Colton bundled up Penny before they took her outside. The construction crew building the trainee’s new barracks had moved the dumpsters yesterday, giving them back the grassy area they used for drills. Penny stood calmly at his side holding his hand.
‘Are you sure this is a good idea? Having her outside during training?’ Colton asked Aiden. The men were all staring at the little girl as if they had never seen a child before.
His friend turned to him. ‘Why not? She can’t be inside all by herself, she could trip and fall or choke or drown in a bathtub. You heard your mate; she knows how to cut pieces off without killing us. Do you really want to risk something happening to our little angel here?’
Colton’s brows furrowed. ‘Why would she be in the bathtub?’
Aiden rub his hands over his face. ‘I don’t know, but I remember doing a lot of stuff when we were cubs that didn’t make sense.’
‘Good point.’ Colton looked down at Penny. ‘No bathtubs, okay?’ Penny nodded and gave a thumbs up, her tiny hand encased in a mitten. Colton’s heart was a melted pile of goo in his chest. He scooped her up and kissed her cheek. ‘You’re so damn cute!’
‘Ahh, sir? What’s with the kid?’ Graham, the Delta Unit leader asked.
Aiden thought about it for a second then smiled. ‘So glad you asked.’ He walked over to Colton and Penny. ‘Penny, are you good at hiding?’ She nodded. ‘Are you fast?’ She nodded again.
Colton felt a growl crawl up the back of his throat. He turned his body so Penny was away from Aiden. ‘What in the hell are you thinking?’ he demanded.
Aiden looked hurt for a moment before he reached out and cuffed Colton in the back of the head.
‘Ow dammit!’
‘Do you really think I would do anything to put her or any child in danger? You’re like a brother to me Colton; I would never hurt my own niece,’ Aiden grumbled.
Colton was instantly contrite. ‘I’m sorry Aiden. My wolf is really at the surface, any perceived threat and he loses his mind.’
‘Apology accepted.’ Aiden nodded his head and turned to walk towards the group.
‘Especially since I was going to ask you to be her Athair,’ Colton yelled to Aiden’s back.
Colton had known all his life that if he had any children Aiden would be their Athair.
Aiden turned back around to face him and looked dumbstruck. Colton turned to Penny. ‘Penny, do you know what an Athair is?’ She shook her head. ‘An Athair is someone very special in the life of a child. If anything were to happen to me or your mommy, Aiden would take over raising you and he would see to your protection and care.’ Penny’s arms tightened around his neck. ‘Nothing is going to happen, I promise.’
‘Did you mean it?’ Aiden asked quietly.
‘Of course I did you idiot. I chose you to be my children’s Athair when we were pups.’
‘Thank you for the honor, I will help protect her with my life,’ Aiden said, sounding choked up. The damn bear had always been sentimental.
‘Congratulations Aiden, we know you’ll be a wonderful Athair.’ Sascha clapped Aiden on the back.
Aiden winked at Penny and nodded at Colton before turning to face the men. ‘We have a new little cadet with us today. She assures me that she is great at hiding and is very fast. We’ll be dividing up into units; the goal of this drill is to protect your bell tower from this stealthy assassin,’ Aiden said pointing to Penny. Colton was surprised to see her put on a pretty scary ‘game face’, but he was even more surprised to see two of the warriors step back from her. He leaned in. ‘Did your Uncle Radek teach you that?’ he whispered. She nodded. ‘Not bad kiddo.’ She held up her mitten hand, Colton gave her a high five.
‘Any unit that cannot defend their tower will have extra laps and will be put on the list as available babysitters for one afternoon.’ Aiden looked at his clipboard. ‘Trainees, your jobs will be to distract your unit, giving our angel opportunities to ring those bells. Alpha trainees, your job will be to record how many times each bell is rung. Any questions?’ Aiden asked looking up.
‘What will the Alpha Unit be doing?’ Sascha asked pointing out the fact that they only had three bell towers, one each for Gamma, Delta and Beta. The absent two units were running patrols.
‘We’ll be making sure nothing happens to Penny. Let’s get something straight men, I love all of you like brothers, but if anything happens to my niece I will happily turn you over to her mother, and trust me, she is not a woman to be trifled with, understood?’ Aiden gave them men dark looks.
