I woke to the sound of giggling, a squeals and a soft scolding from a devoted mother. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up on the bed and looked around the room. I was alone, Brannon wasn't in the bed with me and there was one hell of a mess on the floor.
Glass had shattered onto the rug, the window was broken and in pieces that were dangling, precariously close to falling. Nothing made sense, clearly something had happened yet I could hear a happy family close by.
I stood and carefully walked around the glass pieces and to the next window. Opening it I saw life in the underworld was normal aside from the large stone gargoyle on the ground. Not convinced that something bad hadn't happened, I went in search of that happy sounding family.
Across the corridor was a large set of double doors, open and showing Delaney running around with Cerberus. The wolf was asleep on a fluffy bed against the side wall and Sarah was nursing the baby. I guess Cara was still on her bed with her face stuck to the phone.
As Sarah lifted her gaze to me, Delaney stopped running around and stared at me. She backed away to her mother's side, climbing up on the lounge and shying away from me.
"Come in Emily, sit with us."
Feeling a little awkward, I crossed the large room and sat down. It was a rather large play room, filled with toys. The room was a little messy but nothing that wasn't easily picked up, a few minutes and the room would be tidy again.
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired."
Sarah gave a knowing nod, being that she was once human, she would have suffered a change over as well.
"There's glass everywhere in Brannon's room, what's going on?"
"Oh, not much." She offered with a hesitant smile. "Anton and Brannon just had a little job to do, they won't be long. Then Brannon can tell you everything."
Which was the nice way of saying that she wasn't going to tell me.
"Eww." Delaney said as she crinkled her face in disgust.
"Are you going to change his diaper?"
"Blech."
And with that Delaney was no longer shy, off the lounge and playing again.
"Maybe you'd like to do it."
I turned my head to the amused mother that was watching me, she stood and flicked her head.
"Come along."
Following Sarah out of the room, I grew increasingly worried for what had happened while I was asleep. She knew yet she didn't seem overly concerned but I knew that it wasn't good. I'd heard the hesitation in her voice, I had this sense of unease that I couldn't shake. But for now, I'd have to wait. There was no pushing her for information.
The doors at the end of the corridor opened, I was faced with a small entrance that had a doorway in front of us and archways both sides. I'd been in the sitting room before; this was where I'd first met Sarah. The other side however, I'd not seen it and I didn't know what to think when I looked at the resting place of the devil and his love.
There were many smells that the average nose could not detect, I'd lay money on the fact that even Sarah couldn't. Aside from the obvious stinky baby, there was a heavy tone of sex. It pervaded the air around me, so heavy it indicated that happened a lot which didn't surprise me. The devil was sin, he was lust and he was desire. Everything that the woman in front of me wanted, she would get from him.
For a moment I found jealousy but then I remembered that I had something just as good. Brannon and I were only new to this sex business; we'd only had it a couple of times but it was enough to make me smitten by him. He was caring and giving, always concerned for me rather than himself. I remembered what the devil said about Brannon being like his mother in the way that they gave to others without a thought for themselves. He was right, Brannon was exactly like that.
Sarah laid the baby onto the change table and stepped aside, waiting for me to approach. The child was adorable, I wanted one for Bran and I but I also wanted time for just the two of us. It was confusing and I would flip my thoughts on the subject regularly.
"Right, pull the pants off and undo the tabs, keep the diaper on there until you're ready. Make sure you've got the fresh one ready to go and open the lid to the wipes."
"Okay."
I removed the soft cotton pants that had the little feet attached to the ends. His toes and feet were so tiny and delicate; I was internally cooing at how cute he was.
With the diaper to one side, the lid of the wipes was open and ready, I braved the contents of the loaded diaper. Stomach churning was accurate; it was lucky I hadn't eaten recently. Sarah chuckled as I groaned, taking a wipe I cleaned the baby and tried not to get poop on me. Then the little sod decided that it was time to urinate.
Sarah laughed more, folding the nappy back over the child to catch the liquid. Taking a wipe, I cleaned my hand and looked at the amused woman.
"Girls are no better, just so that you understand. It's just mess and they don't know what they are doing. Everything can be cleaned or washed. The first one is always difficult, learning about babies and how they do things. By the time you get to the fourth, you won't worry about a little mess."
I watched with awe as she moved with precision and speed. The child was cleaned again, the diaper was changed and Emilio was dressed, looking like a happy baby. As Sarah cleaned her hands, I was left to watch the baby who was still laying on the change mat.
"Well hello there." I said softly. "Thanks for the leaking hose, I appreciated it."
The baby smiled at me and I wondered if he understood what I had said. Sarah might think that her children don't know what they are doing when they are newborns but I was inclined to disagree. They were deities, they held great cognitive abilities long before the average child.
"You did it on purpose, didn't you?"
Emilio smiled his gummy smile at me, his hands clasped together.
"Well, I suppose it's alright. Maybe hazing the new guy, right? So am I accepted? Does the newest of the Dremain family accept the outcast angel?"
"Of course he does."
I gasped and stood upright, looking at Sarah who was standing at the doorway to the bathroom. She smiled and walked over, picked up the baby and put him into my arms.
"We all do Emily. So long as you love our Brannon and you're always good to him then we will always be accepting of you."