Dawn's Innocence

Jan nodded and gripped her stomach. She rolled out of the bed and onto her feet. The force of the contraction forced the wind out of her lungs. She'd been expecting some pain. She'd seen women in labor and knew that delivering a baby into the world was painful, sometimes agonizing. But, as much as she'd thought that she was. She wasn't prepared for exactly how bad the pain would be. Her lips clamped together tightly, suppressing the urge to cry out. Why in the hell had she decided against the epidural that would take the pain away? She clung to Thomas as he helped her ease into a pair of maternity pants.

"We'll be at the compound in a few minutes." Thomas balanced his cell phone between his cheek and his shoulder, calling the first person on the baby brigade phone tree. "Breathe, honey," he coaxed. He helped her slide into her jacket. The car keys jangled in his nervous fingers. He had to keep it together. He was a skilled physician. The only one that could help her get through this. The frazzled expectant father role would have to be put on hold. Once his wife held their beautiful baby girl in her arms, then he could go to pieces. Until then he had to play it calm and cool, for all of their sakes.

"Breathe my ass!" Jan puffed through another contraction. Labor hurt. Much, much worse than she'd ever imagined. She felt as if she were being ripped in two, right down the middle. If Thomas thought he was ever putting his hands on her again, he could forget it.

Mack got the call and barreled through town. Going full out lights and sirens, not giving a damn about the good citizens he'd awakened with all the noise. His first great grandchild was about to be born and he didn't want to miss one single second. He spun around the corner, almost tipping the aging squad car on two wheels. Tires screeched as he pulled into the drive. He threw the gear in park and raced up the narrow sidewalk. Thomas was guiding Jan down the front steps with careful steps. "Need a ride?"

"Mack." Thomas scowled at the red and blue lights and the deafening siren piercing a scream into the quiet night. And he thought he was nervous. His grandfather looked pale and frantic as he grabbed onto Jan's other arm and practically dragged her to the squad car.

"Easy girl, I'll have you there in no time," Mack cooed at Jan. He flung the back door open and moved to help her inside the squad car.

Thomas frowned at the lights and sirens. "Mack, can you please tone down the theatrics. We've still got plenty of time." He hoped. Jan leaned against him, sweating and panting beneath her heavy jacket. Her water hadn't broken yet and the contractions were nice and easy, still two minutes apart. So far, this was a textbook delivery. But since when had anything ever gone exactly like it was supposed to?

"Sorry." Mack flipped the controls to the off position and eased the car out of the drive, careful of the bump between the curb and the street. He didn't want to jostle Jan any more than he had to. Slow and easy, that was the ticket. He slid into drive and gently pressed on the gas. Mindful of his precious cargo in the back seat, the three lives that mattered to him more than any other, rested in his care.

"Call my mom." Jan wanted to bawl. The pain of her contracting uterus and spreading pelvic muscles tore through her. She curled up in Thomas's lap. Focusing on his reassuring stroke of his fingers across her cheek. In a few hours this would be over and she'd be holding her daughter. The reward for her suffering was in cradling the new life in her arms with Thomas by her side. She grabbed onto the thought and breathed as best she could through the pain.

Thomas's voice was frantic on the other end. Eloise's heart pounded in her chest. Her granddaughter was about to make her entrance into the world. Hurriedly, she dressed and ran down the hall, pounding on random doors till she found Nash behind one, sleepily rubbing his bleary eyes open.

"Now?" Nash was excited and terrified for Eloise and Jan. He shimmied into jeans and a t-shirt. Whispering silent prayers under his breath for the safe delivery of the baby into the world. He knew the unsaid dread that filled Eloise's worried eyes. Deliveries were hard and fast. Often mother and baby didn't make it through the painful process. "I'll drive." He gripped the keys tightly in his fingers. Remembering the night his Tala was born and her mother slipped away from him into the spirit world, lost forever, at least in this lifetime.

"Grant, take care of GT. I've got to go. Jan is in labor. If I hurry, I can hitch a ride with Nash and Eloise." Claire dressed with smooth efficiency, donning the scrubs that had been hanging in a neglected corner of the closet for far too long. She was going to help Thomas bring his beautiful, baby girl into this life. The nurse in her mentally reviewed the skills that had been stored in a neglected corner of her mind for just about as long as the scrubs had been stashed in the closet. It felt good to be useful and hip deep in the action once again. She'd be by Thomas and Jan's side, first as a nurse, secondly, as a friend. Once, not so long ago, she'd been on that table, delivering her son. Thomas hadn't given up on her then and she wouldn't give up on him now. This baby was going to be born. Jan was going to be fine. And Thomas's story would have the happy ending he'd always dreamed of. Claire couldn't accept anything less for him or for Jan.