‘Yes, sir!’ Male voices rang out.
Aiden walked over. ‘Okay Penny, it’s up to you now. Do you think you can take these puffed up warriors down a peg or two?’ he asked.
Penny nodded and wiggled. Colton put her down and stepped back. Penny removed her coat and mittens. Like all shifter children, her temperature ran warm. They were usually bundled up if they weren’t going to be moving much, but since Penny was going to be moving around a lot, her jeans and fleece shirt would do just fine.
‘Go easy on us baby girl,’ Quinn called from the field, his tone almost teasing.
Penny turned and looked him in the eye, never changing expression. Wordlessly she reached down, picked up some mud and covered her face.
‘Oh fuck!’ Quinn and the rest of the men stared at her.
‘What are you two idiots waiting for? Get those barrels of hay up to block the tower,’ Sascha barked. Suddenly the men were a lot more serious about this drill.
Colton knelt down next to Penny. ‘Take your time. It will be a lot more fun watching them panic if they can’t see you than if you manage to ring the bell but they saw you coming.’ Penny nodded and spread her feet apart to stretch.
Colton stood and frowned down at his daughter. ‘Remind me to call Radek and ask him what he taught my daughter.’
Aiden nodded. ‘No kidding.’ He turned to Penny. ‘Hey angel, if you manage to get all three bell towers I will buy you whatever dessert you want after dinner for a whole week.’
Penny stopped stretching and held up two fingers.
Aiden laughed. ‘Two weeks, huh? You drive a hard bargain, but you have yourself a deal.’
Colton shook his head. ‘I have the best kid in the history of kids, including the time we were kids.’
Aiden nodded again. ‘Agreed. Okay men close your eyes let’s give her a thirty second head start.’
When Colton turned to see what Penny would do, she was already gone.
Best. Kid. Ever
*****
‘Adam, Aiden’s brother, runs the clinic. They’re just wrapping up some much needed renovations, so you’ll have to excuse the mess,’ Beth explained as they got out of the car.
‘I’ve probably seen worse,’ Rheia assured her.
They walked through a heavy set of metal double doors and down a long hallway. From top to bottom, the entire building looked brand new. The smell of paint and cut lumber was thick in the air. Rheia walked behind Meryn and Beth, peeking into rooms. She saw box after box piled together covered in plastic. It looked as if none of the imaging machines had been unpacked yet. They turned down another hall that opened up to a large waiting room area. Beth pulled out her cell phone. After a few seconds she spoke.
‘We’re here. Okay, see you in a second.’ Beth smiled at Rheia and put the phone away.
A minute later, a tall, dark haired man emerged from behind a set of double doors at the end of the hallway. Without even asking, Rheia knew this was Adam; he looked just like his brother.
‘Adam, I would like you to meet Rheia. She’s only just arrived this afternoon and it looks like she’ll be here for a while. She is Colton’s mate and a doctor,’ Beth informed him.
Adam’s face broke out in a smile. ‘Welcome! I could really use your help here at the clinic. Between an unexpected baby boom and feral attacks, we don’t have the personnel to deal with everything.’
Rheia smiled up at him. ‘I’m actually relieved. I didn’t think a paranormal city would even have doctors, considering how quickly you heal.’
Adam’s eyebrows shot up ‘You have experience treating paranormals?’ he asked eagerly.
She nodded. ‘As a child I helped my mother to treat the squad of paranormals that lived in our town. After becoming a doctor I continued to treat them.’
‘I must have done something right; the Gods are smiling down on me. First, my wonderful sister Meryn tricks the council members into renovating and upgrading the clinic, and now Fate herself has sent me a doctor with experience in treating paranormals. I may actually get a few hours sleep this week after all.’
‘When would you need me?’ she asked.
‘Would starting tomorrow be too soon?’ he asked hopefully.
‘That shouldn’t be a problem; I’ll have to make sure someone can watch my daughter.’
Adam blinked. ‘You have a daughter?’
‘Yes, will that be a problem?’ she asked frowning. He didn’t seem like he was a man to judge.
Adam shook his head smiling wide. ‘No, not at all. That means Colton is a father. I can’t wait to congratulate him.’
