think two hours would be anywhere near enough time for that. They’d already been at it the entire day and had come up with nothing. But he didn’t say that.
“If anyone can figure it out, it’s you,” he whispered.
“Me?” Bruce challenged. “Why am I so special?”
“Because you are,” Laddin answered as he pulled Bruce close and shut his eyes. “You just are.”
Bruce was silent a long time. Long enough that Laddin had thought he’d fallen asleep. But then he heard Bruce whisper words filled with awe. Awe, shock, and a strong dose of gratitude.
“I’m not a monster,” he said. “I’ve fucked up, that’s for sure, but I’m not a monster. I never was.”
“No, you’re not,” Laddin agreed. “You’re the man I love.”
“Which makes me pretty okay, I guess,” Bruce said. Then, after a long moment, “Which means you’re pretty cool too.”
“Yeah,” Laddin agreed. “I am. We are.” Then he pressed a kiss to Bruce’s lips. And when they separated, he whispered the only words they needed. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
They slept.
Chapter 26
BABY CHEESE FARTS
BRUCE WOKE with an idea.
He also awoke with a splitting headache and a crimp in his neck. The first was eased by turning off the alarm. The second was ignored because, damn it, he had an idea!
Laddin grumbled and the baby stirred, but Bruce’s face must have shown his excitement, because Laddin abruptly sat up.
“What? What have you figured out?”
Bruce hesitated. “It’s just a thought. It may be nothing.”
“Don’t go negative on me! We’ve seen how badly that affects the world. So, what have you figured out?”
Bruce didn’t answer directly. He scrambled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. “Get dressed and—”
“I’ll go to the kitchen and make a bottle. Aaron’s probably getting hungry. Then we’ll talk.”
Bruce nodded and headed for the bathroom. His mind was racing the whole time, trying to work the angles, to figure out if his idea was possible. But right now he needed information, and that meant he had to talk to the higher-ups.
He stepped out of the bathroom and came up short. Wulfric was standing in the bedroom doorway.
“What have you got?” the man asked as he leaned against the wall. Damn, he looked half-dead beneath the fairy glamour. Bruce had forgotten he was still recovering from his near death a few days ago, but though he didn’t look any worse than he had back then, he didn’t look much better either.
Bruce waved him toward the bed. “Sit down before you keel over.” But he was warmed that the guy had stayed awake, presumably trying to help work things out.
“The director’s taking a shower. He’ll be—”
“The fewer people who know about this, the better.” Aaron was awake now and fussy. Bruce picked him up, marveling again at how strange life was. A week ago he’d been a bored firefighter with an emptiness in his life that he couldn’t seem to fill. Not with endless girls, not with dangerous risks, and not with family. Then, after one visit from his brother, he suddenly had magic, a child, and—
Laddin walked in, and Bruce didn’t even try to hide his sappy smile.
He had love, and that was the best magic of all.
Laddin sat in the rocking chair and held out his hands. “Give me Aaron, then start talking.”
He did, but not to Wulfric and Laddin. As soon as Aaron was settled, Bruce lifted his head and called for the pixies.
“Erin Rodger-Dodger and Fetid Feta. Erin Rodger-Dodger and Fetid Feta. Erin Rodger-Dodger and Fetid Feta, I call you to come to me!”
“You named your baby after me!” Erin cried as she spun in a circle on her toe, right on the armrest of the rocking chair.
Laddin jerked, jostling the baby, who let out a cry of dismay. “It’s okay, baby! You’re going to have a wonderful life of magic!” Erin said as she pulled off her fairy hat and set it on Aaron’s forehead. It slid right off. It was the size of a thumbnail, but that was okay because she caught it and put it back on her head.
Meanwhile, Fetid Feta appeared next to the bathroom, crossed his large arms, and glared at everyone in the room. “I should have a baby named after me! I’m the biggest!”
“We didn’t—” Bruce protested, but Wulfric cut him off.
“Don’t go there.”
Right. “I need to ask you two some questions.”
“Will it get us to Fairyland?” Feta asked.
“I don’t know.” That was a true statement. He focused on his first question. “Why do you appear like that? Like cheese?” he asked Feta.
“It was because of the man like you. The one who created the demon.”
It took a moment for Bruce to follow that, but Laddin was already there. “The one who created the demon? You mean the one who wrote the short story that started this whole thing?”
Feta nodded. “He was like you.” He pointed at Bruce. “He had a lot of magic, and he liked cheese.”
“Like me?” Bruce asked. “He ate a fairy fruit?”
“So he could have a baby.”
“Named after me!” Erin said as she spun around.
“Why do the cheese fairies play Angry Birds, then? Back when you first met Laddin at the tree?” They’d gone over every detail of the past few days, and that was a question he’d asked yesterday too.
“Because everyone likes Angry Birds!” Erin said. Then she launched into the air as if she’d been thrown from a slingshot and crashed on Feta’s chest. He tumbled backward into the bathroom and they rolled around like in the game.
“Can’t argue with that,” Wulfric said. “I love that game.”
So did Bruce, but he didn’t have time to talk about video games. “But can you change your appearance? Can you look like something else?”
Erin sat up. “Why would we want to?”
“To get into Fairyland.” Bruce pointed at Aaron. “Can you look like our baby?”
Both p
ixies stared at him for a moment. Then, abruptly, there were two more infants in the room—one the size of a handspan on the floor, the other nearly six foot tall as he lay half in and half out of the bathroom.
“No, no!” Bruce said as he jumped onto the bed to avoid getting kicked by Feta. “One baby, and exactly the same size.”
Feta abruptly shrank down to the appropriate size, but Erin sat up as her regular self. “How will this get us into Fairyland?”
“I saw the cheese fairies combine, then split apart. I’ve seen them blow up and then reform. Hell, your guys went through my GI tract and came out as sparkly farts.”
Feta grinned and his baby face said, “That was fun!”
Yeah. For them. “I am going to give a baby to the fairy prince. If you can meld into one baby that looks exactly like Aaron, then I will give you to him and he will take you to Fairy Fairyland.”
Feta and Erin looked at each other, appearing to think hard. Meanwhile, Wulfric rubbed his hand over his face. “You would have to be an exact replica. You would have to feel magically like Aaron, not just look like him. And you would have to help us hide the real baby.”
Bruce turned to Wulfric. “Could you help with that? Would the prince be able to see our child beneath your fairy glamour?”
“If he sees me, he can see the child.”
“But he doesn’t have to see you, right?”
Wulfric nodded. “I will hide your child. Mother can help with that, but this is really risky. If the prince finds out, he will come back for you.”
“And he will find out,” Laddin said. “The pixies can’t keep up the charade forever.”
Everyone looked at the two fairies who were slowly moving toward each other. Feta rolled over, his baby body aging to the size of a six-month- old. Erin dashed forward and back, as if she wanted to do it but then changed her mind.
“Is there a way to end the contract? To declare it done, with no one able to take retribution after it’s over?”
“Maybe,” Wulfric said, but he didn’t look happy about it. “They’ll add ‘the Deceiver’ at the end of your name. It’ll end your dealings with the fairies once and for all. They won’t work with you again.” Bruce guessed that was what they’d done to Wulfric.
