Forgotten Awakenings (Awakenings #2) (20 page)

“I can’t believe she’s actually here,” Derek whispered, his tone thick and emotional. He placed his hand over Callum’s.

“Okay, Moms and Dads, time to take baby down to the nursery and get her check out,” Dr. Kemp said, settling back on her stool.

“No, but . . .” Sadie trailed off as one of the nurses lifted their daughter off her chest.

“She’ll be back in your arms soon, I promise,” the nurse said. “Dads, are you coming?”

“Yes.” Derek and Callum scrambled after the nurse as she carried their daughter out of the room.

After half an hour, Dr. Kemp left Sadie and Elle alone, congratulation them on their newest addition. Elle settled on the side of Sadie’s bed, draping her arm over her legs.

“You okay?” she asked.

“No,” Sadie said, drowsily. “And yes. I hurt, Elle. I hurt so much. Feels like a truck has slammed into me, but you’ll find out soon enough.”

“I will?” Elle asked.

Sadie smiled. “Sweetie, I know your body better than you do. You’re what? Three day late?”

Elle pressed her lips together and nodded.

“Told you,” she laughed, then winced. “That wasn’t smart.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, honey,” Elle soothed, placing her hand on Sadie’s cheek.

“It’s fine,” she said, waving her off. “So, you are pregnant, aren’t you?”

Elle bit the inside of her lip as she nodded again. “Dr. Kemp confirmed what two over-the-counter tests had already told me. I’m pregnant. Around five weeks.”

“Oh, Elle!” Sadie whimpered. “When were you going to tell us?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Soon.”

“Hmm,” Sadie hummed, but didn’t say anything else as the door to her room opened and Derek and Callum walked in with the baby in their arms. “Oh, give her to me!”

Derek laughed as he placed the tiny baby in her arms, keeping one hand on the baby while wrapping his other arm around Elle.

“Everyone’s waiting out in hall. I wasn’t sure if you were up to seeing them yet.”

“Not yet,” Sadie murmured, gazing at their daughter. “I want a few minutes alone with her before they play a game of pass-the-baby. She’s healthy, right?”

“Perfect. Apgar scores of seven and nine. She weighs six pounds, eight ounces, and she’s nineteen inches long.” Callum rattled off her stats as he placed is hand on Derek’s back. “She didn’t even cry when they gave her a bath.”

“Because she’s a brave girl,” Sadie murmured, pressing her lips against the top of the baby’s head. She shifted her eyes to Elle. “Someone has news to share.”

“So much for waiting,” Elle groused, pushing herself off the side of the bed and holding on to the railing to keep from falling. “Um, okay, here’s the thing. I went to see Dr. Kemp this morning. I’m five weeks pregnant.”

As Derek and Callum stood on the other side of Sadie’s bed, staring at her with their mouths wide open, Elle worried that they’d be upset. After all, two babies in less than a year was a lot, even when you had four parents.

But then Callum blew out a thick breath, his lips trembled as he asked, “We’re having another baby?”

“Yeah,” she murmured. “I know we weren’t planning —”

Derek rushed around the bed and silenced her with a searing kiss, and then leaned his forehead against hers. “You don’t plan family, beautiful, and we will always welcome a new baby into our lives.”

“Yeah,” Sadie said smiling as she looked down at the baby. “Did you here that, Flora Hope? You’re going to be a big sister.”

Nineteen

“Ow, ow, ow,” Sadie whimpered, climbing out of bed and scurrying into the bathroom.

“You okay, honey?” Elle mumbled, and when Sadie didn’t reply, she propped herself up on the side of the bed and reached for the edge of the cradle. Flora was sound asleep, wrapped in a pink blanket with butterflies. She had a matching hat on the top of her head and her bottom lip was poking out in an adorable little pout.

“Is she still asleep?” Callum murmured, wrapping his arm around Elle’s waist, flattening his palm over her abdomen.

“Yeah,” Elle whispered. “But Sadie rushed off into the bathroom. Will you check on her?”

Callum leaned up and kissed the back of her neck before saying, “Of course.”

As he climbed off the bed and walked into the bathroom, Elle dropped her hand to her thigh, trying to work out the sore muscle.

“What’s your pain level?” Derek mumbled from the other side of the bed.

“Four. Maybe a five,” she said, quietly.

The bed shifted as Derek rolled so that he was curled up against her. His hand slipped between her arm and body, gripping her thigh. He began to massage the muscle. “Better?”

“Not really.” Elle covered his hand with hers. “But thanks for trying.”

Derek leaned up on his elbow and pressed his lips against her shoulder. “You’re welcome. How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” she admitted, looking down at Flora, who was now three days old. Sadie had spent one day in the hospital before she and Flora were discharged. Two more days had passed, and they were settling in as parents. Or trying, too, at least.

“Any morning sickness?” he asked, sliding his fingers along the scar on her leg.

“Not really,” she said, shifting so she faced him. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” he told her.

“You know how we’re supposed to get the results of the paternity test today, right?”

