Triple Dog Dare

Chapter Nineteen

The return drive to Florida took longer because they decided to hit tourist attractions along the way. With the mood lighter, Elain, Lina, Mai, and Carla became nearly inseparable at their stops. It wasn’t uncommon for Liam to get politely evicted from Carla’s car to make room for all the women. Then he took turns riding with the other men.

Four days after their return to Florida, Lina got Mai an appointment with her ob-gyn in Tampa.

Mai nervously sat between her men in the waiting room and held Micah’s and Jim’s hands. When it was her turn, as one they all rose and followed the nurse into an exam room. The nurse took her vitals before giving her a gown and instructions to disrobe. Then she left them alone in the exam room.

The men helped Mai put the robe on and assisted her up onto the exam table.

She looked into Micah’s blue eyes. He smiled. “It’s okay, sweetheart. This is just routine. Everything’s going to be fine.”

She didn’t know if it was paranoia on her part, or a result of the dreams, but she couldn’t shake the fact that she felt like something was wrong. “But why haven’t I had any morning sickness?”

He shrugged. “Maybe it’s a coyote thing. I don’t know. We’ll ask the doctor.”

“Please relax,” Jim said. “It’s not good to work yourself up like this.”

“Lina said she puked her guts up the first couple of months she was pregnant.”

“Lina is also carrying dragon twins,” Jim reminded her. “I’d be surprised if she doesn’t have permanent heartburn.”

The doctor walked in a few minutes later and offered up a kind smile. Her shoulder-length sable hair was streaked with grey. “Mai Gallatin? I’m Doctor Alberto.”

Mai nervously smiled. “Nice to meet you. These are my mates, Micah and Jim.”

“Nice to meet you all. Before we start, I wanted you to know some of my nurses are human, so when they’re in the room, keep things hush-hush. Also, I use a very small, privately owned lab run by a cousin of mine. We are very careful to keep all results anonymous, but sometimes it takes a couple of days longer than using a larger lab.”

Mai nodded.

“Now, let’s take a look at you.”

“I haven’t had morning sickness at all and I should have. What’s wrong with me?”

Dr. Alberto smiled. “I don’t understand the question. Are you worried there’s something wrong, or are you missing the puking? Because I have patients who’d love to trade places with you.”

Mai realized she must have looked scared, because the doctor patted her arm. “Relax, it’s okay. Everyone’s different. Some women don’t even experience morning sickness the same way from one pregnancy to the next.” The doctor examined her and performed an ultrasound.

“I keep having dreams,” Mai quietly admitted.

The doctor looked up from the ultrasound machine. “What kind of dreams?”

Mai blushed as the men stared at her. She’d never revealed this to them. “After I realized I was pregnant, I started having them. They’re always the same. It’s a girl, and as she’s being born there’s something horribly wrong with her.”

Dr. Alberto kindly smiled. “It’s common to have dreams about your baby,” the doctor said. “Lots of moms have dreams like that. It’s all right.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “Really.” She returned to her work. “Do you want to know your baby’s sex?” the doctor asked.

Mai nodded. “Please.”

Dr. Alberto took a still shot and used her cursor to highlight a place on the screen. “I hope you like pink.”

Micah grinned. “We’re having a girl?”

Mai let out a soft sob. If that part of her recurring dream was right…

The men mistook her sound for joy. Jim kissed her. “A beautiful little girl to spoil rotten,” he said.

“You had a fifty-fifty shot of dreaming about the right sex, Mai,” the doctor tried to reassure her as she continued the ultrasound.

Mai didn’t like the slight frown that appeared on the doctor’s face a few minutes later. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

The doctor shook her head. “I’m not sure anything’s wrong. When dealing with shifter babies, there’s always a few little irregularities. One patient, her baby kept shifting while in utero. I’d never seen that happen before. I could never have one of my nurses in the room with me when I did the ultrasounds. Half the time, I was looking at a cougar kitten and not a baby. I ended up delivering the mom at her home out of fear of what would pop out.” She smiled. “Fortunately, her son decided to be born with two legs and not four, but he’s been a little hellion for them.”

