Chapter 31 – You Did This To Me!

Two days later…

I glanced up in surprise as Amelie entered the room. She actually made small talk and asked Eve, "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Eve replied hesitantly, also finding it strange that she was there.

Quickly, Amelie's attention turned to Gwion. It was the first time I had seen them together since he had healed her, and I was intensely curious about their relationship. From Myrnin, I knew that Gwion wanted Amelie to return with him. But vampire relationships did not always play out similar to human ones. Gwion had given me a striking example of that with his shameless flirtation a few days ago. I tried not to blush as I remembered him warning me not to capture his attention. If I had been willing, I had no doubt he would have eagerly taken me…Probably right there in the hospital room, I thought with a smirk. He didn't seem to have any inhibitions. Although I'm certain Eve would have had something to say. My lips turned up in a smile, imagining the hell-that-would-have-been-Eve, if he had tried something like that. And then there was Raven. I wondered how she fit into the picture.

"Hello, beautiful," the words rolled seductively off of his tongue as he stared at Amelie appreciatively. If she was affected by his charms, I couldn't tell from her easy neutral smile in return. "Did you come to tell me the words I want to hear?" He asked suggestively.

I held my breath. I couldn't believe they were going to discuss it right in front of me. In the back of my mind, I wondered if my heightened interest was a bit voyeuristic, but then decided I didn't care, as I continued to stare.

"You would get bored of me far too quickly," she demurred.

"We both know that is not true," his voice lowered into a tantalizing growl. It was obvious he was referring to a past rendezvous. "Would you really break my heart twice?"

Amelie rolled her eyes and replied, "I dare say that your heart has never been broken."

He laughed and teased, "You are a cruel, cruel woman. No matter, I am confident you will come around." I was struck by the absolute certainty in his words. He had no doubt that she would return with him – I just wondered if it would be willingly. For the briefest of seconds, Amelie's eyes hardened before lapsing back into her cool demeanor.

Suddenly, Gwion turned his attention solely toward Eve and provided the news we had all been waiting to hear, "She's ready."

Eve gasped and confirmed anxiously, "She is fully formed? So what happens now? Do we just wait for normal labor to begin?"

Gwion smiled and replied knowingly, "You won't be waiting for long. When I said she was ready, I meant she is eager to meet you."

Tears of joy and wonder crested Eve's eyelashes and rolled down her cheeks – and then reality set in. "Michael! Where is he?! And we need Myrnin…And Dr. Goldman… And my obstetrician," Eve rattled off orders, looking more than a little scared that the moment she had been waiting for was fast approaching.

Amelie murmured she would make sure Michael returned immediately, and I was already on the phone with Myrnin. I rubbed Eve's arm, trying to calm her.

In less than fifteen minutes, the room filled with people. I was on Eve's right while Michael was on her left. She gripped his hand fiercely. The labor pain had begun. Eve panted a little through each light contraction.

Myrnin was behind me. He was going to be Eve's epidural, since traditional drugs could interfere with Faeryn. I smiled as I recalled our earlier conversation. Myrnin had been shockingly adamant, that he stand nowhere near – even the remote possibility – of witnessing Faeryn being born. I had laughed at his squeamishness and teased, "But if the doctor can't make it in time, you're the one with the most medical knowledge, so of course; you would have to deliver the baby." He had stared at me in horror, which just made me laugh harder. Clearly, birthin' babies wasn't his thing.

I looked back at him. He stood a bit rigid. I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips. Eve looked up at me curiously. I mouthed the word 'men' and nodded over my shoulder. Eve glanced behind me. Myrnin's expression must have been priceless, because she burst out laughing. I was glad to see her relaxed and finally enjoying this incredible moment.

Amelie looked at Michael in affection and murmured, "I am confident things will go well." She turned to go. Gwion nodded to Eve and walked toward the door after Amelie.

"Wait! You can't leave," Eve panicked.

He flashed a smile and replied, "She is ready. You have no further need of me."

"But –" Eve resisted.

"I won't be far," he reassured her.

As I stared at Gwion, I had a strange sense of fate. My stomach turned in knots as I considered what would've happened to both Eve and Faeryn, if Gwion had not agreed to return with us. They would both be gone now, and we would be attending a funeral, not the delivery of a healthy child. I inhaled sharply, fighting the sudden pain in my chest.

Myrnin felt my sorrow at how close we had come to such a horrible alternate ending. He wrapped his arms around me, tucking me into his body. His head came down as he whispered in my ear, "Are you okay?"

Immediately, I relaxed at his touch. I had to pull myself together. This was no time to fall apart over events that never even happened. "I'm okay now," I assured him.

The obstetrician settled on a rolling stool in front of Eve, and checked her cervix. "You are doing beautifully… 6 cm and her heartbeat is strong." He looked up at Myrnin and said, "You may begin whenever she is ready."

Eve had decided to wait as long as possible before Myrnin took away the pain. The odds of her and Michael conceiving again were just about zero; so she wanted to experience as much as she could. As I watched her panting, I wondered how long her resolve would last. Surprisingly, two hours had passed and still she did not request relief. Thankfully, Michael was a vampire; otherwise I think she would have broken his hand with her death grip, which clenched down even harder every time a contraction hit.