Derek nodded. “Because we agreed that while it doesn’t matter if I’m her biological father, or if Callum is, it’s important that we know for medical reasons.”

“Yeah,” Elle said. “Are you scared that you won’t be her biological father?”

“Scared? No, not scared,” he replied, vaguely. “Anxious might be a better word.”

Pausing, Derek pushed himself up on the bed, sitting with his back against the headboard. “You know how much my dad values family?” he stated.

“I do.”

“I never really understood what he meant until I met you and Sadie, until I admitted my feeling for Callum, until Sadie told us she was pregnant.” Derek reached for Elle’s hand, which she eagerly gave. His fingers wrapped around hers. “Knowing I was going to be a dad, I’d never felt so . . . so fucking happy, Elle.”

Derek blew out a shaky breath, eyes glistening with tears. “Damn, I didn’t think I’d get so emotional.”

“I think it’s sexy that you let your feeling show,” Elle confessed.

He grinned. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “My dad never showed much emotion. Well, except for disappointment in me. I wish just once he would have cried or yelled, or anything other than keeping everything bottled up inside. At least then I would have known where I stood.”

“But you know he loves you, though, don’t you?” Derek asked, the need in his voice was shocking.

“I do now,” she admitted. “But when I was younger, when I started pushing his limits, I didn’t feel it. He never told me, never said much of anything to me. My mom, on the other hand, never failed to remind me how much I disappointed her.” Elle shook her head. “I don’t want our children to ever feel that we don’t love them for who they are.”

“Hey,” Derek murmured, pulling her hands up to his lips. “They won’t, because every day we’re going to tell them how loved they are. How no matter what they do, we will always love them. Flora and the new baby, and any other children we have will never doubt that they are perfect and wanted.”

Elle struggled to keep her tears from falling as the door to the bathroom opened. She looked over her shoulder, finding Callum helping Sadie out. Almost as if Flora knew her mother was in the room, soft whimpers trickled out of the cradle.

Elle leaned over and lifted Flora into her arms, nestling her against her chest. “Shh, it’s okay, love. Mommy’s got you.”

“She’s probably hungry,” Sadie said, walking across the room and sitting on the bed next to Elle. She placed her hand on Flora’s back. “Have you noticed that she doesn’t really cry? More like she sniffles.”

Elle smiled and pressed her lips against Flora’s head. Her peach fuzz was a mix of blond and red. “Bet it doesn’t last long.”

“No, probably not.”

“I’m going to change her diaper and then you can nurse her,” Elle muttered, holding the baby with one arm and grabbing her cane.

As she tried to stand up, Derek’s hands automatically shot out to brace her.

“I’m okay,” Elle murmured, looking back down at him. “I’ve got her.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, sheepishly.

Elle carefully carried Flora out of their bedroom and into the nursery, laying her on top of the changing table. Flora whimpered again as Elle unwrapped the blanket and tossed it into the laundry hamper.

“Did you make a mess, sweet girl?” Elle asked, grabbing a diaper and wipes from the shelf on the bottom of the table. “I’ll get you nice and clean. Then you can have some breakfast.”

Flora’s mouth opened into an ‘O’. Elle smiled as she quickly changed her diaper and put on a clean set of footie-pajamas, this pair with an attached hood with ladybug antennas. Wrapping her in another blanket first, Elle lifted her off the table, nestling her against her chest once more before grabbing her cane and heading back to her bedroom.

Sadie was leaning against the headboard, her hands resting on her abdomen. Flora’s birth had caused a dramatic weight loss, but she still carried a good ten pounds more than she had pre-pregnancy. Though, she still looked beautiful to Elle: happy and content with their lives.

“She’s ready for breakfast now,” Elle snickered, sitting on the edge of the bed and handing Flora to Sadie.

“Thank you,” Sadie murmured and got Flora latched onto her breast before shifting her eyes upward. “Derek and Callum are in the shower, if you want to join them.”

“Are you saying I stink?” Elle asked, laughing.

“No,” Sadie exclaimed. “But you and I know they’re sucking cock or fucking in there. Thought you’d like to join them.”

“Ah.” Elle smiled. “As much as I’d love to be in the middle of that sandwich, I think I’m good here.”

“Okay, have it your way. If it were me, I’d already have a cock in my pussy and one in my mouth.”

“Sadie!” Elle gestured to the baby. “We’re really going to have to work on our language now.”

“She’s too little to know what a cock or pussy is,” Sadie snickered. “But you’re right. Do you know how hard that’s going to be? Pun, entirely intended, by the way.”

“I do.” Elle smiled and reached over, placing her hand on the back of Flora’s head. “How do you think our parents are going to react when they see her?”

“After they get done squealing and cooing over her, I think they’re going to be fighting about whose turn it is to hold her.” Sadie shifted her eyes down to the baby. “I’m kind of scared.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know. What if Derek is Flora’s father?” Sadie asked. “Will Samuel and Lydia still want to be her grandparents? Will Callum be able to help raise a child that isn’t his biologically? Or vice versa.”

