Page 178 of Candy Hearts, Vol. 2

CHAPTER 7

"Happy almost Valentine's Day. Do you think it'll happen today or tomorrow?" Owen asked, those gorgeous eyes lit up with excited nerves. "Do you think it's too early? Do you think she's all right?"

Devon grinned and hugged Owen gently. There was something about this man that soothed everyone he came into contact with. Maybe it was the calming vibe, maybe it was the fact that the man never seemed to be in a hurry. Maybe it was some essential oil that drugged everyone into peace. "She'll come when she comes. Babies don't care. We'll get you in, get her checked out, okay? Don't stress."

"Don't stress." Jeb cracked up, because he really liked Devon. "Spoken like someone who's delivered a shit ton of babies."

"Don't you know it? Come on, Owen, let's get you settled and checked. Raven's on his way in, so that we can make sure that everything's ready for your family and all that. Let's have a baby."

Jeb thought the birthing center was amazing. There were tubs for water births. The chairs and beds were both sized to fit more than one person, and the lights were dimmed so that it felt like a home, not a hospital. It was comfortable and quiet and cozy, but each room had a theme -- this one was decorated like a Victorian bedroom -- cabbage rose wallpaper, a tea set, a basket of yarn and an electric fireplace with an ornate mantle covered in knickknacks.

Jeb turned on Owen's birth playlist while Devon did the business side of making sure their Carrie was healthy and ready to meet the world. He loved how all of the machines for monitoring and emergencies were hidden away when they weren't being used so that no one had to see them.

It just felt like the perfect place to bring someone new into the world, and it was happening to Jeb. It was happening to Jeb right now.

"So, my dears," Devon said, with a warm, relaxed smile. "She is in position. She is a great birth weight, and everything looks like we're going to have a baby. You have some time, so settle in, enjoy each other. I'm going to see if Raven can stop and grab us a pizza."

Owen gave him a warm smile when they cozied right in, all that fear gone now, replaced with anticipation. Right now the contractions seemed to be hard but not terrible, and he almost immediately asked to go into the tub, which Jeb was happy to oblige.

"I'm glad you found out I was pregnant." Owen admitted. "I'm glad that you found out that you didn't let me run away, and you decided that you wanted more than a casual fling."

"Oh, baby." Jeb sighed softly. "You've given me everything. I almost lost it."

He'd almost just thrown away the best things that would ever happen to him because he was being macho, because he wanted to be the alpha male who didn't get tied down and didn't do this and didn't do that and he'd almost fucked up.

Bad.

He'd almost lost the opportunity to meet his little girl. His daughter. His little Carrie. He would never have forgiven himself.

Now he didn't have to. He'd fixed what he’d broken, and he was committed to doing that -- over and over. Well, maybe with less breaking and more emergency fire putting out.

"I'm glad you're here." Owen grinned at him. 'I know that I'm supposed to be all screaming and stuff, but it's not time yet. I've always wanted to be a daddy. Ever since I can remember, I knew that I was going to have babies."

"Sweetheart, you are a kindergarten teacher. They do come in the ‘I like kids’ mode, for the most part."

"At least for the first few years, right? I hope my sub can read my lesson pl--" Owen stopped, curling over his hugely swollen belly, panting softly.

"Maybe we ought to focus on having Carrie, baby. Debbie will make sure your sub knows what she needs to do, okay?" He kept his voice gentle, but not Humor the Lunatic.

He didn't want to lose his balls this early in the situation, after all.

“Okay.” Panting, Owen nodded. “I can do that.

“Good deal.” Jeb stroked Owen’s hair back off his face. “I know you have this.”

Owen searched his face, eyes bright with a mix of pain and hope. “You think so?”

“I know so. You have no idea how strong you are, baby.”

“I hope you’re right. I guess we’ll find out.”

And find out they did. Over the next eighteen hours, they found out a lot about how strong Owen was. Because Jeb had to admit, there was a lot of walking, a lot of pacing, but Owen seemed...comfortable?

No, that wasn’t the right word.

At peace, as if he was working hard, but he knew it was for a purpose.

In between contractions, he would rest. Have some water or some juice, doze even, but Jeb didn’t see a lot of actual, genuine panic.

At least not until about four in the morning when Owen grabbed his arm, sinking his nails into the skin, and he realized he’d dozed off. “Something’s wrong, something’s different. You need to get Devon, and you need to get him right now.”

Jeb didn’t argue. He stood up like a shot and went running to the hallway to call for Devon, Raven, somebody. “I need some help. Owen says something’s wrong!”

Raven came running in. “Devon’s asleep. My turn. Let’s look and see whether things are.”

Owen was screaming now, and when they ran in, there was a head.

“Oh my God, there’s a head. Raven, catch it!” Jeb didn’t know what to do.

“On it. Good job, Owen. You’re doing great. Just pant for me for a second. Her head’s out. You did the hard part.”

“Yes, and neither one of you were in here. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Oh, somebody was pissed. Jeb headed over to support Owen’s shoulders and kiss his temple. “You did great, baby; you’re doing great.”

“I’ll show you great.” Owen snarled. “I just want it out; it hurts.”

“All right, well, we’ll need one or two more pushes. So when you’re ready, we’re going to push nice and easy, not anything hard.” Raven’s voice was smooth as silk.

“You’ve got this, baby, you’ve got this. I’m so proud of you.”

Owen blew out a hard breath. “We’re gonna have a Valentine’s Day baby.”

“We are.” Thank God. If this had taken any longer, he might have lost his shit, or Owen might kill him. He held Owen in his arms, and before he even knew it, the sound of his daughter’s wail made tears spring up in his eyes.

“Oh.”

“Okay, Jeb. We’ll cut the cord, and then we’ll get her all cleaned up and Owen can rest, hmm?” Raven smiled at them. “You did amazing, Owen.”

“I did.” Owen leaned back against him, utterly exhausted, from the looks of it. “Oh, she’s loud.”

“She is. She’s got great lungs,” Jeb murmured.

“Here, Alpha dad,” Raven told him.

He did his job with the cord, and then Raven moved to clean and swaddle the baby. Devon popped in then to grin at them.

“Let’s clean you up, Owen.”

“Please? I’m just so tired.”

Devon shooed Jeb off, so he went to see if he could hold his baby girl yet. Maybe be the one to hand her to Owen.

He did worry about Owen until Devon called him back. “All set. He just needs rest now. He’s doing great.”

“Thank God.” That worry was the last one he held, and when it fell away, he went to sit with Owen while Raven handed the baby over to his omega.

“Hello, pretty girl,” Owen said, staring at Carrie. “Look at you.”

“She’s so small,” Jeb said.

“And perfect,” Owen agreed.

Devon and Raven cleaned up quietly, then stepped out, leaving them alone, the lights dimmed.

Jeb kissed Owen gently on the mouth. “Happy Valentine’s Day, baby. Thank you.”

Owen smiled faintly. “For what?”

“For trusting me. For loving me. For giving us this.”

“You’re welcome. Best Valentine’s I’ve ever had,” Owen teased. “Even with labor.”

“Mmmm. Well, since it’s our girl’s birthday, it can only get better. Love you, Owen.”

“I love you too. But you’d better get me chocolates later.”

Jeb hooted. That was his omega. “Any kind you want.”

End