Page 28

Mal was the most precious person in Rocky’s existence with the babies coming a close second. In his entire life Rocky never wanted to cause his mate harm, even on the times when he had in the past. But in the dim light of the cruiser, with nothing but darkness around them, Rocky’s wolf told him he had no choice. Their little one was struggling, and Rocky knew even if the birth didn’t kill Mal, losing their child would.

Do it. Do it. Do it. Mal’s voice was getting frantic in his head. Reaching over the front seat, Rocky was going to call Doc on the radio, but then his hand dropped. He was shaking.

Claws. I need claws. Rocky’s wolf was there, guiding his still shaky hand. Don’t let me kill him, Rocky prayed to the Fates. Don’t take away the one good thing in my life. Barely wanting to look but knowing he had to, Rocky slashed across the underneath of Mal’s heaving belly, leaving a long red gash.

Now what?

Reach in. Quick. Rocky, we’re losing him, you have to get him out.

Rocky wasn’t even sure he could look, but he knew that he had to. Mal’s face was bright red, although he was holding their first child as carefully as he could one armed. The other hand was gripping the side of the seat and Rocky could see claw marks in the leather.

Baby. Baby. I need to find a baby lump. It was right there, as though waiting for Rocky’s hand. Curling both hands underneath it, Rocky tugged, praying he wasn’t damaging Mal’s insides.

Pulling the baby free of Mal’s stomach, Rocky could see the little one was not doing well. His face was more purple than red, and his body seemed limp in comparison to the other one.

Clear his nose and mouth, Mal instructed through their bond, and then gently blow on his face.

His? Oh, yes. Swallowing the bile in his own throat, Rocky worked quickly, clearing the gunk from around his son’s nose, and hooking his finger into the baby’s mouth and bringing out more goo. Please be all right, baby, Rocky prayed as he started blowing gently in the little one’s nostrils. You’ve got so much to look forward to, so much life to live.

Seconds seemed like hours. Rocky blew, waiting a count of three and then blew again. In between time he rubbed the baby’s body with his hands, trying to stimulate his son’s desire to live. Just when Rocky was sure nothing he was doing was working, he rubbed his son’s back, and the baby hiccupped. In the next breath, he started to wail.

“You did it, babe.” Mal had tears streaming down his face. “You saved our sons.”

“Two of them. We got them both.” Rocky found a second blanket and wrapped their bigger boy in that to keep him warm. “Babe, are you all right?”

“I think I can hear Joe’s cruiser.” Mal tilted his head slightly. “Can you cover my stomach please? I can barely think because of the pain and I’m bleeding everywhere.”

/~/~/~/~/

“You’re all incredibly lucky. The placentas had completely come away and both of the little ones could’ve died.”

Doc stripped off his latex gloves and threw them in a trash can. He’d insisted Rocky take Mal and the little ones into the surgery room, so Mal could be checked over thoroughly and get stitched up. Then he’d dusted the wound with some of Kee’s pixie dust which had taken away the pain.

Levi had turned up and was weighing and measuring the babies and doing whatever tests a doctor needed to ensure the little ones were healthy. “How the hell did you manage to give birth and still end up with a roadside C-section?”

“Don’t ask me, I was just doing as I was told.” Rocky was exhausted, but he wasn’t going to rest until he knew Mal and the little ones were all right. “One minute I’m breaking land speed records in the cruiser, and next minute Mal was yelling at me to stop the car and telling me to catch.”

“I didn’t realize I could give birth naturally.” Mal had dark smudges under his eyes, but at least his color was returning. The pixie dust clearly worked fast. “I never saw anything about that on the paranormal council website, or I might’ve been better prepared.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t know about it either, and I should have.” Doc ran his fingers through his long gray hair. “Those pains you were having through the day were clearly labor pains, so your body was preparing to shove them both out, but what the hell happened? Why did you end up slashed across your belly?”

