Status: About once or twice a week. More if I ever get a break from school. :)
The Damned
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Micah's POV
I've been more and more on edge ever since we got onto dry land and for once it's not because of Jonas. I feel like everything's going to change when we get to Easter's "parents" house. I'm still confused. Easter almost seems to think it's a fact that they are his parents, but I don't know when he decided that or why. I'm even more afraid because Easter's getting so big. He looks like he could have our babies any day now. I know it's weird for me to be getting cold feet now, especially since I'm already Hallie's father even though I'm not the biological one. I'm not saying I regret them; it's just that it's going to be a major life changing thing and I guess it's only natural to be afraid.
Another big worry is that Hallie almost definitely got little bumps on his back now. We're so afraid he's got some kind of tumor. Now that I'm thinking about the possibility that he's an angel (even though I'm still not sure how that's possible), I almost think that he's growing wings. Easter doesn't think that's possible though because he remembers that he was born with them and I don't remember when I got mine, but I don't see why we'd develop any differently. We'll have to find a doctor to look at him when we get there.
On the fifth day in the carriages, the view started changing. There had been no signs of life until then. We started seeing small farming villages; really they were just a cluster of five or six villages. I don't think they can actually even be called villages.
The weirdest thing happened whenever we passed through one of these places. Everyone would stop what they were doing and run over to stare at the line of carriages, It was like they never saw a carriage before. They'd wave to our guards and our guards would wave back all friendly like, but our guards refused to let us even be seen when we were in those villages. We stopped to get supplies from one of the villages, but even then we were told not to be seen by anyone. We stopped a couple of miles outside the village and the guards told us to stay there while a few of them walked back to the village.
We were all afraid. None of this seemed right. If this is where we're supposed to be then why does Easter have to hide? Of course, everyone just fed us the usual line: they can't tell us; wait and ask Easter's parents. I'm getting tired of being told that. All I know is they'd better have a bunch of fantastic answers for all the waiting we've been doing.
I can't say anything like that though. Everyone here disapproves of me enough already without me pissing them off even more. I seem to have personally offended all of them by dating Easter. How is that my fault? Easter and I get to choose who we want to date and we chose each other. We shouldn't have to ask permission. They're all so cold to me when Easter's not around. I guess the only improvement is that at least they wait until Easter's not around to act like that. They realized they couldn't do that only after Easter had a massive…Well, if I'm honest I've have to say that is was a tantrum, but don't tell Easter I said that. I guess it all worked out for the best though. If they won't tell me something, Easter asks them for me and they tell him, so I find out anyway. It's just a more annoying way of going about things.
Eventually, the tiny villages turned into towns and the towns turned into cities. One thing never changed though. Every time without fail that we got to civilization people would stop what they were doing to watch us. It was so strange because we knew by now that there were even more carriages here than where I used to live and a few of them look nicer than ours. Sometimes, it even seems like they're expecting us.
This is all very interesting to the rest of us, but Easter couldn't seem to care less. He's been sleeping a lot and I know it's at least partly because he's in so much pain when the babies are awake. Every time they kick we can see Easter flinch and every time they move they wake Easter up. He hasn't had a good sleep for a month; the result of which is that Easter's always tired and somewhat grumpy. He was only really awake when he was feeding or changing or just holding Hallie.
That's why I was really surprised when Easter said, "Guess what today is?!"
"What?" I asked.
"I think it's about to be our babies birthdays," Easter said in what was a clear attempt to be cheerful.
"What?" I just stared at him blankly, not understanding what he was trying to tell me.
Haven was the first one to get it. "Did you have a contraction?" he asked.
"Um, contractions. They've been going on for a couple of hours, but they're really starting to bother me and they're getting closer together," he said calmly.
Easter was reacting the exact opposite of me, I just sat there opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water. "W-w-what? Why didn't you tell us earlier? I didn't even know you were hurting! Do you want me to get a doctor?! Oh my god!"
Easter giggled. "Calm down, Micah. Now is not the time to run around like a chicken with its head cut off. The contraction's are still like 12 minutes apart and they're not exactly regular, so I'm sure it'll be awhile. Besides, this is a time to be excited. I've been pregnant longer than I thought I'd be, so the babies will be nearly as old as Hallie was when he was born. Hallie going to be a big brother, aren't you?" The last he directed at the three month old baby, who was currently sleeping peacefully like he didn't have a care in the world. "I probably even told you too early. I don't think anything will happen for awhile. I just wanted to warn you before the baby popped out and by the way, I don’t think anyone is going to be happy if I have to have the babies in here. Especially me, if I don't get an epidural. Can you make this carriage stop and get me the doctor?"
"Okay," I said, throwing open the carriage window and yelling. "Can you stop this thing?!"
Both the driver and Jonas--Who was looking to be in an especially bad mood ever since Easter asked him if he could give us some privacy and sit up front. He only visits during meal times and at night now. He decided it's my fault for the whole thing--turned around and glared at me. "We're not stopping until tonight. It's not YOUR choice when we stop anyway," Jonas said coldly.
