Between Shadow & Ruin (Fangs & Fae Saga Book 2)

eight.

Odie's birthday approached and we all set up the backyard for his party. He wanted it based on his favorite video game, the one where the princess gets captured by the evil overlord and he'd have to save them. No matter how many installments there were, he found a way to beat them, even at five. When I heard him start to wake up, I gave Chris, Val, and Zane a nod. He walked slowly downstairs with his stuffed animal in his arms.

"Mommy? Momma? Daddy? Poppa? Where are you?" The four of us popped out from our hiding spots in the kitchen.

"Surprise!" we yelled out, walking towards him. "Happy birthday!" He started to laugh as Chris picked him up and tickled him. He sat at the table and Zane brought him a giant stack of pancakes to eat. Val joined the two of them as Chris and I grabbed some coffee. I watched the three of them eat while Chris put his arm around me from behind.

Val took a bite of food and covered her mouth. It took a second, but she excused herself from the table and ran to the bathroom downstairs. I excused myself from Chris and headed in the bathroom behind her. She had her face in the toilet, and I held her hair back. When she finished throwing up, she asked me to help her stand up so that she could wash her face and brush her teeth. I rubbed her back lightly. I wasn't sure what was going to follow the look she'd given me.

"...I'm pregnant again," she said quietly.

"What!?" I heard Chris say from the kitchen. We opened the door to the bathroom to find Chris and Zane standing outside the bathroom.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"The day that you took Odie to see Isabel... She told me in the hallway when I threatened her job."

"I didn't hear her say that..."

"She didn't say it. She showed me with her magic."

"So... I guess we're doing this again?" Zane asked.

"What about the school? What do we do?" Chris said.

"We can still do it, we have to. We need to make sure the kids are taken care of."

"Fuck the school right now. Are you feeling alright? You threw up more than I saw you eat..." I said.

"Uh, maybe if Zane could just make me some ginger tea? I'm okay though." I kissed her on the forehead and put my hand on her stomach, remembering how much I enjoyed seeing her pregnant with Odie. I tried to zone in my hearing to her womb, I heard two small flutters.

"Val... when Isabel told you that you were pregnant, did she say if it was twins or anything?"

"No, I don't think she knew that yet. Why?"

"I hear heartbeats... Plural." She smiled, and then placed her hand on her stomach, and looked somber.

"What if it happens again?" she asked quietly.

"Then we'll deal with it... Just like we did last time. Remember... no matter what happens, we love you." I gave her a kiss, grabbed her hand and walked back towards the dining room table.

"Ick..." I heard Odie say.

"Excuse me?" I said, playfully.

"Momma, you guys are all purple again..." We all shared a laugh, and I pulled him into my lap. He pulled the plate of pancakes back in front of him.

"Well... you're going to have a younger brother or sister, maybe two of them, or one of each," I said, snuggling into him, smelling the sickeningly sweet syrup on his breath.

"I don't want a brother or sister! I like it with just us!" He put down his fork and crossed him arms. His entire body felt rigid under my hands. I saw Val's expression change.