The order was answered with a spray of gravel as four bodies were thrown back against the seats. Caleb looked up from Amelia long enough to toss his friend a hard look before shifting his position in the backseat to give Amelia more room.
“I can’t believe this,” Pogue mumbled as he managed to effortlessly steer the Hummer off of church grounds and onto Main Street. He ignored insulting gestures and honking as he weaved in and out of traffic erratically, Tyler gripping the handle above the car door with both hands. “Why is this happening now? Should it be happening now?”
“When it’s time, it’s time,” Samantha replied casually from directly behind him, letting Amelia grip one of her hands in a vice-like hold. “And these little ones want out.”
Caleb looked down into Amelia’s face, which was contorted in the midst of pain and fear.
“Focus on me…focus on my face and breathe…it’s going to be okay.”
Amelia tried to do what Caleb asked of her, but keeping her breathing steady and slow felt near impossible. Instead it came out in tiny gasps and grunts of pain. She shook her head, panicked.
“I’m not ready for this!”
Samantha giggled, squeezing her hand gently. “I’m sure the daddies aren’t either, but you’ll all get through it.”
“Just hang in there, baby,” Pogue coached from the front seat, looking back over his shoulder every two seconds to check on his fiancée.
Tyler just let his eyes close as his emotions tried to shut him down. It was an internal struggle. He knew full well what was going on in the backseat, his daughter was getting ready to be brought into this world…Reid’s son, too. They all needed to be there for Amelia, so then why was he feeling so closed off and afraid to move a muscle to help or even look at her.
Then he knew.
Reid wasn’t there. Reid had always been there for the big things, the huge events. He kept humor in the situation, which was one of the things Tyler always counted on to make it through those times that just felt way too real and intense to tolerate. He had no idea how much he had depended on his best friend until that moment. He needed to talk to Reid, he needed to know that he was there throughout all of this. This event was just as important for Reid as it was for the rest of them.
He could almost hear Reid’s voice in his head now, scoffing, “Tyler, stop acting like a pussy and be a man. Both Amelia and your kid need that, not to mention that I don’t want my son to grow up thinking his Uncle Tyler is a total tool. Now step up!”
He was torn from his thoughts by Amelia’s not-so-stifled scream. He jumped, whipping his head around to look into the backseat.
Sam was looking at him with a quirked brow as Amelia squeezed her hand until it was white. It didn’t seem to affect her in the least. “Hey, bro, welcome back. How are things in the Triangulum?”
Tyler blinked, looking slightly confused. “What?”
“Well, you’re certainly not in *this* galaxy at present, which begs the question which galaxy is your head currently in? Wherever it is, bring it back to the Milky Way, and better yet, planet Earth, because we need you. Reid needs you to help us out here.”
He opened his mouth, ready to reply with something sarcastic before he realized something. His sister and Reid were a lot alike in many ways. They both knew ways to irk him to no end, they had strange sense of humors at even stranger times, they pulled profound items of wisdom from some orifice he didn’t dare investigate further…but most importantly, they were critical to Tyler’s survival. He loved both of them, and despite the fact he was ready to wring his sister’s neck when she wouldn’t stop talking, and want to strangle Reid when he would go off on one of his tangents…he wouldn’t have them any other way.
Shaking his head slightly to dispel the remnants of sorrow, he forced himself to focus on the girl lying between Caleb and Samantha in the backseat. She panted, looking scared as her right hand clutched the bottom of the leather seat she was spread out on.
He slowly reached out and stroked her balled-up hand, until she relaxed it long enough to grasp his. Tyler made eye contact with Amelia and gave her an encouraging smile, which she weakly returned.
Caleb adjusted the blanket over Amelia as he watched the road ahead of them. They were only a couple miles out from his home, and with how Pogue was driving like a man possessed, they would reach it within a minute, he wagered.
“Okay, listen up. As soon as this car stops, I need Pogue to help me get Amelia inside. I want her in her bed, where she can be the most comfortable. Tyler, I need you to get clean towels- a *lot* of them- a large bowl of warm water, and a bulb syringe out of the kit in the bathroom.”
“What do you want me to do?” Sam asked, looking extremely nonplussed by the hurried events.
“What you’ve been doing. Stay at Amelia’s side. Without checking her, which is extremely hard to do in this car going this fast, I don’t know how close she is, but my gut is telling me it won’t be long. We need our heads on straight for these deliveries.”