"Stop this damn cart now-" I was cut off by an extraordinarily loud scream. I shot back into the cart to look at my friends all of whom had their hands over their ears and were looking at Easter as if he had just lost his mind. "That wasn't a contraction was it?" I asked, wondering how he'd managed not to scream before. If he's hurting so bad that he has to scream like that I don't even want to know how bad the pain is.
"Yeah, you're not going to make the sound again, are you?" Seven asked, getting up from the floor where he must have hid while Easter screamed.
Easter even looked surprised himself at the sound he'd made. "I didn't know it'd be that loud. No, I didn't have a contraction. It would have lasted longer and my contractions aren't that unbearable yet. I just thought they'd stop the carriage if I sounded like I was in pain." As Easter almost always is, he was right. The carriage stopped in record time.
I looked at the door nervously. The driver and Jonas are sure to come in here guns blazing ready to kill me for making Easter scream. I figured they'd get over themselves when they saw that Easter was fine and I can always hope they get so angry they both just burst blood vessels and collapse.
I turned my attention back to Easter and took his hand. Easter seemed perfectly composed and if all I hadn't been holding his hand I wouldn't have even noticed that he was shaking so hard that I was surprised he haddn't unraveled.
The carriage door flew open; Jonas and the driver framed in the doorway looking thunderous. "What did you do to him?!" Jonas shrieked, eyes running over Easter like an x-ray. I knew if he found a single bruise on Easter he'd flip out.
I heard other carriage slam to a stop around us. Easter was probably the only person in a quarter mile who could even fake calmness. He fixed a look of polite confusion on his face. "What are you talking about? Micah didn't do anything," he said. "Thank you for stopping by the way. I didn't think you'd listen to Micah."
It was almost funny how puzzled Jonas was. I could see him almost convincing himself that he'd imagined Easter's scream. Then, he realized the driver at least had heard it too and he looked half pissed off and half really amused. "Cut it out, Easter. Tell us what he did to you."
"I already told you Micah didn't do anything. He needs to get the doctor though," Easter said, cryptically.
"What? Why?" Jonas asked, looking afraid all over again.
"I'm going to have the babies soon. I'm in labor."
Jonas just stared at Easter his mouth hanging open, all signs of intelligence gone. I got sick of him just staring at Easter's stomach like he was an alien real fast and shoved past him to get out the door. For once, Jonas didn't turn around and say something rude; he didn't even seem to notice me leaving. His whole attention was on Easter. Normally, that would really piss me off, but I have more important things to worry about now.
I ran to the carriage right behind ours that I knew belonged to the doctor. He's made sure to be close to us ever since Easter his 32 weeks because we knew that as far along as he was with that many babies, that he could go into labor at any moment.
Just as I got to the door, the doctor burst out. He immediately knew what had happened. There's only one reason we'd cause such an upset. "How far apart are they? Are they regular?"
"About 12 minutes, but they're not regular yet. We know he's not having them right this minute, but we kind of freaked out," I said.
"It's fine. I'd rather that you called me earlier than I'd normally want. This is a very high risk pregnancy. If we were at there already, I would have suggested a C-section to make sure the babies have the highest chance of being delivered safely and we'd have him hooked up to machines to check his blood pressure, heart beats, and we'd be able to see the babies because of the ultrasound." The doctor smiled at me, seeing that I was getting more and more worried. "Don't worry. I'll make sure your babies are safe. Let's not leave Easter waiting any longer."
I nodded. The doctor's the only one here who doesn't act like I should be killed for daring to date Easter. I know they're all horrified that he's pregnant, but they're also smart enough to know that Easter would throw the biggest fit known to mankind if someone insulted his children. It's just good to have someone on our side.
We hurried back to the carriage, ignoring other people who'd gotten out of their carriages to see what had caused the hold up. When they saw me, the frowns deepened like their suspiscions had been confirmed. Of course the delinquent boyfriend of the boy they'd come to get would start all of this. One look from the doctor and they all scattered back to their carriages.
We got back to the carriage where the driver and Jonas were still just staring at each other. I think they would have been less stunned if Easter had just hit them over the head with a bucket of bricks. I feel like I should point out that they knew Easter was pregnant; so why does it shock them so much that Easter's going to actually deliver the babies? Did they think he was going to be pregnant forever?
The doctor took over. "Easter, are you feeling okay? It'll be hours before you have the babies, so I hope you're as comfortable as you can be. Ideally, we're going to get you to your parents' house, so you can have them there. It'd be a lot easier, since I have a complete doctor's office there, instead of just the basics I'd brought in case you were hurt when we found you. It should take about 10-12 hours to get there though," the doctor said.
He was interrupted by the driver then. "You can't tell them that. We were told-"
"I don't really care what we were told. My first priority is my patient who is in labor in case you hadn't noticed. He needs to know what the plan is. The last thing he needs is more uncertainties. If Easter's parents were here I'm sure they'd want him to know. If it's still bothering you when we get there, tell Easter's parents."
"What? In labor?" Jonas sputtered, looking beseechingly at another demon who'd just appeared at the door.