‘We’re still figuring things out, but he seems like he’ll make a good father,’ she admitted.
‘Anyone who can grow up around Aiden and keep his sense of humor can’t be all bad,’ Adam teased.
Meryn turned to Adam. ‘Speaking of your brother, where on his body would be a safe place to stab him with a fork? Where it would be painful, but wouldn’t take long to heal?’
Adam brought his hand up to his chin and tapped his finger on his lips as he thought about his answer. ‘Why don’t you tell me, Adair and Ben what he’s done and we’ll take care of it, after all, that’s what brothers are for,’ he offered.
Rheia had to admit, he handled Meryn fairly well. It was highly unlikely that his brothers would stab Aiden.
‘He forgot to tell me about the two hundred plus warriors living out amongst humans in an inactive status,’ Meryn said sourly.
Adam stared at Meryn in disbelief. He blinked and then shook his head. ‘Outer thigh.’
So much for brotherly love.
‘Okay enough about my baby brother, I’d rather talk about my baby niece or nephew. Let’s head to my office, it’ll be more comfortable.’
Adam led the way to a small office painted in a butter cream color. Rheia and Beth sat down on the office sofa while Ryuu stood outside the door. Meryn took the chair in front of Adam’s desk.
He pulled out a folder and began reading the contents. Rheia knew from experience the news would not be good. Doctors always knew the contents of those folders cover to cover, before the patient even stepped into the room. He was pretending to look over the contents of the folder to gather his thoughts.
‘Am I allowed to speak freely in front of everyone in this room?’ he asked.
Meryn frowned and nodded.
‘Okay then, to be honest Meryn, your test results worry me. The anemia hasn’t gotten any better and if you didn’t have Ryuu tending to you, I would seriously doubt you were taking your vitamins.’ He closed the folder and put it on his desk.
‘But I’ve cut back on my coffee!’ Meryn twisted her hands anxiously.
Rheia noticed Beth was on the verge of standing to go to her friend when the door opened. Ryuu walked in and placed a comforting hand on Meryn’s back.
‘What more can we do?’ he asked Adam. Rheia noticed he didn’t even try to hide that fact that he had been eavesdropping.
Adam took out a pad and began writing. ‘I’m recommending iron supplements to take in addition to the pre-natal vitamins I prescribed during your last visit. As I told you, human and shifters can have babies, but it may be a rough pregnancy. No caffeine, in any form and a diet with lean meats and lots of dark green leafy vegetables should help. No more long nights with no sleep. You have to start thinking of your baby, Meryn.’ His voice was gentle, but firm.
‘I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m going to be a good mom,’ Meryn said, her voice trembling.
Beth shot off of the couch and wrapped a supportive arm around Meryn’s shoulders. ‘Of course you are. Whatever you need, we’ll get it.’
Ryuu was already on his phone. The way his finger moved rapidly over its surface, Rheia was willing to bet he had already ordered the iron supplements and was planning new menus.
Adam stood and walked around his desk to kneel down in front of Meryn. ‘I won’t let anything happen to my niece or nephew.’
‘It’s a girl. I keep telling Aiden we’re having Meryn 2.0,’ Meryn said smiling.
Adam’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. ‘Then I will help Meryn 2.0 into this world, because she has a lot of people already waiting to meet her.’ Adam stood. ‘Okay, I’ll put you down for more blood work in about three weeks and then you can come back in for your three month check up.’ He walked back around to his chair and sat down.
Rheia frowned. ‘Aren’t you going to do a pelvic exam?’ Four sets of eyes turned to her.
Adam turned red. ‘Normally yes, but given the circumstances…’
Rheia stood, exasperated. ‘Men! Meryn, would you feel comfortable if I did it?’
Meryn nodded rapidly. Adam sat back in his chair, relief pouring from him. ‘Thank you, Gods!’
Rheia turned to him. ‘Do you have a room we could use? It shouldn’t take too long.’
Adam practically leapt from his chair. ‘I’ll show you.’
‘Ryuu and I will wait here,’ Beth said.
‘Be right back.’ Meryn waved.
