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Downstairs in the clinic&039;s exa high And not in a soon-to-crash POS Cessna with a wounded Brother in the back
"I&039;ain?"
Doc Jane s table over to the bedside Diistered, but he was ht not conant Her hor exactly as they should, blood pressure&039;s perfect, heart rate&039;s great And still no bleeding, right?"
As the physician looked over at Layla, the Chosen shook her head, her expression as poleaxed as he sure as shit felt like "None at all"
Qhuinn took a little walk, his hand dragging through his hair, his brain cra "I don&039;t understand thisI&039;m et why she had the"
After having ridden the roller coaster down into hell, it was co to hit an unexpected rise back in the direction of earth
Doc Jane shook her head "This is probably not helpful, but Ehlena&039;s never seen this before, either So I get your confusion, and more to the point, I understand better than you kno treacherous hope can be It&039;s hard to give yourself over to any optimism after where you both have been"
Man, V&039;s shellan was so not an idiot
Qhuinn focused on Layla The Chosen was in a loose white robe, but not the kind she&039;d worn as a in&039;s sacred sect of females It was an everyday bathrobe, and underneath was a hospital johnny that had pink and red hearts on a white background And on that rolling table? Turned out it was a box of saltine crackers and a six-pack of little Canada Dry ginger ales
Talk about your over-the-counter medications
Doc Jane opened the crackers "I know that the last thing you&039;re thinking of is food" She handed one of the flaky, salty squares over "But if you eat this, and have a little of the soda? Might settle things down in there"
And what do you know, it did Layla ended up working her way through half a sleeve, and two of the sreen bottles
"That really helps, huh?" Qhuinn hed in relief
"You have no idea" Layla put her hand on her lower belly "Whatever it takes, I will do it, eat it, drink it"
"The nausea&039;s that bad, huh"
"It&039;s not about hteen ht I&039;, I&039;ll losewell, you know"
Okay, anyone who thought feed
He looked at Doc Jane "What do we do now?"
The doctor shrugged "My advice? Trust in the sy to go crazy Layla&039;s body is, and has been, driving all this If right now there are no indications of a nancy has resuht at a ti over the past couple of days? You&039;re not going to get through this in one piece"
Word, Qhuinn thought
The good doctor&039;s phone went off "Hold on a sec - shoot I have to check on that doggen who cut his hand last night Layla, as far as I&039;m concerned, there&039;s no medical reason tothe coet some time under our belts, okay?"
"But of course"
Doc Jane left a moment later, and Qhuinn was at a loss He wanted to help Layla back to the odsakes Still, he felt like carrying her around - for like, the rest of the frickin&039; pregnancy
He leaned back against the stainless-steel cabinets "I findto ask you how you are every two seconds"
Layla laughed a little "That o to back to the house?"
"You knowI actually don&039;t I feel" She looked around "Safer down here, to be honest"
"Makes sense to ?"
She nodded at her little tray full of anti-nausea stuff "As long as I&039;ve got this, I&039;ht"
Qhuinn frowned "I thought I&039;d stay in"
"And do what? I&039; it&039;s just going to behappens, I can call you and you can coht about where the Brotherhood and the fighters in the house were heading at
If it had been a nor in the field, he probably would have stayed put But with Wrath actually in the world, lymera?
"Okay," he said slowly "I&039;ll keep my phone with me, and I&039;ll make it clear to the others that if you call, I&039;er ale, and then stared into the cup, like she atching the bubbles rise around the ice
He thought of where they&039;d been the night before at Havers&039;s - out of control, terrified, in o back to that, he reain
And yet he couldn&039;t see in the tiled room, with the scent of Lysol disinfectant in his nose, and the lip of the counter he was leaning against biting into his asshe realized this was the ht here, right now
As a male bonded with his fely, his heart just opened wide and let it all in: the co to try for a child, the terror of losing them that he bet never went away, the joy that there was soone, the impatience to meet them in person, the desperate desire to hold theive theive
"Is it okaycan I touch your stomach?" he asked in a small voice
"Of course! You don&039;t have to ask" Layla lay back with a smile "What&039;s in there is half yours, you know"
Qhuinn rubbed nervous hands together as he approached the table He had certainly touched Layla during the needing, and then afterward in a solicitous manner when a situation called for it
He had never thought of touching his baby
Qhuinn watched froer hand reached out Jesus, the tips of the fingers were tre like crazy
But they stilled the instant he ht here," he said "Dad&039;s right here I&039;onna wait until you&039;re ready to co to take care of you So you hang tight, we clear? Do your thing, and we&039;ll wait for however long it takes"
With his free hand, he took Layla&039;s palht here Waiting for youand we love you"
It was totally stupid to talk to as, no doubt, nothing but a bundle of cells But he couldn&039;t help it The words, the actionsthey were at once totally his, and yet con to hih
Feltlike what a father was supposed to do
Left-hand forty Check
Right forty Check
Backup aers one and two in the chest holster Check
Leather jacket -
As a knock sounded on Blay&039;s door, he leaned out of his closet "Come in?"
When Saxton entered, he pulled his jacket onto his shoulders and pivoted "Hey How are you?"
So was up
The other male&039;s eyeswardrobe," as they&039;d once called it Unease drew Sax&039;s pale eyebroard; then again, he&039;d never seemed entirely co out into the field, then," theof the Council, actually"
"I didn&039;t realize that required so uns as accessories"
"New era"
"Yes, indeed"
There was a long pause "How are you?"