Foreshadowed (12 page)

CHAPTER 23

            Two months flew by. And I do mean flew by. Anna and I spent a majority of that time putting together a killer nursery. It was filled with dark woods and white and ruffles. And lots and lots of frill. It was, I would venture to say, fit for a princess--or two. And Alex and I went through a ton of names, trying to agree on two that we both liked; a task that was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Finally, we gave up and decided to name them when they arrived.

            My stomach became a rock solid, basketball sized extension of myself. I woke up one morning and there it was. Alex and I had both been a little leery of it. Something that probably doesn’t happen as much when a couple has nine gradual months to process the growth. Lucky for me, I’d had only a couple of weeks with my abdomen preceding me. Thank God.

            And now I was sitting in my living room, awaiting the arrival of someone from the Regency who would be delivering our daughters. I was a little nervous about who they would send and if I would trust them enough to do what was needed. Alex and Ethan both had assured me they wouldn’t let anything happen; and I trusted them. Okay, honestly, I was worried. I’d feel much better once I met whoever they were sending.

            A knock sounded at the front door and Alex gave me a reassuring glance before going to open it. I couldn’t see from where I was sitting, but my first hint that something wasn’t as expected was Alex’s tone of voice when he said, “What are
you
doing here?”

            I stood up and made my way into the foyer. I stopped short when my eyes fell on all five foot eight of Ophelia. My mouth dropped and I saw red. Before she had a chance to open her mouth, she was thrown backwards, landing in a heap on the cobblestone driveway. She stood up lighting fast, her hands on her hips and her eyes shooting daggers. It was then I noticed a tall, distinguished looking man standing just inside the doorway. His lips were turned up in a barely distinguishable smile. He stepped quickly forward to greet me; I’m assuming that he was hoping to avoid a similar attack on his person.

            He stuck his hand out to shake and I hurried to return it.

            “I’m Quintus. I’ve come to deliver your twins.”

            His hair was salt and pepper and he looked like he’d been in his fifties when he’d been turned. I looked at him apologetically. “I’m so very sorry you witnessed that. Ophelia seems to bring out the worst in me.” I glanced over to where Ophelia had moved to stand just inside the entrance.
What in the world is she doing here?

           
Quintus smiled. “Yes, she
seems to do that to most.”

            Alex interrupted, looking at Ophelia, “Care to explain what you’re doing here?”

            Ophelia pressed her lips together, taking in my protruding belly and then looking back to Alex and giving him a sugary smile. “Oh Alex, you know how much I care about you. I wanted to be here to offer my support and help.”

           
Oh, she
really
made me want to lose my cool.
As if I would ever let her near them…

             
I didn’t give Alex a chance to respond before plastering on a sugary, fake smile of my own. “I hope you have transportation ready; because you’re not staying here. Or better yet; you can walk.”

            Ophelia looked to Alex pleadingly.

            Alex’s face was stone. “You need to leave Ophelia. This is not the time for you to play caring and concerned family member. We all know differently.”

            Ophelia stood her ground for a moment before shooting me one last withering look and then leaving with such speed that it was as if she’d disappeared into thin air. I stared at the empty space where she had been and then looked at Alex. He just shook his head in disgust. I was puzzled. Ophelia was bound to have shown up for some other reason, but I was at a loss as to why. If she thought she was getting near either one of the babies after they were born, then she was crazier then I thought.

            I shook the confrontation off and turned my attention back to Quintus, who had been waiting patiently. He nodded towards the living room and gestured, “Shall we?”

            Once inside, Quintus wasted no time getting to the point of his visit. He turned to me, asking, “Do you know what’s involved with delivering a vampire?”

            I raised my eyebrows. “Um, I guess I just assumed I’d give birth in the traditional way.”

            Quintus shook his head. “No. Your body doesn’t have the ability to go through the stages of labor and delivery in the way that humans do. I’ll have to cut the babies out. But, don’t worry. The incision will easily and quickly repair itself in the same way your body does when you’re injured.”

            Okay, that sounded scary. “You’re going to do that here. With no operating room or anesthesia or anything?” Maybe he was just as crazy as Ophelia.

            Quintus smiled indulgently. “Yes, trust me. I’ve done this a time or two. You will be fine. After all, it’s not like you can die.” Oh, that was a terrible joke. Not funny to me at all.

             I looked at Alex, who looked to be just as concerned as I was. He cleared his throat and looked intently at me. “What he’s saying makes sense. It does seem a little odd, but then again it’s not like you can go to a hospital.”

            I was feeling panic set in. “Um, yeah. I don’t think I’m up for this.” I turned to Quintus. “What would happen if I didn’t agree to this?”

            Quintus’ face turned serious. “Well, the babies will eventually tear their way out on their own. And that’s so much messier.” He said this calm as a cucumber.

            My eyebrows shot up and I looked at Alex, truly panicked now. He walked over to me and pulled me into his arms. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Brooke, it will be fine. You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You’re going to have to trust Quintus and you’ll see in the end that it wasn’t as bad as you thought.”