I recognized him immediately as the oldest demon and the unofficial leader of the group. "In labor?" he repeated, not sounding surprised in the slightest. I'm glad to see that the leader demon at least seems to know where babies come from, as Jonas and the driver clearly don't. "What are we still doing here? Hurry up and take him home!"
With those words from the doctor, the driver rushed back to the front of the carriage. The leader seemed satisfied that he'd done his job here and went back to his carriage, not wanting to hold us up anymore than necessary.
That left us with two more people in our carriage than before. One, I was a lot more happy to see than the other. The carriage started moving before I could say anything and even I wasn't going to suggest that Jonas jump out of a moving carriage. Jonas didn’t seem to understand how nice I was being about letting him stay there without complaining (I have to admit most of the not complaining was for Easter's sake.) and decided to push me further. He sat down and held Easter's hand.
I saw the confused look on Easter's face and I think he was about to ask Jonas what he was doing when he had another contraction. He clutched Jonas' hand and curled up like he was trying to protect himself from the pain. I knelt in front of Easter, deciding to ignore Jonas for the moment. I ran my hands through Easter's hair, kissed his forehead, and whispered that it'd all be okay soon.
About thirty seconds later, Easter sat back up and gently untangled Jonas' hand from his. Jonas didn't seem offended since he'd also moved away from me. The doctor looked up from his stop watch. "You seem to be right on track with what I'd expect from a normal pregnancy. Do you feel like you can't breathe or your heart pounding in your chest?" he asked, moving to check Easter's pulse.
Easter's shook his head. "I feel fine now."
"Good," the doctor said. "You need to tell me if that changes immediately." I could see the doctor's whole body relax. I know that Easter's really important to them. I don't know why, other than that it's some family thing. I wonder if his family are millionares and that's why they have so much power over these people. I think the doctor's afraid because something might happen to him if Easter was hurt giving birth to our children. I'm not saying that he doesn't care about Easter or that it's all some ulterior motive, but I do think that's a factor in it. For once, it actually makes things better for us. I feel so much better just knowing that the doctor will try his best to keep Easter and our children healthy.
"What are you going to name them, Easter?" Jonas asked, pointedly ignoring me.
"Micah and I aren't sure yet. We've got a few ideas for them, but since we don't know what gender they'll be and we don't know what they look like, we haven't made the final decisions yet. Who knows? Maybe when they're born they won't look like the names we've picked out for them," Easter said. "Besides, I kind of want Micah to name them, so he can bond with them a little more. I've been able to carry them for nine months."
Jonas didn't look to happy to hear that, but I really couldn't have cared less then. Easter wants me to name them? I mean, we've talked about names before so I've got an idea about the names he likes, so I won't choose anything he'd hate. "Thank you, sweetie," I said, kissing him gently.
Easter blushed and smiled. "I've been thinking about it for awhile. I thought it was a good idea."
The doctor only seemed to realize Jonas was in the carriage at that moment. "What are you doing?! You shouldn't be here! Easter should only be surrounded by his family now. If it were possible for Easter to safely have the babies without me being there, I wouldn't be here. Easter and Micah will probably want to be alone when it actually comes to push, but until them I think their friends could be here without making Easter too uncomfortable."
Haven and Indigo nodded. "We had no plans to be there when Easter started pushing. I'm sure he wants his privacy."
Jonas looked like he was going to start hissing and spitting like a cat that had just been put in the bathtub. I knew he wanted to kick and scream and demand that he be with Easter through it all, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that doing any of that would only get him thrown out sooner rather than later and that Haven had backed him into a corner when he was so calm about leaving. He'd only sound like a selfish child if he tried to stay.
The doctor made a movement like he was about to get up and knock Jonas out of the seat next to Jonas, who was looking more and more angry every second. His face was contorted almost unrecognizably with anger and was shaking with his fists balled up.
I saw a concerned looked pass over Easter's face and couldn't help smiling at him. I think Easter's truly incapable of hating anyone. I sat down in Jonas' unwillingly abandoned spot and wrapped my arms around Easter allowing his to relax against me. Easter turned towards the doctor and started speaking again. "Yeah. I think I only want you and Micah there…that is if Micah wants to be there?" he asked, the last past directed at me.
"Yes, of course. I wouldn't leave you alone when you want me there. "
Easter smiled and cuddled up to me even more. His eyes were entirely focused on me and mine on him…until I heard someone clear their throat loudly.
Easter looked around, blushing.
I'll give you three guesses who that was. Jonas wouldn't even look at us. It was only then that I realized how much he wanted to not only break us up, but completely take my place in Easter's life. He wishes he was the father of Easter's children. He wishes he could make Easter look at him like that. He wishes they were getting married. I don't think you can understand how much someone can hate you until you realize they wish you never even existed. I can't stand him, but I do feel bad that he can't be with the person he cares about. I don't even want to think about what it would be like if I could be with Easter. I really hope he moves on soon; not only for Easter's and my sakes, but also for Jonas'."