“Says the one that will be doing the delivering. Is *your* head on straight, Caleb?” Pogue inquired, looking at his friend in the rearview mirror a second before his eyes flashed black, the gate in front of the Danvers’ estate opening quickly enough for the Hummer to pass through without marking the vehicle on the wrought-iron. As soon as they were through and clear, the gates closed once more behind them.
Caleb’s expression was one of somber seriousness. “It better be. I’d hate to see you or Tyler have to deliver these babies.”
At that suggestion, Amelia began to giggle maniacally.
“Oh, boy,” muttered Sam as she watched her pregnant friend’s reaction to Caleb’s words. “She’s cracking.”
Amelia tried to speak in the midst of her laughter, but found it difficult. “G-Go in…into l-labor only a m-month after g-getting pregnant w-w-with quadruplets a-and then get…get b-back to me on…cracking…”
As soon as Pogue put the vehicle into park and turned off the ignition, tossing Tyler the keys, all four doors flew open, everyone there ready to execute their purpose.
After all…this was *not* a drill.
-----------------------
“Hey, baby,” Pogue muttered in a soothing voice, giving Amelia a gentle smile as he sat down near her upper body on the bed. He took the damp washcloth from Samantha so that she could go help Tyler retrieve the items Caleb needed, and bathed her perspired brow. “It’s almost time. I’m so proud of you.”
Amelia swallowed hard, her breathing shaky as she tried to relax during the contraction intermission. They were coming fast and hard, less than two minutes apart…and they were extreme- intense and incredibly painful. She felt like the babies were going to burst through her stomach and ached to receive some consoling news from Anna to the contrary. However, she hadn’t heard the girl’s voice since the cemetery when she had warned her mother that the time had come.
“I-I wish I could be that optimistic. I’m scared,” she admitted, her voice a whimper as her hands clutched at the sheets covering her body. Caleb and Pogue had laid her down and immediately stripped her bare naked. Sam had helped put a loose maternity nightgown of Mrs. Danvers’ on her so that she wasn’t completely exposed. The light blue cotton material was practically saturated against her skin, she was sweating so profusely from the agonizing pain.
“I know,” Pogue whispered, leaning over to kiss her on the head. “I know.”
Amelia grimaced, closing her eyes tightly as another tremor of promised pain shuttered through her lower body. She groaned, arching her back slightly. “Pogue, it hurts!”
Pogue’s eyes darkened with deep concern as he watched her writhe in pain. He couldn’t stand to see her like this. He looked up as Caleb re-entered the room, Tyler and Sam close behind him.
“Caleb, you’ve got to do something for the pain. She can’t make it like this.”
“If this was a normal pregnancy, I would numb her, but I’m not sure how I’m going to be delivering these babies yet, so I’m hesitant to do anything.”
Pogue’s eyes narrowed at Caleb’s answer. It wasn’t good enough. “Then make a damned decision. Unless you want her unconscious for the births. I doubt that will be productive in helping the babies out. Don’t tell me Mr. OB is Mr. Unprepared at *the worst possible time*!”
Caleb ignored the evident rising of Pogue’s anxiety, touching Amelia’s arm and feeling her pulse. It was strong, but erratic. He knew she was hurting, he could sense it with every fiber of his being. As much as it pained him to know that she had to endure the pain of childbirth times four, he was still reticent. This was a first for him, too.
“Caleb,” Amelia whimpered under her breath, her words barely audible, but they were heard for the ears they were meant for. “Please…”
He let out a breath, placing his hand on her rounded belly. The babies certainly had moved lower since he last checked her, that was for sure. However he didn’t think a vaginal delivery was in the best interest of mother or children. He knew that mentioning that he wanted to cut her open for the deliveries would not be well received, but they were hardly in a position to argue with him. Amelia and their children’s lives were in his hands.
“I think that I’m going to numb you from the chest down, Amelia,” he began in a cautious voice.
“Thank you,” Amelia gasped, gratitude shining in her eyes before pain once more filled them.
“Don’t thank me yet. I hope you’re not adverse to an incision, because I think I’ll need to deliver them via cesarean.”
Both Pogue and Tyler stopped moving, their eyes sharp as they gaped at Caleb. No one spoke for a moment before both boys started speaking simultaneously.
“Are you out…?”
“…of your fuckin’ mind?!”
Sam swatted Tyler’s shoulder with a towel. “Watch your language, mister. Caleb knows what’s best.”
“You want to cut her open?” Pogue continued, his voice rising with incredulity. “You’re no surgeon!”
