The sun is warm against my skin, and I smile. Summer has been amazing, the rain finally stopping, allowing the sun a chance to shine. Now, we can barely keep ourselves inside. After traversing through the forest, heavily pregnant and enduring the harsh weather, I have come to appreciate the sun.
With summer coming to an end, we have been soaking up the last of the rays. Like now, we are along side the small creek that is about a half a mile from the village. It is highly patrolled by guards, and this far out, we never see any of the mutants.
Braeden had managed to get the day off, and Althea had shooed me away once she saw how antsy I was getting. So, we had packed a lunch and came down here. It had been a wonderful idea. Willow loves to play in the dirt, not a big fan of the water but dirt is her favorite.
She is sitting next to me on the towel, babbling to herself as she pats the ground with her chubby little fingers. Cracking open an eye, I turn to look at her, a smile spreading across my face. She is truly gorgeous. Braeden likes to say she looks like me, but I can't see it. Sure, she has my green eyes, but she has my mate's blonde hair, the ends curling slightly. Her skin is as pale as mine, some of the freckles that Braeden has, dusting her skin.
She must sense me looking at her, because she turns her green eyes over to me, a wide smile spreading across her face when she sees me.
"Ma!" she cries, waving her dirty little hands in my direction.
Chuckling, I sit myself up, grabbing a wipe and doing my best to get the dirt off her hands. She starts to protest, whining as she tries to pull her hands away. But it is futile. I know her nap is creeping up on us, and I don't want her nursing while she is caked in dirt.
Her bottom lip is just starting to wobble when I wipe the rest of the dirt off of her. She practically falls into me when I pick her up, laying her down on the blanket next to me.
Just as I predicted, she was out within seconds of nursing, cuddled close to me. Her little wolf ears twitch as she dreams, and I can't help myself from rubbing their softness. Braeden comes to join us sometime later, laying down with his chest against my back. His fingers rub along Willow, who just lets out a loud huff at the contact. She is not really a fan of being touched too much while she is eating.
My mate drops a kiss onto my shoulder before laying back on the blanket, arm wrapping around my waist. His hand settles along my stomach, rubbing slightly. A smile spreads across my face at the contact.
We had just found out that I am a few weeks pregnant. It had been a bit of a surprise, seeing as we weren't planning on having any more kids for a while, and we had relied too heavily on breastfeeding to act as a birth control.
It is not so bad, though. I am only a little over two months, so Willow will be over a year when her sibling comes. She is still so attached to us, which makes me worry. Every time I try to hold Eloise, Willow will get super cranky, not calming until I put the other baby down. At first, I had found it hilarious. Now, I just have to hope that she won't be so possessive by the time the new baby comes.
"How are you feeling?" Braeden asks.
Humming, I cuddle back into his cooler body. He had just dried off from swimming in the creek, so his body is a cool comfort against mine. "Fine, just tired, like I was with this little one."
"Anything Althea can do about it?" he asks, his voice taking on an edge of worry. He knows how exhausted I was during my first and second trimester when I was pregnant with Willow. Those had not been fun times. I had felt like I always needed sleep and had found it difficult to make it a full day without a nap.
"No, she just told me to go ahead and take a nap when I can. She gave me some tea, which should help give me some vitamins I may be lacking, but that's all."
Braeden presses another kiss between my shoulder blades, his lips soft on my skin. "Do you want to head back now? That way you can take nap while Willow is sleeping?"
Yawning, I give a small nod of my head. "Yeah, actually, that sounds great."
Braeden stands up then, putting together all of our leftovers. Once I see that he is almost done, I carefully unlatch Willow. She loves to nap with me, often sleeping for a full two hours if I let her nurse. She fusses slightly when I pick her up, green eyes blinking open. Her little brows are furrowed in discontent, but she just lays against me anyway. Knowing how stubborn my daughter is, she won't go back to sleep until I nurse her.