"Ah!" Easter gasped, suddenly shaking me out of my thoughts. He had one hand resting on his stomach and his other hand was clutching my hand tightly. "I' m starting to wish we could go back to them just kicking. It is so much less painful than what's happening now." I could see a light sheen of sweat on his forehead and his breathing was off, like he'd just run a marathon.
The doctor looked concerned also. "How bad is the pain on a scale of one to ten, with one being the lowest and ten-?"
"-About a four, maybe a five. I can still talk, so I guess it's not as bad as it could be," Easter said, making me wonder how scary his ten would be if this was his five. My hand would probably fall off from Easter's hand cutting off circulation. "Do you really think we'll have enough time to get to my parents house before I have the babies? Will they let us in? I mean, they'll be a little, um…surprised to me," Easter said, nervously.
I could help rolling my eyes at Easter. It's just like him to worry about what a stranger thinks of him.
The doctor chuckled. "I think surprised is a bit of an understatement. I haven't figured out if it would be more of a shock for you to show up in labor or with 4 babies. Don't worry though. Once they get over the shock, I'm sure they'll be very happy to see you, Micah, and their new grandchildren. They'll love you and accept you no matter what," the doctor said, soothingly.
"Are the contractions over?" Seven asked curiously.
"I don't know. Do you see a bunch of babies lying around here?" Easter asked, sarcastically. Haven and Indigo smirked, but Easter looked a little bit guilty and went right back to his usual kind self. "Yes, that contraction is over."
"For now, you just need to relax and get some more sleep if you can. You'll want plenty of rest for when you start pushing," the doctor said.
"I'm really tired, actually. That sounds like a great idea," Easter admitted. He lay his head on my shoulder awkwardly and closed his eyes . Only a couple of seconds later, Easter opened his eyes and glared. "It's kind of hard to sleep with all of you watching me. It's like you're eyes are boring into my skull."
"Sorry," Jay said.
Seven smirked. "I'll sit in Jay's lap and Jonas will sit on the floor--" Jonas glared "--So you can lay across the seat and sleep in Micah's lap."
"Yeah, right. We all know you just want an excuse to sit in Jay's lap," Easter laughed as he stretched out.
"That may be part of it," Seven admitted. Jay looked thrilled and hugged Seven close to him.
Easter giggled and next thing I knew he was out like a light. I watched him sleeping, running my hands through his hair and rubbing his shoulders. He would periodically tense up and whine in his sleep and a minute later he's be all relaxed again.
I heard a quiet giggled and looked up. "You're so cute when you pet Easter. You look like you're protecting Easter. I can already tell that you are going to be a good father" Seven said, shyly.
I blushed. Does he know he just gave me the best compliment possible?
Jonas snorted derisively, and muttered something I couldn't hear. I knew just how rude it was when Indigo jumped up and grabbed Jonas by the throat and slammed him into the wall. "I think it's time for a reality check. Micah is Easter's boyfriend. He is the father of Easter's children. Nothing you say or do will change that. Now, you can either accept that or go away. Do you understand?" he snarled.
Jonas couldn't actually speak because Indigo was holding his throat too tight. "I'll take that as a yes." He released Jonas, who immediately collapsed to the floor, coughing and rubbing his throat.
"D-d-did y-you s-see what he j-just d-did?" Jonas choked, his voice raspy. He looked at the doctor reproachfully.
"I didn't see anything," the doctor said calmly. "However, Jonas, if I did see something, I would consider it a life lesson for you to not attempt to ruin another person's happiness. You have to learn that if you really care for someone you'll have to let them go so that they can be happy."
Jonas was not at all moved by the doctor's speech. "I can see that you're on his side," Jonas said coldly. "It could change; them dating at least. The biological father doesn't matter anyway. The person whose taking care of them does-"
"Exactly," I said, the only person in the room who wasn't seeing red. "I will be there to take care of my children. I don't know how you can possibly believe that I don't care for them and Micah."
Haven, Indigo, Jay, and Seven all nodded enthusiastically. I could tell they all wanted to add their own words of anger towards Jonas, but I didn't think that would help anything. Indigo was the worst looming over Jonas like he could pin him against the wall at any moment and would probably enjoy it.
"Easter and I love each other. How do you think Easter would feel if we broke up. I'm sure he'd feel just as horrible as I would. Have you thought about that? I know this must be hard for you, but-"
"Shut up! You have no idea!" he snarled.
"Fine. You're right. I don't know what it's like," I admitted. "Can we talk about this later? Just be quiet now, so Easter can rest," I said, pointing to the boy who was miraculously still asleep.
Jonas looked at Easter with so much care in his eyes. I couldn't even feel angry at the way he treats me when he so obviously cares about Easter.
"Truce? For Easter's sake?" I asked.
He nodded. "For now. You better take care of him, or I swear I'll kill you."
"I can deal with that."
With that settled, we both settled down for a long ride of no talking, to the dismay of everyone around us.
"What was that? How-" Seven started to ask,
I shook my head at him to make him stop. "Don't worry about it. It's fine," I said. With our truce decided, I could finally relax.