“Neither are you,” he countered with a shrug. “Nor are you a Vitalist. You’re going to have to trust me.”
“You’re talking about knives and a lot of blood,” Tyler reminded him, going a little paler at the thought. Sam helped him to sit down on the edge of the bed before he faltered on his feet.
“Hello? She’s having four babies…there’s going to *be* a lot of blood. Four placentas, remember?” Samantha added, her hands moving to her hips. “Don’t be such babies. Are you going to have to wait out in the hall while we do this?”
On one hand, Amelia appreciated Samantha acting as mature as she was in this situation. On the other, she was done with hearing the arguing- she already felt like knives were slicing at her, what difference would one more make? Anything to make this anguish stop!
“Do it! Just please…make this stop!” she pleaded, reaching out and grabbing Caleb’s hand. “I didn’t know it would be this painful!”
“A woman’s lot in life really stinks,” Samantha sighed. “Blame the men.”
“No, blame Eve, but that’s neither here nor there.” Caleb paused, searching Amelia’s tearful blue eyes. “You’re ready?”
Amelia mutely nodded, unable to speak for fear of simply screaming out in agony. She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, but she knew that Caleb understood.
He slowly pulled away from her grasp and pulled the sheets covering her body down to her waist for modesty’s sake. He raised the nightgown so that his palms would be touching bare flesh, and concentrated, his eyes going ebony as he used his Power as an anesthetic. The effects were immediate, the results obvious just as quickly. Amelia relaxed almost completely, letting a soft sigh escape her lips as she embraced the blessed absence of pain.
“Oh, thank you…thank you.”
Caleb stood, scratching his head as he thought. “Okay. I need a scapel.” He looked at Pogue meaningfully, who just scowled back at him.
“What? You expecting me to pull one out of my ass?”
“You’re a Controller. Work with me, and we can create one. That and a clamp and surgical scissors.”
“Jesus, Caleb…I thought you were the Boy Scout amongst us. I still hate this idea.” Pogue reluctantly released Amelia’s hand, standing and wiping his palms on his suit pants before walking over to where Caleb moved out of the way of Amelia and the bed. He listened intently as Caleb explained to him what they needed to do.
Tyler slowly moved past Sam with a glass of ice chips. He offered it to Amelia, who took a few into her mouth to let melt. Her facial features were much more relaxed and tranquil…he was thankful for that.
“I bet I know what you’re thinking right now.”
Amelia’s eyes moved so that she was looking at him. “I’m wishing Reid was here…not to say that having you guys here isn’t helping, it’s just…”
“I know,” Tyler quietly interrupted, clearing his throat. “For the record, I’d do anything to make it happen.”
“I know,” Amelia replied, fresh tears springing into her eyes. She found Tyler’s hand and squeezed it as they missed Reid together in silence.
A few minutes later, Caleb and Pogue rejoined them, Caleb with a shining scalpel in his right hand and the scissors and clamp in the other.
“Well, ‘poof!’, there they are- pre-sterilized and everything,” Samantha muttered softly, pulling her long hair quickly back into a ponytail. “What do you want me to do, Caleb? I can do the nurse stuff.”
Caleb’s eyes fell onto Amelia’s bare stomach, and a huge knot began to form in his own. The thought of slicing into her perfect skin and potentially causing her harm scared him to death. Pogue was right, he was no surgeon, but he was the only hope they had. He couldn’t blow this…he couldn’t.
Four innocent lives hung on the line…five if you included their remarkable mother. No, he *wouldn’t* screw this up.
His eyes hardening with renewed determination, he noticed Pogue and Tyler station themselves on each side of Amelia’s head, both of her hands held comfortingly in theirs. All eyes were on him, waiting and watching. Why they were watching, he wasn’t sure…the last thing they needed was for one of them to faint when their son or daughter was being introduced into the world.
Clearing his throat, he motioned to Pogue. “I need you to hold up her nightgown for use as a curtain. I don’t want her to see this.”
“I want to see,” Amelia began to argue, but one look from Caleb caused her to lose her stubbornness. No, maybe he was right.
“Sam, as I deliver each baby, I will cut the umbilical cord and hand them to you to gently clean. Then you’re going to have to suction…”
“…out the nose and throat with the bulb syringe you have by the bowl of water, yeah, I know.”
Tyler stared at her a long moment. “How do you know that?”
Sam just gave him a surreptitious wink and turned her attention back to Caleb. She was resigned to the fact that she couldn’t tell anyone her secrets yet…not even her own brother.