The incessant jangling of a cell phone nagged until Kacie finally rolled out of bed and felt for her jeans. The phone vibrated the pocket, making the wad of denim dance on the floor. "Hello?"

"Kacie, its mom."

Kacie rolled her eyes at the frantic sound of her mother's harried tone. What was she so frantic about? Was there a last minute bridal crisis in the middle of the night that couldn't wait till morning? "Yeah?"

"You need to get to the compound. Jan is having the baby." Eloise didn't have time to explain all the details. Nash was driving like a wild man along the dark, narrow, gravel country roads. She bounced like a ball, shuffled from side to side as he took the curves at breakneck speed.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Kacie snapped the phone shut and took a deep breath. The wolf in her knew that the compound was northwest of her current position. Tristen had gone through the woods, something, unless she let her wolf loose, that she couldn't do in human form, not in the dead of the night. She'd never get there without breaking her damn neck. "Tristen, wake up."

Tristen yawned and reached for Kacie. A little middle of the night sex? He could so do that.

"No, cut it out. Wake up!" Kacie wiggled out of Tristen's arms. "We've gotta go. Jan is having the baby."

Tristen's eyes snapped open. "Shit." He bounded out of bed, tossing the covers to the side as he tried to get his brain to come back on line. "We're over ten miles from the compound."

"You carried me over ten miles?"

Tristen grinned. "It was worth it. Damn, we're going to have to shift or call for a ride. Daniel would drive out and pick us up, but I don't know if you want to deal with the harassment. He's a smart ass."

"Like his older brother sometimes. We'll shift." Kacie flung open the back door and inhaled deeply. The cool night air smelled earthy and new. She felt the first stirrings of her wolf beneath her skin. Her consciousness faded as she gave her body over to the wolf.

Tristen barely had time to finish the call before his wolf bristled beneath his skin. He felt the shimmer of magic stir within him. Kacie's sleek wolf paced nervously on the back porch, waiting for him. Tristen paused to scratch the furry ears and earned a sharp snap and a warning growl for his trouble. The night crept into his flesh as his wolf formed and took over the body they shared.

The she-wolf bounded into the darkness. The night was a temptation. Woodland animals scurried for cover, sensing the dangerous predator nearby. The hunt called to her. Wild instincts roared in her mind. The black night of the woods flew past as she ran. The male was tight on her heels, flanking her to the right. The hunt would have to wait for later. The consciousness of the female beneath her fur drove them deeper into the woods.

The male wolf kept pace with the she-wolf, leaping over fallen logs and dodging obstacles in their path. His ears were perked for danger. Always on guard of the female they prized above all else. The woods held no temptation for him. Only the she-wolf and the female lurking beneath the fur tempted. The thick sweet scent of vampires mingled with the smell of woods and wild, not a threat, friends on patrol through the vast expanse of pine and hardwoods.

Barbara felt her son's anxiety. Nervously she paced, waiting for Jan and Thomas to arrive. Her grandchild, the first of hopefully many, very, very many was about to be born. She was eager to meet the baby girl and fully prepared to do her part, if it came down to that. She'd give every drop of blood she possessed to keep Jan safe. Her blood could stave off death, for a price, a heavy price. One that Thomas refused to pay, but to see his daughter born and to keep Jan by his side he would pay the price a dozen times over for her life, though not for his own.

Death was the menace that threatened to separate her from her son. The dark presence would someday cut him down. For now, for the sake of the grandchildren yet to come, she would patiently wait. But, she couldn't wait, not forever. When time started consuming her son and he began to wither to its greedy effects, she would do, just like she was prepared to do now, what she had to do to keep him by her side.

Doc reached out to comfort Barbara. Her anxiety was almost a palpable thing in the air. Another baby born amidst the vampires, seemed unlikely, but the compound was slowly turning into a nursery. It was a fact of their lives now. He'd delivered infants before, in another life. Every life brought into the world was special and precious. This one was even more so because she was the grandchild of the woman he loved and had given his heart to. "Barbara, please try to calm yourself, for your son's sake."

