Ignite (Circle of Light Book 2) (13 page)

My response angered him and seemed to give him one last surge of energy in which he used to send another debilitating attack.  Our side remained united but shaken from his final attempt to break the Circle. 

I watched him as he slumped to the ground and without hesitation; our army of loyal allies had cast the final blow.  It was over.  We had killed him.  Even in the presence of such evil, I heard Earth Queen saying a short prayer for his soul. 

When we were certain that no one else had come to help Jax and the Gin, we went to care for our drained members.  I hadn't known that the vampires were able to restore their energy sources and I watched in amazement as they went from person to person, sending them a healing flow into their bodies.  Each member rose and thanked the vampires in a way that only made me grow in love for our Circle.

Our group disbanded for the time being.  Everyone was in great need of food and rest.  The witches quickly renewed the protective shield.  Only this time it was larger and much stronger than before.  Due to the fact, that certain members had to restore their bodies with the flesh and blood of animals.  The surrounding woods were desperately needed now.

Eric and I thanked everyone and went upstairs to get some much needed sleep.

Chapter 9

Months had passed since our battle with Jax and the Gin.  We had managed to evade any real attacks since then.  We were mostly involved in minor things; things that could be taken care of individually, without the need of the entire Circle.

Today was an important day for our families.  I had an appointment with my obstetrician for an ultrasound of the baby.  Finally, I was going to be able to see my sweet child inside of me for the first time.  The waiting was the worst.  I had been counting the days until this day with excitement.

Our parents were all leaving work early to be able to come with us.  I had been so scared of telling them that we were having a child, but they all took it in stride and welcomed the idea when we finally decided to break the news to them.

They had said something about it being early in the marriage, and how they had wished that we could have waited a bit longer. However, all that went away with time.  In no way were they judgmental or angered by the fact.  I was proud of that.  I wasn’t sure if I could have handled any of them being disappointed in us in any way.

Soon after we had told them, our mothers had done the usual and started going a little overboard on the plans for our child’s arrival.  Our mothers bought a few things for the baby here and there, but nothing pink or blue in color.  They were afraid to really. 

I only had a little over three months left in the pregnancy and I was beginning to feel the stress of pregnancy.  I was afraid of giving birth, more like terrified of the idea of it.  We had been through some major stuff with the Dark Union, but nothing frightened me like this did. 

The pain was the center of my anxiety, but I was also afraid that something unnatural would happen during birth.  Things like the baby glowing or stuff like that.  And what if the Dark Union was planning a major attack when it was born?  How would I be able to defend us if that happened?  I couldn’t, could I?

“All those what if’s.  You’re going to drive yourself crazy worrying like you do.” Eric said to me with a smile.

“What if I’m already crazy?”

“Oh, for goodness sake Bailey! Would you stop?”  He laughed.  “It’s almost time to go and you aren’t even dressed.”

I took a quick look at the clock on the microwave and realized that if I didn’t hurry

I was going to be extremely late.  I ran, more like waddled, upstairs to take a shower.  Eric had been urging me to use the bathroom downstairs, but I didn’t want to.  I liked the one upstairs.  He was starting to worry that I would miss a step and fall down the stairs.  I was getting a bit unsteady from all the weight that I had gained.  My belly was enormous.  If I hadn’t known any better, I would think I was well over nine months pregnant, but that is just not possible.  I was definitely going to have to lay off the ice cream and Fritos.

When I finally got out of the shower and got dressed, I slowly made my way back downstairs.  Eric was standing by the door with a jacket draped over his arms, holding the car keys and making them rattle.  He can be so impatient at times and I was beginning to become annoyed by it.  

He opened the door and I walked out on the porch, he was right like always.  The breeze still had a slight chill to it, but the sun was warm on my skin as well.  Spring was in full bloom.  All the flowers I had planted when I moved in were beautiful.

He locked up the house and escorted me to the car, holding on to me like he was ready to catch me at the first sign of a slip.  That was going to get really old in the next few months, but it was his way of keeping me and the baby safe, so I guess I could deal with it.