Apparently, a much more severe contraction hit because Eve swore loudly, "Son of a bitch!" And then glared at Michael as she snarled, "You did this to me… You son of a bitch!"

I felt silent laughter rumble through the chest of Myrnin behind me, but even he knew better than to anger Eve by letting her hear it.

Michael was doing his best to calm her down, even though he looked like a deer caught in the headlights, "Honey, remember you don't have to go through the pain… Myrnin is here –"

She cut him off. I had no idea how she got the words out, while gritting her teeth and raising her voice an octave, at the same time, "This is about you and me; not Myrnin!"

"I know, baby, I'm just saying –"

"Don't you 'baby' me, you horse's ass –"the end of her sentence was cut off as she let out a high-pitched scream and went right back into panting. Suddenly, she slapped her hand down on mine, causing me to jump in surprise as she hissed, "Now! Now! Now! Do it now!" Myrnin understood what she wanted without my interpretation, and immediately her body relaxed as he compelled her pain.

I almost could not stop my laughter at the look on Michael's face – clearly he was in high suspense, waiting to see if she had calm down, now that the pain was under control. And then – as if no harsh words had ever been uttered – Eve smiled sweetly at him and whispered excitedly, "It's almost time!" Even though it was the turnaround he had been hoping for, I think Michael was still surprised at the radical shift in her personality. Truly, it was making my head spin at her sudden change in direction, so I could sympathize with his momentary confusion. He got over it quickly and kissed her on the forehead.

Another 45 minutes went by and according to Myrnin; her contractions were very close together now. The doctor was back in place. He checked her and then smiled, "Time to push, my dear." She gathered both Michael's and my hand, while we gently pulled her knees forward to give her more leverage.

And then she pushed.

Her face scrunched up in concentration. Everyone in the room, including the nurses, all slowly counted to ten, in encouragement, to let Eve know how long to maintain the push. Apparently, the mass counting was not encouraging and she hissed, "Everyone, shut up!" Immediately, there was silence; you could have heard a pin drop. Eve looked at Michael and ordered, "You… You count quietly in your head… And let me know each time we hit ten."

He nodded in absolute agreement.

Thirty more minutes went by, with Eve pushing about every two minutes. "I feel like I have to shit," she hissed in annoyance under her breath.

Michael rushed to comfort her, "I've heard that happens sometimes… It's okay if you –". His words cut off when Eve turned to glare at him.

The doctor interrupted her fresh wave of anger. "She's crowning… One more big push… But stop when I tell you."

Eve was 100% focused and pushed as hard as she could. Suddenly, Faeryn's head emerged. "Stop!" Her doctor ordered. Quickly, he expertly suctioned out Faeryn's mouth and nose; then coached Eve, "Push gently this time."

Eve nodded. Her hand squeezed mine as she bore down carefully. "That's good… One shoulder out.… And again…" her doctor murmured. Suddenly, he was holding Faeryn in his arms. He wiped her off briskly, causing her to gasp and cry out. The sound was beautiful. Huge tears rolled down Eve's face as the doctor placed Faeryn's tiny naked body on her chest.

One of the nurses placed a baby blanket over top of her and Eve tucked it carefully around her body to keep her warm. "Hello, my sweet girl. We are going to have so much fun together," Eve cooed.

I looked up through my own tears, to see Michael briskly wiping his eyes. He looked radiant. I glanced down and finally took notice of Faeryn's features.

Gwion had been right; even as a tiny newborn, she was exquisite. Her crystal blue eyes stared intently back at Eve. Her eyes were a little bigger and wider set than a normal human, but not enough to really draw attention. She had a full head of fluffy blonde hair, about four shades lighter than Michael's. It almost looked white. Eve gently smoothed her fingers through her silky soft hair to try to tame some of its wildness, but the little tufts would not be tamed and stuck out in wild disarray. Eve grinned and murmured proudly, "You are stubborn, aren't you, little one?"

The only trait she seemed to have from Eve was her dark little eyelashes, which made her appear even more striking against her ice blue eyes. Although she favored Michael physically, I suspected her character and attitude were going to be all-Eve, and even Gwion had mentioned Isolde with her dominant bloodline.

Now that she was calmed down and warm, Eve gently pulled back the blanket and murmured, "Let me take a look at you." I knew she was looking for birthmarks. As they came into view, I was startled by their beauty. Graceful white symbols flowed down the center of her back, creating a stunningly elegant picture of mystery.

Eve stopped and her smile faltered. I stopped breathing. I had not researched all of the symbols with her, but I knew some of them could be frightening. Michael noticed her change in disposition as well and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"I don't recognize any of them," Eve replied slowly. Eve had researched hundreds of symbols, every single one in the book Gwion had given her. I stared at her in confusion and confirmed, "None of them?" She just shook her head, not saying anything. I quickly filled the silence and encouraged her, "Maybe it is better this way… Maybe it is better that you both learn from each other, and not what some thousand year old book has to say."

Eve looked up at me and asked, "But how will I teach her how to use her talents, if I don't know what they are?"

Michael comforted her, "I suspect that she will be just as aggressive, and open, and loving, and perfect as you are. She will let us know. And then we can work on finding the training she needs." Eve looked back at him with renewed hope and happiness in her eyes.

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This was a fun chapter to write. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know in the little box right below. much love – T