“I will swear until my dying day that the bigger one pushed the little one out.” Mal looked at Rocky. “You believe me, don’t you?”

Rocky nodded. “That’s what it looked like. One minute I could see the head and the next our little one popped out so fast, I barely had time to catch him.”

“And then my wolf told me the bigger one was struggling. I’m not big enough down there… His head couldn’t fit.” Mal was crying again. “I could’ve killed him if it hadn’t have been for Rocky.”

“Hey, babe. We did it together.” Rocky turned to his mate and pulled him against his chest. Mal clung to him, and Rocky’s shirt was getting damp. “We’re all together now. We’re safe. After a shift or two, you’ll be all fixed again, and our little ones are sleeping. The Fates were smiling on us tonight.”

“I’m still not sure how you did it. You absolutely did the right thing. Somehow, and I can only guess it’s part of a male omega pregnancy process, your womb created a secondary birthing channel that attached itself to your rectum. It’s already disappearing and I’m sure with the pixie dust, it won’t cause you any future problems,” Doc said. “But Mal, Rocky is right. You have two beautiful sons and despite the most jagged C-section cut I’ve ever seen, it worked. You need to go home, get some rest while you can, and start learning to fit your lives in around your sons.”

He turned back to his notes. “I will make a note of all of this, so if you get pregnant again – it won’t be for a few years at least…”

“No.” Rocky shook his head. “Two is enough for us, isn’t it, babe?”

Mal nodded, but he still looked worried. “I don’t think birth control works for omegas though, Rocky. I’m not sure…”

“I can have the snip, can’t I?” Rocky asked Doc. “There’s something you can do, a little procedure so that my swimmers don’t make it to their destination, isn’t that right? It doesn’t stop me getting hard, either, does it?”

Doc and Levi exchanged glances. “I’ve got to admit, I’ve never heard of a shifter doing that before,” Doc said slowly. “And there’s no guarantee that the snip won’t just heal itself the first time you shift.”

“I wouldn’t make the decision just yet. You’ve got a few years before you even have to think about it. For now, you’re both tired, emotionally worn out and justifiably so.” Levi came over with the bigger boy who had lost his purple shade. “Your boys are perfectly healthy with nothing wrong at all. Here, you hold this one, Rocky. I’ll get the other one for Mal.”

“Levi’s right, you’ve got plenty of time,” Doc said. “Get yourself home. Focus on getting to know your new sons. What are you going to call them?”

“You said Hector and Harriet when you told me you were pregnant.” Rocky smiled seeing Mal cradle their other son. “But we have two boys.”

“We’ll work it out.” Mal managed a weak smile. “Let’s just get home, because you know when word gets out, we’ll be inundated with visitors. I need a shower, something to eat and, yeah, I’m sure it will come to us. Thanks, Doc. You’ve been brilliant.”

“I think the credit for these births goes to Rocky,” Doc said but he was smiling too. “You did real good Sheriff, you did really good.”

As far as Rocky was concerned, it was Mal who was the superstar, but he could see Mal was fading, and they needed to clean up and eat, if nothing else. “I do think this one looks a bit like a Hector,” he said as he helped his mate and new family back out to the car. “Look,” he added, holding the sleeping baby up next to his face. “You can tell he looks just like me.”

“Yeah, you’re right. He looks just like you do when you’ve had too many beers and on the verge of passing out.” Mal chuckled. “Aren’t you glad you put the car seats in the trunk of the cruiser?”

“I’ve learned a lot being with you,” Rocky said. He didn’t think Mal needed to know that the only reason the car seats were still there was because he hadn’t bothered to take them into the house. “Just call me Mr. Organized.”

“I’m so glad you said that.” Mal indicated with his free hand. “Pass me Hector, and you, Mr. Organized, can work out how those darn things attach to the back seat of the cruiser.”

“They have to be attached?” Oh, gods, Rocky mentally groaned. Me and my big mouth.