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Chapter Twenty-Five

Creed

Watching the tiny little babies being pulled from Jolie’s stomach has tears running down my face, and I’m not the only one. Zadom is pulled out first, but he’s silent, way too silent. The team rushes him over to a small contraption, and the relief when the small cries finally come from him has me taking my first breath since he was born. My little girl, though, she comes into the world with a massive set of lungs. She cries and cries—no one can get her to stop. The doctor checks her over and can’t see anything wrong with her. Grace pushes her way to the baby’s side and demands she be placed next to her brother; the smart girl has done her research and has facts to back it up. The second they are placed next to each other, Zadom’s vitals pick up, and my baby angel stops crying.

Once the babies are ready to be moved to the NICU, Grace rushes to the doors and refuses to move. “No, one of them needs to come down here to walk with them.” She looks up at the glass, and Brennan nods at her.

“Little ass licker needs a promotion,” Kai mutters, and I have to agree.

Brennan moves from his seat and leaves the room, but everyone else refuses to leave until Jolie is being moved, and I get that.

Me—I have to go find Chester. He stormed out not long after they started cutting her open; he couldn’t handle not seeing her awake. Case managed to get everything on video for Jolie, so Chester can watch it back with her.

I leave the room and find him sitting in the waiting room, surrounded by other family members waiting for news of their loved ones who have given birth. Except I have to smirk at the fact that while the room easily has fifty seats, the eight men and women in here with Chester are all seated side by side and as far away as possible from him.

He looks up at me as I walk closer to him, and I place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “She is being moved to recovery.”

He nods. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t watch them slice into her and not want to go down there and rip their throats out. Are the babies okay?”

“It was touch and go with Zadom for a few minutes, but he is fine and snuggling with his sister. Brennan has gone with them to the NICU.”

Grace walks into the waiting room and clears her throat. We both look over at her. “Jolie has gone to recovery, and I think it’s best if someone was there when she woke up.” She looks at Chester as she talks. He nods and stands.

I squeeze Grace’s shoulder as we walk past her. “This won’t go unnoticed. You have done an amazing job today.”

I’m not one to go around handing out praise, but this young girl single-handedly took charge and knew what she was talking about. It might seem weird that she knows so much, but once they sign their contracts, they have access to a lot of information. It may just be the basics, but still it’s all important. This woman made it a point to learn about our abilities, how we work, and how each of us bonded with Jolie. As a result, she understood the babies needed each other and insisted that it occur. She also recognised one of us would want to be with them before they were transported. And she knew Chester would be down here, and that both he and Jolie would benefit from him being near when she awoke. Grace could be a real long-term asset to Olympia.

She takes Chester to wait with Jolie, and I make my way to the NICU. Two of our security guards are standing at the door, and I’m relieved not just anyone can get inside.

“Is Brennan still in there?” I ask as I approach the doors.

“He is, and so are the others. The doctors are also in there.”

I nod at him, and he lets me through the doors. I look around the room, and it’s hard to miss the circle of people around the clear plastic cot holding our babies.

The doctor notices me. “Is everyone here?” he asks.

“Chester has gone to be with Jolie,” I say.

“Should we wait for him?” he asks, and Brennan tells him it is fine to go ahead without him. He won’t leave her side now until she is awake.

“Okay, so we have good news. Even though the babies are small, there are no issues with their lungs like we were afraid there might be. I have documented this for the future. If we monitor them here tonight, by tomorrow, they should be fine to be moved back to Olympia and be in a room with Jolie. It’s actually quite remarkable they have none of the normal hurdles that premature babies face.”

“So that’s it?” Brennan asks.

“Until we get back to Olympia, we will monitor them closely. That is it. They do still have to be able to feed well and put on some weight before they can go home, of course, but it’s all good news.”

“Scoot out of the way, doctor,” Grace says, coming back into the room. “The babies are healthy, guys. Zadom was a bit stressed at birth, but I think it may have been because something was going on with his sister. I have asked the doctor to run some tests to make sure.”

“Grace,” the doctor chastises. “I have told you there is nothing wrong with baby B.”

“Let her talk,” I demand. “Why do you think something is wrong with my daughter?”