After completing the ultrasound, the doctor went through the chart. “Do you want me to do an amniocentesis? It’s not required, but it is a helpful diagnostic test to put your mind at ease. Don’t worry, it’s very normal for moms-to-be to worry something is wrong when there isn’t.” The doctor explained the procedure and the risks and benefits.

Mai looked at her men after the doctor finished the explanation. Micah kissed her hand. “It’s up to you. Whatever you want to do.”

Mai nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it. Maybe my dreams will stop. Or at least I can ignore them.”

“I’ll get my nurse. Keep in mind, she’s human, so normal talk. All right?”

They nodded. A few minutes later, the doctor returned with her nurse and the instruments needed to perform the procedure. After spending quite a bit of time using the ultrasound machine to decide where to take the sample from, they wiped and sterilized a place on Mai’s belly. Then, the doctor carefully inserted the needle and drew up a sample of fluid.

Mai clamped down on Jim’s and Micah’s hands and kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut. When it was over, the doctor covered her up with a sheet. “All done. I want you to stay right there for a few minutes. I’ll come back in and check on you before I let you get up to get dressed.”

Mai nodded and waited to open her eyes until she heard the exam room door close and knew they were alone again. She looked at Jim, then Micah. “There’s something wrong,” she whispered. “I feel it.”

“Honey,” Jim said, “the doctor told you it’s normal to feel like that. Please don’t worry. That kind of stress is what’s not good for you. You’re going to be fine, and so is our baby.”

Micah nodded. “He’s right. Let us do all the worrying about you. That’s our job.” He smiled and brushed the hair back from her forehead. “You just enjoy letting us spoil you rotten.”

She forced a smile she didn’t feel.

“Hey,” Jim said. “We’re going to meet with Lina’s architecture company tomorrow. Get things started on designing and building our house.”

“Yeah,” Micah said. “Just think, you can decorate it however you want. Whatever you want.”

She felt bad that her mood was in the crapper when her men were trying so hard to make her feel better and put her mind at ease. “I love you two. You have no idea how much.” Their beaming smiles made her feel a little better.

An hour later, they were in the car and heading home. Mai lay down on the backseat, her hands gently caressing her belly.

A week later, Micah and Jim had taken a day trip to the east coast with Brodey to pick up a trailer of new stock they’d purchased from a rancher in Homestead. Mai felt her heart jump in her throat when her cell phone rang, the ID displaying Dr. Alberto’s private number.

“Mai? It’s Dr. Alberto.”

Her hands trembled. “Yes?”

“Can you please come to my office today? I received your test results back and I’d like to talk to you about them…”

Mai didn’t hear the rest because she let out a sob. Lina, who’d been watching TV on the sofa, threw herself out of her seat and waddled over to Mai. She grabbed the phone from her. “Hello? Who is this?”

Mai’s entire body felt cold as she watched Lina.

“Dr. Alberto, hi. It’s Lina Alexandr…” She watched as Lina’s face suddenly turned into an inscrutable mask. “Okay. Her guys aren’t here, but we’ll bring her up right now. We’ll be there in about an hour. Thanks.” She hung up.

Mai burst into tears.

Lina was comforting her when Elain walked in from the backyard a few minutes later. “What’s wrong?’

“Can you come with us?” Lina asked her.

“Where are we going?”

“The doctor wants to see Mai.”

“Let me grab Mom.” Ten minutes later, the women were in Elain’s car and speeding down the highway toward the interstate. Carla was put in charge of calling all the men and giving them updates as to where they were heading.

When they reached the office, they were immediately escorted back to the doctor’s private office. She didn’t keep them waiting.

“What’s wrong?” Mai asked. “Please, don’t keep me in suspense.”

The doctor handed her a box of tissues. “I received your amnio test results back,” she said, her voice low and her face a mask of concern. “The results indicate your baby has Down’s syndrome.”

The room went quiet. Mai tried to absorb that information. “What…what is that? I’ve heard of it, but what is it? Is she going to be okay?”

