Fulfillment 19

Ariel looks at her and smiles, "We're going to start work on a shower for Jo. You did such a lovely job with her party."

Lyssa nods. The last thing she wanted to do was set up a baby shower for Joanna.

***

Life continued as usual for the packs.

Calvin suspended the other candidates' visits temporarily, so that the pack could get used to having Stephanie there. After seeing her take Tobias a second time, no one else challenged her position as Alpha.

Emmett periodically lay with his head on Lyssa's belly. He smiled indulgently when Joanna came to visit. Lyssa regularly found reasons not to be around when she came. Emmaline began hanging around Lyssa, alternating visits with Naomi.

Brandon went to live with the Gates pack.

Thomas came back from a date with Lorelei walking funny.

***

Joanna and Nathan came by one night, toward the end of August, unannounced.

They stood in the front hall, Nathan with his hands around her slightly swollen belly, grinning broadly. Several of the females had gathered around them. "Yeah, we've been trying to figure out names."

Lyssa pled illness, and stayed in their suite at dinner. Emmett went up and checked on her. She was curled up on the bed. She told him to go down and visit.

The happy young couple stayed late visiting and were offered a room for the night, rather than driving home tired. They accepted.

Emmett crawled in beside Lyssa and she murmured as he snuggled up to her. He ran his hand over her belly wishing he could feel their pup growing there.

The weather was warm and the windows were open. But she seemed warmer than normal. And she had been cranky of late.

With dawn a couple of hours away, Lyssa slid out of their bed and climbed up to the roof. She sat near the edge, staring out across the range.

She hadn't been up there very long when she heard someone else come out. Lyssa heard the footsteps come closer and then caught the scent of the other. It was Joanna.

"Lyssa? Why are you avoiding me?"

Lyssa immediately gets defensive. "I'm not. I've got work to do. And this thing with Ross.."

"Bullshit." Startled by the profanity from Joanna's mouth, Lyssa looks at her. The look drops from her face, to her slightly bulging belly, then away.

"What's wrong?"

Lyssa's response is quiet. "It's so easy for you."

"What do you mean?" Lyssa says nothing, staring back out across the range.

Joanna moves to the edge and sits beside her. Leaning forward slightly, the moon glints on Lyssa's tears.

Joanna puts a hand on Lyssa's shoulder and Lyssa cries harder. "Lyssa, what is it? What's wrong?"

Throat burning, mostly sad and partly angry, Lyssa responds. "It hurts every time I see you. It just reminds me what a failure I am."

"Gimme a little help here, I don't get what you're talking about."

Now the anger bubbles up. "Three years, Jo. It's been almost three years. I've been in heat nine times. Nine! And look at you. The first time. The very first time."

Joanna has no idea what to say to that. There's only one thing she can think of. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

Joanna pulls Lyssa over, so that her head is in Jo's lap. She strokes Lyssa's hair, and, a little hitch in her voice, says quietly, "I'm sorry I make you feel sad because I'm very, very happy. And kindof afraid. And I'm sorry it hasn't happened for you."

They stay there, quiet, as Lyssa's crying abates.

Joanna finally says. "I miss seeing you around."

Lyssa does not answer. But she starts listening as things quiet down. Night sounds. Sounds of animals waking to the approaching dawn. Noises of the house, some of the inhabitants awake. The light breeze in the leaves. Joanna's breathing and a really rapid heartbeat.

"Jo, why's your heart beating so fast?"

"That's him, Lyssa, not me."

"Him who?" Oh, the baby. "Oh."

"Nathan was grinning so wide, I thought he was gonna break his face when he told me."

Lyssa twists and looks up at her. "Whaddaya mean, he told you? You didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. A lot of times it's the male who figures it out first, who hears the heartbeat."

Lyssa mumbles to herself. "That's what he's been doing."

"Emmett's been putting his ear to your belly." A quiet statement from Jo.

"Yeah, he did, but he's stopped." Emotion colors her voice. "So I guess I'm not. Again." Lyssa sniffles.

She blows out a breath then and looks at Joanna. "Anyway, um, how are you doing?"

"Mostly OK. Some things are starting to smell a little funny. It's... I don't know but I'm starting to worry."

"Is something wrong? What did the healer say?"

"No. No. Just ... getting fat, uncomfortable." Lyssa looks at her young friend. Her young, pregnant friend. "Nathan's mom and the mates have been telling me horror stories from their pregnancies."

"It's gonna be OK, Jo." Lyssa sits up and hugs Joanna.

"Mmm."

"What?"

"My boobs are starting to hurt."

"Oh, sorry."

They trade places, Jo's head now in Lyssa's lap. "What does the healer say?"

"It's early yet."

"And your mom?"

"To enjoy it. And not to worry too much."

"Huh."

The sky begins to lighten off to the east as a soft whine is heard.

***

Emmett rolls, climbing up from sleep without knowing just why.

He reaches out, Lyssa isn't there.

Finally reaching awareness, he hears, [Emmett, it would probably be good if you come up to the roof.]

He yawns and stretches, then rolls, putting feet on the floor. Something was going on between Lyssa and Jo, and Jo wanted him there.

Emmaline yipped as he caught her with the door.

"Oh, Emmaline, I'm sorry. What are you doing here? Did I hurt you?"

Emmaline skittered and tried drawing him toward the back stairs. "I know, pup, I'm going. You should go back to bed." She took another step. "No, Emmaline, go back to your parents."

As Emmaline walked away, looking over her shoulder at him, Emmett climbed the stairs.

He found them on the back part of the roof, Joanna's head in his mate's lap.

And he realized he hadn't seen them together in a while.

Something fairly profound was going on between them, it seemed. But Joanna had called him here.

When he got close enough, she reached out her hand and Lyssa turned to look.

He took Joanna's hand and she drew him closer. [Take my place. And listen, if she decides to talk.] She sat up, hugged Lyssa, stood, and gave Emmett a quick peck on the cheek.

Emmett sat down beside Lyssa and, when she started to move, he lay down and put his head in her lap.

Lyssa began absentmindedly stroking his grey hair. It was slightly longer than hers.

She sighed and he took her hand and kissed it. "I've been ... I'm jealous of her."

There's a pause before she says, "Just seeing her hurt and reminded me." She looks down at him, inhales, exhales. "And I know why you've been doing that now."

He blinks, looking at her dark eyes. And says quietly, "We have time, dear heart. Years and years."

Lyssa looks into his eyes, offering him a sad smile. "I guess."

Then his expression changes to a look of concentration, followed by a look of wonder. "What?"

He wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer.

So quietly, she can barely hear it, he says, "I can hear it."

He turns, kisses her belly, sits up, takes her shoulders, and looks into her dark brown eyes. "Lyssa. Mate. You have my pup in there."

She shakes her head. "What? No, you stopped listening."

He shakes her lightly. "Lys, sweetheart. You're pregnant." He laughs and kisses her again. "Luna, mate, we're going to have a pup."

She looks at him, not sure if she should believe it. "You're sure?"

He puts an ear back to her belly, closes his eyes, and smiles. [Yes.]

"I'm gonna have a baby?"

"Yes."

Emmett pulls her into his lap, wrapping her legs around him, wrapping his arms around her. He kisses his pregnant mate as the first ray of sunshine peeks over the trees.

Joanna snuggled up to Nathan, and smiled, as Emmett's joy echoed down throughout the den, waking everyone.

The Wyeth pack would have another pup.

And, of all the wonders seen by the packs in the space of those twelve months, none was more unexpected than the news that Stephanie, Alpha female of the Ross pack, had come into season.