Page 31

Stephan stretched his arms out, trying to rock himself up in the bed. It wasn’t working. Unfortunately, he had managed to scoot over, past the center of the bed, creating a greater distance on one side, with Jayden blocking the other. On his back, with his pregnancy pillow too far away, he was really regretting the extra large, king-sized bed.

Sighing, he slapped the chest of the still sleeping vampire next to him. Stephan’s eyes widened when Jayden fell out of the bed, with a loud thump. Oops… Looks like the vampire had been right on the edge.

“What? Where?” Jayden sputtered incoherently, jumping to his feet and looking around in confusion, before a bit more clearly asking, “What’s wrong?”

“I need to pee.”

Jayden blinked at him, his empty black eyes still filled with sleep. It must have taken a moment for his brain to recognize what Stephan had said, because they widened a moment later, and the man jumped into action .

“How did you manage to scoot me all the way to the edge?” Jayden asked, as he grabbed hold of his arms and easily lifted him up, helping him slip out of the bed. The man’s hands hovered as Stephan stood.

“I don’t know… I just woke up there, okay!” he snapped, swatting the vampire's hands away.

He knew he was being mean and cranky, but dammit, he was sleep deprived, swollen in many places, and just in pain. His feet looked like tug boats! He couldn’t even fit into his shoes anymore.

Stephan took a few penguin steps towards the bathroom, and stopped. He was about to tell Jayden to stop following him, when there was an odd sensation under his belly button. A sharp splitting pain that was followed by what sounded like water splashing. Stephan looked down, his eyes growing wide at the wet stain on his T-shirt and the carpet.

“Oh, no…did you have an accident?” Jayden asked hesitantly. “It’s fine. Go in the bathroom and get in the tub. I’ll clean this up, and then come help you wash.”

“Jayden!” Stephan said with a squeak. “It’s TIME!” He turned around, holding his stomach.

“What? Time for what?!”

“THE BABY IS COMING, YOU DORK!” When Jayden went pale, and seemed to rock on his feet, Stephan growled, “Now is not the time to pass out! Go get Liam! The car!”

“Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck!” Jayden said in pure panic.

Jayden stood there, holding Stephan’s hand as the elf screamed his bloody head off. It had been four hours now since the man’s water had broken. Stephan’s contractions had started soon after they’d gotten into the car, and hadn’t stopped since. Honestly, each scream made him want to stab something. He didn’t like seeing Stephan in pain.

But there was no one to fight, and Liam was unhelpfully standing silently out of the way, while looking pale as fuck, and like he was about to pass out. Jayden would have done so himself, if Stephan hadn’t threatened to castrate him. Though he was pretty much threatening to castrate him even while awake at this point.

“No more sex! EVER! COME NEAR ME WITH THAT THING AGAIN AND I’LL CUT IT OFF!” Stephan roared.

Jayden winced when the man’s screams ended in a sob.

Bow was sitting there looking pale in his head, clutching a plush bunny, his eyes wide with fear. “Is it supposed to hurt this much?”

“It’s childbirth. I don't think there is such a thing as fun childbirth.”

Healer Hyacinth stood between Stephan’s legs. If it had been any other man, he’d have killed him for being in such a place.

“It’s time, Stephan. The natal line is fully dilated. When I tell you, I want you to push.”

Natel line—Jayden glanced at the line, which was gaping a bit now, on the underside of Stephan’s swollen belly. It was a bit freaky looking.

Another contraction must have hit, as Stephan’s grip on his hand tightened, and his Hunny Bunny let out a high-pitched cry of agony.

“Push!” Healer Hyacinth commanded.

Stephan continued to scream, his hand clenching harder. Jayden’s eyes widened as the natal line began to gape open.

“Nope,” Bow said, shaking his head.

“Don’t you dare, you coward!” But it was too late. Bow had poofed to wherever he went when he didn’t want to see what was going on.

“Keep pushing,” Healer Hyacinth ordered.

Stephan’s hand tightened in his, the man letting out a pain-filled sob. The line widened, and before his very eyes, he watched as a head broke through. One last cry from Stephan and the baby was out.

The room became a flurry of activity then, as the air filled with the cries of an infant. He numbly cut the umbilical cord, when they offered him the option, and then his child was passed around, cleaned, and other check-ups done.

Jayden was forced to step back while the hospital staff helped clean Stephan, and changed the bedding. Through the whole thing, his gaze kept flicking from their child to Stephan’s exhausted form. Once they were finished with Stephan, Jayden sat down as close to the bed as possible, his hand linked with the elf’s again as they waited.

Soon enough, Healer Hyacinth came over, carrying their no longer crying child, who was all bundled up, and gently laid them in Stephan’s open arms. “Congratulations, you two are the proud fathers of a beautiful healthy baby girl.”

Stephan let out a sob, a happy one this time. “She’s beautiful. ”

Jayden stared down at the tiny little thing, and felt his heart shattering into pieces, as the love surging inside him became too much. “She is perfect,” he croaked, while tears formed in his eyes.

Reaching out, he gently brushed one of her tight black curls. Her features were a copy of Stephan’s, but her coloring was all him—black hair, pale skin. He didn’t know what color her eyes would be, but for some reason, he thought they may be cornflower blue.

“Hello, Precious,” Stephan cooed. The infant snuffled. “Yeah, you’ve had a rough day, huh?”

Liam cleared his throat, but his voice was still shaky with emotion when he spoke. “Well done, Stephan. Well done. She’s beautiful. Congratulations to you both.”

“Thank you, Liam,” Stephan beamed.

Liam left the room then, to give them privacy—well, privacy, besides some of the Healer’s who were still hovering.

Even so, Jayden couldn’t stop the sob from slipping free, his emotions getting the best of him. “Thank you, Stephan. Thank you. I love you.”

Stephen smiled at him. “I love you, too.” His hair was all out of place. Really, he was just a frazzled mess; his face was pale, and his skin was coated in sweat. Yet, Jayden found him breathtaking. “And I may have done all the work, but you did help,” Stephan said with a giggle.

“Yeah?” He laughed. Jayden helped Stephan scoot over on the bed, before he laid down beside him, and pulled them both into his arms. “I seem to recall, my part involved in it being well and thoroughly threatened.”

Their little girl chose that moment to make little baby grunts. Stephan peered down at her. “Look at her, our precious light, our Dawn. Our miracle.” The man sniffled, a few tears falling.

Jayden reached over and wiped them away. “She really is our light.”

Dawn—It was just one of the names they had floated around, if their child happened to be a girl. But looking at her now, he just knew it was perfect.

For, while Stephan had become his salvation, his path towards something better, Dawn was his light.

As Jayden held them close, trying to burn the moment into his memories, he made a vow. No one would lay a finger on his light or his salvation. Jayden swore that he would burn the world to the ground before he let anything happen to either of them.

The End