Page 80 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
Ryan
After our bonding, the doctors had given me another two weeks before they wanted me to deliver the baby. By that time, they said, the child should be fine. Both of us should be. That was good. The only downside was that they still wanted me to stay in the hospital until the birth. And honestly, that was kind of boring.
Finn stayed with me as much as he could, though. He brought me my sketchbook too, which helped, and one or two books to read about babies and their development. Apparently Michael had recommended them to him during a phone call.
I was reading one of the books when Adrian dropped in for a visit.
“Hey,” he said, opening the door with a smile. “You alone today?”
I put the book aside. “Finn has band practice.”
“Ah, I see.” Adrian sat on a chair next to the bed. “I remember how boring bedrest can be, so I thought I'd visit.”
“Left your mate to deal with the kids?”
Adrian grinned. “I'm sure he'll have taken them to his mom by now.” He leaned back. “I deserve a day off every now and then. Especially when my mate thinks taking the trash out is below him.”
I snorted, because Adrian looked so inordinately pleased with himself. “Did you two fight?”
“Well, maybe a little, but it's not a big deal. Even bonded couples still fight, you know? And honestly, I'd hate for it to be different. Who'd want to miss out on the make-up sex?”
“I'm glad to hear it's no big deal.”
Adrian shook his head. “It never is, really.” He gave me a smile that showed just how happy he was in his relationship. There were times I used to be a bit jealous of him and all he had with his mate, back when I'd thought that such happiness was out of my reach. Now I realized I could have it too. The concept was still daunting, but all I had to do to reassure myself was to close my eyes and think of Finn, feel the bond we shared. He was always with me, even when he wasn't.
“What were you reading?” Adrian asked, glancing at the book I'd put aside.
“Just some book about the baby's first year and all that. I thought it might be helpful.”
This seemed to amuse Adrian. “I read a lot of those books, but they never tell you the important shit.”
“Yeah? What's that?”
“This is still a bit in the future for you, but I've had to set up so many rules in my house I never thought I'd have to have... Now, Daire's a little angel, I don't know where he gets that, but the twins...” Adrian shook his head. “A few months ago one of them nearly got stuck flying up the chimney in search of Santa.”
I laughed, resting a hand on my belly. “I wonder what this one's going to be like.”
“Well, it's Finn's, right? I'm sure it's going to be adorable.”
“It's... Yeah, it's Finn's.” Because it wasnotJin's.
Adrian smiled. “He'll be a great dad, you'll see.”
I chuckled. “Yes, but he's also already talking about parading the baby around like baby Simba. I might need to set up rules for him rather than the kid.”
Adrian burst out laughing. “Yeah, I can see that! The twins love Finn, though, because he's just like a big kid himself sometimes. I guess you'll have to be the adult in your house.”
I simply smiled at Adrian, because I didn’t mind being the adult in the house. For the longest time, I’d feared I wasn’t going to be part of my child’s life at all. Now that I had the chance to raise it alongside Finn, I didn’t mind where in the house I was, as long as I was in it at all.
* * *
It wasabout a week and a half after I'd been put on bedrest that my water broke. Apparently, this kid was as tired of waiting as I was of staying in bed. Finn was there with me when it happened and called the nurse, who alerted the doctor. Finn stayed behind and held my hand as the contractions started coming, and I tried to recall the videos I'd watched on proper breathing. Not much help now.
“Isn't it still too early?” I asked Finn, squeezing his hand.
He kissed my forehead. “Don't worry. We made it longer than the doctor expected. That's got to count for something right?”
I took a deep breath and hoped he was right. I wasn't worried about labor, or how painful it was going to be. All I could think about was whether my child was evenreadyto be born. But it seemed the little one had very strong opinions on this as the contractions came hard and fast.