            I pulled back from him, hating the loss of comfort I immediately felt. “Alex, that’s really easy for you to say. I’m the one who has to experience it.”

            “What other choice do you have?” he asked.

            I stood frozen, trying to think of any other way to do this. Obviously, I came up with nothing, but it was funny how survival instinct was kicking in even in my vampire state. Pushing back every bit of anxiety I had, I took a deep breath through my useless lungs. It still had the same calming effect as it did when I was human.

            “Alright,” I said. “Let’s do this.” I looked to Quintus and Alex. Alex nodded and led the way to the guest room we had already decided to use for the delivery. I followed quickly behind them before I could loose my nerve. 

            A while later, Quintus had set his supplies up and I was waiting with an eerie calm. Finally Quintus turned to me with a bottle in hand. “This,” he said, holding up a tiny, dark colored bottle, “is valerian root. Doesn’t do much to humans, but to vampires it knocks them out for a brief period of time. We’re not sure why it has this effect on us; we just know that it does. I’ll use a little of this to put you out for a bit and we’ll have the babies out in no time. You’ll probably be mostly healed by the time you wake up in an hour. Easy, right?”

            Was this guy for real? Sure it was easy for him. He wasn’t the one on the butcher block. I looked at Alex desperately. “Is it too late to back out of this whole thing?” And I wasn’t joking. Not one bit.

            Alex looked at Quintus. “Can you give us a few minutes?”

            Quintus nodded. “Just let me know when she’s ready.”

            I was really feeling panic start to set in. My vampire self wanted to materialize somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away from all the sharp, shiny tools Quintus had laid out on the table across the room.

            Alex guided me to sit on a nearby chair. He pulled me into his lap and brushed back the unruly strands of hair that were falling haphazardly out the messy bun I’d attempted to secure them in earlier. I took in how calm he appeared.

            “How are you so calm?” I asked.

            “Because I know you’re going to be fine. But I don’t blame you for freaking out. I am, however, a little nervous about the after part. I’m not sure what to do with one baby, let alone two.” And yet he looked perfectly calm.

            I rolled my eyes. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll excel at that, just like you do everything else.”

            “We shall see.”

            “Well, at least we know you can sing them to sleep if they’re fussy. They certainly won’t want me doing it. I’m not a good singer. Not even decent, really.”

            “Yeah, I’ve heard you in the shower and I’d have to agree with that,” he teased.

            I gently shoved his shoulder. “You could have pretended, at least. Or not said anything. Jeez.”

            “Oh, so you want me to lie to you then?” He smiled down at me with a tenderness that I’m not sure I’d ever seen anyone else look at me with.

            “I may not be able to compliment your singing, but there are so many other things about you that I could go on and on about.”

            “Like what,” I asked.

            Alex smirked at me. “Are you fishing?”

            “Perhaps.”

            He grinned at me, showing the dimple in his cheek that I loved so much. “Besides the fact that you’re absolutely beautiful? How about the fact that I see everything from hope for the future, to my reason for existing, every time I look into your eyes. Or that you take my breath away. Breath that I didn’t even know I needed to exist until you. I’m not letting you go anywhere, Brooke. So be prepared to be with me for as long as this earth turns. I won’t allow it any other way.” And just looking into his eyes, I knew he meant every word.

            And that simple, Alex had melted every single fear that had lurked inside of me. I felt like I could get through anything with him at my side. I froze and looked at him in wonder as a thought occurred to me. I trusted him. Absolutely. No second thoughts about it. For the first time, I had managed to put my need for control aside and trust him.

            Alex, either reading my thoughts or making the realization himself, gave me a heart stopping smile. He tilted my chin up, running a thumb over my bottom lip and then pulling me into a deep and gentle kiss that spoke volumes of what he thought about
that
revelation.

            Eventually he pulled back, this time looking into my eyes with amusement. “What do you say we get Quintus in here to deliver these babies?”

EPILOGUE

            I was having a vision. I was sure of it. I knew I was supposed to be in la-la land while Quintus delivered the babies, but here I was, having another vision.

            The babies; I could see the top of their bassinet and I knew they were inside. I could smell their sweet scent; hear their breathing.

            And then I saw something I never wanted to see at the same time I could see them-- Ophelia. I watched her slip through the door to their nursery and walk slowly toward them. I tried to sense her intentions, but couldn’t. I wanted to jump through the vision and demand to know why she was near them when I’d told her to stay away. But I could only watch helplessly. And then the darkness consumed me.

            I woke from a thick sleep. Something I‘d entirely forgotten the feeling of. Apparently, vampires could sleep-- if it was drug induced. Remembering my vision, my eyes flew open and darted around me. I felt the warmth of Alex’s hand and turned my head to see his face consumed with amazement and a new kind of happiness. He nodded to something in his arms and my gaze dropped to take in the two tightly swaddled bundles. My eyes widened.
They’re okay. Thank God.

            I asked Alex, my voice desperate, “Ophelia isn’t here, is she?”