Oh, yeah, she was going to have words with whoever made up that rule eventually.
“As they’re born and taken care of, if you guys want to hold them…”
“Yeah,” Pogue breathed, nodding quickly. “Definitely.”
Tyler echoed his reaction, swallowing hard. The thought of holding his daughter was still surreal to him, but it was becoming more and more realistic by the second. Before long, she would be brought into the world and it would be up to him to protect her. Wow, how life loved to toss out those little hooks. He already knew she’d have him snared as soon as he saw her.
“Okay, then,” Caleb let out another breath, nodding firmly. “Let’s get this show on the road before Anna decides to take over the reigns.”
With that, and an encouraging look from Amelia herself, Caleb lowered the scalpel and forced his bravery to hold as the first swelling of blood oozed up around the stainless steel blade.
---------------
“I’m almost there…”
“Caleb, you’re killing us here! It’s been ten minutes, *what* is going on?” Pogue requested, all patience absent from his voice as he watched his best friend over the hem of Amelia’s nightgown. “How long does it take to pull out a baby?”
Caleb gritted his teeth together as he tried to get a hold on the largest baby yet again. This was the sixth time, and for some reason, every time he almost had a hold of it, it squirmed out of his reach. He couldn’t understand it, and it was honestly starting to frustrate the hell out of him.
“If the baby in question keeps avoiding my hands, it takes longer, I guess,” he mumbled through clenched teeth, finally throwing in the towel and sliding his hands in to retrieve the first baby he saw that *didn’t* evade him. With careful and cautious hands, he used one hand to hold the baby steady and still and the other to clip and clamp the umbilical cord.
He quickly handed the newborn to Samantha, who wrapped the baby up in the soft, plush towels she had on hand. Her face practically beamed as she proceeded to suction out the lungs and nose, and as soon as she was done, small, insistent cries filled the room.
Amelia, Pogue, and Tyler stared at Sam as she gently wiped the blood and skin off of the baby’s face, cooing softly. “Oh, she’s so precious…”
“She?” both Tyler and Pogue echoed, wonder and question shining in their eyes as they waited to find out exactly whose daughter Sam was holding.
“Yes,” Samantha nodded as the baby’s cries just got louder, her tiny face scrunching up unhappily. “And she really wants her daddy to hold her, I think. Here you go, Ty. It’s okay, I know you guys sanitized.”
Tyler’s mouth dropped open as Sam began to pass the newborn carefully into his arms. “Wh-What…? How do you know she’s mine?”
“With those lungs? She’s yours. And look at that dark hair,” Sam pointed out, pride shining on her face. “That’s my niece!”
As the baby was passed over completely to Tyler, he found that he couldn’t look away from the tiny, screaming person he held in his arms. He was in a state of complete and utter euphoria…the kind that was so intense in tranquility it was beyond nerve-wracking.
Amelia smiled as she watched Tyler hold the baby. “Rebecca?”
Tyler didn’t look away from the baby for a second. “Yeah,” he whispered, completely in the moment with his daughter to say much else.
Sam looked from Amelia to Tyler and gently nudged him in the side. “It’s her daughter too, might I suggest sharing the baby, bro?”
Blinking and snapping himself out of his daze, he quickly returned to Amelia’s side, sitting down next to her so that she could better see Rebecca. “She’s gorgeous, Amelia. Thank you.”
Amelia couldn’t help but wince as Rebecca accented Tyler’s words with another shrill cry. “Wow…she has great lungs.” Amelia reached out and touched her tiny cheek, that was so soft beneath her finger that she could hardly feel a thing.
Tyler let out a faint chuckle. “If that’s my fault, allow me to apologize now.”
Caleb smoothly pulled another baby from Amelia almost immediately after Sam washed and readied herself with another towel. “This one’s a boy.”
Sam nodded as she took the infant, replicating the same motions she went through with Tyler’s child. As she tenderly cared for the infant, who began crying almost as immediately as Rebecca after getting its lungs cleared, the three watched with the same amount of awe.
“That’s Justus,” Amelia breathed before anyone else could say anything. Her words stopped Caleb in his tracks before he focused on retrieving the next baby, his eyes moving to her saddened face.
“How do you know?” Pogue asked Amelia, looking from her to the upset child that Samantha was swaddling.
“Look how light his hair is. No child of Caleb’s will have hair that light…my kid or not. That’s Reid’s son,” she confirmed, a lump rising in her throat. “Please, Sam, let me have him.”
