Page 232 of Labor of Love

“I need to shift!” Josh cried out.

“Wait, love. Wait until we get inside. Breathe through it. Look, there’s a wheelchair for you.”

“No, I need to shiftnow!”

“Breathe, love! Breathe!” I jumped out of the SUV, and ran around to the passenger side, screaming for help all the way.

A nurse appeared at the car door almost as if by magic. “You are going to wake the entire neighborhood!” she chided. “You’d think no one ever had a baby before.”

“Wehaven’thad a baby before, so you’re half right,” I growled. “Help him!”

“It’ll be alright. Is this your first, honey?” she asked Josh.

“My firstthree,” Josh wheezed in between contractions.

“Oh, my! Well, let’s get you inside, shall we?” She helped Josh into the wheelchair, then turned to me. “Go park the car and meet us on the third floor of the maternity wing. We’ll get him settled in a labor room and call the doctor. You can fill out the necessary paperwork up there.”

I was torn between doing as the nurse instructed and sticking to Josh’s side like proverbial glue. In the end, I did as the nurse bade me and went to park the car. Then I ran all the way back to the hospital emergency entrance and raced up three flights of stairs to the maternity wing without bothering to wait for the elevator.

I was a bit out of breath by the time I found Josh, just having been stripped down, and getting settled into bed. “Here. I’m. Here,” I huffed.

“Just in time! The doctor will be in momentarily,” the nurse said. “He’s in transition. Should be shifting at any moment.”

“Shouldn’t he wait for the doctor?” I felt panicky.

“Babies wait for nobody,” the nurse said. She smiled. “Don’t worry. The doctor is coming.”

Just then, Dr. Melville came in. “Okay, Josh. Let’s see how far along you are.”

He examined Josh and then straightened up. “You can shift whenever you feel comfortable doing so,” he told Josh. “The babies are in position and ready to come greet the world.”

Josh heaved a great sigh of relief and shifted into his leopard. I thought Josh was beautiful in both forms — human and leopard. His leopard was golden with stark black-and-brown splotches dotting his sleek hide. His eyes were grass green, reflecting the excitement, hope, and pain he was probably feeling.

A low growl grew into a snarl as another pain hit.

Then suddenly, the first cub was born in a flurry of activity. The boy panther, Joshua, was healthy, with a sleek, inky black coat. He mewled with the injustice of losing his place inside his father’s warm body.

Little Abigail Rose was born next, a chubby little bundle of fuzzy gold, with just the slightest hint of the markings which would become more pronounced as she grew older.

Her younger brother, and twin, Neil, came next and last. He was identical to Abigail with the exception of his gender. They’d expected him to be born first, but as with all babies, they had a mind of their own.

All three babies were healthy and beautiful, and I wept at the sight of them.

And the funny thing was, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I had ever thought that hiring Josh was a colossal mistake.

It had been the best decision I’d ever made.

I climbed onto the bed with Josh, curled around my new family protectively, knowing nothing would ever be as sweet and perfect as that moment in time, and soon all five of us were asleep.

When I dreamed, it was of a bright and shining future with my beautiful leopard omega and my three glorious children.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kiernan's stories of gay romance envelop diverse themes. She has published with a variety of houses, and to date has over one hundred titles in print and ebook.

Kiernan also writes young adult GLBT fiction under her Dakota Chase pen name.

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