Dangerous Lives

Chapter Sixteen

NPOV

"Rose, you need to hold still!" Maska said, gripping Rose's shoulder. She wanted to give Rose an epidural but she Rose wasn't having any of it. She'd woken me up at noon with stomach pains. She'd thought it was just cramps. However by two, she was screaming in pain. I took Maska's place and pushed Rose onto her side. She stilled in my arms.

"Just get it over with," I growled. Maska waisted no time. Rose yelped. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"What the hell is going on?" Tanya snapped, walking into the room. She could probably smell that blood. That made me nervous. Tanya paled as she noticed. Rose arched her back and I covered her mouth in time to hide a scream.

"Maybe you should go back to your bedroom." Rose wouldn't like her here and I didn't know how well my sister could handle her hunger. Tanya didn't move.

"It's three o'clock, Nathan. I'm trying to sleep. Looks like that's not going to happen." I rolled my eyes. Couldn't she just shut up? I muffled another one of Rose's cries as Alexandra decided to make an appearance. She was wearing her Mickey Mouse onsie. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and clutched her teddy bear in the other.

"What's going on?" She yawned, making sure to stay as far away from Tanya as she could, who was glaring menacingly at her.

"Alex go back in the living room. You can watch TV." She stared at me. Rose normally yelled at her if she had it on past 11. It was because it kept me up.

"Nathan, it hurts." Rose whispered. I looked over at Tanya.

"Take her into the living room Tanya." Both of their eyes went wide.

"Rose, are you ready to push?" Maska asked. Rose nodded. I looked down at them.

"Give me a moment." I heard Rose mumble my name but I was focused on the kid. I grabbed her around the waist and carried her horizontally out of the room. Tanya followed.

"What's wrong with Momma?" Alexandra asked sitting herself down on the couch.

"Your brother's coming." I said. I wasn't in the mood to explain it to her. Tanya was staring at the wall. "You okay Tanya?" She didn't hear me. "Tanya." She looked over at me. She was biting her cheek.

"Hmm? What?" I cocked my head.

"You're hungry." She shook her head.

"No I-"

"Can you drink without killing?" Tanya nodded slowly. I looked back at Alexandra. She was watching me intently. I sighed. "Don't kill her." Alexandra's eyes darted between the two of us. She didn't understand. Tanya sat down on the edge of the couch as Alexandra scooted as far away from her as she could. I ignored Alexandra's whimpering as I walked back into the bedroom.

"You're okay Rose." Maska said. "One more, just one more." Rose grabbed for my hand as she cried out. She fell back on the pillows. The cries of our son filled the room. Maska took him into the bathroom and came back a few minutes later holding him in a blanket. She handed him to me.

"Make sure you cradle the head. He's not going to be very strong for a while." Rose was watching us through squinted eyes. "Have you thought of any names?" Without answering, Rose reached into the nightstand and handed me a folded piece of paper before closing her eyes. Maska went to cleaning her and the room up. I opened the piece of paper up. Jonathan, Ethan, Luka. She had been thinking about it. I looked at Rose, who had already fallen asleep.

"Luka." I said. I needed to call Galina. I looked down at my son. He was so small. I could hold him with one hand. If I called her now, I'd get screamed at but if I waited... still holding him I walked back into the living room. Alexandra lay on the armrest, squinting up at the ceiling. Tanya was licking her lips. I rummaged through the fridge until I found some of Rose's blood and set it in the microwave. Then I called Galina.