The Bond

26

If there was ever a day I would wish for snow to fall, it would be today.

Christmas Day is literally the only day snow should ever fall because everyone deserves a white Christmas. But Mother Nature has other plans for today because instead of snow, she's decided to grace us with sleet. The dangerous slippery combination of snow and rain that I hate oh so much. It also doesn't help that I'm driving by myself in an open road.

I haven't driven in a long time since nowadays everybody just wants to give me a ride everywhere, but for some reason today everyone was busy so I had to drive myself to the nearest open grocery store to get some eggnog, but the nearest open grocery store was forty miles away!

I haven't really been in the Christmas spirit ever since my mom died, her and I were total Christmas traditionalists, from the homemade tree ornaments, to the baked cookies and cold milk left over for Santa that we always ate in the morning. All though we usually went all out for Christmas and Thanksgiving, Christmas was the one we spent with just the two of us. We'd share the presents that we'd gotten each other and would drink eggnog. That's why I wanted to get it despite it sleeting outside. Eggnog was the one tradition I kept over the years and I can't believe I almost forgot it this year.

When I see the house I cry out a breath of relief and press my hand against the cold screen. Once it scans my hand I shove it back inside the car where I've put the heat on blast. I need all the warmth I can get.

I frown when I see two cars parked along the driveway, one of them belonging to Vanessa and the other one I can't identify.

I quickly exit the car after parking it in the garage and make my way up to the door as fast and safely as I can. I don't want to slip and fall on my ass, not while six months pregnant.

I shuffle inside once I open the door and frown when I hear nothing inside the house.

"Vanessa? Are you here?" I call out as I walk over to the kitchen. No one here. I place my eggnog and the coconut shredding that I bought in the refrigerator.

I decide to walk upstairs to see if anybody's here but once again, I hear nothing. I go into my room, thinking Sebastian will be there since that's where I left him earlier, but nobody's here. I leave there as well and open the room adjacent to ours, the one that's going to act as a nursery for the baby.

"Surprise!"

My eyes widen as I see everyone standing in the newly furnished room with huge smiles on their faces. I look around the room to see that they've painted it a cream color with tree designs on the wall that look like they have pictures of us hanging on the branches. There's a white cribs complete with colorful stuffed animals and blankets. A rocking chair is placed next to the floor to ceiling window with a little rocking sheep near it as well. There's a built in bookshelf on the wall across from the crib holding all my favorite children's books and little phot albums that have yet to have been filled. Everything that a baby could need and want is here in this room.

Without meaning to, an influx of tears erupt from my eyes as I begin to sob. Sebastian is by my side in a second trying to comfort me.

"We'll get rid of it all, I swear, we can start all over and do it however you like." He says quickly, a slight panic in his voice.

I shake my head before willing myself to stop, but I only manage to squeak out an "I love it" before bursting into tears again.

"Then why are you crying?" Killian asks.

"Because she's happy you idiot." Vanessa replies.

"I sincerely hope you don't act like this when you're not hormonal. Ow!"

"Shut up!"

"W-when did you guys do all this?" I ask once the tears have stopped flowing.

" Everyday that you've been at work. We had a few more things to get done while you were out." Sebastian explains as he rubs my stomach lovingly.

"We felt terrible for ruining your Thanksgiving so we wanted to make it up to you." Callia says with a slight blush. Looking at their sincere faces I know that they really are sorry.

"Well consider yourselves forgiven! This looks so beautiful. I hope you didn't buy any clothes." I say.

"Well we thought you'd want to buy all the clothing. Also we don't even know the sex yet." Vanessa says.

"But that's what I'm here for!" Dr. Redding exclaims, causing me to realize that she's even here. That's probably her car that's outside.

"Wait, we're going to find the sex today?"

"Yes, unless you don't want to?"

"Oh no, I do."

"Well then come on, you can sit on the rocking chair, it reclines." She says.

I take Sebastian's hand as I walk over to the chair and lay down on it. Dr. Redding sets up her equipment before revealing my already huge belly and squeezing the cold gel on my bare skin.

Suddenly the room fills with the sound of our baby's heartbeat. The gasps around the room confuse me until I remember that the other Lycans haven't heard the baby's heartbeat yet. This moment is extra special for them since this will be the first child of their race to be born since their genocide all those years ago.

"Alright let's go a little lower here. Alright see that right there?" Dr. Redding asks as she points to a blurry spot on the screen that none of us know the meaning of.

"Is it supposed to be obvious what it is?" Callia asks.

"Not to you of course. This blurry fuzzy image shows the baby's sex. Congratulations, you're having a boy.