Waters of Oblivion

Chapter 36: The Delivery

"Are you kidding me?" Reine grimaced at her friend in disbelief.

"Of course not. But I do want to thank you."

"For what?"

"For reminding me why I never want to have children," Noor said with a laugh before opening the door to the adjacent room.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Oh, good. A toothbrush. Just what I need." Letting go of her friend, Reine walked to the sink. After giving her teeth a good scrub and then brushing the knots out of her hair, she finished by splashing cold water on her face.

"I suppose that'll have to do." She frowned at her pale reflection in the mirror.

Over her shoulder, leaning against the doorframe with arms crossed, Noor smiled. "What now?"

"Now you smuggle me and the babies out of here, and we sip margaritas on a beach somewhere while I make a decision that will affect the rest of my life." She turned around and lovingly smoothed out Noor's headscarf.

The younger girl sighed. "I wish I could, sweetie. But you're going to have to face them sooner or later. Do you want me to send Max in?"

"Max? No. They still think both of the boys are Gabe's. It would be strange for me not to want to talk to him first." She bit her lip, unsure of whether her logic was sound, but keeping herself from refuting it.

"Gabe it is." Noor nodded before helping Reine back to the bed and leaving the room.

She'd just gotten situated when the door opened again and the tall, young man entered.

"Are you wearing the same thing you had on at Westminster?" Reine looked him up and down, recognizing the black, V-neck sweater and gray slacks from days earlier.

He ran his fingers through his hair and smirked. "Yeah. I haven't really had a chance to change. I wanted to be around when you woke up, and we weren't sure how long that would take."

"You've been here the whole time?" she asked as he strode across the room and stopped at her bedside.

"Uh-huh." He nodded. "Max, too. He had to go down to the emergency room to get stitched up first, but otherwise he's been around, too."

"Are you surprised by that?" she asked cautiously.

He reached up to her face and wiped a lock of hair from her cheek. "By what? That he's sticking around?"

Reine shivered from his touch, and she paused before saying the revealing words. "No, that he needed stitches."

"Because he's mortal now?" Gabe pulled his hand away and stuck it in his pocket. "I figured as much. I mean, it was strange he didn't even put up a fight that day at your house, but I thought maybe he was trying to prove some stupid point to you. When he fell off the map for weeks afterwards, I started to put two and two together."

Reine nervously played with the edge of the blanket between her fingers. "You didn't tell Wescott, did you?"

"Of course not. I've told you before; Max is my friend. I owe him more than to turn on him like that."

The admission gave Reine confidence to say what she dreaded, so she reached out and took his hand. "About Max . . . we need to talk."

Gabe's eyes widened. "Now? Don't you want to go see your sons first?"

"This involves them, and it's better if I told you privately," she said.

He squeezed her hand and drew his lips into a thin line before answering. "All right. I'm listening."