Once he folds the blanket, Braeden grabs my hand, walking beside me as we make our way back to the village. This creek is a great place to get some alone time. It is close enough that we can still hear the daily goings of the community, but far enough away where we can have some privacy.
A few people wave to us as we pass by, one of the head gardeners handing me a basket of freshly picked fruits. Once we are through the gates, I find myself relaxing. These walls are the most comforting thing to me, especially now that I have a baby and another on the way.
Just as I predicted, Willow is still fighting sleep by the time we make it back to the house. Braeden gives me a soft kiss before giving me a gentle nudge in the direction of the stairs. The house is empty except for us. Quinn is probably still at the school, and Link is most likely still at work.
The window is open in our room, allowing for a nice breeze. We had made the mistake at the very beginning of summer of leaving the window closed whenever we left the house. Every time we came back, the room was stifling and we all suffered.
After changing out of my swim trunks and into a clean pair of sweats, I wipe Willow down with a warm washcloth, trying to wash away any remnants of dirt. She doesn't like this one bit and tries to wiggle away from me.
"Oh, Willow, you'll feel better when you are all clean. Promise."
She just furrows her brows at me in response. Chucking the washcloth into the dirty clothes, I walk back over to the bed, climbing onto the mattress. Willow immediately starts to fuss, completely exhausted and just wanting to nurse.
Once I pull up the thin blanket from the bottom of the bed, I pull her close, helping her to latch. Immediately, her eyes flutter closed. Deciding that a nap does sound pretty good right now, I relax into the bed, hand settled on my baby and allowing myself to give in to my ever present exhaustion.
Braeden wakes me up a few hours later, holding Willow on his hip. With a grunt, I stretch out my body, trying to force myself awake.
"How long was I out?" I ask, rubbing my hand over my face.
"A good three hours." He helps me to stand up, kissing my temple when I lean into him. "You obviously needed it."
Willow coos when I take her, snuggling into my chest. Braeden must have come to pick her up when she woke. I am surprised I didn't hear her. Usually, she is very vocal about wanting to be picked up.
"I tried to give her some of that baby cereal Althea gave us, but she wasn't having it. So she'll probably be hungry here in a little bit."
And right on cue, Willow starts to snuffle against my chest, smelling my milk. "Oh, love, were you being difficult for Daddy?"
She looks up at me with her big green eyes, patting my chest. "Ma, ma."
Letting out an exaggerated sigh, I look over at Braeden with overly wide eyes, obviously joking. "That's all she wants me for, Brae, my milk."
"She has good taste," Braeden says, a smirk spreading across his face. Laughing, he scoots away from me when I try to pinch his side, a blush spreading across my face.
"No being gross when I'm in earshot," Quinn says from where he is curled up on the couch. Eloise is playing with some toys on the ground, trying her hardest to fit a block in her mouth. Her efforts just result in slobber covered toys.
"Blame him, not me," I murmur, sitting on the recliner. Nobody bats an eye as I pull down the front of my shirt to let Willow nurse. She watches Eloise as she plays, sitting up in my lap as she eats. It is her new favorite way to eat, and I don't mind.
Braeden just shakes his head, a wide smile on his face as he leaves the house. Quinn lets out a long sigh, his eyes fluttering shut as he lays back against the couch. Since he has started working as a teacher at the school, he has been more tired. But I know that he likes it. There are only three kids in his class, meaning he has become close with them and their families. We are all settled into this community, protected from what is happening outside.
Because it is vicious out there. Just as Dr. Greene had predicted, the diseases have spread, making nearly every hybrid and human infected. We are so far away from everyone else that we have not encountered much. But, there are a few of our guards who go out twice a month, surveying the closest towns to see what is going on.
Dr. Greene and Jenna have been working with Althea, each of them having their own patients. They all like it, since they do not have to work as long of hours, and they are able to become closer with their patients since they do not have as many. This has allowed me to go on a real parental leave. Now that Althea has help, I am able to stay home with Willow until she is old enough to go to the daycare, so until she is a year.
