Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“H..how is he, Joaquin? Is Reagan alright?” She was still worried about our son.
“He’s fine. He’s perfect. And he’s beautiful.” I couldn’t help but smile at her as I spoke.
“Really?” She smiled through the pain she was feeling then. “I want to see him. I want to hold him soon.”
“You will, honey. You will.” I held her hand and squeezed it tight. “Let’s bring Rika into the world and then we can hold both of them, alright.”
The second time went just the same as the first, only I wasn’t stupid enough to look at the baby as it came out. I didn’t need my resolve to buckle at all. I needed to be there for my family, they needed me.
I held Riviana’s leg and helped her through the pushes like the nurse was doing. She would bear down and push for ten seconds at a time and each push left her exhausted. She didn’t give up though, she just kept pushing as hard as she could. Before long Griffin exclaimed loudly that the second baby was out.
“It’s a girl. She’s here. You’ve got twins.” Rika didn’t scare us like her brother did, she cried right from the beginning. Her high baby cries sounded just like music to my ears, and I turned to kiss Riviana’s hair while tears streamed down my cheeks.
“I’m so proud of you Riviana.” I cried as I kissed her over and over again. “I’m so proud of you, and I love you so much.”
“Joaquin.” She called my name as she cried as well. “I love you too, Joaquin.” We held each other for a moment, happy as we could be to finally have our children with us.
I waited to the side while Rika was cleaned up and measured. Riviana was still being attended to by Griffin and the nurses as they massaged her uterus and delivered the placentas. At the moment I didn’t have anything to do but watch the happenings around me. While I waited though, I found out that Rika weighed about five pounds, or two thousand three hundred grams. She was smaller than her brother, in height too as she was only eighteen inches tall. She was going to be small like her mother.
I couldn’t wait to hold the two of them in my arms and look at them closely in their faces. I wanted to see who they looked like more. I didn’t care who they took after, I was just glad they were finally here.
It seemed to take a long time before everyone was done doing what they needed to do, and we were able to hold the babies. When it was time though, I was told to sit in the armchair that was next to Riviana’s bed. She had been cleaned up and moved over to a clean bed now. Both of us were waiting quite impatiently for the nurses, both of them, to walk over with the babies in their arms.
“I am going to give you the baby boy first, alright Momma. He’s hungry and needs to be fed, his sissy can wait a few minutes so if it’s OK with you, Daddy can hold her first.” I looked over at Riviana to see if she was alright with what was being suggested, I was fine with whatever she wanted. She was the one who had done all the work here.
“Yes, that’s fine. But, uhm, I..I don’t know how to nurse him.” She looked scared as she held her arms apprehensively toward our son.
“Don’t fret one bit, sweetheart, that’s why we’re here. We will walk you through it while Daddy over here holds your little girl. By the time you switch off with the babies you will be a pro at it.”
The nurses, who were both different shifters, smiled at my Little Bunny supportively. I was glad that they were here to help. I watched as Riviana nodded and smiled at them as well, she was happy for the assistance just the same as I was.
The nurse who was holding the tiny little Rika came over to me. She passed the baby to me and showed me the proper way to hold her. I had held babies but not just minutes after they were born. This was nerve wracking.
Rika felt so small and fragile in my arms. I was nervous and too scared to move at all. Still, it all felt right as well. It seemed like the little baby was right where she needed to be.
I could hear the others talking around me, telling Riviana what to do and how to nurse the babies, but I couldn’t actually understand a word of it. I was too enraptured by the beauty of my little girl’s face.? While I watched her sleep in my arms, I used just one finger to trace the curve of her soft cheek. Her face was so tiny that my hand seemed so large in comparison. I just wanted to protect her and take care of her forever. I knew what every father had ever felt for their daughter now. Just looking at her melted my heart.
I could tell that Rika actually took after me more in looks. Her full head of black hair was proof of that. I couldn’t see her eyes so I didn’t know whose she had, and they probably wouldn’t be the true color yet anyway. But I could see my nose shape just slightly. I know it was too early to truly tell, but it looked like she favored me more.
Some time later, Riviana and I switched off with the babies. I handed her Rika so she could feed our little girl and she handed me Reagan. The nurses were still there to help her with feeding the baby while I watched our son’s sleeping face.
I rocked Reagan slowly while gently patting his back. Just like with Rika, I traced the curve of his tiny cheek. He may be bigger than his sister, but he was still tiny. And I wanted to protect him as well. He may be my son who would most likely grow to be a strong warrior, but for now he was my tiny little baby that needed his daddy.
And looking at his dark brown hair I could see that Reagan most likely took after Riviana. That was cute. They each had one of our hair colors. I just wonder whose eyes they had. And I couldn’t wait to see what their little personalities were going to be like.
For now though, I was just happy to be holding them and to have them here with us.
“Isn’t he just the best dad, he’s looking at them so sweetly.” I barely heard the nurses’ words as they spoke from behind me.
“I know, and I bet he is going to insist on celebrating both of their birthdays. Since one was both before midnight and one after.”
“I know, they’re even in different months.”
I let their giggles flow over me, not even paying attention to them as I connected with my son.
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Joaquin
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Riviana and I had those first few moments after the babies were born all to ourselves. She had fed them, and all she wanted to do was hold them now. I could see the love and joy in her eyes as she looked at our children. I couldn’t have been more proud of her at that moment. She was the most amazing thing that had happened to me, and I would never forget that. Ever!
The problem was, it was now approaching one in the morning, and my Little Bunny was exhausted. She had been exhausted before all of this started a few hours ago. She had gone to bed early to get some sleep because she was so tired, and then the excitement started. She needed to rest now.
As I got to my feet, setting Reagan into his little bed that the nurses had brought in for us, I saw her eyes droop just a little. She was fighting the sleep, but she would lose soon.
“Here, Little Bunny, let me take Rika.” I saw a shocked look of heartache and loss flash in her eyes when she heard me. “You need to sleep, sweetheart. I will take the baby and let you rest. They will be here when you wake up. We all three will be.” I smiled at her.
“I know, Joaquin. I know I need to sleep, but I don’t want to let them go. I want to hold them forever.” There was a long note in her voice that told me she was afraid of them not being there when she woke up. I know she was still carrying scars from the first pregnancy. This was going to be hard for her, but I would be there to help her with it as much as I could.
I gently leaned in and kissed the top of her head, a soothing and loving gesture. Following the kiss I pressed my cheek against her hair and took solace from the solidness of her, knowing that he was here with me. That was what she needed to do now as well.
“You feel me right now, don’t you. I am here, and I am not going anywhere. You can feel Rika right now, the weight of her in your arms and the solidness of her body as you hug her close. You felt the same with Reagan. We’re all here with you, Riviana. We’re here, and we’re not leaving.”