Samantha nodded, her eyes sad as she passed Justus over to Amelia’s waiting arms, that trembled before receiving the baby boy. No one spoke or did anything for a long moment as they just watched Amelia with him, the baby settling somewhat once Amelia held him close, but as he moved his tiny neck around slightly, it began to cry inconsolably once more.
A single tear slipped down Amelia’s cheek that she felt Pogue brush away with his finger. “He knows his daddy isn’t here,” she said in a choked voice, fighting to keep herself together for the babies’ sakes. The last thing they- or Caleb for that matter, there were still two babies to deliver- needed was for her to go to pieces when she was cut open from sternum to diaphragm.
“Yeah,” Pogue whispered to her, squeezing her shoulder, “but his daddy is watching him…trust me on this.”
Tyler found himself having to look away from Amelia and Reid’s son, the pain of Reid’s passing once more coming back to haunt him. However, that wasn’t the only thing. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, sending chills down his spine.
Something was watching them.
Not saying anything yet so as to not raise alarm during such a dangerous time, Tyler slowly turned his head, looking beyond Samantha to his left. At first, he didn’t see anything, but after blinking, and really honing in his concentrating and focusing, he thought he made out a silhouette in the shadow in the corner of the bedroom. The longer he stared at it, the more convinced he was that someone *was* there.
A moment later, the figure moved, coming out into the dull lighting. What Tyler saw made his heart skip two beats and his blood run cold.
It was Reid.
He blinked, rubbing his eyes with his free hand before refocusing to make it out more clearly. Yes, it was Reid, and yet it *wasn’t*. It was a translucent form, one that was far from solid- he could see the bureau behind it, although it was slightly mottled and duller in color. However, Tyler recognized the eyes and hairstyle as that of Reid, and the dark, long-sleeved t-shirt he could tell it wore was the same shirt Reid wore the night he died…
…and he was staring *directly* at Amelia and Justus.
“No way,” Tyler whispered, not aware he had actually said the words out loud. Sam was currently engrossed in watching Caleb extract baby number three from Amelia, and Pogue was too wrapped up in anxiety at whose child would be next to be born.
Amelia looked over at Tyler, thinking she heard him say something. “What?” she asked him, her brows furrowed as fresh sweat had broken out over them.
Tyler swallowed, not looking away from the figure. It didn’t move or fade in the least, so he just shook his head, finally forcing his eyes away from what he was certain was Reid’s spirit.
“N-Nothing.”
“Eh…okay…another boy…must be mine.” An elated smile broke out over Caleb’s face as he pulled his son from Amelia’s belly, taking the towel from Samantha to tend to the child himself. Sam just watched with a gleeful expression, her twelve-year-old innocence just shining in the moment.
“What are you going to want to name him, Caleb?” Amelia asked him, a soft smile on her own lips as she continued to gently rock Justus in her arms.
Caleb’s expression sobered as he thought about that question. As much as he wanted Amelia to name the baby, he just couldn’t forget a favor that would mean the earth and the moon to him.
“Would it be all right with you if…we named him after my father?”
Amelia’s eyes widened only slightly before going back to a softened, mild expression. “James?”
“How about James Alan Danvers?” Caleb suggested, throwing her father’s first name into the mix for fairness. He gave her a tender smile as he held his son after suctioning his air passageways.
“I love it,” she replied in a soft voice. “James it is.”
“Thank you,” he replied gratefully.
The baby lay in his arms, quiet and peaceful as it just looked about with eyes as dark as his father’s and hair to match.
Caleb let out a chuckle. “I hate to say this, but he looks like me.”
“Poor Amelia,” Samantha teased playfully, holding her arms out towards the two. “Here, I want to see him.”
“Yeah, and Caleb…don’t forget, you still have one left in there…my daughter. Not to rush you or anything, but everyone else has theirs, and I want mine now, if you don’t mind.” Pogue’s tone was playful, but everyone there knew that he was mostly serious. Not to mention, curiosity was mounting at the thought of the Powerful Heir being the last born, even after being the first conceived.
Nodding, he turned James over to Samantha before reaching in to extract the last infant. “A-ha. You’re not squirming now, huh, little one?”
“Anna was the escape artist?” Pogue inquired, an amused- albeit terrified- look on his face.
“Oh, yeah…your going to have your hands full with this one,” Caleb confirmed with a chuckle as he gripped the baby girl, lifting her up and out of her mother with ease.
