The Twelve Zenati Pt. 39

"Now, Kitten! Come with me. Come now, Marcella!" he commanded through a grimace.

Her hips bucked, and he arched his back, finally letting himself spill into her. Her pussy tightened and spasmed around him, milking him of his cum and demanding more.

"Mine." He rubbed a hand over her belly as he collapsed next to her. "Mine."

She curled against him, dislodging his hand from her belly. Her body was a soft, warm weight against his. Sex between them was always intense, no matter who was taking the lead, but also very satisfying. She stayed very still, knowing if she squirmed too much, he would worry and question her, so she forced herself to relax. The worries that assailed her now were for another day. She handed those worries over to the quiet voice in her mind to keep safe until she had more time to think about them.

Her hand went to her belly, and she reminded herself she had been honest from almost the beginning about not being able to have children of her own, and he had accepted that truth. So, beating herself up about it now wasn't going to help anyone. Besides tomorrow, they would be taking her nephews home, and she knew that would be enough.

*****

Three months later.

"Somethings wrong! Oh God, Marcie, somethings wrong. I need Gideon," Vivienne became hysterical quickly as she exited the bathroom to where they were doing more wedding planning now that the baby shower had been a success.

"Okay, it's going to be okay. Sera will call Gideon, and Olivia will call Helena while we get you to the car. It's probably a false alarm you were warned this might happen," Marcella said calmly. "But let's get you to the hospital just to be safe. Gideon can meet us there." She could hear the other two women on their phones talking to the people she needed.

Vivienne had been through the wringer with this pregnancy and had developed preeclampsia in the last few weeks and should have been solely on bed rest, preferably in a hospital. Still, as she made it to the thirty-four-week mark, she had relaxed a little and decided a small outing now and then would be good for her and the baby, it had been a mistake, and now she and the baby would pay for it. A tear rolled down Vivienne's cheek. She was the worse mother already, but it could only get better from here, right? Marcella was managing with a baby and two little boys; she could do this. She took deep breaths and made herself relax as the car wove through the traffic to the hospital.

"I'll park the car," Sera offered as they pulled into the emergency drop off bay at the private maternity hospital where she was a patient.

Helena was waiting with the OB/GYN they had chosen, Dr. David Woods and Vivienne was whisked away while Marcella waited for Gideon to burst through the doors.

"What are you doing standing there?" Gideon boomed as he saw Marcella hovering near the door waiting for him. He grabbed her hand and rushed past the front counter, ignoring the nurses and calling for his cousin. "Helena! Where is my wife!" Dragging Marcella with him, he followed Helena's voice and the hand that flashed through one of the doors.

"Don't disappear. We need you here," Gideon almost shouted at Marcella in his panic and went to Vivienne's side.

Marcella was overwhelmed by the number of machines that pinged and buzzed. There was a clear box-like crib wheeled in, and her heart went into her mouth. She didn't want to be here, and she certainly wasn't the best person to be helping Vivienne and Gideon deal with this situation. She was edging toward the door when Vivienne let out a heart-rending cry, and Marcella squashed all her fears and went to her friend.

From that point on, everything happening in the room was a blur to her as she gripped Vivienne's hand through an epidural and emergency caesarean. She was a rock for her friend right up until the moment the tiny red wrinkled baby was placed on her chest for less than a minute before being whisked away and looked after by the doctors and nurses in the room.

"Gideon, you look after our baby," Vivienne pleaded through her tears, "She's too little to be out here alone. You stay with her. Everywhere! Promise me you won't leave her by herself. Promise she won't be alone."

"I swear," Gideon promised, then kissed Vivienne's forehead and stepped to where his child was being tested and cleaned before being placed in the humidicrib.

"She's perfect, Vivienne. A sweet little angel. You are so very clever, and she is going to be just fine. Babies come early all the time, and she was just impatient to meet her mummy and daddy cause she knows she got the best of the bunch," Marcella knew she was rambling, but she couldn't acknowledge what was still happening to her friend as Vivienne was cleaned up.

"Dr. Stanley, the paediatrician, is with your husband and daughter, but I wanted to reassure you that while she is early, she is close to five pounds in the old measurements. I find people prefer that with baby weights, but that's just over two kilograms, and she is 43 centimetres long. So she is healthy, but she will need to stay in the Neonatal intensive care unit until she builds up her lungs a bit more. As soon as you are up to it, you can visit as much as you like.

"See, I told you a perfect little angel," Marcella squeezed Vivienne's hand.

"Can you get me a wheelchair? I want to see my daughter," Vivienne looked at Marcella through teary eyes.

That was all Marcella needed to become the bitch in heels she needed to be for her friend right then. She badgered and argued with doctors and nurses alike until she could finally wheel Vivienne down to the Neonatal ward, where a beaming Gideon had not left his daughter's side as he had promised.

"I'm going to give you two a minute and go out and give your family the good news before they get kicked out for badgering the staff," Marcella laughed. "Five pounds, 43 centimetres. I don't suppose you are ready to tell anyone her name?"

"I've changed my mind, and I want to talk to Gideon about it. He will let everyone know later," Vivienne said dreamily as she stroked the clear plastic of the box holding her baby and wished it was different. "She is perfect. That's all they need to know right now," Vivienne said in a whisper.

*****