Mack barely pressed on the brake as he guided the cruiser into the garage and squealed to a stop. He shoved the gear in park and raced to help Thomas ease Jan out of the backseat. Her face was a contortion of pain and fear. Sweat rolled down her forehead as another contraction gripped her body in its vice like embrace.

"We're doing just fine," Thomas's voice trembled. He hated to see his wife in such agony. He had to be a doctor, not a husband, for now. The doctor in him was as anxious as the husband in him. This was only his second wolf delivery, only his fifth real delivery of any kind. When a pregnant woman rolled into the ER. Unless the baby was popping out, the staff whisked her upstairs and he didn't have to deal with the labor. Hell, even if the baby was coming. The doc on call came to him or the nurses pushed him out of the way and took care of business. That arrangement had been fine with him, till now.

Mack grabbed the rolling stool and shoved it under Jan's butt. Even with the combined effort of Thomas and himself, he doubted if they could carry her through the garage and to the delivery room. "This will do."

Jan gratefully sat on the stool and gripped onto Thomas's hand as Mack navigated her through the cavernous garage. She puffed and blew like she was blowing out birthday candles, just like she was supposed to. Hell, the pain made anything else besides screaming impossible and screaming would make things so much worse. She felt a warm trickle soak into her jeans. "Thomas, my water just broke!"

"Its ok." Thomas jogged along beside Jan as Mack, red faced from effort, pushed her through the garage. "Perfectly normal." The garage door flung open and they were greeted by at least a dozen vampires. "Jan, let them carry you."

Jan wasn't afraid of vampires, but she cringed as Doc scooped her up into his arms, gently carrying her out of the garage. "This is so embarrassing."

"I'm honored to help." Doc poured on a little vampire speed. Not enough to jostle her, but enough to make the winding, twisting tunnels and brightly painted murals fly past in a blur.

"Where in the hell is Claire?" Thomas huffed as he ran at top speed for a human. Slow as molasses compared to the blur of Doc up ahead. "I need my nurse!" he panted. He gasped as his mom flung him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and the walls rushed past.

"Claire is on her way. I'll fill in till she gets here."

"Mom, the blood." His mother was fairly new to this world and to her life. He worried that the blood might pose too much of a temptation for her to resist. Once the scent of Jan's wolf blood filled the air, guards would have to be posted to protect her. Even the most seasoned of vampires could slip up.

"Have a little faith in me, Thomas. I'm not going to snack on the woman that is bringing my grandchild into the world. Really." Barbara was more than a bit offended at her son's unjust worry. She was a human first, a vampire second. She couldn't control her fangs. Sure, they'd pop out, but she could control her nature.

"Sorry mom." The world spun as he was gently sat on his feet. He hurriedly peeled off his coat and exchanged his sleep pants and t-shirt for a pair of freshly pressed scrubs. He stood at the sink, deep breathing, collecting his wits as he gave his hands a thorough scrubbing.

His mom was helping Jan change out of her wet pants and rumpled maternity shirt. "Mom, we'll need to start an IV. Doc, get me a set of vitals." He stared over his shoulder watching his mom fumble with the IV tubing and Doc awkwardly press buttons on the vital sign machine. As well intended as their help was. They had no idea of what they were doing. "Where in the hell is Claire!" The scene was like something straight out of Laurel and Hardy. "C'mon you two get it together." Thomas stomped over to the vitals monitor and pressed the on button.

Claire jogged through the tunnels. Damned supernaturals, Nash and Eloise had left her in the dust minutes ago. "Shit." She was out of shape, panting wildly as she tried to keep up. The tunnels all looked alike, winding and twisting through miles of underground mine shafts. By the time she got to Jan, the baby might be graduating first grade. She pushed her sweat dampened blonde hair out of her eyes and stood at a cross section. Hadn't the vampires ever heard of signs? She couldn't remember which way to turn. She picked a random direction, hoping her nurse's instincts could sniff out a patient. She ran to make up for lost time.

Carter thought he smelled a human, a rare occurrence this deep in the tunnels. The Sons usually took their meals elsewhere. He poked his head out of the doorway to see a panting human female in pink scrubs jogging toward him. "Need some help?" he smiled.