We stopped at my parent s house and honked the horn.  Our parents came out the door in a rush. 

“You guys are going to be late you know!”  Eric mother yelled as she got in the passenger side of my mother’s car.

Our mothers always stuck our dads in the back seat when they all went somewhere.  They didn’t seem to mind.  I think that they liked riding instead of being the ones to drive all the time.

Eric drove more carefully now since I am pregnant.  He seemed to have a tendency to worry too much lately. 

I looked out the window taking in all the gorgeous colors of spring.  This was one of my favorite times of the year.  Summer was my favorite season, but spring gave me a feeling of life.  Everything rejuvenates from the cold winter months and new life sprouts from every part of the Earth.

We arrived at the doctor’s office with just enough time left so I was not late.  I went in and wrote my name on the sign in paper next to the receptionist’s window.  She smiled at me and told me that the ultrasound technician was ready for me.  My nerves kicked into high gear when she said that, but I did not have much time to think about it all.  The nurse had already opened the door and asked me to come on back.  I had been expecting to have to wait a little while when I got here, but there was no chance in that today.

Can everyone come on back with me now?  I asked her and she nodded yes in response.

We all made our way into the room together.  There was a black leather couch next to the wall.  The nurse instructed our parents to sit there and she and Eric helped me up on the exam table.  He stood beside me trying to hold in his excitement, but I could tell he was having a hard time doing it.

The technician began the ultrasound and we all watched it on the gigantic television screen on the wall.  It was taking longer than the other ones I had before.  I tried not to let my imagination go into hyper drive.  Was there something wrong with our baby?  Panic started to creep up on me and the fact that the ultrasound technician announced that she was going to go get the doctor did not help any.

Everything is fine, but I need to get the doctor’s opinion on what I’m seeing, she said and left the room without giving us time to ask any more questions.  It did not take long for her to enter the room with the doctor following behind her.

They immediately began staring at the monitor, pointing to several places on the screen.  “I see.”  My doctor said.

“What is it?  Is something wrong with the baby?”  I asked nervously.

“No, certainly not.  Everything is fine with them both.” 

Eric squeezed my hand and at that time and I was not completely sure I understood what my doctor had said. 

“Can you say that again?”  I asked her.

“You are having twins.”

“Twins?”  I said utterly shocked.

“Yes.  It seems that you are having one of each.  A boy and a girl.”

No way.  No wonder I was so big.  I had two wonderful babies growing inside me.  One of each?  Now Eric would have his boy and I would have my girl too.  It was a blessing to us. 

“And they are both exceptionally healthy at that the doctor said.   But now that we know, there is going to be some planning that needs to be done.”

“Planning?  What sort of planning?”  I asked her.

She explained that at my current size and the size of the babies, I was more than likely going to need a cesarean section and she was probably going to have to induce my labor around the thirty-eight week mark.  That is, if I had not already gone into labor by then.

I was thankful to know the sex of the babies, but the other information was a bit unnerving.  Somehow, I knew that everything was going to be fine.  My children are very powerful.  I can feel it. I had always been able to feel it.

This bit of information needed to be kept a secret.  The Dark Union could not find out that I was going to have two babies instead of one, or they would intensify their attacks against us.  That much I was sure of.  It would mean an all-out war.

The doctor asked that Eric and I accompany her to her office to talk.  We followed her down the long hallway and into a barely decorated office.  The walls were empty except for her diplomas.  I could tell that she wasn’t much for clutter since her desk was as bare as the walls.  Only a small stack of patient files sat were on it along with a few pens, a note pad and a telephone.

As we took our seats, she began to explain what we were to expect in the duration of my pregnancy.  She told me several things that I needed to be watchful of.  Most of what she told me was relevant to any other pregnancy, but she also described some more common things that happen with multiple babies.  Early labor was one thing that she went into detail about.

