I woke up to incessant wailing. I groaned and snuggled deeper into the body next to mine, hoping the sound would soon stop.
It didn't.
"Loki," I mumbled.
"What?" came the muffled answer from the pillow next to me.
"Go take care of him please."
"You're his mother."
I opened one eye and glared at him. "You're his father then," I retorted, "and I'm so tired." I whined.
Loki sighed and stared at me with eyes that were still half asleep. "Fine." He gave in, throwing the covers off and getting out of bed. I heard him walk across the room and then the opening of a door.
After hearing it close, I fell into one of those half-asleep stages where I was only partly aware of my surroundings.
Soon, I heard the door reopen and the soft pitter-patter of feet on the hardwood floor, followed by the heavier sound of a grown man's steps.
Loki once more joined me in bed, wrapping his arms around me.
"Thank you." I said, placing a kiss on the crook of his neck.
He grunted, but stroked his fingers along my spine.
Suddenly, I felt an extra weight on the bed. It wasn't much, but was still detectable.
Loki groaned as a small body wriggled it's way between Loki and I, crawling under the sheets.
"Hey, baby," I cooed, snuggling the happy bundle against my chest.
A little tongue started licking my face and I heard the thumping of a tail.
Bandit had started sleeping in our bed any chance he got - much to Loki's displeasure. Loki liked our 'together time', and we couldn't have that with a snoring ball of fur between us.
I picked Bandit up and snuggled into Loki's side, then laid Bandit back down on Loki's chest.
Loki sighed, "I really don't think he should be up here."
"Why not?"
"What if he hurts the baby?"
I smiled, "He's not gonna hurt the baby, Loki. He's too small."
"But he could step on it or something."
"That's not gonna happen either." I knew this for a fact. Bandit could somehow sense, like all dogs, that I was pregnant and he needed to be gentle around me. Throughout my whole pregnancy, he didn't jump on me once and always acted as my tiny protector. I doubt that was going to change tonight.
Loki knew this too. He just wanted some 'together time' in the morning. Despite being eight months pregnant, our sex life was still going pretty strong. Of course, we had to make some adjustments, but Loki was never once turned off by my growing stomach. If anything, he loved that fact that his child was growing inside of me. He also told me so and often I would wake up to find him kissing and caressing my stomach, talking to the baby or softly singing.
"There's a chance that he'll hop out of bed in the morning." I said in an attempt to bribe him.
His eyes lightened, "Fine, then." he grumbled., wrapping his arms around Bandit and I.
I laughed, and cuddling with my dog and husband, promptly fell asleep.
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The next time I awoke, it was still nighttime. And it wasn't wailing I woke up to, or even the crying Bandit was doing now. No, it was a painful clenching in my stomach that woke me up.
I groaned and rubbed my hands against my abdomen in an attempt to sooth it. The feeling went away and I closed my eyes, trying to go back to sleep.
The pain came back quickly, this time stronger, the intensity of it making me cry out.
Loki jumped awake, "Love, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"I thing the baby's coming." I said, breathing a sigh of relief as the last contraction passes.
Which only brought another one soon after. I cried out again, grabbing Loki's hand. "Shh, it's okay love." Loki said soothingly, "I'm gonna get get the doctor." he started to get out of bed.
I nodded, and watched as he quickly left the room. I breathed deeply, trying to keep myself calm. Something was wrong, I didn't know what, but something just felt wrong.
Soon, Loki came bursting in the room, followed by the doctor and her assistants.
Loki picked me up in his arms to give them a chance to prepare the bed. After they were done, Loki laid me back down.
The doctor, named Maggie, looked at me with a smile, "You ready miss?"
I shook my head, she laughed lightly and Loki grabbed my hand.
After checking me, she found I was not quite ready to give birth.
And so followed what felt like weeks of painful contractions. Thankfully, Loki was stayed there. He squeezed my hand, brushed my hair back and kissed my sweaty forehead.
Finally, Maggie said I was ready to give birth. Well my body might be, but I wasn't sure I was. Something still felt off.
"My prince, I am going to have to ask you to leave." Maggie stated, looking at Loki.
"No!"
"Jaxon, deary, it's better if he goes. We can't have him distracting you."
I shook my head, "No, no, please don't go."
"Jaxon..." he started.
I clutched his hand, "Please don't leave me." I begged, panicking.
He nodded, "Okay, love. I'll stay."
I gave a sigh of relief.
"Miss..." Maggie began, before realizing it was a lost cause.
Giving birth was painful, extremely so. I clutched Loki's hand so hard I was worried I'd bruise it. But, he never once complained, just stayed by my side, silently encouraging me.
After a while, I noticed Maggie and her assistants giving each other worried looks.
"What's wrong?" I asked, dreading the answer.
Maggie shook her head, "Nothing miss." I heard her answer from a distance, as she was across the room instead of at the foot of the bed. What was happening?
Loki made a sound similar to a growl, "You're lying. What is the matter?" he demanded, his voice far away.
Maggie sighed and glanced at us sadly, "She's lost too much blood, I'm not sure we'll be able to keep both her and the baby alive."
Loki stiffened beside me, "Keep her alive. I need her."
I shook me head, "No the baby, I want the baby to..." I felt my eyelids get heavy.
"Miss, I need you to keep your eyes open."
But why? I was so, so tired.
"Jaxon, love, stay awake, please." I heard Loki say desperately beside me. I felt drops of water land on my face. Was he crying?
I tried to open my mouth, tried to tell him it would all be okay. That, even if I didn't make it, he would still get to see our son or daughter grow up. I tried, really I did, but I was simply too tired and weak and fell into the beckoning darkness.
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End of Chapter 1
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