Claire rested her hands on her thighs and struggled to catch her breath. When this was over, she was going on a strict workout regimen. Her lungs ached and her muscles screamed. The blond vampire grinned at her, smiling warmly. Something about him set the alarm bells in her head at high alert. The hallway was empty except for them and she had to get to Jan. "Need to find...medical office...Jan is in labor."

"Oh." Carter nodded. With the way the woman panted and heaved and the heavy sound of her heart bounding in her chest. She might have a heart attack and need medical attention herself. Somehow, he doubted the resident doctor would want two patients. "I'll take you. Hop on." He crouched low and arched his back for her to climb on.

"Are you sure? I'm not exactly light."

"Vamp taxi at your service, madam. I'll barely notice that you're on my back at all."

Claire didn't have time to debate her decision. She scrambled on and clutched his shoulders, staring down at the concrete below. The vamp had to be an easy six-foot four or better. Beneath her, his muscles rippled. He was more powerful than she'd imagined. He hid the threat of his body behind a mask of good looks and casual wit. "My husband is a big bad wolf."

Carter chuckled. He could smell the fear radiating off of her skin. "In that case, I'll make sure my behavior is above board. Hold on." He gripped the pair of slim legs clothed in pink cotton and darted through the tunnels. Gasping at the scent of blood that grew stronger and stronger as he approached the medical suites. "This is as close as I dare get." He doubted that her dull human senses could smell the blood or that she fully realized the temptation and call the blood possessed for him.

"Thanks." Claire scrambled off and darted down the hall. Pushing past a loose gathering of worried faces.

"Ow!" Jan cried out as Barbara clumsily stuck the needle into her arm and missed the biggest, bulging vein she'd ever seen in her life. She could have hit the thing blindfolded.

"I missed." Barbara withdrew the needle and reached for a new one.

"What do you mean you missed? You're a vampire and you can't find a vein?" Jan panted through another contraction. The contractions were becoming stronger and more rhythmic. Her pelvis burned and strained as the weight of the baby pushed down.

"Honey relax, we're fine. Plenty of time." Thomas eased from his stool and gently rooted his mom out of the way. Jan was fully dilated and ready to go. As soon as Claire wandered in, he'd get her busy pushing. Until then, he was doing his best to keep them both calm.

"It's not the same," Barbara mumbled under her breath. Jan made a horrible patient. But, then again, most medical professionals did. She watched everything Barbara did, judging her with her nurse's know how.

"I'm here!" Claire exclaimed. Bursting into the labor room, she headed straight for the sink to wash up.

"Thank God! Get a line started and hook up the monitor." He smiled at Jan and grabbed her hand reassuringly. "Honey, it's time to have this baby." He motioned to the door. Hinting that his mom and the Shaman should leave. Despite the fact that his mom and the Shaman appeared so human, they weren't, and no amount of self-control would be enough once things really got rocking and the room filled with the scent of Jan's blood.

"Ok," Doc gently steered Barbara out of the room by her shoulders. "We'll be outside if you need anything." He shot Thomas a meaningful look that told exactly what anything might encompass.

Claire started the line and positioned the monitor on Jan's swollen belly. She read the paper printout. "Jan, you're there." Sometime within the next hour or two, Jan would be holding a cherry faced angel with chubby cheeks and tiny little grasping fingers.

"Honey, I need you to push." Thomas gritted his teeth as he waited for his daughter to make her debut into the world.

Eloise paced nervously. Cursing her heightened senses, she could hear Jan's effort through the steel door that separated them. Thomas's voice and the voice of the nurse were cool and efficient. Encouraging her daughter to push and to breathe with their eager coaching. Nash was right at her heels, mimicking every step she took.

Chapter 75

Eloise glanced at the concerned, indescribable blue eyes watching her every move. "Torr, thanks for coming." Ever since they'd arrived here, Torr had kept to himself and claimed no allegiance to a pack. He was a loner and languished in his self-imposed exile. But, Eloise thought he deserved to be included. Jan and Torr had a history, although it wasn't a happy one, a peace had been forged and without him, Thomas and Jan would have never had this moment.

"You know I'm here for you and your daughters." Torr tipped his head and took an empty seat at the outer fringe of the makeshift waiting room. He gritted his teeth as he heard Jan's agonized cry. How had the labor been for Erica? Had she gone through it alone or had she had the luxury of a hallway filled with loving, caring, visitors?