“It’s probably nothing, but I have been researching your teams for months,” she says, a blush rising to her cheeks. “If these babies have all your abilities combined, then it makes sense. Creed, you can feel Jolie’s emotions, Chester can hear her thoughts, and Jolie can feel your pain. I have a gut feeling that Zadom wanted out because he was protecting his sister. Maybe nothing is wrong, but maybe it was going to be. I also could be overthinking it—I’m sorry for overstepping.”

“You’re not overstepping. We want someone like you on our babies’ side, someone willing to speak up. Come and see me once I’m back at work. I want to offer you a better role in Olympia, if you’re up for a change,” Brennan says, and he is right.

Grace is wasting her talent on delivering babies, even though there is nothing wrong with that job. She could just do so much more with the eye for detail and the intuition she displays. I know I want her on the twin’s team, to follow their progress and spot these things, especially since we are heading into unknown territory with them.

“Are you serious?” she gushes.

Brennan nods, and the doctor doesn’t comment any more on the subject.

“I expect all tests to be run ASAP. Do not wait until we are back at Olympia. If there is something, we need to know it sooner rather than later.”

The doctor nods and starts ordering some tests, and the nurses all start doing what they need to.

“Okay, guys, everyone else is too afraid to tell you, but we need to limit it to two of you at a time. You kind of take up a lot of space,” Grace says, and Laughn laughs at her.

“I like you. If I wasn’t stupidly infatuated and in love with Jolie, I might have kept you as a pet.”

“Um, thanks I guess,” she says, and I snort. In a Laughn way, that’s a compliment, but it’s still weird as fuck.

Everyone decides to get food and check on Jolie. I take a seat beside the cot and press my face to the clear plastic. They are so small and fragile. Zadom has a fine layer of really dark hair, and my baby girl’s wisps of snow-white hair are surreal—it’s just like Jolie had when she was younger. A tear runs down my face. I might not have a super memory like Brennan or Boston, but I still remember the first time we were taken to meet her.

“Do you want to hold them?”

I look up, and the older nurse in charge of the babies stands before me.

“Shouldn’t Jolie do that?” I hedge.

“Skin to skin is important for their development. After having a C-section, Jolie may not be able to get up here.”

I chuckle, as she has no idea. Jolie will be up here not long after she opens her eyes or as soon as she can force Chester to let her leave her bed.

“Come on, everyone will get a turn. Take off your shirt and sit on that chair.”

I do as she asks and pull my shirt over my head. Her eyes linger on my skin longer than they should, but she wouldn’t be the first woman to try to take in all my tattoos at once. I sit down on the recliner near the little crib, and she brings me my baby girl, placing her on my chest. I look down at her as her tiny hand rests against my heart, and there is this feeling in my chest that I have never experienced before. A sound that resembles a small kitten howling starts beside me and I look over as the nurse moves a crying Zadom from the crib and brings him to me. The second he is placed on my chest and his sister touches him, he stops crying.

“I’ll be over there if you need me,” the nurse says, pointing to a small desk in the centre of the room. I nod, and she walks away.

“Hi babies,” I whisper to them. They look so tiny in my arms. “Your mum is going to be so in love with you, and I think some of your daddies will be so jealous.”

This moment will be forever imprinted in my soul, just like the day their mother was born. There are very few moments in life that hit you so deeply. I have three—the day Jolie was born, the day she told me she loved me, and today. My entire being bleeds for Jolie; I was designed for her. But these two, this is a love so pure, and that is a foreign feeling. Another tear slides down my cheek, shocking me. I haven’t cried this much in, well, forever.

We are a family now, and fuck knows how that will even work with all of us, but I have a feeling these two are going to show us how it’s done. We won’t be selfish with them. We will all do what’s best for them, and we will all love them unconditionally. I know that’s how we should love Jolie, but that love is selfish. We are blinded by our love for her, and it makes us recklessly impulsive. We would burn the world to the ground for her, but for these two, I want to build a world for them. And that right there is the hardest thing I have ever had to contemplate. How does a man like me navigate both worlds?

It’s not going to be easy, but nothing about this life ever is.