Rheia and Meryn followed behind Adam. He opened a door to one of the smaller room and stood to one side. ‘Everything you need should be in here. I’ll go wait with Beth and Ryuu.’ He shut the door and they heard him practically race away.
Meryn turned to her. ‘I’m so glad you’re here.’
Laughing Rheia pointed to the paper-covered table. ‘Have you ever had a pelvic exam before?’ She opened the first cabinet and was pleasantly surprised to find the examination gowns.
‘I started getting them in college as part of my yearlies.’
‘Good, then you know the drill. Normally I would step out of the room while you undress, but to save time, I’ll just be over here assembling the needed supplies, that is, if that’s okay with you?’ Rheia handed her the paper gown.
‘Fine by me, I’m just glad it’s you looking up my who-ha and not Adam. Can you imagine how awkward that would have made family holidays?’ Meryn asked.
Rheia snorted and started opening the other cabinets. She found a speculum and the lubricant and lined them up side by side on the metal tray. Looking around she found an assortment of non-latex gloves by the sink. She put on a pair and turned to find Meryn playing around with the blood pressure cuff.
‘Ready?’ she asked sliding the tray in her direction.
Meryn nodded and tried getting on the table but it was too high. They found the small metal step stool and she hopped up on the table.
‘What do you guys listen for when you use that thing anyway?’ Meryn asked, pointing to the cuff.
‘Your heartbeat, now lay back and get comfortable.’
Meryn reclined back.
Rheia pulled out the stirrups from either side of the bed. ‘Okay scoot down to the edge of the table.’
Meryn wiggled down and Rheia helped place her heels on the stirrups.
‘Okay, while I do this, you can tell me about matings, because to be honest with you, everything feels like it’s moving too fast for me,’ Rheia said, starting the exam.
‘Well. Being mated to a paranormal is way different than being with a human. It’s like you’re slipped this really cool happy drug that makes all your defenses come down and bam, you’re exposed. But you realize it’s okay, because no matter how crazy or broken or unworthy you think you are, your mate loves and wants you just the way you are. And just when you’re about to freak out that this stranger can see right to your heart, you realize his walls are down too. Before you know it, your souls are reaching out for one another and you feel incomplete without him. You look at this man you just met and know that no other will ever compare. Plus the sex is really hot, hence my current condition.’
Rheia finished the exam and helped Meryn to sit up. ‘You’re a nut, you know that right?’
Meryn nodded. ‘Yeah, but I can be nutty and crazy, immature and brilliant and it doesn’t matter, because Aiden loves me no matter what, even after I accidentally shot him, so everyone else who can’t take a joke can fuck off.’
Rheia took off her gloves and washed her hands. ‘I’ll step out so you can clean up, I’ll wait for you outside.’
‘Okie dokie.’
Rheia handed Meryn a box of tissues and opened the door to step out into the hallway. A couple minutes later, a dressed Meryn emerged. ‘So is everything kosher down in lady town?’
Rheia laughed. ‘Yes, everything is fine.’
‘Good. I have enough problems with functioning with no caffeine and having low iron.’
‘The supplements should help a lot.’
‘Thanks. Hey, can I ask you something?’ Meryn stopped.
‘Sure.’
‘Why doesn’t Penny talk?’
Rheia shook her head. ‘I don’t know. She wasn’t physically injured during the attack which killed her parents, so it has to be psychological. When I asked around at the hospital, to get a recommended course of action, they all said to institutionalize her. There’s no way I would do that to her, so I decided to let her go at her own pace. When she’s ready to talk, she will.’
‘That’s cool; I just didn’t want to put my foot in it, in case it was something specific. I do that a lot,’ Meryn admitted.
‘You?’ Rheia asked, feigned surprise.
‘You’re so funny.’ Meryn smiled. ‘She’s a really neat kid; I’ve never met another Whovian who was so young before.’
‘It was the only thing that caught her interest after I got her.’
Meryn made a face. ‘I’m not judging, because I think that’s a dick thing to do, but as much as I love the Doctor, do you think it’s appropriate for a little kid?’
‘Trust me I know exactly what you’re talking about. I tried every cartoon in existence, even the annoying singing ones, but she would stare at me then turn off the television.’
‘Some of the bad guys can be pretty scary.’
