Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf (Black Swan 4) (22 page)

"Impeccable," said Ram.

Sol stared at them like it was their turn only they were no longer available for the silent treatment tactic. Storm saw no reason to prolong the pretense so he broke the silence barrier.

"Are we done? My wife is waiting to give me a ride home."

Ram looked at him thoughtfully. "You know 'tis way cool, right?"

Storm gave him a big smile. "I do know that." He looked back at Sol. "So? Anything else?"

"As a matter of fact, I have the paperwork prepared to put Z Team's transfer in motion." Ram sat up straighter and looked between Sol and Storm. "I didn't want to make it official before seeing that he was up to this somewhat minor task."

Ram had to ask. "You did no' want to make what official?"

Storm sighed. "Sol's getting married." Ram laughed with complete conviction that it was a joke. "No, really, he is. To Farnsworth."

Ram's gaze jerked to Sol. "Oh, em, congratulations. And I can no' wait to hear what that has to do with Z Team."

"He has promised her he'll retire in two years so that's how long he has to groom a replacement." Ram nodded. "He asked me. I said I'm not the right guy for the job." Ram nodded vigorously. "So I recommended Catch."

Ram looked like he was once again waiting for the punch line. When the other two continued to look perfectly serious, he gaped. "'Tis utter insanity! The boy is no' yet twenty. No' even declared. He's my dog walker for Paddy's sake!"

"It is unorthodox."

"Unorthodox," Ram repeated. "'Tis the understatement of the millennium. And..." Ram's expression went dark as his brows drew together. "And... what has this to do with Z Team?"

"Well, Sol wants to test him."

By the time Storm was halfway through that sentence Ram was on his feet. "You used to accuse me of bein' reckless. But I never came close to doin' anythin' as irresponsible as turnin' those miscreants loose on a nice kid like Glen."

Sol sounded so calm Ram wanted to punch him. "If he's Sovereign material, he'll be able to handle it. If he's not..."

Ram turned red in the face and loomed over Sol's desk. "He's. A. Kid."

Not one to shrink or cower, Sol rose slowly so that he was eye level with Ram and lowered his voice. "He's a kid who's been put up for my job."

Ram wheeled on Storm with accusation all over his face. "What are you no' tellin' me?"

Sol chuckled. "Given how much fondness you have for the boy, he's probably not telling you that we've made a wager on the outcome."

Ram looked at Storm like he'd been betrayed. Storm looked at Sol like he could kill him.

"Come now," Sol began, "it's all in fun."

"Does Glen know what you have in mind for him?" Storm looked away and shook his head. "I have no' put my fist in your face since we were younger than he is now. But if anythin' happens to that boy, we're revisitin' a proper beatin', you and I."

Ram stormed out of the office causing the door to slam against the wall on his way out.

After a couple of seconds Sol said, "Not showing any signs of mellowing, I see."

"Actually, it
does
take a lot to get Ram going these days. His reputation as a hothead has pretty much been lived down, which is why that outburst is making me think this is probably a mistake. If Ram is the clear choice for grown-up in the room, it means we're on the wrong side of a thing."

Sol's eyebrows lifted in an expression that was downright triumphant. "In that case, I suggest you keep a close eye on that situation and make sure nothing irrevocable happens."

As soon as Storm saw that look he knew he'd been manipulated and outmaneuvered. "Shit."

"Don't slam the door on the way out. It would just enlarge the hole in the wall that Sir Hawking made and Farnsworth would be forced to invoice both of you for repair." Sol chuckled and seemed to be enjoying himself way too much.

"Shit."

"An education money couldn't buy and that's the extent of your vocabulary?"

Storm pinned Sol with a piercing look he never would have dared before he retired. "I know other words. Would you like to hear some of them?"

Storm stepped into the hall and called Litha. When she answered he could hear Elora in the background, probably talking to Helm. "Is this yellow cab?"

"Close enough. When would you like to be picked up?" She waved goodbye to Elora.

"Now."

He jumped when she appeared right next to him, and she sniggered. A couple of minutes later, when they were alone in their own kitchen with the lights turned on and the temperature regulated, he cornered her between the sink and the island. He reached down to run his hand over the tummy that was shockingly full and rounded as he searched her eyes.

"The word that keeps coming to mind is alarming."

She smiled. "If we were fully human, I think we should be alarmed. But I feel good and I think the baby is fine."

"How do you know?"

"I think so."

Storm narrowed his eyes. "When was the last time you saw the doc?"

If looking away wasn't a big enough clue that she was hiding something, the fact that she also looked sheepish would have raised the suspicions of even the least observant husband.

"Three weeks ago."

"Three weeks ago? Litha. Three weeks ago you were barely showing. Now you look like you're ready to pop."

"Pop? Great image. Very smooth."

"Don't deflect. This is weirder than a virgin birth."

She laughed. "It is
not
weirder than a virgin birth.
That's
impossible, whereas
this
is not. Obviously."

He pulled her as close as he could get which meant he had to angle toward her side. "Baby. We've got to find out what's going on. Seriously. I don't know if we need to finish the nursery or schedule an SAT prep course. Let's go see Doc Lange. I'm going with you."

"You gonna hold my hand?"