Micah's POV
I've been more and more on edge ever since we got onto dry land and for once it's not because of Jonas. I feel like everything's going to change when we get to Easter's "parents" house. I'm still confused. Easter almost seems to think it's a fact that they are his parents, but I don't know when he decided that or why. I'm even more afraid because Easter's getting so big. He looks like he could have our babies any day now. I know it's weird for me to be getting cold feet now, especially since I'm already Hallie's father even though I'm not the biological one. I'm not saying I regret them; it's just that it's going to be a major life changing thing and I guess it's only natural to be afraid.
Another big worry is that Hallie almost definitely got little bumps on his back now. We're so afraid he's got some kind of tumor. Now that I'm thinking about the possibility that he's an angel (even though I'm still not sure how that's possible), I almost think that he's growing wings. Easter doesn't think that's possible though because he remembers that he was born with them and I don't remember when I got mine, but I don't see why we'd develop any differently. We'll have to find a doctor to look at him when we get there.
On the fifth day in the carriages, the view started changing. There had been no signs of life until then. We started seeing small farming villages; really they were just a cluster of five or six villages. I don't think they can actually even be called villages.
The weirdest thing happened whenever we passed through one of these places. Everyone would stop what they were doing and run over to stare at the line of carriages, It was like they never saw a carriage before. They'd wave to our guards and our guards would wave back all friendly like, but our guards refused to let us even be seen when we were in those villages. We stopped to get supplies from one of the villages, but even then we were told not to be seen by anyone. We stopped a couple of miles outside the village and the guards told us to stay there while a few of them walked back to the village.
We were all afraid. None of this seemed right. If this is where we're supposed to be then why does Easter have to hide? Of course, everyone just fed us the usual line: they can't tell us; wait and ask Easter's parents. I'm getting tired of being told that. All I know is they'd better have a bunch of fantastic answers for all the waiting we've been doing.
I can't say anything like that though. Everyone here disapproves of me enough already without me pissing them off even more. I seem to have personally offended all of them by dating Easter. How is that my fault? Easter and I get to choose who we want to date and we chose each other. We shouldn't have to ask permission. They're all so cold to me when Easter's not around. I guess the only improvement is that at least they wait until Easter's not around to act like that. They realized they couldn't do that only after Easter had a massive…Well, if I'm honest I've have to say that is was a tantrum, but don't tell Easter I said that. I guess it all worked out for the best though. If they won't tell me something, Easter asks them for me and they tell him, so I find out anyway. It's just a more annoying way of going about things.
Eventually, the tiny villages turned into towns and the towns turned into cities. One thing never changed though. Every time without fail that we got to civilization people would stop what they were doing to watch us. It was so strange because we knew by now that there were even more carriages here than where I used to live and a few of them look nicer than ours. Sometimes, it even seems like they're expecting us.
This is all very interesting to the rest of us, but Easter couldn't seem to care less. He's been sleeping a lot and I know it's at least partly because he's in so much pain when the babies are awake. Every time they kick we can see Easter flinch and every time they move they wake Easter up. He hasn't had a good sleep for a month; the result of which is that Easter's always tired and somewhat grumpy. He was only really awake when he was feeding or changing or just holding Hallie.
That's why I was really surprised when Easter said, "Guess what today is?!"
"What?" I asked.
"I think it's about to be our babies birthdays," Easter said in what was a clear attempt to be cheerful.
"What?" I just stared at him blankly, not understanding what he was trying to tell me.
Haven was the first one to get it. "Did you have a contraction?" he asked.
"Um, contractions. They've been going on for a couple of hours, but they're really starting to bother me and they're getting closer together," he said calmly.
Easter was reacting the exact opposite of me, I just sat there opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water. "W-w-what? Why didn't you tell us earlier? I didn't even know you were hurting! Do you want me to get a doctor?! Oh my god!"
Easter giggled. "Calm down, Micah. Now is not the time to run around like a chicken with its head cut off. The contraction's are still like 12 minutes apart and they're not exactly regular, so I'm sure it'll be awhile. Besides, this is a time to be excited. I've been pregnant longer than I thought I'd be, so the babies will be nearly as old as Hallie was when he was born. Hallie going to be a big brother, aren't you?" The last he directed at the three month old baby, who was currently sleeping peacefully like he didn't have a care in the world. "I probably even told you too early. I don't think anything will happen for awhile. I just wanted to warn you before the baby popped out and by the way, I don’t think anyone is going to be happy if I have to have the babies in here. Especially me, if I don't get an epidural. Can you make this carriage stop and get me the doctor?"
"Okay," I said, throwing open the carriage window and yelling. "Can you stop this thing?!"
Both the driver and Jonas--Who was looking to be in an especially bad mood ever since Easter asked him if he could give us some privacy and sit up front. He only visits during meal times and at night now. He decided it's my fault for the whole thing--turned around and glared at me. "We're not stopping until tonight. It's not YOUR choice when we stop anyway," Jonas said coldly.