Samantha began to jump up and down carefully at bedside, holding James against her firmly. “Four babies!! I’m so excited!”
“Sam, feel free to babysit whenever you want to,” Pogue mentioned, throwing the girl a quick look. “Your help is *always* welcome.”
“I don’t think babysitting will be an issue,” Sam shrugged, moving over so that she could hand Caleb and Amelia’s baby across Amelia and to Pogue. “Here, I have to clean up your daughter. Caleb’s going to have to finish with the afterbirths and then seal Amelia back up. *Then* it will be time to eat.”
Pogue carefully took James, letting Amelia get a good look at him as he held his self-proclaimed nephew against him tenderly. “Good, I’m actually starving…even *after* the blood.”
“Not you, you typical male. The babies. You’re going to need to put them to the breast as soon as possible,” Samantha stated matter-of-factly, taking Anna into a towel carefully.
This broke Tyler’s attention from the spirit across the room to his sister, whom he just stared at disbelievingly. “How do you *know* all of this?” he repeated.
Samantha just threw him another cryptic look, humming softly as she cleaned up Anna. Her eyes met the newborn’s briefly, and it was enough to take her breath away. They were a bright green, and unlike most newborn babies, it held knowledge and power. It was both frightening and amazing.
“Welcome finally, Anna,” Samantha whispered to the calm baby, just cradling her close as Caleb finished working on Amelia.
Caleb’s eyes flashed black as he ran his finger up the incision, the cut disappearing beneath his fingertip. He washed the blood from her once again flawless and flat belly with the water from the bowl, drying it as gently as he could before laying her nightgown back down and covering her up with thicker blankets, making sure she was warm. Then he took his son from Pogue’s arms, watching his best friend as he anxiously took Anna from Samantha, who just stood back and watched the fathers with their children, and Amelia with the lone son who they believed would never know his father. It was a pleasant- if not disconcerting- sight. If only she could tell them what was in store for their future…how things could change in just the blink of an eye.
Then again, perhaps they already believed that.
After all was said and done and Samantha helped Amelia try breastfeeding each newborn, she departed to give them some quality time with the newest additions to the Danvers, Parry, Sims, and Garwin families.
Adrenaline was still running high in the new mother as she cuddled Justus back to her chest after spending a few long moments with Anna. Tyler took that opportunity to finally tell Amelia what he’d been aching to tell her the last twenty minutes.
He leaned down, close to her ear and whispered, “Look beyond me, over towards the bureau.”
Amelia looked at him with question before letting her eyes move to where he indicated. Seeing nothing there, she shook her head, her eyes returning to Tyler’s. “What?”
Tyler’s eyes filled with immediate and vast disappointment. “You don’t see him, do you?”
“Who?”
“Reid.”
That got Pogue and Caleb’s attention as they looked at Tyler, frowns on their faces.
“What did you say?” Pogue asked.
“Reid’s spirit is over there…and he’s watching us intently.”
Caleb’s eyes narrowed as he looked back towards the bureau and concentrated to pick up on any kind of…anything there. He couldn’t. As far as he was concerned, the eight of them were alone in that room.
“There’s no one there, Tyler. You’re seeing things,” Pogue replied, his voice flat with offense, as if he took the matter personally.
“Pogue, relax,” Caleb told his friend. “Tyler *is* the Mystic. He could very well see something.”
“We’re trying to bond with our children having just left Reid in the cemetery, and now he’s going delusional. Whether or not Tyler needs help, I don’t find it amusing.”
“I’m not making this up,” Tyler snapped at Pogue, his eyes darkening in anger.
Amelia opened her mouth, but was unable to get a word in edgewise. She didn’t expect an argument to break out so soon after such a happy occasion. Justus must have sensed the growing tension in the room, because he started crying in her arms, Rebecca soon to follow in his stead.
“Great, thanks,” Tyler mumbled, trying to comfort Rebecca like a teenage boy that was completely *unused* to being a father.
“I didn’t do anything!” Pogue retaliated, bristling. He looked down at Anna, and hesitated when he could have sworn he saw her giving him an actual look. “Oh, don’t you start on me,” he whispered to her. “I hate being outnumbered.”
Tyler turned his head back towards where Reid’s spirit was, but noticed it was moving closer to the bed now. He tensed briefly before forcing himself to relax. If it *was* Reid, he wasn’t going to hurt them. However, he had no idea exactly *what* he was going to do. The spirit’s expression was so vacant, so unlike Reid in life.