‘She’s seen real monsters. I don’t think much scares her anymore.’
‘I’ve seen them, too,’ Meryn said quietly.
‘Meryn, be honest with me. How safe is it here? The things that attacked my house, they were like rabid dogs.’ Rheia shuddered at the memory.
‘It’s safe, but it isn’t.’
‘That’s helpful.’
‘It’s safe because we’re surrounded by unit warriors. They do patrols at all hours to guard the city’s perimeter. It isn’t safe, because the ferals know where to find us.’
‘There’s no way to keep them out?’ Rheia asked.
‘The men are working on it.’ Meryn resumed walking, heading back to Adam’s office.
Rheia opened the office door and they walked in.
Adam stood. ‘So, everything okay?’
‘She’s fine. If you hand me her chart I’ll make notes.’ Rheia held out her hand.
‘Good to hear.’ Adam walked over and handed her the folder.
Rheia made her notes and handed it back to him. ‘What hours are you thinking of for me?’
‘How does a typical nine to five sound? We can rotate nighttime on-call hours,’ Adam offered.
‘Sounds heavenly compared to my old schedule. Did you need help setting up the machines?’
‘Yes, please. Beth tried to help but she didn’t know what the machines did, so some of the room set ups aren’t very logical.’
Beth grimaced. ‘Sorry, Adam. You’re right though, knowing what the machines are and what they do would make the difference.’
‘Don’t be sorry, your organization of patient files and data input saved me weeks of work, it’s not your fault you don’t know what the machines do.’ He turned to Rheia. ‘The machines are heavy so I’ll see if I can get some volunteers to help with the heavy lifting.’
‘If you can’t find anyone, let Aiden know. He can check to see if one of the units can help,’ Meryn offered.
‘Thanks, Meryn.’ Adam kissed her cheek.
Meryn turned to Ryuu and Beth. ‘You guys ready to go?’
‘Yes, I’m ready.’ Beth stood and everyone walked to the door.
‘Bye, Adam!’ Meryn waved.
‘Bye, hun.’ He turned and went back into his office.
‘Let’s go check on the men,’ Rheia said.
Beth frowned. ‘Don’t you mean check on Penny.’
Rheia grinned. ‘Nope.’
Beth sighed. ‘Oh, dear.’
*****
Bing!
Colton collapsed against Aiden, laughing.
‘Motherfucker!’ Quinn exclaimed.
Aiden snapped upright. ‘Quinn! Language! I know it’s hard to believe because she’s kicking your butt, but there’s a toddler on the field.’
Quinn blushed. ‘Sorry Aiden, Colton.’ He turned back to his defensive position in front of the Gamma bell tower.
Bing!
In the middle of the field, the Delta bell tower chimed.
Graham shook a finger at Aiden and Colton. ‘Y’all are cheating by using magic!’
Grinning broadly, Colton shook his head. ‘Sorry, but my baby girl is just that good.’
Aiden turned to him. ‘Has she hit the Beta tower yet?’
Colton shook his head. Beta had done an excellent job of creating high partitions to keep out the small four-year old.
Aiden looked down at his watch. ‘Two-minute warning!’ he bellowed.
The field grew louder as the trainees stomped, yelled and waved their arms trying to distract their assigned units. Colton looked at Aiden to see if he noticed. Aiden nodded. No bells had gone off after the two minute warning.
‘She’s going for Beta.’ Colton whispered.
‘If she gets them, I’ll buy her an entire cake.’ Aiden whispered back. Both of them stared at the Beta bell tower.
Aiden looked down at his watch. ‘Thirty seconds!’
Lorcan Ariav, the Beta Unit leader, bowed to them looking smug.
‘She has ten seconds.’ Aiden stared down at his watch.
‘Five, four, three, two…’
Bing!
‘Sonofabitch! Impossible!’ Lorcan turned around to see his bell swaying back and forth.
Aiden and Colton whooped and yelled, dancing jigs and laughing their heads off.
‘Penny, come out, come out where ever you are,’ Keelan sang.
‘Oh shit!’ Colton heard Darian yell.
Colton turned and Penny was sitting on top of the bell tower. Instead of going after the well-defended rope she had gone for the bell itself. She was currently trying to get down but looked stuck.