"Stop this damn cart now-" I was cut off by an extraordinarily loud scream. I shot back into the cart to look at my friends all of whom had their hands over their ears and were looking at Easter as if he had just lost his mind. "That wasn't a contraction was it?" I asked, wondering how he'd managed not to scream before. If he's hurting so bad that he has to scream like that I don't even want to know how bad the pain is.
"Yeah, you're not going to make the sound again, are you?" Seven asked, getting up from the floor where he must have hid while Easter screamed.
Easter even looked surprised himself at the sound he'd made. "I didn't know it'd be that loud. No, I didn't have a contraction. It would have lasted longer and my contractions aren't that unbearable yet. I just thought they'd stop the carriage if I sounded like I was in pain." As Easter almost always is, he was right. The carriage stopped in record time.
I looked at the door nervously. The driver and Jonas are sure to come in here guns blazing ready to kill me for making Easter scream. I figured they'd get over themselves when they saw that Easter was fine and I can always hope they get so angry they both just burst blood vessels and collapse.
I turned my attention back to Easter and took his hand. Easter seemed perfectly composed and if all I hadn't been holding his hand I wouldn't have even noticed that he was shaking so hard that I was surprised he haddn't unraveled.
The carriage door flew open; Jonas and the driver framed in the doorway looking thunderous. "What did you do to him?!" Jonas shrieked, eyes running over Easter like an x-ray. I knew if he found a single bruise on Easter he'd flip out.
I heard other carriage slam to a stop around us. Easter was probably the only person in a quarter mile who could even fake calmness. He fixed a look of polite confusion on his face. "What are you talking about? Micah didn't do anything," he said. "Thank you for stopping by the way. I didn't think you'd listen to Micah."
It was almost funny how puzzled Jonas was. I could see him almost convincing himself that he'd imagined Easter's scream. Then, he realized the driver at least had heard it too and he looked half pissed off and half really amused. "Cut it out, Easter. Tell us what he did to you."
"I already told you Micah didn't do anything. He needs to get the doctor though," Easter said, cryptically.
"What? Why?" Jonas asked, looking afraid all over again.
"I'm going to have the babies soon. I'm in labor."
Jonas just stared at Easter his mouth hanging open, all signs of intelligence gone. I got sick of him just staring at Easter's stomach like he was an alien real fast and shoved past him to get out the door. For once, Jonas didn't turn around and say something rude; he didn't even seem to notice me leaving. His whole attention was on Easter. Normally, that would really piss me off, but I have more important things to worry about now.
I ran to the carriage right behind ours that I knew belonged to the doctor. He's made sure to be close to us ever since Easter his 32 weeks because we knew that as far along as he was with that many babies, that he could go into labor at any moment.
Just as I got to the door, the doctor burst out. He immediately knew what had happened. There's only one reason we'd cause such an upset. "How far apart are they? Are they regular?"
"About 12 minutes, but they're not regular yet. We know he's not having them right this minute, but we kind of freaked out," I said.
"It's fine. I'd rather that you called me earlier than I'd normally want. This is a very high risk pregnancy. If we were at there already, I would have suggested a C-section to make sure the babies have the highest chance of being delivered safely and we'd have him hooked up to machines to check his blood pressure, heart beats, and we'd be able to see the babies because of the ultrasound." The doctor smiled at me, seeing that I was getting more and more worried. "Don't worry. I'll make sure your babies are safe. Let's not leave Easter waiting any longer."
I nodded. The doctor's the only one here who doesn't act like I should be killed for daring to date Easter. I know they're all horrified that he's pregnant, but they're also smart enough to know that Easter would throw the biggest fit known to mankind if someone insulted his children. It's just good to have someone on our side.
We hurried back to the carriage, ignoring other people who'd gotten out of their carriages to see what had caused the hold up. When they saw me, the frowns deepened like their suspiscions had been confirmed. Of course the delinquent boyfriend of the boy they'd come to get would start all of this. One look from the doctor and they all scattered back to their carriages.
We got back to the carriage where the driver and Jonas were still just staring at each other. I think they would have been less stunned if Easter had just hit them over the head with a bucket of bricks. I feel like I should point out that they knew Easter was pregnant; so why does it shock them so much that Easter's going to actually deliver the babies? Did they think he was going to be pregnant forever?
The doctor took over. "Easter, are you feeling okay? It'll be hours before you have the babies, so I hope you're as comfortable as you can be. Ideally, we're going to get you to your parents' house, so you can have them there. It'd be a lot easier, since I have a complete doctor's office there, instead of just the basics I'd brought in case you were hurt when we found you. It should take about 10-12 hours to get there though," the doctor said.
He was interrupted by the driver then. "You can't tell them that. We were told-"
"I don't really care what we were told. My first priority is my patient who is in labor in case you hadn't noticed. He needs to know what the plan is. The last thing he needs is more uncertainties. If Easter's parents were here I'm sure they'd want him to know. If it's still bothering you when we get there, tell Easter's parents."
"What? In labor?" Jonas sputtered, looking beseechingly at another demon who'd just appeared at the door.
