Gerome paced the small waiting room in Dr. Brown’s clinic. Why was this taking so long? They should have had news by now. The baby should have been born, and Luis should have come out of surgery. Having another baby was a crazy idea. He should never have even considered it. He’d nearly lost Alex and Angela, and now, he didn’t know how Luis was doing. He’d been in surgery for over an hour now. They should be done. Why was no one telling him what was happening?
What if something had gone wrong and Luis or the baby had died? He couldn’t live without his mate. They still had many plans and many things to do. He just couldn’t leave him here all alone.
Stop it. He forced his mind to turn around. The operation simply took some time. Luis and the baby would be fine. The little one would be healthy and fit and Luis would be as well. There was no reason to panic.
Dr. Brown knew what he was doing. It wasn’t the first time he’d done this. He’d saved Alex and Angela. A routine C-Section was a piece of cake compared to Alex’s emergency operation.
Gerome ran a hand through his hair. How had Sam managed to make it through not knowing whether his partner survived?
“Hey! Anything new?”
A familiar voice came from the door. Gerome turned around. “Sam? What are you doing here?”
“I came over as soon as I could. I was at work, but I thought you might like some company to distract you a bit.” He held up two cups of coffee.
“Thank you.” Gerome took one of the offered drinks. “I haven’t heard anything yet, and I’m worried. What if something went wrong?”
Sam put his arm around Gerome’s shoulder and led him to the chairs in the room. “Nothing went wrong. Dr. Brown is very good at what he does. I know that, believe me. And Luis is strong and healthy. What could go wrong?”
“I don’t know. I’m just so afraid to lose him or the baby. I don’t know what I’d do without them.” He didn’t like the way he sounded, but he couldn’t help himself. The coffee was too hot to drink, so Gerome wrapped his cold hands around the cup and blew gently through the hole on top.
“Nothing will go wrong. You have a wedding to attend soon.”
“I can’t tell you how much I look forward to that.” Gerome took a careful sip of the hot java. In less than four weeks, he and Luis would officially marry. That day couldn’t come fast enough.
Before he could say anything else, the door opened again and a nurse looked in. “Congratulations. You have a wonderful, healthy baby boy, and your partner should be awake soon as well. Do you want to see them?”
“They are... really?” Gerome couldn’t find the right words.
“They are, yes,” the nurse confirmed. Sam took the coffee cup out of his hand and put it on the table, then wrapped Gerome in his arms. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” Gerome whispered, his voice threatening to fail. Tears burned in his eyes, and he didn’t know if he could hold them back much longer.
They hugged for a second more before Sam stepped back. “Go to them. I need to get home. I promised Alex I’d take Angela grocery shopping so he can have an hour of peace.”
“Okay. Thank you for stopping by. I’ll see you soon. Give Alex and Angela my love.”
“Will do. Congratulations again. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay.” Gerome nodded to the waiting nurse. “Let’s go.” He had a better grip on his emotions for now.
He followed the woman through the hallway to a room. She opened the door and allowed Gerome to enter. Luis was lying there, as white as the sheets, his eyes closed. “He should wake up in a few minutes. The baby is sleeping as well. If you need anything, just press the red button on the wall.” She smiled at Gerome and then closed the door.
Gerome swallowed against the lump in his throat and stared at the small bed where their son slept. Had Angela been this tiny as well?
Gerome extended his hand and touched the small fist. It was so very tiny and so very small. He couldn’t believe it.
With a sniff, he turned away from the crib and toward his lover. Luis hadn’t moved, but as Gerome saw his eyes open, he gasped and hurried over to the bed. “How are you feeling?” He took Luis’ hand and sat down on the chair next to the bed.
“Good. Tired. Is the little one...?”
“He’s fine. Sleeping. I’m very glad you’re well. I was worried sick.”
“I told you everything would be fine.” Luis smiled weakly.
“I still worried.”
“I know. But everything is well now.”
“Yes. Sam sends his best, by the way. He stopped by to wait with me.”
“That’s good. I’ll have to thank him as soon as I’m out of here.” Luis tried to reach for him, but his hand dropped midway, so Gerome took it and covered it with his own.
“I think I’ll sleep a bit more if that’s all right with you?”
“Of course.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Luis’ lips. Tears still prickled in his eyes, and as Luis began to fall asleep, Gerome laid his face on the bedding and wept. He couldn’t stop the emotions boiling up inside him.
****
Their wedding ceremony was simple and, as opposed to Alex and Sam’s, there wouldn’t be a party at the palace. They had an appointment at the city hall followed by a dinner with a few friends and Gerome’s family. Luis didn’t want to invite his mother, but his father would attend, along with the king and the queen. His husband still hadn’t forgiven his mother and probably never would.
Of course, all of his siblings were there: Gordon with his girlfriend and Eleonora with Melinda, as well as Darius and Marian. Alex and Sam came with Angela, as well as Albert and Kevin.
When he’d asked Luis to marry him, he’d envisioned a big wedding that would show the world their love, but as the date approached, they’d settled for something smaller. Neither of them wanted a big party. They wanted each other.
For Gerome, his sign of love would happen tonight. They hadn’t had sex since before the baby’s birth, and they both needed it. Just a couple more hours, and he’d have Luis in his arms the way he wanted. And he would make sure Luis remembered his promise to top him. The last time had been awful, but as he’d told Luis, he wanted to replace that memory. He was nervous about it, but he trusted his lover. Everything would be all right.
He smiled at Luis, who carried baby Lucas in his arms. Dressed in a similar black suit as Gerome, he’d already attracted quite a few admiring looks from other customers at the restaurant. Gerome couldn’t bring himself to be jealous. Even he couldn’t force his eyes away from his lover.
He couldn’t wait to end the evening so they could have their very own celebration. It had taken them quite some time to find love, but they’d managed.
Their forced mating had gone from one of hate to one of love. He couldn’t wish for anything more—absolutely nothing more. Life couldn’t get any better.
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The End