The school had offered to do the same for Quinn, but he had protested. He likes working with the kids, and since one of the other teachers just had a baby, he knows that he is needed even more. He just takes Eloise to school with him, which the other children love.
Every week, we have a morning market, where people are able to trade goods. The other village like ours sends people over to it as well. Since we only left the bridge connecting the two villages, it is only a few hours walk from one to the other. This has allowed us to have more diverse supplies. And since they do not have a doctor over there, Jenna is going to be moving to start a clinic in the other village. Once I return, she will leave.
This place feels more like home than our old colony ever did. There, we were only pawns to our government, anonymous to others. Here, we are accepted and appreciated.
The months fly by, from summer into fall, when Willow starts to crawl, and into Winter when both babies discover they love the snow. My baby is almost a year old, her first steps being taken on shaky legs. Braeden cries when she first says Dada but swears that it was just his allergies acting up. In the middle of Winter.
And with spring comes the new baby. Willow has been skeptical of my belly during my whole pregnancy. She often pets it while she nurses, staring at in wonder. But when I tell her that she is going to be a big sister, meaning that she is going to have to share, Mama and Dada, she always gets upset.
So, after I endure an entire night and morning of labor, I am wary and exhausted when Braeden quietly carries Willow into the room.
"Meet your baby brother, love," he murmurs, sitting on the edge of the bed. Willow slowly crawls off his lap, making her way over to me while her eyes remain on the baby the entire time.
"Ba?" she asks, looking at me with wide eyes.
"Yes, baby, love," I whisper. "Your new baby brother, Alder Lee."
Quinn had laughed when I told him the new baby's name, asking if we were going to name all of our children after trees. I had pinched his ear in retribution, and that was that.
Willow stares at her brother in wonder, reaching out a small hand and patting his dark hair. She doesn't seem to know what to make of him, and honestly, I am just happy that she isn't immediately hating him. That has been my biggest fear this entire pregnancy.
Braeden slides into the bed next to me, his hand settled on Willow's back as she moves over to sit between us. When Alder starts to cry, Willow gets a little panicky, looking up at me with wide, worried eyes.
"It's alright, love. He's just hungry."
"Ma my?" she says, patting my chest.
"That's right, he just needs some mama milk."
She watches as I readjust him, helping him to latch. He is bigger than his sister when she was born since I was able to go to full term this time. His little, chunky cheeks are adorable, and I can already tell that he is going to look a lot like his dad.
Willow starts to wiggle against me, her face scrunched in discontent, making my stomach drop. "My my," she says, just like she always does when she wants to nurse. Even though she is over a year, she still nurses periodically. I had tried to wean her, but that had been a disaster. So, I had just decided to let her wean herself. But now that there is another baby, my worry starts to grow.
"It's alright, love," I murmur, pulling her against me. She climbs up onto my lap and I pull her close. Just to prevent a melt down, I let her nurse, despite not being too fond of tandem nursing But it feels different than the last time I did it.
Willow looks over at her brother, grabbing his hand before relaxing against me. Before I can help it, tears start to gather in my eyes, and with my hands full, I am not able to wipe them away.
"What's wrong?" Braeden asks softly, wiping away the wetness from my face with a gentle thumb.
"Nothing," I say, words coming out a little wobbly. "I'm just happy."
Braeden leans over giving me a soft kiss as he cuddles close. Everything that has happened to us has been unexpected, from getting pregnant (twice), to ending up in our safe place. But it is all wonderful. For the first time, I feel complete. My family is finally together, and looking down at both my babies, who are both fighting sleep as they nurse, I find my heart swelling.
We are finally safe, and my heart feels full.
*****
And the story has come to an end. Major thank yous to everyone for sticking by me and falling in love with my characters just as much as I did.
If you have any questions about the story, just let me know. I would be happy to answer any possible questions.