The doctor clasped her hands in front of her on her desk and Mai only absorbed half of the information. She was vaguely aware of Carla keeping a firm arm around her shoulders and handing her fresh tissues, while Lina and Elain took over asking the doctor questions.

“What are you trying to tell me?” Mai finally asked. “Are you trying to tell me I should abort my baby?”

Dr. Alberto vigorously shook her head. “No, that’s absolutely not what I’m saying at all. That is a personal decision. If it’s a choice you want more information on, I’ll get that for you, too. I am simply laying out all of your options. Down’s syndrome is a common birth defect, unfortunately. I’ve dealt with it many times in my practice. However, while I have seen occasional birth defects in shifter babies, usually they’re very minor ones and involve parents who are weak shifters without the ability to shift. I’ve never experienced a shifter baby with Down’s syndrome. I’ve never even heard of it happening. I called around and no one else has, either. Those of us who are doctors and who are shifters, or at least who are shifter-friendly, we’re a pretty tight-knit bunch. We keep each other up to date on things in case we need treatment advice.” She sighed. “No one could give me any advice other than proceeding as if she’s a normal human baby.”

Mai caressed her stomach again. The baby kicked.

Mai burst into tears. “I want my baby,” she sobbed. “I don’t want to get rid of her.”

The doctor stood and rounded her desk. She knelt before Mai and grasped her hands in hers. “Then I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to help you and your baby get through this safely. All right?”

“So will we,” Lina said. “You’re not alone.”

“The guys are going to hate me,” Mai whispered.

“No, they won’t,” Elain insisted. “They love you, and they love that baby. Look at all the ‘Daddy’s Little Princess’ onesies they bought last week.”

That got a tiny smile out of Mai. “You think so?”

Carla hugged her tightly. “I’m sure of it. It’s okay. You’re not alone. We promise you.”

Elain and Carla left the room with Dr. Alberto to go call Micah and Jim to break the news to them. Mai leaned against Lina. “Just once, I wanted something to go right in my life,” Mai whispered.

“Hey,” Lina said, “look at it this way. You’ll love your baby no matter what, right?”

“Of course!”

“Do you honestly think those Abernathy asshats would have let her live more than a few minutes after being born?”

Mai felt a protective growl start deep in her throat. She cut it off. “No,” she admitted. “They already wanted me to have an abortion.”

“Okay then. Things were meant to be this way.”

“Can you see my baby?” she asked hopefully. “In any of your visions?”

Lina sadly smiled. “All I’ve seen is her being born and letting out a healthy scream. And Micah and Jim standing by your side when she’s born.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Mai closed her eyes and leaned into Lina’s embrace. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you more. I wish I could see more. If I do, I’ll let you know.”

Mai took a deep, relieved breath. “That’s enough for me. That they’re there with me.” In her dreams, Jim and Micah were never there, even after they marked her. But she trusted Lina’s visions far more than she trusted her own dreams.

Micah called her once they were all back in the car. “Honey, are you all right?”

She burst into tears. “I’m sorry!”

“Why are you apologizing? We love you.”

Mai tried to speak, but she was overcome by emotion. Carla took the phone from her.

“Micah? It’s Carla. Yes, she’s pretty upset. We’ll see you when you get home. Drive safely and don’t rush.”

They rode the rest of the way home in silence. Brodey, Micah, and Jim hadn’t returned yet, but Ain, Cail, and Liam all offered Mai comforting hugs. Lina and Carla took Mai into the living room while Cail helped Elain start dinner. The others wouldn’t let Mai retreat to her room. They wanted to keep her with them, to offer her comfort.

“We’re here for you,” Ain told her. “All of us.”

“How am I going to take care of a baby with special needs?” she whispered. She looked at Carla. “I don’t know anything about this.”

Carla held her hand. “Honey, I didn’t know squat about babies when Elain was born. It’s all on-the-job training. But Ain’s right. We’ll all be here for you. I’m sure there is a ton of information out there we can look up and study so we’re prepared when she’s born.”