I listened meticulously, hanging on every word that came out of her mouth.  I didn’t want to misunderstand any of the information, so I asked her many questions.  Eric had had a few of his own.

“I want her off her feet as much as possible from here on out.” she told us.  I also would like for her to avoid things such as climbing stairs or carrying anything heavy.

It looks like Eric was going to get his way about me using the downstairs bathroom now.

When we were both certain that we understood her instructions, we thanked her and she escorted us to the receptionist to make another appointment for two weeks from now.  She felt that it was necessary for me to start coming in every two weeks now. 

The receptionist wrote the date, time of my next appointment on a card, and handed it to my doctor.  My doctor wrote a phone number on the back of the card and explained that I could use it to get in touch with her at any time.  She then handed me the card and told us she would see us at my next appointment and Eric and I left.

“I am so happy that we are having twins Bailey.” Eric said as we walked to meet our parents in the parking lot.  “Yeah, me too I replied.”

The entire way home, I was on my cell phone listening to the endless ideas of our parents from the other car.  I was tired of holding the phone, but I was sure that I was going to hurt their feelings if I ended the call.  Putting the phone on speaker, I laid it in my lap and tried to get comfortable.

Eric joined in on the conversation, telling them that we needed to get everything in order and that we were going to have to go ahead purchase the rest of the items that we were going to need for the babies.

They were discussing the idea of having a baby shower for me and when I was asked my opinion on it, I could not decide either way.  It wasn’t like we really needed anything.  What we do not already have, we were going to order today, so I didn’t see the point in it.  But I guess it was more for my family and friends enjoyment instead of mine.  I’m sure that it would be fun to do anyway and it would give me an excuse to see some of the members of my family that I had not had the chance to see in a long time.

That idea brought back memories of my aunt Ellen.  She had passed away several years back, but I still miss her exactly the same way I did after her death.  She was very good to me when I was younger.  She always made it a point to take me shopping when she was here on a visit.

She was a very kind person.  I don’t think I could remember ever seeing her angry about anything.  Even when she had gotten sick, she was always optimistic.  The doctors had told her that they could not do anything else to help her and that it was only a matter of how much time she might have left.

I can remember her smiling and telling them thank you.  All the while, without a hint of fear or sadness in her eyes.  I could only hope that I would be that strong when the end came for me.

My mother handed to me a catalog from across the table.  I wondered if she just did not like going to the stores and seeing the items before she actually bought them.  But in reality, I knew that it was only because she never had the time to go shopping.

Eric and I thumbed through the pages taking careful consideration of each item on our list.  Now everything was going to have to be bought in pairs.  All except the clothes.  Knowing the sex of the babies made everything a lot easier. 

We picked out the cribs and Eric's mother insisted that we get bassinets as well.  It seemed like a waste to me, but how could I possibly know about what we needed?  I had never done this before and everything was new and confusing to me.

Eric seemed to be having a lot of fun doing this.  After we picked out everything we needed for the babies, and some things that we didn’t t need, Eric gave the list to his mother and she began the tedious job of getting the list in more organized so she could call in the order.  She wanted to get it done today because they were all leaving in the morning to go on another vacation.

I was growing more tired with each passing minute.  All I could think about was going home and getting in bed.  Eric told them that he was going to take me home so I could get some rest as he rose from the chair.  I took his hand and slowly got up from my seat.  I could not believe how tired I was.  I don’t think I had felt this tired. Well… Ever.

I got into bed fully dressed.  The sheets were cold and I loved it.  My temperature seemed to run a bit hot lately.  I didn’t notice if Eric had gotten into bed with me or not, being that I think I was actually asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I knew I was dreaming, but I could swear I was seeing my children.  The strange thing was that I could see them, but I couldn’t make out their faces.  I guess that is how dreams were sometimes, giving you just enough to want to see more.

I was watching them play in the meadow where I had to meet the other Queens.  Their laughs were infectious and I could not help but to giggle along with them.  I knew this was a dream because if it was not my Queens would be here with us.