“Yeah, I —”

“Stop!” At the sound of Callum’s forceful voice, Elle jolted upward and spun around on the bed. He and Derek were standing just inside their bedroom, towels barely draped around their hips. “Stop that bullshit right now.”

“What are you talking about?” Elle asked, trying to keep calm.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about,” he snapped. “Flora is our baby. Mine, yours, Sadie’s, and Derek’s. And it doesn’t matter whose sperm made her. We are her fathers. My parents know that, Derek’s parents know that, and both of your parents know that. The only two who don’t seem to get it, is you two.”

“That’s not true,” Sadie argued.

“Bullshit, honey,” Derek rebutted. “We heard you.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Sadie huffed as she switched Flora from one breast to the other. “I know that you love Flora as much as I do. But there are a lot of men out there that said they’d love a child no matter what, but when it came down to it, they couldn’t handle raising someone else’s child.”

“We’re not like other guys,” Callum argued, pulling his towel off and tossing it into the hamper. He pulled out a pair of boxer-briefs from the dresser, but when he turned back toward Elle and Sadie, he smiled when he caught them staring at his cock. “Oy, my eyes are up here.”

“We know.” Elle smirked and climbed off the bed, gripping her cane as she turned and faced him and Derek, who had discarded his towel, but hadn’t made any effort to dress. “Put some clothes on. Can’t fight with you when you’re all sexy and naked.”

Callum and Derek laughed, but they both threw on their underwear, jeans, and T-shirts. By the time they were dressed, Flora had finished eating and was sound asleep. Derek carefully lifted the sleeping baby from her arms, keeping one hand under her head while the other braced her tiny frame.

“You think I can look down at this sweet, beautiful baby girl and not call her mine?” he asked, his soft voice thick with emotion. “That I can hold her in my arms and not call her my daughter?”

Derek looked over at Elle and Sadie. “Flora Hope. That’s my daughter’s name. Flora in honor of me, of the love my family has for us. And Hope because she’s our hope for a future filled with peace and understanding, where we don’t have to worry about how our relationship is going to be perceived. Flora Hope Davis is my daughter. Mine and Callum’s. Yours and Sadie’s, Elle. This sweet little miracle is ours. Don’t you ever doubt for a second how much this sweet angel means to us, do you hear me?”

“We haven’t,” Elle said, shaking her head. “Sadie and I know that you love Flora, and that’ll love our new baby, too. Don’t we, Sadie?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Yes, of course we know that you love her.”

“Then how could even think I wouldn’t want to raise her if Derek is her father?” Callum asked, sitting on the far side of the bed. “How many more times are we going to have to prove ourselves to you?”

“It’s not about proving yourselves.” Sadie sighed. “We’ve fought so hard to get to the point where we’re not afraid to step outside and be judged. But parenthood changes everything, doesn’t it? People are going to look at her, look at us, and wonder what type of world we’re raising her in.”

“Fuck them,” Derek said, seriously. “Fuck anyone who dares judge us. Our daughter, and any siblings she may have, will be raised in a loving home. That’s all that matters.”

“You really think so?” Elle asked.

“Hell yeah, I do,” Derek boosted, puffing his chest out to prove it.

“I wish I had your confidence,” Elle murmured, mostly to herself.

“I’ll have enough for all of us.” Derek placed Flora in Callum’s arms before he walked up to Elle and cradled her face between his hands. “I’ve told you this before, but I guess you need to hear it again. You, me, Cal, Sadie, and now Flora — we’re a family, and I will not let anyone keep me from my family.”

Elle leaned into his touch, tears spilling down her face. “You always make me cry.”

“I’ve always had that effect on women,” he joked before pressing a kiss on her lips. “We need to leave for the airport. Will you two be okay without us?”

Biting the inside of her lip, she nodded. “Be safe, okay?”

“I promise.” Derek released her and looked over at Sadie, who was now holding Flora. “We’re trusting the two of you together.”

“We’ll be good girls,” she vowed. “I’m too sore to eat her pussy, and mine is out of commission for the next several weeks.”

Derek threw his head back and laughed. “You . . . Oh, you and your smart-ass mouth.”

“You love me,” Sadie teased.

“I do. I really, really do.” Derek reached for Callum. “Come on, babe. Time to pick up the parentals.”

Callum chuckled as he took his hand. “Love you both.”

“We love you, too,” Elle and Sadie echoed, waking Flora in the process.

After changing her diaper again, Elle and Sadie headed downstairs and awaited the arrival of Flora’s grandparents.

—FA—

“Where are they?” Samuel grumbled, causing Lydia, Sadie, and Elle to laugh.

He was seated on the smaller of the two sofas with Flora sleeping peacefully in his arms. He and Lydia had arrived not long after Derek and Callum left for the airport. While he’d been content to spend the last two hours holding his new granddaughter, he was frustrated because Elle and Sadie had refused to tell them her name. They’d agreed to wait until all of their family was together before they shared that little detail.

“You could share her, you know,” Ivy hinted, glaring at him from the other side of the room, where she was helping Elle fold the load of laundry she’d done that morning. “She’s not just yours.”