Lina laughed. “Just think, we can all come to one really big-ass Lamaze class. Have the whole room to ourselves for all the aunts and uncles.”

Mai smiled. “How did I get so lucky to find all of you?”

Lina grinned. “Fate might be a fickle bitch sometimes, but she usually knows what’s best for us.”

Lina was going to add something, but her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen, frowned, and answered. “Hi, Lacey.”

“I need to talk to you, dear. Alone.”

“Just a minute.” She walked down to her room and shut the door. “What’s up?”

“I need to tell you something, but you cannot say anything to anyone about it yet.”

An odd, creeping sensation slithered up Lina’s spine. “Oookay.”

“It’s about Mai’s baby.”

Lina blanched and lowered her voice, even though she knew the other shifters couldn’t hear her at the far end of the house. “We just got back from the doctor! She’s got—”

“Down’s syndrome, yes. Is she going to keep the baby?”

“Yes, she says she is.”

Lacey let out a relieved sigh. “Oh, good.”

“Um, why?”

“You might not want me to tell you.”

“Saying stuff like that doesn’t discourage me from asking, you know.”

“I saw something. I don’t know what exactly it means, but that little girl is very important. Protect her at all costs.”

“And I can’t tell anyone that?”

“No. Things will grow apparent to you eventually. You might even have visions of your own about it.”

Unable to help it, Lina caught herself stroking her own belly, where her twins were apparently having an in utero summersault competition. “Why can’t you tell me?”

“Because all the pieces aren’t together yet.”

Lacey looked across her living room at where Baba Yaga, in her matron form, was sitting on her couch and sipping a mug of coffee. Jasper sat in front of her, wagging his tail and hoping for more of the treats she’d fed to him earlier.

Lina sounded frustrated. Lacey couldn’t blame her. “What pieces?” Lina asked.

“I don’t know,” Lacey fibbed. “But please, trust me.”

Lina sighed on the other end of the line. “All right.”

“I have to go now. Thank you. Take care, and say hi to everyone for me.” She hung up and looked at Baba Yaga. “Good enough?”

The matron nodded. “Yes.”

“Why aren’t you telling Lina this yourself?”

“Because I believe she’s a little irritated at me right now. I’ve been avoiding her because she needs to be able to stand on her own and learn to trust her instincts. Suffice it to say, it’s better the information comes from you than from me. If she talks with me now, she will lose her focus on what’s important.” She finished her coffee and gave Jasper one last pat on the head before standing.

“I feel like I lied to her,” Lacey said.

“You didn’t lie. You had a vision, and you’re passing on what you can.”

Lacey arched an eyebrow at her. “You showed me the vision, of what’s to happen in the future.”

Baba Yaga shrugged. “Doesn’t matter where the vision comes from, does it?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“Regardless, they cannot ever let their guard down. Rodolfo Abernathy, among others, will kill to get their hands on that little girl in the future. She must be protected until she can fulfill her own destiny.” She set the coffee mug on the counter.

Lacey put a hand on her to keep her from leaving. “Is she going to die?”

“One day. Do you mean right now? No.” She pointed a warning finger at Lacey. “I will tell you this because we are good friends. You cannot pass it on to anyone. That little girl will live a long and happy life as long as those around her take heed of my warning.” She smiled. “Your warning, I should say. Remember, Lina cannot know I was the source of this. You know how she feels about me sometimes. I don’t need to be on her bad side right now. She’s going to have her hands full with her babies. I would only be an unwanted distraction.”

“Daniel talked to me. He asked me about nightmares Callie is having. You wouldn’t happen to have any information on that, would you?”

Baba Yaga frowned. “He talked to me about them a few months ago. Is she still having them?”

“He says she has no memories of them when she wakes up.”

“I swear to you, I don’t know why she is.” She went silent for a moment. “I will follow up with Daniel and my sister. Deal?”

Lacey nodded. With that, Baba Yaga disappeared.

Lacey dropped onto her sofa. Jasper shoved his head into her lap. She absently stroked his head as she pondered the immortal’s warnings.