Just when the spirit had gotten close enough to reach out and touch Amelia’s elbow, Justus immediately stopped crying, his eyes open and staring in Reid’s direction. Tyler’s eyes widened as he watched Reid stare at his son, and his son stare right back at Reid. Both beings held wonder in their eyes, and it caused Tyler to hold his breath.
“What’s going on?” Amelia asked, shifting Justus in her arms slightly. As she did so, the baby’s eyes remained fixed on the air next to Tyler, where the spirit was poised.
Tyler was tempted to reach out and try touching it, but he knew better. Energy, especially residual spirit energy, was better left untouched. He watched with wide eyes as Reid reached out and touched Justus’ head with pale, see-through fingers, the baby boy’s eyes fluttering closed a moment upon the spiritual contact.
“Reid’s touching Justus’ head,” Tyler whispered, still afraid to move as he held Rebecca firmly- yet gently- against his shoulder. “And Justus is staring at him.”
Amelia swallowed hard, her eyes fixing on Justus’ light-blonde head. “He can’t be here,” she whispered back, starting to tremble at the thought of it. “I thought he was in Heaven.”
“I-I think he wanted to see his son be born, Amelia,” Tyler guessed out loud, immediately realizing that it made sense as soon as he said it. “Then he’ll probably go back there.”
“Like the whole unfinished business thing?” Pogue questioned from Amelia’s other side, still looking skeptical, but appropriately spooked now as he stared at Reid’s son and his new, calm demeanor.
“Yeah…probably,” Tyler nodded, his eyes following Reid’s movements as he leaned across the bed in front of Tyler and brushed his lips across Amelia’s cheek.
At the same moment, Amelia shuddered, letting out a light gasp as her eyes closed. She felt what seemed like an initial cool touch against her skin, but then it changed to comforting warmth that radiated from one point on her cheek throughout the rest of her body.
“It’s Reid,” she whimpered, her heart knowing immediately. “I know it is, Tyler’s right.”
Tyler shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure how long he has here, Amelia, or if he can hear us…but I think he can. He’s staring at you right now.”
Amelia turned her head towards the direction that she received the sensation on her cheek. She still felt it on her skin as she reached up, touching the area with her fingertips. “Tell him not to go.”
“He can’t stay here, he won’t have peace if he does.”
Tyler just watched Reid’s expression as he talked. He actually saw the blank expression Reid had been wearing change at her words to one of remorse. However, it was only present for a few seconds before it reverted back to its former state of indifference. Reid took two steps back before looking straight at Tyler.
As Tyler watched Reid stare at him, he responded to Amelia’s pained words, “I-I think he wants to stay, too, but he just can’t, and he knows that…we have to be brave.” At that, Reid nodded, as if confirming his best friend’s words. Tyler returned the gesture before Reid gave him a short wave, that was more like a salute in nature, and so totally Reid.
“Not yet…” Tyler found himself saying out loud, however, it didn’t hinder the spirit as it turned back around to look at Amelia and his son. Within the next few seconds, he started to fade, the minimal detail that had made it possible to identify him as Reid vanishing away quickly.
“What?” Amelia asked, panic in her voice.
“He’s leaving.”
“Don’t go,” Amelia beseeched to what seemed to her to be just open air. “Please, Reid…”
Tyler felt tears sting his eyes as he could make out the salute one last time, before the figure had completely evaporated.
Reid was gone.
“We have to be brave,” Tyler managed to utter again, but his words came out broken and unconvinced. Seeing his friend again- even if he was very obviously not whole and alive- was like being dealt a severely cruel blow backwards. Then again, at the same time, it was reminding them that Reid was always present with them, and that he loved them and would be watching over them.
Amelia wept, burying her face in the towel that kept Justus warm and safe. The baby, however, did not join her in cries nor show signs of agitation from her distress. Something still held its gaze so that it stared upwards, mesmerized by something that was invisible to the teenagers in the room. Even Anna was staring in the direction Justus was, a small glimmer shining in her eyes.
Pogue cleared his throat, before touching Amelia’s shoulder. “Amelia…Reid doesn’t want you to cry anymore over him. Look at Justus.”
She sniffled, opening her eyes to do what Pogue asked of her. The baby seemed so serene and almost…happy.
“The babies are here…healthy and alive. You are never going to be alone in this world.”
