Chapter 22

As promised, it was all business as soon as we woke the next day.  Lucius had taken our notes and examined each of them in depth adding his own thoughts. It was fine, I told myself over and over as I watched the furrow between his brows become deeper and deeper with each notation that he put down.

It was barely ten am however when things changed. Nicole, who had been dancing around the living room with Danny to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Hot dog song, yelped. Lucius and I exchanged looks over the dining room table, pausing for barely a second before the two of us pushed away from the table and rushed into the living room to see what was happening.

My little boy drew my eyes first because he was still being an overactive two year old, dancing around the room as he continued to sing the words at the top of his lungs and flap his arms up and down like goofy was doing on the TV. My eyes then moved to Nicole.

At first nothing appeared wrong, except for the fact that she was very still and was currently looking at the floor like it held the answers to all of life’s problems. On autopilot, my gaze followed hers to the floor where there was a rather large wet patch pooling around her feet. Nicole could only stare and for a few seconds I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on.

And then I yelled. Lucius clapped his hands over his ears and glared at me but I was too busy hurrying forward to help the teen to pay much attention to him. Instead I was trying to remember what came next.

“Oh my god, you’re going to have a baby.” I whispered, tentatively stepping close to Nicole and pulling her into a one armed hug.

The little spitfire glared up at me before her eyes closed and she breathed in sharply.

“Oh my god, you’re going to have a baby.” I repeated dumbly which caused her to glare at me even worse than she had only seconds before.

“I’m starting to think you might not be the best person to help me through this.” She stated as she caught sight of my dazed and slightly awed look that was plastered upon my features.

I shook my head to clear it but it was still muddled as I turned to look over my shoulder at Lucius. He was stuck somewhere between horrified and dumbstruck – his mouth hanging open while his eyes were entranced by the pool of amniotic fluid now wetting my floor.

“Lucius get me some towels. We need to dry up the floor before someone walks in it.” I turned my gaze back to Nicole. “Are you still certain you want a home birth?”

I could feel myself wincing at the thought but then again it wasn’t my decision to completely forgo all modern medical means to deliver a baby it was hers. I was just thankful that she acquiesced to have a midwife attend her.

“Nicole sweetie, how long have you been having pains?” I asked as I gently helped her sit on the sofa but I soon forgot the answer because the girl was gripped by another contraction.

Her entire body curled up as it was wracked with spasms.  My breath was stolen from my lungs when she stretched out her hand and gripped onto my shoulder. Intense burning pain swept through me as her grip tightened even more as the second passed. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, breathing through the tenderness quickly steaming through my body. Maybe the midwife is right, I thought wryly, these exercises really do come in handy.

At that moment I was barely stopping myself from hitting Nicole’s arm away so that I would no longer be feeling this pain. I had never claimed to have a high pain tolerance and I didn’t think this was a particularly good situation to say that out loud because the woman before me was obviously in more pain that I was.

I remembered that pain all too well.

When she finally released me a little while later I fell away from her while breathing harshly.

“Okay, now to answer my question. Contractions – how long?”

Nicole, whose eyes had closed while she tried to regain her breath, cracked one lid open and shot me daggers. They might have caused me serious pain if she had had any magical abilities.

“Since last night. I thought it was those Braxton hicks’ things I was having last week.” She groaned some and her arms shot out to the side and gripped the arm of the chair like a lifeline. The tension in her body was evidence enough that she was going through contractions once more.

“Lucius, I hope you are on the phone to the midwife because this baby is coming soon – the contractions are too close together.” I turned my attention away from Nicole to see a dumbstruck Lucius stood lamely in the doorway while a terrified Danny clutched to his trouser legs.

Worrying my lip, I tried to remember what to do. The nurse had insisted on remedial lessons to prepare for the birth but I never thought I would have to use it.

“Oh god, I can’t do this.” I muttered as a panicked sob escaped my lips.

Nicole, who was taking a breather between contractions, shot a glance at me. Those eyes were wide and as I stared into them I could feel the terror lurking beneath. It was strangely Lucius who helped me get back to myself and find that strength I had had when Danny was born.

“Okay, Nicole. This is going to hurt like hell, and you can scream at me and crush my hand all you like but the end result is what we are after. And I promise you, it will all be worth it.” I took her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze, pulling it away before she could take advantage of my permission and squeeze the life from my hands when the next contraction hit.

Glancing up, I saw Lucius on the phone but the expression on his face was far from pleasant.

“What’s going on?”

“The midwife can’t make it. Something has happened, half of London has been cordoned off by the police and the midwife is on the opposite side to us. She said she can guide you through it but she won’t be able to make it here.” Lucius placed a hand over the mouthpiece and offered me a look that explained that there was much more going on than a mere terror threat. “I think they’re closing in Savannah. It is up to you to deliver the baby and then help me to protect them both from harm.”

I gulped and nodded before letting my eyes go back to Nicole. Her eyes were rolled back in her head as her fingers clawed at the sofa cushions on either side of her. It was terrifying to see only the whites.

“Okay, tell her to get somewhere where she can talk me through this with no interruptions. Oh my god, I’m going to deliver a baby. This is a hundred times of messed up.” Closing my eyes, I breathed in deep and quelled the panic that was once again rearing its head.

This was the hardest thing for me to do. Most of Danny’s birth had been removed from my mind because I did not want to remember this – the toe curling pain as the body tries to force something very large out of something very small. Lucius winced and looked away out of respect while, with the aid of the long distance midwife, I delivered a baby to my very young charge.

Tears leaked from my eyes as two hours later after much struggling, shouting and crying little Jessica Eve Armstrong was born to a proud mum. Nicole was absolutely exhausted. Struggling to remain awake as she cradled her daughter to her with shaky hands, the look in her eyes was one I would never forget. There was pure adoration in those weary irises that would not be tarnished for anything. I would make sure of that.

Stroking her head from her face, I sat gently beside her on the bed and looked down at the red and slightly squashed face of the new born baby. The midwife was still stuck on the other side of the town and the loud bangs going off in the distance that sounded too wrong to be fireworks kept exploding in the distance. It made me sick to my stomach that a new life, one that was barely half an hour old, already had people panting for its blood. To remove its existence to further their own needs. I just couldn’t comprehend it.

Thus, it was easy for me to call my favourite babysitters to the house. The rumblings and banging noises were getting closer to my home as time passed and the most important thing was getting Nicole and Jessica away before they could be harmed by anyone. Danny, who I had only just gotten back, would have to leave too so that he would be safe – far away from me and Lucius. The two of us were trouble magnets and I would not have innocent lives suffer because of it.

Calantha wouldn’t be here until morning so for that night I could enjoy my family and the miracle that had made her way into the world a few days early. But tomorrow they would be gone.

Removing the sleeping baby from Nicole’s arms, I placed a kiss upon its forehead before crossing to the bassinet set up next to where the new mum slept. I held the baby for a few seconds longer, enjoying the feel of having a small delicate person in my arms once more. And then, gently as I could manage I placed the little girl into the crib where she stirred before falling into a restful sleep.

But I couldn’t sleep that night. Instead, I played with my son until he exhausted himself. I put him to bed and read him a bed time story about pirates which seemed to be his new favourite. I tried my best not to cry as he leant across my shoulder and his breathing deepened as exhaustion took a hold of him.

And then, when he was finally asleep, I walked to my own room. Lucius was already there, a strong silent statue that was facing out of the window with that familiar frown etched between his brows. No words were spoken. I merely crossed the room in three large strides and stood beside him.

For the entire night, side by side with his arm draped across my shoulder, we watched over the streets outside. Both of us were looking for the enemy but praying they would never come.