I recognized him immediately as the oldest demon and the unofficial leader of the group. "In labor?" he repeated, not sounding surprised in the slightest. I'm glad to see that the leader demon at least seems to know where babies come from, as Jonas and the driver clearly don't. "What are we still doing here? Hurry up and take him home!"
With those words from the doctor, the driver rushed back to the front of the carriage. The leader seemed satisfied that he'd done his job here and went back to his carriage, not wanting to hold us up anymore than necessary.
That left us with two more people in our carriage than before. One, I was a lot more happy to see than the other. The carriage started moving before I could say anything and even I wasn't going to suggest that Jonas jump out of a moving carriage. Jonas didn’t seem to understand how nice I was being about letting him stay there without complaining (I have to admit most of the not complaining was for Easter's sake.) and decided to push me further. He sat down and held Easter's hand.
I saw the confused look on Easter's face and I think he was about to ask Jonas what he was doing when he had another contraction. He clutched Jonas' hand and curled up like he was trying to protect himself from the pain. I knelt in front of Easter, deciding to ignore Jonas for the moment. I ran my hands through Easter's hair, kissed his forehead, and whispered that it'd all be okay soon.
About thirty seconds later, Easter sat back up and gently untangled Jonas' hand from his. Jonas didn't seem offended since he'd also moved away from me. The doctor looked up from his stop watch. "You seem to be right on track with what I'd expect from a normal pregnancy. Do you feel like you can't breathe or your heart pounding in your chest?" he asked, moving to check Easter's pulse.
Easter's shook his head. "I feel fine now."
"Good," the doctor said. "You need to tell me if that changes immediately." I could see the doctor's whole body relax. I know that Easter's really important to them. I don't know why, other than that it's some family thing. I wonder if his family are millionares and that's why they have so much power over these people. I think the doctor's afraid because something might happen to him if Easter was hurt giving birth to our children. I'm not saying that he doesn't care about Easter or that it's all some ulterior motive, but I do think that's a factor in it. For once, it actually makes things better for us. I feel so much better just knowing that the doctor will try his best to keep Easter and our children healthy.
"What are you going to name them, Easter?" Jonas asked, pointedly ignoring me.
"Micah and I aren't sure yet. We've got a few ideas for them, but since we don't know what gender they'll be and we don't know what they look like, we haven't made the final decisions yet. Who knows? Maybe when they're born they won't look like the names we've picked out for them," Easter said. "Besides, I kind of want Micah to name them, so he can bond with them a little more. I've been able to carry them for nine months."
Jonas didn't look to happy to hear that, but I really couldn't have cared less then. Easter wants me to name them? I mean, we've talked about names before so I've got an idea about the names he likes, so I won't choose anything he'd hate. "Thank you, sweetie," I said, kissing him gently.
Easter blushed and smiled. "I've been thinking about it for awhile. I thought it was a good idea."
The doctor only seemed to realize Jonas was in the carriage at that moment. "What are you doing?! You shouldn't be here! Easter should only be surrounded by his family now. If it were possible for Easter to safely have the babies without me being there, I wouldn't be here. Easter and Micah will probably want to be alone when it actually comes to push, but until them I think their friends could be here without making Easter too uncomfortable."
Haven and Indigo nodded. "We had no plans to be there when Easter started pushing. I'm sure he wants his privacy."
Jonas looked like he was going to start hissing and spitting like a cat that had just been put in the bathtub. I knew he wanted to kick and scream and demand that he be with Easter through it all, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that doing any of that would only get him thrown out sooner rather than later and that Haven had backed him into a corner when he was so calm about leaving. He'd only sound like a selfish child if he tried to stay.
The doctor made a movement like he was about to get up and knock Jonas out of the seat next to Jonas, who was looking more and more angry every second. His face was contorted almost unrecognizably with anger and was shaking with his fists balled up.
I saw a concerned looked pass over Easter's face and couldn't help smiling at him. I think Easter's truly incapable of hating anyone. I sat down in Jonas' unwillingly abandoned spot and wrapped my arms around Easter allowing his to relax against me. Easter turned towards the doctor and started speaking again. "Yeah. I think I only want you and Micah there…that is if Micah wants to be there?" he asked, the last past directed at me.
"Yes, of course. I wouldn't leave you alone when you want me there. "
Easter smiled and cuddled up to me even more. His eyes were entirely focused on me and mine on him…until I heard someone clear their throat loudly.
Easter looked around, blushing.
I'll give you three guesses who that was. Jonas wouldn't even look at us. It was only then that I realized how much he wanted to not only break us up, but completely take my place in Easter's life. He wishes he was the father of Easter's children. He wishes he could make Easter look at him like that. He wishes they were getting married. I don't think you can understand how much someone can hate you until you realize they wish you never even existed. I can't stand him, but I do feel bad that he can't be with the person he cares about. I don't even want to think about what it would be like if I could be with Easter. I really hope he moves on soon; not only for Easter's and my sakes, but also for Jonas'."