“We’re never going to leave you alone,” Caleb joined in, exchanging a quick glance with Pogue. “We’re united throughout all of this. Our sons and our daughters.”
“Together,” Tyler stepped in, a genuine smile on his face. “That includes Justus. It will be like his father never left, his existence will be so full of stories and reminders of Reid’s life.”
“We know you’re scared,” Pogue whispered to her, kissing her lovingly before taking her free hand in his and holding it against Anna’s head, “but we’re going to do everything it takes to make sure that these kids and you have as much laughter, love and happiness as any one person can stand.”
“Not to mention you’ll be a terrific mother,” Caleb nodded, his expression full of sincerity. “And we’ll try to be the best fathers we can be, but give us a little bit of room to screw up here and there. Our fathers weren’t perfect, but we’ll at least try to be.”
Amelia had to laugh softly at that, her heart feeling lighter at each and every word spoken by the three guys that surrounded her bed and her heart. “I hope I can live up to your expectations.”
“No hope involved…it’s the kind of person you are. These kids are going to be amazing, and we’ll teach them every step of the way. We’ll leave nothing out, because we’ve learned that ignorance is definitely *not* bliss,” Pogue muttered, sounding only slightly bitter at that last statement.
“You just have to promise us one thing,” Tyler remarked, shifting slightly on the bed so that he was closer to Amelia’s side.”
“What’s that?”
“That when these girls grow up, you’ll let us do our fatherly duties and emasculate every boy they show interest in.”
Amelia let out a full laugh at that. “And make them afraid to ever date? No way. I’m sure I’ll want grandchildren before I die.”
“Oh, let’s not be talking about grandchildren yet,” Pogue muttered, “but I like Tyler’s idea.”
“If you don’t let us question their masculinity, at least let us use our Power to pull some elaborately spooky pranks on them or something,” Caleb chimed in, looking deep in thought.
Amelia jaw dropped open as she stared at the eldest Covenant member in shock. “I can’t believe *you’re* saying this, of all people!”
“Hey, I won’t have a daughter to worry about, but those will be my nieces, and I’m not going to let Tyler and Pogue have all of the fun.”
She snorted in response, rolling her eyes. “You’re impossible…but fine, we’ll talk about that closer to puberty, okay?”
“What about the boys, then? Are they going to be trauma-free when they start dating?”
“Oh, well…I have a request to make when that time comes,” Caleb cleared his throat, moving James to his other arm.
Amelia looked at him warily. “And that is…?”
“You let us take credit for the lady-killer gene they will have naturally inherited,” he replied, a devilish smile curling up the sides of his lips.
Pogue let out a loud laugh, clapping Caleb on the shoulder. “You wish!”
Amelia let her eyes roam over Justus’ now sleeping face, before looking at where James was laying peacefully in his father’s arms. “These boys are going to break hearts, I believe that.” She turned her head to look at Rebecca, who was asleep against Tyler, and then halted her gaze on where Anna lay against Pogue’s chest, her eyes still wide and aware. “And the girls are going to cause the same heartache, I’m afraid. I only hope it’s just not half as much as their daddies.”
“Oh, no, Amelia,” Tyler shook his head, looking at the girl who held his love tightly in her grasp. “No more heartache. In fact, my heart feels mended when I look at you.”
Pogue chuckled lightly. “Poetic, but sweet, Sims.”
“I second that,” Caleb agreed, giving Amelia a similar look as Tyler’s, the love he had for her very obvious on his face. “What’s ours is yours.”
Pogue laced his fingers with hers before bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it. “And I hope they don’t gut me for claiming you as my wife. We’ll do that as soon as you’re ready and we can get away with it.”
Amelia smiled at Pogue, her gaze moving over her three guys. When she started to look for her fourth, her heart sunk slightly when she realized he couldn’t be found…not anymore. But he was still in her heart, and in all of theirs. Reid wanted them to be happy and safe, that’s what his death had been all about. And yet…
“I want Reid here with us…alive, in the flesh. I want him to be able to hold his son, to be a father. I wish for that with all of my heart,” she whispered with aching sincerity. Her words hung in the air as the boys around her silently agreed. If they could have one wish, it would mirror hers.
Amelia’s early frame of mind came back slowly, pressing back the words that were beyond her hope. Yes, she had to agree with the boys as she sat there surrounded by her miracles and the untouchable and exceptional love that filled the air in that room- life *was* good. They just had to continue believing that, and raise the children with the same frame of mind.
If she did nothing else, by God, she would accomplish that.
Together.
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