"Damn right."

She looked at her watch. "It's 0315 in Edinburgh."

"Okay. We'll have a little dinner. Get a little restless sleep then go. Together."

"Are you insisting?"

"Damn right."

"I'm not sure I like it when you're demanding."

"Yeah. You're sure. You like everything about me."

He treated her to the boyish grin that was such an effective tool for manipulating Litha, and forced that smile in place, but on the inside his stomach was clenching with worry. In purely human terms, she would still be in her first trimester.

Storm was a thinker and a planner. As soon as he found out he was going to be somebody's dad, he researched pregnancy thoroughly. He knew that a first baby might not show until four months had passed. Litha was looking more like the last stages and not even three months had passed.

Of course he had no regrets. He knew the witchy demon's daughter wasn't the girl next door. Well, actually in his case, she was pretty close to the girl next door, since they grew up just a few miles away from each other. He knew when he chose her that life was probably going to present some out-of-the-ordinary issues and events.

He had no regrets, but that didn't keep him from sometimes stressing about what was on the next page.

"I don't like doctors."

"Nobody does."

"Yes. But other people are more used to them."

He cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Before I got pregnant I'd never been to the doctor."

Storm just stared like he was trying to process that. "How is that even possible?"

"Well, I was home schooled so I didn't have to prove I'd had shots. I never got sick. And, since Cufay strongly suspected I was different somehow, I think he was afraid that exposing me to the medical community would be the first step toward a
captivating
career as a carnival exhibit."

"He was smart to be concerned about that. You know you were lucky to end up where you did. You landed on your feet."

"Yep."

"Never had a broken bone?" She shook her head. "No bike accidents requiring stitches?"

"No broken bones. I got cuts and scrapes sometimes, but Brother Mossbind was like an old kitchen witch. He had a cellar full of dried plants and was adept with potions and concoctions. There was always something to make me heal quickly and not scar." Storm seemed deep in thought. "What?"

"I was just thinking that, since this is virgin territory for everybody, you might want to have your Bro Mossbind take a look. It couldn't hurt. If you went from infancy to adulthood without ever seeing a doctor, I'd say that goes in the plus column of his resume."

Litha's eyes sparkled. "I can't believe you managed to talk about
this
pregnancy..." She ran her hand over the basketball shape under her tunic, "...and virgin territory in the same sentence. Between that and the virgin birth reference, it seems like you have virginity on your mind."

He lowered his dark head and pressed a kiss into her neck with a smile. "What I have on my mind is you, just you, always you."

They set the alarm for 0200 so that they'd be sure to catch the good doctor at his best when they arrived in Edinburgh. They weren't on his schedule, but on the other hand, what could he possibly have to do that would be more important than looking after the first human-demon-witch-demon hybrid pregnancy?

As anticipated, Doc Lange complained about "walk-ins". Storm pointed out that they didn't
walk
in. Litha laughed and the doctor grumbled some more.

He performed a fresh ultrasound while Storm held Litha's hand, as promised, and got misty-eyed looking at the baby.

"It's a girl, isn't it?" Storm asked, sounding like he was awestruck.

Doc just nodded. Litha couldn't be mad because she'd forgotten to remind the doc that she didn't want to know for sure. But truthfully, the confirmation was pure formality. She had known it was a girl as soon as her intuition told her she was expecting. The confirmation caused emotion to bubble up. To keep from crying she squeezed Storm's hand and clutched her black diamond pendulum tight with the other hand.

A naked demon appeared in the room looking a little curious and completely unabashed.

Doc Lance jumped and clutched his chest like he was having a heart attack.

Storm didn't know whether to be more put out about the fact that his father-in-law had interrupted a private, family moment or about the fact that he was wearing nothing but the pendulum that matched Litha's. He quickly settled on the penis exhibition.

"For craps' sake. Would you cover it up? This is your daughter!"

Deliverance ignored the doctor and Storm. "What's going on?"

"What are you doing here?" Litha asked.

He seemed confused by the question. "You called me."

It was only then that she realized she had a vise grip on the pendulum he had given her. She had a fleeting thought that, maybe subconsciously, she had wanted him to share in the moment.

"Oh, sorry. Since you're here though, you might as well enjoy the human magic. Look at your granddaughter."

Since he was looking at the screen, Deliverance didn't see the folded, thin cotton hospital blanket that Storm threw at him until it hit him in the face. "Cover up
before
you look at my daughter."

"It's a dick, dude! Not a bomb." Deliverance unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around his waist like a sarong. "You need to think about getting therapy for your issues with prudity."

"I've told you before, don't call me 'dude'. And prudity is
not
a word."

The demon turned to Litha. "Seriously, how's your sex life?"

Storm made a strangled sound and tried to grab his father-in-law across the bed, since the doctor and the machinery was blocking the way around the end. Litha put her arm out and tried to restrain Storm from leaping the rest of the way across the bed to try and strangle he-who-could-not-be-strangled.

"Stop. Storm! It's none of his business."

Litha kept her hand on his chest until he seemed to calm. When he straightened and took a small step back, she dropped her hand and turned to her father. "Our sex life is fabulous in
every
possible way. Thank you for asking."