"Ah!" Easter gasped, suddenly shaking me out of my thoughts. He had one hand resting on his stomach and his other hand was clutching my hand tightly. "I' m starting to wish we could go back to them just kicking. It is so much less painful than what's happening now." I could see a light sheen of sweat on his forehead and his breathing was off, like he'd just run a marathon.
The doctor looked concerned also. "How bad is the pain on a scale of one to ten, with one being the lowest and ten-?"
"-About a four, maybe a five. I can still talk, so I guess it's not as bad as it could be," Easter said, making me wonder how scary his ten would be if this was his five. My hand would probably fall off from Easter's hand cutting off circulation. "Do you really think we'll have enough time to get to my parents house before I have the babies? Will they let us in? I mean, they'll be a little, um…surprised to me," Easter said, nervously.
I could help rolling my eyes at Easter. It's just like him to worry about what a stranger thinks of him.
The doctor chuckled. "I think surprised is a bit of an understatement. I haven't figured out if it would be more of a shock for you to show up in labor or with 4 babies. Don't worry though. Once they get over the shock, I'm sure they'll be very happy to see you, Micah, and their new grandchildren. They'll love you and accept you no matter what," the doctor said, soothingly.
"Are the contractions over?" Seven asked curiously.
"I don't know. Do you see a bunch of babies lying around here?" Easter asked, sarcastically. Haven and Indigo smirked, but Easter looked a little bit guilty and went right back to his usual kind self. "Yes, that contraction is over."
"For now, you just need to relax and get some more sleep if you can. You'll want plenty of rest for when you start pushing," the doctor said.
"I'm really tired, actually. That sounds like a great idea," Easter admitted. He lay his head on my shoulder awkwardly and closed his eyes . Only a couple of seconds later, Easter opened his eyes and glared. "It's kind of hard to sleep with all of you watching me. It's like you're eyes are boring into my skull."
"Sorry," Jay said.
Seven smirked. "I'll sit in Jay's lap and Jonas will sit on the floor--" Jonas glared "--So you can lay across the seat and sleep in Micah's lap."
"Yeah, right. We all know you just want an excuse to sit in Jay's lap," Easter laughed as he stretched out.
"That may be part of it," Seven admitted. Jay looked thrilled and hugged Seven close to him.
Easter giggled and next thing I knew he was out like a light. I watched him sleeping, running my hands through his hair and rubbing his shoulders. He would periodically tense up and whine in his sleep and a minute later he's be all relaxed again.
I heard a quiet giggled and looked up. "You're so cute when you pet Easter. You look like you're protecting Easter. I can already tell that you are going to be a good father" Seven said, shyly.
I blushed. Does he know he just gave me the best compliment possible?
Jonas snorted derisively, and muttered something I couldn't hear. I knew just how rude it was when Indigo jumped up and grabbed Jonas by the throat and slammed him into the wall. "I think it's time for a reality check. Micah is Easter's boyfriend. He is the father of Easter's children. Nothing you say or do will change that. Now, you can either accept that or go away. Do you understand?" he snarled.
Jonas couldn't actually speak because Indigo was holding his throat too tight. "I'll take that as a yes." He released Jonas, who immediately collapsed to the floor, coughing and rubbing his throat.
"D-d-did y-you s-see what he j-just d-did?" Jonas choked, his voice raspy. He looked at the doctor reproachfully.
"I didn't see anything," the doctor said calmly. "However, Jonas, if I did see something, I would consider it a life lesson for you to not attempt to ruin another person's happiness. You have to learn that if you really care for someone you'll have to let them go so that they can be happy."
Jonas was not at all moved by the doctor's speech. "I can see that you're on his side," Jonas said coldly. "It could change; them dating at least. The biological father doesn't matter anyway. The person whose taking care of them does-"
"Exactly," I said, the only person in the room who wasn't seeing red. "I will be there to take care of my children. I don't know how you can possibly believe that I don't care for them and Micah."
Haven, Indigo, Jay, and Seven all nodded enthusiastically. I could tell they all wanted to add their own words of anger towards Jonas, but I didn't think that would help anything. Indigo was the worst looming over Jonas like he could pin him against the wall at any moment and would probably enjoy it.
"Easter and I love each other. How do you think Easter would feel if we broke up. I'm sure he'd feel just as horrible as I would. Have you thought about that? I know this must be hard for you, but-"
"Shut up! You have no idea!" he snarled.
"Fine. You're right. I don't know what it's like," I admitted. "Can we talk about this later? Just be quiet now, so Easter can rest," I said, pointing to the boy who was miraculously still asleep.
Jonas looked at Easter with so much care in his eyes. I couldn't even feel angry at the way he treats me when he so obviously cares about Easter.
"Truce? For Easter's sake?" I asked.
He nodded. "For now. You better take care of him, or I swear I'll kill you."
"I can deal with that."
With that settled, we both settled down for a long ride of no talking, to the dismay of everyone around us.
"What was that? How-" Seven started to ask,
I shook my head at him to make him stop. "Don't worry about it. It's fine," I said. With our truce decided, I could finally relax.