Page 47 of Briggs
“Oh! That reminds me! We’re supposed to go have dinner with them.”
I was chuckling now. “When?”
“Umm…this weekend?” Todd winced, and I laughed outright.
“This weekend it is, then. Do you know when exactly? Or are they getting back to you?”
Todd groaned. “Tomorrow night. That’s how I know John will have plans with his friends this weekend. Tomorrow morning, they’re doing a group run thing. If this weekend doesn’t work for you though…”
We were walking up to the clinic now, and Todd stopped at the large central sidewalk that went in multiple directions. “Whenever works for me. I have no set timetable beyond working hours. If you want to plan something for every evening and weekend, I’m happy to go along simply because I get to spend that time with you.” I leaned in and kissed Todd. “But we can discuss this more later if you’d like. We really should get to our appointment. I know how excited you’ve been about seeing the babies.”
Granted, he’d not known there were two until yesterday when I let that little bit of information out, but still.
“Oh yeah,” Todd said, his eyes rounding. Immediately, he tugged on my hand and took off toward the clinic. I smiled as Ilet my mate pull me along just behind him as he hurried to our appointment.
When we entered, he was excited and smiling. That was, until he saw someone sitting behind the desk. Someone that I knew, and of course, Todd did as well.
“Uh, hi, Cecil,” Todd said as he approached the check-in desk.
“Hi yourself. You’re here for your ultrasound?” Cecil asked with a smile on his face. “Congratulations on finding your mate! And now you’re pregnant. That’s so exciting.”
I could feel Todd’s heart shattering through our bond.
“Yeah,” Todd said quietly.
“I’ll let Dr. King know,” Cecil said, his smile dimming a bit. “I know you just found your mate and all, but do you happen to know when you’ll be coming back?” he asked as he stood. “I don’t mind filling in, and Grandpa Lev absolutely loves watching the twins for me, even though he himself has a fairly new little one. But I miss my babies.” Cecil’s eyes rounded, and he held out his hands. “Not that I’m rushing you. I get it. Being pregnant is difficult.”
I felt Todd relax through our bond. “You don’t want to stay?”
Cecil made a face. “Don’t get me wrong. I’ll come help here and there, but no. I’m all about my boys. And Warwick likes it more when I’m home with them. And with them being hellhounds, we’re not sure when they’ll shift.” Cecil’s eyes widened impossibly large. “What if they shift as toddlers? Can you imagine little hellhound puppies running around?”
“Umm…will they do that?” I asked. “Do you know?”
“We have no idea,” Cecil responded. “There have never been hellhound babies before. Warwick and all of the others were created; they weren’t born. We didn’t even know if I could have hellhound babies. We’re doing this all completely in the dark.”
I knew I looked like a fish out of water. Cecil laughed while shaking his head. “I’ll go let Dr. King know you’re here. He’s been waiting.”
Cecil walked down the hallway, and I looked over at Todd. “I cannot imagine babies shifting. Can you?”
Todd shook his head. “No,” he whispered back. “I guess I never thought about that before. I’ve seen their twins, and they’re adorable. But that’s kind of a new fear unlocked.”
“I agree,” I whispered in return as Dr. King and Cecil came out of a room down the hallway. From my one time being in here, I knew that to be Dr. King’s office, which was directly across from their break room. There were two exam rooms directly across from each other at the front of the hallway. There was a bathroom there somewhere, but I’d not noticed that in the brief time I’d been here.
“Are you ready?” Dr. King asked. “How have you been feeling?”
Todd started walking toward Dr. King as Cecil moved behind the desk. I looked his way as I walked by, and he smiled and gave me two thumbs up. I wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but I wasn’t going to complain. He was nice. And Warwick adored his mate and their twins. One’s first impression of Warwick was anything but a soft marshmallow, but that’s exactly what he was when it came to his mate and their babies.
“Any more sickness?” I heard Dr. King ask. “You’ve not called, so I hope that means you’ve been feeling better?”
“I’m tired still, and I do have some sickness if I either don’t drink the tea on time, don’t eat on time, or don’t eat enough,” Todd said as we all entered the exam room on the left.
“That sounds right. You should be getting a bit more energy back at this point in the pregnancy. Well, unless you are a higher-risk pregnancy,” Dr. King said.
I chuckled. “He knows,” I said. Dr. King immediately looked at me.
“You did tell him, then?”
“Yes, he did,” Todd said. “Why didn’t you tell me though?” He narrowed his eyes as he stared up at his boss. Todd held out his hand toward me, and I rushed over to his side to help him up on the exam table.