‘Penny!’ The men all raced around the bell tower.
‘Keelan, do something! Float her off!’ Colton ordered.
‘I’m trying, but she’s an animate object, it’s a bit tricky,’ Keelan snapped back, sweat running down his face.
One second she was trying to swing her leg over the rail and the next she was falling.
‘Darian! Leg up!’ Colton yelled and ran towards the fae warrior. Darian knelt down and cupped his hands. Colton stepped into his fingers and Darian flung him in the air. Colton flew up and wrapped his arms around Penny’s body. He turned, but didn’t have enough time to land on his feet. Holding her tight, they hit the ground and he rolled them. When they came to a stop, Colton sat up with her in his lap.
‘Is she bleeding? Is she broken? I can’t tell! Keelan, can you do something about the mud!’ Colton yelled frantically.
Between Keelan and Quinn, Penny’s face and clothes became spotless and her hair tucked back in a perfect ponytail.
Penny beamed up at him, her eyes lit up in excitement.
‘Oh Gods, I think she’s okay.’ Colton felt weak with relief. Hands helped him up and he walked back with her to the front of the training grounds. Penny pointed from bell tower to bell tower excitedly showing them the path she had taken. At the end, she stuck her tongue out at Lorcan and flexed her arms.
The men erupted into boisterous laughter. Colton was the first to collapse to the ground equal parts exhausted from worry and relief. Around him, the rest of the men sank down and rested against each other, it had been a long afternoon.
Penny went up to Aiden and held up two fingers. Opening one eye, he nodded. ‘I promised, didn’t I? We’ll start your two weeks tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll let you choose from my stash of snack cakes.’ He winked at her. Hopping up and down Penny threw her tiny arms in the air.
The sound of tires crunching gravel had all the men turning to see that Meryn, Beth and Rheia had returned from the clinic.
‘Men. Not a word,’ Aiden growled.
‘Do we look stupid?’ Sascha asked incredulously.
The women walked up, frowning. Penny ran up to her mother bouncing up and down happily. Rheia’s face transformed from worry to sheer joy at the sight of her daughter exuberance.
‘What did you do while we were gone?’ Rheia asked Penny. Penny stopped bouncing and looked over her shoulder to the men. Meryn, Beth, Rheia and Ryuu stared at them. Colton knew that the men looked wrecked. Penny looked at the ground, then shrugged.
‘Bless that baby’s heart,’ Quinn whispered. Around him, the men all nodded.
Rheia eyed them all carefully. ‘You know what? I don’t want to know. Come, on Pumpkin Dumpling, I think I have some Teddy Grahams leftover in my purse, let’s go in for a snack.’ Rheia took Penny’s hand and the women headed for the house.
Rheia stopped at the door, allowing Ryuu to open it. She picked Penny up and kissed her on the head, then frowned. ‘It’s so strange; you’ve never been so clean after playing outside. You even smell clean. How did you stay so clean?’
Colton held his breath. The ladies walked in and Ryuu turned to them, smiling slyly. ‘Must be magic,’ he said simply and went in after them, closing the door.
Colton, Aiden, Keelan and the rest of the men lay on the ground breathing hard.
‘How old is she?’ Graham asked.
‘Four. She’s four,’ Colton answered.
‘Ninety-six more years until she’s considered an adult and you don’t have to worry about her,’ he said.
Colton turned his head. ‘Do you really think I’ll ever stop worrying about her?
Graham shook his head. ‘I probably won’t stop either. You have one hell of a kid Colton.’
‘Yeah, yeah I do.’
‘Hey Aiden, you weren’t really serious about babysitting right?’ Quinn asked nervously.
Aiden just smiled.
‘Aiden? Uhh, sir?’ Quinn pleaded.
‘We’re so fucked,’ Sascha said sounding depressed. All around the field the men groaned.
Penny, one. Beta, Delta and Gamma Units, zero.
Colton chuckled and stared up at the blue sky.
‘What a wonderful day!’ He sat up and looked at Aiden. ‘I feel like some Teddy Grahams.’
Aiden waved him on.
He got to his feet and headed towards the front door whistling. He opened the door and then went looking for his family.
